Former Gov. Charlie Crist was apparently a little closer to Scott Rothstein than we knew. Or maybe not. They blew out the candles on Crist’s birthday cake a couple of years ago after giving the governor $52,000 (a grand for each candle). Before the disbarred Rothstein’s Ponzi scheme imploded, Rothstein and the governor were…
I know that we have been accused of queening it up too much, you, me, and [Ilene] Lieberman, the three queens on the County Commission. But I can’t really think of anybody I would rather queen it up with than you. — Stacy Ritter to Ken Keechl Two queens of…
This week we featured a two-part interview with chef and author Linda Gassenheimer, who’s latest book, “The Flavor of The Florida Keys”, hit stores last month. Check out the other parts here and here. Linda agreed to share a recipe from her new book with Clean Plate Charlie readers…
There are the people that strictly eat it for breakfast, those that rely on it for snacking during the 3 p.m. slump, those that use it to lose weight, and those that eat it all day.Charlie likes to pair it with wine.Say what? No, it’s not a slang word for…
After a report on JAABlog appeared stating definitively that Sunrise Commissioner Sheila Alu is running for County Commission in 2012, I spoke with the potential candidate. Alu tells me she is going to run for the seat currently held by the embattled Ilene Lieberman. There’s a catch: Alu says she will run only if Lieberman doesn’t try to reclaim the…
Remember those first-class Super Bowl credentials that Sheriff Al Lamberti wrangled for his son from the NFL for last year’s game while his agency provided security for the event? Well, the South Florida Times is dogging him about it, and some interesting things are happening as a result. For one, Lamberti is…
Recap: on Last Week’s Top Chef, the chefs were taken out on the S.S. Minnow for a three hour tour and fish fry. Carla won a trip to Amsterdam and both Jamie (finally) and Tiffany were sent packing. Quickfire Challenge: The cheftestants walk into Le Bernadin, the best seafood restaurant in…
We’re continuing our interview with chef, author and radio personality, Linda Gassenheimer. Part I of the interview can be found here. Clean Plate Charlie: A lot of recipes are difficult to follow. Not yours. What’s your secret to making a recipe easy for everyday people to follow? Linda Gassenheimer: I…
Want to live like a Ponzi schemer? Buy Joel Steinger’s house. Steinger, the felon behind the giant Mutual Benefits viatical scam, is facing federal fraud charges. As I told you this morning, he’s on house arrest while he awaits his day in court, assuming it will ever come after so many…
Linda Gassenheimer is a chef, noted author, and radio and television personality who makes her home in Coral Gables. Her Miami Herald column, Dinner in Minutes, is syndicated to more than 4 million readers each week. Gassenheimer is producer and host of the weekly radio feature Food News and Views…
Lobbyist Russ Klenet better hope things are going well in D.C., because the situation on the home front has deteriorated rapidly. Last night, the Sunrise Commission voted him right out of his $60,000-ish contract with the city. It was one of his plum jobs and, perhaps more important, the relationship with Sunrise was surely the decisive…
It appears the controversy regarding the sheriff’s absence at a benefit held over the weekend for slain BSO Sgt. Chris Reyka was prompted by miscommunication. Sheriff Al Lamberti’s executive assistant, Don Prichard, explained that the sheriff was asked to be a celebrity judge at the benefit and, though he was expected to be…
The Sun-Sentinel reports that the image appeared last week and after the town was able to remove the image, it popped back up over the weekend. A spokesperson with the Department of Homeland Security said the agency hadn’t reviewed the hacking incidents. This isn’t the first time a U.S.-based website has been…
Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti was scheduled to be a celebrity judge for the chili cook-off at a benefit car show held over the weekend for the late Sgt. Chris Reyka, who was shot to death behind a Walgreens store in Pompano Beach while on duty two and half years ago. But for…
Happy MLK Day, the holiday that has at least half the populace confused about whether they have to work or not. In NT’s case, it’s not an official holiday, but they worked it out that we got the day off anyway. The Sun-Sentinel tracked down some recently rejected politicians. One who didn’t…
The Tea Party has demonized health-care reform — or Obamacare, as it calls it — to the point that the group seems to believe that it alone is going to destroy America. They’ve disrupted Congressional town hall meetings, screamed about socialized medicine, and decried supporters as traitors over the issue (including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords before she was shot; her…
This is Coral Park Elementary School Principal Amanda Miles, who was arrested by the Coral Springs Police for having 21 grams of marijuana (three quarters of an ounce) in her bedroom. Is this really what our police are spending their time doing — busting 60-year-old women in their bedrooms? Here’s a…
A gunman got into the Broward County Courthouse this morning, aimed the weapon at his chest, and threatened to kill himself this morning before deputies and police were able to talk him down without any violence. The gunman has been identified as 59-year-old Marin Stroia of Oakland Park, who was reportedly upset…
Note: This is the second part of a series about Gabriel Jose Carrera, a leader of the Tea Party. Click here to see the first part. More than a decade before Gabe Carrera became a leader in the Fort Lauderdale Tea Party and began rubbing shoulders with the likes of Florida Gov. Rick Scott and…
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a close friend of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’, was in the Tucson hospital room last night when the congresswoman opened her eyes for the first time after being shot in the head during Saturday’s mass shooting. Wasserman Schultz, a Democratic congresswoman representing Broward County, was in the room with U.S…
By day, Gabriel Jose Carrera works as a bespectacled immigration attorney, but in countless off-hours during the past 18 months, he has had another calling: leading the Fort Lauderdale Tea Party to help elect candidates like Rick Scott, Marco Rubio, and Allen West. Carrera is one of the original leaders of the Tea Party. He started stumping for his…
In the wake of the Tucson shooting, Broward County Commissioner Stacy Ritter said at yesterday’s public meeting that she wants to beef up security and have metal detectors at the county governmental building. All That Glitters, who watched the meeting (I didn’t), reported the following on the previous post: “She wanted to have weapon…
