New Year's Eve is like every other night; there is no pause in the march of the universe, no breathless moment of silence among created things that the passage of another twelve months may be noted; and yet no man has quite the same thoughts this evening that come with the coming of darkness on other nights.
-- Hamilton Wright Mabie
The Southern Most AIDS/HIV Ride. Starting location is MorningStar Renewal Center in Miami Florida. The SMART Ride is a 2 Day 165 Mile ride from Miami to Key West. In it′s 6th year this event leaves Miami and travels the picturesque bridges and waterways that wind down through the Florida Keys and ends up at the AIDS Memorial on the White Street Pier in Key West. The event is fully supported and travels with SAG Vehicles, Medical Team, Full Pit Stops and meals.G- Bark Bark Woof Woof reviews his 2009 predictions and makes some new ones for 2010.
- In Florida, the GOP primary race for the open U.S. Senate seat between Gov. Charlie Crist and former state House Speaker Marco Rubio will get really nasty; you can expect to see some ads put out by the teabaggers about Mr. Crist's private life coming out of the, uh, closet. I predict that Mr. Crist will narrowly win the primary and it will make the general election race close between him and Rep. Kendrick Meek with Crist narrowly winning. Alex Sink (D) will beat Bill McCollum (R) for the governor's race. I'm basing that purely on style and wishful thinking; Mr. McCollum is truly the tale from the dork side.
Great response by the White House to former Vice President Cheney's capricious and totally irresponsible criticism of the Obama Administration's handling of the underwear bomber incident. The emphasis is mine.There has been a lot of discussion online and in the mainstream media about our response to various critics of the President, specifically former Vice President Cheney, who have been coming out of the woodwork since the incident on Christmas Day. I think we all agree that there should be honest debate about these issues, but it is telling that Vice President Cheney and others seem to be more focused on criticizing the Administration than condemning the attackers. Unfortunately too many are engaged in the typical Washington game of pointing fingers and making political hay, instead of working together to find solutions to make our country safer.
First, it’s important that the substantive context be clear: for seven years after 9/11, while our national security was overwhelmingly focused on Iraq – a country that had no al Qaeda presence before our invasion – Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda's leadership was able to set up camp in the border region of Pakistan and Afghanistan, where they continued to plot attacks against the United States. Meanwhile, al Qaeda also regenerated in places like Yemen and Somalia, establishing new safe-havens that have grown over a period of years. It was President Obama who finally implemented a strategy of winding down the war in Iraq, and actually focusing our resources on the war against al Qaeda – more than doubling our troops in Afghanistan, and building partnerships to target al Qaeda’s safe-havens in Yemen and Somalia. And in less than one year, we have already seen many al Qaeda leaders taken out, our alliances strengthened, and the pressure on al Qaeda increased worldwide.
To put it simply: this President is not interested in bellicose rhetoric, he is focused on action. Seven years of bellicose rhetoric failed to reduce the threat from al Qaeda and succeeded in dividing this country. And it seems strangely off-key now, at a time when our country is under attack, for the architect of those policies to be attacking the President.
Second, the former Vice President makes the clearly untrue claim that the President – who is this nation’s Commander-in-Chief – needs to realize we are at War. I don’t think anyone realizes this very hard reality more than President Obama. In his inaugural, the President said “our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred.” In a recent speech, Assistant to the President for Terrorism and Homeland Security John Brennan said “Instead, as the president has made clear, we are at war with al-Qaida, which attacked us on 9/11 and killed 3,000 people. We are at war with its violent extremist allies who seek to carry on al-Qaida’s murderous agenda. These are the terrorists we will destroy; these are the extremists we will defeat.” At West Point, the President told the nation why it was “in our vital national interest” to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to fight the war in Afghanistan, adding that as Commander in Chief, “I see firsthand the terrible wages of war.” And at Oslo, in accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, the President said, “We are at war, and I am responsible for the deployment of thousands of young Americans to battle in a distant land.”
There are numerous other such public statements that explicitly state we are at war. The difference is this: President Obama doesn’t need to beat his chest to prove it, and – unlike the last Administration – we are not at war with a tactic (“terrorism”), we at war with something that is tangible: al Qaeda and its violent extremist allies. And we will prosecute that war as long as the American people are endangered.
Rush Limbaugh suffered chest pains yesterday and was taken to a hospital in Hawaii, where he was vacationing. According to the most current news reports, he is resting comfortably.No one wants Rush Limbaugh to die. But they do want his doctors to fail.Although Waltisfrozen's was pretty good, too.
Rush Limbaugh's medical problem is making me rethink my plans to be an overweight drug addict who's fueled by rage.Be sure to stay tuned to SFDB, where we will continue to monitor the situation and hope for the best.
Miami-Dade Transit has advice for downtown revelers on New Year's Eve: Use public transit, put at least $4 on your card and don't forget that daily passes expire at 2 a.m.C- Herald: Jimbo's barely making it.
Oh, and parking at Metrorail stations will be free starting at 3 p.m. Thursday and all day Friday.
Here are some more tips from transit officials to help navigate the night:
• Metrorail will provide continuous service through Friday. Trains will run every 15 minutes until 2 a.m. and every 30 minutes into Friday.
• Metromover also will be running between Thursday and Friday.
With a generator and some extra ice, Jimbo's fish shack on Virginia Key continued selling cold beer but not much else on Wednesday, a day after the city of Miami had the rustic watering hole's power cut off.D- WSVN: Just remember, it's not the breed.
[...]
