SFDB Saturday Night Turndown Service

Rickie Lee Jones, Chuck E's In Love

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Your Evening Sift

Saturday evening in South Florida. It was a modest posting day for the South Florida blogosphere, but there was some real interesting stuff out there to read. Here's your Saturday evening Sift...

A- Ipanemic takes a Miami Tour Company boat ride of celebrity houses and shares some of the images he captured with us over at Miami Beach 411.

Anyway, the tour itself is geared toward highlighting the homes of celebrities (such as Shaquille O’Neal) as well as celebrity landmarks (the sizable mansion where the movie “Scarface” was shot). While that in itself is interesting, even to someone such as me who doesn’t follow celebrities all that much, the views granted from the water of downtown Miami, the bay, Fisher Island, South Beach, the port, the islands… they are impressive, to say the least.

B- There's an interesting discussion going on over at the Justice Building Blog about whether a judge had the right to yell at the relative of a suspect in his courtroom. I highlighted the original post in last night's Sift and today JBB defends his position. Lots of good comments.

C- MAeX Artblog has some problems with some legislation that provides a skewed definition of what a journalist is.

Two versions of a bill in Congress would enshrine a journalist’s right to keep his or her sources confidential, effectively banning the government from forcing journalists to reveal whistleblowers. One version though–the House version–gives an incredibly stupid definition of journalist that excludes not only bloggers, but freelancers, independents, and nonprofit journalists as well.

D- Artlurker takes an in-depth look at "AFRICA" at Wolfgang Roth and Partners Fine Art.

Wolfgang Roth and Partners’ current show ‘AFRICA’ is a catch-all of photographs of African subjects by Native and non–Native African artists from the present back to the 1930’s and a substantial group of Benin Bronze sculptures from the 12th-19th centuries. Although the show is a curatorial mixed bag, the appearance of these antique bronze works from the African Kingdom of Benin in Miami is an opportunity to catch something rare. In the 15 years this observer has lived in Miami there have been no exhibitions of African Art comparable to this one and since the local museums are widely focused on Contemporary Art, there is little likelihood that there will be another one anytime soon.

E- Random Pixels picks up on a little omission made by the Miami Herald today.

F- Babalu compares President Obama to a dictator because he advises lobbyists and special interests that he's ready to stand up for the American people. For some reason, this irritates babalu contributor Ziva Sahl and she issues this, what some might call, ominous call to action.

It's going to take more than a tea party to stop this one.

"This one," of course, being the President of the United States of America.

Jeez, makes ya wonder what Ms. Sahl has in mind when she equivocates her President to a dictator, knowing what we do about what the good folks at Babalu think of dictators and how to "stop them."

Fascinating stuff.




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The Music Of The Inauguration

If you missed it, here it is, one of the most memorable moments of the recent Inauguration Ceremony.



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But Is It Still News After 60 Days?

I like the Miami Herald. I really do. I'm not one of those people circling its weakened carcass like a vulture waiting for it to die. I truly believe it serves an important and vital role in this community and, after viewing this video on the demise of the Rocky Mountain News, I'm more sure of that than I ever have been before.

But this Herald story defines what part of the problem is with newspapers today. Yesterday, the Herald reported that Miami radio station 93.9's format had changed from smooth jazz to "more contemporary programming." Nothing wrong with that story except that it comes a full 2 months after the change.

In fact, I posted on the transition on December 27th, a couple of days after it happened. That post continues to hit regularly in Google searches and has drawn 48 comments to date. The reason why it's so popular is because there has been little to no mainstream media coverage of this format change up until now. Blogs have been the only place to really find out what happened to a major radio station in Miami. That, folks, is crazy.

The Herald story does include interviews and background and historical information and is a comprehensive assessment of what happened to WLVE over the years, but, really, it shouldn't take 2 months to get that story out to the community, in my opinion.

I hate to see what's happening to the newspaper industry these days. Lots of good, talented people are losing their jobs because of what are described as economic problems. But the people who are managing these papers have to sit back and take an honest and critical look at the way they deliver the news...the content, the quality and the timeliness...and decide whether that isn't contributing to their lackadaisical performance, as well.

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The Cooler

Here's your news of the day. Comment as necessary.

A- Herald: I think it's called a "shakedown," isn't it?

Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones, the likely swing vote on the Florida Marlins stadium deal in Miami, is playing hardball -- demanding that her Overtown district receive half-a-billion dollars worth of projects and a youth academy to ensure her vote.

''Overtown must get its fair share,'' she said in a statement released Friday, a week before Miami commissioners decide whether to go forward with the long-debated stadium in Little Havana.

B- Herald: Tough love?

A Miami child-welfare judge drew the ire of his chief and local children's advocates when he told a 15-year-old runaway foster child she would end up a ''toothless, dead crack whore'' if she didn't mend her ways.

Exasperated that the girl was refusing to return to a home where she said her caregiver hit and cursed at her, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Spencer Eig lectured the sobbing teen about making bad choices during a hearing Tuesday.

''You're throwing your life away,'' Eig told the girl. ``You could end up on the street toothless. You've seen these toothless hags on the street? You know how they get there? They blow their opportunities in life when they're 15. They run away. They end up . . . People turn them into whores.''

''Toothless, dead crack whore. Dead at age 19? Is that the destiny you're looking for?'' he added.

[...]

In a statement released to The Miami Herald by the judiciary's spokeswoman, Eunice Sigler, Eig expressed regret at the language he used to scold the teen.

''The child in this case had been running away,'' Sigler wrote in a short statement. ``Judge Eig regrets that the language he used was strong, but it was his intention to try to warn the child about the dangers of life on the street, and what people could do to her. His intention was to help, not harm.''

C- Herald: They write letters.

Preference for Palin

As a life-long Republican, I can say with complete certainty that the one undisputed outcome of Gov. Bobby Jindal's televised response to the president's address to Congress was the great desire to see Gov. Sarah Palin return as a nominee of our party.

JOHNATHAN ROSE, Miami Shores

D- Sun-Sentinel: Better have deep pockets if you plan on running reds in Pembroke Pines.

Pembroke Pines - Starting Sunday, Pembroke Pines police will start issuing $125 tickets to anyone caught on camera blowing through a red light, ending a year-long pilot program that led to 1,833 warning citations being mailed out, an agency spokesman said Thursday. Officials also plan to add red-light cameras to five more intersections by April, in an effort to crack down on unsafe motorists in the city.

As a Pines resident who regularly travels Pines Boulevard where a number of these cameras are set up, you have to wonder whether the traffic engineers who [don't] synchronize lights in the city are really that incompetent or simply a part of the city's revenue generating plan.

E- Sun-Sentinel: And in Juno Beach, watch out for a parked van if you're speeding.

JUNO BEACH - Next time you see a red, blue and white van with an antenna parked on the roadside, check your speedometer.

Town police are using the unmanned van to catch drivers traveling over the speed limit. Violators for the next three weeks will receive a warning.

Starting March 23, they will receive a notice of infraction with a $125 penalty. Second infractions will be $250.

