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http://www.local10.com/news/9935205/detail.html?treets=mia&tid=2655619429813&tml=mia_9am&tmi=mia_9am_1_08000209262006&ts=H
Broward Commissioners Expected To Approve $38 Million Sports Park
Facility Would Be Home To Baltimore Orioles In Spring
POSTED: 7:50 am EDT September 26, 2006
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Broward County commissioners are expected toapprove a multimillion-dollar proposal by the Baltimore Orioles to build anew spring training facility for the major league ball club on Tuesday.
The proposal, submitted by Orioles Executive Vice President John Angelos, isfor a $38 million sports park and recreational facility to be erected onCommercial Boulevard. The multi-use facility would also be available forcultural activities, including the Broward County Fair, when it isn't beingused by the Orioles.
The proposed facility has already cleared one major hurdle. Fort Lauderdalecity commissioners voted 4-1 on Sept. 19 in favor of the proposal.
Copyright 2006 by Local10.com. All rights reserved. This material may not bepublished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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http://www.keysnews.com/299787595786030.bsp.htm
Florida politicians may soon hear first rumblings of a property-tax revolt
Florida's politicians are perilously close to inciting a tax revolt. Angerand disbelief are spreading as homeowners and businesses receiveproperty-tax notices hard on the heels of higher insurance bills.
This is an especially sensitive time to rile Florida's taxpayers. TheTaxation and Budget Reform Commission will start work early next year. Itsproposals will be on the ballot in November 2008. Angry taxpayers may seekdrastic measures.
If local governments continue their reckless spending of the property-taxwindfalls, for instance, voters may well be in the mood to try potentremedies such as a Taxpayers' Bill of Rights (TABOR), which requires voterapproval of all tax hikes.
You know there's a problem when transplanted New Yorkers start writingletters to the editor to complain that they're paying more in Florida thanthey did back on Long Island. Moreover, high taxes were one of the factorscontributing to Florida's 29,636 foreclosures in 2005.
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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/columnists/fred_grimm/15608251.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
IN MY OPINION
Civil rights case unsolved despite Crist statement
BY FRED GRIMM
fgrimm@herald.com
Fifty-five years after a bomb exploded under the house of civil rightspioneers Harry and Harriette Moore in Mims, Fla., the truth about theirmurders remains as elusive as ever. An official declaration out of the stateAttorney General's Office naming the killers offers little more than oldtheories masquerading as new facts.
The report, issued in August by Attorney General Charlie Crist and embracedby his gubernatorial campaign as evidence of the candidate's civil rightsbona fides, were no more enlightening than my conversation Monday with JohnDoughtie, who retired in 2001 as lead inspector with the Florida Departmentof Law Enforcement's office of executive investigations.
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http://www.sptimes.com/2006/09/26/news_pf/State/State_appeals_ruling_.shtml
State appeals ruling on paper ballot measure
The lawsuit seeks an opinion before Election Day.
By JENNIFER LIBERTO, Times Staff Writer
Published September 26, 2006
TALLAHASSEE - Secretary of State Sue Cobb is appealing a court ruling thatwould allow Sarasota County voters to decide Nov. 7 whether paper ballotsshould be used instead of electronic touch screens in future elections inthat county.
Cobb wants the case to skip the next level, the state appellate court, andgo straight to the Florida Supreme Court.
The state's appeal is of a circuit court ruling nearly two weeks agoclearing the way for a vote on a controversial charter amendment that wouldrequire paper ballots instead of touch screen machines in Sarasota County.
Cobb's lawsuit alleges that the judge's ruling conflicts with state law andthreatens "uniformity of Florida's elections law." It does not seek to stopvoters from considering the paper ballot measure Nov. 7, but it asks for anopinion before the general election.
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http://cgi.jacksonville.com/cgi-bin/printit.cgi?story=ZZNOSTORYZZ
The Florida Times-Union
September 26, 2006
EDUCATION: Not so simple
"Teacher education right now is the Dodge City of education, unruly and chaotic."
So says Arthur Levine, president of Woodrow Wilson National FellowshipFoundation, to the Associated Press, sounding like the Judge Roy Bean of theeducational system. Levine formerly was president of Teachers College atColumbia University.
In a report for the Education Schools Project, Levine blasted away.
"Teacher education in the United States is principally a mix of weak andmediocre programs."
"There are wide variations in program quality, with the majority of teachersprepared in lower quality programs."
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/15608396.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
Posted on Tue, Sep. 26, 2006
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
A high moral, economic price
BY WINGATE PAYNE
wpayne@miamiherald.com
There is new evidence that use of the death penalty is a failed policy. It retains support only because its backers can't find another political symbol adequate for their outrage and fear.