Jimbo's remains ``minimally open'' for business, said James ``Bubba'' Luznar Jr., son of owner Jimbo Luznar. But he said he did not know how long the business could hold out without a power supply.
Luznar said he had also stopped smoking fish and selling it after a restaurant inspector told him the operation did not appear to meet health standards.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (WSVN) -- A 70-year-old South Florida man is recovering from a vicious attack by two pit bulls that came after him as he simply walked down the street.E- South Florida Business Journal: Cocowalk foreclosed on.
Rudolph Smith said he was walking past a home near Northwest 164th Terrace and 28th Avenue, on his way to get breakfast with friends, when the dogs attacked. He said one jumped the fence and the other soon followed. "It was a little frightening," he recalled. "Once the both of them started attacking, it was really frightening because I didn't think I'd be able to get away from them."
Smith suffered bites to his hand and calf before he jumped a fence to escape the animals. "I started to run," he said. "Then I said, I'd better climb this fence to get over the yard, and I did, to safety." He also said his suit was torn up during the attack.
Cocowalk, Coconut Grove’s upscale, open-air shopping and entertainment complex, has been hit with a $97.6 million foreclosure lawsuit.F- South Florida Business Journal: It sucks.
Bank of America, representing a commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) fund, filed the foreclosure action on Dec. 21 against PMAT Cocowalk, according to Miami-Dade County Circuit Court records. It targets the four-story, 200,000-square-foot complex at 3015 Grand Ave.
New Orleans-based PMAT Real Estate Investments bought Cocowalk for $87 million in 2006 and pledged $5 million to redevelop it. PMAT Principal Robert A. Whelan couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Adam Greenberg, managing director of Miami-based Baybridge Real Estate Group, said the price per square foot paid for Cocowalk was way too high. The loan-to-value ratio, based on the $80 million mortgage PMAT obtained after buying Cocowalk, was extremely aggressive, he added.
“You’ve got to wonder what investor signed off on something like that,” Greenberg said.
Miami ranks No. 48 out of the 50 best cities in America for job seekers, according to a new ranking by job search engine JuJu.com.G- WPLG: Video, text your tips into Crime Stoppers.
Only St. Louis, Mo. and Detroit fared worse.
Washington, D.C. ranked tops on the list with 1.87 people for every open job posted there.
Miami, meantime, had 14.47 people for every job opening posted in the city.
Yuzu Pop Tarts at Michael’s GenuineB- South Florida Theatre Scene revisits South Florida theater, month by month, for 2009.
It’s too hard to pick just one favorite dish at Michael’s but these pop tarts from the restaurant’s Sunday brunch menu, which debuted late this year, made an impression. Maybe it’s the whimsy or the act of eating something I associate with childhood even though I never ate pop tarts at home. Truly, I think it’s the yuzu filling, which definitely elevates these pastries from good to memorable.
My workplace imploded, disrupting and destroying the lives of hundreds of my friends, leaving aftershocks that continue today, and taking my own job with it. I lost friends to distance, disinterest, and death. Kittens I cared for died in my arms in spite of my best efforts, while other cats simply disappeared forever. My once reasonably good health is gone and is now at an all-time low, with two hospital visits and lingering effects. And what little financial security I had evaporated in the flux of corporate bureaucracy and continued unemployment. I have spent most of this year in mourning for— well, for everything.D- Miami dogs are some of the best cared for dogs around, according to a dog trainer that guest posts at Eye on Miami this morning.
They eat food that’s sold at the trendy pet stores on Lincoln Road. They sleep on chic beds with canopies, and miniature chaise lounges made with animal print material and faux-fur trim. Even perfumes with designer sounding names like Pucci and Timmy Holedigger are part of their daily lives. Miami dogs are well-manicured.; BlackBerry devices all across town have dog grooming appointments scheduled every 2 to 4 weeks. Many of my new clients never take their dogs out to walk on the grass for fear of fleas and ticks, or even rain that could cause hair to mat.E- Phin Phanatic lists the Top 10 Dolphin stories for 2009.
Jason Taylor returns: After being traded to the Washington Redskins a year earlier, Jason Taylor was re-signed as a free agent prior to the start of training camp after last April’s draft. Taylor opts for a 1.3 million dollar 1 year deal with Miami rather than a deal with the rival Patriots.F- After reading Bark Bark Woof Woof, why doesn't it surprise me that some Americans apparently don't realize that Hawaii is one of our United States.
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We nominate Uncle Luke for a coaching job at The U. He has the passion and swagger to inspire, the familiarity with local talent to recruit, and the coaching experience to lead the team to victory.C- AAA and Budweiser are teaming up and providing free rides for folks who have had a bit too much to drink on New Year's Eve, according to The South Florida Traveler.
The Obama administration has a lot to answer for. They're the ones in charge, and they are the grown-ups now. As tempting as it may be, it's not going to make travel any safer if we keep reminding ourselves that the Department of Homeland Security has been without a leader because a right-wing senator is holding up the confirmation, or that some of the people who trained Mr. Abdulmutallab were released from Gitmo in November 2007 to attend "art therapy rehabilitation program" in Saudi Arabia, or that it was both the Dutch and the Nigerian authorities who allowed him to get on the plane in the first place.H- Incertus discusses the affect that technology is having on all of our lives and, specifically, theirs.
In other words, just like so many others, my focus has decreased beneath the length of a tweet, and I've been sucked into the vortex of modern life in which tasks whirl about at the ends of my attention and the end of my every rope is frayed.H- The Reid Report compares the underwear bomber to the shoe bomber.
