FLORIDA DIGEST - February 21, 2009

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~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~

Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Winter Party Festival: It's going to be a throwback to the gay '08s
BY STEVE ROTHAUS, srothaus@MiamiHerald.com
The 2009 economy is tanking and tourism has taken a hit, but gay men and women are poised to party in South Florida like it's 2008. Winter Party Festival advance ticket sales are nearly the same this year as last, according to Michael Bath, special events manager for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/02/winter-party-festival-its-going-to-be-a-throwback-to-the-gay-08s.html


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

-Pompano Bill to be released from hospital
By JAMES MICHAELS
Local event photographer John "Pompano Bill" Calceterra is recovering from hip replacement surgery. For the scheduled operation, Calceterra was admitted to Holy Cross Hospital on February 5th and was released from Holy Cross Hospital after surgery on February 8th. He is currently recovering at the Fort Lauderdale Health and Rehabilitation Center where he is undergoing physical therapy twice daily and is expected to be released the weekend of Feb. 20. "I have one hip that's 83 and another one that's a week old." Calceterra said. No surgery was needed on his other hip but he admits he will not be able to do the Tango.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/2-19/news/localnews/5556.cfm

-Hate crime tried as robbery
Death penalty case begins for killing Ryan Skipper trial
By JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
Nearly two years after Ryan Skipper's body was found alongside a highway in Wahneta, Fla., the death penalty trial for one of the two men charged with his murder has begun.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/2-19/news/localnews/5551.cfm


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

-Boca Raton man found guilty in 2005 slaying of gay man
A Boca Raton man may face the death penalty after a Broward County jury convicted him Friday of murdering a gay man he had targeted for robbery, prosecutor Shari Tate said. Eric Kurt Patrick, 45, confessed to the September 2005 slaying of Steven Schumacher.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbpatrick0221sbfeb21,0,7224185.story

-Fort Lauderdale City Commission District 4 profiles
FORT LAUDERDALE CITY COMMISSION DISTRICT 4
COLEMAN PREWITT
Personal: 42, single
Education: Law degree, University of Miami, 1996
PROFESSIONAL: Partner in law firm Seidman, Prewitt, DiBello & Lopez; associate general counsel for mergers/acquisitions, SBA Communications Corp. Political: First run for office
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/fort_lauderdale/sfl-flbelexboxes0221sbfeb21,0,3188512.story


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South Florida's Premier LGBT Social Service Agency
Dedicated to meeting the needs of OUR community!
Join us in the fun and support your LGBT community!

-A Chorus Line
Performance and Reception
A Benefit for the Services and Programs of SunServe
DATE: Wednesday, February 25th, 2009
TIME: Performance at 8pm, Reception immediately following
LOCATION: Broward Center for the Performing Arts
FOR MORE INFO OR TO PURCHASE TICKETS
CALL MARK AT 954-764-5150
OR VISIT www.SunServe.org

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Tonight! COME "OUT" AND SEE LEA DELARIA, SCOTT RYAN, AND LEVI KREIS AT THE ARTEXPLOSION 2009 FINALE AT THE BROWARD CENTER
The two-week GLBT Arts Festival ends with a bang at the ArtExplosion '09 Finale with Lea DeLaria on Saturday, February 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. The raucous comedy show features the comedian Lea DeLaria, Scott Ryan, and musical guest Levi Kreis and 2008 LOGO channel "Brink of Fame" comedian nominee Scott Ryan. Stonewall is now able to offer an amazing discount on tickets for this event: two for $30, one for $25. WHAT A DEAL! (Normal ticket price is $30 each.). We only have a few seats at this great price, so act now. To purchase a ticket, please contact Jack Rutland, Executive Director, Stonewall Library & Archives, 954-763-8565, or at jack-rutland@stonewall-library.org


~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~

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

-Mass transit may be the next move for congested South Florida
Expanded bus, commuter rail lines considered as a solution to congestion despite hefty cost
By Michael Turnbell
No matter how much money is poured into building and widening roads, it's never enough. Interstate 595, for example, was at capacity a decade after it opened in 1989.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/traffic/sfl-flbsummit0220sbfeb20,0,6522816.story

-Old and new politics collide in Fort Lauderdale City Commission race
Both District 4 candidates are attorneys, but one has family ties to the city stretching back 83 years; the other moved to city in '01
By Brittany Wallman
It's easy to see why the race has been couched as "old Fort Lauderdale " vs. new.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/fort_lauderdale/sfl-flbelex0221sbfeb21,0,342878.story

