Broward County is a step closer to having more lax penalties for anyone busted for minor pot possession. On Tuesday, county commissioners unanimously voted to draw up an ordinance to lessen penalties for anyone caught with 20 grams of less of marijuana — though the exact amount will still need…
A coterie of about 15 homeless folk gathered two weeks ago on a balmy Monday evening under the copious canopy of a banyan tree in downtown Fort Lauderdale, the mood, if not quite funereal, was understandably somber. For six years, “the Tree” — located at the site of the long-abandoned…
An underage volunteer for the Boys & Girls Clubs is suing the organization after she was impregnated by a coach who worked there who was twice her age. The coach, 32-year-old Corey Collier, was hired by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County despite having a criminal background. …
In a 5-1 vote on Tuesday, the Palm Beach County Commissioners voted to ban panhandling throughout the county. The ordinance covers not only those who beg for money from drivers in intersections but also to charities, non-profit organizations, or anyone else soliciting donations. Specifically, the ordinance addresses people who stand…
Kolter Group CEO Bobby Julien lives in a swanky beachfront mansion, but the animals who are being displaced by his company have no such homes. That’s the message environmentalists hoped to convey this past weekend. Julien’s company has begin to develop an area known as the Briger Forest — one…
It’s been almost a week since the Charleston, South Carolina shootings.. And the nation has moved from mourning to outrage to debate. The arrest of alleged shooter Dylann Roof has brought to light whether or not southern states should have Confederate flags flying in government buildings. The debate has gone…
In 1974 officials at the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) listed the Florida black bear as a threatened species. The protected status prevented the public from hunting the vulnerable bears, helping them to make considerable population gains despite increasing habitat loss. By 2002, there were about 3,000 bears in…
In the summer of 2013, Dr. Stephen Haggerty stood in the humid Liberian jungle, frustrated at the lack of progress. The swampy ground didn’t allow for heavy machinery, so diamond exploration in these parts was done the old-fashioned way. Seventy-five years old at the time, the geologist helplessly watched his…
In 2012, Lauderdale Lakes City Commissioner Eric Haynes used a fake address when he voted. This is a big no-no for elected officials and, as a result, the Broward Office of Inspector General filed a report to the Florida Elections Commission that proved Haynes used the address of a house…
Tullian Tchividjian grandson of Billy Graham, and pastor at Fort Lauderdale mega church Coral Ridge Presbyterian, has resigned from his pulpit after admitting to an affair. Aside from being known as Billy Graham’s grandkid, Tchividjian — who has been since 1994 and has three children with his wife Kim —…
Nine black churchgoers were murdered during their Wednesday night bible study in Charleston, leaving the nation grappling over racist violence. In the immediate aftermath, vigils and rallies to commemorate their lives began sprouting up across the country: in D.C., the Bay Area, and Tallahassee. On Tuesday, there will be a…
A chorus of hot-for-teacher jokes kicked into overdrive in May, when a Palm Beach County charter school principal was busted by police in a car that stank of marijuana, with a male student, in a state of alleged hanky-panky. The incident landed Krista Morton, principal of Mavericks High in Palm Springs…
On September 27, 2012, 73-year-old security guard Earl Brown was working the night-watchman shift at International Global Meats, a meat-processing plant in Lauderhill, when he noticed somebody trying to steal junk metal on the property. Wanting to be safe, Brown called police for help in apprehending the suspect. But when…
Ever since the beginning of June, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat have been in a weird public spat over his contract negotiations. Wade wants more money, while the Heat want him to not opt out so they can spend on getting better. It’s a bit of a pickle. But…
A Boca Raton business that claimed to be a “nails, facials and no massage” spa, which has been in business since July, 2014, was a front for a brothel, police say. The spa, located at 22 SE 6th St., allegedly serviced clients with sexual favors for money. Investigators say they’ve…
Delray Beach is a little closer to enacting a LGBT-inclusive civil rights ordinance, though not with a ton of legwork from Rand Hoch and the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council. On Tuesday, City commissioners voted 4-1 on first reading to enact a public policy that Delray Beach would officially oppose…
Currently the nation is waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court to release its decision on two legal questions. The first is whether states must allow same-sex couples to marry, and the second is whether states that ban same-sex marriage must recognize such marriages performed in other states and countries. Some…
Florida is one of thirteen states that fail to meet the US constitutional standards on the use of lethal force by law enforcement officers, according to a report by Amnesty International. The report, “Deadly Force: Police Use of Lethal Force in the United States,” blasted all 50 states in the…
One thing American cities from coast to coast love to do is brag up their rankings — Best City for THIS and THAT — perfect fodder for tourism brochures and such. In the mad scramble for municipal bragging rights, probably one of the most coveted laurels is ranking that have…
The entire nation is reeling and reacting to Wednesday night’s tragic shooting in a Charleston, South Carolina church. According to multiple reports, a white man named Dylann Storm Roof allegedly sat with African American parishioners at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church during a Bible study for about an hour before…
The Florida Supreme Court has ordered that embattled Broward Circuit Judge Laura Marie Watson be removed from office, according to JAABlog. Watson had been accused of negotiating the $14.5 million settlement of a 2002 a civil lawsuit against Progressive Insurance in secret when she was an attorney. Watson reportedly did…
A naked man apparently high on flakka was spotted by a passerby in Victoria Park chanting towards the sky about Jesus as cars passed by, The entire incident was caught on video by Kurtis Schlieicher, who posted it on his Facebook. Schleicher says he was out walking his dog on…
