With Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s April 25 signature affixed to Senate Bill 1070, Arizona is poised to direct all law enforcement agencies to adopt Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s policy of rounding up and incarcerating Mexicans and then shipping them back across the border if they lack proper documentation of…
Village Voice Media is underwriting the cost of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona’s forthcoming litigation against Senate Bill 1070, as well as two other immigration lawsuits. Senate Bill 1070 mandates that a police officer who has “reasonable suspicion” that someone is a Mexican must detain that person. The…
She’s the single African American commissioner and she rules a district with a large African-American population, but Sylvia Poitier’s recent ethical problems don’t appear to have a racial component — at least not until she announces that race is a factor.And there are subtle signs that Poitier may do just…
hey declared Tony Villegas mentally incompetent to stand trial for the murder of Melissa Britt Lewis. I haven’t said much about it because I’m not sure I could add anything important to the discussion. In a nutshell, I don’t like it. Guilty or innocent (and the evidence, including DNA, points to the former), crazy or…
It’s a bad day to be Mike Good. The longtime Hallandale Beach city manager is facing termination following a vote this afternoon by city commissioners. At today’s meeting, those commissioners complained about his being absent from City Hall and his spotty record for communicating with city staff and commissioners. Ultimately,…
Now that a Broward judge has declared Tony Villegas incompetent to stand trial for the murder of attorney Melissa Britt Lewis, many people are wondering about his state of mind two years ago, when he was arrested for allegedly strangling Melissa and dumping her body in a canal.If mental health…
For the third straight year, Sen. Nan Rich of Sunrise has lost her bid to make sex with animals illegal in Florida. The bill died Friday in the Florida House, leaving Rich and her Senate staff thoroughly bewildered.”For whatever reason, the House decided not to take it up,” says an…
One year after a small group of Broward tattooists launched a statewide effort to defeat what it believed to be deeply flawed legislation reforming the industry, a new bill — drafted in concert with those same activists — is close to becoming law. It may even be signed today during…
Ever since the law firm Cole, Scott & Kissane hired scandalized Judge Ana Gardiner to work in its Plantation office, a lot of people, including myself, have wondered, “What were they thinking?” Here was a judge accused by the Judicial Qualifications Commission not only of improper ex parte communication with a…
Slowly, the county’s darkest, most ethically challenged corridors are allowing the light in. The Broward County Commission’s giving grudging support Tuesday to an ethics reform package may have the most far-reaching impact on Broward residents. But right now, the city that’s a shining example of how to root out corruption…
Estelhomme Peterson, a 12-year-old Haitian boy with a large malignant tumor on his neck, arrived in Fort Lauderdale around 7:30 last night with his mother. The boy, whom volunteers call “Peter,” is in stable condition at Broward General.”Peter is here and looking wonderful,” said Lauren Odman, the registered nurse at…
Let’s see what’s happening in South Florida:Faced with two terrifying evils, members of the Broward County Commission appear ready to pass an ethics reform package they aren’t sure they can work within, but it’s still better than the other option of scrapping the reform package and facing the wrath of…
Yesterday we brought the story of a Haitian orphan — volunteers believe his name is Peterson Estelhomme. He has a large, malignant tumor on his neck. Republican Sen. George LeMieux is among the men and women working to bring the boy known as “Peter” to Broward General for life-saving surgery.We…
Slow news day, so I’m going to keep with one of the themes of the day and start with this video (picked up on the Juice) showing state Sen. Mike Bennett viewing “porn” on his computer during the debate for that awful abortion bill the horrible people in Tallahassee recently passed. Here…
For the past five months, Deerfield Beach has been trying to find out what happened to the $30,000 it gave to a charity, Arlington Park Family, which promised to provide senior services. A series of letters to the charity’s president, Mae Frances Feagin, went unanswered, and on April 15, City…
Apparently, Sen. Mike Bennett’s friends send him nudie pictures, which are to be opened only on the floor of the Florida Senate, while Dan Gelber is talking about an abortion bill. Bennett, a Republican from Bradenton, clicked off the image immediately.Then he turned on some dog porn, it appears. Or…
Gregory Brummitt and Sandy Bulla, both from Johnson City, Tennessee, have been arrested by Broward Sheriff’s Office for allegedly robbing and killing Bulla’s ex-husband at a Red Roof Inn on April 29.Brummitt, 20, and Bulla, 35, made the trip to South Florida for the usual reason that draws folks from…
Two years after he was arrested for allegedly strangling attorney Melissa Britt Lewis and dumping her body in a canal, Tony Villegas has been deemed incompetent to stand trial.Al Milian, one of two attorneys representing Tony, declined to explain why Tony’s mental health has suddenly become an issue or when…
Brian Reilly has talked tough during the early part of his 2010 congressional campaign, launching the slogan “Fire Debbie Wasserman Schultz.” But the April 30 candidate filing deadline came and went with nary a sign of Reilly’s campaign finance report. Judging by the Federal Elections Commission website, Reilly hasn’t qualified…
The media is are desperate to make money on the web. And web technology allows the media to track viewer trends in a far more sophisticated way than ever before. That combination leads the media to appeal to the very lowest forms of human curiosity. Over on our sister blog,…
The Broward County Courthouse muckraker JAABlog — which has helped to expose corruption in our judiciary time and again — is under attack yet again, this time for allegedly “denigrating women.” Local attorney Barbara Heyer, who happens to be the wife of Broward County Judge Marc Gold, sent an oh-so-serious letter…
