South Florida Reviews

Need a handyman? Try Charles Joachim 954-588-7667

2014-08-16T08:38:00.003-07:00

Like many women, I have zero idea of how to do basic home repairs and like many women, I have been taken in by "repairmen" who either didn't know what they were doing or who were fundamentally dishonest. The work was often so slipshod that my house was in worse condition than before I paid to have work done--and I was poorer from having to pay them.

The cost and previous bad experiences led me to avoid home repairs for years. Finally, I decided to sell the house and absolutely had to make the repairs. I was lucky because a friend recommended Charles Joachim.

I was so pleasantly surprised. He is honest, reliable, and reasonably priced. I was out of town when most of the work was done and couldn't supervise the work. Still, the work was done well and on time--and my possessions were all there when he left, too.

The quality of Charles Joachim's work speaks for itself. My real estate agent had never met or even seen Charles, but when he saw his workmanship, he asked for his phone number. My mother saw the work and wanted to use his services, too.

Charles does excellent drywall work. My townhouse ceiling had been damaged by plumbing leaks in the upstairs bathrooms. Charles replaced part of the drywall, scraped off the popcorn, and painted the ceiling. It looks wonderful. You can't tell there was ever a problem.

In one of my attempts to repair things myself, I removed some really ugly wallpaper from one of the bathrooms and damaged the drywall. Charles found a way to paint over it and it looks better than ever.

If you need a good handyman, call Charles Joachim at 954-588-7667.

Paideia Classica Academy: A Re-evaluation

2013-12-24T07:47:00.001-08:00

Earlier this year, I wrote a review of a new school in Coconut Creek called Paideia Classical Academy. Unfortunately, the school has changed greatly since the start of the new school year--and not for the better.

Apparently, the school is over-extended financially. To shore up their financial position, the school started accepting McKay scholarships. This would be fine if they accepted the money from well-behaved kids with dyslexia or other learning disabilities. Unfortunately, they have taken in kids with ADHD, anger-management problems, and some psychiatric issues. Instead of having a healthy and reasonably well-behaved student body, they now have many students with behavior problems.

The teachers are caught between the horns of a dilemma. If they are tough, their classes are under control, but some of the more sensitive kids are upset by the new situation. If they are softer, the gentler kids are less upset, but the classes are more disruptive. One kid with Asperger's syndrome was so distressed by his teacher's yelling that he spent most of the day sitting in the office. Another was taken out of the elementary school class and placed in the middle school class, where the teacher didn't yell as much, but where the class is far less controlled.

Visitors to the school comment on how much more difficult this year's crop of students is to handle and how much worse the behavior is. One part-time teacher commented that "something is awry in this school."

The small size of the school means that gifted children are placed in the same classroom with children who have severe intellectual disabilities. Thus, children working at a high-school level share instructional time with kids reading at a second-grade level.

Yet another problem is the unreliability of the administration. A member of the board of directors agreed to teach computer coding to some of the brighter middle school students. Yet, after two or three weeks, he simply stopped showing up, with no explanation. When the teacher asked why, he replied that he didn't like the behavior of the kids. Yet, he didn't tell either the kids or the teacher that he would no longer show up. This disappointed the paying students, who had a right to expect a board member to show up.

It also left the teacher in a bind, as she had counted on him to provide instruction and had to quickly improvise lesson plans. He started showing up again for a few weeks, and then stopped again. Finally, after several weeks, he showed up again. Of course, the teacher had stopped planning for his arrival since he often didn't show and was caught in a bind: she had prepared lessons for the whole class but not for the half not taking computer instruction. Because the non-computer students were, for the most part, severely learning-disabled and many of them couldn't work independently, the surprised teacher resorted to reading out loud to the kids. A parent, not knowing the full story, complained to the principal about the teacher, who had in fact tried to provide quality instruction but found her attempts sabotaged by this man's irresponsibility.
The teacher prepared backup lessons--art lessons to develop spatial skills in low-achieving students--but after the teacher spent her own money on materials, the man stopped showing up again.

A grown man on the board of directors who dislikes student behavior does not handle it by simply not showing up. He finds ways to address the misbehavior. The fact that he didn't tells you something about the management of the school.

At Paideia, kids are asked to sit silently from 8:40 to 12:00, more than 3 hours. Kids with ADHD or who come from cultures where behavior is more socially interactive find this model punitive. Some of the bolder, less disciplined ones will actually run out of the classroom to avoid such a long stretch of inactivity.

Another issue to consider is the generally sorry state of the science curriculum. Last year, science was taught 2 days per week. The last middle school teacher tried to raise that to 4 days per week, but the administration wants the balance shifted back in order to accommodate more literature.