Because it's changing my life, I decided to do some research on the subject. It took me a while though, because I did it while doing 20 other things. ;) I've discovered that, contrary to popular wisdom, younger people who multi-task by habit are not "better at" it, not even at Stanford, and that by making ourselves so distracted we're increasing our chances of death. There's more: frequent multitasking so stresses the body it makes us age faster by pumping us full of cortisol, a stress hormone. Cortisol also makes us gain weight. And when we do two or more things at the same time (or try to) we're less productive and the work gets done less well. Multitasking even shifts tasks to a part of the brain that doesn't retain memory, meaning you'll go through your work like an Ambien-amnestic, waking to discover you have no idea what you've read or done. It's all a big clusterfuck of best intentions gone horribly awry: as forgetting was brought to us by writing, all this was brought to us by technology too.
When they’re not using the terror plot to raise money, or licking their chops in partisan glee over the potential death of airline passengers, or dreaming about Jack Bauer-style torture for the suspect, right wingers are acting fit to be tied over the Obama administration’s approach to Abdulmullatab, but they were damned near casual about the Bush administration’s response to Richard Reid. They’d also like to implement new airline rules that profile anyone with a name like Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. Funny, they’ve yet to propose profiling people named “Reid.”
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Are you keeping it quiet or are you letting loose? I'm doing the former with a quiet evening at my girlfriend's place.What are your New Year's Eve plans?
I think that Barack Hussein Obama should be put in jail. It is clear that Barack Hussein Obama is a communist. Mao Tse Tung lives and his name is Barack Hussein Obama. This country should be ashamed. I wanna throw up.I suppose that when your career is over and you're not selling records anymore, you do what you can to get attention and the people who have the mentality to still listen to him eat this stuff up.
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HAVANA -- Cuba's official media lashed out at all four main candidates to become Florida's next senator -- Democrats and Republicans alike -- saying Tuesday they will do nothing to improve relations between Havana and Washington.B- CBS4: A New Years rarity.
Republicans Marco Rubio and Charlie Crist and Democrats Kendrick Meek and Maurice Ferre all have voiced support for continuing Washington's 47-year trade embargo on the island, according to an article Tuesday in the Communist Party newspaper Granma.
The paper called them part of a "Miami mafia machine that dominates the city and North American policies toward Cuba."
Once in a blue moon there is one on New Year's Eve. Revelers ringing in 2010 will be treated to a so-called blue moon. According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. But don't expect it to be blue — the name has nothing to do with the color of our closest celestial neighbor.C- CBS4: A lot of people always thought that Miami PD was loaded with crappy police officers.
A full moon occurred on Dec. 2. It will appear again on Thursday in time for the New Year's countdown.
[...]
New Year's Eve blue moons are rarer, occurring every 19 years. The last time was in 1990; the next one won't come again until 2028.
It's usually brown, it's smelly and it has filled Bayfront Park. Pets are partly to blame, but it's their owners that need to take action.D- CBS4: As soon as people start keeling over, they'll warn you.
Because Bayfront Park offers one of the best views in Downtown Miami, perhaps that's why more and more pet owners are walking their dogs in it, but deep in the park a problem is brewing: dog poop everywhere.
[...]
Condo associations, and soon Bayfront Park, are hiring off-duty Miami Police Officer to do poop patrol. Officer Giordano's tickets range from $50 to $500, and there are not breaks.
A water filtration system used in a downtown Miami hotel that was shutdown for several days over health concerns has now been found in three other buildings.E- WPTV: You think Miami-Dade has problems?
The Bristol Tower and Santa Maria condos on Brickell Avenue and the Grovenor House condo in Coconut Grove have the same Culligan water filtration system that is in place at the EPIC Hotel.
[...]
Tests of the water at the Grovenor House, Santa Maria and Bristol Tower all showed minimal to zero levels of chlorine. The Miami-Dade Health Department has not issued a health advisory for any of the three because no illnesses have been reported.
TREASURE COAST--Wild hogs are going hog wild along the Treasure Coast and throughout the country, more than doubling in population and range in the past 20 years.F- Herald: The only one.
[...]
“I’ve found them out on Rocky Point in Stuart,” said John Gruber, co-owner of All American Pest Management in rural St. Lucie County and a licensed hog trapper, “and I’ve found them off St. James Drive and in PGA Village (both in western Port St. Lucie). Anywhere you’ve got a couple of acres of wooded land, you can have hogs. They’ve adapted to live in the suburbs.”
In February 2007, a family of wild hogs — a mother and seven piglets — suspected of foraging and tearing up landscaping at Port St. Lucie City Hall and nearby residences and businesses, were humanely nabbed by a trapper and taken to state land in Okeechobee County for release.
Wildlife experts say the hogs, which can weigh as much as 750 pounds, are increasingly running roughshod in rural areas, suburbs and even a few cities, digging up cemeteries, gardens and lawns.
G- Herald: How in the hell is this allowed to go on?When Dolphins tackle Jake Long heads down the Florida turnpike on Jan. 31, it will be the same drive he makes at least 10 other times each football season. He will exit at the same stadium, and he will run out of the same tunnel to the same field.
It all will feel very familiar. All except for this: Long won't be surrounded by a Dolphins teammate.
As the only Dolphins player named to the Pro Bowl on Tuesday, Long, the top pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, will serve as the team's ambassador when the league's all-star game comes to South Florida for the first time since 1975.
