Her blood is boiling: I was disappointed in the irresponsible approach that New Times took in dealing with the issue of blood services in South Florida (“Blood Trade,” Eric Alan Barton, November 28). I believe that the use of terms “corporate thievery” and other sensationalistic devices, in addition to being…
Leon Braun just wanted to show off his latest enterprise to his friends that Sunday afternoon some 13 years ago. They were driving back to his home in Hollywood after attending a wedding in St. Petersburg. Then in his late 60s, Braun was an engineer, inventor, and venture capitalist; he…
It’s 11 a.m. in a dusty driveway called Domino Corner in northwest Hallandale Beach, and a crowd ranging in age from 16 to 70 lounges on folding chairs and garbage cans while pondering the recent conviction of a local man for rape, burglary, and stalking. Lenny Hope, a 34-year-old sometime-landscaper,…
Nader’s Raiders weigh in: The Miami-Dade Green Party expresses its deep appreciation for the November 14 article, “The Antiwarriors,” by Bob Norman. It is refreshing indeed to read this well-written and in-depth article on an important news event that the so-called “mainstream” media chose to ignore. Again, our thanks. Stacy…
Michael Piquion, a shy 13-year-old with a soft smile and eyes that dart timidly away from strangers, sits in a Jackson Memorial Hospital room with walls decorated in pastels, polka dots, and Rugrats characters. With his left hand, he curls a crimson cord connected to a plastic bag overhead that…
Jimmy Walker seemed hell-bent on taking a bad situation and making it ten times worse. Although ten times might be a conservative multiplier. On September 20, at an age when most young men are embarking on adult life, the 23-year-old was sentenced in Broward County Circuit Court to life in…
Roy Baker uses a lot of code names, which can make it hard to unravel the meaning in the sharply analytical political columns he writes for Pompano Beach’s little weekly newspaper, the Sentry. When Baker refers to “Goliath,” for instance, the casual reader likely doesn’t know he’s talking about Tom…
It’s se-e-e-erious: Eric Barton’s November 21 story, “Cashed,” was humorous. His point was perhaps to prod drug-policy reformers into action? I hope so, because there is nothing humorous about drug prohibition. It is the social policy that causes far more societal damage than it prevents. On one hand, we have…
The clink of glasses. The murmur of the crowd. The smell of newsprint and cigarettes. The pregnant pauses. The flecks of spittle arcing through the smoky air toward a waiting microphone. The creak of stretching similes. The rumble of mixed metaphors. The thud of thematic anvils. The screams of tortured…
“Are Ding-Dongs a good choice for an after-school snack?” Miss Molly Manners barks at eight teenage girls gathered after school in a Fort Lauderdale High School home economics classroom. “No, they’re not,” she answers when the kids, who are seated at tables in groups of four, do not respond. Dangling…
So Saddam relented. Inspectors have arrived. Big deal. We at New Times aren’t retreating. We are boldly proceeding with our make-fun-of-the-bloodbath comics contest. In fact, we’re naming a winner: Ray Russotto of Deerfield Beach. A freelancer whose work has appeared in national magazines as well as the Sun-Sentinel and the…
“Huh-lo?” mumbles Alvin Midas when he answers the phone on a recent sunny afternoon at the statewide headquarters of the group that aims to legalize pot. Midas isn’t the leader of Florida Cannabis Action Network (FLCAN). In fact, he’s just the web administrator at the office in Melbourne. But he…
Swings wildly at alternative rag’s scribe: Thank you for Bob Norman’s eloquent article (“The Antiwarriors,” November 14) about our bus trip to Washington, D.C., on October 26. The title and subtitle of your story set the tone early for your obvious attempt at discrediting the participants of the growing and…
The New York Times buried its little story on the biggest peace rally in the United States since the Vietnam War on page A8, under the headline “Thousands March in Washington Against Going to War in Iraq.” Not tens of thousands. Not 100,000. Not 200,000. Just “thousands.” In the same…
At Calvary Chapel in Fort Lauderdale on November 5, nobody talked about Jeb or Bill, preschool or the death penalty, smoking or pregnant pigs. In fact, it was damn near impossible to hear conversation about anyone or anything other than George Anthony Silvore Jr., a voter as mysterious as Sasquatch…
Pompano Beach Mayor Bill Griffin didn’t face an election on November 5, but his political fate was on the line just the same. The ballot in his city included a mayor-at-large referendum designed to force Griffin outside of his cozy district for a citywide reelection bid this coming March. Since…
Puh-leeeez: I feel compelled to write regarding my disappointment with Felicia Levine’s November 7 article about Leather University. I awaited the release of this article with great expectations (and a sense of dread), hoping that our event would be presented in a neutral light. The headlines dashed that hope fairly…
“Often there’s misunderstanding, out of all the good I try to do. Go to friends for consolation, I find them complaining, too. So many nights, I toss in pain, wondering what the day will bring. But I say to my heart, don’t worry, the Lord will make a way somehow.”…
“Welcome to Pervertibles,” says teacher and sadomasochist Drake Ferguson, who on this scorching October morning in Fort Lauderdale wears tiny, fatigue-style shorts and a black tank top that display his prodigious belly. “After this class, you’ll never look at Home Depot or the Dollar Store the same way again.” He…
Willie Mae totters out the front door of the Cooperative Feeding Program in Lauderdale Lakes with an overstuffed grocery bag in hand. The 33-year-old, who is short and has a round, smiling face, stashes the goods in her car trunk, then moves beneath a shade tree in front of her…
And so does Jim: First, I would like to thank New Times for Rebecca Gleaves’ October 24 story, “Ollie Rides Again.” As an old skater out of retirement 1.5 years, it was nice to see someone actually get the complete story about Alan Gelfand and “The Ollie”! I like the…
Even by its own muckraking standards, the October 11 issue of the black-oriented Broward Times was unsettling, particularly to Democrats. “Are We Just Stupid?” screamed a headline across the front page over a story about the Tampa lawyer who hopes to dethrone Gov. Jeb Bush on Tuesday: Bill McBride. The…
