Dear neighbors, Representatives from West Miramar and Miami-Dade neighborhoods affected by the blasting attended a MD Commission meeting on December 6, 2016. The meeting started at 9:30 am. We were there almost until 2:00 pm waiting to be heard. There was no clear order in the agenda. Some of the commissioners would leave their chairs, talk on their phones, and do many other distracting things besides listening to their constituents. Most of the time, Mayor Carlos Gimenez was not even part of the conversations. After attending that meeting, we felt an enormous sense of pride for the Broward County Commission. Their professionalism while conducting the meetings is admirable. More than four hours later, we were allowed to talk during two minutes about the blasting. We spoke with passion but with respect. It is hard to comprise all the frustration, fear, anger, and concern in just two minutes. After they heard us, they told us that the blasting issue will be deferred until January because there was no clarity about the budget aspect of the resolution. In other words, they did not know where the money to monitor the blasting is going to come from. You would think that such an important issue should have been discussed before presenting the resolution for the commission's approval. Well, this was not the case. There are some concerns when it comes to this last-minute decision of postponing this debate: if the item is deferred again and again, it would be deleted from the agenda and the discussion is over. We can only hope that this deferral is not a strategy to discourage the public from following the blasting problem and eventually forget about it. It is also discouraging that the Miami-Dade Commission would introduce a resolution to "monitor" the blasting, when there are already other government bodies doing the same thing. Why spend the constituents money on doing something that is already being done? Why not try something more useful, like funding a study to address possible health effects of blasting in vulnerable populations, real blasting effects inside structures, and water contamination risks associated with chemicals used during blasting. This committee wants to wish you Happy Holidays, with a reminder that this fight is far from over. We hope to count with your support again in January when we would be asking for a new date to discuss the blasting item in the Miami-Dade Commission meeting, as well as a revised version of the resolution that would help shine some light in this ongoing problem. We need your participation in the meetings to show that as a community we regard this as a big issue. We know that individuals tied to WRQ attend every public meeting where blasting is discussed, we need you there so they can let their handlers know that we are not going to stand idle while they destroy our homes. Please email your complaints to nomoreblastingrivieraisles@yahoo.com Follow us on Twitter: @nomoreblasting Best regards, Riviera Isles Blasting Committee