SFDB Late Night Politics

"Don't blame Bush!"...from the people who blame Clinton. All. The. Time.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Blame
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

-via Bark Bark Woof Woof


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Your Evening Sift

I usually don't like to recommend a post from the Sift because they're all good, but if you're running short on time and you can only check out a couple, make sure that you get to Eye on Miami's offering for the night. It's the letter "H" in your evening Sift...

A- Take a peek inside pro basketball player Carl Boozer's Coconut Grove house that just sold for $5.5 million...at Miami Condo Investments.

Tuesday afternoon, The Los Angeles Times reported that Carlos Boozer, the unrestricted free agent of the Utah Jazz, recently sold his Coconut Grove mansion for $5.5M. The home was purchased by him and his wife, CeCe, for $7.3M in 2007. The 7,002 square foot Mediterranean-style estate has 5 bedrooms, 5 full baths, 2 half baths and a 3-car garage.

B- Fin is now open, according to Mango&Lime, who provides a couple links to better familiarize yourself to Jonathan Eismann's latest creation.

C- Miami Spa Month is actually 2 months long [of course!] and includes special discounted treatments at a number of Miami spas. More info can be found at Miami on the Cheap.

D- David Rivera fails to show at a local candidate forum and The Reid Report has the reaction from the Joe Garcia campaign.

E- Southern District of Florida Blog reviews the performance of Elena Kagan thus far in her confirmation hearings.

Today is day 3. It's tough to watch the Senators drone on, but Kagan is doing a nice job. She's witty and professorial. It's interesting to compare her to Roberts, Alito, and Sotomayor. Kagan is certainly Roberts' equal, although they have very different styles. Roberts came across as the quintessential appellate judge, while Kagan is the professor. Both get A's for their performances. Alito and Sotomayor also had similar performances but again much different styles.

F- Does Mayor Regalado want to develop Virginia Key to pay back his cronies? Miami for Change seems to thinks so.

New parking lots, restaurants, shops, marinas, and all sorts of other "amenities" will accompany the renovation of the Marine Stadium, benefiting Tomasito's friends.

Environmentalists and preservationists will applaud Tomasito's actions because we all know Tomasito is anti-development.

Tomasito wins.

Tomasito's friends win.

The people lose...

G- Miamism provides a quick lesson on South Florida architecture over the years.

When buying real estate in Miami, especially in the older neighborhoods like Miami Shores, Coral Gables and Miami Beach, you will have to make a decision on style. I know the first question you get asked as a buyer is how much you want to spend (obviously your budget will determine what kind of house you end up buying); but buying a house is so much more than just the number of bedrooms and baths, the size and the price – buying a house that you will live in, needs to fit your lifestyle and comfort level.

I decided to write about the major features of the 3 main architectural periods common in Miami so that you know what to expect when you walk in a home. I can go into a property without knowing anything about it and tell you the period it was built and when it was remodeled by features and materials.

H- Eye on Miami has a sobering South Florida tale of life, death and how things can change so fast.

Peter loved life. He biked most days to the ocean - went for a swim before riding back home. He and his wife Karen had motorcycles which they rode to concerts and plays. They were both avid windsurfers on Rickenbacker Causeway - that is how I met them - now they are both dead.

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SFDB Chuckle Of The Day

-via The Daily Wh.at

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Arizona Politics

No, this isn't from The Onion.



Here's an SFDB tip for Pam: use images of sombreros and Democrats as targets if you really want to rile up your boorish Republican base into a delirium.


-via lgf

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SFDB Question Of The Day

I'm not sure why I was thinking of this today, but a classic Porsche 911 has always been my dream car. Doesn't have to be the Turbo. Just the regular classic model will do. What about you...

What is your "dream car?"

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SFDB Not So Random Thought

How sad is it when South Florida's most intelligent blog gets the start of hurricane season wrong?

The blogosphere weeps.







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The Cooler

Here's what attracted my attention in this morning's mainstream media.

A- Herald: Morin.

B- Herald: Video, Coconut Grove peacocks.

C- Sun-Sentinel: Life in South Florida.

When Nelson Grizales arrived home Monday and asked for his Viagra medication, his wife replied that she had crushed the pills and tossed them into the front yard, a Davie police complaint states.

Through a Spanish translator, Amparo Grizales told Broward Judge John "Jay" Hurley in court Tuesday, "I fed them to the plants."

Nelson Grizales, 68, got angry, slapped his wife's face with an open hand and pushed her to the floor, police said. Amparo Grizales told police she had never seen her husband of 31 years that angry.

D- Sun-Sentinel: So long At&T.

Verizon Wireless could start selling Apple iPhones by January, breaking AT&T’s exclusive grip in place since the iPhone debuted three years ago.

Recent news reports say Verizon Wireless may be adding the iPhone 4 to its smart phone lineup as soon as January.

E- South Florida Business Journal: Rice and beans.

Florida is the 36th most obese state in the country, while Latinos living in the Sunshine State ranked 30th in a new report titled "F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future."

Produced by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the report found Florida’s adult obesity rate is 25.1 percent. The men here are more obese than women at 27.6 percent.

[...]

In Florida, the adult obesity rate was 36.3 percent among blacks, 27.8 percent among Latinos and 23.1 percent among whites.

F- CBS4: Is the Gusman history?

Facing a projected $100 million deficit, the City of Miami may bring the curtain down on its financial backing of the historic Gusman Theater.

The movement to put the city owned theater's expense on the chopping block is supported by Mayor Tomás Regalado who says they can longer afford to support it.

One-third of the Gusman's $1.4 million operating budget comes from the city while the remaining funds come from the non-profit support group called Friends of Gusman, Miami-Dade County and the state, according to CBS4 news partners The Miami Herald. Regalado says the theater should find someone else to fill the $478,000 gap.

Located at 174 East Flagler Street the historic theater, built in 1926, recently underwent years of restoration work that cost taxpayers $8 million and has hosted a wide array of entertainment from concerts to the Miami International Film Festival.

Regalado said he plans to instruct City Manager Carlos Migoya to "zero out" the theater from the annual budget. Migoya says at this point no budget decisions have been made and he had not yet analyzed Gusman's figures.

G- WPTV: Answering the question, "What's more badass: alligators or pit bulls?

BELLE GLADE, Fla. - An alligator trapper will try and snare two alligators after at least one attacked a pit bull.

The dog's owner was walking his 65 pound pet near a canal when the alligator attacked. It dragged the dog into a drain.

A state biologist removed the dog's carcass Tuesday from the canal behind the Lake Breeze Trailer Park.

