The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 28

2-B THE MIAMI HERALD Saturday August 4 1979 Turning Them On Would Be a Project Steaming Over Idle Air Conditioners By PATRICIA ANDREWS Htrald Staff Wrlttr Central air-conditioning units at the federally subsidized Homestead Gardens apartments are sitting in hallway closets while tenants swelter in the summer heat The units be connected because considered a luxury said Melvin Adams director of Department of Housing and Urban Development (Little HUD) air-conditioning unit is not considered a necessity like a refrigerator or a he said RESIDENTS at Homestead Gardens 450 SW 15th Ave say the heat makes the apartments unbearable day and night One hundred and three residents have signed a petition asking Little HUD to hook up the unused units said Pattie Talley 59 who lives there with her son and niece burning up in here We have to close up everything at night because of burglaries had I stand Jean Russell a Little HUD spokesman said residents can purchase compressors for individual apartments but the equipment would have to be installed at the expense The compressor and in stallation would cost between $500 and $600 Tenants say they have that kind of money "If I did I be living in public Talley said Tenants could buy their own window air-conditioning units but they would be assessed an extra charge per month for utility costs Adams said SUBSIDIZE rent and reasonable utility costs An air conditioner is not considered a reasonable he said Adams said Little HUD generally does not include air conditioning in any of its buildings In this case the agency took over the Homestead Gardens project after a private developer defaulted on the mortgage in 1971 The air-conditioning units already had been put in but never were hooked up A spokesman at the regional US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) office in Jacksonville said it is too expensive to provide air conditioning in public housing no rule that says we but the cost is said Verlon Shannon special assistant in public housing section It costs Little HUD approximately $15000 a month to operate the 150-unit two-story complex Russell said The only federally subsidized housing units in Dade that have air conditioning are some high-rises for the elderly Adams said central air unit is located in the hall closet of her three-bedroom apartment It has a thermostat on the wall and ducts wrapped in foil-backed in-: sulation running through the ceiling a she said all here All they got to do is hook it TALK OF OUR TOWN Metro Goof Exaggerated Tax Threat Beach to Throb State Aid Misfigured Tax-Cutters Discover Metro officials goofed by $5 million in calculating the threat of the Sept 18 tax-cut election on portion of state revenue-sharing funds they sheepishly conceded Friday officials said last week that Dade would get no state revenue-sharing funds if voters approve the proposed 9995 per cent property tax cut After their figures were challenged by tax-cut proponents they recalculated the revenue-sharing funds and discovered the county would get roughly $5 million from the state if the measure passes Assistant County Manager Roger Carlton said If voters reject the tax cut the county would get about $77 million in revenue-sharing money Carlton said CARLTON blamed the budget error on complex formulas for computing state aid and on the short notice Metro officials had to calculate the effects of the proposed tax cut On July 10 the Florida Supreme Court removed the last legal barrier to the special tax-cut election Four days later County Manager Merrett Stierheim made public his proposed budget for next year and an assessment of the tax-slashing impact on county spending a drop in the Carlson said of the $5-million mistake Tf Dade tax-revolt leader Harry tax-cut proposal is endorsed Metro will collect only $91-000 in 1979 property taxes and hundreds of vital county services will be eliminated or gutted Carlton said THEM it is a drop in the said Wilson to the taxpayers a helluva lot of money How many other mistakes have they made down The error was discovered by A1 Hanson a member of Dade Tax Revolt Committee The committee collected 15000 signatures on referendum petitions last fall to force the $400000 tax-cut election To a Latin Beat Almost any Sunday afternoon you can find thousands of people stretched out on the sand some sipping cold drinks and most slippery with sun-tan oil What could be better than a day of fun and frying on the beach? A day of fun and frying with free good music This Sunday you can sizzle and shake at a free concert at Key Crandon Park Beach parking lot number 1 The Latin spice of Fiera a group with a strong rock beat will open the show at 1 pm followed at 3 pm by Conjuncto Cristal a group with a spirited mix of Latin-flavored percussion and brass The concert is sponsored by Performing Arts for Community and Education and Metro Dade Parks TODAY SATURDAY JAZZ FEVER: The Rams Band of Mays Junior High will play a free jazz concert at 4 pm today on the front lawn of the South Dade Regional Library 10750 SW 211th St Bring your lawn chairs and blankets free drinks will