Weston shows the bucolic benefits of corporate-sponsored communality. The presence of Arvida, the city’s main developer, is evident everywhere: the muted luxury of the homes, the carefully trimmed hedges, and the tidy appearance of nearly every street corner. The very welcome signs planted at the main entrances bear the logo…
They met at Western High. Richard Clark was the big man on campus — six-foot-two, 250 pounds of big. He was big like that, even in high school. A star linebacker on the lousy Wildcats. Until the fight with his coach. Proud but not arrogant proud. Quiet proud. Distinguished…
Drive through South Florida any morning and you’ll see long lines. You’ll find ’em at courthouses, city halls, county halls, most any public building. Sometimes, it seems that Osama-inspired paranoia has turned our subtropical home into a box office when tickets for Britney or Madonna go on sale. For consumers,…
Anita’s pinpoint passes: As one of the official photographers for the Miami Fury, I have been close to Anita Marks during the last few months (“Bombshell,” Adam Pitluk, November 8). There is more to this great lady than just an athlete with a terrific look. Anita has taken over the…
Lois Frankel isn’t going to get to eat her pie.She doesn’t have time. Hunched over a legal pad, she’s scrawling notes. “I should have prepared something to say,” she says under her breath. Frankel scans the room. Chanel jackets, Nordstrom pantsuits, wide-necked Lane Bryant silk shells, a dining room full…
Although Americans will forever recall September 11 with dismay, anger, and sorrow, October 7 is the date fear hit home for David Pitchford. His only daughter, Katie Lee, turned four years old that day, and Pitchford, his wife, and several friends were celebrating at their home in Stuart. At noon,…
Friday, November 2, was meant to be a night for Remembrance, a benefit for the victims of the September 11 tragedy. Hyped as an unforgettable evening, it boasted an all-star lineup of top national electronic music acts, six participating Fort Lauderdale nightclubs, and the $10 and $20 plastic wristbands that…
… even when she’s nice: At the risk of sending what, at this point, might be one retort too many of Jen Karetnick’s restaurant reviews, please indulge me. Certainly the recent review of Rustic Inn didn’t read like her harsh reviews of other establishments (“Simply Smashing,” November 8). She saved…
The name Otto Reich has popped up in the press again over the past several months. But who is this controversial former Miamian who still enjoys strong ties to South Florida? You should know, if only as a way to assess the health of our humble geopolitical region’s clout in…
More than two years before the September 11 attacks, a seasoned federal immigration officer named Mary Schneider vehemently complained that Islamic visitors who were possibly terrorists were moving into the Orlando area. She told Immigration and Naturalization Service officials that hundreds of aliens, some of whom she suspected were tied…
On a windy, overcast day at the end of October, the leaves rustle, and the dust kicks up a little. There’s a nip in the air — it’s not cold, but the wind, coupled with the humidity, is enough to put a chill in your bones. Football weather. As dusk…
Watch out for that client: I read “A Potemkin Lawyer” (Jim Gaines, October 25) with shock. During my recent divorce proceedings, my ex-husband’s lawyer gave me the number for Legal Aid because I couldn’t afford to pay an expensive retainer and she insisted I needed an attorney. I called what…
Twilight came in time for the finale. Key West clouds were cloaked in velvety blue. The crowd swelled to 100 people. After dousing a metal hoop with a bottle of Publix lighter fluid, the Catman asked the audience for a match. “Hurry up! Take your time!” he called as a…
Joe Minicozzi perches on a curb, facing what should be oncoming traffic on Federal Highway in downtown West Palm Beach. He checks his Swatch. At rush hour the only sound is the patter of rain on the street. Finally a lone car sloshes past. “How do you feel right now?”…
Five years ago Walter “Dan” Cadman left South Florida in disgrace. The former director of Florida operations for the Immigration and Naturalization Service had been caught deceiving a Congressional task force and then trying to cover up his actions. The Justice Department, after an investigation into what became known as…
Jorge’s surrogate strikes back: In regard to Jim Gaines’ October 25 article “Potemkin Lawyer,” I feel that there was a total lack of accurate information and valid sources in his attempt to defame Jorge Fernandez. Trying to be a hero in “uncovering” something that has already been resolved is, in…
When State Farm Insurance dubbed the crossroads of Pines Boulevard and Flamingo Road in Pembroke Pines “The Most Dangerous Intersection in America,” the company was referring to traffic accidents. But at 7 p.m. on a recent Monday, a shopping-center storefront at that same intersection reverberates with a different kind of…
Back in February, Marcileen Bernard was near the end of her rope. “I work for $8 an hour. There’s no way I can support two kids and my mom and maintain a decent standard of living,” the 33-year-old Miramar resident says. For three months she had been trying to squeeze…
If the Immigration and Naturalization Service had its way, we’d all just shut up about Mohamed Atta’s January 10 entry into the United States through Miami International Airport. In response to last week’s New Times story about Atta’s questionable return to the country, the INS issued a statement on October…
Sold out: As a former immigration inspector at Miami International Airport, I agree with Jose Touron’s assessment of the persistent problems that plague the INS (“Admitting Terror,” Bob Norman, October 18). The INS is an agency that is doomed to fail. The organizational structure of the service is rife with…
Imam Ibrahim Dremali finished evening prayers on September 26 at Boca Raton’s Islamic Center in front of a sparse congregation. The mosque, which he had helped establish three years ago, would normally have been packed with worshipers, but the events of September 11 and the subsequent backlash against Muslims in…
The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) had terror ringleader Mohamed Atta in its grasp before the September 11 attacks. Then the agency, which stands on the domestic frontline in the war on terrorism, let him go. The 34-year-old Egyptian arrived at Miami International Airport earlier this year on a flight…