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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

It's a thundery AM up here in Broward so batten down the hatches and enjoy your Hump Day Sift.

A- FPL shuts off Superbee's power.

24 hours ago, I embarked on an adventure. It was a quasi-voluntary adventure... as my action (or willful inaction, based on a mistaken belief that FPL always calls you before they cut off your power) lead to me going on the adventure. I lived through a night that was kind of like being back in 1882. Kind of.

Here's the adventure: I got home last night (with bags full of vegetables from Publix to be refrigerated and frozen!) to find that my power had been cut off.

Tee-hee.

B- Miami Beach 411 profiles the Coral Way Corridor and provides lots of photos of its restaurants.

Unlike South Beach, this area is not overrun with tourists, which can get old after a while.

And while it might not have the throbbing nightlife of South Beach, it has a wide range of restaurants and it is only a short drive to the Grove, Gables or Brickell area.

It is also served by three Metrorail stations, the Coconut Grove, Vizcaya and Douglas Road stations.

While these are not exactly within walking distance, they are only a short drive away.

It is also takes less than 15 minutes to drive to Miami International Airport or if you prefer, a $20 cab ride.

C- Big Bear Brewing Company gets a quick review from FTL Today.

While the food was good…the prices are a bit high. The total bill came to around $40, so this is more of a 'special' occasion dining spot. They do have some high end steaks too.... Or maybe just a place for a small snack with some BEER!

D- Hidden City explains that upgrading to Wordpress 3.0 has left marks. Oh, Blogger, how I love thee.

After a couple of hours’ delay as I waited for the nice people at hosting.com to restore my database we are back in business. Of course, accidents like this can leave scars, and this is not an exception. Now my old posts have been liberally peppered with arcane symbols* and characters. I’ve fixed up the most recent posts, but since WordPress doesn’t give me a convenient search-and-replace tool the remaining mistakes will have to wait for someone to bring them to my attention. It’s as annoying as all hell, but so it goes.

E- South Florida Classical Review lists July's events for South Florida.

F- Republicans are back to using incendiary language in their daily rhetoric, Bark Bark Woof Woof notes.

I also find it disturbing that Mr. Boehner, along with a number of other Republicans, are cavalierly tossing around death and killing metaphors to describe the Democrats; they're "snuffing out America," or candidates talking freely about "taking out" their opposition through Second Amendment remedies or "gathering your armies," not to mention the ubiquitous Hitler and Holocaust imagery that pops into the campaign ads from Alabama to Alaska. I realize all campaigns go overboard, but where the Democrats were mean to George W. Bush and called him names, these folks are skating a little to close to dangerous. There's a difference between snark and death threats.

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Your Evening Sift

There was some nice posting out there in the SoFla blogosphere today. But don't take my word for it. Check out your evening Sift...

A- Worst Pizza recaps this weekend's Chevy Pizza Crawl and has a bunch of photos.

I once again got into a Chevy Truck and headed over to The Big Cheese, not too far from the University of Miami. Usually I try all the places before I put them on a #chevypizzacrawl but this time I asked others for suggestions and the majority suggested I included The Big Cheese, or Casola’s. I reached out to both and The Big Cheese seemed like the better place to go to. Every time I called Casola’s I was told to talk to the manager Josh, who never seemed to be in when I called anyways. The big cheese, is a nice greasy slice, but way too soggy. If you are looking for a late night slice after an evening of partying, I do not think you can go wrong here.

B- Kendrick Meek has lost Liberty City activists, according to The Reid Report.

A member of Team Greene told me the endorsements are “nothing personal” between the activists and Meek, but that they proved the Congressman has failed to deliver for his constituents, with the implication that if the people who know him best aren’t with him, why should Democrats outside Liberty City? In fact, Liberty City is still scarred from deadly riots that took place there in the 1980s, and the failure to redevelop the area, which ties back to the failed Dennis Stackhouse deal, has hovered around the fringes of the campaign. Only now, it could start to creep closer to the main conversation.

C- It's all delicious over at Coconut Grove Grapevine, although I'm not sure the actors will agree once they find out that Groveites are responsible for their stardom (hi Tom).

This is all publicity for Coconut Grove. It's interesting to think there are those who would like Burn Notice gone so that a park can replace their studio. It's also interesting to note that Jeffrey Donovan and others get annoyed when we take their pictures, but the fans are the ones who make them who they are. I think they would be more annoyed when people stop taking their pictures.

One fan drove down from Delray (hi Karen) the other day because she saw something I posted in the Grapevine about them filming on Grand Avenue. This says a lot about the power of the show and the stars. She drove down just to see Burn Notice.

We make them stars, they make the Grove a star, it's all a delicious circle.

D- Eye on Miami says some nice things about SFDB so, you know...

E- Sweat Records had a plant swiped over the weekend but last night got a visit from a Good Samaritan.

F-Rakontur posts a great clip from their soon to be released DVD of The U.

A disciple of Bear Bryant, Schnellenberger believed in training hard in 100+ degree weather and denying his players water breaks, while Athletic Director Sam Jankovich (1983-1990) worried about someone dying from heat stroke. In this deleted scene, we learn of the players' survivial techniques under these conditions and the mysterious disappearance of Milton Redwine (last seen running naked across the Hurricanes practice field).

G- Restaurant Gal tells us about a man who has earned the time to stop and smell the flowers.

He was small, but tough. Very tough. And very small.

When they needed someone to crawl through unimaginably tight spaces and fix, find or forage for what might keep them all alive another hour, he was their man.

He was small and tough and very intelligent. He spoke with authority, certainty and complexity. He didn’t have to tell you he was right. He always was.

I never knew this brave, tough, smart-as-hell soldier who fought in a gritty war that occurred a generation ago. Others did, however, and I have gleaned from them sporadic, bright bits and pieces of his colorful past.

H- There will be a town hall meeting on Thursday to voice your concerns on the Rickenbacker Causeway and View From Virginia Key has all the pertinent information.


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SFDB Post Of The Week

SFDB selects its Post of the Week by going back and reviewing all the Sifts that we've done over the past 7 days. We find the best post of the week and note the runners ups as we judge them to be.

Another rather slow week for posts that reached out and grabbed me. Still there was some good writing and some well-constructed blog posts out there. Let's take a look at some of them.

Runners-Up: Urban Environment League took a ride on the Metrorail and shared their experience in a very simple but useful post titled The Metrorail. However, the post would have definitely benefited from some photos. Miami Beach 411 scored an interview with Michael Putney that gave readers a good look at the personal side of the long time WPLG political reporter. Redland Rambles added some nice photos to their informative post called Sizzle and Freeze that discussed how the extreme cold of this past winter is affecting the hot summer happenings in the Redland.


