Dr. Jeffrey Solomon launches for State House Dist. 115

Endorsed by (D) county Commissioner Katy Sorenson and (R) county Mayor Carlos Alvarez. After the speeches I asked Mayor Alvarez if this was his first endorsement of a Democrat and he responded that he'd done it before, also had voted for Alex Sink, our (D) state chief financial officer.

Like the governor race, US Senate race and others, the voters will speak on this in 2010. Good luck to Dr. Jeffrey Solomon, one of the early starters.

Better ideas about mission in Tallahassee

Here's a link to Commissioner Katy Sorenson's piece in Wednesday's Miami Herald with pointed advice to state legislators from the view of local government.

Hey, Speaker Marco Rubio: How about solving problems rather than giving limited relief to one sector of taxpayers?

Such reasonable views tend to give me hope for the Herald's opinion pages. But then I look up to the day's lead editorial with the headline "NAFTA distortions discredit candidates." Rip the Democrats! Claim that their speeches make it seem that "NAFTA ranks right up there with Osama bin Laden as a threat to our national well-being." Whew, how over the top can they go?

Property tax debate

Here’s one of our favorite county commissioners, Katy Sorenson, expounding the local view of the property tax conundrum. If her math is right, killing the property tax will benefit the wealthy more. What else do we expect from a Republican-dominated state legislature?

She’s also pointing out that the state can’t really kill the property tax. About half of it is imposed by local bodies like the school district and bond-debt service.

Sorenson column in Monday’s Herald.

And talk about enjoying a tax cut -- I just cashed my $300 refund from being a Miami Beach homesteader. Makes me feel like a pioneer.