Category: Uncategorized

      I’d like to outlaw campaign signs!

     They bring out the worst in some campaigns, and their supporters, and often lay around junking up the scenery for months after every election!

     Here’s the latest foul play …….

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

     Kevin Buckley is one of our premier shopping center developers.

                                       
                                            cool kat Kevin!

     He is a mellow guy, been around a long time, but today he’s mad as a hornet.

     This is his unwanted campaign sign story –

     …..” So Tim,  I drove past one of my shopping centers, Barnes and Nobles, and out front was this big…..
                                   
                                     Rynerson for Mayor sign


       …… Now, I didn’t give this Rynerson character permission to put this sign up, he never called or wrote to ask!….   and to make matters worse, I had gotten 3 Robo campaign phone calls from his campaign over the last three nights – at dinner time!

     …..  Anyhow, I decided to call his campaign and ask him to come and take the sign down, give him a chance to do the right thing… but after 3 calls and no return calls, my blood began to boil….

       …… I grabbed my wife and we went right over and took the sign down ourselves !…..  and now, I’m filing a complaint with the State Elections Board….

      …… And  …… just to make sure this Rynerson feels the pain, I added this”

                       
                   

    Commissioner candidate Zalewski slashed ! Politics as usual !


                                

     Since we’ve been talking about crime a lot lately, I thought I’d try and find some perspective.


    
       First, the good news – In 1994, believe it or not, little ole Fort Lauderdale was the most crime ridden city in America (per capita) ….. this past year, we’re way down  to #77, –  serious progress.

 
                              

   But here’s the rest of the story!

     Some of our neighborhoods are very safe.
 
     Sunrise Key ( where taxi magnate Jesse Gaddis lives) had NO CRIME last year. Neither did Bay Colony (up off North US 1, behind the TGIF restaurant.)

     Bal Harbor had only 1 crime ( smart move by new City Manager Lee Feldman moving there!). Riviera Isles ( off Las Olas) also had only 1 crime. Sunrise Intracoastal, behind the Galleria Mall – 1 crime. 

     Rounding out the safe places are Birch Finger Streets ( north of Sunrise Blvd., across from the beach) with 3 crimes, Nurmi Isle (Rodstrom’s neighborhood) with 5 crimes, Idylwyld with 5, and Harbor Beach with 9 crimes.

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

     But then, some neighborhoods are on fire!

                                           

     Progresso Village ( where they almost put the Homeless Feeding Camp), had 191 crimes , Flagler Heights ( north downtown) had 178 crimes, Victoria Park – 213 crimes, Melrose Park – 250 , Dorsey Riverbend – 267, Lauderdale Manors – 377, 

                  ……………  and the winner ( or loser, depends how you look at it)
 

      

     South Middle River – 473 crimes ( 240 of them home burglaries)….   SMR did have some help winning the most crime ridden award with this –


   
                 
                                 The Crescent House
 
 – a group home for troubled male youths. During this past year, 58 of it’s residents were arrested, and one youth has 9 pending felonies! 

     I’m curious what you think about all this ….please add a comment …  

                                thanks, ….Tim 

       Turn up your volume –  see what it’s like to live in South Middle River tonight!     



                             

     Randall ( a.k.a Bear) Klett is mighty pissed.

     Randall is the President of the Middle River Terrace neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale ( I actually founded the neighborhood group back in 1993).

     Randall is also the owner of one of the largest leather gear providers nationally. His business is called LeatherWerks, and let’s just say the Village People probably shop there!

                                       
                                        Bear ( in uniform)

     Anyhow, here is the story of why Randall is so mightily pissed:

     Randall and his partner eat at the California Pizza Kitchen a few nights ago. They arrive back home, after ten, and realize that his partner had left his cell phone at the restaurant.

     The partner rushes back to the restaurant, gets the phone and heads back home.

