UPDATE: At the end of tonight’s meeting Fort Lauderdale commissioners postponed the decision on the aquatic center, again, until March 17. They are taking this time to review RDC’s cost increases because City Attorney Cynthia Everett says she does not see anything in the city’s contract with the contractor that…
Victor Ramirez, the Fort Lauderdale police officer who slapped a homeless man who wanted to use a public restroom, didn’t bother mentioning the slapping part in the arrest report he filed. Ramirez arrested Bruce Laclair, a 58-year-old homeless man, on Sunday, February 22, for trespassing. The exchange between cop and…
The Boynton Beach Police Department is under an FBI investigation for brutally beating a suspect who had led them on a high-speed chase on August 20, 2014. And in an effort to give “some context to the public,” the BBPD showed helicopter footage captured by PBSO that night. Byron Harris,…
Is humanity lost in America? Filmmaker Kirk Gillon asks this very question in his documentary film Breaking Bread, a story that follows 91-year-old activist Arnold Abbott as he serves plates of food to the homeless, an effort Abbott has led for more than 23 years in Fort Lauderdale — an…
Photo by Jonathan MannionBuju Banton remains behind bars on drug charges.Ever since Buju Banton, one of Jamaica’s most talented and controversial reggae singers, was convicted of cocaine trafficking and gun charges in 2011, there have been signs his trial was not on the up-and-up. You may recall he was sentenced…
Dad jeans fashionista and former NBA godhead Michael Jordan has been living quietly as a South Floridian since setting up shop in Jupiter in 2010. His Airness’ retirement has included watching his terrible NBA team, puttering around his 11-room mansion, and a lot of golf. A lot. But that last…
Video by Mitchel Worley Somewhere near the back of the Florida Renaissance Festival, through the castle gates and around the mounds of golden-brown turkey legs, past the amateur archers and ax-throwing station, is a crowd overflowing from four sets of bleachers. When one approaches, the sound of hooves and trumpets…
UPDATE: Victor Ramirez, the Fort Lauderdale police officer seen in this video slapping a homeless man who wanted to use a public restroom, didn’t bother mentioning the slapping part in the arrest report he filed. A video is being shared online of what appears to be a Fort Lauderdale Police…
A 4-year-old boy named Chase has been at the center of a long court battle between his parents over whether he should be circumcised. The courts have now ruled that the circumcision be allowed to proceed, and the boy is reportedly due to be circumcised tomorrow at South Florida Pediatric…
Florida leads the nation in charging juveniles as adults — a result of the state’s controversial Direct File law, which gives prosecutors the power to charge juveniles as adults whenever they choose. Experts say this unchecked power causes myriad problems, ranging from extreme sentences to forced pleas — and Rep…
On March 24, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal in Atlanta will consider the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s (ALDF) lawsuit regarding the captivity of Lolita, the orca exhibited at Miami Seaquarium. In the years leading up to the suit, numerous animal-rights activists contacted the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)…
The Broward Sheriff’s Office is responsible for housing all of the county’s bad guys and gals. Surprisingly, over the past decade, the department, which is the largest fully accredited sheriff’s department in the nation, has seen a dramatic dip in the number of people it’s housing…
Invasive species is something of an issue in Florida. From lion fish, to giant African land snails, to the Burmese Python — animals that are not native to our state have managed to ensconce themselves into the ecosystem, and effectively start screwing things up. But the Florida Fish And Wildlife…
Last year, Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz took a decidedly un-progressive stance against Florida’s medical marijuana amendment. In a statement she said that Amendment 2 was “too broad” and borrowed talking-points from noted anti-medical marijuana voices such as Attorney General Pam Bondi, comparing the legalization of medical cannabis…
It’s always unsettling when your doctor gets it wrong. You can multiply that feeling by 100 whenever cancer is involved. But according to one former inmate in the custody of the Broward Sheriff’s Office, not only did BSO’s medical provider bungle a cancer diagnosis, they failed to provide the agonized…
Update 5: Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra during Friday’s practice: “In terms of all the rumors and speculation, we’re aware of all the things that are out there. Everybody’s jumping the gun right now. Frankly, there is not a full diagnosis, so for everybody to speculate at this stage is…
Pat Riley has done it again. As the NBA’s trade deadline loomed Thursday afternoon, the Miami Heat was able to pull off a trade that netted them Goran Dragic from the Phoenix Suns, immediately improving the Heat’s point guard situation while still keeping key pieces. According to several reports, the…
It’s cold out here today. And it’s about to get even colder than originally expected. The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill advisory for Broward and Palm Beach Counties for Thursday night, with temps expected to dip into the 30s and even 20s in some parts of South…
Thirty eight gang members from the Latin Kings, Top 6, and Sur-13 have been federally indicted following a 16-month investigation, the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday. The massive operation, dubbed Operation Check Mate, began in August 2013, and was set up to disrupt and dismantle the narcotics trafficking by…
A recent lawsuit that dropped in a Miami district court spells out a sad tale of sexual assault at a foster home — a situation that could have been prevented had responsible adults paid attention. According to the detailed unveiled in the lawsuit filed by the mother, Precious Sharpe, the…
The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice has released its annual Delinquency in Schools report, and there’s some good news: School arrests are down across the state, including Broward and Palm Beach counties. The bad news: black youths are proportionately arrested most in nearly every single county in Florida. DJJ’s report…
The lawsuit filed by the family of Florida resident Mary DeLorenzo Knight, one of the victims slain by Aaron Alexis during the Washington Navy Yard massacre in 2013, has been ordered out of Florida by a federal judge. The suit, filed in December 2013, alleges negligence by the government. Alexis,…