The infraction is a civil penalty and will not go on a driver's record. The notice of infraction will be sent to the owner of the vehicle. Drivers can file an appeal with the town.

[...]

The van uses two lasers to measure the speed of passing vehicles. When the lasers determine a vehicle is moving above the speed limit, two cameras snap photos, one of the vehicle and the other of its rear license plate.

F- CBS4: Great column on the newspaper industry and an old friend with the Rocky Mountain News.

This town needs a strong and healthy Miami Herald.

This industry is going through the greatest upheaval in its history. And no one knows how it will look five years from now. Will newspapers survive? I still say they will – I just don't say it with the same conviction I did six months ago.

The need for people to go out and gather information will remain. How that information is presented, how it is packaged, how it is displayed – that is what will change. Will it be solely online? If it is then at some point people are going to have to start paying for access to those sites because the work we do has value and it can't be done for free.

G- WPLG: Speed racers.

A Cessna airplane circled over Kendall Drive.

Meanwhile, motorcycle riders, roaring to and from the local Fuddrucker's restaurant for a Thursday night rally, had no idea they were being watched.

A man's voice boomed from police radios.

"That's the pilot. He's seen him farther north, coming this way," a trooper told Local 10's Janine Stanwood.

From the air, a sport bike was seen zooming down the Palmetto at 92 mph.

The plan: An FHP aviation unit clocks speeding motorcycle riders from the sky. The trooper in the plane alerts the troopers at the busway with a description and a location of the bike.

Troopers stopped southbound traffic on U.S. 1 and picked out the speeding bike.

[...]

But there was little sympathy Thursday night as FHP gave out 31 tickets and arrested a 19-year-old driver who was clocked at 148 mph on his sport bike. He wasn't even supposed to be driving; troopers said his license was suspended.

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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

Kind of quiet out there in the SoFla blogosphere last night. Here's what I was able to dig up for your morning Sift...

A- New photos, new videos are up at Miami Fever.

B- Justice Building Blog links to and discusses a CBS4 video showing a Miami-Dade County judge admonishing the relatives of a suspect arrested for dealing drugs.

In well over twenty years of practice in the REGJB we have never seen a Judge lose his temper to a distraught mother this way.

Judge Cueto needs to be removed from criminal court. He cannot control his feelings of prejudice against those charged with selling cocaine.

C- Republicans who have a problem with their tax monies being included in Obama's stimulus package need to "suck it up," according to Bark Bark Woof Woof.

As a Quaker, I didn't want to pay taxes to support the war in Iraq, and as a gay man, I resent supporting the policy of Don't Ask/Don't Tell in the military with my queer dollars. As a supporter of a woman's right to choose, I didn't want my tax dollars to go to the Bush administration's gag orders about reproductive choice as a qualification for providing health care to women in Africa, nor did I enjoy paying my taxes for any of the other stuff you so heartily endorsed during the Bush years.

But the 1040 form doesn't come with a check boxes.

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Your Evening Sift

Ahhh, the end of a work week. Sit back, grab a beer and dive into your relaxing evening Sift.

A- Looks like Random Pixels has been having some discussions with the Herald about the creation of a South Florida blogroll at that paper.

B- Mayor Manny declares March to be Bicycle Action Month and explains his commitment to making Miami more bike friendly.

Today, the City has a Bicycle Coordinator, an internationally acclaimed event - the monthly Bike Miami Days, and a number of bicycle facility projects in the works. I am proud of the strides we have made to promote bicycling here in the City of Miami, but there is still a lot that we can do to help make this city more bicycle friendly.

C- Check Please! South Florida is entering its second season and uVu Blog has a video preview.

D- Miami For Change takes a look at the Facebook pages of several Miami politicians, but...no links? What's up with that?

Mayor Manny has one with 2 friends (sorry)

Tommy R has one with 140 fans

Trooper Joe has one with 242 fans

E- Eye on Miami drifts away from politics for a minute and talks food.

Here is a hot food tip you haven't read anywhere else: the best tortillas in South Florida can be had, one day a week at the Farmers' Market in Coral Gables during the winter months. But only on Saturday. And only lechon. (The Farmers' Market, directly outside City Hall on Lejeune Road and Miracle Mile, closes at 1PM.)

It's a small stand with an awning, just below the City Hall steps.

F- Swampstyle has some comments on the works of Mali photographer Malick Sibide that are currently being exhibited at Wolfgang Roth Gallery in the Design District.

G- Local Motion Miami shares the top 5 things she hates about Miami this week.

5. Public Transportation
It's simply unreliable. The last time I tried riding the Metrorail, during a non-rush hour time slot, I was stuck waiting for the train for 35 minutes. According to the Metrorail's Web site, I should have only waited 15 minutes.

Also, the smell of urine is all too familiar when you use the Metromover.

4. Miami Nightlife
Unemployment in this country is the highest in years and, yet somehow, new clubs and restaurants keep popping up. It's great to have new venues. It's just a shame that I can't afford to go to any of them and only 3% of Miami's population can afford to go.

I'm getting bored of my usual haunts. Variety, after all, is the spice of life. It's just too bad that it gives you a two hundred dollar bill at the end of the night.

H- South Florida Lawyers opines on the "technicality" in the pending stadium deal that would divest taxpayers of their share of the Florida Marlins.

I- Thursday night's appearance of the New York Philharmonic at the Arsht Center was not only a chance to see a great performance but it was also the last time to see music director Lorin Maazel before he resigns, according to South Florida Classical Review.

Top to bottom, the orchestra remains an instrument of tensile, gleaming brilliance and turn-on-a-dime corporate virtuosity, from concertmaster Glenn Dicterow’s seamless solos to the personality-plus woodwinds, clarion trumpets, and dauntingly powerful trombones. When you walk out of a concert marveling at the quality of the viola section, you know you’re hearing a world-class orchestra.

J- Coconut Grove Grapevine wonders what happened to the restoration of several historical houses on Charles Street in the Grove.

Charles Avenue, one of the oldest streets in the Grove, is where many of the original Bahamians settled in the 1800s. This street and the area surrounding it could easily be turned into a tourist destination, yet it is neglected. It is easily accessable especially from Main Highway.

This particular house on Charles, near Main Highway, was supposed to have been restored by the Coconut Grove Collaborative. They were given at least $500,000 by the city, yet it just sits here boarded up. Why? Where did the money go? Apparently they spent it on white paint and nothing else. That is some expensive paint.

K- How did Louisiana Republican Bobby Jindal get his name? Reidblog has the answers.

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Friday Flashback

Elvis Costello, Pump It Up

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Stop The Presses [UPDATED X2]

Well, you may have heard by now that the Rocky Mountain News, a major daily newspaper in Colorado, printed its last paper today. Bark Bark Woof Woof shares his thoughts and Brickell Life reflects on the newspaper industry as a whole, although he gets the Denver Post and the RMN a little confused. From BL...

Many newspapers are at the crossroads of their existence right now and staring over the cliff's edge at their demise. It's sad in a sense, but a sign of the times. There is something nostalgic about holding the newspaper in your hands and reading it, but I must be honest and say that I have not had newspaper delivered to me in 7 years. I get my news online like most people now, because unfortunately by the time you read it in the morning edition, its been reported upon at length. That's the inherent problem with print media.