Capital punishment has its vocal and stubborn adherents, even though no one can attribute any downturn in the murder rates in states like Florida that promote it.
Few murderers analyze the consequences before they act.
Even death penalty supporters working in the criminal justice system believe it is fraught with problems, but they are reluctant to give it up. How else would the country have dealt with the likes of Timothy McVeigh?No justice or fairness
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/15608250.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
Posted on Tue, Sep. 26, 2006
ELECTIONS
Spanish speakers wanted at the polls
The supervisor of elections is looking for more Spanish-speaking poll workers.
BY JERRY BERRIOS
jberrios@MiamiHerald.com
Broward County's supervisor of elections is seeking at least 300 additional bilingual poll workers to help Spanish-speaking voters during the Nov. 7 general election.
The push is part of a tentative agreement among the county, the supervisor's office and the U.S. Department of Justice. County commissioners are slated to vote today on whether to add $404,509 to the supervisor's budget for Hispanic outreach. DOJ says the supervisor's office has not fully complied with the federal Voting Rights Act, which requires a sufficient number of Spanish-speaking poll workers and translation of certain election materials into Spanish. It's a charge the supervisor's office disputes.
Still, Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes says she will enter into the DOJ agreement to show her commitment to fairness.
''We are willing to do more,'' Snipes said.
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15608445.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
Posted on Tue, Sep. 26, 2006
CAMPAIGN 2006 | GOVERNOR
Some Democrats raising money for GOP candidate A member of the inner circle of former Democratic governor candidate Rod Smith is starting a committee to raise money -- for Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist.
BY BETH REINHARD
breinhard@MiamiHerald.com
Loyalists to former Democratic governor candidate Rod Smith, refusing to get behind party nominee Jim Davis, said Monday they are setting up a fundraising committee for the Republican candidate for governor.
The new formed Coalition for Bipartisan Progress puts a dent in today's demonstration of Democratic unity, in which Davis will rally with Smith for the first time since winning the Sept. 5 primary. The GOP nominee, Charlie Crist, campaigned with his primary rival just two days after the election.
The new committee could hurt Davis more than help Crist, who boasts a substantial fundraising edge. Last week, Crist picked up $1.2 million, while Davis collected $148,000.
The group is registered with the state as an ''electioneering communications organization,'' or ECO, which can collect ''soft'' money not limited under state law. The ECO can run ads that promote Crist -- coordinated with his campaign -- or tear down Davis. Crist supporters reached out to Smith's troops, including his political director, Todd Wilder, immediately after the election.
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15611558.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
Posted on Tue, Sep. 26, 2006
Broward leaders to set property tax rate
By ERIKA BOLSTAD
ebolstad@MiamiHerald.com
Broward County commissioners will wrap up their budget process today, with a 5 p.m. public hearing to set the tax rate and approve the budget.
They'll set a final tax rate and determine whether they can live with all of the budget cuts they made last week -- including curtailing the operating hours at libraries.
County leaders are under increasing pressure this year to trim property taxes. Thousands of people in cities across the state have complained about the big side effect of the once-hot real estate market: higher property values that equal higher property taxes.Combined with skyrocketing hurricane insurance premiums, high gas prices and stagnant wages, the increases have moved residents across Florida to urge school board and municipal leaders to roll back tax rates.
County commissioners will also be finishing up the list of transportation projects they plan to build if voters approve a penny sales tax increase on the Nov. 7 ballot.
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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-opqa21aug20,0,266800.story?coll=sfla-opinion-utility
Face to Face: A Conversation with Lori Parrish
Property appraiser adds it all up
August 20, 2006
Broward County's tax appraiser discusses Topic A -- property taxes.
Q. Property values have skyrocketed, and taxes have as well. Yet we hearlocal governments say that taxes have been reduced. Have they been reduced?
A. No.
Q. Why not?
A. Because it's smoke and mirrors. If a government says to you that they aregoing to cut taxes by 9 percent and they still get $120 million more money,who are they kidding?
Q. Is it because no one's minding the store?
A. What happens, what we found happened -- and I [saw] this as a SchoolBoard member and a county commissioner -- what happens is the propertyappraiser mails trim notices [assessments of property values] in August. Westart about the middle of August and we mail 100,000 a day for 7 days. Soeverybody gets them between the 14th and the 30th of August. People thinkit's some kind of solicitation or junk mail. They open it up. They pay noattention to it. They toss it out. They don't consider it's real.
The governments all, I mean, who can attend a budget meeting at 5:01 p.m.?That's when the county always did theirs. I changed them, made them at nightat Stranahan High School, and the only people that came were, like, theSheriff's Department because they wanted more money for Corrections.