Winner: Just about any of Food For Thought's restaurant reviews can be considered a candidate for the Post of the Week or a runner-up mention because of the great writing and the use of ample photos to supplement the post, not to mention the straightforward and knowledgeable assessment of the establishment. This week's review of the hot new Shake Shack on South Beach continues that tradition and sparks a good conversation in the comments section to boot. In a week of fairly light posting, a Food For Thought regulation post rises to the top and captures this week's SFDB Post of the Week.

'Til next time, keep on blogging!

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Marco Rubio: The Shiny Has Worn Off

St. Pete Times...

TAMPA — It's not so much that the thrill is gone with Marco Rubio, but definitely the passion has cooled.

Back when he was the daring insurgent taking on Charlie Crist, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate was exciting, edgy, a national superstar. Now, he's the de facto Republican nominee, while Gov. Crist is all over TV talking about the oil catastrophe and other primary campaigns look much more exciting than Rubio's.

"We've lost that aggressiveness and passion that we had with Marco Rubio when he was behind in the polls. We were ready to take the hill," said Tom Eckert, a Republican activist from Oldsmar at a Rubio campaign stop Monday in Tampa. "Now it's a period of regrouping."

About 60 people showed up at Datz Deli in South Tampa for a meet-and-greet with the Miami Republican who used to routinely attract 150 people or more at Tampa Bay campaign events.

I guess not being sure if your president holds a U.S. birth certificate can only take you so far these days.

I know campaigns move in waves and this may merely be the lull between the next surge in Marco Rubio's march to the White House in 2012, but I'm finding it hard to see anything of substance with this guy other than "I'm your Tea Party candidate and Jim DeMint, Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann and Rush Limbaugh really like me!" That plays well to about 10% of the electorate and what the other 90% hear is "Drill, baby, drill!" and "We'll have to raise the Social Security retirement age."

I can assure you that those things aren't sounding very good to older, environmentally conscious Floridians these days.

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SFDB Ecard Of The Day

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The Cooler

A Republican candidate visits Miami and stops by the Versailles. That and other earth-shattering news in this morning's Cooler.

A- Herald: Some things never change.

Visiting Cuban-American senior citizens and Radio Mambí in Miami, Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott introduced himself Monday to one of the few communities across Florida that hasn't seen his $16 million media blitz.

``Buenos días. Mi nombre es Rick Scott,'' the Naples multimillionaire in a navy suit told about 200 people waiting for a hot lunch at the Armando Badia Senior Center.

Scott, who visited the famed Versailles restaurant in Little Havana earlier this month, has not yet put his money behind Hispanic outreach.

[...]

Scott's halting Spanish and brief remarks in English failed to whip up the crowd, though they appreciated that he came bearing two dozen gifts for the raffle: hand soaps for the ladies and Cuban coffee for the gents.

``I think he wants to help,'' 77-year-old Alicia Perez said in Spanish, waving her hand and shouting when Scott called out the number on her raffle ticket.

Perez said she was unaware of Scott's past as chief executive of Columbia/HCA, which paid a record-setting $1.7 billion fine for bilking Medicare and has been at the center of attacks from his chief Republican rival in the governor's race, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum.

B- Herald: I'm sure things will totally turn around come Opening Day.

Inside the former Orange Bowl, construction of a new baseball stadium moves forth in a blizzard of activity, the ballpark more than one-third done and racing for a 2012 grand opening.

But outside the stadium, East Little Havana has felt little impact yet from the $642 million project, funded mostly by public dollars and pitched to residents with a promise that if you build it, they will come.

As the columns of the enormous structure climb skyward by the day, there are no discernible signs of the stadium spurring retailers, restaurants or businesses to commit to the area.

C- Herald: Video, Coconut Grove peacock art.

D- Herald: They write letters.

Drive more responsibly

I am one of those rare drivers who use turn signals, come to a complete stop at stop signs and stop at red lights.

I know, I know -- I'm very annoying. But, I'm having a ball driving you all crazy. Please, Miami drivers, use a little courtesy out there.

JEAN E. SABBAGH, Miami

E- NBC Miami: Craigslist Miami-style.

The two were robbed of an expensive motorcycle at gunpoint after negotiating the terms of sale on Craigslist.org. Police said the deal didn't include the AK-47 assault rifles.

The Pomare brothers were told to come to an unspecified location to drop off the motorcycle and receive the cash for their 2003 Kawasaki motorcycle. But when the potential buyers showed up they did with guns drawn.

It didn’t take much to force the brothers to the ground after three rounds were fired. Within seconds, one of the suspects was taking off eastbound on the motorcycle, while the others jetted off on foot.

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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

It's Back-to-Work Tuesday for me. Let's get right into your morning Sift...

A- Radio or Not shares a homemade video from Saturday Hands Across the Sand rally in Hollywood.

B- The Burger Beast puts Norman's 180's Chef Norman Van Aken through The Grinder.

BB: Are toasted buns necessary? Yes or No?

NVA: Yes. It adds in the sweet caramelization.

C- Obalesque has returned from vacation and has a wrap up.

Next stop – Swampscott, MA, following a long but lovely drive through the mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire. We don’t get lost even when I get veer off the highway to painfully pee in the verdant late-spring foliage. Maybe that hour-long break at the brewery wasn’t such a good idea. Well, a man‘s gotta eat, and a weak prostate gland’s gotta be tapped. Consider it giving back to the locals.

D- Justice Building Blog offers his comments on the major news of today.

For 70 days everyone but the Governor of Mississippi knew that the prevailing Gulf currents would take oil to the beaches of Mississippi. In response, Governor called up 58- let us repeat that- fifty eight members of the National Guard- to prepare for the oil that everyone knew was coming. This from the same Governor who practiced the "duality of Republicanism" - simultaneously criticizing the Obama administration for doing too little, and for creating too big a government.

It would serve the Governor of Mississippi and the people who voted for him if the Obama administration told him that because of rising budget deficits and because of the concept of limited government, that the Federal Government could do nothing for the shores and beaches of Mississippi....except lead a prayer on the floor of Congress.

E- The Supreme Court was busy yesterday and Bark Bark Woof Woof gives his impression of a couple of their rulings.

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Your Evening Sift

I'm winding up a great 3-day weekend and getting ready for another. Since I don't do restaurant reviews here, I'll just mention the Tuscan Grill on Las Olas for their pumpkin-stuffed tortelli. Can't recommend the thoroughly bland gnocchi, however. And the pomegranate martini at Smith & Jones is killer. On to your evening Sift...