State regulators stripped Dr. Michael I. Rose's power to write prescriptions two months ago, after health officials found that the pain-clinic doctor had prescribed enough painkillers to put one patient ``at risk of death from overdose.''H- Herald: Jackie Bueno Sousa's boring New Year's predictions.The health department findings are all the more alarming given the North Miami physician's other specialty: drug-addiction treatment.
Rose is one of at least 41 South Florida doctors who straddle the fence between two seemingly opposite disciplines: They treat drug addicts while at the same time giving pain patients addictive drugs that have been blamed for a spike in overdose deaths statewide. Rose declined to comment for this article.
[...]
Many of these doctors who serve as both pain and addiction specialists have been disciplined by state health officials for improper prescribing of drugs -- and some have been convicted of crimes, a Miami Herald review found.
Now, fresh off beating Glenn Beck to a bloody pulp, and forcing UM Professor Donald Jones to come to his senses about that meshuga complaint he filed, Marc has arrived to rescue some poor schmuck who tweeted and Facebooked a few times about a negative experience at a South Florida auto dealer.B- REV Miami profiles Tristan Clopet and The Juice.
I focus a lot of attention on Tristan on REV because he is on my short list of Miami performers who have the talent and attitude to become commercially successful.C- Holy Crap visits Fox's Sherron Inn with a couple other South Florida bloggers.
He is a consummate professional and approaches his music and art seriously and as a business (I know, music purists will balk at this, but keep in mind, record labels have become almost nonexistent and the modern musician needs to be multifaceted, including being a smart and industrious business person).
Tristan Clopet & The JuiceRecently he took an East Coast tour with his band, The Juice, and is getting ready to gear up for an acoustic solo tour up the East Coast again with percussionist Richard.
But, despite all of Tristan’s hard work and positive attitude, sometimes a musician can become a victim of circumstance.
It is no secret, but Miami is not exactly the best city for bands to come through and become nationally recognized musicians, particularly for Rock music.
So we got stiff drinks, excellent atmosphere and good location. How’s the food? I say it’s decent. There is certainly better, but there will always be someone who is better. I started off with the lentil soup, which was pretty good. It didn’t wow me but it was a worthy entry. Next up was the french onion soup. I found it too watery. I think Scully’s has a better french onion soup.D- Eye on Miami claims all South Florida politics goes through wealthy Cuban-American developers who are now affecting the senatorial race.
In The Miami Herald oped page this morning, Michael Putney takes aim at off-course Charlie, running for US Senate in a tight primary race against Miamian, Marco Rubio. The Herald reported a recent editorial board meeting where Charlie (that would be Florida Governor Charlie Crist) appeared distracted and lackluster. Putney's editorial concentrates on a recent event-- pulling together both sides of the contest to be the next US Senator from Florida-- for the benefit of Miami's politically powerful Cuban American community.E- Searching for Signs complains that it's the complainers that are not moving Miami ahead in a positive direction.
While Charlie has reason to be distracted-- his opponent has surged, his erstwhile campaign contributors are major embarrassments-- Putney missed the root of Charlie's problem. Like the rest of the Miami Herald editorial board and writers (with the exception of Carl Hiaasen, an increasingly distant force), Putney writes around the determinative factor in local politics: Cuban American developers and the supply chain feeding into the Growth Machine.
How would I make Miami better? I don’t have any grand plan. Don’t need one. It starts and ends with each and every one of us who live here either by choice or by fate. I find that many people who complain about Miami and Miamians don’t realize that they’re part of the problem, not the solution. These folks find it easier to criticize the behavior of others than to reflect on their own attitudes.
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But if money is the issue to getting it fixed, I bet the local population can step up. Nightclub magnate Michael Cappone had his birthday party there not long ago (I crashed), which means he has to appreciate the spot. And how many rich people with boats have stopped by Jimbo’s for a cold one and some quality conversation with Jamaican Paul. So, Jimbo’s, if you need money, just ask. You’d be surprised how giving Miamians can be when it comes to our watering holes. Just put out the word, and help will be on its way.C- Miamism Pix has a pretty cool shot out the window of a condo at 2 Midtown Miami.
Bikes are popular on South Beach.E- South Florida Classical Review has the schedule of classical events in South Florida for next month.
According to the site plan drawings, even the historic, Jim "Sunny" Fitzsimmons tree lined path appears vanished. The 350 to 400 flamingoes that make Hialeah their home will be probably be shocked and scared off by the massive construction work, dust and debris. The ones that survive will find that their open space and free flights have been replaced and impaired by concrete buildings all around them. The first mayor of the city of Hialeah (James Bright) donated public land for the people. Hialeah Park was public land owned by the city of Hialeah. How our city official handed this park over to the Brunetti family should be investigated by a federal agency.G- There's a new Burger King Whopper Bar on Washington Avenue, according to Eater Miami.
Those who have been to Universal City Walk in Orlando may have already experienced the Whopper Bar, where, according to a BK press release, "Sandwiches are built to order by an expert 'WHOPPER®-ista' from the WHOPPER® Topper, a visible toppings theater that allows guests to choose from favorites like A.1.® Thick & Hearty steak sauce, smoked bacon, Angry onions and guacamole."H- South Florida Fixed does a quick Q & A with rider and bicycle film director Lucas Brunelle.
6. Tell us how your past trip to Miami for the Bicycle Film Fest went?I- Miami Dish goes down a list of your choices of libations for the coming New Years Eve and provides a few drink recipes, too.
Miami BFF went very well. Loose Cannon was amazing to film. Then the alleycat came out great with riding on I95, going through drawbridges, traffic, and much more.
