The U.S. Army has a recruitment problem. With Norris, Schwarzenegger and Stallone too old to slaughter faceless, incompetent soldiers, the commando’s life has lost some of its luster. The thousands of U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan haven’t helped, either.So the pressure was on this week at…
Embattled Broward County Mayor Stacy Ritter staged a not-for-media-consumption town hall-style meeting Wednesday at a Tamarac condo community, seeking to sway constituents toward believing her explanation of the Mutual Benefits scandal. Not the version in newspapers and blogs. And it actually seemed to work.As Bob Norman first reported in January…
UPDATED WITH VIDEO LINKA mayor hit with felony corruption charges; a commissioner booked for the same; a city manager suspended after ordering deputies to remove a commissioner during a public meeting. When it comes to dirty tricks and political theater, Deerfield Beach residents have seen it all. But even the…
That’s the campaign flier (click to enlarge) that Deerfield Beach Mayor Al Capellini’s operatives circulated in Century Village, the retirement community with some 30,000 condos that collectively may decide the city’s mayoral campaign. As you can see, the oxymoron “Mayor Capellini” appears in almost every single line. Capellini is not…
Oh, it is a great day to be a Florida wonk! State Sen. Dan Gelber, vying to become U.S. Sen. Dan Gelber in 2010, has announced via blog that he’ll be giving updates on the coming legislative session via Twitter, right here.Most of you know that transparency and an open…
A leaked memo suggests that local attorney Romney Rogers is relying upon an omniscient, omnipotent Celestial Force to carry him to victory in the Fort Lauderdale City Commission race. Posted on the blog of former Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Tim Smith, the “campaign prayer” appears to be written by Barbara Moody…
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist faced off with David Gregory on NBC’s Meet the Press a few minutes ago. Crist started by stressing the importance of bipartisan support for President Obama’s stimulus package, then ended by… well… essentially withdrawing his own support for the package.Host Gregory began the interview by asking…
SEIU Protestors That will be the view outside the Broward County Courthouse this afternoon. Close to 100 members and sympathizers of the Service Employees International Union plan to protest the county’s negotiations with janitorial services provider TCB Systems, Inc. of Miami. TCB Systems is on the shortlist of bidders seeking to clean…
Democrats desperate to put some dents in Gov. Charlie Crist’s high approval ratings are chastising him for keeping a butler and a personal chef on the state payroll at a time when cops and teachers are being laid off. In a statement released today, Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen Thurman…
Buddy Nevins spots a flock of vultures circling the reelection campaign of Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Christine Teel.In the Feb. 10 muni elections, Teel scored more votes than her closest challenger, former Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Bruce Roberts. But the other challenger, Attorney Inger Garcia, has given her unequivocal endorsement to…
The big punchline in Washington D.C. these days is “bipartisanship.” Barack Obama wants to be friends with Republicans but they don’t want to be friends with him. Of course, it’s all politics. The Republicans have nothing to gain from jumping on the Obama bandwagon and everything to gain if that…
The economy is so bad…Juice readers: How bad is it?So bad that even a filthy stinkin’ rich Republican fundraiser like Harry Sargeant III of Delray Beach can’t get a loan. The tight credit market is to blame, apparently, for the demise of Tampa Port Authority’s agreement to lease 43 acres…
Just before the 2000 presidential election, Robert Watson, associate professor of American studies at Lynn University in Boca Raton, decided to rally his fellow presidential scholars and collaborate on The Report to the First Lady, a 200-page book of advice for the incoming woman in the White House. One expert…
With its 150,000 population, Pembroke Pines stands to get a nice, fat slice of the $10-12 billion coming to Florida from the economic stimulus package Obama will sign into law today. How will Mayor Frank Ortis spend his Obama bills? Not on hookers nor cocaine. Not on a U2 performance…
From the start of the campaign for Fort Lauderdale mayor, Jack Seiler had a residency problem. He lived in Wilton Manors. But in the context of campaign obstacles, this was a fairly easy, if expensive, fix. He put his Wilton Manors home(s) up for sale, and rented a place in…
A “double” what? Sorry, I don’t speak French. Just check out the Strategic Vision poll released yesterday on Florida’s 2010 U.S. Senate race. It attaches numbers to some obvious truths, such as Gov. Charlie Crist getting 54 percent of the votes against other prospective candidates in a Republican primary. The…
Howard Dean was the first darling of the “netroots” — the progressive and liberal blogs which were a wailing wall and fundraising catalyst during the Bush years. Then Dean folded. Barack Obama was their next crush, and that turned out pretty well.Will the netroots have as much power as they…
Check it out. Buddy Nevins reports that Sunrise City Attorney Stuart Michelson is actually saving the city legal fees, possibly even justifying his $432,000 contract.You may remember that Michelson took lots of flak en route to his new position, and deservedly so. Here’s a guy who had represented two commissioners…
Early next month public schools across Florida will have to swallow yet another budget cut, state school officials announced. It’ll be two percent, but that’s just a warm-up for the 15 percent public schools can expect next year.So, Broward Teachers Union, keep those pigs handy. By 2010 you just might…
So what’s the over/under on turnout for today’s Fort Lauderdale muni elections? Tim Smith seems to think it’s 10 percent, and that sounds about right. I suspect there’s some voter fatigue from the two-year presidential campaign that ended last November. I’ll bet voters — especially the elderly ones who turn…
Barack went to the wrong Fort, obviously, but whatever. Here’s live video of him telling Floridians how much he hopes to stimulate them. .msnbcLinks {font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #999; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 425px;} .msnbcLinks a {text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height:…
Like many nonprofits that depend on government funding, the Florida Association of Healthy Start Coalitions is facing cuts. The organization that focuses on prenatal and infant health may have 22 percent trimmed from its 2009 budget. Unlike other nonprofits, however, the organization has proposed a solution. Healthy Start recently wrote to…
