Florida Interior Designers Free at Last

[jump] “Florida’s interior design law has nothing to do with protecting the public and everything to do with protecting state-licensed interior designers from fair competition,” declared Neily, adding that the injunction “is an important step towards getting rid of Florida’s unfair, illegitimate and anti-competitive licensing law root and branch.” In…

Thompson Swings — But Misses — Another Amateur Record

Alexis Thompson, the 14-year-old golfer from Coral Springs advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur tournament this past weekend in St. Louis, and though that made her the youngest golfer in the field by two years, it wasn’t nearly a record.The record was set in 2007, when Thompson…

State Trooper Claims He’s Victim of Ticket Quota

Former Florida Highway Patrolman Christopher Maul tells the St. Pete Times he was fired in June because he “didn’t write enough tickets.” FHP supervisors say that was one among other productivity issues. They deny that there’s a quota.Though there’s no mention of Maul’s filing suit against FHP, it sounds like…

Stars Are Born

Embrace it, Dalia. That’s my advice to Dalia Dippolito. Via her attorney, she’s complaining about being tricked by the TV show COPS into signing a release after her arrest for allegedly hiring an undercover deputy to kill her husband. (The Palm Beach Post got the story, but it’s on the Sun-Sentinel site). So,…

Fugitive Accused of Child Rape Captured in Kentucky

Several weeks after his child sex abuse case was featured on America’s Most Wanted, Roshard Whitehead of West Palm Beach was found in Lexington, Kentucky. And not a moment too soon, according to a report by WPBF, which says federal marshals found him living with four children.In mid-January police wondered…

Cash4Gold Offers to Take Over Cash for Clunkers

Jeffrey Aronson and his partner in Cash4Gold are mighty proud of themselves. They wrote a letter to Congress and the White House boasting of how their Pompano Beach-based company has turned a recession into a windfall. Now they’re offering to turn the same trick for the feds. An offer the…

PBSO: Sorry For the Beatings. Here, Have Some Bikes!

In a heartwarming display of goodwill, Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies tomorrow plan to distribute 45 free bikes to kids in Belle Glade. It’s a lovely gesture, sure to be appreciated by children in a city plagued by crime and poverty. Only, the timing is a bit unfortunate.The bike giveaway…

BSO Report: Foul Play in Death of Taco Bell Manager

Tikkitress Johnson, the 39-year-old manager of a Taco Bell on Oakland Park Boulevard did not die this morning from an accidental fall. Rather, Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives believe she was murdered. From the BSO release: Just before 9 am, Oakland Park Fire Rescue was dispatched to a reported fall injury…

Name Released in Cab Driver Stabbing

Saint Sanveur Michel is the name of the cab driver who was stabbed yesterday in Hollywood. The aggressor in the incident, which occurred near North 69th Avenue and Charleston Street before 11 a.m., is still at large. Hollywood Police describe him as a Hispanic male in his twenties who was…

Despite Massive Losses, Related Wants to Keep Building in West Palm

Miami-based real estate giant The Related Group has struggled to weather the housing bust, watching its massive Icon Brickell condo project on Biscayne Bay sit largely empty, while its CityPlace South Tower in West Palm Beach goes into “friendly foreclosure.” But that hasn’t stopped Related’s thirst to keep building. According…

Drama Camp: Boca-Based Developer Plays Villain in Suburban Philly

A plucky group of summer camp kids, their counselors, and homeowners have rallied against a warehouse development in Mansfield, Pennsylvania, by Margolis Enterprises, a developer based in Boca Raton. The Burlington County Times reports that our locals are getting a lesson in child activism:”My daughter told me I should come…