On a related note, word is that the Miami SunPost has declared bankruptcy. Nothing at all that I can find confirming this but that's what I hear.

Seems like a good time for this...


Click on image for link


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Brickell Life follows up his post with a powerful video of the lives that are going to be impacted without the Rocky Mountain News.

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Looks like that rumor with the SunPost might be true.


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Word

Like I mentioned in this morning's Sift post, I am at home with a cold today so you're going to see a few extra posts as I rest and take it easy. Like this one from Hullabaloo, which simply and succinctly enunciates why Americans need the Democratic Party...

All day I see Republicans on television, filled with sanctimony and phony concern, keening about the deficit and reckless spending and fiscal responsibility. Today, they’ve even resurrected the “tax and spend” trope. These are the same Republicans who gave away the budget surplus to to their wealthy friends and who then went on to destroy the financial system. The same people who spent an estimated three trillion dollars on a war based on lies that didn’t need to be fought. Now they are shamelessly publicly lecturing the new president on “responsibility” and obstructing everything they know is necessary for a recovery, but it sounds hollow and strange in current circumstances.(See: Jindal, Bobby)

They will not change. They will wait it out, hoping for failure, trying to figure out some new “branding” and marketing” for their stale, aristocratic philosophy. They will try to keep the Democrats from enacting the kind of programs that will permanently undermine wealthy interests while trying to resurrect their own ideology so that it’s ready for them to ride it to victory once the liberals have cleaned up the mess. It’s a tightrope, but they’ve walked it before, and been successful.

In fact, it’s the way the pendulum swings. And that’s why it’s important that liberals protect the safety net programs and initiate those that are overdue at times like this. They need them to be there in the future when the aristocrats get greedy and screw things up for everyone as they always do. Roosevelt enacted unemployment insurance, welfare for women with children and social security during the depression. Johnson enacted poverty programs like Head Start that are still feeding little poor kids today during this economic crisis. Without all those things, this country would be in much worse shape today after the greedheads drove us off a cliff. Again. One of the functions of the safety net is to give our society a cushion for the times when wealthy criminals use their outsized power and influence to loot the treasury and cause a cascading effect of misery to come down on average peoples’ heads.

It would be pretty to think they will never do it again. But they will. And if they truly believe their own cant about self-interest, they should be hoping that the Democrats pass health care (which is a good for business as it is for individuals), tackle global warming and do all these things that Meteor Blades recommends. Conservatism is a luxury that can only be afforded by a thriving country. It needs a healthy organism to feed on. And they almost killed it this time.

They need to let the country recover and recuperate but they can’t admit that, make amends or pay the price for their perfidy. They are Randian bullshit addicts and they haven’t hit bottom yet.

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South Florida Cartoons

Jim Morin, Miami Herald

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The Sun-Sentinel Embraces South Florida Blogging [UPDATED]

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel has apparently started a feature called the "Blog of the Day" in which they highlight a local South Florida blog on the front page of their online edition. Naturally, I think this is an excellent idea. What a better way of getting mainstream media readers introduced to blogging.

Anyway, the Sun-Sentinel introduces the Blog of the Day by noting yours truly...

Our first blog is a blog that sifts through blogs based in South Florida.

You then click a "Read more" that takes you off the front page where the following awaits you...

The South Florida Daily Blog

This blog is billed as a daily review and discussion of the South Florida blogs. SFDB generally goes through and reviews the blogs twice a day and highlights those posts that stand out. He goes through the main stream medias too. He has a strong blog roll, a flickr account, favorite comment, a quote, a reading list and more. That is why SFDB is the very first editor's pick for "Blogs to read in South Florida". Check it out.

All of it is heavily linked and by the looks of my StatCounter this morning, very effective in directing traffic over to the highlighted blog.

You can also submit your blog's name and URL to the Sun-Sentinel in an effort to create South Florida's "Ultimate Blogroll."

South Florida bloggers,

SunSentinel.com is assembling South Florida's best bloggers and we invite you to join.

Fill out the form below to become a member of South Florida's growing blogging community.

See what other bloggers are saying and drive new traffic to your blog. Discuss the hottest topics with other bloggers and local writers.

Use the comment field to recommend other bloggers or offer your suggestions.

Thanks, and we'll see you online.

I like this new feature, as should every South Florida blogger. It's good to see the Sun-Sentinel recognizing blogging as a partner in information gathering and dissemination rather than a competitor or something not worthy of their attention. Hello, Miami Herald?

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In the comments, Sun-Sentinel employee Seth links to their Chicago Tribune counterparts and shows us what they're doing with blogs in the Windy City. Impressive.


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The Cooler

Lots and lots of good material in today's SoFla mainstream media. Here you go!

A- Herald: For those who think things aren't all that bad.

The prospects were slim, the wait was long, the jobs not that alluring -- at least not to someone with their sights set on something more lucrative than working as a janitor or Avon lady.

Still, the lure of steady cash was enough to attract more than 5,000 people, some clutching briefcases and clad in dark business suits -- to a dimly lit Davie banquet hall ballroom Thursday morning in pursuit of what nowadays seems to be a luxury: a job.

From recent college graduates to out-of-work business executives, thousands waited in a line that snaked in and around the Signature Grand, 6900 State Road 84, for a career fair run by Diversity Jobs USA.

B- Herald: Myriam Marquez puts the blame exactly where it should be.

Blame the hedge fund managers. The subprime mortgages. Mismanagement at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac. Detroit automakers' stubborn refusal to build more energy-saving vehicles.

Blame the regulatory apathy of the Bush years. The bookkeeping tricks. (War? What war? Not in W.'s deficit numbers.) The unregulated credit default swaps. The blind devotion to Wall Street without a thought for Main Street.

Most of all, blame unadulterated greed.

Just don't blame the working poor and middle-class folks who bought into the American dream that if you work hard, you can one day own your little castle. Don't play class warfare after a decade of corporate welfare.

[...]

And here's the kicker: The Bush administration weakened CRA [Community Reinvestment Act] enforcement in 2005, and that's when the ''creative'' adjustable-rate mortgages shot up among banks and thrifts. Even then, they make up only about 20 percent of the subprime explosion, according to congressional testimony.

C- Herald: Miami has its own Roach Motel.

A coating of dust covers the chandelier in the lobby. The sofa cushions are tearing, and guests say bedbugs are lurking in the sheets.

It's Miami's Continental Bayside Hotel, the second-dirtiest in the country, according to a travel website.

[...]

''It is the cheapest place to stay in the Port of Miami area. That is the only reason we stayed there. We were cruising the next day,'' Andrea4 from Toronto posted on Feb. 10. ``I had bedbug bites all over me! I also had what I think was a huge spider bite on my stomach. One other woman traveling with the group slept in her clothes with her running shoes on.''

D- Herald: So people who don't think would naturally disagree with them. That explains a lot.

