Monthly Archives: April 2017

How US presidents prepare for the end of the world – Washington Post

Posted: April 28, 2017 at 3:39 pm

RAVEN ROCK: The Story of the U.S. Governments Secret Plan to Save Itself While the Rest of Us Die

By Garrett Graff. Simon & Schuster. 529 pp. $28

Garrett Graff says that his new book, Raven Rock, a detailed exploration of the United States doomsday prepping during the Cold War, provides a history of how nuclear war would have actually worked the nuts and bolts of war plans, communication networks, weapons, and bunkers and how imagining and planning for the impact of nuclear war actually changed ... as leaders realized the horrors ahead.

But if there is anything that Raven Rock proves with grim certitude, it is that we have little idea how events would have unfolded in a superpower nuclear conflict, and that technological limits, human emotion and enemy tactics can render the most painstaking and complex arrangements irrelevant, obsolete or simply obscene.

These contradictions are evident with each commander in chief Graff considers. During an apparent attack that proved to be a false alarm, Harry Truman refused to follow protocol and instead remained working in the Oval Office. Same with Jimmy Carter, who after a 1977 drill wrote in his diary that my intention is to stay here at the White House as long as I live to administer the affairs of government, and to get Fritz Mondale into a safe place to ensure the survival of the presidency. And after Richard Nixons first briefing on the use of nuclear weapons there were only five possible retaliatory or first-strike plans, and none involved launching fewer than 1,000 warheads national security adviser Henry Kissinger was blunt about the presidents dismay with his alternatives: If thats all there is, he wont do it.

Graff, a former editor of Washingtonian and Politico magazines, covers every technicality of the construction of underground bunkers and secret command posts, every war game and exercise, every debate over presidential succession planning and continuity of government, every accident that left us verging on nuclear war. It is a thorough account, and excessively so; the detail is such that it becomes hard to distinguish consequential moments from things that simply happened. He describes one presidential briefing on nuclear tactics as a blur of acronyms and charts, minimizing the horror and reducing the death of hundreds of millions to bureaucratic gobbledygook, and at times this book commits the same offense.

Its power, however, lies in the authors eye for paradox. The plans for continuity of government and nuclear war are cumulative, developed in doctrines, directives and studies piling up over decades; yet it is up to short-lived and distracted administrations to deploy or reform them. War planning hinges on technology that constantly evolves, so plans invariably lag behind. More specifically, continuity of government depends on keeping top officials alive, yet the precise moment when evacuating would be most important also was precisely when it was most important to remain at the reins of government, Graff writes. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld proved the point on Sept. 11, 2001, when he stayed at the Pentagon and dispatched Paul Wolfowitz to Raven Rock, the Pennsylvania mountain hideaway north of Camp David that serves as the namesake for this book. Thats what deputies are for, the Pentagon chief explained, in a beautifully Rumsfeldian line.

[Trumps new Russia expert wrote a psychological profile of Vladimir Putin and it should scare Trump]

There are more personal reasons people would choose not to leave Washington in the case of looming nuclear war. For years, evacuation plans excluded the families of senior officials. Apparently the wives of President Dwight Eisenhowers Cabinet members were less than pleased to learn that they had not made the list, even while their husbands secretaries had. And when an administration representative handed Earl Warren the ID card that would grant him access to a secure facility in an emergency, the chief justice replied, I dont see the pass for Mrs. Warren. Told that he was among the countrys 2,000 most important people, Warren handed the card back. Well, here, he said, youll have room for one more important official.

Perhaps the presence of the Supreme Court would prove inconvenient, anyway, because a post-nuclear America could easily become an executive branch dictatorship, Graff explains. Eisenhower worried about this, though it did not stop him from establishing a secret system of private-sector czars who would step in to run massive sectors of the U.S. economy and government, with the power to ration raw materials, control prices and distribute food. When President John Kennedy discovered this system, he quickly dismantled it, even if his younger brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, carried around a set of prewritten, unsigned documents providing the FBI and other agencies sweeping powers to detain thousands of people who could be deemed security threats in wartime. And the Eisenhower-era Emergency Government Censorship Board, rechristened the Wartime Information Security Program under Nixon, was finally defunded after Watergate. However, as Graff notes, the executive orders all still remained drafted ready for an emergency when it arrived.