     He’s nearly home ( they live behind the Leatherwerks store on NE 4th Ave., a few blocks north of Home Depot), when multiple Police Cars fall in line behind the partner.

     The partner is new to the area, nervous, and calls Randall to tell him he is being pulled over. The partner is pulling in to the Leatherwerk store’s parking lot at the time.

     Randall jumps out of the shower and pulls a towel around him, throws on his flip flops and darts out his back door. He tells the Police that his partner belongs there, that this is his business, and his house, that all is good.

     The Police tell him to go away or he will be arrested.

     Randall says that this is his property, that he’s not leaving!

     Next thing you know – Randall’s wearing the metal bracelets!  

    


     But what happens next is the real clincher – Randall’s towel falls off, and he is left threadless in his own business parking lot ( and, it’s a tad chilly!)

     Turns out, the Police thought Randall’s partner was looking for drugs. They called the K-9 Squad out, and there was no indication of drugs. 

     But, according to Randall, the Police weren’t quite finished – they write his partner a ticket for ” obstructed tag” on his 2010 Mercedes.

   
               the tag – picture taken by Randall the next day

     The Police release Randall, and leave. Randall says he understands DWB (driving while black) better now, as his partner was a victim of DWW ( in an historically known area where whites drive in looking for drugs)

     Randall sent a sharply worded e-mail the next day to the Police Chief, the  Mayor, the Manager and others. 

     He wants apologies. He wants the ticket quashed. 

                          I’ll keep you informed.



     

     
     
     
   

     It was the first, (and only) debate scheduled soley for the District II Fort Lauderdale Commission candidates.

     And only two of the three candidates made it.

     Commissioner Charlotte Rodstrom didn’t make the fun.


     According to Progresso Village President Doug Sterner, Rodstrom called a few days before and said her husband (John) surprised her with a trip out of town, and she wouldn’t be making the debate.

     That left her two challengers – Lester Zalewski and Michael Ferber.

    
                                      Zalewski


               
                                                    Ferber ( with hands moving)

   
     Zalewski came mostly prepared. He told the audience about his background, said he was “pro-redevelopment ( the logical and reasonable kind he said), said the neighborhood was “entitled” to leave their homes feeling safe.

     But Ferber was the life of the party !!

     Ferber is an unapologetic, rabid, Libertarian. He started by saying that he knew their area well ( living in the next neighborhood over), had served on many City advisory Boards, but was probably not going to say many things the audience wanted to hear!

     He was right!

     He said he came without any “meaningless platitudes” .

     He said that “there was no Santa Claus”. He said he wasn’t running to “make government more responsive”, but to reduce the size, cut-back, have government “abandon many of the things it was currently doing”. 

     He continued – they’ll be calling me “Mike the Knife”. He said he would “eliminate the Economic Development Department”.  He said he wouldn’t govern by “lynch mob politics”. 

     He finished by saying he would ” go to Def Com III in efforts to reduce the size of the City Government.

     This is probably what most of the attendees liked best about Ferber’s attendance – 

                                    
                                                      Ferber leaving the building
      

     

      I know this sounds like a bad, B –  horror movie, but it’s actually non-fiction – mine!
    
      And I also know that it has absolutely nothing to do with Fort Lauderdale Politics, so I’ll be brief.

     Do you want to know when’s the worse possible time for one of those old, used up molars to go bad? 

                  ……… Christmas Day !

    

     I couldn’t find a dentist working, even the day after Christmas, and I was getting desperate. My brilliant wife had an idea as I poured over the internet listings, calling and calling, and getting nowhere – “call one with a Jewish name”. 

     Sure enough, Dr. Wiener would see me, but only if I could get there by noon. 

     It was a bad case, he explained, but he thought he could save the tooth. I wanted him to kill the tooth!

     Anyhow, to make a long, painful story short, he couldn’t save it after all, and today ( weeks later), I found myself staring up at the bright white light in the Extraction Specialist’s chair ( is it safe?)

        

     When the Doc left the room, I glanced up at the torture tools!