The Brookings Institution think-tank in Washington, D.C., assembled a group of 19 academics, diplomats and ''thinkers'' to chart out a road map for Obama to take action on Cuba. The panel -- led by a former top U.S. diplomat in Havana -- argues that Washington's hostile rhetoric has failed to make changes in Cuba and needs to stop.

''Let's forget the hostile regime-change strategy and begin a policy of critical engagement,'' said Vicki Huddleston, the former head of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana who co-chaired the report. ``This means no shouting across the street at each other.''

E- Herald: Dumb criminals, Miami-style.

Carrying a ''Fisher Island Chief of Police'' badge and claiming he was a U.S. air marshal, Mark Rimkufski persuaded Miami airline employees to allow him onto a flight after the gate had closed, police said. The ruse landed him in jail, Miami-Dade police said, when he was confronted by genuine air marshals on the plane.

[...]

Wednesday night, Rimkufski was rushing to Miami International Airport to catch American Airlines Flight 299, bound for Los Angeles. But the gate had closed and the plane was departing.

He flashed his Fisher Island badge to employees at the ticket counter, announcing he was an air marshal. Employees stopped the plane and allowed him to board.

But real air marshals inspected his badge and booted him from the plane. Why they did not detain him was unclear, but the plane went on its way.

Then, Rimkufski went to the Admiral's Club bar and restaurant and loudly complained about not being allowed onto the flight, police said. Miami-Dade airport police came and arrested him.

F- Herald: Editorial, lift restrictions on travel to Cuba.

Instead, we recommend as a first step that President Barack Obama fulfill the promise he made in an Other Views column published in The Miami Herald on Aug. 21, 2007: ``I will grant Cuban Americans unrestricted rights to visit family and send remittances to the island.''

The existing restrictions do little to advance the cause of freedom for Cuba, but they place an unfair burden on Cuban Americans who want to see their friends and families and ease their hardship. From both a humanitarian and strategic viewpoint, they have little justification.

Mr. Obama has other things on his mind, of course, but we suggest he act soon, before he attends the summit of Western Hemisphere heads of government in Trinidad in April. Differences with our neighbors in Latin America over U.S. policy toward Cuba have long been an irritant, and Mr. Obama can send a signal that he is moving to meet some of the objections by carrying out his promise to ease travel and remittance limitations.

G- Palm Beach Post: Wow.

Folks around here have been raving about Lion Country Safari's drive-through view of rhinos, giraffes and the like, but now a national organization is applauding too, rating the park among the top three zoos in the country.

"Lion Country Safari near West Palm Beach, Florida is the nation's original open-road animal attraction, and arguably it's still the best," touts USA Travel Guide.

The only zoos to trump the local park? The San Diego Zoo in California and the Columbus Zoo in Ohio.

H- NBC6: Hello, mah? Yeah, I'm in the car and the cops are chasing me. Well, kinda.

MIAMI -- A South Florida woman is charged with attempted murder after a Miami-Dade police officer was nearly dragged to death, police said.

Investigators said 18-year-old Angelina Brewton drove to pick up a friend who was involved in a car accident Wednesday near Northwest 127th Street and 22nd Avenue.

When she tried to drive-off, authorities said an officer tried to stop them but got caught inside the passenger window and was dragged for nearly eight blocks. He suffered cuts and bruises.

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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

It's Friday and I would be all about the celebrating the arrival of the weekend but wouldn't you know, Mr. Annoying Cold has decided to pay a visit and I am down for the count. Actually, it's not that bad, but I am the first person to scold anyone who dares venture into our office with a sniffle, sneeze or cough, so I'm staying home today to set an example for everyone out there who insists on spreading their germs among co-workers. Don't do it!

And with that, here's your Nyquil-enhanced morning Sift...

A- Shorter Carlos Miller...

The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office should be more selective in what cases they prosecute especially those that involve me.

B- Someone stole Jen K's black Pake track bike the other night, according to Miami Bike Scene, but I think we can eliminate Superman from the list of suspects.

Her friend's beach cruiser was also stolen, both their Kryptonite U-Locks were cut by the thieves.

C- Man or Maniac? has a lot to say about Republican Rising Star Bobby Jindal and his rubber stamp of traditional conservative ideology.

D- Random Pixels comments on babalu's Val Prieto soliciting his readers for "haircut money."

I admire Val's desire to rid Cuba of Fidel, but I doubt that donating to Babalublog is going to do much to hasten his demise.

In Val's world it's OK to donate money so he can get a haircut but just don't send any of that money to Cuba or you'll be branded as a loser!

E- Miamism posts a nice night photo of the pool at the Delano.

F- Reidblog has some thoughts on the wingnuttery of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that is being held this week.

So CPAC was down to jokes about Obama not being a citizen, jokes from The Moustache about blowing up Chicago, and oh, yeah, the increasingly lonely intellectual, Newt Gingrich. Maybe they could get Michael Steele to come down and perform some hip-hop???

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Your Evening Sift

Get comfortable because you folks were busy today. Here's your very voluminous and information packed, night-before-Friday evening Sift..

A- Blast Off! notes that yet another Florida Republican is caught up in a scandal.

Yet another corrupt Republican in Florida government?! Say it ain't so!

Well, it is so ... at least according to an ethics complaint filed yesterday against Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, who (allegedly) has been ringing up quite the tab for trips between Tallahassee and his Fort Myers home.

B- The South Beach Bum shows us that they're stocked up and ready to go for the Winter Party 2009.

C- Jaded in Paradise's popular Facebook page has her wondering if men are "boomerangs?"

Are ex-boyfriends merely boomerangs? You hurl them away and one day they come back? I’m beginning to see the pattern since every dude I’ve danced the dance with has gotten in touch with me one way or another.

D- I Shot The Chef feeds the blog with Zalettini cookies.

They are not overly sweet, but have a fantastic clean buttery flavor and a lovely crunch. Perfect paired with a cup of coffee. I used dried cranberries instead of the raisins called for in the recipe. Great choice, not just for flavor, but gorgeous red color.

E- South Florida Theatre Scene has their regular wrap-up for the week.

F- Random Pixels talked to Channel 10's Michael Putney today about his column in the Herald.

Putney told me by phone today that he decided to write the column after interviewing the governor last week. "It dawned on me that even though I've known Crist for 20 years, I really don't know him," said Putney.

G- It's a foreclosure bonanza in Miami-Dade County, according to Eye on Miami.

Total foreclosure filings for 2008 were 56,656. That is more than double the 2007 rate of 26,691. In one month, January 2009, the rate was almost double that of January 2008's total of 3,544.

H- South Florida Lawyers links to an interesting Village Voice profile of attorney Alberto Mora, a Miami Cuban-American, now living in the DC suburbs, and a Republican who voted for Obama because he found Bush's inattention to human rights laws "offensive."

I- Artlurker has the story of one Miami resident who is getting hassled for the art that he has laying around his yard.

Clifton Childree is an artist whose work always seems to be at odds with the law. We all remember last summer when police officers burst in and shot a mannequin at Childree’s “Dream-Cum-Tru” installation at Locust Projects. Now it seems the City of Miami Code Enforcement Department is ordering Clifton to tear down an art installation in his own backyard.

