FLORIDA DIGEST September 11, 2007

**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.


=

Don't Forget! We need your response!

Florida Red And Blue!!!!

Do your part to fight the right-wing state-wide anti-gay initiativeto amend the Florida constitution.

Friday, September 28, at the GLCC, Ft. Lauderdale - 11:45am to 1:30pm.

Michael and I promised to get a minimum of 10 people to attend thislow dollar boxed lunch - only $25 - to learn about Florida Red And Blue andthe multiple efforts to overcome this hateful amendment. Florida Red andBlue has already raised over $1 million, but our work is only beginning.

Will you support us with this? Every GLBT person in Florida needs to be apart of this effort.

Boxed Lunch Series
$25
Friday, September 28
Noon - 1:30pm
Networking 11:45am
GLCC - Ft. Lauderdale

Send us an e-mail and let us know if you'll join us on the 28th.

And...... If you can't attend, we'll be glad to accept your check made out to "Florida Red and Blue."

Ray and Michael
rays.list@comcast.net



=

ArtsUnited's Mural Project

The Eleven Bridges Mural Project sponsored by ArtsUnited, Inc. is seekingexperienced muralist to present proposals for the design, fabrication andinstallation of the first of what we hope will be many murals in ourcommunity. The project is to be installed on the east wall of the WiltonManors Library located at 500 NE 26th Street, Wilton Manors, FL. The wall isapproximately 14' x 35' or 490 sq. ft. The theme is open.

This Eleven Bridges Mural Project will pay the selected artist $10,000 forhonorarium and expenses, including but not limited to preparation of wallsurface, paints and materials, scaffolding, and sealing the surface of themural after installation. Meals, housing and transportation are not providedand are the responsibility of the artist.

Interested artists are asked to submit a current resume along with up to sixelectronic images of examples of their work. At least one image must be of acompleted mural. Images and resumes will be used by the selection jury toselect 3 semi-finalist, who will be asked to present a design proposal tothe jury and public, who will select the finalist.

Attached is a Call for Artist with detailed information along with anapplication form.

Please feel free to contact me with questions or for additional information.

Sincerely,
Keith Clark
VP ArtsUnited, Inc.
954 568-1154

www.artsunitedonline.org



=

Palm Beach County Human Rights Council

www.pbchrc.org

Sept. 9, 2007

(West Palm Beach, Florida) Meeting last Friday, the Diversity and GenderSensitivity Committee of the Palm Beach County Bar Association unanimouslyrecommended that the organization's Board of Directors adopt an inclusivepolicy prohibiting discrimination in employment and membership.

If adopted, the policy would provide:

The Palm Beach County Bar Association is committed to a policy of inclusionand diversity with respect to the composition of its staff, its membership,the chairs and members of its committees, and its officers. Consistent withthis policy of promoting inclusiveness and diversity, the Association doesnot discriminate against any individual because of such individual's actualor perceived race, color, national origin, citizenship status, religion,gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability,marital status, familial status, or age.

"In working with Bar President Meenu Sasser on the association's And Justicefor All project, the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council discovered thatthe bar association did not have an anti-discrimination policy," saidCouncil President and Founder Rand Hoch, a retired judge who serves on thePalm Beach County Bar Association's Diversity and Gender SensitivityCommittee. "Committee Chair Tanique Lee recommended that be changed,"

The Board of Directors is expected to take up the Committee's recommendationlater this year.



=

Sun-Sentinel.com

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-fl3bdigest09111nbsep11,0,3687607,print.story

Wilton Manors: Vote tonight to denounce Fort Lauderdale mayor
September 11, 2007

City commissioners will discuss and vote on a resolution tonight todenounce recent comments made by Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle about gaysand bathroom sex, HIV and AIDS, bathhouses and sex clubs, pornography andsin.

His controversial comments, which cost him his seat on Broward's TouristDevelopment Council, resonated especially in Wilton Manors, a FortLauderdale suburb with an estimated 35 to 40 percent gay population.

Wilton Manors commissioners modeled their resolution after a letter BrowardCounty commissioners signed and sent last month to gay news Web sites andconvention planners reaffirming their commitment to diversity.

The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at Wilton Manors City Hall, 524 NE 21st Court.



=

Sun-Sentinel.com

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/sfl-brmail911xnbsep11,0,3548490.story

Has political correctness gone overboard?
September 11, 2007

Are we going overboard with political correctness? Some people are upset atMayor Jim Naugle for saying he didn't want gays to have sex in our publicrestrooms. I guess I missed it: When was hetero sex OK'd in publicrestrooms?