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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-skids26sep26,0,5617985.story?coll=sfla-news-broward
Teens arrested in homeless beating could be charged as adults
By Marlene Naanes and Akilah Johnson
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
September 26, 2006
FORT LAUDERDALE -- A third teenager charged in the beating of a homeless manin Esplanade Park appeared in court Monday afternoon and now sits injuvenile detention with two other 15-year-olds, all waiting to see ifthey'll be tried as adults.
On Monday, the third boy's father said he hopes his son's time in detentionhelps him change his ways. The father took in his son after he said hismother couldn't control him, but the boy got into even more trouble, hesaid.
"I don't think he will get out this time," the father said of the boy'slatest arrest.
Police arrested the three boys, all 15, in the beating and stabbing ofWilliam Teeters, 44, as he read a book on a park bench Wednesday. A 7-Eleven
surveillance tape of the three boys in the nearby store just before theattack helped police identify them, leading to their arrests on aggravatedbattery charges Saturday.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel is not naming the boys or their parentsbecause of the teens' ages.
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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-926shackles,0,2281414.story?coll=sfla-news-broward
Broward ends use of ankle shackles, waist chains on youth suspects
By Jon Burstein
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
September 26, 2006
Juveniles accused of crimes walked, rather than shuffled, into a BrowardCounty courtroom on Monday afternoon -- the first time in years they weren'trequired to wear ankle shackles and waist chains.
Three Broward Juvenile Court judges brought to an end Monday theindiscriminate shackling of accused juvenile offenders in their courtrooms,signing orders that found the practice detrimental for the youths. Thecounty's fourth juvenile court judge deferred ruling on the issue untilThursday.
"Some of these children are 12 years old and picked up for misdemeanors likeshoplifting," said Broward Juvenile Court Judge Larry Seidlin, who orderedthe restraints removed. "It's unconscionable to shackle these children."
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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-zhomespalm26sep26,0,4149906.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines
Palm Beach County housing prices decline for first time since 1999
By Paul Owers
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
September 26, 2006
South Florida's housing downturn deepened in August, with the price of atypical single-family home in Palm Beach County declining on an annual basisfor the first time since May 1999.
The county's median price of an existing home last month was $386,000, down6 percent from $411,400 last August, the Florida Association of Realtorssaid Monday.
Meanwhile, the number of sales plummeted to 655 from 1,319 last August. The50-percent home sales slide in the County was the worst among 20metropolitan areas statewide.
Those trends mirror what's happening nationally. Prices of existing homes inthe United States fell last month for the first time in 11 years, and salesdeclined to the lowest level since early 2004, according to the NationalAssociation of Realtors.
"For those of us who follow this seriously, this is not unexpected," saidDavid Levin, a Delray Beach-based housing consultant.
Levin and other real estate analysts have said year-over-year home pricescould not keep rising by 25 percent or more in South Florida, as was thenorm during the housing boom from 2000 to 2005.
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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-zhomesbr26sep26,0,6932280.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines
Slowdown sends housing prices, sales plunging in Broward
By Paul Owers
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
September 26, 2006
South Florida's housing downturn deepened in August, with the price of atypical single-family home in Broward County falling for the second month ina row.
The county's median price of an existing home was $362,800, down 6 percentfrom $387,000 last August, the Florida Association of Realtors said Monday.In July, Broward's year-over-year median had dropped 1 percent, the firsttime in six years the price declined on an annual basis.
Meanwhile, the number of home sales fell 27 percent from last August. Therewere 702 transactions last month, compared with 966 in August 2005.
Those trends mirror what's happening nationally. Prices of existing homes inthe United States fell last month for the first time in 11 years, and salesdeclined to the lowest level since early 2004, according to the NationalAssociation of Realtors.
"For those of us who follow this seriously, this is not unexpected," saidDavid Levin, a Delray Beach-based housing consultant.
Levin and other real estate analysts have said year-over-year prices couldnot keep rising by 25 percent or more in South Florida, as was the normduring the housing boom from 2000 to 2005.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/WestVolusia/wvlWEST02BOOK092306.htm
September 23, 2006
Local challenges fail to get 12 books and movies banned
By KARI COBHAM
Staff Writer
Alice Haldeman's favorite complaint is the one about homosexual penguins.
And if the book's challenger had his way, "And Tango Makes Three" would beremoved from shelves of Volusia County libraries.
"If you're looking for something to complain about, you can look out thewindow and find something," said Haldeman, the county library system'scollections manager.
The American Library Association co-sponsors the 25th annual "Banned BooksWeek" Sept. 23-30. And according to the Chicago-based group, there have beenmore than 3,000 attempts to yank books off school and public library shelves.
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