A- Get in to Zoo Miami for $5 this weekend, according to Miami on the Cheap.

B- Artlurker takes a look around Claire Fontaine: Economies at MOCA NOMI.

Within this very serious subject matter, there were moments that could not be tied up into neat little theoretical packages. God of the Doors is an odd two-faced mannequin head with a skin-like surface on a very slowly rotating base. The political meaning is there, but it’s trumped by the weirdness of the head, a found object. There was also something mesmerizing about Untitled (Sculpture Suspendue), a long row of artificial plants hanging from the ceiling, slowly and mechanically spinning on disco ball motors as if by an artificial breeze. And who could forget the dishwasher filled with dildos et cetera?

C- Sweat Records says that Vegan Brunch went so well this Sunday, they're going to do it every Sunday.

D- Urban Environment League wonders why we have billboard signage still up on the east side of I-95 in Miami.

So in 1985, a county-wide vote passed a law against having signage of the east side of I-95 in the downtown area. And yet we have signs everywhere in that area—what’s the deal?

E- In the 2nd part of their guide for local bands, REV Miami says local bands are missing their merchandise.

While the particulars of merchandising is elementary, the main issue is the presentation of these materials. Why aren't bands showing their goods at their shows?

It comes back to that all important issue: attitude. Music is ultimately personal, so it's difficult, at times, for the sensitive artist to put their passion up for sale. Another reason, and more ominous, is that concerts are often times a place for bands to get high, drunk, and laid, and therefore can't be burdened with something like trying to make some money.

Either way, the fact is that a successful band is one that puts all the bullshit aside and does what's most important for the success of their band. There will be plenty of time for play, but first a band has to handle business.

F- Hidden City has an update on his life and links to SFDB so, you know...

At least this godawful heat has reduced mosquito population on my porch a little. I was getting tired of the constant annoyance of the little bastards sitting out there in their tiny guayaberas all day, slapping down tiny dominoes and bitching about Fidel. C’mon, guys, you’ve got a lifespan of less than two months. There’s no way you know anything about Cuba, and certainly not as much as the stray cat that keeps wandering through my yard with a Cohiba in his mouth. He seems to have a line to what’s going on. At the very least, his stories are more interesting.

G- Burn Notice was filming in the Grove today so Coconut Grove Grapevine has a bunch of [easily cropped] watermarked photos of the famous people he pestered.

It's a lot of fun with Burn Notice in town. Above, Jeffrey Donovan was talking with me as he walked to Starbucks. The stars often walk around alone and do their thing without much incident. They are noticed more when the lights and camera are trained on them than when they are simply walking alone down the street to get a frappacino. I tried to get him to take a picture with one of our famous fiberglass peacocks, but he declined.

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SFDB's Two Questions Of The Day

Isn't this supposed to be the friggin' rainy season?

So why is my lawn brown?


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Time's Best Blogs Of 2010

SFDB makes it!!!




Alright, alright...here's the real list.

A guy can dream can't he?


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SFDB Not-So-Random Thought Of The Day

From CNN...

In another dramatic victory for firearm owners, the Supreme Court has ruled unconstitutional Chicago, Illinois' 28-year-old strict ban on handgun ownership, a potentially far-reaching case over the ability of state and local governments to enforce limits on weapons.

A 5-4 conservative majority of justices on Monday reiterated its two-year-old conclusion the Constitution gives individuals equal or greater power than states on the issue of possession of certain firearms for self-protection.

Sheesh. So I guess we now we know that Richard Poplawski died in vain. Shame. I thought the guy was a real visionary like Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter and G. Gordon Liddy.

This doesn't change anything, however. Barack Hussein Obama is still the black Fidel Castro [I know this because I live in South Florida and know people whose parents and grandparents lived in Cuba] who is making this country a socialist nation slowly and surely until one day it will look like Havana.

God help us all.

Oh, I almost forgot: drill, baby, drill.

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The Cooler

Just a few things for you as the mainstream media is slow to awaken this morning...sorta like me.

A- Herald: Buy some earplugs already!

It's been almost a decade since Miami Commissioner Arthur Teele Jr. pitched a plan to entice development of the towering condos that would later line Biscayne Boulevard: Permit 24-hour dance clubs in the neglected but adjacent Park West neighborhood to attract crowds from Miami Beach, Coconut Grove and beyond.

It worked. The clubs thrived and the condos rose.

The late politician's vision, however, now has the city in a quagmire -- balancing the business community's needs against those of residents.

Noise from the streets and clubs rage as early-morning risers try to sleep. As the sun peeks across the boulevard, residents on their way to work cross paths with boisterous partygoers dispersing after a night of revelry.

B- Herald: They write letters.

Stupid traffic or drivers?

Anyone who drives in and around Miami-Dade and Broward counties has to have encountered what I like to refer to as ``Stupid Traffic.'' A perfect case in point would be the turnpike to I-75 flyover. The flyover contains two lanes that then narrow down to one at the entrance ramp to I-75. Why are so many people compelled to remain in the outer or right lane until they absolutely have to merge to the left forming a single lane?

Those of us in the right lane have to stop to let them in, stopping traffic. Once on the entrance ramp many people will use the entire ramp until it runs out and then absolutely have to merge, once again stopping traffic.

ALLEN LUNDY, Miami

C- Sun-Sentinel: Lots of new laws on Thursday.

The bong bill (HB 366):

Changes: Makes it a crime to sell bongs or smoking pipes unless they are sold in a shop that gets 75 percent of its revenue from tobacco, cigar and cigarette sales.

Impact: Florida tried to ban drug paraphernalia in the 1980s, but specialty stores still sell bongs, water pipes and other pipes made of wood, metal or ice. The law aims at shutting down those shops.

D- Palm Beach Post: Start them early.

Signs advertising a pain management business were removed from two Boca Raton area high schools this month, within days of one parent's complaint to the Palm Beach County School Board.

Administrators agreed that the banners for Pain Bee Gone, 22749 U.S. 441 west of Boca Raton, should not have been allowed on fences along the Boca Raton and Olympic Heights campuses.

Despite a board policy discouraging certain ads at schools, the signs were posted during the school year, in exchange for hundreds of dollars in contributions from the pain center.

"That's not the kind of advertising that we want high school kids seeing, coming and going to school," said Chief Operating Officer Joseph Moore. "We just thought it was something that was not appropriate for the age group at the school."

