The Cooler

The full moon and a space station will provide two reasons to glance towards the heavens tonight. That and more in today's Cooler.

A- Herald: New Publix will save the day.

``It used to be a ghost town,'' said Franky Arriola, 29, who moved into a Biscayne Boulevard condo in 2007. ``It's getting better day by day.''

Shortly after Arriola moved in, he witnessed a stabbing victim carried off the basketball court at Margaret Pace Park. Now he plays basketball there regularly and walks his dogs along Biscayne.

``Now, there's a pulse,'' Arriola said. ``It shows that there are signs of life if Publix is willing to invest. I can't wait for other things to be built.''

Alyce Robertson, executive director of the Miami Downtown Development Authority, said the new Publix is ``a wonderful signal to the rest of the businesses in the area that we've really turned the corner. This is a good anchor for the area. It has the potential to be a catalytic thing.''

B- Herald: Losers.

The Celtics advance to face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Heat moves on to officially begin the mega offseason makeover that has overshadowed this season from the moment training camp opened.

C- Herald: Thanksgiving must be a hoot.

A meat cleaver and a machete were the weapons of choice for two Broward County grandparents who wound up in front of a judge Tuesday in unrelated cases.

Emma Bell, 63, was first up, facing a charge of aggravated assault for allegedly swinging a meat cleaver at her adult daughter, Tracy Bell, during an argument at Emma Bell's home in Lauderhill on Monday. The daughter received only a minor cut, police said.

[...]

Tracy Bell, 41, was charged with abuse of an elderly person for her alleged role in the fight. Police said she struck her mother with a metal stick, although it was not clear who swung first. Hurley set bail at $5,000 for her, too.

D- Herald: Embarrassing.

Was he running out of money, or just running out of patience with his favorite football team? Whatever the reason, accused Ponzi swindler Nevin Shapiro stopped making pledged checks to the University of Miami and got his name yanked from a student lounge in 2008, a school spokeswoman said Tuesday.

``He just didn't live up to the payment plan,'' said UM spokeswoman Margot Winick.

Prosecutors cited a 10-year pledge Shapiro made to get his name on a university lounge -- a donation made with money he fraudulently obtained from investors while operating a bogus food wholesale business, prosecutors said. Though they did not name the school, prosecutors said Shapiro donated $150,000.

Winick said the lounge was named after Shapiro in 2005, and now the lounge does not have a donor's name attached to it.

E- Herald: Morin.

F- Herald: Editorial, Arizona's new immigration law.

The people of Arizona have reason to be frustrated. The state has an estimated 460,000 undocumented immigrants. The border with Mexico has become a favorite crossing point for alien smugglers and drug criminals. The federal government has been derelict in its duty to protect the borders, despite a heavily beefed-up Border Patrol and futile attempts to build real or virtual fences to detect illicit traffic.

But none of this justifies racial profiling or usurping a federal responsibility. The potential harm the law will inflict on innocent American citizens creates an environment of fear that undermines respect for law enforcement and breeds resentment and ethnic divisions.

Meanwhile, fiscally ailing police departments -- whose chiefs are mostly against the law -- will find themselves busier than ever as they deal with the impossible job of enforcing it.

G- Sun-Sentinel: The AARP Robbers.

Two women and a man were arrested in connection with an April 9 home invasion robbery at Century Village, police said Tuesday.

Denise Ellen Oddstad, 56, of Pembroke Pines, and Crystal Lee Delmaro, 27, of Las Vegas, have been charged with burglary/battery, grand theft and false imprisonment.

[...]

Jerry Uwnawich, 47, of Fort Lauderdale, was arrested Friday and charged with dealing in stolen property.

The robbery happened at about 7 p.m. in the 200 block of Southwest 132nd Way, police said.

A 91-year-old woman told police that she went to her front door when she heard someone knocking faintly and found a woman standing outside, begging for help.

The resident would not let the woman into her home, and instead offered to bring a phone outside. When the elderly woman returned with the phone, two female robbers pushed their way inside and began taking things, police said.

H- Palm Beach Post: It's not just Spirit.

DALLAS — Southwest Airlines Co., which bumped more passengers than any U.S. carrier last year, has been fined $200,000 for violating rules on kicking passengers off oversold flights.

[...]

Last year, Southwest bumped 13,113 passengers — 80 percent more than the next closest carrier. However, Southwest carried the most U.S. passengers, and travelers faced a greater chance of being bumped on some other airlines, with American's regional affiliate, American Eagle, being the worst.

I- Palm Beach Post: Your South Florida moment on the day.

PORT ST. LUCIE — Calling marijuana “God’s herb,” a man repeatedly blew pot smoke at an 11-year-old boy’s mouth and made him stand with his arms outstretched “in the same fashion as Jesus on the cross,” according to records obtained Tuesday.

Port St. Lucie police say Richard Joseph Nazareth, 38, also made the boy and a 9-year-old girl drink from a mixture of water, tears, spit and beer that he used to “bless” a friend’s house.

J- CBS4: Video, Scareware scams infecting computers.

K- WSVN: The Castle is torn down.

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) -- Construction crews are working to demolish a legendary South Florida home.

The 11,000-square-foot castle located at 4462 North Bay Road was razed Tuesday. Scott Mayaudon was a former employee at the massive residence. "Just seeing memories gone by," he said.

The castle, which was once owned by Windjammer Barefoot Cruise founder Michael Burke, was known as much for its size as for its odd amenities, like gargoyles, watchtowers and even a moat containing sharks. "It was good while it lasted. As you can see, it was basically one man's fantasy," said Mayaudon.

L- TC Palm: See the International Space Station pass over Florida tonight.

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