FERNSTOCK (Woodstock in The Redland)

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Deep Dive: 46% of South Florida homeowners are `underwater'

Nearly half of all owners of single-family homes in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area were underwater at the end of the third quarter, meaning their homes were valued at less than the mortgages owed against them. Forty-six percent of South Florida homeowners, representing 387,157 homes, were underwater at the end of Sept. 30, compared to 47 percent in the second quarter, according to a new report from Web-based real estate services firm Zillow.com Nationally, 21 percent of homeowners were underwater as of Sept. 30, down from 23 percent in the second quarter, as home values stabilized in the short term and more underwater borrowers lost their homes to foreclosure, Zillow said. Zillow's home price index showed that the median price of a single-family home in the area was $168,400, down 17.1 percent from the same period a year before. Values were down 2.1 percent from the second quarter. The Zillow index measures values of all homes, not those sold in a particular period. While values continue falling, the firm said September marked the eighth consecutive month of decreasing year-over-year price declines. Additionally, 50 percent of all homes sold in September sold at a loss, the firm said. A small percentage, 5.5 percent, saw their values rise over the past 12 months. Reference Article

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Redland Rambles

Newly added community website:

Redland Rambles

You are what you eat. Do you eat where you are?

Check it out. See list on below on the left.

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Residents were heard at polls - South Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com

Residents were heard at polls - South Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com: "Residents were heard at polls
After two years of not being heard at City Council meetings, the residents of Homestead have been heard at the polls.
Not to take anything away from the newly elected City Council members -- signs, mailers, phone calls, forums and knocking on doors -- Tuesday's election was a rocking referendum on the recalcitrant members of our council who would ``block vote'' every major issue and rebuff any opinion from the public to the contrary. All four were expelled!
That ``my way or the highway'' mentality materialized over the last few months with higher taxes and an attempt to move City Hall to a new $20 million structure downtown.
As I sat on the Charter Review Committee that changed our council from at-large seats to geographical districts, I believed that we could break up the ``old boys' club'' with equal representation of our citizens in every area of Homestead. My only regret is that in a referendum we gave four-year terms instead of two years to every council member, excluding the mayor.
Four years can seem like an eternity when we elect relatively unknown candidates to council seats in a growing and changing city like Homestead.
Thank you, residents of Homestead -- voters rule!
JIM TRANTHEM
HOMESTEAD"

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Hundreds gather for Homestead Council Swearing-in

By Tania Valdemoro TValdemoro@miamiherald.com A new mayor, vice mayor and three new council members took their places Wednesday night inside the standing-room only council chambers -- 24 hours after voters ousted four incumbents including the city's first woman mayor. More than 200 people packed Homestead City Hall to see the political changeover after a divisive election that brought some old and new faces to power. Steven Bateman is Homestead's new mayor. Council member Judy Waldman is the new vice mayor. Stephen Shelley, the Rev. Jimmie L. Williams III and Elvis Maldonado are new council members. They join council members Jon Burgess and Wendy Lobos. Absent from the swearing--in: City Manager Mike Shehadeh and Deputy City Manager Johanna Faddis, who had both agreed earlier Wednesday to a two-week administrative leave with pay, according to City Attorney Richard Weiss. Capt. Randy Chong of the Homestead Police Department, will serve as acting city manager until Nov. 18. Shehadeh's $15,000 pay raise since in February 2008 became an election issue. Several candidates denounced the apparent secrecy behind the raise -- a charge that Mayor Lynda Bell and other council members had denied. Bell and council members Tim Nelson, Nazy Sierra and Melvin McCormick -- all of whom lost during Tuesday's election -- offered their parting words before the transition of power.``The last 20 months were great,'' said Nelson, who was appointed in January 2008 to the city's northwest seat, replacing former council member Steve Losner, who resigned to run unsuccessfully for mayor. ``I met a lot of people and dealt with a lot of tough issues. I would not change anything.'' Sierra, who came into office in 2007 as part of a team with Bell and Lobos, offered a tearful goodbye and asked Bateman about what would happen to the city's education committee, which she chaired.``My greatest wish is that you all keep it going so it can meet the needs of our schools,'' Sierra said. McCormick said he considered himself ``a rose that grew from the concrete.'' A political novice when he came to office in 2007, McCormick said he was proud to learn the ins and outs of city government while bringing new sidewalks, a master plan, a scholarship fund and backpacks to his constituents in the impoverished southwest district. A somber Mayor Bell rounded out the closing comments. ``I want to thank you for allowing me to serve you for the past six years, the last two as mayor,'' she told the audience. ``It's been a privilege and it's been tough.'' Bell reiterated the council's accomplishments during her two years as mayor, such as a building moratorium on condos and townhomes; the installation of new cameras to catch red-light runners; the completion of six park projects; and the creation of 1,985 new jobs. Florida City Mayor Otis Wallace then swore in the new city council to the wild applause of the audience. An elated new mayor addressed the people. ``Thank you all for coming out. My heart is pounding. It's been years since I sat on this dais and it is wonderful to be back,'' Bateman said. He reiterated his campaign promises: ``We will bring in a Class A charter high school. We will stand tough on crime by supporting our police department.'' Waldman, Shelley, Williams and Maldonado all thanked their supporters and their families. Bateman then invited members of the public to speak. Herman Martinez, an activist in the migrant community, told the new council, ``We are expecting a better relationship with the city. We look forward to working with you.'' Reference Article