Regardless of what you drink to close out the year, be sure to enjoy it. The past year was a challenge, and we’re not out of the woods yet. But some of America’s greatest drinks come from our toughest times, because pressure makes us more creative. Take the time to appreciate every sip, even if it’s a small one from a very tiny shot.J- Right winger Pat Buchanan loves to torture and isn't ashamed to admit it, according to a video clip that Bark Bark Woof Woof posts.
I hear dozens of variations on this sentiment every day. Thus, I am curious to hear from my readers–is living in Key West your dream? If so, why? What do you imagine it to be like?
And, if you’ve visited Key West and still covet this locale as a place to live–what entices you here?
Oh my, can you imagine the ruckus when the Little Limbaughs discover that their Top Gun Super Hero Terrorist Fighter wasn't all that he was cracked up to be...Two of the four leaders allegedly behind the al Qaeda plot to blow up a Northwest Airlines passenger jet over Detroit were released by the U.S. from the Guantanamo prison in November, 2007, according to American officials and Department of Defense documents. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the Northwest bombing in a Monday statement that vowed more attacks on Americans.Art therapy program? And here I thought all these guys were being tortured.
American officials agreed to send the two terrorists from Guantanamo to Saudi Arabia where they entered into an “art therapy rehabilitation program” and were set free, according to U.S. and Saudi officials.
Guantanamo prisoner #333, Muhamad Attik al-Harbi, and prisoner #372, Said Ali Shari, were sent to Saudi Arabia on Nov. 9, 2007, according to the Defense Department log of detainees who were released from American custody. Al-Harbi has since changed his name to Muhamad al-Awfi.
Today's high: 69 degrees. The wind chill values will make it feel as low as 44 degrees.B- Herald: Bring your flashlights to Jimbo's.
Miami officials Monday cut electrical power to Virginia Key landmark Jimbo's -- a beer and smoked-fish joint that has been battling the city over its right to operate -- one day after inspectors deemed it unsafe.C- Herald: "A disaster brewing."
City inspectors said they identified several electrical hazards after firefighters were called to the area Sunday night, when a fire burned through two trailer homes near the restaurant.
[...]
Because of the danger, the city took temporary measures to disconnect the power Monday. Florida Power and Light is expected to cut it off permanently on Tuesday.
It's a great time to be a commercial tenant in downtown Miami or the Brickell Avenue financial district, thanks to a glut of new office space that will begin flooding the market next year.D- Herald:
But for everyone else in the downtown commercial real estate game -- lenders, brokers, bankers, construction workers -- there's a disaster brewing, the likes of which hasn't been seen since the 1980s.
The recession already has businesses downsizing or closing. At the same time, there are no new tenants moving into the area and vacancy rates have soared to 15 percent -- a level unseen since 2004.
[...]
``2010 everyone is anticipating a bloodbath,'' said Scott Strickland, of Jones Lang LaSalle, which represents the owners of 1221 Brickell. ``I think you'll start to see more sanity coming back in 2011.''
They write letters. Speeders home freeE- Sun-Sentinel: How the Dolphins go to the playoffs.
The express lanes on I-95 seem to be a great boon for Florida. Aside from the financial bonanza, it also provides a free pass for speeders. For as little as a quarter, drivers in these premium lanes can recreate the Autobahn experience and test the upper limits of their full throttles.
Others try their luck at 75 miles per hour or higher in the ``local'' lanes, which are monitored by the Florida Highway Patrol. But I have yet to see state troopers or any police enforcement in the express lanes, where anything goes.
There's no way a trooper can pass through the candlestick dividers to pull speeders over -- not to mention that there's really nowhere in the express lanes to pull over safely. The message is clear: Pay the transponder toll and avoid a $180-plus speeding ticket. No pulling over. No court. No points. No fine. No hassle.
ROBERT LaGAMBA, Hallandale Beach
The Dolphins make the playoffs if ALL of this happens Sunday:F- CBS4: They needed a study?
Dolphins (7-8) defeat Steelers (8-7), 1 p.m.
Patriots (10-5) defeat Texans (8-7), 1 p.m.
Browns (4-11) defeat Jaguars (7-8), 1 p.m.
Raiders (5-10) defeat Ravens (8-7), 4:15 p.m.
Bengals (10-5) defeat Jets (8-7), 8:20 p.m.
-- Then, the Dolphins would go to New England in the first round.
According to figures from New Jersey-based Opinion Research, only 8 percent of people are always successful in achieving their resolutions. Nineteen percent achieve their resolutions every other year and 49 percent have infrequent success. Twenty-four percent (one in four people) never succeed and have failed on every resolution every year and that means that 3 out of 4 people almost never succeed.G- WPTV: Not exactly the Brady Bunch.
Jason Matthew Werry, 26, faces felony charges of aggravated domestic battery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in connection with the 10:52 a.m. Sunday incidents at his parents’ home, which is also his listed address, in the 2200 block of Southeast Carnation Avenue.
Werry’s father, Jay Werry, said he and his wife planned to have lunch with her boss and that Jason Werry would have to make his own lunch. Jay Werry said his son grew angry at the notion of making his own lunch, according to police.
Jason Werry said his father referred to his grandmother with a curse word, which angered him, records stated.
Police gave this account of what followed:
Jason Werry hurled a candleholder at his father, hitting him in the head.
Jay Werry, who has a concealed weapons permit, pulled a gun on his son. Jason Werry hit his dad, and Jason Werry’s girlfriend gave Jason Werry a gun. Jason Werry pointed the weapon at his father and hit him in the head with the butt of the weapon.