J- If you rent an apartment or condo in South Beach, it may well be that you'll get some new friends out of the deal, according to this fun post by Miami City Diggs.

People Ô inventor and Brickell Condo Owner, Joe Schmo said, “ In my own condo, I am currently testing out People Ô on the balcony. I figure you can have them when you want them and close the sliding glass door when you don’t. My only concern is during hurricane season, I am not sure where to put them?”

K- Coconut Grove Grapevine has a cool post up about a little house in the Grove called The Weathered Edge.

Right next to the cemetery on Charles is The Weathered Edge, a small cottage that is at this point totally dilapidated. At one time it was an artist's house at 3036 Allamanda, off of Shipping. About 10 years ago, it was moved to this location next to the cemetery in Village West at Douglas and Charles. It has been sitting and rotting since.

L- Generation Miami goes after the Diaz-Balarts and says they are now "irrelevant."

There is no clearer example of the Diaz-Balarts’ impotence than their inability to influence yesterday’s 245-178 House vote in favor of a huge budget bill which included, among other things, a provision that disables the US government from enforcing the travel ban to Cuba – this is their one-hit wonder issue that really never was a hit. You may remember that Lincoln Diaz-Balart spent days pompously claiming to the South Florida media he had the power and votes in Congress to shoot the measure down. But when it came time to vote, both Lincoln and Mario’s political erectile dysfunction kicked in and left them unable to do anything. As noted before, the bill passed with a wide margin.

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South Florida Cartoons

Chan Lowe, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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SFDB Question Of The Day

Every South Floridian has their pet peeve driving complaint.

If you had one driving bad habit that you could eliminate on South Florida roads, what would it be?

Mine would be the people who don't use the left lane for passing but feel it's just another lane for driving no matter how fast they're going. Getting rid of these people would make my life a whole lot easier.


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The Cooler

Here's some of the highlights of this morning's stories in the SoFla mainstream media.

A- Herald: The malling of Lincoln Road.

Books & Books, whose venerable and pace-setting store on Miami Beach's Lincoln Road recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, could not compete with $250 jeans.

So it had to go, off the mall to a patio in the back, the latest victim of skyrocketing rents and changing retail economics on Lincoln Road. In its former prominent perch on the pedestrian mall: a Diesel jeans store.

But the bookstore, a cultural lodestar on South Beach that will mark its formal reopening Thursday evening, is not gone -- just tucked away.

[...]

''It's becoming just another mall,'' said Fritz's co-owner Mitch Wentworth, who found a larger store on Washington for much less than he would have had to pay to stay on Lincoln Road. Wentworth said he does not blame his landlord, who needed to nab a national retailer to secure financing for building improvements.

So while locally owned restaurants dominate the dining scene on the mall, surviving local retailers -- such as Browne's & Co. -- are fewer and farther between.

They largely subsist on older, less-costly leases, real estate specialists say. But it's only a matter of time before those leases are up, and then they, too, will likely have to move, said developer Michael Comras, a Lincoln Road property owner.

B- Herald: We're #1!

A day after President Barack Obama told the nation that the ''crushing cost of healthcare'' must be brought under control, a study released Wednesday reports that Miami is the most expensive place for healthcare in the country, with its costs rising much faster than the national average over a 15-year period.

[...]

The difference was in certain discretionary services, ''such as referral to a subspecialist for typical gastroesophageal reflux or stable agina, or . . . hospital admission for an 85-year-old patient with an exacerbation of end-stage congestive heart failure.'' High-cost areas were three times as likely as low-cost areas to admit such heart patients directly to intensive care units.

Some leading South Florida doctors maintain high costs are driven by the large number of malpractice lawsuits, which increase liability insurance prices and cause many doctors to go without coverage.

C- Herald: More delays?

Two Miami activists filed a civil lawsuit Wednesday in a last-minute bid to stop a new baseball stadium from rising in Little Havana.

The suit comes a week before Miami commissioners are to vote on a handful of contracts that, if approved along with county votes a week later, would bring the Florida Marlins their long-sought stadium.

The suit, filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court by Elvis Cruz and Grace Solares, contends that a preliminary Baseball Stadium Agreement passed a year ago should be declared void because meetings leading up to the vote were not held publicly.

The duo has asked a judge to stop the scheduled stadium votes if the minutes of meetings held between last year's vote and now are not made public. Florida has stringent Sunshine Laws that forbid elected officials from meeting privately.

D- Herald: They write letters.

I almost fell out of my chair listening to the Republicans' response to President Obama's speech. Who are they kidding by opposing wasteful spending? After eight years of out-of-control spending and no fiscal responsibility, they are now conservative?

The party of family values and God really is selfish and should work for ''country first'' instead of trying to butcher the president's inspiring goals.

JORGE M. BLET, Coral Gables

E- Palm Beach Post: More Crowder, please.

Less than a week ago, linebacker Channing Crowder sounded like he didn't think he'd back with the Miami Dolphins next season.

"It's their loss," Crowder concluded for reporters during a charity softball game last weekend.

But on Wednesday, Crowder's frustration turned into elation when the team decided to re-sign him to a mulityear deal, agent Joel Segal told The Post.

F- WPBT: A madhouse, for sure.

DAVIE, FL -- Because of the rotten economy and tight job market, organizers of a job fair taking place in Davie today won't be surprised by an applicant turnout in the thousands.

The South Florida Diversity Job Expo takes place 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Thursday, Feb. 26) at the Signature Grand, 6900 State Road 84.

"We had a little over 3,000 turn out at our job fair there in June of 2008 when the economy wasn't this bad," said event co-producer Nicole Carter.

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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

We're going to take advantage of a lull in South Florida blogging to add another blog to the SFDB blogroll.

The South Florida Punch: If your thing is wine then The South Florida Punch is custom made for you. From their "About" section...

Florida has earned the title as the U.S. state with the second highest sales in wine. Yet, Florida is not known for wine, and vineyards certainly aren’t prevalent, due to the challenging climate.

The South Florida Punch brings together those locals who are responsible for driving the state’s wine sales. The tone is non-pompous and fun, but the information still useful.

The Punch includes local wine events, reviews of wines and local bar reviews, how-tos, food pairing wisdom, recipes, and more. Learn more about budget-friendly recommendations, and local wine-related events throughout South Florida.

This Wordpress blog has been posting since October of 2008 and only posts periodically. From the looks of their limited archive, we shouldn't expect more than a few posts a month.

But the SFDB blogroll needs a wine blog so you'll be able to find The South Florida Punch in the South Florida Foodies blogroll.

On to your very brief Day Before Friday morning Sift...

A- Ipanemic tells us a little about the upcoming Life Is Art, Miami Featured Artist Fair and informs us that he will be one of the featured artists.

B- Miami on the Cheap says that the Broward Center for the Performing Arts is offering a two-for-one ticket special for tomorrow night's performance of the Teresa Nieto Dance Company.

