If you haven’t already seen the “must-read” article from the Naples Daily News linked to in Monday’s Sunburn — check it out now. Here’s why: Arek Sarkissian stumbled onto a big scandal, but not the scandal he wrote about.
The Senate Committee on Transportation approved a bill to rejigger representation within the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority and tighten ethics rules within the quasi-governmental body. The transportation panel approved SB 574, sponsored by Miami Sen. Anitere Flores, by a vote of 6-0. Toll increases and disclosure problems with the expressway authority, known locally and in legislative parlance as MDX, precipitated the bill, which is again being sponsored in the House by Rep. Jeanette Nunez. The pair of Miami-area legislators have pursued similar bills in 2013 and…
Miami-based governmental affairs firm Gomez Barker took in an estimated $230,000 during the second quarter of 2015, according to recently submitted compensation reports. The firm’s three-lobbyist team — composed of Fausto Gomez, Manny Reyes, and William Helmich — represented 29 clients between the months of April and June, all for legislative work. The roster of interests was heavily South Floridian — seven of their eight highest-paying clients were based in the Miami area including Miami-Dade Expressway Authority, which compensated the firm at a rate of some…
