Immigration Spawns Church Fury by DAPHNE TAYLOR Special to South Florida Times
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sfltimes.com “Elevating the Dialogue” SERVING MIAMI-DADE, BROWARD, PALM BEACH AND MONROE COUNTIES DECEMBER 4 — 10, 2014 | 50¢ IN THIS ISSUE BROWARD Immigration spawns church fury By DAPHNE TAYLOR Special to South Florida Times POMPANO BEACH — At least one determined African-American leader is on a crusade, hoping to put an end to President Barack Obama's immigration reform policy. The Reverend O'Neal Dozier, pastor and founder of The Worldwide Christian Center Church in Pompano Beach and founder of The Voting Majority, a group of both clergy and non-clergy who are fighting against Obama’s immigra- tion plan, says the president's stance on immigration is hurting black people and NATION/3A he is demanding a reversal because the policy violates the Civil Rights’ of blacks. Dozier is so passionate about it, that he has written a letter to the president, urg- Petermans ing him to rethink and reverse his policy. He emailed the letter to the White House last week, on the day President Obama Our Environment unveiled his plans. LETTER ON 6A Dozier says if the president's policy on immigration is implemented, it would be devastating for African-Americans because it would take away jobs that blacks desperately need and it’s infringing on African-Americans’ civil rights. “The Civil Rights act states that no one has the right to infringe on our freedom,” stated Dozier. “We are guaranteed life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Flooding the job market with 'illegals' like this will hurt blacks,” he said, in a telephone interview. President Obama's immigration reform SPORTS/8A would in effect, shield some 5 million peo- ple, mostly Hispanics, from being deported Hands up PHOTO COURTESY OF WHITEHOUSE.GOV PHOTO COURTESY OF O’NEAL DOZIER don’t shoot Barack Obama PLEASE TURN TO IMMIGRATION/2A O’Neal Dozier NATION MIAMI-DADE PortMiami prepares for a vast expansion PHOTO COURTESY OF REALFILMECAREER.COM Current Tubman African Ameri- can Museum PHOTO COURTESY OF FLORIDA EAST COAST RAILWAY Aerial view of PortMiami expansion from 40,000 feet PHOTO COURTESY OF LEGACY.GPB.ORG By JULIANA Future Tubman African Ameri- PHOTO COURTESY OF BLACKIOWA.ORG Special to South Florida Times can Museum. Harriet Tubman The controversial dredging in the PortMiami is ap- proaching to completion in July 20. The $180m project that is deepening the port’s channel Tubman Museum nears completion to 50 feet will clear the way for Post-Panamax megaships, making the port a major logistics hub connecting Asia and Latin America. The second producing agent of revenue in By LAURA CORLEY David Thompson, a founder of The 9/11 attacks and after- the county, the port now contributes nearly $27 million The Telegraph the Piedmont Construction Group, math “really affected fundraising, annually to the local and state economies and supports said the museum is by far the longest and there was a series of other things 207,000 jobs in the State of Florida. MACON, Ga. (AP) — The new project he has ever worked on. that happened,” he said. “It was al- PortMiami’s expansion is expected to boost local home of the Tubman African Ameri- “I've been involved for 15 years most like the perfect storm.” economy by doubling the cargo traffic and generating can Museum is finally taking shape on this project,” Thompson said. “We The price of steel and other ma- more than 20,000 new jobs. after nearly 15 years of planning, fun- started and it stopped for years and terials skyrocketed, a series of hurri- But industrial projects involving natural resources draising, building - and roadblocks. years. We started the budgeting in canes devastated the South and labor come at a price. In early June scientists from the Univer- A 74-foot-tall circular atrium will 1999. ... We all have been for decades costs soared, Ambrose said. sity of Miami and Coral Morphologic reported excessive welcome visitors in the spring for the waiting on this moment.” The museum's previous leader- sediment damage to corals in the area of the deep dredge. museum's soft opening, but for now Construction started on the new ship had decided to start construc- An inspection by the Miami-Dade County’s Division of En- the downtown building is filled with building in 2001, but only the exterior tion before it collected the $15.5 mil- vironmental Resource Management followed, finding a echoing voices and the sound of con- was completed before progress came lion it estimated the building would blanket of silt and clay over the bay bottom. struction workers as they make final to a screeching halt, said Andy Am- touches. brose, the museum's executive director. PLEASE TURN TO TUBMAN/3A PLEASE TURN TO ENVIRONMENTAL/2A REGION Thanksgiving dinner delights city’s guests and the homeless By KYOTO WALKER Eric H. Jones, Jr., the mayor of West Special to South Florida Times Park, said even though the dinner