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     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?

 

     The old adage, you can’t fight City Hall may be true, but at least  you can get a thorough  tour of it! Would you like to come?

                          
                                  City Hall

    

     Tim’s Tours are back for this season.

     Our first tour of 2013 will be Fort Lauderdale City Hall. We will be led through the backrooms of the bureaucratic bees’ nest where all the action happens- where the $605 million dollar budget is collected and spent!

     City Manager Lee Feldman will be conducting the tour personally!

                                  

     Last year, groups of citizens toured the deep underbelly of the Police Station, drank Rum drinks while touring the best kept secret in Fort Lauderdale – the Bonnet House, and wandered through the giant Wastewater Treatment Plant! So fun!

                            

     This years’ tours should be a blast also. We will be starting with the City Hall tour next Wednesday, January 16th, at 5:30 p.m.

     You need to let me know if you will be attending, as we can only accommodate about 15 people..

                  …… e-mail me at Tim@TimSmith.com and say ” I’ll see you Wednesday at 5:30 pm”

                  …….. please be at the south entrance of City Hall (100 North Andrews Avenue)  about 5:20 pm ……

                                         Tim
    

     Nancy is still homeless –  still living on the ground in a Fort Lauderdale park.

     Two weeks ago, I introduced you to Nancy. She has disabilities, is a hopeless alcoholic, and has been homeless since her mother died, and the house was sold.
 
     She has been living in the city park for about 6 months, rain or shine. This morning, on my regular morning walk, I checked to see if anything had been done about Nancy.

        

     It hasn’t.

     After I informed officials about Nancy weeks ago, I figured the professionals would swoop in and find the right place for Nancy. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

      Instead, I was copied on this e-mail from some of those officials,  just yesterday – 

     Phil and Sandi, as a f/u on this the Rangers checked the park last few day for
this person they were not in the park at the time we checked.

Gerald Roberts

Captain Park Rangers
Public Safety Liaison
Parks & Rec Administration
City of Fort Lauderdale 


     I called again yesterday, and they asked me to meet with a Park Ranger. I agreed, offering to lead him to Nancy’s lair. 
                      

                               

     Nancy stays just behind the 6th Silver Buttonwood tree, off the highway – we could see her from the parking lot as the Officer was taking the report. The Ranger took it seriously, and I hope he can bring in the right resources.

     Anyhow, on my way back home, I came across Nancy leaving her lair, undoubtedly for her first breakfast beer. She was with another girl, Tammy, who has now joined Nancy in park life. Yikes!

               

     Nancy told me she has been molested, been sogged from the rain, has no circulation in her legs, has trouble talking, but still resides here on a dirty blanket, on the ground, under the 6th Silver Buttonwood tree…………

                         Is this the best we can do?    

     There is a Fort Lauderdale City Election in just twelve days,  on Tuesday, January 15th.


                           

      Did you know that? 

     You might not, because there is only one thing on the ballot, the primary of the special election for District II City Commissioner. Only those of you who live in District II will get a chance to vote this time, but all of you taxpayers will be paying for it – about $225,000!

     That’s because former City Commissioner Rodstrom quit her Commission seat just weeks after winning it last year, and ran for a County Commission seat (which she lost). The City Charter says there must be a special election to fill the seat. So now Rodstrom is running for that same City Commission seat – all over again!

    Three others are in the race.


        Lester Zalewski



          Chuck Black



          Dean Trantalis


     I’m voting for Trantalis.


     I’ve supported Charlotte Rodstrom in the past, but can’t this time.

                      


     It’s time for both Rodstroms (John and Charlotte) to take a break. Between the two of them, they have served almost forty years in government. And John Rodstrom reportedly has over a half million in government pension benefits due him from his long elected service.

    
           John

     John was term limited out this year as a County Commissioner, but a friend, attorney William Scherer, sued to try and overturn the citizen-  voted term limits, so John could serve another forty years – ( the lawsuit failed).

     So out of the remaining three candidates, Dean Trantalis is the best choice by far. He is exceedingly bright, mannered, knows how to work the City system, having served for three years as District II City Commissioner, and seems to have found a new passion to serve again.

     The other two candidates, Black and Zawleski have strengths, but neither is prepared for the difficult job as District II City Commissioner.

     I say vote Trantalis.