Robert Vogel

Dania Beach



=

Sun-Sentinel.com

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/sfl-flbtropics0911nbsep11,0,4638465,print.story

Tropical wave may turn into Humberto, head toward Caribbean
By Ken Kaye

South Florida Sun-Sentinel
September 11, 2007

A tropical wave in the central Atlantic was expected to strengthen into atropical depression, possibly as early as today, the National HurricaneCenter in Miami-Dade County said.

Feeding off warm waters, it could develop into a tropical storm or ahurricane, forecasters said. If so, it would be named Humberto.

"We're seeing a gradual increase in organization," said senior hurricaneforecaster Rick Knabb of the hurricane center. "We think conditions areconducive for continued development."

Although the system posed no immediate threat to South Florida, forecastersstill advised residents to keep an eye on it, as models initially point itnorthwest toward the Lesser Antilles. Knabb said because the system was sofar to the south, it has a good chance of moving into the Caribbean.

"Where it goes has a lot to do with how fast it develops," Knabb said of thetropical wave.



=

Sun-Sentinel.com

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/health/sfl-flabrainpols0911nbsep11,0,3008187,print.story

Study says the brains of liberals, conservatives work differently
By Denise Gellene

Los Angeles Times

September 11, 2007

Exploring the neurobiology of politics, scientists have found that liberalstolerate ambiguity and conflict better than conservatives because of howtheir brains work.

Scientists at New York University and the University of California, LosAngeles, showed through a simple experiment reported Monday in the journalNature Neuroscience that political orientation is related to differences inhow the brain processes information.

Previous psychological studies have found that conservatives tend to be morestructured and persistent in their judgments, whereas liberals are more opento new experiences. The latest study found those traits are not confined topolitical situations but also influence everyday decisions.

The results showed "there are two cognitive styles - a liberal style and aconservative style," said UCLA neurologist Dr. Marco Iacoboni, who was notconnected to the latest research.

Participants were college students whose politics ranged from "very liberal"to "very conservative." Scientists instructed them to tap a keyboard when anM appeared on a computer monitor and to refrain from tapping when they saw a W.M appeared four times more frequently than W, conditioning participants to press a key in knee-jerk fashion whenever they saw a letter.



=

Sun-Sentinel.com

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbdaniafire0911nbsep11,0,7517501,print.story

Dania Beach explores contracting with sheriff's fire-rescue
City's firefighters initiated idea to align with county
By Thomas Monnay

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

September 11, 2007

Dania Beach is exploring contracting fire-rescue services with the BrowardSheriff's Office, a move that some city officials say might save money andprovide better benefits to firefighters.

"It's more of a sales presentation on what the Sheriff's Office offers,"City Manager Ivan Pato said. "It doesn't have any numbers. I think somepeople would call it a proposal."

He said the idea was suggested by the members of the Broward Metro 380, theunion representing Dania Beach firefighters.

"The union wants to see what's in it for them. This was initiated by theunion," Pato said. "If the union comes back and says we're not interested,that would be the end of the story."

Pato said the Sheriff's Office has given him a package including informationon services and employee benefits.



=

Sun-Sentinel.com

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-editnbcoffey11forumnbsep11,0,1675737,print.story

Feds take on political corruption with gusto, more flexible tools
September 11, 2007

By Kendall Coffey

With the guilty plea of former Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne, and former PalmBeach County Commissioner Warren Newell planning to plead guilty, they arejoining former Palm Beach County Commission Chairman Tony Masilotti and twoex-West Palm Beach commissioners in the lineup of recent public corruptionconvictions.

Around the country, such arrests have reached not only city halls but alsothe halls of Congress. Two former members have pleaded guilty to federalcorruption charges recently, while a third, U.S. Rep. William Jefferson,D-La., is under indictment.

These developments signal that the federal battle against public corruptionis experiencing a significant resurgence.

Public corruption is anything but a victimless crime, because when kickbackscontrol, taxpayers usually pay more and get less. And yet, corruption casespresent unique challenges to prosecutors and police because, when victimsare pressured by demands they pay to play, they are rarely willing to stepforward with accusations against the same officials who may control theirfinancial destinies.

Traditionally, federal anti-corruption strategies included mail fraud lawsbased on the theory that, when fraud schemes corrupt a politician, theyeffect a theft of the public's right to "the honest services" of that publicofficial. In 1987, though, the Supreme Court found the mail fraud statutedid not explicitly designate "theft of honest services" as a federal crime.



=

Sun-Sentinel.com

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/sfl-brmail903xnbsep11,0,4072779.story

Don't be distracted by bathroom sex from the real issue
September 11, 2007

Do my eyes deceive me, or are some of your readers beginning to compare FortLauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle with Jesus Christ? Is this how ludicrous theentire world has become, or is it just Florida?

