Author: commtims

                        

     When our sweet, little old lady neighbor – Ester – died, she left us this important little pamphlet from her days as a nurse in WWII.


            

     I’m thinking that since Ester knew of my participation in

                         Fort Lauderdale politics,
 
     she thought this nifty pamphlet might just come in handy to me !

    
              ** Note to Commission candidates – cut out the below and stash it in your wallet !


                            

     I know I run the risk of my blog being rebilled as the” Rodstrom Report”, by running yet another post about Charlotte Rodstrom, but this little tidbit needs explaining…..

     Today was the day that one of the Fort Lauderdale parks, the Middle River Terrace park, (on Dixie Highway), was set to go on the County Commission agenda for funding – to double its’ size, thanks to our new County Commissioner Tim Ryan. 

     The monies were to come from the last of the Land Preservation Bond Program monies that the citizens of Broward County voted for years back….

          

                              the current 4 acre park


                   
                                        the almost added 3 acres next door

       But sadly the item was pulled off the County agenda, literally at the last minute, this morning. 
                                        
     Turns out that Charlotte Rodstrom was at the County building yesterday, meeting with some County Commissioners, (with her supporter Laura Crescenco in tow), and a County staffer told me that Rodstrom was talking the park addition down at a meeting with at least one Commissioner. 


     And a Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner told me that he received a call from Rodstrom later last night, saying the City should try and call off the County vote to enlarge the park, that there might not be a willing seller, or the seller might not take the Countys’ offer, or … the moon might be cream cheese!

     And lastly, the County Commissioner who officially asked for the deferral, said that Rodstrom not only asked her to remove the item, but “went around to everybody”…


     Anyhow, the nearly 3 acre park addition item was pulled – damn shame! 

     
     
     


































    

     

    

     I went to school in Baltimore, (Towson State University), so of course I was routing for the Ravens!

     But I didn’t have any scratch on the game until my neighbor James video-phoned me just before kick-off –
                      ……………………………….
   
                         

     “So you actually think your measly Ravens can beat my freakin amazing 49ers ?”, James spit mockingly.

     ” the joo-joo is with us”, I mustered!

    “Well put your money where you mouth is”, James replied.

    “Ok, what’s the deal”, I countered.

    “Tell you what”, James says, (with a curious tone) –  “If my boys win, you send a public valentine to Charlotte Rodstrom“, he cackled.

                         
               
     You see, James knew that Rodstrom had not spoken to me since I endorsed her opponent, Dean Trantalis, in the upcoming (March 12th) District II Commissioner – special election, (so let’s just say Rodstrom and I  probably wouldn’t have each other on our respective valentine lists!)

     “OK,” I accepted, ….  “but if my Ravens pull it out, you send a box of delicious chocolate covered spiders to a recipient of my choosing”!

     “It’s a deal”, James barked confidently.

     I got nervous in that third quarter, even started to prepare the above Valentine just in case –  but by a whisker, I was able to put that valentine back in the file and pull out this one instead – 


                            

     So if you get a box of yummy choco – spiders from my neighbor James next week,  you’ll know from where they really came! 

                             ….. Tim
     

    

     We told you about that newest space-age DNA-like crime-fighting liquid, SmartWater  ….

                      


      ….. just last week. The invisible liquid can be swabbed on all your valuables, or squirted straight on those pesky criminals (when they are in the act of being criminals), and then we can catch them quicker, and put them where they belong – 

                                      

     ……   SmartWater was handed out today in the neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale that has had the most crime for years … 

                          South Middle River. 

                          

     Last year, South Middle River had 451 crimes, and, for comparison, the neighborhood where the City Manager lives, had 3.

     Today was an important day, and here are a few pics to prove it!

                    

     Five hundred vials of the liquid were handed out free of charge to the homeowners in the neighborhood.



             

     Lorraine Saunders brought her mother, and they both got the kit!


                   

     Neighborhood leaders, including President Sal Gatanio, worked the tables and were all smiles about the new program.


           

     You could tell it was an important day by the slew of big-shots who attended – on a Saturday!

      Both City Commissioner candidates, Rodstrom and Trantalis – of course were there …

     And pictured above (from left) … former Attorney General Bob Butterworth, President Sal, and crime dummy (being black-lighted), by….  

                           Mayor Jack Seiler!


     
                     

      The underground, super-late night, illegal nightclub-
 
           – the Red Monkey Social Club, only lived for one hour!


