You Scratch My Back, I Write You a Bill

The slots are coming. Once Florida lawmakers work out the finer details, gamblers will be able to pull the levers at Broward County’s four pari-mutuel facilities — Gulfstream Park and Hollywood Greyhound Track in Hallandale Beach, Dania Jai-Alai in Dania Beach, and Pompano Park in Pompano Beach. The gambling machines…

Truth in (Sexual) Advertising

On my way to Blue Martini in West Palm’s CityPlace to “chillax” with my girl Kim, I met a super fly guy. His cornrows were tight, his shades gradient silver, and his belt buckle a unique marquee: Its LED scrolled “Yay, Mamma” in other-worldly blue. “That’s one way to draw…

AIDS Walk Turf Battle

The ‘Pipe spends a lot of time rattling around the palm-frond-littered streets of Broward County and sitting at those long, long red lights. These frustrating pauses give one plenty of time to study the ads adorning the sides of commuter buses and taxi roofs, especially the ones that flog strip…

Letters for April 6-12, 2006

Actin’ All Republican In Hollywood, the Democrats often get Bushy: I’ve been a registered Democrat since I turned 18 in 1976. In fact, I voted that year for Jimmy Carter in the Florida Democratic presidential primary. Over the years, though, I’ve grown increasingly uncomfortable with the behavior of my party…

What’s a Little Medicare Fraud Between Friends?

Let’s begin with the cold facts: Coconut Creek Commissioner Jim Waldman is running for the state House in a district dominated by senior voters. He is also a longtime business partner of a convicted Medicare fraud artist named Bradley Hertz. Hertz was convicted of fraud in federal court in 2000…

Jailbait

Jailbait is the first installment in “Perversion in Paradise,” a New Times Series Sex has come a long way since it was about a man climbing on top of his wife once a week. For some reason, in South Florida, the physical act of love in all its forms multiplies…

Amy Rose Strikes Back

Rose Honored By Commissioners Gunzburger and Wasserman-Rubin In response to a bit of snark, State House candidate Amy Rose provides the Pulp a rather involved response to my suggestion that we keep the eye on her. Why? She’s running for the District 95 seat against Jim Waldman at the same…

Hell On The Riviera

Nardozzi Two of the nastiest crimes of the year occurred during the past week and both have Riviera Beach connections. First, on Saturday, Miss Florida Basketball runner-up Christi Nardozzi was savagely beaten after a game against a Riviera Beach team in Port St. Lucie. Post reporter Jamey Eisenberg tells the…

Murder, Sex and Reportage

Alright, my little plan to wrap up this monstrosity has been foiled by none other than Jim Greenhill himself. Check out the comment below the “Someone Has To Die Tonight, Again” post (it’s below Mutha Fuka’s little ADHD outburst). He says I made a little mistake. Specifically, he says he…

It’s The Work, Stupid

Some thoughts on the Sunshine State Awards: 1. Okay, there’s two categories, small newspapers with 50,000 circulation and under and large ones with anything more than that. Ridiculous. It leaves the small class with a dearth of solid competition and a whole class of mid-sized newspapers going up against bigees,…

Someone Has To Die Tonight, Again

I don’t pretend to really understand my friend Jim Greenhill’s relationship with the teenage killer Kevin Foster. I do know that he visited Foster dozens of times on Death Row. And I know that Jim shared with Foster his own homicidal fantasies involving his parents and wife. And I know…

Did John Gotti Do Anything Right?

Some highlights from the weekend’s papers: — In news that will do no good for Tony Soprano’s health, The Miami Herald reported Sunday that mobster and accused Gus Boulis killer Anthony Moscatiello is a snitch. Reporters Wanda J. DeMarzo and Jay Weaver, in the Story of the Day, also illustrate…

Sunshine State Finalists Are Here

Thanks to our illustrious chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, here’s an advance copy of the list: ALL MEDIA James Batten Award for Public Service -Sally Kestin, Megan O’Matz, Jon Burstein; South Florida Sun-Sentinel; FEMA: A Legacy of Waste -Craig Pittman, Matthew Waite; St. Petersburg Times; Vanishing Wetlands -John…

Yanni Is Freed!

The Post’s Andrew Marra, in our Story of the Day, tells us that domestic violence charges have been dropped against Yanni, which is welcome news at the Pulp. (Most people run his mug shot, but I prefer to remember him as he was). The Pulp hates abuse as much as…

Yahoo For Tiger

Did you see on Romenesko that New York Times sports business columnist Richard Sandomir criticized the 60 Minutes puff piece on Tiger Woods that aired this past Sunday. Sandomir did a good job, but he missed two things. 1. Ed Bradley gave Tiger not one, but two jovial fist bumps…

Someone Has To Die Tonight

From the “What The Hell Do I Know” file, the Herald story about the FDLE chief’s e-mails in the Bay County boot camp death case caused the special prosecutor to take the FDLE off the case. You may recall that I derided the story as overplayed and overstated, saying the…

Of All The Pictures In All The World …

Did anybody fail to notice the dominant art on the Sentinel sports page today? It’s Maria Sharapova bending down after a serve. But what’s she’s really serving up is maximum cleavage. You know some of that plum, fair, privileged Sharapova cleavage that you don’t come across every day (if you…

Tube Boobs Take Over Newspaperland

Newspapers have lost it lately over television. The fearless leaders of the industry seem to think it sells newspapers to talk about television and reporters are more than happy to oblige them by writing about it. Beats work, you know. There’s nothing wrong with good TV reporting, but endless jabbering…

The Terrorist Who Wasn’t

Mandoah “Manny” Ebaid walks Harrison Street in downtown Hollywood. It’s 10:30 on a Wednesday night in February, and the restaurateur is checking the foot traffic outside his Middle Eastern eatery, Exotic Bites, near Young Circle Park. People are strolling in and out of the smoke-filled Kelly’s Pub next door. At…

Win the Tourney or It’s Your Mom’s 401-k

Seven days before Federer, Agassi, Sharapova, and company roll into town for the NASDAQ-100 Open, 20-year-old tennis prodigy Ahsha Rolle walks slowly from Crandon Park Court No. 14. After showing off her 115-mile-per-hour serve, blistering ground strokes, and wicked slice, Rolle calmly surveys the construction site surrounding her— noisy workers…

If Waldman’s a Dem, What’s With the GOP Cash?

Coconut Creek Commissioner and state House candidate Jim Waldman claims that his heart is with the Democrats, but a look at his campaign contributions shows that his wallet is being stuffed by Republicans. One of the lawyer’s chief financial backers, private college heavy Arthur Keiser, is a major GOP donor…

Bye-bye, Jai Alai?

As picket lines go, the gathering of jai-alai players in T-shirts and uniforms at Dania Jai-Alai last week was on the pathetically puny side. Well, it was strictly an “informational picket,” a handful of rank-and-filers said. When the ‘Pipe pulled up, a strapping 27-year-old named Iker Foronda Rojo was just…