For all the ominous directives and war scenarios, there is something random and even comical about planning for Armageddon. How many Export-Import Bank staffers rate rescuing? How many from the Department of Agriculture? A Justice Department public affairs official was once even tasked with compiling a lineup of Washington journalists who should be saved. I remember painfully going over a list of people and wondering how do you balance a columnist I didnt think very much of as opposed to a reporter who I thought really did work, he said. And then, what should the chosen few take along? The congressional bunker at the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia, for instance, included a stash of bourbon and wine; staffers swore that the stockpile was to be used only to aid a hypothetical alcoholic congressman who might need to be weaned off.

Raven Rock revels in the expensive machinery and elaborate contingency formulas presidents had at their disposal to command the nuclear arsenal. High-tech ships known as the National Emergency Command Post Afloat (nicknamed the Floating White House) were ready for use from 1962 into the Nixon years, while a string of EC-135 aircraft flights (code-named Looking Glass) began continuous shifts on Feb. 3, 1961, ensuring that one senior military leader with the proper authority would always be available to order a nuclear strike. Not breaking the chain of these overlapping flights became an U.S. military obsession, and it remained unbroken until the end of the Cold War.

Some efforts were low-tech, too: In 2009, President Barack Obama signed an executive order decreeing that the Postal Service would be responsible for delivering medical countermeasures to homes across America in case of biological attacks, because it had a unique capacity for rapid residential delivery. (Neither snow nor rain, nor germ warfare.)

Technology meant to defend can prove risky. In November 1979, NORAD computers detected a massive Soviet assault, targeting nuclear forces, cities and command centers. Turns out someone had mistakenly inserted a training tape into the system. Six months later, a faulty 46-cent computer chip briefly made it seem like 2,200 Soviet missiles were soaring toward U.S. targets. And in September 1983, Soviet satellites identified five U.S. missiles heading toward the U.S.S.R. except the satellites had mistaken the sun reflecting off cloud cover as the heat of a missile launch. The Soviet early warning system was a dangerous mess, Graff writes. Ours wasnt that great, either.

[How an American slacker caught a Russian spy at a New Jersey Hooters]

Over the decades, shifts in nuclear policy reflected presidents views on what was possible, technologically and strategically. Eisenhower planned for massive retaliation attacks, Kennedy relied on the notion of mutually assured destruction, and Carter imagined a drawn-out war, in which an initial nuclear exchange could produce weeks of inaction before follow-up strikes. Ronald Reagan issued a presidential directive suggesting for the first time that the United States should prevail in a nuclear war, even if the 1983 television movie The Day After later left him feeling greatly depressed, as he wrote in his diary.

For all the horrors it contemplates, Raven Rock proves most depressing for those of us left outside the bunkers. Though early on, Cold War administrations regarded civil defense as a priority, officials quickly realized how hard it would be to protect the American population from nuclear attack, especially as the shift from bombers to missiles reduced response times from hours to minutes. Rather than remake the entire society, Graff writes, the government would protect itself and let the rest of us die.

But every mushroom cloud has a silver lining: Graff reports that the IRS considered how it would collect taxes in the post-nuclear wasteland and concluded that it seemed unfair to assess homeowners and business owners on the pre-attack tax assessments of their property.

Leave it to a nation founded in opposition to unfair levies to study the tax implications of the end of the world.

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How US presidents prepare for the end of the world - Washington Post

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The War on Drugs Plot Expansive Fall Tour – Rolling Stone – RollingStone.com

Posted: at 3:39 pm

The War on Drugs announced an extensive fall tour with shows in North America and Europe. The 34-date trek launches September 21st in the band's hometown of Philadelphia and concludes November 27th in Stockholm, Sweden.

General public tickets go on sale Friday, May 5th at 10 a.m. local time via the band's website. A pre-sale begins Monday, May 1st for North America and Tuesday, May 2nd for U.K. and Europe at 10 a.m.

The indie-rock sextet officially released their psychedelic new single "Thinking of a Place" on Friday, after issuing the 11-minute track as a 12-inch vinyl exclusive for Record Store Day. The song, which follows 2014 LP, Lost in the Dream, previews the band's upcoming, as-yet-untitled fourth album.