E- CBS4: It's time again for our yearly physics lesson.

The City of Miami is pushing a new public awareness campaign regarding violence in the streets of the Magic City. It's called "One Bullet Kills the Party."

[...]

The message to the community is about the dangers of firing guns during the upcoming Fourth of July holiday. Various incidents with stray bullets throughout the years made city officials realize they had to launch this very aggressive awareness crusade, with the campaign message displayed on bus benches and billboards, to remind the whole community that firing celebratory gun shots in the air can hurt or even kill innocent bystanders.

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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

Yeah, we're getting a late start, readers. That's what days off are for, right? Enjoy your late, but substantial, morning Sift...

A- Get your week started off right with some nice butterfly photos from Some Blogging Guy.

B- And if the butterflies weren't enough to even out your Monday, check out the excellent burrowing owl images shot by Nikon Miami.

C- Miami, bro explains why she can be intelligent and live in Miami.

Today, I spent the most lovely day at the beach. The water was just warm enough, the sun and clouds were just so that everything looked clearer out there. The Atlantic's hues were more defined than usual. If I could take this day and pass it around, I feel it would be a lot less intelligent to leave Miami than to stay here.

D- Photographs from this weekend's Hands Across the Beach are up at Soul of Miami.

E- Midtown Chic-a gets engaged on the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC.

However, I continued to take pictures and then as soon as we reached the middle of the bridge, he pulled me to the side and blurted out, “I actually brought you here to ask you to marry me.” Just like that! My reaction was, “You’re kidding right?” I for some reason thought he might be joking but then he brought out a small box and that’s when I was like OMG, this is really happening! He got down on one knee and told me “You’re the love of my life and my best friend, will you marry me?”

F- Hard to tell what The Burger Beast thinks of Orale! Taqueria Mexicana.

If you're hungry, if no other food can satisfy that craving, and if you can find them, maybe you can eat at...Orale! Taqueria Mexicana (can you tell I just watched the A-Team?).

G- Bark Bark Woof Woof shares his thoughts on the passing of Senator Robert Byrd while The Reid Report has video. From the former.

Our friends on the right will remind us again and again that Mr. Byrd once belonged to the Ku Klux Klan. Yes, he did. And he repented and made amends, whereas other senators of the time who outlived the Jim Crow laws in their states did not; they simply became members of the party that didn't seem to mind having old times there not be forgotten. At the least Sen. Byrd didn't carry his past as a badge of honor; it was more a lesson that times change and people have to change with them.

H- Eye on Miami takes a look at the financial train wreck that is Marco Rubio.

I- Coconut Grove Grapevine gives us a sneak peak at a new restaurant in the Grove called Lulu.

The menu consists of lots of comfort food from Fried Green Tomatoes and Churrasco to Truffle Macaroni and Cheese.

J- 25 new photos are up over at The Street.

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Your Evening Sift

The SoFla blogosphere remained rather quiet today so your evening Sift remains light...enjoy.

A- Swampstyle comments on the civil disturbances in Toronto...and some other things.

Canadians pride themselves on their maple syrup, civility and living north of the political demarcation that separates them from Amerikkka. They think we are crazed violent haters and we think they are slow frozen fruities. But the one thing we have in common is the onslaught of globalization, of the not so newworldorder that creepy papa Bush Sr. lauded with silent alarm years ago.

B- Check out what Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band sorta sounds like at The Green Parrot....the video's audio is marginal.

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SFDB Readers Favorite Blogging Platform: Results

Last Monday I took a cue from Lifehacker and asked SFDB readers what blogging platform they preferred from the 5 choices that Lifehacker readers had deemed worthy. A whole 23 readers responded and here are the results...



Blogger was the overwhelming favorite with 14 votes, Wordpress was 2nd with 7, Posterous and Tumbler each got one, and SquareSpace 0.

By contrast, Lifehacker's results looked something like this...



I know, it's tough to read. To summarize, Wordpress kicked butt with Blogger bringing up a distant second. You can click on the images to make them bigger.

What to make of this? Well, Lifehacker's sample was huge [>9,000] and naturally included a larger representation of bloggers and internet users than my measly poll. But I'm also thinking that the average Lifehacker reader might be a little more tech savvy and prefer the customization possibilities of the Wordpress platform.

Personally, I prefer Blogger because I want to spend more time writing than tinkering with my template and I don't want to go through the trouble of finding a host. I'm sure there are folks that can find fault with those reasons but for me, that's what it comes down to in the end.

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World Cup Game Highlight

As regular readers know, I'm not a huge soccer fan. So when I tuned in yesterday, it was more than the game that kept me interested. If you were also watching then you will recognize this moment that I consider one of the high points of the telecast.




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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

Slow, slow morning in the South Florida blogosphere. It won't take you but two sips of your coffee to get through your morning Sift...

A- A few comments on yesterday's soccer game from Eye on Miami.

Our guys did well. We did well enough to win against Ghana in a game where we were lucky as against Algeria. There is still a big gap between the skill level of the world's top players and ours. When Landon Donovan said, after the game, that "we were a little naive", I guess what he meant that the US still needs to play more physically and brutally to make up the difference. The gap is much narrower than it used to be, but as long as millions of parents are driving kids to soccer practices, that is how it will remain. That is not to say that we will never win a World Cup. Advanced selection and training systems are already in place that have turned professional football into a human form of thoroughbred racing. I wonder, where is the joy of the beautiful game in that?

B- The late Commissioner Arthur Teele gets a mural and The Reid Report thinks it's all wrong.

The mural is a chessboard, with a fallen piece that depicts the fact that “the king has fallen.” Lord have mercy. And I should also mention that Miami is broke, and can’t even afford to rehab its historic once-segregated beach, Virginia Key…

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SFDB Saturday Night Turndown Service

Loggins and Messina, House At Pooh Corner


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Your Evening Sift

If you're like me, you're reeling from today's loss to Ghana. But life has to go on so put down the pills and alcohol and read your evening Sift.

A- Artlurker's online silent auction this week has been rather slow.

Owing to a surprising and quite frankly disappointing last few days of the Artlurker Online Silent Auction we feel it pertinent to remind readers that the function of these auctions is to raise funds to ensure the longevity of the website. While perhaps not the most innovative or exciting approach to fund raising, the cause is worthy and the need very real. Real enough that we feel justified in sacrificing something that has stood faithfully by us since the very beginning just so that we might go on.

B- Figure the odds, over at Restaurant Gal.

C- Justice Building Blog didn't waste any time in posting his thoughts about the United States losing to Ghana in the World Cup today.

