Hernán Marcelo Vega should have his own infomercial describing his recipe for fast cash. Sure, it involves skirting a few hefty federal laws. And yes, it centers on supplying guns to terrorists and guerrilla groups that could kidnap and kill thousands. But Vega, and dozens of other gunrunners in South…
Rising above the other beachside hotels of Hollywood’s Ocean Avenue like some glittering green-and-white Tower of Babel, the Westin Diplomat spares no expense. As people troll for low-cost parking on A1A (valet service at the hotel’s front entrance is $11 an hour), the staff of the Diplomat is trying to…
Our eyes met across a crowded room. I was speaking. She was listening. Her yellow bouffant hair didn’t move a wit as she nodded and smiled at almost everything I said. It helped. About 60 people had shown up at the Sun-Sentinel building in downtown Fort Lauderdale for a panel…
Free spenders: Congrats to Bob Norman for exposing the City of Hollywood’s financial screwing of its citizens by the “unholy troika” of the mayor, Mara Giulianti; the developers (too numerous to name); and the law firm of Becker & Poliakoff (“Incentivize This,” July 3). At least, that’s how it appears…
I pray that no yearning, no passionate love of sea fishing or of angling may ever take possession of you, my young friends. — Plato Frank Flynn is frantically punching numbers on his cell phone as he shuffles toward the boarding gate for American Airlines Flight 1845 at the Miami…
Mark Farson was asleep below deck when the gunshots thundered. His sailboat jerked to a halt. It was 11 p.m. on a steamy March night; a friend, German Copiano, was at the helm. They were drifting downwind off the Dominican Republic near a sandy stretch of beach called Playa de…
The County Commission meets at 10 a.m. July 8 at the Broward County Governmental Center, Room 421, 115 S. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale.
Cut him out: Regarding Jeff Stratton’s June 26 story, “Sewn Apart”: What bothers me with all of this, including your story, is that one would infer that Sewing Circle Sue is mainly a revival showcase for the Storches when it is, in fact, primarily a showcase for Jay Pounders’ ample…
Doodle sings: “We have a friend in Bob Gra-ham, That’s what everybody’s say-in, All across the good ol’ USA. From the Atlantic to the Pacific, We all say — he’s terrific. That’s why America needs Bob Gra-ham to-day.” The Democrats in the large Iowa warehouse met the song with eerie…
It wasn’t until after 1 a.m. on December 23 that Peter Whitney decided to go out. Whitney, a 33-year-old from Barbados with light-brown skin and short, black, curly hair, had received a call from his friend Claude Harding. Meet at Harbor Grille in Dania Beach, Harding told Whitney. It’s Jamaican…
Back in May, the South Florida Blood Bank brought in former surgeon general David Satcher and a cadre of local politicians to break ground on its new headquarters in northern Palm Beach County. Things seemed peachy as the blood bank announced a campaign to raise $10 million to pay for…
Left her sense of humor at home: Upon reading the article “Olive Spoil” (June 12) by Jen Karetnick, I was deeply troubled by the reckless abandon displayed throughout. As an African-American who has attended ePoetry at the Wet Olive, I was completely appalled by the not-so-veiled attempt to vilify the…
Krisztian Katona’s inviting smile hints at his unhindered optimism. Nothing seems to bother the 25-year-old with the wire-rimmed glasses, thin goatee, and wave of brown hair that crashes gently around his head. He speaks with a slow eloquence that gives his Eastern European accent a soothing rhythm. “Krisztian just likes…
It’s hard to miss Billy Mitchell. At six foot four, he towers above most people with his skinny body, brown shoulder-length hair, and neatly trimmed beard. He wears jeans, Oxford shirts, and Velcro shoes. An American-flag tie hangs from his neck. He owns several and wears one every day. “Remember,…
The Broward County Health Department is on the case, but I wonder if officials will find the obvious: Pompano Beach city officials falsified a report and hid serious chlorination problems from both residents and regulators. Broward County environmental czar Howard Rosen has begun an investigation based on a March 13…
Avicide redux: I am sincerely happy that the Big Bird story didn’t fall by the wayside (“Fowl Play,” Susan Eastman, June 12). It thrills me that someone came forward to report the thug who allegedly killed an innocent bird. Must we resort to killing people/animals because of their hair color/feathers?…
At 6 a.m., a rickety white van with a single working taillight sputters up to Broward Boulevard and Federal Highway. Jerry, a slight middle-aged guy with ratty gray hair matted under a bright-pink Sun-Sentinel cap only slightly darker than the sunburn he’s sporting, pops out of the back. He’s arrived…
In the journalism world, hawking goods is a sin approaching that of plagiarism. So when the New York Times reported in May that a Boca Raton video-production firm had hired three of the most recognizable newsmen in America as pitchmen, the upshot was malodorous publicity all around. It all started…
A smoke machine fills the doorway with fog as two studs enter from stage left. Looking as if they have just walked off the set of A Night at the Roxbury, they’re wearing gray suits and satin shirts with three buttons undone at the top. The camera pans them slowly…
Robert Barcia took a single peacock feather from a vase on the landing of his two-story Victoria Park home and walked into his backyard, crossing to a fence that separates his property from a gated townhouse to the west of him. Then, in a gesture of celebration and defiance, he…
Forget the truth: In regard to Bob Norman’s three columns on U.S. Rep. Mark Foley (“Out with the Truth,” May 8, May 22, June 5): Give him a break. Since when is it a prerequisite of public service to be forced to discuss publicly one’s private sexual details? If he…
Usually, Sebastian Ordoñez is a race-car driver only when he’s pushing toy cars across his bedroom floor. The 8-year-old will sputter engine noises between his lips as he maneuvers imaginary Formula One racetracks all over the globe. “In like Brazil, Australia, lots of places,” he says. He’ll be a star…