                 

     Then, the young, very capable, Egyptian born dentist flew into the room, and in a matter of minutes ( that seemed much longer), the deed was done –  Mr. Badtooth was no more!


                            
                                                        … the culprit       

     I just got home and the wife asked if there was any pain?    I handed her this!

                                                                       

      The Fort Lauderdale residents of NW 5th Court, just south of Sistrunk Boulevard,  are mad as hell, and if they have anything to say about it, they’re 

                              not going to take it anymore!

     They’ve had 10 burglaries, just on their block, in the last month. Some of the residents say they won’t leave their houses, practically sleeping with their valuables!

     Today, they assembled to protest the conditions, to speak as a group, and  have a fish fry !
 
     The fish fry was not the odd part of the protest, the unusual part of the protest was the invitation list. 

      Here’s who came!
    

     Lots of Cops!

     The idea was to bring together the residents and the Police, to join forces, so to speak.
     
    

     The Chief and the neighborhood leaders addressed the group.

     They prayed.
 
     They kumbaya’d!

     The City Manager attended the fry to show support
             (while also supporting the Marlins!)

              

     Let’s hope it all works.
  

     This is a story about a truck the Cops call the

                       
              PeaceMaker

    
          
 
     It’s the newest addition to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department’s fleet, and it’s awesome for a number of reasons!

     First, it is indestructible. The tires can’t be flattened, the windows can’t be broken out, the doors can’t be forced open.

     And it is a rolling video machine!

                   

     The truck has inside mounted cameras on three sides that roll non-stop. They can shoot 700 hours of video, so if you have a problem area, it just sits there and does the surveillance work for you. 

     But the very best thing about it ??

     It costs – ready for this?

                         $10.

     Police Chief Frank Adderley says all the credit for getting the vehicle ( and the cost) goes to City Manager Lee Feldman. Apparently, a big shot at Brinks used to work for Feldman. This truck ( and another one also on the way to the City) was slated to go to Miami, but when the Brinks people heard Feldman in Fort Lauderdale was asking for one – they sent us two !

     The Peacemaker is in District III today, off Sistrunk Blvd., on a street that had a rash of ten burglaries in just two months.

     The people on the street are thrilled.

                      

     These neighbors told me there hasn’t been any problems since the Peacemaker came to town, and they hope it stays.

     The only thing the wife was upset about ?

     “You gonna take my picture with my hair looking like this?”

      

     There are five debates scheduled where you will be able to see the candidates for the next Fort Lauderdale City Commission, over the next few weeks.

     I’ll give you those dates in a minute, but first, let me share with you the details of the first debate that occurred (sort of), last night, at the Imperial Point Medical Center.

     The debate was sponsored by the Imperial Point neighborhood, which is run by maybe the best, long term volunteer in the City – Betty Shelley.

      The crowd turn-out was substantial.

               

    
     The candidate turn-out was not.

         
                                    multiple missing chairs

     Only one of the three Mayoral candidates showed up, which made it tricky during the rebuttal phase!

     Apparently, Earl Rynerson sent out an e-mail ( I haven’t seen it) saying not to expect him. No one expected Gabriel Crimi, as we’ve learned that he has been a sham candidate from the start.

     In the District I Commission race ( the debate was just for Mayor and District I candidates), both candidates, the incumbent Roberts, and challenger Mary Graham were both there, which made the rebuttal phase run much smoother!

                            
                                          rebuttler Mary Graham

     No news was made during the debate, though Graham revealed her slow growth tendencies, and Seiler gave me a headache with his thorough recitations on budget, pension, and tax informations –  ad nauseam!

     Here are your next opportunities to see the candidates

     January 20th – Downtown Council- at Doubletree on Sunrise (11:30 – $40!)

     January 24th – Council of Neighborhoods – City Hall ( 7:00 pm – free)

     January 24th – Tower Club – ( 8 a.m. – $45!)