The Yanks went as far as they deserved to. This was not Hockey in Lake Placid in 1980. There would be no "do you believe in miracles?" moments.

Football- what we here call soccer- is not our game. It is a game that belongs to almost all other countries, but not ours. We wouldn't expect Ghana to compete and win the Stanley Cup. We wouldn't expect Brazil to field a basketball team to compete with the LA Lakers. We don't expect Germany to challenge the NY Yankees at the world series. And there would be serious risk of death if Japan or China put a team in the NFL.

D- Swampstyle introduces a new blog for Swampspace which, not so coincidentally, celebrates its 1-year anniversary today.

So it is that we mark one year to the day when swampspace gallery opened its doors. The place was conceived at a time of certainty when all that prime swamp-estate needed was a name and willing appreciators. Google has graciously and automotronically stepped up to cement this occasion with their support of a new blog devoted to swampspace, the venue, its events, ambitions and accreditation.

E- Play the latest round of Latino or Americano at Sweet Home Hialeah.

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Rev Up For Today's World Cup

Because miracles do happen...





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South Florida Cartoons

A coupla good ones this morning...



Chan Lowe, Sun-Sentinel




Jim Morin, Miami Herald

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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

It's a lazy Saturday morning so let's ease into it with a light morning Sift. Enjoy...

A- Homestead is raking in the bucks with their new red light cameras, according to Homestead is Home.

B- Some Blogging Guy posts his normal quarterly Sun-Sentinel rant.

Let’s talk about the news now. 90% of the news articles are nothing more than stale briefs or recaps. In the case of someone being shot you will read that someone was shot at so and so club and they have no information on the victim’s condition nor if someone has been apprehended yet. All you know is that someone was shot. Don’t expect any updates either. The same stale writing, including typos will remain on the front “news” page for days, until some sex scandal will push it off.

Every time I read a Sun-Sentinel article I am left with a sack of questions. Questions like, “Who, What, When, Where and why”.

C- Everglades clouds, over at The South Florida Watershed Journal.

D- Worst Pizza says Aura Pizza on Lincoln Road is okay but don't expect free refills on your sodas.

If you are looking for Pizza while on Lincoln Road, in my opinion there are better places to eat at like Spris, but give this place a try anyways. Maybe they have learned how to use their ovens better by the time you have read this. Based on the dish my wife ordered, and the amount of people eating there, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Aura out of business one day. Just doesn’t seem like quality enough of food in my opinion to compete with others.

E- "Miami" Marco Rubio is now getting wishy-washy on his pronouncement that the new healthcare plan be repealed. According to Bark Bark Woof Woof...

At first he was in favor of repealing the healthcare reform law; in fact, he's campaigned for the Florida Senate seat on the premise that he would do that if he was elected. Now he's saying, well, I'd only repeal parts of it; there are some good things in it after all, like the pre-conditions ban or the coverage of children up to the age of 26.

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Your Evening Sift

The South Florida blogosphere is slowing down for the weekend but you know you can count on SFDB to keep you updated on what's being posted with the Sifts. I'll be here through the weekend, so make sure you check in regularly. Here's your surprisingly busy evening Sift...

A- Check out this description of the $8 cocktails you can get at the Mondrian on any given Friday night, at All Purpose Dark.

So it's Friday night and you want to get drinks? Somewhere pretty, scenic, sexy. Also, let's have those drinks be somewhat inexpensive for South Beach ($8 as opposed to $14) and made by a bartender who takes his spirit-mixing seriously. Throw in cheap valet ($8 as opposed to a whopping $24) and like-priced snacks and you've got the Mondrian's new Friday night deal.

B- Miami Beach 411 has some comments on the reversal of a notorious South Florida killer's death sentence.

The Supreme Court essentially ruled that the testimony given by Dr. Lazaro Garcia during the penalty phase of the trial was inadmissible. You can read the opinion here, but even without the doctor’s testimony, is there any question that this guy brutally raped and murdered an innocent girl and tried to kill her equally-innocent boyfriend? Does his testimony change any of the facts of what Caraballo did? Unless there was some doubt that Caraballo hallucinated the whole thing and the doctor assured jurors he did not, how on earth are you throwing out this sentence?

C- Random Pixels answers some mail that coincidentally comes in at the same time that the Fox News staff shows its a*s.

D- Jeff Eats goes all caps lock and claims that Sweetness Bake Shop & Cafe on Sunset Drive in Miami is da bomb.

OUTRAGEOULSY- delicious…cupcakes, cakes, confections, gelato—coffees & teas. Order/pickup at the counter.

E- Baby Tropic of Mom walks on camera!

F- Dress up as a cow on July 9th and get fed for free at Chik-fil-A, Eater Miami informs us.

On Friday, July 9, all Chik-fil-A restaurants will celebrate its self-declared, annual Cow Appreciation Day by offering a free meal to anyone who visits one of their restaurants, wait for it, dressed as a cow. Yep, dress up as Elsie and you'll get an entree, side item and beverage.

G- The Burger Beast finds it hard to get stoked about Hialeah's Doghouse.

While I wouldn't tell you to go out of your way to come here and eat, it makes for a great midnight snack if you're in the area.

H- Another swampy opening over at Swampstyle.

I- Burn Notice builds a bank in the Grove and Coconut Grove Grapevine notices.

J- UVu Blog shares a video of the highlights of the Greene/Meek slugfest debate that went down earlier this week.

K- The Street posts 21 new Miami faces.

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Flashback Friday

Steely Dan, Bad Sneakers


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SFDB's Favorite Comment From Yesterday

"Although it's difficult, I try not to mock the religious celebrations of others. The Church of Jobs has the same rights as any other religious institution."


- mkhall, South Florida iPhone Craziness

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SFDB Love Note To Marco Rubio

Marco, on Wednesday you said this...



So you're for deepwater drilling only if it can be done safely and that "[i]t’s being done safely all over the world."

Psst, Miami Marco....



Yeah, not safe.

Marco, saying that you're for deepwater drilling only if it's safe is like saying you're for taking I-95 to work only if it's tame and risk-free. Ain't going to happen. Ever.

But here's the thing. I want you to continue with this approach. I really do. Because every time you get on national TV and use it you alienate a few more people. Oye, Marco. The only people don't recognize this for the horsesh*t that it is are the fine folks who will vote for you no matter what you say or whose interests you represent. Know what I mean, acere? Of course you do.

Bottom line? Floridians need someone who is going to represent their interests on this issue. Marco, you don't. And that is music to the ears of Democrats and Charlie Crist right about now.


