Deerfield Beach officials who administer home loans and grants to low-income residents engage in “favoritism” and “suspected fraud,” according to statements made at this evening’s commission meeting by forensic auditor Michael Kessler.”The entire process of awarding funds to deserving individuals should have been administered in a documented, precise, calculated, and…

As pundits go, Chuck Todd usually has two feet squarely on the ground; his analysis was on the mark throughout the 2008 presidential campaign. But I think he’s missing the boat with his take on Florida’s Senate race. His theory sounds persuasive. Republican nominee Marco Rubio and independent candidate Charlie…

In March, a political action committee for Sarah Palin twice [SEE NOTE BELOW] spent $7,321 to deice her private jet after it had landed at a Fort Lauderdale aiport, according to Federal Elections Commission reports cited in this Huffington Post article.Problem: There is no need to deice a plane in…

If you ever find yourself being interviewed for a job with Charlie Crist, don’t worry about such things as a crummy résumé or a pending criminal investigation. Just give an answer of “Hell, yes!” to the question of whether you’ll be loyal to the Crist political franchise.Judging by this fascinating…

Here’s a radical idea: Maybe it’s not so wise to build another condo high-rise in downtown Hollywood. We told you this morning about the uncertain future of the site where the HART structure was to rise, and then the ArtsPark Village, which was foreclosed last month.These were rotten deals that…

Hallandale Beach City Manager Mike Good gave a consultant agreement to a local real estate agent, Joe Kessel, worth up to $36,000. But a city ordinance indicates Good was forbidden to do so without first getting commission approval.A 2006 ordinance describes exactly what contracts and purchases the city manager can…

The race between incumbent Congressman Ron Klein and challenger Allen West keeps narrowing, with the West campaign claiming to have raised nearly twice the amount of campaign money as Klein during the first quarter of 2010.West reports $838,449 in fundraising totals between January and the end of March, while Klein…

It appears that nobody in Hollywood government has a clear idea of where the city stands in its efforts to improve a big piece of property at the heart of downtown.At the southeast corner of Federal Highway and Young Circle, two huge, bold condo projects have self-destructed. First was the…

The Quinnipiac poll released Thursday shows that if the general election for U.S. Senate were this week — and if Charlie Crist opted to run as an independent — he would earn a narrow victory (32 percent) over Marco Rubio (30), with Democratic frontrunner Kendrick Meek coming in third with…

Remember the name Craig Porter. He is the answer to a future trivia question about the first candidate to qualify for federal office as a candidate for the Whig Party since 1850. Porter is running in Florida’s 25th Congressional District in western Miami-Dade, the current domain of Mario Diaz-Balart.Judging by…

Everywhere Charlie Crist goes on the campaign trail lately, the teachers have him. Yesterday stalked him all the way to his office.And today, he vetoed Senate Bill 6, a piece of legislation that gave him an opportunity to prove with action what he’s expressed only in words: that he’s a…

Maybe it’s not so hard, running this “government.” George LeMieux sure makes it look easy. No matter how complex the problem, LeMieux finds a solution so simple, a total idiot could understand it. But these must be frustrating times for the Broward-born U.S. Senate appointee. First Congress failed to see…