My family considered sending my nephew there and researched their curriculum. The major science text, the Rainbow, is a creationist work whose principle aim seems to be the building of faith rather than the exploration of nature. It contains many errors, so not only will kids not learn much, what they do learn is WRONG. It is chock-full of religious propaganda, but contains almost nothing about photosynthesis. The book is annoyingly chatty, too. The kids I know who have been forced to use the book hate it. One wonders about their textbook selection process if such an awful book can be used for years.

On the other hand, the history curriculum is superb as is the grammar course.

Another issue that concerns me is their lack of marketing. The school holds some sort of affair-an open house, a fall festival or something similar--nearly once a month. However, a quick perusal of their website shows that they do nothing to promote these events--often there is, at most, a two-sentence announcement; there are no photos, complete web pages with pictures of vendors, or anything visually appealing that would make you want to come. In today's world, this is Marketing 101 and mere common sense. This shows a basic lack of business savvy that bodes ill for the future of the school. It also exploits the vendors who paid money to set up tables there: the school took their money but other than giving them a few feet of space for a few hours did nothing to help the vendors attract customers.

I know several of the teachers there and have found a quiet but persistent dissatisfaction with the way the school treats teachers. Teachers are paid $22,500 per year--and no benefits. In South Florida, because housing and transportation costs are relatively high, this is not a living wage, and teachers need a second income. However, the school is cruelly insensitive to the teachers' need for time to earn that income. For example, they require teachers to show up one day on the weekend per month WITHOUT PAY to attend open houses, fall festivals, and health fairs. This cuts into their ability to earn supplementary income.

Worse yet, they asked teachers to sign a contract guaranteeing a SIXTY-DAY notice before leaving. Since no employer holds a job open for 60 days, the contract in effect prevents teachers from moving to jobs at which they might earn a living wage. Thus, teachers became indentured servants. The principal, who gets upset when people don't stand during religious services for the censing of the chapel, sees no problem in treating employees in this most unchristian way.

Since the school seems to be having financial problems, it might be best to hold off enrolling your child--or taking a job there--while you see how it works out.

Paideia Classical Academy

2013-04-07T14:09:00.000-07:00

Paideia Classical Academy
2370 Hammock Blvd. • Coconut Creek FL 33063
(954) 330-3561

http://www.paideiaclassical.org/

If you want the best possible education for your children and are comfortable sending them to an Eastern Orthodox Christian school, you may want to consider Paideia Classical Academy.

Paideia Academy offers the following:

Instruction in Ancient Greek and Latin
Saxon Math. This curriculum encourages mastery. Most of each lesson focuses on review, meaning that students will encounter a topic multiple times and practice it repeatedly. Additionally, students scoring less than an A will be asked to correct their mistakes. Few things are as useless as passing math with a D-. This ensures that students will probably get a D- in the following material as well. Paideia Classical Academy circumvents that problem. Your child with graduate from PCA truly knowing math.
There is a heavy emphasis on organic food. Students are taught nutrition and organic gardening. They will graduate with the knowledge needed to maintain their health. They will also be more likely to have healthy children themselves.
There is daily prayer. Students are encouraged to memorize many of the Psalms. Aside from the religious benefit, this practice also trains the memory.
Students are taught logic in middle school.
The school's students are well-behaved and serious about learning. Thus, your child will be in an orderly environment conducive to learning.

This school, in my view, provides the ideal education for young people. If you believe this school is for you, contact the administration at the number listed above and ask for a tour.

Dr. Starr at North Broward Medical Center --Simply AWFUL, rude, obnoxious, unprofessional

2010-07-01T12:02:00.000-07:00

When I was hospitalized for a dental abscess some years ago, a doctor I had never met before, a Dr. Starr who had hospital privileges at North Broward Medical Center, showed up uninvited and unannounced in my hospital room.

After a perfunctory "How are you?" his next question was "Do you work?" !!!!! His next question was "Do you drink?" The question after that was "What medications do you take?"

HE NEVER ASKED AT ALL ABOUT THE DENTAL ABSCESS, WHICH WAS THE REASON I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL. HE OFFERED ME NO TREATMENT, NO ADVICE, AND NO MEDICATION.

I was not abusing any drugs and have never been hospitalized for any sort of drug or alcohol problem. By the way, all this information should have been available on my chart. I had health insurance from an employer and had reported all use of medicines during an intake interview. If he wasn't treating me, this was none of his business and if he really wanted to know, he didn't have to barge into my hospital room and interrogate me when I was sick and in pain. He could have simply read the chart.

There is no justification whatsoever for asking a patient so many personal questions if no treatment is offered.