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The Cooler

Here's some of the more interesting stuff I found this morning in the mainstream media...

A- Herald: Another South Florida "successs story."

For $5.9 million, you, too, can live like an alleged Ponzi schemer.

Nevin Shapiro's waterfront North Bay Road home in Miami Beach -- now owned by the bankruptcy court -- is on the market.

It sports a stunning courtyard entrance, custom-made built-in aquariums, high-end fixtures and furnishings, and a to-die-for view of Biscayne Bay and the Miami skyline.

Meanwhile Shapiro, accused of bilking investors of at least $80 million by selling stakes in bogus wholesale grocery deals, now awaits trial in an austere cell at Hudson County Correctional Center in Kearny, N.J.

[...]

The 6,432-square-foot home has five bedrooms -- including a second-floor master-suite with a long walk-in closet, sitting room and private office that looks out on the courtyard.

[...]

He spent $400,000 on Miami Heat season floor seats, hung out with then-Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal, as well as Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade, who cruised on Shapiro's $1.5 million Riviera yacht.

That yacht is no longer docked behind the North Bay Road home: It was sold to cover fees for Shapiro's initial criminal defense attorney, Tabas said.

Most of Shapiro's personal belongings are also gone from the home, including most of his purported sports memorabilia. Only a trophy and two helmets -- a black Pittsburgh Steelers helmet and an autographed UM Hurricanes helmet -- remain.

B- Herald: Video, waiting in line for an iPhone on South Beach.

C- Herald: Paper or plastic?

The part-time cop says the arrested man kept trying to spit on police. So he put a paper bag over his head.

Now, the cop is out of a job.

Investigators concluded part-time reserve Officer John Wezkiewicz's conduct ``shed a negative light'' on the agency and that he should have used a department-issued protective hood instead of the bag. A hood, they said, would not ``be falsely perceived as an attempt to humiliate an individual.''

D- Herald: Morin.

E- NBC Miami: *Gong*

Police are looking for two men who stole a truck with a large amount of lingerie from a South Florida storage business.

[...]

The descriptions aren't great, but if you see a pair of guys wearing a lot of lingerie around Miami, that's probably them.

F- WPLG: Anyone missing anything this morning?

A girl was found alone at a Miami Shores restaurant Thursday evening.

The girl, believed to be about 2 years old, was found at a Chuck E. Cheese in Miami Shores.

The girl has brown hair and brown eyes and was wearing a striped shirt when she was found.

She is being cared for by the Department of Children and Families.

G- WPTV: If you think your house is a little messy, this should make you feel better.

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. - A Boynton Beach couple faces child neglect charges after police say they found their home without electricity and in a state of disrepair.

[...]

Inside officers say they found an inoperable toilet, feces on the bathroom floor, blood droplets on the floor throughout the home, an empty refrigerator covered in mold and several items cluttering the house. They included recycling bins, electric lawn tools, a motorcycle, and various propane grills. A kitchen sink was also filled with dirty dishes and the outside of the home smelled like human feces, according to the report.

One of the home's residents told police that the electricity had been turned off for one-and-a-half months.

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Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

It's Friday and the weekend slowdown in the South Florida blogosphere has already begun. Here's your very short morning Sift.

A- Eye on Miami comments on the significance of the oil spill on politics.

A long, hot summer of discontent has voters morosely watching news segments of clean-up crews, culled in part from the unemployed-- those left behind by 'the recovery'--, working fifteen minutes out of the hour under the scorching sun in hazmat suits. That's not blobs of oil washing up on Pensacola beaches. Those are remnants of the Senate campaign of pro-off shore oil driller Marco Rubio.

B- Texas continues to be a repository for the wackier among us, according to this post from Bark Bark Woof Woof.


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Your Evening Sift

Whattaumean I'm late? Sometime life supersedes blogging and it's a good thing indeed. Enjoy your Night Before Friday evening Sift...

A- It's Ipanemic's birthday but his post today is about a lot more than that.

It is in this heat that I celebrate my birthday today. Two days ago, I went to dinner with my parents, one of my nephews, and my youngest son in advance celebration of this day since I would be spending it alone. My son congratulated me on (in his words) “another year of avoiding death.” We laughed. And I think perhaps we both thought of my other son/his brother at that moment. The one who wasn’t as fortunate this year.

B- Miami Beach 411 gives us a taste of the Miami Tour Company's tour that takes you down I-95.

C- It's time for the South Florida Theatre Scene's weekly review.

D- There's a new CSA for the fall, according to Mango&Lime.

Good news for Miami locavores. Farmer Muriel Olivares, who interned at Bee Heaven Farm in Homestead, has started her own vegetable and cut flower garden in Miami. The Little River Market Garden will offer a small CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program and sell its produce at farmers markets come the fall.

Muriel will grow about 30 varieties of vegetables, some fruits, herbs and flowers on her 3/4 acre garden. While the garden isn’t certified organic, food is grown using organic and sustainable practices.

E- Comparing President Obama to Hitler has become the new black for the GOP, says Bark Bark Woof Woof.

I think we can assume that anyone who uses the Hitler comparison has basically exhausted all of their talking points and is thereby conceding that they've lost the argument.

F- The Reid Report has some info on why Crist leads the Florida Senate race.

My column today also delves a bit into the reasons behind Crist’s apparent immunity to the “flip-flopper” curse (more proof of that here), but suffice it to say that as long as there is an oil spill, and potentially hurricanes, a sitting governor — particularly one with the political skills Crist has, and the ogrish Republican legislative opponents he’s been blessed with this year, not to mention the right wing extremism Rubio has cornered himself into — will have a tremendous advantage.

G- If you like to kayak, View From Virginia Key provides some info for your July 4th weekend that may interest you.

Explore the waters surrounding Virginia Key on the Fourth of July weekend with the Miami Kayak Club on a paddle that features a visit to the fossilized mangrove forest at the Bear Cut Preserve and snorkeling in the Half Moon archeological site.

H- Urban Environment League goes for a ride on the Metrorail and shares their impressions.

I boarded the train at 9:30 and was impressed with its cleanliness. There were only a few newspapers left on benches, and someone had obviously worked to erase the graffiti on the windows, though traces of it were left behind. The train was well air-conditioned, and not very full in the later part of the morning. Then an announcement came on: “This train is out of service. Please exit the train.”

I- Radio or Not posts an amazing video of oil coming ashore in Destin while families play on the beach and in the surf.

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SFDB's Three Blogs: Blogs That Should Be Resurrected

The South Florida blogosphere is littered with the carcasses of old blogs that have gone the way of the 8-track. Here are three that I wish I could bring back to life...

