Dave Aronberg

Speakeasy Politics: Dozens of Candidates to Meet With Yuppies Tonight in West Palm Beach

Twenty Palm Beach County young-professional organizations have come together to host a pretty impressive roster of local and state political candidates for a free evening of schmoozing and stumping tonight in West Palm Beach.It's probably worth stopping by if you're interested in politics, as long a ... More >>

Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Endorses Obama

The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, a group dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, have released their list of candidates they're endorsing. Among them, President Barack Obama, West Palm Beach Attorney and police officer Dave K ... More >>

Dave Aronberg, Martin O'Boyle, and the Shady Deals in the Race for Palm Beach State Attorney

You may have already seen the signs, towed behind planes in Palm Beach County: "Beware thug prosecutors," ""Dump McAuliffe for prosecutor, vote for Elmer Fudd," "Smile if you think Mikey McAuliffe is a putz." The Palm Beach Post got to the story of those planes -- and the millionaire funding them, a ... More >>

Democratic Party Operative Says He Sees the Light

By day, Ron Mills is a Democratic area leader and president of the Dolphins Democrats, an influential and active gay political club. Miami Herald Mills, left, with another Republican, Sheriff Al Lamberti, and fellow Democrat Michael Albetta, right.​By night, he quietly worke ... More >>

Federal Pill Mill Raid Shuts Pain Clinics Across South Florida

Commercial Medical Group, one of the raided businesses.​The feds have taken note of South Florida's illegally run "pill mills," and a yearlong undercover investigation culminated in an early-morning raid today. It focused on mills that flouted prescription laws. Rounded up in the sweep was Zvi Per ... More >>

Carl Hiaasen, Pam Bondi Weigh In on "Bath Salt" Drug Scare

Erowid.orgNot your mama's bath salts.​What's off-white, crumbly, sold in gas stations, and goes up your nose? Hint: You're not actually supposed to take a bath with it. The party drug MDPV, marketed as "bath salts," packs the anxiety-laden punch of a vat of coffee and the comedown of a mild meth t ... More >>

Dave Aronberg, Pam Bondi's New Pick to Fight Pill Mills, Has His Work Cut Out for Him

Disarming pain clinics with a single smile.​Now that Rick Scott has nixed the state Office of Drug Control, which was instrumental in getting anti-pill-mill legislation passed, the duty to try to curb the illegal pill-mill industry falls on whoever will take it.Enter Pam Bondi, your new Republican ... More >>

Mendelsohn Singles Out Klenet During Guilty Plea

The illicit payments made to former legislator Mandy Dawson had been widely reported, but it is interesting that seedy lobbyist and political fundraiser Alan Mendelsohn, an eye doctor by trade, singled out Russell Klenet in federal court today. When Mendelsohn pleaded guilty to a fed ... More >>

Like We Said, There Really Are More Pain Clinics in Broward County Than McDonald's

flickr.com​In March, after Dave Aronberg, a Democratic candidate for attorney general, said in a debate that there are more pain clinics in Broward County than McDonald's locations, we counted them. We found 71 sets of Golden Arches and more than 100 pain clinics.The next month, that same stat sho ... More >>

Sen. Dan Gelber Dogged by Connection to BP

Photo by the Coast Guard​These days, politicians are probably better off in a sex scandal than tied to BP. That's why state Sen. Dan Gelber, who's running for attorney general, just can't seem to shake his connection to the company responsible for wrecking the Gulf.Gelber, a Democrat from Miami Be ... More >>

After His Arrest for "Littering," Darrin Podder Wondered: Was It My Hair?

BSO, feel free to use this image for any scheduled "litter recognition" classes.​Last week, we brought you the sad tale of Darrin Podder, handcuffed and hauled to jail by Broward Sheriff's deputies for "littering" a 20-foot tree on a construction site in Pompano Beach that he'd been hired to lands ... More >>

Are There More Pain Clinics in Broward Than McDonald's?

C. Stiles​Everyone has heard some of the startling statistics about the scourge of pain clinics in South Florida: that a new clinic opens here every three days, that doctors in Broward alone dispense nearly 10 million Oxycodone pills a year, that more than half of the illegal prescription pills in ... More >>

Legislators Hope To Take On Pill Mills

flickr.com​We'd like to think of it as some sort of response to our extensive expose of South Florida Vice, though maybe that's presumptuous. Either way, the "pain clinic" problem is simply too big for anyone with a conscience to ignore. A Florida Medical Examiners Commission report estimated that ... More >>

Chinese Drywall Has Left Tens of Thousands of Homeowners Out of Options

Dan Gelber on Ethics Reform: Sign Me Up

Flickr: UN1SONGelber​Not all Florida politicians are gun-shy about ethics reform. Yesterday, after failing to get commitments from three high-profile Republicans, I asked attorney general candidate Dan Gelber whether he would support a bid by the Florida Commission on Ethics to give it more power ... More >>

Gelber Unloads on Bushies Who Politicized Federal Proscutors' Offices

The Democrats' side of the Florida Attorney General race, between Sens. Dave Aronberg and Dan Gelber can feel like a meeting of the Mutual Admiration Society. But it's just not healthy to be always so measured and tactful, which is why it must have felt good for Gelber to wind up and then tee off on ... More >>

Aronberg Derails Gravy Train for State Contractors

Flickr user: UN1SONAronberg (pictured) may have found a pinata for his AG's campaign​Sen. Dave Aronberg from Greenacres has convinced the Florida Department of Transportation to abandon its practice of awarding automatic annual raises to private contractors, and now the Florida Attorney General ca ... More >>

State Sen. Aronberg Going After Contractors' Salaries

It could be a well-timed move to make him look like a crimefighting hero (it comes conveniently at the very same time that he's running for state Attorney General) but regardless, it's pretty cool that State Senator Dave Aronberg (D-Greenacres) is taking public officials to task for letting private ... More >>

Florida AG's Race: Hot 'Nuff for Ya?

Flickr User: banzainetsurfer"Self-immolation" may not be quite the right metaphor for the Dems' chances in the AG's race.You'll have to pardon Florida's Democratic voters if they're not as eager about the attorney general's race as Dan Gelber is. The state senator from Miami Beach announced his cand ... More >>

Joel Steinger and Mutual Benefits Corp. Stole a Billion Dollars by Peddling Bogus Life Insurance Policies

Sun-Sentinel Insults Joel Steinger

In the lead story on this morning's local section, the Sun-Sentinel took off its little white glove and slapped Mutual Benefits' mastermind in the face with it. The newspaper reports that the Ponzi scheme called Mutual Benefits poured $1.4 million into political coffers to help keep state ... More >>

Florida Green Party Candidates Were GOP Moles, Suit Claims

Trailer Trashed

In a Lake Worth trailer park, it's just as if Hurricane Jeanne roared through yesterday

Undercurrents

Nova's medicine man and Hollywood's deserted eateries