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Election Analysis and Forecast for 2010

New City Hall to be Postponed, Property Taxes to Decrease & Get ready for More "Affordable" Housing The City of Homestead Council is forecasted to issue a moratorium soon on building a new City Hall on the Washington Ave and Civic Ct site. Officials had looked to moving and expanding facilities at the location to serve the rapidly growing city experiencing record levels of home starts and growing commercial interest. This was a corner stone of Lynda Bell's Mayoral campaign in 2007 but turned into a liability in 2009. The difference two years and an economic downturn make. The Bateman/Waldman administration will leave property taxes as is. This is a pledge by their campaigns so we should expect a reduction of taxes or left at the current 6.29 millage per $1000 of property value. Lesson Learned: Don't raise taxes during a recession; it's a recipe for losing elections. Before the housing bust 12000 housing permits were expected to be issued. Then came Lynda Bell and her team in 2007 and placed a moratorium on new residential building. Everyone cheered them! With the self-proclaimed "Integrity Team" now gone any thought of a renewed residential housing moratorium are a forgone conclusion. The New Mayor has other ideas about housing so expect "affordable" housing to proliforate the Homestead landscape more than ever before. Ofcourse the economy will have to cooperate as well, but the city council has been know for their innovation in paving the farmland so stay tuned for new developments. Pun intended. The Homestead Human Relations board is expected to be reconstituted as its disbandment was a sore point in this years election. This board should've never been disbanded because they could've been left to reach a consensus between the NAACP and the Sons of the Confederacy. Lastly, Ruth Campbell will finally get to nominate Judy Waldman for Councilwoman of the Year. She should've gotten it the first time. Lesson learned here: Pick your battles wisely. HIH looks forward to your comments.

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Best Place to Bike in Homestead

Road biking is a lot like driving. Same stretch of road, same rules. But unlike motor vehicles, which afford their navigators a steel cocoon behind which to hide in the event of a collision, cyclists have skin. It's preferable, therefore, to ride along quieter roads — where the likelihood of a door being swung open in your face, or a senile old woman backing her Lincoln Town Car out of her driveway without looking first — is minimal. So next time you feel the urge to click in your cleats and put power to the pedal, head to Homestead Bayfront Park. Entrance is free, so park the car and head west on SW 328th Street. The views are magical: mile after mile of undisturbed farmland, peppered with the odd truck here and there. Loop around the Homestead Speedway and, if your legs are up for it, head south down Card Sound Road toward Key Largo. And the best part: When you back get to the car thoroughly exhausted from your hazard-free trek, you can grab some much-needed grub from the snack bar. Better yet, if you planned ahead, you could throw a big fat juicy steak on one of the park's grills and really replenish what you just burned off.