I believe the reason is that I was involved in a nasty legal dispute with one of his relatives. This led to a lot of threats of law suits, etc. I won every step of the way, however. Barging into a sick woman's room when she is alone and asking prying questions in order to find out information that is completely unrelated to the reason I was in the hospital is the height of audacity.

I thought he was rude, obnoxious, and unprofessional. He was worse than useless. In my judgment, he was also highly unethical.

Interesting Books on the Middle East

2010-07-01T10:07:00.000-07:00

Baruch Kimmerling, the late Israeli professor of sociology at the Hebrew University, was a complex and, on the surface, contradictory man. He loved Israel but criticized the occupation and the treatment of the Palestinians and was an early opponent of the war on Iraq.

He was able to penetrate to the heart of a text better than anyone I have ever met. This ability enabled him to read vast amounts of material and develop highly original interpretations.

Nowhere is this ability more evident than in his books about the crisis in the Middle East. These books go beyond propaganda, apologetics, and clichés and present insights that are both original and profound. If you have an interest in the Middle East, your knowledge will be deepened by reading his work.

I am proud to say that I helped him prepare the manuscript of Politicide. Although a stunningly brilliant man, he never mastered English and I untangled his sentence structure for him before he sent it to the publisher for real editing.

Kenneth Woliner, MD, specializing in Chronic Fatigue, Family Practice

2010-06-30T17:13:00.000-07:00

I have read the two books below. Both are excellent. Buying books through this site helps support this blog. Thank you.

Dr. Kenneth Woliner
9325 Glades Road Suite 104
Boca Raton, Florida 33434
561-620-7779 Phone
561-367-9509

If someone were to ask me which doctor has helped me the most in my life, I wouldn't have to think about it. I would automatically respond: Kenneth Woliner.

I suffer from chronic fatigue and made the rounds of doctors for years. They would give me chest x-rays and EKGs-when I was a non-smoking female in my twenties with no history of heart disease--and tell me I was in perfect health or else tell me my fatigue was really depression.

Finally, when I was in my forties, I found Kenneth Woliner who ran a really useful series of tests and diagnosed problems with adrenal function and metabolizing carbohydrates. I actually started to feel better.

Dr. Woliner offers a blend of holistic and traditional medicine. He is a conscientious doctor who stays on top of the developments in his field, and is always respectful of his patients. He is smart as a whip and a very kind man. The only criticism I have is that while his office staff is always pleasant, sometimes there seems to be a lack of communication between the doctor, the staff, and the patients.

The other issue that may concern some patients is that he does not accept insurance. He likes to spend a lot of time with his patients and feels like insurance reimbursement does not provide enough money. (Remember that doctors have hundreds of thousands of dollars in student debts to pay off and insurance reforms have eaten into their profits.) Of course, you can always take the receipts and submit them yourself to your insurance company.

While he is expensive and doesn't take insurance, I have found him to be worth every dime. The quality of my life improved immensely and that is much better than paying low fees to bad doctors--and paying those fees over and over again without feeling better.

He has my highest recommendation.

Sublime Restaurant and Bar--Gourmet and Vegan

2010-06-30T16:55:00.000-07:00

Buying books from this site helps support this blog. Thank you.

Sublime Restaurant and Bar
www.sublimerestaurant.com

1431 North Federal Highway
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
(954) 615-1431

100% of profits donated to animal rights groups

The more I am around animals, the more I realize they have feelings. They love, often deeply. They can be jealous. They have a sense of justice--hard to believe but they do. They also do many things better than we do. Because I have come to have a lot of respect for animals and their abilities, I am heartened by a restaurant that donates its profits to help them.

Sublime Restaurant and Bar is a completely vegan gourmet restaurant. Unlike most vegetarian restaurants that have a distinctly "down-scale" atmosphere, the Sublime is large, spacious, and beautifully decorated. The decor includes an indoor waterfall and beautiful wooden tables. The dining area is spacious, spotlessly clean, and decorated by someone with superb taste. The staff is gracious and warm without being overly friendly.

I ordered the portabello stack, a creation with portabello mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, and onion chips. It was cooked to perfection and very tasty. My mother had the same thing. The portabello stack was served with either mashed potatoes or something called cauliflower smash. The cauliflower smash was highly seasoned.

There is an extensive wine list and an array of unusual and appealing appetizers. My mother, who had eaten there before, said their coconut cake was delicious. My nephew, who knows and appreciates good food, liked the restaurant very much.

If you eat at Sublime, you must know going in that this is a gourmet restaurant and the prices reflect that. We did not order drinks, appetizers, or desserts and the tab for two people--before the tip--was forty dollars. I would have been happier if the entrée had come with a salad or if diners were given a basket of bread. It seems a shame to spend forty dollars and leave hungry.

