Forbes Mag: South Florida Now a Rotten Place to Retire

Oh no! We’ve been dissed by a Forbes list! The magazine popular among rich old people is saying that South Florida is lousy place to be a rich old person. It ranked the Miami – Fort Lauderdale area 29th as a region to retire, blaming the “battered real estate and…

Dear NPR: Forget the Tote Bags, Start Auctioning Ira Glass

It’s that time a year again. All week, WLRN-FM (91.3) has been filled with the guilt-inducing sounds of yet another NPR fund drive. It’s oppressive and embarrassing for everyone involved. Today on Morning Edition, Bonnie Berman cut to the chase: “By giving now, you’ll help keep WLRN’s fund drive short,”…

Pillbillies of Broward County Go Hollywood

After a short ad, that’s the trailer for “The Oxycontin Express,” the first episode of this season’s Vanguard. That’s correspondent Mariana van Zeller boldly reporting from within Broward County, pain pill capital of the world. Aren’t we just beaming with pride?The show airs on Current TV, the diy network launched…

PETA Fretting Over Humane Deaths for Giant Snakes

Florida Fish and Wildlife has yet to respond to a July 30th letter from Lori Kettler, senior counsel for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), concerning humane death for Florida’s thousands of Burmese pythons. Tori Perry, senior cruelty caseworker at PETA, told the Juice today that the guidelines…

Two Interesting Bits From Neil Sterling Article

In the Sun-Sentinel story this morning about School Board lobbyist Neil Sterling, there are a couple of pieces of interesting information. One is that Stephanie Kraft — whose husband, Mitch, was secretly on the payroll of one of Sterling’s companies — has apparently managed to find one vote where she went against…

Palm Beach Activists to Do Their Part to Make the Earth Move

In advance of world leaders’ December meeting in Copenhagen for a new climate treaty, Palm Beach County residents are heading to Atlantic Dunes Beach Park, where on Saturday October 24, they’ll participate in a demonstration that’s gone global.That day marks the International Day of Climate Action, in which activists in…

Morning Juice: Which Kraft Gets Paid and Which Kraft Gets to Vote?

Let’s look at what’s in the news this morning:Big, big trouble for Broward County School Board member Stephanie Kraft. New Times’ Bob Norman has confirmed that Kraft’s husband, Mitch, took payments from Prestige Homes to negotiate a deal with the district for the mitigation fees associated with that company’s development…

Mafia Membership Back in Fashion

​Since the 2002 death of the last great Godfather, John Gotti, the Italian underworld has been resting in peace — until its resurrection… now. A tell-all book, a Gotti Jr. trial, and Bonanno crime family members in a South Florida courtroom. Mafia madness is in the air, and I smell…

Pembroke Pines City Manager Dodge Demonstrates How to Double Dip

With a $735,000 annual salary for his private consulting firm, plus city-funded health insurance, office space, and a staff at City Hall, Pembroke Pines City Manager Charlie Dodge has one of the sweetest gigs in local government.But here’s the icing on the cake: He also collects a city-funded pension. For…

The Corrupt Krafts Cashed In on School Board

It’s official: The Krafts — Broward School Board member Stephanie and her lawyer husband, Mitch — have been cashing in big-time on her elected office. ​And they picked a terrible time to do it — right when federal investigators are zeroing in on the School Board. I will be surprised if they don’t…

Panning for Gold: Retired Stripper Saves Last Dance for Police

In this week’s installment of Panning for Gold, we’ll return to Fort Walton Beach to check in on Susan “Mimi” Brown, a 55-year-old woman who was an exotic dancer, at least as recently as the Reagan administration. The Northwest Florida Daily News reports that Okaloosa County Sheriffs deputies responded to…

Crist’s “Culture of Corruption” is an Old Story

With Broward politicians and contractors in hot water over bribery allegations today, it’s not surprising that Governor Crist has called for a statewide corruption Grand Jury. According to the Sun-Sentinel: Citing an apparent “culture of corruption” taking root in South Florida, Gov. Charlie Crist on Wednesday called for a statewide…

Everglades Club Membership Haunts Limbaugh in Rams Deal

The uproar over Rush Limbaugh’s bungled bid to buy the St. Louis Rams wouldn’t be complete without a mention of his membership in Palm Beach’s oldest and most exclusive country club, the Everglades Club.Palm Beach’s infamous bloviater was kicked out of a group trying to buy the Rams after several…

Retired Athletes Love Pembroke Pines

What is it about Pembroke Pines that makes retired athletes flock there? We’ve told you about Kenny Anderson, the former New Jersey Nets star who recently invited a slew of his illegitimate children to the city, as well as Deon Thomas, the University of Illinois great who became a star…

Registered Sex Offender Finds That a Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss

In what appears to be a form-letter notice, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office yesterday announced that “a declared sexual predator, Ronald Earl Murphy… is now residing at Transient, Delray Beach, FL.” Transient is not the name of a hip new boutique hotel on Atlantic Avenue. It’s more of a…