Last year, the War on Drugs contributed a cover version of the Grateful Dead's "Touch of Grey," to Day of the Dead,a massive, 59-song tribute albumcurated by the National's Aaron and Bryce Dessner.

The War on Drugs 2017 Tour

September 21 Philadelphia, PA @ Dell Music Center September 22 New York, NY @ SummerStage in Central Park September 23 Boston, MA @ Blue Hills Bank Pavilion September 25 Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte September 26 Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle September 28 Dallas, TX @ The Bomb Factory September 29 Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall [Outside Lawn] September 30 Austin, TX @ Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheater October 5 Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre October 6 Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre October 9 Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre October 11 Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall October 13 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex October 14 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre October 18 St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre October 19 Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre October 20 Columbus, OH @ Express Live! October 21 Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall November 2 Amsterdam, NL @ AFAS Live November 3 Cologne, DE @ E-Werk November 4 Brussels, BE @ Forest National November 6 Paris, FR @ Bataclan November 9 Glasgow, UK @ Barrowlands November 10 Glasgow, UK @ Barrowlands November 12 Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo Manchester November 14 London, UK @ Alexandra Palace November 17 Zurich, CH @ X-tra November 18 Milan, IT @ Fabrique November 20 Mnchen, DE @ Muffathalle November 21 Hamburg, DE @ Groe Freiheit 36 November 22 Berlin, DE @ Tempodrom November 24 Oslo, NO @ Spektrum November 25 Copenhagen, DK @ Tap 1 November 27 Stockholm, SE @ Annexet

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Philippines ‘war on drugs’: Credible and impartial investigations needed after ‘secret jail cell’ revealed – Amnesty International USA

Posted: at 3:39 pm

Following todays suspension of more than a dozen police officers and the announcement of an internal investigation into revelations that 12 people were detained illegally in a cramped secret jail cell in Manila on drugs-related charges, Champa Patel, Amnesty Internationals Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said:

This is an alarming reminder of the depth of the human rights crisis sparked by President Dutertes war on drugs. Prison overcrowding and secret jails with a risk of torture are just part of the wider problem, which has left up to 9,000 people dead in extrajudicial executions by police and vigilantes doing their dirty work.

If the authorities are serious about investigating this incident, they must ensure those involved face effective criminal investigations and prosecutions, not just a slap on the wrist and time off work. Investigations should go right up the chain of command.

Crucially, nobody should be under any illusions that the same police force that allowed thousands of killings to happen under its nose can be trusted to investigate itself now. There must be independent oversight of this and all investigations and a thorough review of all violations and abuses by police in the war on drugs.

In an interview yesterday, President Duterte told a reporter he thought it was funny that Amnesty International was calling on his government to stop the killings. There is nothing funny about killing 9,000 people in cold blood in a climate of impunity.

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Philippines 'war on drugs': Credible and impartial investigations needed after 'secret jail cell' revealed - Amnesty International USA

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The War On Drugs announce 2017 tour including UK dates – NME – NME.com

Posted: at 3:39 pm

The War On Drugs have announced a tour for later this year, including a series of UK and European dates.

The Adam Granduciel-led band earned widespread acclaim for 2014sbreakthrough third album, Lost In The Dream. They recently shared their new single Thinking Of A Place, their first new song in three years and a 11-minute track marking Record Store Day 2017.

The War On Drugs will kick off their tour with a hometown gig in Philadelphia on September 21 before touring the US and Canada through to October.

Their European tour starts in November and includes UK stops in Glasgow, Manchester and London. See the full tour schedule and ticket details at the bands website.Their UK dates are below.

Thursday 9th November GLASGOW Barrowlands Friday 10th November GLASGOW BarrowlandsSunday 12th November MANCHESTER O2 ApolloTuesday 14th November LONDON Alexandra Palace

The band are thought to be working on their long-awaited follow-up to Lost In The Dream with the record set to be the first full-length release on their new recording contract with Atlantic.

Last year, The War On Drugs contributed a cover of Touch of Grey to a Grateful Dead covers album.

