Broward Politics

Tater Town sells for $99,200 - might be saved, after all

Thu, 24 May 2012 21:28:51 GMT

Tater Town, the beloved fruit and vegetable market on Northwest 27th Avenue in unincorporated Broward, sold today at auction for $99,200.

The 50-year-business appeared to be in its final days as the foreclosure auction loomed.

But Hollywood businessman Joseph Berg of Aegis Properties bought it and said he won't throw them out.

"I'm not going to kick them out, don't worry,'' said Berg, driving to Tater Town to see what he'd bought. "I'm a nice guy.''

Berg said he buys five to 10 properties and week, and "this one, we said, 'Let's just take a chance.' "

He didn't know what was on the property.

"I'll work something out with them,'' he said.

Randy Jesus, the owner, called it "a Godsend.''

The two were about to meet late Thursday afternoon.

Activist Cliff Germano taking on Peter Bober in Hollywood mayor race

Thu, 24 May 2012 20:53:10 GMT

Hollywood activist Cliff Germano is kicking off his campaign for mayor against incumbent Peter Bober.

Germano is president of the North Central Hollywood Civic Association.

Click here to see his campaign page.

Here's Bober's.

Quentin "Beam" Furr running for Broward County Commission

Thu, 24 May 2012 20:38:53 GMT

Hollywood City Commissioner Beam Furr is running for Broward County Commission.

We reported recently that he is dropping out of a state House race.

He still has some paperwork to take care of before he files paperwork for the county race.

Furr said he'll run for 20-year Commissioner Sue Gunzburger's seat when it opens in 2014. He said he has a good relationship with her and talked to her about it. She's term-limited.

"Our values are pretty similar,'' he said. "I think she thinks I'd be a pretty good candidate to follow in her footsteps.''

Dania runs back to court to sue over runway

Thu, 24 May 2012 19:37:45 GMT

Dania Beach wasted no time in pursuing its fight against the coming new runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

The city nixed a short-lived truce with the county Tuesday, and filed a lawsuit Wednesday. The suit is against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, for granting a permit to fill wetlands for the runway.

“Until Broward County steps up to the plate to protect the residents, the City will seek to protect their rights,’’ said Dania’s outside attorney, Neal McAliley.

Click here to read the Dania mayor's letter to the county about the dead settlement.

Plantation mayor to be reimbursed for legal fees

Thu, 24 May 2012 19:21:30 GMT

By Lisa J. Huriash
Taxpayers will reimburse Plantation Mayor Diane Veltri Bendekovic for legal fees she racked up defending herself against ethics and criminal allegations filed by a political rival, all of which were thrown out.

The City Council on Wednesday night approved reimbursing her $63,592.51; the city’s insurance carrier has already paid $25,000 of that amount. She had hired the defense firm of Bogenschutz, Dutko & Kroll.

The Florida Commission on Ethics in October ruled that Warren Meddoff, who filed the complaints, was required to pay $51,458.55. He has since filed an appeal. If Veltri Bendekovic collects any money from him, she will reimburse the city.

In the ethics complaint, Meddoff alleged Veltri Bendekovic misused her position to campaign in private areas of City Hall. Four days after filing the complaint, he announced his intention to run for mayor against her in the March 2011 race. He told investigators he didn’t see Veltri Bendekovic commit any violations, but had been told so by city employees. But the employees told investigators they did not see Veltri Bendekovic campaign at City Hall and the complaint was dismissed.

In August, an administrative judge ruled that “Meddoff acted with a malicious intent to injure Bendekovic’s reputation when he filed the complaint against her.” The judge found that Meddoff failed to sufficiently investigate his allegations before filing the complaint.

New county job: Bird harasser for FLL

Thu, 24 May 2012 19:13:51 GMT

Taking down an airplane doesn't require a bomb. Just a bird.

After two major bird-airplane collisions at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, federal aviation officials are requiring Broward County to hire a full-time bird-watcher to keep birds from fowl-ing up flights.

The $118,000 expense will include a salary of $76,252 for a wildlife biologist who specializes in keeping animals away from airports.

With that six-figure investment, said the airport's operations director, Mike Nonnemacher, "you could save hundreds of millions of dollars, and/or hundreds of lives.''