Jay Werry bit his son on the left arm and both went to a hospital emergency room. Jay Werry had several loose teeth and two “gashes” on his head that required stitches.
I would like to try something with this post. I’m also going to ask for reader participation. Here it goes:B- Eater Miami continues to post the results of their year-end survey, this time getting ideas for top restaurant standbys.
All you Republicans/conservatives out there: tell me something you like/admire/respect about Democrats/liberals.
Democrats/liberals: tell me something about Republicans/conservatives you like/admire/respect.
Lee Klein, restaurant critic/Miami New Times: Do the ice cream and cereal aisles at Publix count?C- Radio or Not shares her story and battle against skin cancer.
Michael Schwartz, chef/owner Michael's Genuine Food & Drink: Michy's and Clarke's
Jonathan Wright, chef, The Setai: Hakkasan
I am now a two-time skin cancer survivor. I spent a few hours today in the office of a skin cancer specialist, who painstakingly removed a squamous cell carcinoma growth from my nose.D- A special Miami Bike Rides is coming up on January 9th, according to Miami Bike Scene.
Tarks specializes in clams, oysters, seafood and wings. (raw, steamed and fried). My favorites include the gator tail, clam chowder, conch salad, dolphin sandwich, raw oysters, steamed clams, fried clam bellies, and shrimp grilled w/ BBQ or garlic sauce (not like the traditional New Orleans BBQ shrimp but a tasty alternative) Their wings garner rave reviews but they are breaded and on the heavy side and not my thing. They have reasonably priced daily specials plus a kids menu.F- Is the ambrosia beetle a big scam, Obalesque wonders.
I don’t care much for what I see coming straight down Florida’s Turnpike, and no, it’s not a flock of beetles. To companies like Asplundh, it’s Opportunity on a Rolling Cash Register. To taxpayers, it’s a giant Wet-Vac sucking dollars from your pockets to underwrite another corporate gift. To the avocado industry, it’s a huge profit-puffer as the excuse to hike prices gets written in headlines.G- The Herald did a good job on the Allen Stanford story on Sunday, according to Miami-Dade Dems, and it should teach us all a lesson...
Let us go back to the lesson of the day. We need to take money out of politics. This aspect of our political life attracts crooks and Ponzi artists. We little grass-roots donors are honest pips on a deck of marked cards. It is becoming more clear than ever that our political leaders are either crooks or deliberately oblivious to where a substantial portion of political money comes from.H- How South Floridians define winter, courtesy of The South Florida Watershed Journal.
This has got to change.
That being said, Floridians know winter when they feel it:
* In the day, if the mercury doesn’t break above 70 – That’s winter!
* Or during the night, if the mercury doesn’t break 40 – That’s also winter!
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You know how lawyers, particularly litigators, pride themselves on being good judges of character? They just know when a witness is not telling the truth, or being evasive, or when something is "not quite right."B- The fun that was had at Coconut Grove Grapevine's expense during the King Mango Strut wasn't so bad after all, according to CGG.
Indeed, their self-worth as a lawyer is sometimes bound up with their inflated view of themselves as being able to "put the pieces together," find a seemingly meaningless clue in a document or a stray aside by a witness, and sleuth their way on a hunch, flop sweat, and good detective work to unraveling the key to winning a case.
Why didn't anyone at RRA do that with Scott Rothstein?
This beer is a rare breed being a Belgian IPA. It has all the bite of an American IPA but brewed with a Belgian yeast to give it a unique Belgian taste.H- Eater Miami posts the responses from the first of 8 questions that they've posed to South Florida foodie types for their end of the year survey.
As is the tradition at Eater, our closeout of the year is a survey of friends, industry types, bloggers, and readers. This year, we asked the group eight questions, from Meal of the Year to Top Standbys. All will be answered by the time we turn off the lights on Thursday.I- More photos of women from Miami's mean streets at The Street.
It's that time again to update the SFDB blogroll. We like to keep the blogroll fresh and exciting and filled with the best South Florida blogs that post regularly. So every now and then I like to go in and clean house. With that in mind, here we go with the latest adjustments.I'm here to help you navigate your way through South Florida and pick up some fun, quirky tips along the way. I'll be covering the latest in trends, venues, bars, pets, fashion, beauty and music... for your personal enjoyment. From midtown to midtown, exploring what's best...Midtown Chic-a uses a custom template and the Blogger platform to create a very colorful and unique venue for readers to visit. If the past is any indication of the future, it looks like you can expect a new post every couple days.
This space was created to keep Miami’s black community informed, entertained and most of all engaged in the happenings that affect their daily lives.BBM is a busy site with a lot going on. You'll find political ads, an events calendar, a BBM store, and the usual widgets that keep track of recent posts and comments and other things. Looking back over the last week of posts you'll find coverage of local politics and current events on a daily basis [which makes SFDB happy].
Far too many individuals and organizations are doing great things in the community with little or no publicity. Many times that disconnect is due to distance and limited finances. Well, those days are over. While Blogging Black Miami is my space, it’s also our space to stay connected and informed.
The overall content and style of the new blog won't be a lot different than 26th Parallel. In fact, aside from the new blogging platform and URL, you likely won't notice a big difference. It's still me, after all, and I haven't been abducted by aliens. Some of the topics I'll cover with greater frequency include religion, sports and basically different facets of my interests, hobbies and other relatively mundane activities (something I didn't do enough of here). In other words, Searching for Signs will be a bit more personal (including the lifting of whatever anonymity I have left).The look of the new blog is a little different as it is now situated on a Wordpress platform and, thus far at least, the tone is more personal but we'll be watching for that to change as Searching for Signs matures.