The extensive tribute collection entitled Day Of The Dead took over four years to record and compile, and featured over 60 artists including Mumford and Sons, The Flaming Lips, Courtney Barnett, Wilco, Fucked Up and The Walkmen.

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‘Secret jail’ proves drug war abuses – HRW – ABS-CBN News

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MANILA - International non-government organization Human Rights Watch on Friday condemned President Rodrigo's anti-narcotics drive anew following the discovery of a hidden jail for drug suspects in Manila.

"The discovery of the secret jail is just the latest sign of how police are exploiting Duterte's abusive anti-drug campaign for personal gain," HRW said in a statement.

Earlier Thursday, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) found 12 men and women detained inside a cramped room hidden behind a bookshelf in the Raxabago police station in Tondo, Manila.

CHR said there was no record of the arrest and inquest proceedings for the detainees, who alleged that cops held them in the facility for a week, without notifying their families or lawyers.

The detainees also accused policemen of torturing them and demanding money for their freedom.

They also claimed that inadequate lighting, ventilation, and toilet facilities forced them "to urinate and [do] bowel movements in plastic bags," according to CHR-Metro Manila director Gilbert Boisner.

Supt. Robert Domingo, commander of the Raxabago station, has denied the allegation, insisting instead that those detained in the hidden cell could not mix with other suspects in the station's main cell because no case has been filed against them yet.

Domingo and 12 other officers of the Raxabago station were temporarily relieved to pave the way for an impartial probe.

At least two senators have spoken out against the maintenance of a "secret jail" for drug suspects.

Senator Panfilo Lacson, a former chief of the Philippine National Police, noted: "If true, these policemen are no better than the kidnap-for-ransom gangs that I used to chase throughout my law enforcement career."

"Those responsible must therefore be treated no differently from those criminal syndicates that they themselves are mandated to neutralize."

Sen. Kiko Pangilinan added that the matter should be investigated thoroughly and wrongdoers swiftly punished.

"We have seen how PNP uniformed personnel have in the Jee Ick-Joo case, the Espinosa rubout case, and in a number of other cases abused their office under the guise of the war on drugs. If this systemic pattern of abuse is not addressed, I am afraid the war on drugs will fail in its objective of ridding the nation of illegal drugs and instead succeed in spreading lawlessness, police corruption, and abuse," he said.

ABUSES

HRW noted that policemen at the helm of Duterte's war on drugs have been tagged in a string of alleged abuses over the past months.

Last October, anti-narcotics cops allegedly abducted a South Korean businessman and strangled him to death, before demanding a ransom from his family, the group said.

HRW added that it has exposed a "damning pattern of unlawful police conduct" in the deaths of over 2,000 drug suspects during police operations.

"Expect unlawful police abuses in the name of Duterte's 'war on drugs' to continue until the United Nations establishes an urgently needed independent, international investigation into the killings and the secret jails that are part of it," HRW said.

Malacaang has maintained that the state is not behind extra-judicial slays, as deaths attributed to the police occurred in legitimate operations.

Duterte also said that his orders to kill and arrest drug suspects come with the caveat that police should operate within the bounds of the law.

The National Capital Region Police Office and the Philippine National Police-Internal Affairs Service will conduct separate probes into Manila's hidden jail.

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'Secret jail' proves drug war abuses - HRW - ABS-CBN News

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OPINION: Failed ‘war on drugs’ a waste of taxpayers’ money – The Daily Progress

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In my opinion, Tom McDonalds Letter to the Editor of April 23, 2017 (Drug testing of welfare rolls, longer sentencing key to drug war, The News Virginian, Perspectives page) urges a non-viable return to the failed War on Drugs" for the following reasons:

First, President Obama did not let drug enforcement fall by the wayside during his eight years in office. Instead, he allowed the drug war more or less to continue on the glide path set up by his predecessors. When he gave it his full attention toward the end of his tenure, his policy lined up with most expert opinion in acknowledging that it is more effective to treat drug use as a public health issue than as a criminal justice one.

Second, as Mr. McDonald writes, the drug problem in the U.S. is at an all-time high. Our longest war, the 45-year War on Drugs has been spectacularly unsuccessful. The U.S. government has spent $1 trillion on aggressive policies and enforcement actions, serving to make it the supporter-in-chief of two lucrative industries, drug enforcement and drug trafficking, while achieving limited deterrent impact on drug use and marginal benefits to the public health and safety. What has yet to happen is a reduction in the supply of drugs or in the reasons people seek them out.