Click here to read the rest of my story.

Auction of black community's beloved Tater Town is today

Thu, 24 May 2012 15:43:59 GMT

The online auction of Tater Town, the 50-year-old fruit and vegetable market in the black community, is today.

Click here to watch the online auctions, where you'll see the clock ticking and the bids rising on peoples' homes and businesses.

Operator Randy Jesus says he ran deeply into debt fighting Broward County code enforcement.

Charlotte Rodstrom files resign-to-run letter to seek husband's seat

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:41:46 GMT

Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Charlotte Rodstrom made it official Wednesday, filing a resignation letter with the City Clerk’s Office so she can run for her husband’s seat on the Broward County Commission.

Rodstrom’s resignation will take effect at midnight, Nov. 19, and is required by the state’s resign-to-run law. Her husband, Broward Mayor John Rodstrom, is term-limited from seeking another term on the County Commission.

Charlotte Rodstrom was also term-limited on the City Commission. She was first elected to her seat in 2006 and won her third term in January. She opened a campaign account for the county seat less than a month later – before being sworn in to her new city term.

City commissioners named her vice mayor in March.

To read her resignation letter, click here.

Bruce Moeller - from Sunrise fire chief to city manager to Pinellas County

Wed, 23 May 2012 14:56:55 GMT

My colleague Susannah Bryan reports that Sunrise City Manager Bruce Moeller will be leaving to take a job as public safety services director for Pinellas County.

Moeller has experience in public safety. He was Sunrise's fire chief.

Click here to read it.

Dania Vu: Dania versus Broward's FLL airport

Wed, 23 May 2012 14:51:48 GMT

My colleague, Tonya Alanez, reports this morning on the city of Dania Beach deciding to go back to war against Broward County over fair compensation for residents near the growing FLL Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Click here to read her story.

Young professionals network, raise money for Obama

Wed, 23 May 2012 13:33:31 GMT

Young professionals who support President Barack Obama’s re-election are doing what young professionals everywhere do: networking.

The Broward chapter of the Obama campaign’s “Gen44” effort, a fundraising group for people under 40, is holding what it’s describing as its inaugural networking event Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale.

The invite calls the event, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Vibe, 301 E. Las Olas Blvd., “a perfect opportunity to meet new people, network, and learn how
you can be a part of President Obama’s re-election campaign.”

Among those involved are Andrew Weinstein, Obama’s Broward County finance chairman, Andrew M. Korge, Obama’s national Gen44 co-chiarman, and Maria Barth, Broward Gen44 chairwoman.

Republicans don't have a candidate to challenge Congressman Ted Deutch

Tue, 22 May 2012 20:07:12 GMT

U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, may get a pass from the Republicans in this year's election.

The only Republican who'd expressed an interest in challenging him said Tuesday she was dropping out, and Palm Beach County Republican Chairman Sid Dinerstein said he doesn't know of another candidate who will attempt to topple Deutch.

"We don't have one at this point," he said. Potential candidates looked at the 37 percent of the vote Republican Joe Budd won in 2010 "and said he did a lot of work and a lot of fundraising and that's all he got."

Robert Watson, a political scientist at Lynn University in Boca Raton, said the political makeup of the district and Deutch's style would make it difficult to unseat him. "Ted Deutch has been successful, effective, and he's very popular," he said. "It's hard to find anybody who doesn't like Ted Deutch."

The new 21st Congressional District includes most of the territory between Southern Boulevard in Palm Beach County in the north to Atlantic Boulevard in Broward County on the South and mostly between Military Trail on the east and the Everglades on the west.

The territory – with 61 percent of the voters living in Palm Beach County – is overwhelmingly Democratic. Voters there went 64 percent for Barack Obama and 63 percent for John Kerry in the last two presidential elections and 62 percent for Alex Sink in the 2010 governor's race.

Dinerstein said those voters are exceedingly difficult to pry away from the Democratic Party. "Those are Delray Democrats, and not Florida Democrats. That means they're not interested in listening," he said.

Anna Trujillo, a Coral Springs resident who's never run for office before, had been running as a "local unemployed mom." She dropped out after failing to attract attention or raise money.