be available Call 233-8140 for information TOMORROW REGGAE FOR RELIEF: An extravaganza of island entertainment featuring dancing folk singing and music from Haiti Trinidad Jamaica and the Bahamas will be at Bayfront Park Auditorium 499 Biscayne Blvd from 5 to 8 pm Sunday-Admission is $5 All proceeds will go to help victims of the recent floods in Jamaica DANCING FOR A DAY: Remember when you could have danced all night? Well if like to try it again join the 12-hour Stop dance' marathon Sunday at Omni International 1601 Biscayne Blvd behind Jordan Marsh Sponsored by the Muscular Dystrophy Association the starts at 11 am T-shirts and albums will be given away along with first- and second-place trophies GOLDEN OLDIES: The monthly coin and stamp show by the Gold Coast Coin Club will be from noon to 5 pm Sunday at Hollywood Mall 4601 Sheridan St Hollywood More than 40 dealers will participate PUT YOUR FAMILY IN THE ZOO: Our Family Theatre will entertain under the buttonwood tree by the lake at Crandon Park Zoo Sunday at 2 pm The troupe invites children to join in the show Regular zoo admission will be charged The zoo is on Key Biscayne ONES OF A KIND: A gaggle of singles clubs will have a Summer Spectacular Dance at the California Club at 8 pm Sunday The club which features a giant steel dance floor is at 750 NE 195th St North Miami BeachSkylake All singles are invited Admission is $3 for members $4 for nonmembers Free hors will be served For information call 538-2884 COLLECT CALL: Get ready to be stopped by your mailman as you drive through Dade County Sunday They will be on the street corners in uniform from noon to 3 pm soliciting your donations for the Muscular Dystrophy Association POPS FINALE: The Miami Beach Symphony winds up its summer Pops series at 8:15 pm Sunday with a tribute to Rodgers and Hammerstein The musical menu includes favorites from The King and I Carousel South Pacific and of course Oklahoma Tickets are available at the symphony office 420 Lincoln Rd Miami Beach 532-4421 They also are available Sunday at the theater box office ALICE WILLIAMSON LISA HSIA Miami Herald Staff Kibitzer Corner Near the southern tip of Miami Beach is a little park the regulars call Although the August sun has helped to hold down the size of the crowds tradition-bound folk still come to socialize and play at 201 Second St Richard Capper above tries to turn his deal into a winning hand and Jimmie Johns left tosses a bocce ball No Charges to Be Filed in Gas Mystery council obtain a legal opinion from the city attorney or from the state attorney general During the June investigation by the council City Attorney Ralph Miles said Florida case law exempts the mayor from testifying The council disagreed and overruled the opinion STATE investigation pointed out what we the city council suspected: that there really any thievery going on It indicates the poor administrative directive by not putting anyone in charge to be responsible for the Hodges said Bennett however said findings showed that the council been proven wrong The problem of the gas shortage was brought to the attention of the council by the administration and it continues to be an administrative By BONNIE ANDERSON Harald Staff Writer No charges will be filed after an investigation into more than 3900 gallons of missing gasoline belonging to the city of Hialeah State Attorney Janet Reno said Friday criminal case cannot be made under the Reno said The investigation showed that the city did not adequately control the dispensing of gasoline to several hundred employes authorized to use the city pumps Reno said The Hialeah City Council asked Reno to investigate the missing gas in June after it learned that 3900 gallons of gasoline disappeared or were unaccounted for in the previous two months BEFORE THAT an average of 550 gallons of gasoline were unaccounted for each month The city normally uses about 40000 gallons a month The council which named itself as an investigatory board attempted to investigate the problem and subpenaed Mayor Dale Bennett and about half of the 1375 employes The investigation was cut short when Bennett refused to testify before the City Council saying it not have the authority to investigate the executive branch of the In June the city administration began to monitor the dispersal of gasoline Before then the pumps were run on an honor system In a letter to Council President William Ray Hodges Reno said her office could not rule on u'hether the council can subpena the mayor and force him to testify She recommended that the Channel 7 Regains a News Director Robbers Tie Up Family Kill Man Trying to Flee Dave Choate who resigned the assistant news directorship of WCKT earlier this year to head news bureau here is returning to become the news director The appointment was announced Friday by WCKT (Channel 7) general manager Robert Leider Choate will fill the vacancy left by his old boss Gene Strul who resigned from'the station June 12 Choate 44 who spent 18 years at WCKT the local NBC affiliate said he will report back there by Sept 1 resist the he said like going back home a job always Choate a protege of the now-departed