FLORIDA DIGEST November 28, 2008

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~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~

Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Fort Lauderdale candidate kicks off campaign against Charlotte Rodstrom
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2008/11/fort_lauderdale_candidate_kick.html

-Compass: Gay-lesbian group moves headquarters in Lake Worth
New center in Lake Worth scheduled to open in March
Compass, the gay and lesbian advocacy group, has moved its headquarters into temporary offices in Lake Worth and is spending $1.5 million to renovate the former Mid-County Senior Center building on North Dixie Highway. Scheduled to open in March, the 12,000-square-foot Compass Community Center will be almost triple the size of the nonprofit organization's former headquarters in West Palm Beach. Compass sold its former headquarters at 7600 S. Dixie Highway to The Lord's Place, a nonprofit group that assists the homeless and plans a thrift store there. City commissioners last year approved a $1,000-a-year lease for just under 20 years to Compass for the community center at 201 N. Dixie Highway. Since early November, Compass has been operating from temporary offices at 23 South H St. and from a few smaller offices in downtown Lake Worth.

-Let gays adopt
Nobody writes about Florida's law that prohibits gay adoption. In Florida, a gay couple can foster a child but is not allowed to adopt. It is about time Florida becomes a state that stops being so narrow-minded and becomes modern with modern ideas. There are good and bad parents all over the world, married and not married.
Barbara Mazel, Boynton Beach
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-pmail655pnnov27,0,3273560.story


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South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Welcome to White Party Weekend 2008
Headline event for South Florida GLBT
Thanksgiving weekend means more in South Florida than just turkey and stuffing: it's White Party Weekend,with events for everybody!
...Friday Highlights: Gods of War leather party, White Dreams at Space
...Saturday Highlights: Heatwave Pool Party; White Party headline event at Vizcaya
...Sunday Highlight: Muscle Beach, Finale parties at Twist and Discotekka
http://www.floridablade.com/blog/index.cfm#22669


-Fallen officer an active part of GLBT community
Alex Del Rio remembered as a devoted officer and great friend
Alex Del Rio, the 31-year-old Hollywood police officer who was killed in a fiery crash on Sheridan Street in Hollywood Nov. 22, lived out of the closet, but he did not wear his sexual identity on his sleeve. He may have identified as bisexual, but he was just like all the other officers. He loved fast cars, he loved watching the Miami Dolphins and he was highly committed to serving the public. Derick Pitts was among Del Rio's best friends. He said Del Rio was always alarmingly aware of the dangers he faced in police work. Pitts said Del Rio had told him he always wore his bulletproof vest because he always expected to be shot by a motorist during a traffic stop. "I was prepared for that kind of call," Pitts said. "I was not prepared for what happened." Del Rio was killed when he lost control of his Crown Victoria, slammed into a tree and burst into flames.
http://www.floridablade.com/2008/11-26/news/localnews/5304.cfm


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Anthony Niedwiecki for Oakland Park City Commission Campaign
Come to a Holiday Homes Tour After-Party!
Oakland Park Main Street is hosting a "Holiday Homes Tour" on Saturday December 6. The tour will feature homes around the City of Oakland Park that are decorated for the Holiday Season. After the tour, Anthony will open his house for a campaign fundraiser to celebrate the holidays with friends, neighbors, and supporters.
Saturday December 6, 2008 - 6:00-8:00 pm
At the home of Anthony Niedwiecki and Waymon Hudson
5280 NE 1st Terrace
Oakland Park, FL 33334
(Suggested donation between $20 and $250)
Come enjoy food, drinks, and Holiday Cheer!
We will be collecting non-perishable food items to be donated to a local food bank for the holiday season. Please bring what you can. Hope to see you there!
RSVP at (954) 319-5249 or email anthony@anthony09.com
Visit www.Anthony09.com for more details!


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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Loving parents
In the Nov. 25 online story Miami judge rules against Florida gay adoption ban, attorney John Stemberger said that, ''Children do better with a mother and a father.'' He should retract that comment. The children of divorced parents are doing just fine. My son has done well, and his father and I were divorced when he was just a baby. My son has not suffered from the split and has not lost out on anything in his life. There are many families with both mothers and fathers present that have dysfunctional children. Stemberger is exaggerating the benefit of so-called regular families with both mothers and fathers. Why don't they step in, as Frank Gill and his partner did, and adopt? How can Gill be allowed to be a foster parent, but not an adoptive parent? Children need loving families, which come in different colors, sizes and genders. Bravo to those who have stepped up and taken the responsibility to be parents to children who need them.
ANABELLE McELROY, Winston-Salem, NC
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/letters/story/790518.html


~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~

New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-In Florida, New Condos on the Block
GIVEN how tough it is to sell a single condominium in Florida these days, what does it take to sell dozens of them in less than two hours?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/28/greathomesanddestinations/28auctions.html


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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Broward schools must tap reserves
The latest round of Broward school budget cuts will require using some of the district's financial reserves.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/790539.html

-Efficient cars in Florida
BY DAVID GUEST
On Tuesday, Florida has the chance to take a major step forward toward energy independence. That's the day the Florida Environmental Regulation Commission votes on Gov. Charlie Crist's common-sense proposal to make cars run cleaner.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/790523.html


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Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-CFO Sink call for shift from real estate-based economy
Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, Florida's only Democratic elected executive officer, discussed the state of Florida's economy in a breakfast with reporters from the St. Petersburg Times and Miami Herald. The former bank executive has begun calling banks on behalf of the Florida Home Builders Association, which has pleaded for a "timeout" from banks calling in builders' construction loans. The cratering of the construction and credit markets is all the more reason why Florida must continue to diversify its economic base, she said, and end its reliance on real estate. She cited the wildly overbuilt Fort Myers, now one of the foreclosure capitals of the world. "There's nothing else there, except for Chico's," she said.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/article917196.ece


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