In late January, we reported allegations of past sexual abuse by Broward County Circuit Judge John Bowman. The accusations came from Charles Harper, a troubled 18-year-old whom the judge had adopted as a young child after the boy passed through his courtroom. Last we heard, Harper gave a statement to…
Would you trust Broward judges to supply compromising information about themselves? That’s what they’re being asked to do now, essentially…A few weeks ago, we wrote about outgoing Broward County Chief Judge Victor Tobin leaving his post to join a foreclosure law firm that stands to benefit from policies he crafted.Among…
Right now, branches in the Broward County Library System don’t open on Sunday — the day when you’re most likely to have nothing to do and want a book to read. But that might change under a set of recommendations being issued by County Administrator Bertha Henry on Tuesday.Henry’s plan…
Update, June 12, 2012: A year later, the PBA has a couple hundred fewer Republicans in its ranks, thanks to this event. Read an update here.Next month the Broward County Police Benevolent Association is holding a “Party to Leave the Party” — an event coordinated with the Supervisor of Elections…
Hey look, it’s Tom Cruise! He and a bevy of other stars are lurking around Fort Lauderdale’s Himmarshee Village filming the jukebox musical Rock of Ages, and you might just be tempted to whip out your camera for some celebrity shots as you walk to get a frosty beer. But…
Here in the land of educational neglect, of failing test scores and pet projects, where school districts sell advertising and diploma mills cheat the cheaters, there’s a wind of change a-comin’. It’s the unmistakable force of privatization.Lobbying pressure is increasing to channel corporate money into voucher programs for kids to…
Around 100 Hallandale Beach residents who live near the Hallandale Jewish Center have signed a petition opposing the opening of a new K-8 charter school on the site. The school would be run by the Ben Gamla Charter School, which already has locations in Hollywood and Sunrise.Broward Bulldog has a…
Yeah, it’s a budget-negotiation story: City wants to close up its wallet like a startled anemone; unions hire lawyers and demand fair pay in a tough economy. But in the case of the City of Hollywood, there are so many little doodads and flourishes to make the story worth noting. The…
Our neck of the woods is still making news these days in the building-bubble world: Yesterday’s housing numbers saw prices in South Florida hit a new low, and many of the houses that are being sold are foreclosures. Some routine housing-market data, then, but wait… we need an anecdote! How…
The whole country knows that Gov. Rick Scott turned down $2.4 billion in federal stimulus money for a high-speed train between Tampa and Orlando (and many are blaming that move for his current dismal 29 percent approval rating). But another train project, this one with deep emotional significance for some…
The Florida League of Cities has gotten behind red-light cameras in a big way… thanks to the league’s president, Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper, and her relentless insistence that the cameras — through which a company in Arizona automatically sends hefty fines to red-light-runners — actually save lives.Cooper, representing the…
Ryan Lipner — the charismatic, bipolar 27-year-old who ran a Hallmark store at age 10 and once took girls out in a Hummer limousine with a wad of hundred-dollar bills in his fist — is suing his parents in an attempt to force them to pay child support for him…
Cameron Benson has worked for the City of Hollywood since 1995 and as city manager since 2002. Historically, he has shunned attention — newspapers are still referencing interviews he gave in 1995 — despite periodic allegations of questionable behavior.He’s known around City Hall as someone who’s tight-lipped and sometimes unhelpful…
A few months before Jose Lambiet left the Palm Beach Post for a more lucrative gig at Radar Online, he broke a story about the DUI arrest of Ed Napleton, who owns auto dealerships in the West Palm area and happens to be one of the Post’s biggest advertisers.Rumor has…
Over the past few months, Hallandale Beach City Commissioner Keith London has been in touch with New Times to express his concern about the number and frequency of police and fire department responses involving the personal activities of Mayor Joy Cooper and her family.We have obtained a number of police…
Last week, we heard from Pete O’Neil, the newcomer to Fort Lauderdale who decided to speak out about the FDA’s antiquated ban on blood donations by homosexual men. That’s not the only issue he’s going to battle for — it appears he’s taking to the bullhorn in his business as…
Cinco de Mayo celebrations in Boynton Beach apparently got pretty crazy — an officer states in the report below that “my working of the detail emphasized the bar area in which approximately 400 people were celebrating the Cinco de Mayo holiday and to which every officer in the city of…
Attention, geography nerds, real-estate speculators, and government haters (that includes everyone, doesn’t it?): You may soon be able to pick up a federally owned property on the cheap thanks to a new online listing service from the U.S. government.Barack “I Killed Osama, Bitch” Obama is continuing his heroic odyssey with…
If you’ve ever donated blood, you’ve probably noticed a prominent question on a pre-donation questionnaire: Have you had intercourse with someone of the same sex since 1977? If so, yer outta luck, pal. The law, which has been repeatedly challenged and upheld since its imposition in 1985, is purportedly to…
The high-noon sun was a charm, and everybody stared into it, searching for a human form. Jon DeVore stood over air on the skid of a helicopter, altitude five grand. A mile below, South Florida lay flat, like a slide-mounted specimen. A moment before release. His white knuckles, gripping a…
The view from the picture widows is so gorgeous that at first, it’s all you notice. The sprawling condominium — white floors, white walls, white ceiling — opens in a glass rectangle over a white balcony that frames the ocean and sky, two strips of rippled blue glowing in the…
She used to host a popular progressive radio show, but Nicole Sandler got some unexpected press last week when she tried to ask a question at an Allen West “town hall” event, was not answered, continued asking her question, and was led out of the Calvary Chapel in handcuffs, taken…
