What a difference a year or two makes.In November 2010, during a wave of Republican support, Broward County Mayor Ken Keechl was swept out of office despite a long and blistering attack on his opponent, Chip LaMarca, whom he outspent by nearly half a million dollars.People wondered why. Was it…
It seems our news story this week on for-profit colleges struck a nerve. We’ve gotten a number of email responses from people who say they, like those in the story, feel they were misled or cheated by America’s for-profit education industry.They include Julio Lopez, who says he worked for 13…
We weren’t the only ones to post criticism of for-profit colleges this week (see the news item: “For-Profit Colleges Cheat Students and Get Away With It”).U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin has released a scathing report that criticizes the for-profit education industry, echoing many complaints that surfaced in an undercover investigation by…
Twitter recently suspended the account of Independent reporter Guy Adams, who had been writing tweets critical of Twitter partner NBC’s coverage of the Olympics. The reason it gave? In one of the rants, he gave the corporate email address of an NBC executive. Twitter said it booted him for sharing…
Details are sparse right now, but the Miami Herald’s parent company, McClatchy Newspapers, says it plans “to roll out a metered plan” later this year.Paywalls will control access to web and mobile content and can be bundled with print delivery subscriptions. The company will start with paywalls at five of…
Cover story: Kids claim abuse at juvenile lockupOur colleague Lisa Rab has moved away from Broward County, but one of the most important issues she covered for New Times is still unresolved. Circuit court judges are still trying to figure out what to do about Thompson Academy, a privately run…
This is a followup to our piece mapping out property owned by Yellow Cab and real estate mogul Jesse Gaddis, one of the richest people in Fort Lauderdale.Gaddis recently attempted to purchase a city-owned lot that just happens to be the parking lot for Riverside Market Cafe, a popular hangout…
Say what you will about the State of Florida’s news organizations; our weathermen are absolutely topnotch (except when they’re sexting kids). They have every computerized graphic in the book, amazing hairdos, and a penchant for predicting calamitous end-of-days scenarios based on nothing more than a blip of green. They also…
Read our past interview with Israel, and about how he’s retweeting it a whole bunch, and about his money.The editorial board at the Miami Herald has chimed in for Scott Israel, one of the two Democratic contenders in what may be the most important and underreported primary election in Broward…
Read our interviews with Israel and Granteed.You may not have heard of Louis Granteed — he’s better-known to local beat cops than to the general public — but it would be a mistake to discount him in the Democratic primary for Broward sheriff on August 14. Turns out, he’s raised…
In 2003, Texas geologist John Amoruso had a hunch that there was a lot of natural gas — and big money — in a previously unexplored geological area about midway between Houston and Dallas. It was a long shot. To prove his theory, Amoruso needed somebody willing to take a…
Riverside Market’s uncertain fate has had a lot to do with the parking lot next door; this spring, café owner Julian Siegel wanted to buy the empty lot from the city to expand the parking at his beer- and dog-friendly spot. But before he noticed, the plot was swept up…
Previously: What if New Sun-Sentinel Owners Decide to Sell?If you hadn’t noticed, it’s a hell of a time to be in the newspaper business. Last month, we wondered aloud about the imminent sale of the Tribune newspaper company — which includes our local beacon of truth and coupons, the Sun-Sentinel…
See also: the latest on Aguiar’s disappearance, and the lawsuit against Aguiar spurred by this natural-gas deal.In 2003, Texas geologist John Amoruso had a hunch that there was a lot of natural gas, and big money, in a previously unexplored geological area about midway between Houston and Dallas.It was a…
Fort Lauderdale Police have released some new details from their investigation of Guma Aguiar’s disappearance. They have narrowed down the time he left his house in Fort Lauderdale to about 6:57 p.m. and say he almost certainly boarded the boat alone.According to a release from Det. Travis Mandell, a witness…
Last Friday night, NBC’s Dateline aired an episode based on “My Father’s Bones,” a New Times cover story about the murder of David Jackson and his son’s efforts to find him. It’s one of the screwiest, most unbelievably family tales of recent Florida history, full of twists.After the jump, we’ve…
He sent money to a lecherous Rabbi, his wife asked for a divorce, opponents wanted his mental-health records, and then he sailed off into the dark.Ever since Guma Aguiar disappeared at sea, his mother and her fiancé have been trying to gain control of his many millions in assets, scattered…
Previously: “The Rise and Fall of the Hallmark Kid,” the run for president, and the suit for adult child support.Eleven years ago, New Times writer Wyatt Olson crossed paths with Ryan Lipner, one of the nuttiest, most indiscriminately self-promoting individuals we’ve ever found in Broward and Palm Beach counties. Lipner had…
NBC’s Dateline at 10 EDT tonight will feature the disappearance of David Jackson and the investigation two decades later that threatened to tear a family apart. Our cover story, “My Father’s Bones,” won last year’s Sigma Delta Chi award for feature reporting. (Yeah, I’m bragging; shut up.)…
Cops Say South Florida Protesters Busted in Chicago Are Terrorists; Friends Call Bullshit Three men formerly associated with Occupy Fort Lauderdale were charged today in Chicago with 11 counts, including conspiracy to commit terrorism, possession of explosives, and attempted arson. Each is being held on a $1.5 million bond awaiting…
Dara Torres has competed in five Olympic games since 1984, won 12 medals, and set the American record in the 50-meter freestyle first at 15 years old and then again at 40. The New York Times described her as having “the perfect swimmer’s body,” hardly marked by age, “gangly, loose…
See also: Rick Scott’s stranger-than-fiction smackdown of Obamacare and his defense of that decison.In 2009, at least 2.45 million people in Florida were enrolled in Medicaid, according to data from government agencies. Another estimate pegs the number at more than 3 million. That’s over a tenth of all people in…
