Going Deep on Mike Halprin In response to the article “Captains Outrageous” in the January 15 issue, I am writing to inform the readers and the diving community of my viewpoint. I am a diving instructor in Broward County, and having been on many of the local charter boats, I…
I just read your column about Circus Peanuts (January 1). In all seriousness, I happen to like Circus Peanuts. I really do. I’m not kidding. Just thought you should know that there is someone in the world who actually likes the things. — Brian, via the Internet I wholeheartedly (and…
Freedman Cops No Attitude I truly enjoyed Michael Freedman’s thorough and interesting article about our local celebrity Virginia Snyder and former Police Chief Charles Kilgore (“Conspiracy, She Wrote,” January 15). I felt the article was evenhanded, objective, and well researched. I surely hope Mr. Freedman will be reporting on Ms…
Having delivered their verdict, the members of the jury shuffled slowly out of the jury box, the gravity of their judgment reflected in somber, averted faces. Moments before, on this 19th day of December, 1997, the twelve sworn citizens had found 39-year-old Henry Wallace guilty of second-degree murder. Now they…
Sunlight glints off the shiny red, yellow, and blue facade of the county’s newest post office in one of its most rundown neighborhoods. Inside, however, the sun’s bright rays fade onto the muted blues and grays of the tiled floor. Like the building itself, Fort Lauderdale’s plan to spark revitalization…
Was that a Bat Signal above the Sun-Sentinel building? Among the highlights of last week’s Ken Jenne coronation was the opening prayer, in which God was asked to shackle the new Broward County sheriff with “handcuffs of integrity.” God may have considered reaching for those cuffs the following day when…
With Christmas still two days away, Micki Burton put on her best holiday dress and loaded her arms with presents. Waiting for her just seven miles away was her 47-year-old son, Jimmy Burgess, who lives in a group home in Plantation. Burton was excited, because, usually, she is allowed to…
The children’s section of Broward County’s main library occupies a corner of the second floor, and it’s here that Dr. Edward J. Reininger fought what’s being called the Borders War. Until that battle he could have been considered something of a literary flake, South Florida style. He is colorful, a…
As the Broward County Commission inches toward perhaps, maybe, televising its meetings, bureaucrats are hard at work determining how much it will cost to make commissioners look good. (We’re talking image, not substance, of course.) The county is trying to pressure Comcast into donating production staff to televise meetings, but…
It was just eleven days after Princess Diana tragically died while fleeing the paparazzi in Paris that news photographer Brent Strange found himself alone in a jail cell at the Coral Springs Police Department. He believes the two events, occurring on separate continents, are connected. The 41-year-old veteran TV news…
Up Against the Wall, Sir In response to your article, “Conspiracy, She Wrote” (January 15), I was completely unaware of Virginia Snyder’s existence, but I am certainly glad there’s someone out there taking on the cops, as difficult a responsibility as that is to have! I’m no private investigator, and…
Being a Native American, I was wondering why people and cartoon characters yell “Geronimo!” when they parachute from an airplane. To the best of my knowledge Geronimo never skydived. — Michael, southeast Texas As it turns out, this isn’t far from the real answer. The custom of yelling “Geronimo!” is…
On the evening of his retirement party, October 31, 1990, Delray Beach Police Chief Charles L. Kilgore pulled out a pistol, and without much forethought, took aim and pulled the trigger. The result: a direct hit on the forehead of 69-year-old Virginia Snyder. But the shot produced no blood, no…
If eyes are indeed windows to the soul, Websites are becoming windows to a politician’s personality. As Broward County taxpayers seek Internet insight from their elected officials — and watch their tax money at work in cyberspace — they might start with the County Commission. Predictably, Scott Cowan offers nothing…
In the world of religious radio, WAFG-FM (90.3) is the voice of mighty Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, a “friend of the family,” the station proclaims, existing “to glorify God and to further His purposes.” “Isn’t it wonderful to live in a country where Christians are freely allowed to worship, speak…
A grouper zinc is a lump of metal shaped like a fish. Boaters attach them to propeller shafts and other underwater fittings so that corrosion will eat the zinc instead of the boat components. A grouper zinc can also be used to fracture someone’s skull. That may or may not…
Parent Activism Is Not a Disability Three cheers for Frank and Nicol Shulman and their daughter Rachel, who was featured in Paul Belden’s article, “Islands in the Mainstream” (January 1). How many people do you know who, in the face of today’s society, are willing to put it all on…
I’m one very disgruntled and estranged member of the Catholic Church — so disgruntled, in fact, that I really don’t want to be counted as a member. How can I get excommunicated? I assume it’s not as simple as writing a letter (though this probably only means the Church is…
The limo driver straightened his tux and scratched his head. To the east the giant glow of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Palm Beach urban corridor was clearly visible, a comforting sign of modernity. But brighter still and directly overhead lay Orion, the hunter’s constellation. The air was unseasonably cold, there was blood…
Leading a guest through the headquarters of the radio station known throughout Broward County as the Pipeline, owner and manager Jerry Lyddane sounds like a successful media entrepreneur trying to impress an investor with a can’t-miss business prospectus. “Now look at this,” he gushes, striding over to what appears to…
Privacy alert at BCC! Security-conscious operatives on the South Campus of Broward Community College have passed along to New Times a package of sensitive student documents — including social security numbers — they claim were pulled from trash cans in the financial aid, registration, and student advisement offices. The documents…
Rick Kiluk drinks a lot of cheap beer. He also smokes cheap cigarettes, sleeps where he can, and makes money at odd jobs. He used to pal around with a black Labrador retriever named Three, sharing a sleeping bag with the dog under the 17th Street Causeway and teaching her…