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Your Evening Sift

I took the day off (hence the couple extra posts) and had a great time enjoying the perfect weather we experienced in SoFla today. Nothing like a Hump Day off to make the week go a little faster. And with that, enjoy your midweek evening Sift...

A- Discourse presents a nice, easy to understand, analysis of last night's speech by President Obama and the Republican response.

The President’s speech was a return to the virtues that served him so well on the campaign trail. It was meaty. It inspired. It contained the outlines – vague outlines, but outlines nonetheless discernible – of a complex program whose goals and motives were explained to an attentive public in sentences with a reading level well in excess of junior high school. There was much to quibble with – the assertion that the US invented the car, the equally dubious claim that Social Security has problems in any way comparable to the other crises addressed to name but two – but there was even more to look forward to.

Contrast the GOP’s spokesperson, so-called rising star Gov. Bobby Jindal. He spoke in sentences that clocked in at a grade-school level, the speed of delivery was lugubrious, or perhaps aimed at the part of the audience that processes the occasional polysyllable rather slowly. And the ideas, to the extent there were any (spend less money, government is bad) were rather simplistic too. He insulted our intelligence, or rather, assumed we didn’t have any to insult. The contrast to Obama was stark, and unflattering.

Brickell Life also has some comments on the Republican response, as does Reidblog and Flablog.

B- Red light cameras are on their way to Miami Beach, according to Random Pixels, who tells us how the whole thing works.

A source tells Random Pixels that Miami Beach officials are moving forward with plans to install ten red light cameras at intersections throughout the 7.1 square mile city.

C- South Beach USA says there is a new club on Washington Avenue, called Skyline, that is outfitted like a commercial airliner. Pictures included.

A theme bar and nightclub, Skyline utilizes salvaged pieces from a commercial jumbo jet to recreate the heyday of air travel when sexy stewardesses and burly fly guys ruled the friendly skies. Cocktail waitresses will not insist you call them flight attendants as they shimmy around in abbreviated Air Wear. The DJ booth is fashioned after a mod cockpit and seating resembles the modular loungers posh passengers enjoy en route.

D- Transit Miami lists a bunch of transit items that are on the agenda for the Miami-Dade Commission Meeting on March 3rd.

E- 305 bicycles Shark Valley and posts a number of photos.

If you are into biking, it's totally worth going. The path is long enough that you can coast and absorb the scenery around you, but it's also perfect for those moments when you hunch over the handlebars, throw it into gear and tear down the path with the wind in your face. Just don't forget sunscreen and water.

F- Bark Bark Woof Woof has an interesting post up about the Amphicar.

G- Generation Miami, and please correct me if I get the terminology wrong, tears Miami-Dade Republican Chairman David Rivera a new a-hole for, well, acting like a Cuban-American hardliner from Miami.

“These pro-Castro apologists”were the disparaging words used yesterday by Miami Dade Republican Chairman, and Florida Senate hopeful, David Rivera, to describe a couple of peaceful Cuban-American demonstrators that gathered outside a DC restaurant, where he was holding a fundraiser, to protest his support of restrictions on family visits to Cuba.

The demonstrators Rivera referred to as communists were Manuel Hidalgo, the older brother of my good friend and fellow Harvardian, Patrick Hidalgo, and a woman that for the purpose of this blog we’ll just call ‘Maria.’. Manuel and Maria may be many things, the least of which is sympathizers of the Castro regime.

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Flushing Their Hopes In 2012

How fitting that a guy equipped with a toilet plunger has come to personify today's Republican Party.



Actual ad, via Tbogg.

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On Winners And Losers

Today, babalu's Val Prieto essentially reduces the discussion of travel to Cuba to "winners" and "losers" and states that the people who want the Cuban travel restrictions dropped are "winners" because they are getting pretty much what they want in legislation that is pending before Congress.



In the black and white way that hardliners like to view things, I guess that Prieto is right. Indeed, if this legislation passes, in Prieto's mind at least, it would extend what has been a 50-year losing streak for hardliners in their efforts to effect change in Cuba.

But let me submit to you that when this legislation passes, the Castro brothers, at least one of them, will wake up and have their bacon and egg breakfast just like they've been having for the last 5 decades. Nothing changes for them.

But in Pilón, a dying Cuban man will wake up on possibly his last day on Earth and will be able to share a much more meager breakfast with his grandson who just arrived from Miami earlier that day.

And, that, I contend, has to transcend any discussion of who are the "winners" and who are the "losers."

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SFDB Random Thought of the Day

Yes, evidence strongly suggests that the Republican Party needs to continue to oppose the Stimulus Plan and everything else that President Obama and the rest of America deems fit at this crucial point in our Nation's history.



-t-shirts and bumper stickers available at Jesus General

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The Cooler

Not too much for you this morning in the news. Here's what I could rustle up for your review.

A- Herald: Miami banker's good deeds earn him a place in the President's speech.

WASHINGTON -- Leonard Abess Jr., the Miami banker who quietly gave $60 million of his own money to his loyal staff, was hailed Tuesday night by President Barack Obama as a symbol of hope in uncertain times.

B- Herald: Travel to Cuba is about to get easier. [Make sure you take the online poll.]

WASHINGTON -- The 1,128-page budget bill that will begin to work its way through Congress this week contains key paragraphs that alter the shape of U.S.-Cuba policy and ease Cuba family travel restrictions by not funding enforcement.

[...]

The 2009 budget bill would:

• Prevent the U.S. government from spending any of its budget enforcing 2004 rules that keep Cuban Americans from visiting their homeland more than once every three years.

• Create a general travel license for Americans who sell food and medical supplies to Cuba.

• Let Cuba pay for the American produce it buys when the products arrive in Havana. Current law forces Cuba to pay up front before products leave U.S. ports.

• Require the U.S. Treasury Department to issue a report showing how much of its staff and funding is spent on enforcing the ban on travel to Cuba.

C- Sun-Sentinel: Sorta like a snow day every week.

Add four-day school weeks for high school students to the list of options the Broward County School Board is weighing to save money.

During a Tuesday workshop, board members directed Schools Superintendent James Notter to study the idea to prepare for up to $160 million in possible budget cuts from the state for the 2009-2010 school year.

[...]

Marc Scanlon said his daughter, a freshman at Cypress Bay High School in Weston, "would love it" if the district moved to a four-day school week. Classes would be longer, providing more time for learning, he said. The school is currently on a block schedule, which means students have four 90-minute classes for a semester.

D- Sun-Sentinel: Chan Lowe.

E- Palm Beach Post: Your South Florida Moment of the Day.

MANALAPAN — Town leaders hope to prevent a smattering of large lizards from becoming the night(mare) of the iguana.

The town commission declared iguanas a town nuisance Tuesday and directed Town Manager Greg Dunham to solicit quotes from animal trappers for a one-time removal of all iguanas in town, as well as a quote for individual removals of the reptiles.

[...]

Commissioners Peter Blum, Tom Coffman and Tom Thornton urged the commission to act now before the iguana population grows. Coffman said he's had to stop his car to go around iguanas on town roads a number of times.

