Friday, July 31, 2009

Southern Fried Miami Vice




"Using city data's profiles for each in 2007, Miami had a crime index of 682.3 and Los Angeles had a lower crime index of 356.8. The national average is 320.9. Murder rate is also higher in Miami at 19 per 100,000 and L.A. is at 10.2 per 100,000 in 07."
- http://www.city-data.com/forum/vb

Crime is up in Miami. And the legal system is jumping right on it, it seems. Concerned neighbors are calling in reports of disturbances and the courts are handing down sentences that let those who break the law know, "not in my town."

Case in point:

http://www.miamiherald.com/460/story/1085463.html

Miami Beach wants to evict famous riding rooster Mr. Clucky A talented but noisy rooster that delights tourists and locals alike by riding on his master's handlebars is being evicted by Miami Beach.
BY JAWEED KALEEM
jkaleem@MiamiHerald.com

In the live-and-let-live annals of Miami Beach, the city has embraced a disparate cast of characters: the cross-dressing former cabbie who jives to '60s hits for change; the woman who walks her iguanas in a pram built for two; and the middle-aged man who makes custom paintings with his toes, to name a few.
But you have to draw the line somewhere, and so the city has decreed that Mr. Clucky -- the bike-riding rooster known for weaving his way through the laid-back crowds at Lincoln Road Mall -- must go. The morning of May 27, a code enforcement officer showed up at owner Mark Buckley's Jefferson Avenue studio apartment, where the bird sleeps in the closet... Someone had complained, presumably about the rooster's habit of crowing every morning at 6 a.m. sharp. The city had to investigate.
The charge: keeping farm animals. The punishment: a $50 fine. Buckley was given 10 days to get rid of the chickens or appeal. But the 54-year-old construction worker who props the bird on the handlebars of his red Schwinn as he -- Buckley, not the rooster -- pedals the beach is not backing down.... If he doesn't pay -- and if Clucky doesn't go -- Buckley stands to receive repeated violations and higher fines, said Fernandez. But arrest is not likely. As for whether the city will go in and remove the rooster by force, Fernandez said that is still being figured out.


Good to see the "neighbors" are willing to call in when there is crime afoot. Better to see that there is no tolerance for breaking the law in Miami. I'm sure the folks who first came up with the neighborhood watch programs would be proud.


Do something about the real crime. Would this neighbor have the guts to call in a real crime? Would the courts and legal system be willing to put as much effort into clamping down on gang violence, dope dealers, murderers, and rapists as they are on the bird?

Or are they just plain chicken?

Do your jobs. Do something about real crime. Seems like chickens aren't the only problem in Miami.

Sounds like there might be a jackass or two running around too.