Payton’s Place Is Commonplace for South Florida City Managers

A city commissioner has a buddy who wants a meeting about getting a city contract: Is there a city manager who hasn’t been there, as Miramar’s Robert Payton was?There’s no evidence that Payton knew the agent posing as a contractor had bribed Salesman. But the most frustrating aspect of this…

Mark of the Beast: Miami Herald Plagiarized by Manhattan Website

Manhattan news source and media aggregator The Daily Beast appears to have committed a major media no-no. It’s investigative reporter, Gerald Posner, has admitted to plagiarizing the Miami Herald.We know this thanks to some investigative reporting by Slate.com. (Little-known secret: We investigative journalists are losing jobs in droves, but to…

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson: The Next DeNiro?!?

This month’s edition of Muscle & Fitness magazine tells the story of a man so devoted to his weightlifting regimen that he leaves his home in Davie and braves the 60-mile round trip to the University of Miami’s gym. It’s Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, wrestler turned actor. Here’s the video…

Allen West Getting Jingo With It

Col. Allen West, candidate for Congress in Ron Klein’s coastal South Florida district, has another YouTube clip for his trophy case. This one comes from last month’s “Reclaim American Liberty” conference in New York City. West gave a blunt answer to a question about why Islamic jihadists hate us nice…

Juiced: The Week in a Gulp

Here’s what we covered this past week on Juice:A fresh batch of controversy this week for Judge John “Jay” Hurley, who for months has been receiving anonymous, spam-style praise in the comment threads of New Times blogs. Eric Barton traced a number of those messages to an IP address in…

Joey Porter Released

The Miami Dolphins just announced the release of pass-rushing specialist Joey Porter. Signed in March 2007 to a five-year, $32-million contract, Porter played in 14 games last year, posting 41 tackles and nine sacks. But after a disappointing Dolphin debut, followed by a sterling all-pro season in 2008, those 2009…

Scottie Pippen Hall of Fame Bound?

Scott Rothstein neighbor, cartoon cameo-maker, and victim of midget violence Scottie Pippen is close to earning induction into the Hall of Fame for that other thing he did: play basketball.According to an ESPN report, Pip is one of 19 finalists for the Naismith Hall of Fame — a group that…

Incest, Sexual Assault Charges Against Boynton Man

A 36-year-old man from Boynton Beach was charged today with forcing a 14-year-old girl to have sex.The incest allegations against the man, Martin Baugh, suggest that he was related to the victim, though the probable cause affidavit redacts that information to protect the victim’s identity.The affidavit says that Baugh confessed…

Clash Between Maestro and Ex Building to Crescendo

With Valentine’s Day in the offing, let’s take a moment to reflect upon our region’s latest, greatest romantic catastrophe. Maestro, please?Page2Live’s Jose Lambiet found a salacious lawsuit that was filed this week against Palm Beach Pops’ conductor Bob Lappin. In the complaint, Lappin is accused of subjecting Pops general manager…

Cash, Weapons Stolen From Bus in Wal-Mart Parking Lot

A bus that belonged to X-Centric Club in Deerfield Beach was robbed on January 2 — and Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives are still looking for the thief, who made off with $20,000 in cash and three handguns.The incident occurred around 10:30 a.m., while the bus was parked at the Wal-Mart…

Pompano City Manager Talks About Tangle With BSO

No gliding into office for Dennis Beach. In just the second month since he was hired, the Pompano Beach city manager has a started a wrestling match with one of South Florida’s political behemoths: the Broward Sheriff’s Office, which is desperate to hold on to its $38.5 million contract to…

We Got Issues: New Times in Print

This week’s New Times cover contains a haunting image of a human hand reaching out of the rubble of Port-au-Prince. Inside, we’ve rendered a photo essay by Michael McElroy, who also described what he saw during the week he spent in Haiti.At $375, the raffle tickets at Abracadabra run a…

Palm Beach Princess Planning to Give Haiti Volunteers the Royal Treatment

Docked at the Port of Palm Beach, the Princess is just a rundown, financially strapped gambling barge. But when it arrives in earthquake-ravaged Port-au-Prince, the Palm Beach Princess will look positively luxurious by comparison.”If” it arrives, that is. West Palm’s Channel 25 is reporting that the Princess wants to make…