The Cooler

All the news that you need to know...

A- Sun-Sentinel: How do you lose a piano?

More than 300 computers. Sixty-two musical instruments ranging from a piccolo to a piano. A pressure washer.

All purchased with your tax dollars. All misplaced, mislabeled, stolen or tossed out without the proper paperwork. All unaccounted for, from just one Broward County school — Dillard High in Fort Lauderdale.

Dillard is not alone. Audits conducted since May 2007 show that 5,887 high-end items were classified as "items not accounted for" from 218 Broward schools and district departments, according to records reviewed by the Sun Sentinel.

The original purchase price of that equipment: $13,915,193.

B- Sun-Sentinel: Obama stopping in Sunrise tomorrow.

Five months after introducing himself to South Florida Democrats at BankAtlantic Center, Barack Obama returns to the Sunrise arena for a late-campaign rally just six days before Election Day.

Wednesday's event is one more measure of the importance of Florida's 27 electoral votes — one-tenth of the number needed to win the presidency — and the up-for-grabs status of the Sunshine State.

C- Palm Beach Post: All dressed up and nowhere to go.

BOYNTON BEACH — They had the body, the flowers, even the pastor, but what they didn't have was a grave site for Iladieu Mirtil.

After a church service Saturday morning, the Straghn & Sons Funeral Home took Mr. Mirtil's body to the Boynton Memorial Park and 250 people followed, some in two black limousines. When they arrived, they couldn't find a grave or a marker. Or even a tent or chairs to note the site.

[...]

When the family realized there was no grave site on Saturday, they called the police to complain. Philisma Mirtil has since called an attorney for guidance.

"How come they took my money and they don't bury my brother?" he said.

D- Herald: The best banks in South Florida.

E- Herald: Morin.

F- CBS4: Video, the new Fontainebleau.

G- WPTV: Punches fly in a West Palm Beach courtroom. With video.

WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- It didn't take long for emotions to spill over in court as 17-year-old Shane Brown made his first appearance in court Monday morning. Brown is charged in the death of 38-year-old Kenneth Lewis. Lewis's brother, Tevares, lost his temper and charged Brown, striking him in the head before deputies were able to step in.

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