is held only once a year, he thinks that it makes WEST PARK — In this recent eco- an important contribution to the commu- nomic downturn, many families desir- nity. “There are always people that are ing a bountiful Thanksgiving dinner did in need,” he said. “Even though it’s not not have that option. However, staff and consistently done, it’s just the thought of volunteers from Feeding South Florida someone having enough care, that we Mobile Food Pantry helped make it pos- can show how much we care at least on a sible for residents in West Park to have a small scale.” free meal to celebrate the holiday, and Jones, who has been the mayor of West it came to them. The nonprofit agency, Park (formerly known as Carver Ranch- whose main warehouse is based in Pem- es) for the past ten years, said that many broke Park, serves Broward, Miami-Dade, organizations partnered with the city to Palm Beach and Monroe counties, and help sponsor the Thanksgiving dinner, provided produce for the city’s annual which has been held for about 30 years. Thanksgiving dinner held Wednesday, “The city helped sponsor the event to PHOTO COURTESY OF FEEDINGSOUTHFLORIDA.ORG Nov. 25 at Mary Saunders Park, 4750 SW West Park’s children enjoy Thanksgiving dinner. 21st St., West Park. PLEASE TURN TO THANKSGIVING/2A SOUTH FLORIDA TIMES IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL 3A NATION | 4A HEALTH | 6A OPINION | 7A CARIBBEAN | 8A SPORTS | 2B AROUND SOUTH FLORIDA | 3B CLASSIFIED/OBITUARIES | 4B PRAYERFUL LIVING | 1C SOFLO LIVE SOUTH FLORIDA TIMES ©2014 VOL. 24 ISSUE NO. 49 A BEATTY MEDIA, LLC PUBLICATION 2A | DECEMBER 4 — 10, 2014 | SOUTH FLORIDA TIMES | SFLTIMES.COM Thanksgiving dining Balancing economics / environment ENVIRONMENTAL, FROM 1A Another factor in the equation is that some coral reefs buffer adjacent shorelines from wave action provided all year long and prevent erosion - without reefs the coast could “I have never seen reefs like the ones near the dredging,” says Rachel Silverstein, Biscayne Bay Wa- become more vulnerable and potentially increase terkeeper Watchdog executive director. “It is cov- Miami’s flooding problem. The Union of Concerned ered in sediment that is smothering the reef; it is all Scientists’ studies have shown that tidal flooding in fine dust.” the city will keep increasing as sea levels along the In September the group filed a suit with the northeastern United States’ Atlantic coast have risen Tropical Audubon Society, Captain Dan Kipnis, and a rate three to four times faster than the global av- Miami –Dade Reef, claiming that the project violated erage. Ankle-deep water on Washington Street and the Endangered Species Act, in addition to several Alton Road in Miami Beach could become a more permit conditions by the Florida Department of Envi- frequent occurrence. ronmental Protection. The complaint alleged that the The question of just how much hurting the envi- Army Corps of Engineers shifted away from being ronment is outweighed by economic development environmentally sensitive by failing to monitor the is a delicate one. In this case, ports must expand turbidity in the water and moving its dredge ships to stay within the global commerce route and miti- away from reef areas, causing irreparable damage of gation has to be carefully planned. Silvertein says staghorn coral colonies. she is curious about how the past will inform the Prompted by the suit, on Oct. 23 the Army Corps decisions made by other ports, such as Port Ever- acceded to pay $400,000 to rescue hundreds of glades, which has even greater and more sensitive threatened corals from near the dredging and rein- coral and seagrass resources. force best practices. The project now includes the Still pending approval, the port’s expansion is restoration of more than 16 acres of sea grass and the estimated to cost about $370,000, an investment to creation of over nine acres of artificial reef. be offset by revenue increase and about 480,000 Laura Reynolds, executive director for the Tropi- temporary jobs, including the designing, engi- cal Audubon Society says the mitigation efforts are a neering and the actual dredging. Ellen Kennedy, work in progress. Hundreds of coral fragments were spokesperson for Port Everglades, says the project moved to University of Miami nurseries for restora- has been in the making for 17 years due to reasons tion, but “the port was supposed to shut down op- that include seeking clarity on how to best safe- erations until turbidity is down and that has not hap- guard against damage. pened.” David Bernhart, Fishery Management Officer at Coral reefs and the marine life they support are National Marine Fisheries Services, says that NOOA critical to the survival of Miami’s tourism, diving, fish- has already provided a consultation to the Army PHOTO COURTESY OF FEEDINGSOUTHFLORIDA.ORG ing and seafood industries, all engines for the local Corps as to the potential sedimentation next to the The Thanksgiving celebrants economy.