"They are a nuisance, and they breed almost like rabbits. I know Boca's got a problem, Delray's got a problem," Blum said.

F- WPLG: Down, down, down...

MIAMI -- The decline in South Florida home prices is even worse than expected, according to a Standard & Poor’s index released Tuesday.

Calculations from S&P's Case-Shiller’s Home Price Index reports a decline of 18 to 19 percent in home prices in Miami-Dade and Broward counties for the last three months of 2008, compared to the same period a year earlier.

The national average is at 18.2 percent.

Analysts predict the bottom is still a year away, at least.

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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

There's a lot of commentary on President Obama's speech floating around the SoFla blogosphere this morning. Here's that and a little more in this Hump Day morning Sift...

A- Some Cranky Guy says we should all lighten up. Things aren't that bad, he said this morning as he prepared to head out to his job.

During the Great Depression, unemployment rose to 23.6%.

Today we are heading to 8% and it is likely we will hit 9% in the summer. But we are a long, long way from 23.6%.

B- Jeff Eats says that Nunzio's on Bird Road is worth a visit.

Let’s talk food…dynamite. Numzio’s got loads of appetizers, soups, salads, pastas, pizzas and meat-seafood-chicken entrees and desserts…before I go any further, make sure that you finish your meal off with Nunzio’s “ZUPETTA” a home made-tiramisu like concoction, absolutely incredible.

A recent outing had me doing a “basic” food taste…you know, pizza, lasagna, baked zita, gnochhi, veal parm…this stuff is terrific. I am telling you, YOUR favorite “mom & pop” joint doesn’t come even close to Nunzio’s stuff.

C- Miami Condo Investments shares some relatively pedestrian photos of some condos in downtown Miami.

D- Bark Bark Woof Woof posts a nice review of President Obama's speech last night.

Some pundits compared Mr. Obama's delivery to that of Ronald Reagan with its upbeat tone and celebrities in the gallery, but where Mr. Reagan handed out nostalgic nostrums and relied on his charm to get things done without bothering with the policy details, Mr. Obama was more specific than Mr. Reagan and didn't hold back in telling us that the only way things are going to get better is if we all pitch in. Whereas Mr. Reagan relied on a belief in the passive and inherent goodness of America -- something the Republicans talk about but don't really trust -- Mr. Obama made it clear that we have a lot of work to do and that he had every confidence that we can do it. That wasn't Ronald Reagan; that was Franklin Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. Those are big footsteps to follow, but this president gave every indication that he -- and we -- are up to the task.

E- And Reidblog tackles the weak Republican response.

He looked shell shocked. He spoke in a monotonous, hokey voice, that reminded me of one of those old fashioned "Your body and you" films we were forced to watch in seventh grade. And that accent! I mean, the guy sounded like an Indian Barney Fife! But what was truly lame about Bobby Jindal's response to President Obama's commanding address tonight was the content. In short: there was none.

Jindal invoked Hurricane Katrina (which caused billions of federal dollars to be sucked into his state) to pooh-pooh government spending. He then waxed creepy, referring to an "old saying" about half of Louisiana being "under water" and the other half being "under indictment." Sorry, but even so many years after Katrina, that under water sh*t's [Ed.] just not funny, man.

F- For their part, babalu never did get around to offering their opinion on last night's speech. *


[click on image to make it get bigger]

* Parody.


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Your Evening Sift

Here it is, folks, your pre-State of the Union evening Sift. You don't know how relieved I am knowing that I won't be throwing shoes at the TV this year.

A- Shorter 26th Parallel...

The SoFla political blogging discourse has gotten a lot more civil now that some Herald columnists are openingly right wing.

Yeah, let's all think about why that is.

B- Ipanemic turns his camera on in the middle of the night and captures "Insomnia."

C- MiamiNights drives up to Hollywood, gets lost, but still delivers a post on the TM Sisters' Ideal Tonight show.

The main body of the sho was series of glittery mixed media drawings tied together across the wallspace with dynamic bolts of light( zig-zaggin all over the place), using EL (electro-lumonescent) wire and light emmiting tapes, Giving the space between the works this almost aggressive neon pop, flickering different sequences by the touch of triggers mounted inside a set of couchy seats set facing the major body of works. A bit of a silly kind way at adding an interactive element to a piece that lazy people will trigger (by sitting down). That made me smile.

D- Eye on Miami gives us a chuckle with this post today.

E- Miami Beach 411's visit to the Ice Box didnt' really leave them smiling.

Usually in restaurants offering menu items in the $20 range, a server stops by your table a few minutes into your meal to ask you how everything is. This wasn’t the case at the Ice Box Cafe, where the service was leaving me frigid.

F- Miami City Diggs takes a look at a 1500 square foot unfinished condo located in The Courts on South Beach that is being listed for...ready for it?...$550K.

G- Local Motion Miami gives us a pretty good preview of the upcoming Miami International Film Festival.

H- Coconut Grove Grapevine is thinking that statutes of cats and dogs would be a perfect addition to the Grove.

Picture these creatures around the Grove. Picture Commdore Plaza and Grand Avenue, that corner is blah, picture a colorful dog or cat on each corner.

The main problem would be maintenance and vandalism, but it has worked before with the other pieces (cows, flamingos, etc.) so why not these?

I- Lots o' new stuff over at Miami Fever's place.

J- A Mom, A Blog, and the Life In-Between has a nice post up describing her family trip to Disney this past weekend.


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Sean Penn At The Oscars

If there's one thing that conservatives can't stand it's when you mock their bigotry and hate for people who don't think exactly like them.

So, yeah, I liked it.

Plus, no one deserved it more than Penn.



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SFDB Fat Tuesday Ecard Of The Day

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The Miami Herald: A Case of Plagiarism?

A couple SoFla bloggers are apparently a little overwrought that a new Miami Herald columnist plagiarized a sentence in her very first column at the paper.

According to Generation Miami and Carlos Miller, columnist Jackie Bueno Sousa lifted the line "I believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone," from the movie Bull Durham and incorporated it into the column without attribution.

You can read all about their reasoning at their respective blogs, but, I'm sorry, I just can't get excited about this. Are we at the point where every "I like the smell of napalm in the morning," or "There's no place like home" has to be footnoted? I could be wrong but I sure don't think so. It's one lousy sentence.

That being said, Sousa does express some readily identifiable conservative points of view in the column, including one where she believes that "history will redeem" George W Bush. This revelation, of course, causes dittoheads like 26th Parallel to predictably nod their approval and gives me more reason not to take her seriously than some innocuous movie line quote.

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The Cooler

A whole bunch of silliness in the news today. Here's some of it.

A- Herald: It's National Pancake Day. Free pancakes at IHOP! Well, sorta.

IHOP restaurants nationwide will offer guests three buttermilk pancakes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday. In exchange for the pancakes, IHOP will ask patrons to donate what they would have paid for the pancakes, or more, to benefit Children's Miracle Network or other children's charities.

B- Herald: If you have to ask the question...

New York rapper N.O.R.E. was arrested in Miami Beach on Sunday afternoon after punching a man in the face and throwing a cup of yellow liquid on him, according to police.

