See also “DEP Brass Jeff Littlejohn’s Parents Own Lobbying Firm With Questionable Clientele” and “EPA Wants to Know if Herschel Vinyard Lied on His Resume”UPDATED AT 1:17 p.m. DEP spokeswoman Dee Ann Miller just informed New Times that Sally Mann and Doug Mann are now divorced. The below post has…
See also “Broward Whooping Cough Cases Shouldn’t Surprise Anyone”According to the most recent data from the Florida Department of Health, 260 cases of whooping cough have been reported throughout the state as of the end of June.That’s 120 more cases of the highly contagious respiratory ailment than there were at…
South Florida is littered with C-list celebrities, from Vanilla Ice to Donald Trump. Although it’s easy to riff on these past-their-prime peddlers of spectacle, they at least possess a modicum of some redeeming quality. But the newest edition to Palm Beach’s gaggle of crazy, Amy Fisher, is simply the worst…
Earlier this month, the Justice Department arrested 26-year-old Boca Raton resident John Michael Romero Mendoza for allegedly using the iPhone app BoyAhoy to arrange a sexual tryst with a 15-year-old boy. According to the criminal complaint, Mendoza’s car was stocked with “condoms, lubricant, and homosexual pornographic magazines” when he pulled…
Last month, the Department of Transportation announced that it will fork over an $18 million TIGER grant for the first phase of Fort Lauderdale’s proposed Wave Streetcar. The plan, which city officials have been molding since 2004, features a ten-station, 2.7-mile trolley-like system intended to shuttle folks around downtown.Reps. Debbie…
See also “DEP Getting Weaker Under Rick Scott” and “EPA Wants to Know if Herschel Vinyard Lied on His Resume”The number-two man at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection is the son of lobbyists who represent clients with huge environmental stakes in Florida.Jeff Littlejohn, deputy secretary for regulatory programs at…
Broward Vice Mayor Kristin Jacobs, who last year tried banning the sale of bongs, is the newest member of the Intergovernmental Coastal Oceans Task Force, a group of lawmakers and eco-experts appointed to protect us from the forthcoming watery woe of climate change.The group is said to represent the “philosophy…
In the race to break the news of the U.S. Supreme Court health-care ruling, several media outlets wrongly rushed out headlines declaring it had been struck down. But none botched the news with as much gusto as CNN.Full-sized screenshot of the mistake after the jump…
Read Synthetic Marijuana Ban Seems Like a Good Idea, Probably Won’t Do MuchThe Broward County Commission has started crafting legislation to ban “bath salts and synthetic cannabinoid herbal incense that mimic illegal drugs.” A news release announcing the move included the token Rudy Eugene reference, noting that Miami police are…
Earlier this month, the Justice Department arrested a 26-year-old Boca Raton resident John Michael Romero Mendoza for allegedly using the iPhone app BoyAhoy to arrange a sexual tryst with a 15-year-old boy.According to the criminal complaint, Mendoza’s car was stocked with “condoms, lubricant and homosexual pornographic magazines” when he pulled…
South Florida is littered with washed-up celebrities, from Vanilla Ice to Donald Trump. And while it’s easy to riff on these past-their-prime peddlers of spectacle, they at least possess a modicum of some redeeming quality. In other words, they’re not total failures.But the newest edition to Palm Beach’s gaggle of…
Gov. Rick Scott appears on track to fulfill his vision of making the Florida Department of Environmental Protection a customer-service oriented rubber stamp that allows industry to dump on the environment with little worry.In 2011, there was a 28 percent drop in enforcement cases handled by the DEP, while pollution penalty assessments dropped by 29…
A panel of judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta on Thursday shot down Grammy-winning reggae artist Buju Banton’s appeal on federal drug charges. The judges also reversed the lower court’s decision to throw out a gun charge. Now the same judge who decided there wasn’t enough evidence to hold Buju accountable…
Most of us rejoiced earlier this year when Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar announced a new set of restrictions on the much loathed, much feared, much hyped Burmese python. But six months after the feds announced a ban on the importation and interstate sale of Burmese pythons and three other snake species,…
Fat Joe, the iconic Bronx-born rapper who looked remarkably similar to King Hippo from Mike Tyson’s Punch Out before going on a diet, is set to take the stage Friday night at Revolution Live and deliver what’s sure to be a ground-shaking show. Terror Squad fans will rejoice in classic tracks…
Ten relatively obscure species found in the Sunshine State have landed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in a legal tussle.The black rail, the Georgia blind salamander, a siltsnail, and the purple skimmer are among the animals that Fish and Wildlife has failed to adequately protect, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. On…
I remember the exact moment I decided that I would never again smoke synthetic marijuana. I was in the shower watching my heart beat out of my chest. I wasn’t panicking or anxious or very stoned, just severely uncomfortable. The muscles in my face cramped tightly. A headache bore through my temples, shot…
The U.S. Department of Defense is conducting drone operations from at least four sites in Florida, and it plans to add three more sites in the future, according to data gathered and released by the nonprofit Public Intelligence. The group released this week an interactive Google map that shows where the…
Right now, someone is trying to sell an autographed LeBron James jersey on Ebay for $14,999, or roughly a down payment on a condo. It’s a white Cleveland jersey from James’ rookie year, and he apparently wore it during a game.Given that I have as much financial savvy as a badger on meth, I…
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced the arrest of John Michael Romero Mendoza, a 26-year-old Boca Raton resident who was allegedly trolling the iPhone app BoyAhoy in search of teenaged boys to have sex with. For those not in the know, BoyAhoy is the self-proclaimed “fastest growing gay dating app”…
Another day in South Florida, another multimillion-dollar scam collapsing. This time around, federal officials working with the Broward Sheriff Office arrested Fort Lauderdale resident Alci Bonannee and several others for filing more than 1,000 bogus tax documents that yielded $9.5 million in returns. The alleged criminals apparently didn’t put too much effort…
The nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility has been tearing up the Department of Environmental Protection with public-records request. First the left-leaning group, more commonly known as PEER, called into question whether DEP Secretary Herschel Vinyard lied on his résumé, triggering an ongoing investigation by the feds. Then it released a bunch of seemingly free-form brainstorming…