VIDEO of Dania's Anne Castro: Maybe county should tear down our homes

Tue, 22 May 2012 18:49:05 GMT

Dania Beach City Commissioner Anne Castro talked to us this afternoon about her city's crusade for compensation for about 2,000 residents, including Castro, who'll be in the high noise zone of the coming new runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Castro said the city's looking into a new direction -- seeking to have the county buy their homes and demolish them.

Horrible beating of ex-Commissioner Tim Smith's son back in the spotlight

Tue, 22 May 2012 16:07:27 GMT

UPDATED with trial not occurring today as planned
It happened years ago, but every time former Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Tim Smith talks about the horrible beating of his son, he said he gets emotional.

Smith was one of those scrappy neighborhood crime fighters who went out and faced down drug dealers and told them to get the heck out. And then one day, two "thugs'' waited for his 13-year-old son, Timmy, to walk home from middle school.

They jumped him and beat the crap out of him. They left him bloody and unconscious, and Timmy would tell police that they told him to "tell your father we're gonna kill him.''

Timmy's 22 now, and borrowed a suit jacket for the courthouse today, because surprisingly, one of the suspects, Hudson Joseph, goes to trial today for the beating, all these years later. My colleague, Rafael Olmeda, is covering it. [UPDATE: The trial didn't occur as expected, so check back to find out why. Court proceedings don't always move ahead as planned.]

Smith said Timmy became "really tough'' after that, and was a wrestling champ at Fort Lauderdale High.

"They should sentence the prick to 5 minutes in the ring with Timmy (and ten years!)'' he told me in an email yesterday.

Alcee Hastings complains about lack of media attention

Tue, 22 May 2012 14:23:37 GMT

It had all the right visuals: manufacturing workers, a warehouse filled with millions of boxes, and even the owners' dog.

It had an impressive lineup of stars: The No. 2 Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, the minority party whip, plus three South Florida members of Congress, Democrats Ted Deutch of Boca Raton, Alcee Hastings of Miramar, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Just one thing was missing from this designed for TV news event: television cameras.

When the four members of Congress toured A&M Tape & Packaging in Sunrise on Monday, the only news media representatives were a reporter, a still picture photographer, and a videographer from the Sun Sentinel.

That prompted Hastings to rebuke the local and national media when it was his turn at the mic.

"I must give one complaint. It wouldn't be me if I didn't," Hastings began.
"We have here the whip of the House. And we have my good friend representative Ted Deutch … and we have Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chair of the Democratic National Committee and myself.

"There are four of us here. And somewhere scattered out in South Florida are representatives of the media who are covering the latest cat that got caught in a pool drain, the beach renourishment issues, and countless other matters of that kind, without covering those of us that are trying to assure that we are doing the business of this country.

"Now this is not unusual. Ted and Debbie and I have held press conferences before. Debbie and I worked a transportation issue; we didn't see a single person from the media there. So the media wonders how is it that we are perceived and they are not helping that perception. And I'd like that message to go out.

"People won't know, many of them here in Broward County, that we were here with the Perlmans or that a transition is taking place in their districts. So don't get me wound up on it, Hastings, because I would then talk a considerable amount of time about the failure of the national media to allow for greater information and particularly the local media – and if they don't like it, tell them I said so."

A little explanation for his closing paragraph: The Perlmans are David and Amy, owners of A&M. The transition he's referring to is the change in representation some areas will experience because of congressional redistricting. A&M is in Wasserman Schultz's district; after the election it will be in Hastings' district, assuming he's re-elected. And he did refer to himself in the third person.

Here's the Sun Sentinel coverage, including a video report, of Monday's goings on.

Republicans: Hundreds of Broward voters are dead

Tue, 22 May 2012 00:42:30 GMT

About 5,000 dead people have been purged from the voter rolls in Broward County, and Broward Republicans are pointing to hundreds more dead people still listed as active voters.

The spotlight’s been on dead voters since the Florida Department of State used a new state law to get access to 90 million files about people who’ve died across America. The results, issued in recent weeks to Florida’s 67 counties: 51,966 dead people still listed as active voters.