Part of the reason that prices are high compared to the quantity of food served is that food politics in this country has made healthful food far more expensive than junk. Corn is heavily subsidized, making high fructose corn syrup one of the cheapest foods in America while the cost of produce has risen almost thirty percent in the last few decades. Another reason for the relatively high cost is that the restaurant is very large and the rent must be astronomical.

If you go, be prepared for your wallet to take a hit. On the other hand, the food is excellent, the service is first rate, and you will be helping animals.

Dr. Thomas Cowell, Chiropractor Highest Recommendation

2010-06-30T16:22:00.000-07:00

The Chiropractic Way: How Chiropractic Care Can Stop Your Pain and Help You Regain Your Health Without Drugs or Surgery
Chiropractic Technique: Principles and Procedures
Backache Relief (Signet)Percogesic Formerly Momentum Backache Relief, Maximum Strength, 580 mg, Coated Caplets, 48 coated caplets (Pack of 3)

Thomas Cowell, D.C.

2940 E Commercial Blvd # B
Fort Lauderdale, FL33308
Phone: (954) 776-6888

I have gone to Dr. Tom for 20 years. In all that time, he has always been able to ease the pain I have that comes from spondylolisthesis and from a compressed nerve in my neck.

An anecdote will illusrate how good Dr. Tom is.

|The first time I went to him after I had gone to a really bad chiropractor. The pain was so bad I would sit in my car and scream when I drove. (The shape of the car seat forced my back into a position that really hurt.) After one visit with Dr. Tom, the hideous pain released its grip on me and I felt good.

Recently, I compressed a nerve in my neck. I went to an MD who gave me prescription strength ibuprofen, a muscle relaxer, and told me to try heat and exercise. I got no better and was exhausted from lack of sleep. At night before going to bed, I would call my mom and practically cry from the pain.

Finally, finally, I went to Dr. Tom. He told me to use rest and ice. He was right. The first night after his adjustments, I felt worse but the next morning, the pain was almost gone.

If it had not been for Dr. Tom, I probably would have ended up on prescription pain killers because no one can bear pain indefinitely and ibuprofen did not work. Now, I am painfree and taking no medication of any kind.

Dr. Tom listens to his patients and works with them. He is careful to minimize the amount of pain experienced in treatment. Mostly, his adjustments are pain-free but occasionally if there is a deep-seated problem, some things are a little painful. This, however, is rare and minor and the improvements make it all worthwhile. He is also a nice guy and a caring doctor.

If you are experiencing back or neck pain and you have tried conventional medical treatment without success, try chiropractic with Dr. Tom.

Mad Hatter Muffler in Pompano Beach *****

2010-06-29T12:53:00.000-07:00

Mad Hatter Muffler
919 South Dixie Highway East
Pompano Beach, Florida 33060
954-946-8606

Chuck Walker and his wife, Hattie, own the Mad Hatter Muffler shop at the address noted above. Don't let the name of the business mislead you. Not only does the store sell and install mufflers; it is a full-service repair shop. They do routine transmission service but if a transmission has to be rebuilt, they send it out. They also sell tires. In fact, Chuck got his start in the tire business and knows everything there is to know on this subject. The mechanics have worked there for years and are both competent and honest.

I have done business with Chuck for over twenty years. During that time, he has been unfailingly honest, polite, and helpful. I have never, ever felt cheated and have always felt that the price was reasonable and that the work performed was of the highest quality. I give Mad Hatter Muffler my highest recommendation.

The Mikado Sushi Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

2010-06-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

Mikado Japanese Restaurant

954-491-0738
977 E. Commercial Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334
North Ridge Shopping Plaza

My all-time favorite sushi restaurant is the Mikado. I have eaten there for 25 years and always been pleased with the quality of the food and the service. The restauant is owed by a married couple from Japan who have poured their hearts into their business for 30 years. They treat their customers like welcome guests and are always willing to accomodate special requests. For example, I like my sushi made with kitchen rice in order to avoid the sugar used in sushi rice. They are always gracious about this request.

The house salad is served with a house dressing that is the best I have tasted anywhere, even in much pricier establisments. Their miso soup is hot and tasty and always satisfying. I very much like many of their side dishes including hiyayakku--cold tofu with ginger and scallions--and their gyoza dumplings. I also love natto, a fermented soybean product that is the Japanese equivalent of limburger cheese with its distinct smell and sharp taste.

The sushi and sashimi are fresh and attractively presented. People who like their food cooked can choose from wide variety of dishes. My nephew likes a fried rice dish they offer. Cooked beef and poultry dishes are available but I really can't comment on them because I always order sushi.

There are sushi restaurants with better decor and in more upscale locations, but few can compete with the Mikado for the quality of its food and service