                                  


     I had been given a tip, that the off-beat club was set to open last Sunday morning at 3 am ( yes, that’s 3 in the morning!), in a warehouse off Dixie Highway in Fort Lauderdale.

     The info on the internet about the club was quite cryptic. No address –  just a Facebook entry that redirected you here, then there. An e-mail would be sent to you with the particulars if you were willing to pay the $40 fee to PARTIEEEE!

     I called the P.D., it didn’t seem quite right! …. People should be sleeping after 3 am !

                     ……………………………………………..

                          

     Apparently, Red Monkey clubs show up in Cities around the globe, and Fort Lauderdale was to be the latest.

     It was set to open in a nice warehouse complex built by city kingpin Barry Flanigan.

                       

     Flanigan, who still owns the non-descript warehouse next door to the intended club, was dumbfounded. He says he was told they were fixing up the warehouse for “a birthday party” for the owners son.
 
     The Cops were waiting Sunday morning for the Clubs’ debut ! – 
   
     Here’s how the Public Record described it …
              ……………………………………………………..

     Sgt.Nick Coffin and his crew responded out to the Red Monkey Social Club and observed a clear violation at 1200 NE 7 Ave # 2. There were over 40 persons in attendance and more people were coming at the time of shut down. The modern/new warehouse located here was set up as a small club with the below features:

· DJ booth w/DJ
· Full Bar w bartender
· Hookah type smoking pipes
· Couches, chairs, and an upstairs loft type dance floor
· Full compliment of alcohol, beer, and water

     The entrance was to the rear of the warehouse with a doorman/security. You had to provide ID and a cell number along with paying the $40.00 dollar entrance fee to gain entrance. It did appear that most of the patrons were other bartenders and employees from other clubs, half of which arrived and left by cab. ……… 

     One of the owners of the Sand bar on the beach (Charles O’Flaherty) was cited for selling alcohol w/o a license by Det. Spodnick who responded after the violation was observed. We also confiscated the alcohol and took photos of the entire set-up. Det. Spodnick does not believe this will be an ongoing issue after tonight, after speaking with the owner. The bar was shut down shortly after 4 AM. 


       Kudos to the P.D. for a job well done!

                                Tim








     


      











 

 

 

 

     When a Dean Trantalis supporter was looking through Charlotte Rodstroms’ campaign web site, he saw something that looked strangely familiar.


     He was on Rodstroms’ Campaign Home Page, then clicked on the tab – About.

     There was a brief description there about Rodstrom  …..

                                      

                                    

                                          Charlotte Rodstrom

      ….. is a long-time legal activist and our Former Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner. He has been a tireless advocate for preserving the integrity of our neighborhoods, and she has shown balance and vision in pursuing the growth of our city.

Charlotte is the leader we need and is dedicated to working alongside neighbors and city officials as we carve out a new direction for our community. 
 
               …………………………………………………………..

     The problem was – he realized the Rodstrom description he was reading on her web site had been taken verbatim from a description of Trantalis, that Trantalis had used in ads he had placed in neighborhood newsletters for the January primary!






     The Trantalis campaign sent out the Rodstrom flub, showing that Rodstrom had picked up the Trantalis copy word for word from his earlier flyer, and had not even changed the gender !

                         

     Trantalis finds it all a bit amusing.  “I guess plagiarism is the best form of flattery”, he said.

    

     Criminals always get caught sooner or later, but now maybe sooner in the crime-ridden neighborhood of South Middle River!

     

     Yestereday, there was a demonstration at the Fort Lauderdale Police Station of their newest crime fighting tool – and it is the future !

     It’s a product, new to the United States, called SmartWater, and the picture portrays a criminal ( not a real one) after having been squirted with the Water!

     The liquid has invisible (except under black light), DNA-like identifiers in it.

     Five hundred bottles of the space-age liquid will be distributed free of charge, to crime-racked homeowners in South Middle River ….and they will swab a dab on all their valuables. Each bottle has its’ own identifiers, and if a crook snags the valuables, and tries to pawn them – snap – they’re arrested, and the ill-gotten goods are returned to the lawful owner.

     The liquid can also be used in a “bait car”, or “trap house”, and the liquid gets squirted right on the criminal, so expect to see Cops blacklighting suspects on the streets of South Middle River!

          

     Chief Adderley and Mayor Seiler introduced the new program yesterday at the P.D.. They also announced that the company Smartwater CSI, has set up their national headquarters right here in Fort Lauderdale!

     Nice job everyone!

