Allegations that teenaged inmates were sexually assaulted, malnourished, and physically abused at the Thompson Academy juvenile detention center in Pembroke Pines echo similar accusations the center’s owner has faced in other states.In Iowa in 1995, a 15-year-old girl died after not receiving proper medical care at a facility run by…
More teenagers have come forward with allegations of physical abuse and mistreatment at the Thompson Academy juvenile detention center in Pembroke Pines. Last month, a 15-year-old boy alleged in a federal lawsuit that he had twice been sexually assaulted by a counselor at the for-profit lockup. Now, attorneys from the…
Yes, porn stars and Chihuahuas do mix. That was the message Friday night at porno-popular Off the Hookah in West Palm Beach, where infamous skin flick king Ron Jeremy spent the evening snuggling with some extraordinarily well-dressed pooches.The occasion was a dog fashion show billed as “Porn Stars for Puppies:…
“I would have been some quiet little chief-of-staff,” Joyce Kaufman told listeners on her WFTL-AM (850) radio show. “It’s gonna be your biggest nightmare that I didn’t go quietly off to Washington.” Ah, yes. The woman who urged “bullets” over ballots would have certainly gone meek when she reached Capitol…
UPDATE: That was fast. Kaufman announced today she has declined the chief of staff post, after a threat emailed to her radio station led to a lockdown of Broward County schools. New Times columnist Bob Norman has the scoop.Joyce Kaufman, the controversial WFTL-AM (850) radio host who has spent the…
And so it begins. As Sarah Palin campaigns for 2012, she’s already using Allen West as a symbol of the cringe-worthy change she will bring. Notice a theme among the newly elected GOP stars Palin’s highlighting here. West and Marco Rubio hail from the political crucible of Florida, plus they…
Yes, a wave of anti-Obama, pro-Tea Party sentiment swept the country Tuesday. But even considering the national trend, Florida Dems took a beating that can’t simply be blamed on the miserable economy or a knee-jerk desire for change.Going into Election Day, there were 592,000 more registered Democrats in the state…
While most of the state saw red on Tuesday, voting in favor of developers and a millionaire governor, Riviera Beach won a victory for the people.Voters approved a referendum blocking a plan to lease a portion of the city’s public marina to a private boat company, Rybovich. The marina battle…
The cash poured in from all over the country, as unions, Christian conservatives, Tea Party ideologues, Big Pharma, and Big Oil opened their pockets. With at least $9 million raised in the Ron Klein-Allen West congressional contest, it was one of the most expensive races of its kind in the…
Well, it’s only two years. But with Allen West serving as the congressman for the coastal congressional District 22 that spans Broward and Palm Beach counties, those years could be rather unsettling. Here’s a brief rundown of his resume:1. Resigned from the Army after being accused of mistreating an Iraqi…
At a Broward County court hearing on his mental health this afternoon, Tony Villegas sat quietly between his two attorneys, crying softly.The man accused of strangling Melissa Britt Lewis and dumping her body in a canal two years ago looked thin and stricken, his brown beard shaggy and his body…
Just in time for Halloween, the campaign for a Palm Beach County state Senate seat has reached a gruesome low.The contest in District 27 is between Lizbeth Benacquisto (R-Wellington) and Kevin Rader (D-Delray Beach). And this week, Benacquisto and a female Rader supporter began competing for the title of Most…
Scaring the snot out of God-fearing youngsters has long been a popular Halloween tradition. Churches from Texas to Colorado stage elaborate theatrical productions known as hell houses, featuring gruesome scenes of botched abortions and AIDS-related deaths. The aim is to get sinners to repent and accept a Jerry Falwell version…
A recent lawsuit alleging sexual assault and physical abuse of inmates at the Thompson Academy juvenile detention center in Pembroke Pines is the latest in a string of abuse accusations lodged against the facility’s owner.For-profit prison operator Youth Services International, based in Sarasota, was once a subsidiary of Correctional Services…
Anders Gyllenhaal, executive editor who oversaw three years of massive layoffs and buyouts at the Miami Herald, is leaving town thanks to a promotion. He’s been tapped by the paper’s corporate owner, McClatchy Newspapers, to become Washington, D.C., editor and vice president of news for the chain. Managing Editor Aminda…
Oaktown Crack Comics via Wikimedia CommonsLake Worth has a serious utility problem.Electricity is a huge issue in the upcoming Lake Worth City Commission election. Yes, it sounds small-town and petty, but for years, high bills and frequent outages have been a black eye for the city. Ask any hippie, artsy…
The Broward School Board is not alone in facing scrutiny for the millions of dollars in federal disaster funding it received after Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma. Federal auditors have also questioned $15.1 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds that the City of Fort Lauderdale spent after the 2005…
Congressional candidate Allen West has received $5,000 from a group called Black Republican PAC. Sounds official enough, doesn’t it? Donors around the country have given about $769,000 to the group, presumably because they want to elect more GOP candidates who look like Michael Steele. But what they’re getting is something…
As Election Day nears, Republican congressional candidate and motorcycle enthusiast Allen West continues to haul in considerable dough from political action committees based outside of Florida.There are the usual suspects — $6,000 from the House Conservatives Fund, $2,500 from the NRA Political Victory Fund. But West has also been particularly…
After two years of writing long, rambling memos that made newspaper staffers from Chicago to Fort Lauderdale cringe, the missives became Lee Abrams’ downfall.Abrams was chief innovation officer for the Tribune Co., which owns the Chicago Tribune, the L.A. Times, and the Sun-Sentinel. He resigned last week after circulating a memo that included a…
flickr user: Mark CogginsAre the other kids safe?A lawsuit filed earlier this month accuses the operator of Thompson Academy, a juvenile detention facility in Pembroke Pines, of turning a blind eye to sexual assaults, physical abuse, and intimidation of its young residents by staff members.The Pembroke Pines police, the Department…
Allen West has raked in the dough.Congressional candidate Allen West has gained national attention for his enormous campaign haul — he’d raised $4 million by August, compared to $2.5 million raised by his opponent, U.S. Rep. Ron Klein. It’s time to examine the origins of all that dough. Some of…