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Air Show: Base Recaptures Glory Days

Air show to help Homestead Air Reserve Base recapture glory days
Wings Over Homestead, a weekend air show, aims to restore Homestead Air Reserve Base to glory days image.

BY HOWARD COHEN
hcohen@MiamiHerald.com

When some think about the old Homestead Air Force Base they talk about how Hurricane Andrew destroyed it in 1992.
Two presidents, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, weighed in on the need to rebuild it -- and it was as an Air Force reserve base.
This weekend many will see the vibrant -- and growing -- base.
More than 100,000 visitors are expected to attend Wings Over Homestead on Saturday and Sunday, the first major air show in 17 years to be sponsored by the military base.
In fact, it's the only major air show of its type this year in these parts until Fort Lauderdale's popular Air & Sea Show returns in 2010.
Homestead's two-day free event features performances by the Thunderbirds, F-15 Eagle demonstration team, U.S. Army Screaming Eagles Jump Team and the U.S. Air Force Jet Car.
In addition, Maj. Sean Gustafson, a former reservist at the Homestead base who lived in Palmetto Bay, returns to fly the No. 4 aircraft in the Thunderbirds' diamond formation on both days. Four jets take off from a runway with a mighty thrust, loop overheard and come together in a precise diamond shape.
``The diamond demonstrates the precision of the Air Force,'' said Gustafson, the first Air Force Reserve pilot chosen to fly with the Thunderbirds since the team's inception in 1953.
Expect a big noise.
So much that Pinecrest officials released a notice late Wednesday alerting residents that because of the air show, ``there may be the presence of military aircraft in Pinecrest's air space in the coming days.''
The military might is geared toward reviving an area whose image of late has been dampened by a contentious voting season and a near billion-dollar plunge in Homestead's tax base.
``This is a great opportunity to put Homestead on the map,'' said Brig. Gen. William Binger, 49, the commander of the base's 482nd Fighter Wing and a resident of Palmetto Bay. ``My goal strategically has been to raise awareness and show [Homestead residents] their military up close and personal.''
Although the 2,200-acre base isn't as expansive as it was pre-Andrew, it still has 2,000 reservists who are assigned to the wing. At any given time, 400 to 500 men and women are deployed to war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The numbers are expected to grow as the base expects to get active duty Air Force troops in a couple years.
After Andrew, control of the airfield, which first opened in 1942 during World War II, was turned over to Miami-Dade County. The county hired a contractor to run two smaller air shows in 1995 and 1996.
The base is in a good ``strategic location for the Caribbean,'' Binger said. ``Based where we are, we are a staging point where goods and services come in. We work hand-in-hand with FEMA to help folks in the Keys and the area.''
Binger, who entered the Air Force in 1981 and who has since flown 40 combat missions in Iraq, says plans for this show began a year ago.
Maj. Sean Carpenter, who will direct the aerial portions, says a staff of about 40 worked to secure performances, hire security and food vendors, design a parking plan for massive crowds and book entertainment for the grounds.
``There tends to be 1,000 different logistical tasks prior to letting 100,000 people on the base,'' Carpenter said.
``We call this internally an `Open House.' We are bringing people on the base to show what the military does in Homestead but also an increased awareness of what they do on missions in Afghanistan and Iraq,'' he added.
The Homestead Air Reserve Base, U.S. Southern Command and dozens of other installations in South Florida account for 47,000 direct and indirect jobs and $3.7 billion per year, according to the Beacon Council.
Binger says that the Homestead base's contribution to that figure is $220 million annually.
``I want to see us move on from Andrew,'' Binger said. ``When I came down here I was really surprised at the lack of local awareness of the base and what the citizen airmen here do for this nation. What better way to highlight the base than an air show?
``I don't want to be defined by Andrew but by what we do now.''

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