The Cooler

Scott Rothstein pleads guilty today which means we're all one day closer to not ever hearing about this guy again. Here's what else I found somewhat interesting in this morning's mainstream media.

A- Herald: Video, getting Dolphin Stadium ready for the big games.

B- Herald: "But we're going to anyway."

The number of violent crimes -- including murders, robberies and aggravated assaults -- in unincorporated Miami-Dade County was down in 2009, county officials said Tuesday.

Officials lauded the achievement at a press conference, though the mood was tempered because of the shooting death of a teenager on Sunday.

``It's hard to boast about statistics two days after a young girl was shot and killed by thoughtless criminals with no regard for human life,'' Mayor Carlos Alvarez said.

C- Herald: So when will the law be changed?

Earlier this month -- as a Miami appeals court determines the constitutionality of the embattled adoption ban -- a judge quietly approved the 1-year-old's adoption. The decision by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Maria Sampedro-Iglesia is the third finalized adoption by a gay couple within the last year.

While the 1977 law remains in limbo, Sampedro-Iglesia's ruling suggests some state court judges already have made up their minds about gay adoption, a thorny political issue in a state with a significant social conservative streak.

``There is no rational connection between sexual orientation and what is or is not in the best interest of a child,'' Sampedro-Iglesia wrote in her order, obtained by The Miami Herald. ``The child is happy and thriving with [Alenier]. The only way to give this child permanency . . . is to allow him to be adopted'' by her.

In her ruling, Sampedro-Iglesia declared Florida's adoption law ``unconstitutional on its face.''

D- Herald: It's how they got to be billionaires.

Aiming to raise public dollars to improve their privately-owned stadium, the Miami Dolphins and team backers have hatched a plan: get state legislators to lift the ceiling on Miami-Dade's hotel tax and then ask county commissioners to increase the rate of the so-called bed tax.

Backers of the plan, which has been presented to state legislators in recent weeks, say the move would generate millions of dollars for renovations on the Dolphins' Sun Life Stadium -- along with upgrades of the Miami Beach Convention Center.

[...]

But winning public funding to enhance a stadium whose primary owner is billionaire real estate developer Stephen Ross remains a tall order -- particularly at a time governments are strapped for cash and taxpayers struggle through an economic downturn.

E- Herald: More stores on Lincoln Road!

A group of Miami Beach real estate investors will close next week on the purchase of the Lincoln Theatre, with plans to convert the historic building into retail stores.

An affiliate of Savitar Realty Advisors of Miami Beach is buying the building from the New World Symphony, which is in the process of constructing its new home designed by architect Frank Gehry. Terms of the deal for the 38,000-square-foot property on Lincoln Road Mall were not disclosed.

Savitar Realty Advisors, a Miami Beach real estate investment and management company, is led by Clifford Stein, president and chief executive. Partnering with Stein on the deal are Lyle Stern and Bruce Koniver of Koniver Stern Group, who will handle the retail leasing for the site.

[...]

Stein's plans call for converting the four-floor building into three floors and eliminating the theater, while maintaining the architectural features of the historic building built in 1935. The renovated theater would become home to as many as four retail shops and restaurants, with a potential opening in 2012 or 2013.

F- Herald: Morin.

G- Sun-Sentinel: "I'm available. Call me."

Don't expect any bombshells when Scott Rothstein pleads guilty Wednesday to running a massive fraud that fueled his meteoric rise from little-known labor attorney to omnipresent fixture in Broward County's political and charitable circles.

Rothstein's 9:30 a.m. plea hearing at the Fort Lauderdale federal courthouse is expected to be a brief, no-frills affair, and it is unlikely that he will speak other than to offer one- or two-word answers to U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn's questions.

[...]

Rothstein's wife, Kimberly, is set to attend Wednesday's hearing and plans to give a statement to the media afterward, her lawyer Scott Saidel said.

H- WPLG: You might want to stay away from Berries in the Grove in Coconut Grove.

IT IS BY FAR ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR PLACES IN MIAMI. NEW TIMES MAGAZINE NAMED BERRIES, “THE BEST RESTAURANT” IN THE GROVE. RECENTLY THE PLACE WAS ORDERED SHUT BY THE STATE AFTER AN INSPECTOR FOUND EVIDENCE OF A RODENT INFESTATION.

[...]

* “Observed build-up of mold-like substance on surface of nonfood-contact surface.walkin door back house.”

* “Critical. Observed rodent activity as evidenced by rodent droppings found.”
* “BACKHOUSE: 15-20 fresh rodent droppings observed in dry storage room on, and around food storage containers. apx 15 fresh droppings observed under shelving in dry goods storage area.”
* “MAIN: apx 150+fresh rodent droppings observed on floor in dishwasher/food prep area.apx 150+fresh rodent droppings observed on cookline and salad prep shelving, floors, windowsills.”
* “OUTSIDE : apx 10 fresh rodent droppings observed under equipment, apx 75 fresh rodent droppings behind pizza oven.”

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