     The first of the Tims’ Tours for the 2013 season took place this week.

                              

     Now some of you thought this first tour of the season ( City Hall) might be boring (even I did !), but it turned out quite interesting!

     The tour was conducted by no other than our City Manager Lee Feldman, who was expecting a small group of about a dozen, but seemed unshaken when twice that amount showed!

                               
                                    …  hey everyone!

     
     The tour went through all the floors, into the back hallways, through the maze that is Fort Lauderdale City Hall. The attendees were many of the movers and shakers of the City who wanted to know what was in those back rooms!


                  

     Nothing was left untouched  – here is the brain center, the main frames, with some crazy amount of capacity – in  tera bytes ( a thousand billion bytes!)

              

     Even the stairwells were explored ( we couldn’t all fit in the elavators!)
 


                Feldman explains the health program – take the stairs!

     The Mail room is still there, though Feldman says the bulk of the incoming is junk mail, with an occasional hand written letter thrown in.

          
                                 sorters….. stackers ….. etc. 

     The tourees wanted to know how Feldman kept the 2000+ workforce in line, and Feldman let out the secret  …..

                                       
                                                      the persuader !

     So all in all, everyone really enjoyed the tour, but decided that it was time for a new City Manager, (they only last so long), so when we reached Feldman’s office, a new manager was sat ……


                            

                     ….. don’t miss the next tour – coming soon!

                       ( thanks to Art and Abby for the photos!)
     

     Yesterdays’ primary election for the Fort Lauderdale District II seat was mighty close.

               

     Former Commissioner Charlotte Rodstrom came out ahead by only 128 votes over former Commissioner Dean Trantalis (Rodstrom 46% – Trantalis 41%). The turnout set a new low record for the District, at a dismal 8.63%, at a cost of $58 per voter. 

     Since no one reached 50% of the votes cast, there will be a run-off election in March. The third and fourth place finishers in yesterdays’ race, Chuck Black and Lester Zalewski, are eliminated – (Black 9% – Zalewski 3%), so only Rodstrom and Trantalis will be in the run-off.


            

     Rodstrom should be nervous. A poll, conducted by the Citys’ most established pollster, Jim Kane, a month before the election, showed Rodstrom would win handily. Kane said at the time that Rodstrom was “in the cat bird’s seat”,  but that certainly didn’t happen yesterday.

     Trantalis worked harder than Rodstrom during the short campaign, and momentum seems to be on his side.

     Rodstrom was saved by her own neighborhoods on Las Olas Blvd., where she walloped Trantalis 343 to 95 votes.

     Trantalis took most of the center of the District, his best showing in the Middle River Terrace neighborhood, where he trounced Rodstrom 82 to 28 votes. The beach was basically a tie, where both candidates are considered slow growth proponents.

     Rumors have it that both eliminated candidates, Black and Zalewski, will endorse Trantalis for the run-off, though that has not yet been confirmed.

                         Stay Tuned – Tim
    

     I just got back from the Gun Show at the War Memorial.

I wanted to see if some of what I’ve been reading was true. It was packed to be sure!

One local blogger has been making quite a few accusations about illegal behavior taking place at the show and I went to check it out- to see if I could confirm that.

First, the blogger said that “there were no Police anywhere”.

I found plenty Police, and I didn’t even have to look far!-

…… they were just feet from the front door.

…. there were also numerous cruisers around the area.

I called some law enforcement contacts that told me there were Police there both days, but more today after controversy arose. He said there were “walking teams” checking the parking lots, and units at the door.

I had also heard a rumor that there were undercover officers inside, checking to see if laws were being broken.

For this rumor, I had to go right to the Chief of Police, Frank Adderley.

The Chief would not confirm, but did tell me that they [the Police department] had very good cooperation with “the feds”, and that he was confident that all laws would be monitored, inside and out!

I also read here that guns and bullets were being sold out in the parking lots ( you can also get online – purchase firearms & tactical equipment). I walked the perimeter and couldn’t find any guns being sold. I did find people handing out flyers –

Guess I could go to Hollywood and buy me a Machine Gun!

People at the show said the dealers inside were “running low” on supplies, and credited the media interest/gun control controversy with the big crowds.

The City has a multi year contract with the operator to run the gun show, and State law prohibits the City from regulating it.

Some local leaders have been lobbying the Mayor and Commission to stop the show if it includes assault style weapons and high capacity magazines. I agree with them.

The only option the City seems to have is to not rent City property for the show.

What do you think?