Victor Santiago, who also goes by the stage names N.O.R.E. or Noreaga, was arrested by Miami Beach police after he got into a fight with a man at Fatburger, a South Beach restaurant at 947 Washington Ave., police said.

According to the police report, Santiago and three other men walked into Fatburger yelling. On their way in, the rapper ripped one of the restaurant's flower bouquets out of its place. Santiago then offered a man a cup of yellow liquid -- when the man refused, Santiago threw it at him.

''Do you know who I am?'' Santiago yelled, according to the report. The rapper then punched the man in the face three times, police said.

C- Herald- Morin.

D- Herald: They write letters.

Crist hears us

Gov. Crist did what any person who cares about his fellow Americans would do. He supported a stimulus plan that, while it will not solve all of our ills, is a good first step.

Republicans treat ordinary Americans who are not wealthy as if we were gum under their shoes. Crist chose to treat us like we matter.

FAYE DAVIS, Miami

E- Sun-Sentinel: Someone steals a train in Miami.

The CSX diesel locomotive disappeared from the Kendall area late Sunday night, where it was parked in storage while awaiting assignment, the station reported.

Following the track southward, railroad personnel and Miami-Dade police located the missing train early Monday about 7 miles away, near Homestead, according to CBS 4.

F- Sun-Sentinel: Chan Lowe.

G- NBC6: Always look at the bright side.

If your morning commute is growing shorter it may be because there are fewer cars on the road, according to a report from the federal government.

The Federal Highway Administration released data last week showing Americans drove 3.8 billion fewer miles, or 1.6 percent less, in December 2008 compared to the same month a year earlier.

H- WPLG: Hell, no, we won't go!

MIAMI -- A family of 12 was forced out of a northwest Miami-Dade County home, but they moved back in on Monday and refused to leave.

Carolyn Conley and her daughter, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were evicted from their foreclosed home in the 800 block of Northwest 137th Street on Friday.

After spending the weekend living on the streets, Conley and her family members, urged on by a throng of supporters, illegally broke into their home, which is now the property of a bank.

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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

It's Fat Tuesday. Do you know where your cheap drinks and beads are? Here's your not-so-festive morning Sift...

A- The NY Post is not impressed by Miami's lack of service, according to All Purpose Dark.

B- The Burger Beast takes a good look at Shorty's in Doral and is not impressed.

Ed allows me to try his ribs and they're pretty good, Michelle allows me to try her Spare Ribs and I could definitely live without that. I am now not a fan of spare ribs, and she didn't seem to like them too much either. Ed likes his ribs though. As for my burger, well it wasn't bad, it was ok. I would definitely take a pass on ordering this again if I ever come back here.

C- Miami Bike Scene has the info on this Friday's Critical Mass ride.

D- Florida Governor Charlie Crist is taking heat from Florida Republicans for taking Federal money that will help Floridians, according to Bark Bark Woof Woof.

The irony is blazingly apparent; the Republicans are all for local government control until it comes time to actually do the heavy lifting. Let's see what plans Mr. Bennett and the rest of the geniuses in Tallahassee can come up with to do their part to fix the economy that they help screw up in the first place.

E- Stuff Your Face checks out Taqueria Mexicana Orale! in Coral Gables.

Either way, what I have found here, that is the closest I come to my cherished Taco Truck memories is - Taqueria Mexicana Orale! - the Taco Truck in Coral Gables. Coming from an abundance of authentic Mexican food, this is by far the closest I have come to authentic. Granted the menu is minimal, however the quality in my eyes is great. Simple yet authentic. Go for a simple taco de carne asada and add some cilantro and some hot sauce and WOW. I love this joint!!

Your Evening Sift

Just a whole variety of things for you to take a look at in this Fat Tuesday Eve Sift...

A- Bike Miami Days was held this weekend and the only blog providing coverage of it is Mayor Manny. Wow, how fast the shine fades in Miami.

Bike Miami Days returned for its fourth monthly event in the heart of Miami this Saturday. Held in conjuncton with Flagler Fest and the Humane Society of Greater Miami's Walk for the Animals, this event really brought our community together for an incredible variety of free and family-friendly activities.

B- If you're interested in Cuba-U.S. relations, you might want to drop on by Books and Book in Coral Gables tomorrow night, according to Mambi Watch.

Daniel P. Erikson, author of The Cuba Wars will be appearing at Books and Books in Coral Gables tomorrow, at 6:30pm. The event is co-sponsored by Florida International University's Latin American and Caribbean Center and the Cuban Research Institute.

C- The CompagnieMarie Chouinard dance group will be coming to Miami Beach in March, according to Local Motion Miami.

D- From Lola's Lips returns to the scene of a mysterious discovery in the Keys only to find that maybe it wasn't that mysterious.

I know not to assume anything, but I now believe after lifting the hatch, seeing the rat as bait in the trap, and seeing the note that asks the study not be disturbed that the boats are either the man-made habitat for the snakes they have caught, another lure to catch the snakes, or temporary housing for the poor live bait.

E- SFLTV talks a little about sports coverage on Channel 10, WPLG, and gets some interesting commentary from the peanut gallery.

F- If you missed the South Miami Art Fest this past weekend, 305 has a bunch of pictures for you.

So we ditched out the festival and drove to South Miami for the art festival. It's set up like the Carnival on the Mile, only with no stages and much smaller. I like both of these festivals because they are the opposite of the Coconut Grove Art Festival - smaller and less crowded.

We are in "perfect weather" season of Miami, with temperatures reaching into the upper 70s and low 80s, which makes walking around outside, not only bearable, but actually enjoyable.

G- Serious Sharpie heaven from Miamism Pix.

H- Coconut Grove Grapevine has a wrap-up and a slideshow of BarCamp Miami, which was held in the Grove this past weekend.

Attendees listened to impromptu seminars on anything tech-based from "How to make money blogging (good one for me); to how to upload photos to certain websites. There was so much social networking being talked and Tweeted (on Twitter), it was hard to keep up.

I- The South Florida Traveler shares their impressions of The Palms Hotel on South Beach after a weekend stay.

Welcome to The Palms. As soon as you enter the doors, you are promptly greeted. First impressions were great. Clean entrance, spacious interiors and smiling faces were perfect to kick my stay off. I immediately went up to my room. Although, we were located steps away from the elevator, I didn’t notice it being noisy.

The rooms were spacious enough where I didn’t feel cramped and the view was incredible. We were in an oceanside room and right outside our window a young couple was getting married in the gazebo. It was a perfect setup for the 50 or so people in attendance, and I’m sure we were not the only ones sneaking in a look of their celebration and smiling.

J- The very conservative East Florida Gazette Online offers a very predictable solution to America's under performing public schools.

The way the reform education is not to shrink the school week. The way to reform education is sever the artificial bondage of schooling with zip codes and government-run school districts. Open up the flood gates of competition and innovation with school choice and education scholarships. Why should a parent be forced to subsidize inferior schools with their tax dollars? Should not the money the state spends on each student, go to where that student attends?

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