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26th parallel,
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Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) said Sunday that it is fair to blame the Obama administration for the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight bound for Detroit on Christmas Day.Amazingly, they do this as they rewrite history and claim that George Bush was yet another victim of the Clintons...
Hoekstra, the top Republican on the House Select Intelligence Committee said that the administration has not taken the threat of terrorist threats on the U.S. seriously.
Asked by Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace if it is fair to blame the Obama administration for the attacks, the Michigan Republican replied "Yeah, I think it really is."
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bark bark woof woof
Christmas is over and we're in that strange little time between it and the New Years when businesses are open but nothing ever gets done. I'm off this week and don't plan on using the alarm clock at all as I stay local and relax. What about you?Are you off this week or are you back to work already?
The fire happened at a trailer next to Jimbo's restaurant on Virginia Key.B- WPLG: Video, King Mango Strut.
The fire destroyed that home where Jimbo’s son, Bubba Luznar, lives on the property. Because there were some customers at the bar, authorities were concerned about possible injuries. But in the end, the fire did not touch any of the restaurant and no one was hurt.
Despite another fruitless shot at a comeback -- this time after falling behind by 24 points before halftime -- the Dolphins once again found themselves searching for answers to explain a flat start in the wake of this season-crippling loss.D- Sun-Sentinel: Issues.
``That's probably the lowest it has gone all season,'' said Sparano, referring to the first-half funk. ``Haven't had that feeling since we have been here, maybe [since losing to] Arizona [a 31-10 loss in 2008].''
And yet, strangely enough, Miami has not yet been eliminated from the playoffs. Of course, it has become difficult for everyone -- including players and coaches -- to get overly optimistic about those chances.
St. Lucie County - A 39-year-old St. Lucie County man is facing child abuse charges after allegedly shooting a boy in the chest with a pellet gun to teach him a lesson, according to St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office arrest report.E- Sun-Sentinel: Super Bowl rentals.
On Christmas Day, deputies charged Christopher Fred Cady, of the 2600 block of North U.S. 1, with felony cruelty toward child without great harm.
The report gives the following account:
The boy received a pellet gun as a Christmas gift and went outside to play with it. Outside, he shot his autistic cousin in the buttocks.
Cady, a registered sex offender, took the gun from the boy and shot the boy in the chest, "to show him what he felt like and that getting shot with a pellet gun hurts."
The variety of private residences available for Super Bowl week ranges from Lynch's $300-a-night home to a single Boca Raton bedroom for $500 a night to Earl Hord's Pompano Beach home with steam room, grand piano and three-car garage for $15,000 a week.F- Sun-Sentinel: Communists!
Hord bought the 5,000-square-foot home intending to flip it for a profit. He spent $300,000 on upgrades, then the market collapsed. Hord and his wife now live mostly in their 900-square-foot condo in Boca Raton.
"This is something we can do to recoup some of our losses," Hord said. "You can put as many as 10 people in it, and when you think of it like that, $15,000 isn't a staggering dollar amount."
Indoor smoking has been banned at most colleges and universities since the early 1990s, but now several schools are making it tougher to light up outdoors, where smokers traditionally find a safe haven.
Starting in January, Florida Atlantic University will restrict smoking to 20 designated spots on its Boca Raton campus and is working toward becoming totally smoke free within a year, officials said. Nova Southeastern University in Davie recently limited smoking to 12 designated spots. The University of Miami will ban all smoking on its medical campus in January. Palm Beach Community College and Broward College have also imposed tighter smoking restrictions in recent years.
And starting in July, you won't be able to smoke anywhere on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville. The university has already banned smoking at its stadium and medical facilities.
Schools say their goal is twofold: to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke and to persuade smokers to quit. UF, FAU and other schools are offering smoking-cessation classes and aids to help people kick the habit.
This movie made me stop and think for a second. My life moves fast, sometimes faster than I want it to. My lifestyle? Even faster. Living for every moment like it was my last, learning from all the trials and tribulations encountered on this rollercoaster we call "life", embracing all the power that is knowledge from lessons past on and lessons learned.B- Coconut Grove Grapevine has photos from yesterday's King Mango Strut.
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I gathered Rouletta in my arms and reached toward the woman. The man pushing the woman’s wheelchair took her hands and placed them on the top of Rouletta’s head. The woman slowly moved her hands across Roulettas’s ears and around her muzzle.B- The new Publix at Fifth and Alton is very special, according to Miami Beach 411.
“Oh, this is a very nice dog,” smiled the woman.
“She’s brindle and white and has a round spot on top of her head,” the man said.
“Is her face as cute as it feels?” asked the woman as she stroked Rouletta’s brow.
Publix is going green by using low LED lights, storing milk behind a glass door, and using motion detector lights -if no one is in the frozen foods isle its dark, but walk down and they all turn on just for you! If you’re not sure whether those grapes have been sprayed with pesticides, look at the shelf and if you see a green leaf border, rest assured they’re considered all natural or organic. I was impressed that they even carry organic wine!C- South Beach USA gets some feedback from a Spanish couple who recently completed a vacation on South Beach.