Strul left WCKT in February to become manager and news producer of the NBC news bureau on the 79th Street Causeway only two blocks from building news operation has been temporarily managed since resignation by Roger Burnham whose regular assignment is manager of public affairs CHOATE of 930 NW Second St to lie face down on the floor while they ransacked the house wife told police she heard the robbers demanding money The robbers shot Lozado when they saw him struggling to break out of the rope bonds detectives said The gunmen fled taking an undisclosed amount of money police said A Florida City man who was tied up during a robbery in his home Friday was shot to death when the gunmen saw him trying to escape Metro police said The 10-year-old daughter saw the robbers shoot her father in the head as he lay on the living-room floor of their one-story house said Metro homicide Detective Michael McDonald About 5:30 pm the two suspects forced the victim Manuel Lozado 48 his wife and their daughter all Heirs Sell Flagler Building By STEVE SIDLO Hraltf Staff Writar vert it into a 37-store three-level shopping mall Former Clerk Goodlet Enters Hialeah Race Former Hialeah City Clerk James Goodlet ended his two-month retirement Friday by filing a qualifying petition for the November may-oral election in Hialeah Goodlet 56 said he decided to run because of his experience working with city departments He retired in June after working for the city for 30 years Goodlet has performed the duties of personnel director purchasing director finance director and treasurer He also helped establish the retirement system and civil-service system want to give the people an alternative They will be able to choose an administrator for an job instead of a Goodlet said Mayor Dale Bennett is the only other candidate who has filed for the race Candidates must file by the first week of September City Council President William Ray Hodges has announced he will run for mayor but has not filed the qualifying petition As a councilman he must resign from the council before officially filing Police Seek Help Identifying Victim She was 5 feet 4 inches tall 13u pounds with black shoulder-length hair and brown eyes She had a tattoo of the letter or on her right middle finger and a round scar possibly from a burn on the top of her left foot Anyone who might be able to help identify the woman should call 547-7456 or 547-7533 after 5 pm Metro police are seeking help in identifying a woman whose body was found behind a phone booth at 25845 Dixie Highway about 12:15 pm Thursday She had been shot to death police said 1 The woman who appeared to be in her early 20s wore an inexpensive brown nightgown catering to Latin tourists The Puerta de las Americas Capital Mall opened earlier this year The JByrons building was sold by Sam and William Daniel of Tulsa Okla sons of RT Daniel said Henry Wolff Sr of the real-estate firm that handled the sale and has managed the building for the past 25 years The building opeped in 1905 as the Seminole Hotel Daniel a real-estate investor with extensive property holdings in Dallas Tulsa and Seattle once said he decided to buy land in Miami when he visited the young city in 1900 while on a trip to Cuba A few years later he purchased property along Flagler cut pine trees off this lot and graded it for the present he said of his hotel As an old man he returned to the Seminole Hotel in 1942 to live after a severe stroke He stayed there alone even after the hotel closed He became known as the Hermit of Flagler Street Until his death in 1949 he frequently could be seen sitting in his wheelchair on the second-floor porch watching the shoppers and other people passing on the street beneath him watch from this point of vantage and feel I am a part of the throbbing life of he once said The sons of a wealthy eccentric once known as the "Hermit of Flagler have sold the building he constructed in downtown Miami in 1905 when the city was a tiny village A group of Latin investors is paying $4 million to the heirs of RT Daniel a pioneer Miamian who died in 1949 for the building at 41-61 Flagler St Luis Brill who bought the property in partnership with Oscar Sklar and Enrique Levy said he sure what will be done with the three-story building most of which is leased by JByrons Department Stores JByrons still has about 15 years left on its lease and will stay Brill said but the leases of four smaller retail shops expire this fall working on some remodeling said Brill They probably will include renovation of the exterior of the building which faces one of the busiest sections of the Flagler Street shopping district BRILL Sklar and Levy will own the building under the name of Byron Flagler Ltd The three already have established themselves as major downtown investors They spent $47 million to buy the old Miami Theater building on Flagler and con- SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT The sponsor of a House resolution to endorse a government-in-exile for Cuban refugees Is US Rep Robert Dornan (R Calif) In Friday editions of The Herald because of an editing error he was mistakenly Identified as Rep Robert Drlnan.