FL Gov. Jeb Bush said yesterday that he "wants to know
more before deciding whether state money should be used" for
the proposal to build a new, $385M, retractable-roof,
40,000-seat, ballpark in downtown Miami, according to
Bousquet, Rabin & Finefrock of the MIAMI HERALD. Although
Bush "did not take a stand for or against the latest
proposal," he said, "There's a balance there. There's a
point past which I don't think I could be supportive, so
I've got to look at it." Meanwhile, Bousquet, Rabin &
Finefrock report that the Miami-Dade Commission, in its
first discussion of the plan, "also stopped short of a full
endorsement" last night, and it "wasn't clear from the
discussion that a majority of the commissioners will support
the financing plan" (MIAMI HERALD, 12/20). In Ft.
Lauderdale, Sarah Talalay writes that the Marlins "got a
hint Tuesday of how difficult it will be to navigate the
political minefield of Miami-Dade County politics," as some
county commissioners "expressed deep reservations" about
giving tax money to the franchise (SUN-SENTINEL, 12/20).