The smarter policy would be to shift the budget priorities from law enforcement and paramilitary-style interdiction efforts to treatment and research. We should be looking at drug addiction as a health crisis requiring medical treatment in place of incarceration. Instead of going to war on marijuana, we should legalize it nationally and treat it like alcohol a commodity that is taxed and regulated with minimum legal ages for use. Our own history of Prohibition history has shown us this would have the added benefit of taking money from the cartels and giving it to cash-strapped local and state governments.

And dont get me started on the need for less-liberal judges. Its like saying we need less-liberal Christians. No. We need good judges with a firm grasp of the law; their ways of interpreting the law are going to vary, often in wayswe dont agree with.

Third, poppycock to drug testing all welfare recipients. If your concern is for having to share your tax dollars with anyone who might use drugs, why pick on the poor and needy? Why not advocate that all federal employees, President and Congress included, be subject to periodic drug testing?

Fourth, Donald Trump may be determined in the sense of being determined to get his way, but his way is proving anything but steadfast. As I far as I can tell, he is but one strong voice-in-his-ear away from swerving as radically on this position as he has on any other.

Fifth, Leonard Pitts, whose column you referenced,didsuggest a solution to this epidemic. Having confirmed what most of us know to be true that you cannot arrest people out of wanting what is bad for them he suggested that as weve seen with liquor and tobacco, you might be able to educate, legislate and persuade them into wanting it less. In support of his argument, he cited a Rand Corporation study saying that using healthcare strategies to combat drugs returns seven times the value for every dollar spent on it to the taxpayer.

That you didnt read his suggestion as a solution might just prove his point that this wouldnt allow some of us to brag how ruthless they are.

Lucy Ivey lives in Waynesboro.

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Unfazed by ICC Complaint, Philippine’s Duterte Vows to Continue War on Drugs – The Wire

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External Affairs

Loved ones and mourners lift up a closed coffin of Arjay Suldao, 16, who according to the local media was a victim of unknown assailants related to the drug war, to place it inside an apartment-type tomb, during his funeral at a cemetery in Navotas city, metro Manila, Philippines March 28, 2017. Credit; Reuters/Romeo Ranoco/Files

Manila: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said he was willing to face the music for his war on drugs and a complaint filed with the International Criminal Court (ICC) would not stop him pursuing his bloody campaign.

The former prosecutor said he was man who was true to his word, including wiping out drugs, so he would accept the consequences, even if it meant prison, or death.

I will continue my campaign I just stood by with my promise, all other politicians they pay lip service to the problem, he told reporters.

You want to try to do everything to put me in prison, please go ahead if it is my destiny to go to jail then I will go to jail, if somebody will kill me for killing the idiot drug people, so be it, I die.

Thousands of Filipinos have been killed since Duterteunleashed his ferocious campaign nearly 10 months ago. Police say they have killed only in self-defence, and the deaths of other drug dealers and users was down to vigilantes or narcotics gangs silencing potential witnesses.

Human rights groups say official accounts are implausible and accuse Duterte of supporting a campaign of systematic extrajudicial killings by police. The government denies that.

A Philippine lawyer filed a complaint at the ICC on Monday against Duterte and senior officials for mass murder. The 77-page filing said Duterte repeatedly, unchangingly and continuously committed crimes against humanity.

The complaint is the first publicly known communication to the ICC against the president and is based on the testimony of two self-confessed hit men who said they had worked underDuterte when he was a mayor, statements from rights groups and media reports, including a Reuters series on the killings.

Duterte stood by police, and said he had never given an order to commit murder, but to defend themselves if their lives were at risk.

He dismissed questions about police carrying out extrajudicial killings and appeared to blame criminals for thousands of deaths at the hands of mystery gunmen.

Of course, who else? he said.

Duterte also dismissed an editorial in the New York Times on Tuesday that said the ICC should promptly open an investigation into the drugs war. It described Duterte as a man who must be stopped.

Duterte said it was the newspaper that should be stopped.