The vast majority were in South Florida, with Palm Beach County topping the list, said Chris Cate, communications director at the Department of State. In the few weeks since the counties have had the names, almost all of them have been purged, the department’s data shows.

Democrats portray themselves as fans of manufacturing

Mon, 21 May 2012 22:10:02 GMT

SUNRISE – Scores of industrial-size rolls of bubble wrap, miles of packing tape, and more than 5 million cardboard boxes fill A&M Tape & Packaging, and on Monday they became the symbol of a potent political issue: American manufacturing jobs.

Started in 1977 with four employees, A&M is a success story, with almost 60 workers today.

And it’s the kind of story that appeals to politicians, four of whom toured the company on Monday including U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 Democrat in the U.S. House. He and a trio of South Florida colleagues – U.S. Reps. Ted Deutch of Boca Raton, Alcee Hastings of Miramar and Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston – are part of an effort to position their party as a friend to workers in this election year.

It’s a critical mission for the Democrats, President Barack Obama included. With unemployment and foreclosures high, public opinion polling in Florida and elsewhere shows the economy is by far the biggest issue on the minds of voters.

And focusing on manufacturing jobs is about as American as apple pie and motherhood. “They [overseas producers] may make some things better than we do, but very, very, very few things because America makes it the best,” Hoyer said.

Broward's Holness -- who's supporting his next race?

Mon, 21 May 2012 20:30:37 GMT

Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness just had another fundraiser for his coming election.

Check out this fund-raising invitation a reader sent me (thanks! Send them to bwallman@tribune.com). Holness got help from a host committee that included former opponent Margaret Bates, and Ken Thurston, both Lauderhill commissioners. Also on his host list, Miramar Commissioners Wayne Messam and Alexandra Davis (invitation says Alexander, but there is no commissioner in this county with that name, so I'm making an assumption here). Broward Supervisor of Elections attorney Burnadette Norris-Weeks. Art Kennedy, the local chief of staff for Congressman Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar. And many more.

What's the point of posting these fundraiser invitations? To examine the host list, of course. It's helpful to know which politicians in Broward are allied with each other, and which political activists or contribution givers are connected to them. Click on the invitation to make it larger. Double click to make it even larger.

UPDATED Property Appraiser Lori Parrish and your front door

Mon, 21 May 2012 16:40:32 GMT

UPDATED with link to video

Broward Property Appraiser Lori Parrish has added another feature to her very useful (to us) website, www.bcpa.net. Already you can use her website to look up where people live, how much they paid for the home, and how much homes sold for in that area.

Now you can see the pictures, also.

Click here to read my colleague Juan Ortega's story.

And click here to watch the interview with Parrish, in which she shows her house, and that of her general counsel, Ron Gunzburger, son of Broward County Commissioner Sue Gunzburger.

Election year in Dania, and runway settlement needs unanimous vote

Mon, 21 May 2012 15:59:16 GMT

Broward Aviation Director Kent George is really pushing for a unanimous vote from the Dania City Commission on Tuesday, on the runway truce he and Dania Commissioner Anne Castro hammered out last year.

But if you read the story from my colleague Tonya Alanez and me -- which I'll post on the jump page -- you'll see that George understated it when he said getting the unanimous vote Tuesday would be a "tough row to hoe.''

Follow Dania Beach politics a little and you'll find the runway as a running issue that has divided the electorate there. That makes sense, given that of all of Broward's 31 cities, Dania Beach bears the heaviest burden from the continuing growth of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Where other locales with growing airports have scraped the nearby neighborhoods to bare soil and replaced them with industrial uses, Broward County decided to let the established communities remain. And that leads us to where we are today.

Above, watch Broward Politics' favorite video on this topic, of a Dania Beach resident at one of George's public hearings. "I'm pissed, dude!'' he said. His impassioned speech captures the feeling of lots of residents there.

Story on the jump.

Many black voters not thrilled with Obama's stand on same-sex marriage

Sun, 20 May 2012 16:02:30 GMT

Updated at 1:15 p.m.

At the Neighborhood Unisex Barbershop on Sistrunk Boulevard in northwest Fort Lauderdale, the room fell silent as the president’s interview came on TV. At Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Pompano Beach, the pastor turned the midweek Bible study into an open forum on the controversy. At St. John Primitive Baptist Church in Delray Beach, the pastor voiced his concerns.