However, we feel you might like to know, or may be able to redirect our comments, about some of the frustrations europeans have in Miami. It begins with U.S. Immigration – a far from efficient procedure, in fact, one which can be quite frightening for some people. Then there is the continual ‘harrassment’ by restaurants, bars and clubs on South Beach. Having people run alongside you offering ‘free drinks’, ‘two for one dinners’, etc. etc., is actually quite annoying. We know the world is in a financial crisis but a holiday on lovely South Beach is not as lovely with constant reminders of desperate businesses. Europeans also need to know about ‘add ons’. In Europe, the price quoted is the final price. In the U.S., low prices become a joke when taxes and automatic gratuities are added. It’s a cultural difference but can become an expensive one. And to have restaurants adding onto their bill unordered items doesn’t help either – it would appear that this is a frequent happening requiring careful reading of bills.D- Besides being subscription challenged, it appears that the Miami Herald is also math challenged, as South Florida Lawyers points out.
The home is impressive to say the least – contemporary, simple, austere and phenomenal. With over 20,000 square feet of living space, sitting on a 48,000 square foot lot, guest cabana, elevator, 5-car garage, amazing landscaping….what else could you want?
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blindtastes,
carlos miller,
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There may not be a more succinct and pointed explanation of the Republican Party's efforts to thwart efforts at improving this country's healthcare than this Christmas Eve post by White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer on The White House Blog. I'm posting it in full because of how important I feel it is to show the degree to which Republicans are working against the interests of the American people at this point in our nation's history.Today’s Republican talking point of the day is that the historic health reform bill passed today represents the first major piece of social legislation to be passed without a single vote from across the aisle.
Well that may be true. But it’s not a commentary on this bill. It’s a commentary on the Republican Party, whose leaders made a determination that they were going to put party over progress. That's never happened before when the nation took on big challenges.
President Obama made it clear from the very beginning of this process that he wanted to work with members of both parties to craft the best bill possible. He even kicked off his efforts by inviting stakeholders from across the political spectrum to the White House to share ideas.
Contrary to what one Republican Senator said today, Democrats did not “do the HELP Committee bill completely Democrat” without “even ask[ing] one Republican opinion.” In fact, they accepted more than 150 Republican amendments.
In putting together the Finance Committee bill, Senator Baucus held months of bipartisan discussions. The Committee held a day-long bipartisan health care summit, convened three bipartisan roundtables, and even issued three bipartisan policy papers laying out the options from which the Committee chose to craft its bill.
Once the bill hit the Senate floor, Republicans passed up the chance to offer constructive amendments. Instead they chose to obstruct votes and offer six separate motions to essentially start from scratch.
The sad truth is that Congressional Republican leaders decided early on that their best move was to “delay, define, and derail” reform – not to find common ground on a bill both parties could support. They made clear their hopes that health insurance reform would be President Obama’s “Waterloo” and that it would “break him” politically.
In the process, they lost sight of the fact that this was never about President Obama – it was about the families struggling to keep up with skyrocketing premiums; the small businesses forced to choose covering employees and staying afloat; the 15,000 Americans who lost insurance every day this year. Today’s vote was a victory for them.
Palm Beach jet-setter Ivana Trump, whom you’d think would fly private, was booted off a commercial flight departing Palm Beach International Airport this afternoon.B- Herald: Life in South Florida.
Trump, 60, a former wife of TV star and developer Donald Trump, was not charged with a crime but was escorted off the first-class cabin of Delta flight 2377 to New York City’s LaGuardia Airport and to her waiting chauffeur.
[...]
As the plane started to taxi out, an agitated Trump started calling the kids “little fu…..” and telling passengers around her “f*@& you!”
“She was so belligerent toward other passengers and crew that the plane returned to the terminal,” said Teri Barbera, the PBSO spokeswoman.
Trump first refused the deputies’ orders to exit the aircraft. She finally relented after Delta staff offered her to fly at a later date.
“From initial contact until Ms. Trump left the property, she was saying “f&%$ you” to all the deputies,” Barbera’s statement read.
One person was hospitalized and a busy mall parking garage turned into a crime scene after a police-in-volved shooting at the Aventura Mall on Saturday.C- Herald: Don't worry, they're safe levels of chemicals.
Police spokesman Chris Goranitis said the shooting happened shortly after 4:30 p.m. in the parking garage near JCPenney. Officers were responding to a report of a man driving around in a black Mustang pointing a firearm at another motorist in what police described as a case of road rage.
Officers spotted the Mustang on a road along the north side of JCPenney, Goranitis said. But when they approached the car, the man ran. Officers followed him into the garage. Goranitis said the person, a male, pointed the weapon at the officers and what followed was "an exchange of rounds between officers and the subject."
The man was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood. The officers were not hurt.
More than 100 pollutants, from farm herbicides to factory solvents, have shown up in Florida tap water during the last five years -- many barely detectable, but more than a quarter exceeding federal standards at least once, according to a report compiled by an environmental group..
Miami-Dade, among the largest utilities in the country with 2.1 million customers, recorded no violations. Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale and four other utilities in Miami-Dade and Broward counties reported only a handful of violations in thousands of tests since 2004.
But all the systems also detected from 11 to 17 chemicals -- some repeatedly and others occasionally -- at levels above U.S. Environmental Protection Agency health guidelines. Those aren't legal limits, but more-stringent benchmarks that would virtually eliminate any risk of cancer or other illness over a lifetime of drinking a system's water.
The most common:disinfectants used in water treatment, followed by assorted other toxicsubstances such as cyanide, arsenic, radium and barium.
[...]
The number of chemicals detected in South Florida was roughly triple the national average but better than two North Florida utilities the EWG ranked among the worst of the 100 largest municipal systems nationwide: JEA in Jacksonville at No. 91 and, dead last, Emerald Coast in Pensacola, with 45 chemicals detected overall, 21 topping EPA guidelines. Neither recorded water quality violations.
