Nelson to Get His Man at NASA

A week after Sen. Bill Nelson was credited with running off the Obama administration’s top pick for the nation’s space program, the former astronaut’s own favorite for the job, Charles Bolden, is expected to be named to the position.Bolden, who meets with Obama today, would be the first NASA administrator…

Marco Poll-O: Rubio Unfazed by Unpopularity

Sure, Charlie Crist landed some big endorsements in his first week as a U.S. Senate candidate — the National Republican Senatorial Committee for one. The Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, for another. And there were reports Crist might get the early endorsement of the Republican Party of Florida, chaired by…

Photo of the Week

The Prince Theatre on Main Street in downtown Pahokee. Built in 1940. Closed since 2002. And no hope of renovation since in November the Palm Beach County Commissioners reallocated $100,000 that had been earmarked for improvements. The Miami man who shot this photo last summer wrote this caption: “we didnt…

But Does Charlie Like Fish Sticks?

In picking the week’s best quotes for its “Verbatim” page, Time magazine prizes drama (a quote from the co-pilot killed in the plane crash near Buffalo), candor (Jesse Ventura saying what he’d do with a waterboard and Dick Cheney), and gaffes, especially the kind that reveal more truth than they…

Broward May Throw Bone to Private Sector

One year ago, a study by a national consulting firm found that Broward County’s Animal Care and Regulation Department was woefully short-staffed, making it impossible to guarantee service required by law for control of the local pet population. But this year, the county faces a $165 million budget shortfall –…

It Came From Boca (The Wall Steet-Stomping Monster, That Is)

[Fade in.] Poolside at the “sugar-pink Boca Raton Hotel” in June 1994. A bunch of young, hard-partying but hungover J.P. Morgan traders there for a conference conceive of something called “credit derivatives.” A potent financial product that when mixed with a housing boom would trigger an atomic meltdown in the…

Icon-o-Clash: For Broward Health Commissioner, Good Pub Leads to Bad

North Broward Hospital District Commissioner Joseph Cobo may have exploited his public position in seeking favorable publicity, a private jet trip, and more generous terms for clients of his private consulting firm in their business dealings with the health care system, according to the investigative report released last week.Despite these…

In Platform Diving, a Picture of Perfection

At the Aquatic Complex on Fort Lauderdale Beach Saturday, 14-year-old British diving star Tom Daley performed a “back 3 and 1/2 somersaults tucked” that was, in the estimation of the judges, flawless: Perfect tens from all seven. The dive helped propel Daley to victory in the 10-meter platform portion of…

Broward Health Chair Speaks on Cobo Case

After allegedly mingling public responsibilities with private consulting work, Broward Health Commissioner Joseph Cobo faces an uncertain future. A week after those charges came to light, Board Chairman Mike Fernandez is seeking to protect the public health system from the fallout. In an interview this morning with Juice, Fernandez stressed…

Thompson Job With BSO Totally Scandal-Less

It sure sounds like a troubling bit of news: Former Broward Sheriff candidate Wiley Thompson has landed a sweet job with victorious Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti — the same candidate Thompson had crossed party lines to endorse after he lost in the August primary. And the Miami Herald notes that…

Crist Jumps Into Senate Race

Now we got ourselves a bona fide political jamboree. Charlie Crist will seek Florida’s U.S. Senate seat on behalf of the Dixiecrat, I mean the Whig, I mean the (could this be right?) Republican Party, even though other Republicans say they’ve already picked a guy named Marco Rubio. The boyish…

Iran Releases Journalist; New Hope for Coral Springs Family

For the Levinson family of Coral Springs, it’s an auspicious sign: Today’s release by the Iranian government of Roxana Saberi, the journalist  imprisoned there on charges of spying, suggests that the Iranian regime can be reasoned with.We wrote last month about how the June presidential election in Iran might have…

Desperate Parents Who Lost Hope in Broward

Mother’s Day weekend is a prime time for tales of parental heroism; it’s just a shame that two of the more affecting stories should put Broward County in the spoiler’s role. It’s the common ground in two otherwise unrelated stories of parents willing to do anything to improve the lives…

Can Florida Governors Save GOP From Its Self-Destructive Impulses?

Maybe Rush Limbaugh doesn’t spend enough time in his Palm Beach home. Because clearly, there’s no path back to political relevance for the Republican Party that does not include winning back Florida. And yet the two figures who have the most credibility on that front, governors Jeb Bush and Charlie…

Photo of the Week

A deer walking through the Rotenberger Wildlife Management Area in Southwestern Palm Beach County. According to the poster, the image is from a trail camera being used for wildlife research…

In Florida Politicians Always Travel Highway to the Danger Zone

Let’s interrupt this string of blogs about alleged corruption to un-allege some corruption. Specifically, Juice hereby calls for a period of media moderation following the binge of stories that would scandalize politicians for traveling. This is the kind of rant that deserves a soundtrack and some video, and the relevant…