South Florida's Three Blogs That Should Be Resurrected

1. Critical Miami

Critical Miami's 3-year run that ended suddenly on June 23, 2008 seems longer than what it really was for some reason. And although Alesh and I never really got along [and still don't], I have to say that it was my first read every day. Nothing like it has come along since. It's eclectic mix of commentary and original material has yet to be matched.


2. Miami Vison Blogarama!

MVB, as I affectionately called it, was only around a little over a year before abruptly leaving stage left on December 17, 2007. Great photoshops and biting political and social commentary were the hallmarks of this short-lived blog.


3. Boom or Bust: Miami

Boom or Bust: Miami was all about clear, coherent and intelligent discussion about South Florida development. Bob Miami was around for just over a year when it slowly fizzled out in the early part of 2008. In that short time, BoB developed quite a following that was sorry to see him abandon the blog.





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SFDB Question Of The Day

As I posted here about a week ago, Starbucks is going to be offering free WiFi beginning July 1st. So the question is...

Will you be more likely to visit Starbucks now that they have free WiFi?

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South Florida iPhone Craziness

I don't get it. I never will get it.

Hundreds of people pushed through the doors of the Mall at Wellington Green at 6:20 this morning in a rush to get to the Apple store and land an iPhone 4 on the first day of sales.

They had been lined up in an orderly fashion most of the night. In fact, Marcos Prado of Royal Palm Beach, had gotten there - with tent - at 4 p.m. Wednesday. But there was confusion when multiple mall doors opened this morning and a rush ensued to get to the second floor Apple store.

Mall officials estimated the crowd at 400 to 450 people.

Mike Niles of West Palm Beach was among them. He said he was tackled by mall security in the fray, but still managed to make it to the head of the reservations line at the store.

“Apple customers are enthusiastic, what can I say?” said Rachelle Crain of the Mall at Wellington Green, commenting on this morning’s rush. “The enthusiasm level just got a little high. We were able to calm them down, and now people are just excited and waiting for their chance to get one of the phones.”

Is there nothing more important in these people's lives?


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The Cooler

High-ranking Miami-Dade cops are dropping like flies. That and more in today's Cooler.

A- Herald: Because a $200K salary just doesn't pay the bills.

Former mayoral chief of staff Denis Morales and several high-ranking Miami-Dade police officers regularly flouted county rules involving outside employment and abused their positions of power while earning more than $400,000 moonlighting as police consultants in Panama, according to a Miami-Dade Inspector General draft report obtained by The Miami Herald.

[...]

Morales moonlighted while working as Mayor Carlos Alvarez's chief aide, making more than $200,000 annually in his county job. He and the officers worked as consultants for the Panamanian National Police. The work was done through Protection Strategies Inc., an Arlington, Va. firm.

Morales, Gonzalez and Maj. Ariel Artime obtained at least 10 first-class ticket upgrades to travel to the Central American country from 2007 to 2009, the report found. In one case, they demanded an upgrade from an American Airlines ticket agent even though a Miami-Dade police directive a month earlier banned such solicitations.

B- Herald: And another one.

Embattled county police division chief Frank Vecin, a longtime ally of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez, is stepping down amid a widening inquiry into Vecin's handling of an environmental trust fund and his alleged mixing of private consulting and county business.

``He submitted his retirement papers,'' said Miami-Dade Police spokeswoman Nancy Perez. ``He's on leave at the present time.''

[...]

Vecin was handed control over a $5 million police fund meant to crack down on environmental crimes. Yet a Miami Herald review detailed how much of that money was spent on items that have little to do with environmental crimes, ranging from flat-screen TVs and semi-automatic assault rifles to SUVs used by command staff and, for a time, the county mayor -- who gave it back.

C- Herald: They write letters.

Offensive ad

Am I the only one who feels offended when I drive down Biscayne Boulevard, with my 8-year-old, and read the word ``bullsh*t'' every two blocks? The large ads on the Metro-Dade bus shelters may be for a good cause -- they tout free HIV testing -- but is the community sinking to new depths by allowing this abrasive, rude and uncivil mode of expression?

What are tourists and children going to take away from this type of language? Who within the Metro-Dade government bureaucracy permitted this? Am I the only one who cares about this affront to our sensibilities?

JAVIER BEREZDIVIN, Miami

D- Sun-Sentinel: Because being one of the first is so important.

In South Florida, hundreds of hopefuls lined up outside the entrance Galleria Mall in Fort Lauderdale to snap up their new iPhones.

Mark Salazar and son Cory, of Tamarac, went to the mall at 3:15 a.m. to wait for the 32 GB model he pre-ordered online. There were still 160 people already lined up when he arrived.

"I counted them," he said. "The alarm went off at 2 a.m. and here I am."

By 6:45, security guards were directing hopefuls into a snaking line around the garage. A cheer went up through the garage at 7 a.m. when customers with reservations were led into the Apple store, where cheering Apple employees rushed out to greet the crowd.

Jovani Montero, 25, of Fort Lauderdale and his friend Eddie Gonzalez, 25, of Fort Lauderdale got to the mall at 3 p.m. yesterday to be the first people in line.

"We came to be numero uno.," Montero said. "We wanted to get here so we could secure our spot in line to get our iPhones."

E- Sun-Sentinel: They write letters.

Whenever I hear complaints about too much government and that Obama didn't take over the oil spill fast enough, I'm reminded of the expression: "Not only is the food terrible, but the portions are so small."

Arthur B. Welsher, Boynton Beach

F- CBS4: Your WTF? Moment of the Day.

Former Miramar Commissioner Fitzroy Salesman is getting no sympathy from the judge who denied his request to be temporarily released from jail for some last minute tasks.

Salesman, 53, has been in the Broward County jail since April, when he was convicted of public corruption for accepting bribes from undercover FBI agents posing as contractors.

The former commissioner asked to be temporarily released before his July 8 sentencing because he wants to try renting out his Miramar home and help his 76-year-old father find a place in an assisted living home. According to the Miami Herald, Salesman's attorney said that he is the only one in his family willing to help his father.

G- WPLG: Terminal D gets a train.

Terminal D, Miami International's new north terminal, includes 50 gates and is 1.3 miles long end to end. The terminal is long and narrow by design in order to move more planes and more passengers than the former gates, which were configured like spokes to form a hub.

After several setbacks, a train system to shuttle passengers in the terminal is set to open on Sept. 15.

H- WSVN: Video, Grove resident uses home video to help catch bike thief.

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