The Cooler

People getting hit as they cross the street with their walkers, and other uplifting news bites are hereby presented in this morning's Cooler.

A- Herald: Sounds like fun!

Calm seas and sunny skies may have spurred a heavy turnout for Wednesday's opener of the two-day statewide lobster recreational miniseason in South Florida. But the balmy weather apparently did nothing to enhance diver success, and marine law enforcement officers were obliged to curb the usual crop of lawbreakers.

``I don't think I've ever seen so many boats,'' said Jeff Torode, operator of Pompano Beach-based South Florida Diving Headquarters. ``You could walk from Miami to Palm Beach boat to boat. If there are kayaks, john boats, whatever, they were in it.''

B- Herald: Because it's easy money.

Cash-strapped Miami is joining the growing list of South Florida cities with camera-enforced ticketing at traffic lights.

Miami police spokeswoman Kenia Reyes said the city is ``in the process of procuring the traffic infraction detector system.''

``They should be up and running by the end of the year,'' she said in an e-mail.

C- Sun-Sentinel: More Winn-Dixie store closings.

Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. announced late Wednesday that it will close 13 of its South Florida supermarkets, among 30 the company plans to shut down nationwide.

D- Sun-Sentinel: South Florida: Epicenter of compassion...and great drivers.

POMPANO BEACH —
A hit-and-run driver struck and killed a man Wednesday night as the victim attempted to cross a busy street while using a walker, authorities said.

The incident happened shortly before 10 p.m. in the 900 block of East Sample Road, a few blocks east of Dixie Highway, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office.

E- Sun-Sentinel: Chan Lowe.

F- Miami Today: Publix getting closer to coming to downtown Miami.

Downtown's Omni area is one step closer to getting its first major grocery store.
A request to override two elements of the City of Miami's zoning code in designs for a Publix at 1776 Biscayne Blvd. was approved 8-1 last week by the city's Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board, said Luciana Gonzalez, assistant to the Planning Department director.
This allows the Publix to be built with no setback from the public right-of-way, which includes the street and sidewalk, and less than the required amount of green space.
The city's zoning code requires a 10-foot setback from city property and at least 8,309 square feet of green space.
The Biscayne Publix plans include no setbacks at Biscayne Boulevard and Northeast Second Court. Proposed green space measures 5,373 square feet — 2,936 less than what's required.
Last week's variance approval marked another step toward the go-ahead for construction.

G- CBS4: Cleaner beaches in Broward and Palm Beach.

In the Natural Resources Defense Council's annual report beaches in Broward and Palm Beach counties fared much better than their counterparts in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. In 2009, the beaches of Broward only exceed the state's bacteria count standard two percent of the time; Palm Beach beaches only one percent of the time, according to The Sun-Sentinel.

Beaches in Miami-Dade, however, exceeded the state limit eight percent of the time and Monroe County beaches nearly 10 percent of the time.

.