Transit Miami

What a busy news weekend. Greater Miami has discovered the wheel New Urbanism. I finally got the chance to pass by the Carnival Center and I must say it is truly remarkable when illuminated at night. I’ll cover these issues and reply to some “fan Mail” I received over the weekend later this week or maybe even today, but in the meantime let’s get the week started off right: I’m going to accept the nominations I received for today’s Maricon Monday Award. Here is a letter I wrote to Jeffrey Loria, the Marlins’ Owner who has befuddled most of us lately with some of his moves…Oh, please pardon the blatant sarcasm…

I just thought that I would let you know that I plan on attending more games next season than the 1 game I regretfully attended this season. As a loyal fan, I often look to your dedication to the Greater Miami area as an inspiration for my writing on my website. You are a true role model to all future business leaders and an excellent example of just how to operate a major league baseball franchise. Let’s cut the BS though, that move to fire the guy who could possibly become the manager of the year was gutsy, I mean who wouldn’t want to be surrounded by a bunch of people who agree with every one of your thoughts just because you are paying them to do so? I’m most interested in your stadium plans, however, since I do care most about the development issues occurring in my backyard. Yes, I consider Las Vegas as part of my backyard, I’m so glad you asked. But, you know, if Vegas or San Antonio don’t suit your needs, well, you can always use a few hundred million from Miami-Dade County to fund a stadium on some cheap rural land in Hialeah or Homestead. And, don’t worry; I’m certain that parking lot space will be plentiful so that you may wreak havoc on the local area traffic, aquifer, natural landscape, etc. Oh, and don’t pay attention to what other major league franchisees have done, building a stadium deep in the most urban part of the city has yet to prove successful for Detroit, St. Louis, San Francisco, New York, Boston, Seattle, Chicago, Baltimore, Cleveland, Toronto, Texas, Houston, Atlanta, or pretty much any other team in the league except Tampa. Driving for nearly an hour in congested traffic for 80 home games makes perfect sense to me as a dedicated and loyal Marlins fan. In any case, keep up the great work; I can’t wait to see the T-ballers out on the field next year…

Marlins President David Sampson reiterated last week that Jeffrey Loria refuses to sell the team. Heck, even with one of the lousiest attendance figures, the Marlins are still netting Loria $3 million a season, according to Forbes Magazine. They are still playing the “dedicated to SF” card, but the organization has yet to really come up with any additional ideas on how to close the funding gaps for a new stadium, leaving the dirty work up to us. Look, once again, I propose we build the stadium in a densely populated area without a roof. We find a couple of people/organizations who want to become minority stakeholders in the company and possibly sell off the naming rights to the new stadium (Miccosukee Indians sure do love to smear their name all over the Fins Park…)