Needless to say, Attorney Cuevas and Commissioners Gimenez and Heyman were roundly criticized on WMBM's Tuesday Talk this morning. With this compact dead in the water, it's doubtful that the deal will pass but you never know. The Marlins should still be able to contract with whomever they choose but who's to say that will or can happen without reading the fine print of the contractual agreements between the various entities.

It's unfortunate that this deal has morphed into a racial issue but it has. How this stadium deal is handled (and it hasn't been commendable thus far) may say a lot about us as Miamians. Thus far, some powerful people have demonstrated a level of sophistication or lack thereof that is, at best, discomforting.

Unquestionably, people need jobs in this community. Unquestionably, there is a noticeable shortage of blacks employed in construction in south Florida. Take a look at any work crew and do your own research. That issue persists whether we're talking Marlins Stadium or employment on other projects. Why the disparity continues is another issue that should be addressed but shouldn't be twisted with the Marlins Stadium deal to the detriment of actually addressing disparities.

One dirty little secret to be exposed on Bishop Curry's show today was awarding contracts to black businesses who in turn sub-contract with other ethnic groups and don't hire blacks. Now, that in and of itself may not seem like a problem to some folks because a business can do what it wants in the normal course of operating but, and it's a big but, we [blacks] can't expect other people to help us if we won't help each other.

Votes on the Marlins Stadium project are scheduled for March 19 [City of Miami Commissioners] and March 23 [Miami-Dade County Commissioners].

Online Surveys & Market Research

© 2009, Blogging Black Miami, www.bloggingblackmiami.com

Vote for this blog for Best Pop Culture Blog and Best Blog About Stuff in the 2009 Bloggers Choice Awards.