New York Times, assholes, they are assholes, he said.

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Unfazed by ICC Complaint, Philippine's Duterte Vows to Continue War on Drugs - The Wire

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Fighting Compulsive Gambling Among Women – New York Times

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New York Times
Fighting Compulsive Gambling Among Women
New York Times
Hard numbers are difficult to find, but Keith Whyte, the executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, said that gambling addiction among older women near or in retirement appears to be increasing in scope and severity, with a ...
CCGNJ Executive Director Neva Pryor Discusses Problem Gambling on Another Thing with Larry MendteDigital Journal

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Gambling deal inches closer in Legislature – Sun Sentinel

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The state House and Senate are close to passing the first major gambling legislation since the 2010 agreement with the Seminole tribe, but a few serious gaps remain.

The House on Wednesday had agreed to allow the Seminoles to offer craps and roulette, and pari-mutuels to end racing but keep their casinos. But House members wanted only one new casino in Miami-Dade County rather than two new casinos in Miami-Dade or Broward, as proposed by the Senate. On Thursday, the Senate stuck with its position of two new casino licenses in South Florida.

State Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, R-Miami, the Houses chief negotiator, feared that any gambling legislation that includes another casino in Broward County would scuttle agreements with the Seminole tribe, which operates casinos in Hollywood and Coconut Creek.

I dont disagree with [Diaz], they dont like that. But I also dont have a deal with the Seminoles right now, said state Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, the chief negotiator on the Senate side. So Im looking to maximize revenue to the state. Thats not to say it would be something that would be part of a final deal with the Seminoles.

The two casinos would bring in $42 million to state coffers, money that would be needed as less money could be coming from the Seminole tribe if they dont get the deal they want.

dsweeney@SunSentinel.com, 954-356-4605 or Twitter @Daniel_Sweeney

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Florida lawmakers inch closer to gambling deal – Jacksonville … – Jacksonville Business Journal

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"I'm excited about the direction this is going," Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, a Miami Republican who is the House's chief negotiator, said Thursday morning.

The issue of slots in the eight counties --- Brevard, Duval, Gadsden, Hamilton, Lee, Palm Beach, St. Lucie and Washington --- remains one of the main sticking points in the negotiations, after Diaz made an offer Wednesday that included major concessions to the Senate.

In that offer, the House partially agreed to the Senate's plan to allow nearly all dog and horse tracks to do away with live racing but keep more lucrative cardrooms or slots, a process known as "decoupling." The House, however, would require voters to approve decoupling in county referendums.

The Senate's counteroffer Thursday rejected the requirement of decoupling referendums and maintained a Senate position that would also allow jai alai frontons to quit holding matches while keeping more lucrative gambling activities.

The two chambers are also inching toward agreement on the issue of controversial "designated player" card games.

A portion of a 2010 agreement, known as a compact, gave the tribe "exclusive" rights to operate banked card games, such as blackjack, at most of its casinos. That portion of the agreement expired in 2015.

But the Seminoles filed a lawsuit, and a federal judge last year ruled that the state had violated the exclusivity agreement by allowing the designated player games --- in which a player acts as the "bank" --- at pari-mutuel cardrooms. The state has appealed the decision.

Wednesday's House proposal would cap the number of designated-player tables that cardrooms could have at 25 percent of the total number of tables. Bets would be capped at $25 per hand, a significant reduction from the unlimited bets that now can add up to thousands --- or tens of thousands --- of dollars.

In the offer made Thursday morning, the Senate's chief negotiator, Bradenton Republican Bill Galvano, proposed a $100 limit on the games and a 50 percent cap on the total number of tables.

Both proposals also would lower the current 35 percent tax rate on slots at racinos in Miami-Dade and Broward counties to as low as 25 percent, if the pari-mutuels agree to a maximum of 1,500 machines --- about 100 more than any facility currently operates. The Senate plan would also allow the racinos to add up to 20 blackjack tables, with caps on maximum bets.

Pari-mutuel operators remained upbeat about the direction the negotiations were headed after Thursday's meeting.

"We're happy there's movement, happy there's progress. All we've ever asked for is a road map for how to run our business," said Isadore Havenick, whose family owns facilities in Miami and Bonita Springs.

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