-Former Broward Republican chief who guided Crist's election dismisses
criticism
Posted by Anthony Man at 6:34 AM
The carping coming from some in the Republican Party over Gov. Charlie Crist's support of President Barack Obama's economic stimulus package doesn't detract from the governor's position, said George LeMieux. LeMieux, now chairman of law firm Gunster Yoakley and publisher of the LeMieux Report newsletter on politics, law and business, is a former Broward Republican chairman who went on to orchestrate Crist's successful 2006 campaign for governor and served as his first chief of staff. (LeMieux is also the person who coined the term "God's Country" for Broward County, a term Crist has come to use.)
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2009/02/


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

-CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Mentally ill in jail in a new crisis
BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER
Florida's population of severely mentally ill jail inmates is expected to outstrip the number of beds available for treatment. Two years after state mental health administrators added 300 new treatment beds for mentally ill jail inmates -- averting a crisis that nearly sent a state agency head to jail for contempt -- Florida is once again running out of bed space.
http://www.miamiherald.com/460/story/914419.html

-Public funds the cherry on campaign cake
BY BETH REINHARD
Guess who else has been living large and getting massive government bailouts for years? Political candidates in Florida. Republican Charlie Crist, a career politician who easily shattered fundraising records during his 2006 bid for governor, got a $3.3 million handout to help run a campaign heavy on attack ads against his opponent. Democrat Alex Sink, a former banking executive who also had no trouble putting nickels and dimes together to run for chief financial officer, received more than $1 million courtesy of Florida taxpayers.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/columnists/beth-reinhard/story/914416.html


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Friends of ArtServe - -an investment in the Arts
Limited Offer! Become a Friend of ArtServe by February 24th and receive 2 complimentary tickets to see the acclaimed Teresa Nieto Dance Company at the Broward Center of the Performing Arts on February 27, 2009 (a $79 value).* The performance is on February 27, 2009 at 8:30 pm at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts 201 SW 5th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale Call today for membership levels and benefits.
Robin Drazin, 954.462.8190 ext 203.
www.artserve.org


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Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, 20th District of Florida

-Two quick questions about expanding drilling off of Florida's coast
There are several proposals being discussed in Washington and Tallahassee that would expand the areas on which oil companies could drill off of the coast of Florida. I support a moratorium against the expansion of offshore drilling and have written a column on this topic, a version of which ran last month in the Sun-Sentinel (READ MY COLUMN HERE). http://www.house.gov/list/hearing/fl20_schultz/GasPricesDrilling.html

That said, I am interested to know what you think about this topic, especially now that energy prices are increasing. Thank you for taking a moment to read this and for letting me know your opinion on this important issue.
http://wassermanschultz.congressnewsletter.net/mail/util.cfm?gpiv=1999884994.135429.706&gen=1


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

-Crist unveils $66.5 billion spending plan
Plan relies on no new taxes, expanded gambling revenues and heaping helping of federal money to stay in balance
By Aaron Deslatte
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/orl-bk-florida-budget-022009,0,3848435.story

-Miami mayor meets with Obama
by Oscar Pedro Musibay
President Barack Obama told a meeting of more than 80 U.S. mayors Friday that it was time to leverage their front-line expertise and "convert peril into promise."
http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2009/02/16/daily57.html

-Rove testimony hangs in balance
By JOSH GERSTEIN
A federal appeals court has agreed to give President Barack Obama a little more time-but only a little- to decide whether to support...one of President Bush's most controversial uses of executive privilege.
http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0209/deadline_for_privilege_c630914e-62ba-4056-a8ef-b883d9c7eb2e.html

-Broward Republican leader voices strong criticism of Gov. Charlie Crist
Three of the four top officials of Broward's Republican Party - Chairman Chip LaMarca, Vice Chairwoman Cindy Guerra, and state committeewoman Sharon Day - were at Gov. Charlie Crist's town hall meeting this week in Fort Lauderdale. The fourth - state Republican committeeman Ed Kennedy - has become increasingly critical of Crist over the governor's support for President Barack Obama's economic stimulus package.
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2009/02/broward_republican_leader_voic.html

-USF medical school program's accreditation is yanked
By Kris Hundley, Times Staff Writer
A program at the University of South Florida that trains doctors specializing in high-risk pregnancies has had its accreditation yanked after a review board found the students were overworked and poorly supervised.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/health/article977327.ece


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