And same-sex marriage suddenly became a hot topic at the Top Notch Beauty Spa & Suites in Delray Beach. “It’s the buzz. It’s the conversation,” said owner Angeleta Gray.

From West Park in Broward County to Riviera Beach in Palm Beach County, black voters in South Florida are wrestling with sometimes conflicting feelings – widespread and deep support for President Barack Obama and, for many, opposition to his recent pronouncement in support of same-sex marriage.

"Domestic abuse survivor'' Kristin Jacobs on Violence Against Women Act

Sun, 20 May 2012 15:01:06 GMT

Broward County Commissioner Kristin Jacobs, a Democrat, doesn't talk about it much, but she's a domestic abuse survivor.

She mentions it in a statement she released this week in her race for Congressional District 22 against Democrat Lois Frankel, former mayor of West Palm Beach. I'll post it on the jump.

Sheriff candidate Louie Granteed reaches out to gay voters

Sun, 20 May 2012 02:15:45 GMT

I've got another fund-raiser invitation to show you. This one's for Broward county sheriff candidate Louis "Louie" Granteed, a Hollywood police department assistant chief.

Click on the invitation to enlarge it so you can read the hosts, and see that it will be a held at a gay friendly establishment in Wilton Manors.

Sheriff Al Lamberti is running for re-election. Also running is Scott Israel, former longtime Fort Lauderdale officer.

Tater Town loses fight with Broward, going to auction block May 24

Sat, 19 May 2012 22:16:32 GMT

For 50 years, the Tater Town fruit and vegetable stand and its meat market have been the place to go for collard greens and pig tails, cucumbers and chittlins.

Owner Randy Jesus, something of a self-taught urban planner, had a vision for this bedraggled part of town. He learned all the planner jargon, the state statutes and redevelopment rules. He went to all the charettes, enlisted planners to draw up site plans and, on paper at least, gave Tater Town and the other small businesses along the humble street a more modern home.

He’d tell you about it today, like it might happen, even though it probably won’t. Because Tater Town, an institution since the 1960s, will be sold at auction May 24.

Jesus had a long-running fight with Broward County code enforcers, and he lost. He borrowed so much money to pay lawyers, and to settle the code fines and make the repairs, that he now owes a mortgage of half a million dollars on the small corner lot — and the loan’s being called in.

The news comes as a surprise to many, especially the customers who’ve relied on it for so long.

“They’re taking to their churches, and they’re praying,” Jesus said. “They don’t want to see it go.”

Florida voters like Hillary and Jeb, but not Rick Scott

Thu, 17 May 2012 20:00:43 GMT

Florida voters like Hillary Clinton. The secretary of state, unsuccessful 2008 presidential candidate, and former first lady enjoys a nearly 3 to 1 favorable to unfavorable rating among the state's voters.

At 68 percent, her favorability was the highest among seven politicians in the May poll by Suffolk University/WSVN-Ch. 7. A quarter of the state's voters had an unfavorable view of Clinton

No. 2 is former Gov. Jeb Bush, whose scores were 56 percent favorable and 34 percent unfavorable.

What's their secret? "They're not running for anything," said Kevin Hill of Weston, a political scientist at Florida International University. Both have been polarizing figures, but Hill and Joseph Uscinski of the University of Miami said that was years ago.

Last place went to Gov. Rick Scott, who was viewed favorably by just 37 percent of voters and unfavorably by 45 percent.

Stand Your Ground has enjoys strong support

Latest poll shows Obama-Romney tie in Florida

Both President Barack Obama (50 percent favorable to 45 percent unfavorable) and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney (42 percent to 45 percent) are floating around the middle. Their numbers were within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who is up for re-election this year is viewed favorably by 41 percent of the state's voters and unfavorably by 26 percent. He's been in statewide office for years, but 22 percent said they'd hear of him and were undecided about his performance, and 12 percent said they'd never heard of him.

Freshman U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has a slightly higher favorability number (49 percent) and slightly higher unfavorable number (30 percent). But in contrast to Nelson, 17 percent said they were undecided and just 4 percent said they'd never heard of Rubio.