Let us not forget that this all started because of a ridiculous $250,000one-stall toilet, proposed in a time when cities are scrambling to justifyastronomical property taxes. I have never seen a more successful example ofpolitical deflection. I don't recall any serious talk of homosexual bathroomsex in regards to the quarter-million-dollar toilet until the public criedout against such a blatant waste of taxpayer dollars.

Regardless of your feelings regarding homosexuality, it seems fairly obviousthat it exists in this discussion only to distract from such an obviousmisuse of funds. Even if the real issue was indeed rampant homosexual sex inpublic bathrooms (which it is not), how exactly would one single-stalltoilet effectively remedy the problem?

Don't allow Naugle to get away with this. While discrimination againsthomosexuals is certainly wrong and intolerant, it is important to rememberthat the real issue here is how our cities are spending (and wasting) ourtax money.

Shane Weaver
Cooper City



=

MiamiHerald.com

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/v-print/story/233086.html

Posted on Tue, Sep. 11, 2007

Big drop in auto insurance rates is unlikely
BY BEATRICE E. GARCIA

Floridians have wondered what happened to the promised rate relief onhomeowners insurance. Now they may find the same fate awaits them on autopremiums.

Insurers promised an average 13 percent to 16 percent drop in auto premiumsonce the state's controversial no-fault insurance law expires. That'sbecause when the law sunsets Oct. 1, so will the requirement for drivers tobuy $10,000 in personal injury protection, or PIP, which covers medicalbills after an accident for a driver and passengers.

But the savings could be small at best for many drivers. And for some,especially those without health insurance, only higher premiums are in theirfuture.

A Miami Herald review of various auto policies that come up for renewalearly next month shows savings of 10 percent or less -- and that is ifconsumers don't buy medical payments coverage to replace benefits nowprovided by PIP. Adding that wipes out any savings and in most cases costsmore than before.

In a post no-fault world, for instance, a Homestead resident, whose 2004Ford F150 truck is insured by State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance, wouldpay nearly $47 less -- a 9 percent drop -- on his six-month premium if hecan go without the medical coverage. But if he has to buy the coverage, hisoverall premium would be about $8 higher than the old premium of $496.22that included the PIP coverage.


=

The Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/v-print/story/233133.html

Posted on Tue, Sep. 11, 2007
6 people seek to serve as interim sheriff

As of Monday afternoon, six people had applied to Gov. Charlie Crist,seeking an appointment as interim sheriff in Broward.

The applicants include:

. Craig Glasser, former Broward Sheriff's Office deputy.

. Scott Israel, police chief of North Bay Village.

. Philip Sweeting, former Boca Raton deputy police chief.

. Wiley Thompson III, who was a top aide to former Sheriff Ken Jenne.

. Bruce Udolf, former assistant U.S. attorney.

. Elijah H. Williams, Broward circuit judge.

Last week, the governor named BSO Maj. Al Lamberti as the acting sheriff,after Jenne resigned and pleaded guilty to earning tens of thousands ofdollars in unreported income.

It's not known when Crist will name an interim sheriff to serve until asheriff is elected in 2008.



=

The Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/story/233092.html

Posted on Tue, Sep. 11, 2007
What to expect after no-fault expires
BY BEATRICE E. GARCIA

Here are questions and answers on figuring out what auto insurance you mightneed after the no-fault law expires as expected on Oct. 1.:

Q. What kind of auto-insurance coverage will be mandatory?

A. After the no-fault law expires, drivers will no longer be required to buy$10,000 in personal injury protection, or PIP, that covers medical expensesand lost wages in an accident, regardless of who is at fault.

Only property damage liability will be required for drivers to register acar in Florida. The minimum required is $10,000.

Property damage liability covers damage to another person's property,including buildings and fencing.

Q. Will new policies be issued to all insured drivers after Oct. 1?

A. No. Most insurance companies will make the change as policies come up forrenewal. On policies renewed before Oct. 1, the personal injury protectionwill remain in place until the policy expires.

However, some insurers, such as State Farm and Allstate, will allowpolicyholders to eliminate the PIP coverage from policies after Oct. 1. Ifthey have paid for their policies in full at renewal, they will be issued arefund. If they're paying premiums monthly, the unused portion of the PIPpremium will be credited to their remaining payments.

But any accidents that happen after Oct. 1 are no longer under the no-faultsystem. Fault will have to be determined by police on the scene or in courtbefore further benefits are paid.

Q. Will auto-insurance rates go down because of the change?


=


[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####