Tim Smith's Fort Lauderdale

…………………… The Year is 1998 …… Fort Lauderdale …….. Victoria Park, Federal Highway ……

……………. That’s about 100 Fort Lauderdalians, staging a protest in the 600 block of N.Federal Hwy. We were pissed that there was no grocery store anywhere near Victoria Park/downtown …..

…………… We are holding up Publix grocery bags. We took a big 3 by 5 poster of the picture to Publix headquarters in Lakeland …. The effort kind of worked – today there is a Winn-Dixie plaza !

……… See if you can find me, Cal Deal, son Timmy, Bob Oelke, Ted Fling and others in the photo !

OK  …..  So you are looking for a little something different to do this Friday Night!  …. I have just the ticket!!  …..

……So here’s the skinny  …. Mosey on over to that new section of Fort Lauderdale that has turned around and is becoming the new, may I say, trending area of Fort Lauderdale    ….. NE 13th Street

…..Businesses are opening late (until 10 pm),  and offering all kind of specials, as you sit on the cycle party and move up and down the road  to experience all the fun   ..

……………………….  SHOP

…….      Oddballs Nifty Thrift

Have you been in the number one rated thrift store in Fort Lauderdale?  Did you know they serve beer and wine ( 2 for 1 Friday night) …..   and,

…….. Warsaw Coffee Company

You know you can have special coffee, but did you know you can get your beard trimmed?    and…

…………………………………. special deals on oil changes, free cupcakes, free lemonade and popcorn, free hot dogs,  and live rock and roll !!!!!!!… the list just goes on and on

………….   come on over Friday, call me for more info at 954-822-4727

….. All of us have been bitten by the nasty parking monster, in one way or another!

…. And once you’ve gotten a few of those painful $33 parking tickets, and if you’re like me, you learn to follow the rules!

…… So when I was downtown for a ribbon cutting for a preserved historic house a few months back, I looked for one of those safe city multi space parking meters nearby the event.

There it was, so being in a rush as usual, I hurried into a spot and cozied up to the gulping money machine. I threw 3 singles in and pushed the little green button as I had done so many times before.

Nothing happened …. I looked closer   ….  A little message said something like this ” well we know you just put in $3 dollars, but we’re requiring you pay $15 at this meter, and we won’t give you back your $3 if you decide to cancel and not feed me another $12, so  nanny nanny boo boo !

%#!@*

Yup, that’s how I felt alright! ….. and I wasn’t giving this lousy beast another red cent   ….. I drove another block away and found a more friendly meter ….  I gave this one another $3 ( of my hard earned money) and hustled to the event …

….. I mentioned to Mayor Jack Seiler how I had just been had, and by our own City none the less!   …..  But as it turned out, the lot was an imposter!  … Though it looked just like other City lots, it was a private concern….

….. It took a couple of months, but after a chat with the parking company ( and their subsequent chat with the City Manager), and the Mayor weighing in,  the parking company agreed that their parking upcharges weren’t very clear, not quite right   …

…… So not only did ASTA Parking do the right thing and put up a new clearer sign  ….. but they also dug deep and donated $250 to historic preservation  ….

  …..  a good ending

…….. Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Frank Adderley announced to his department today that he is leaving his post. He will be taking an administration job at BSO ( Broward’s Sheriffs Office) . Keep reading to find out why!

…. Adderley’s 8 years as Chief of Police followed a thirty some years climb up the ladder that started as a regular patrolman. The Chief grew up in NW Fort Lauderdale.  He lives there today,  in the house he grew up in, after a tumultuous divorce had him leave the Plantation home he lived in with his family ( the Plantation home happens to be next door to District III’s Commissioner Robert McKinzie’s home).

……Adderley’s years as Chief is widely considered to have been a successful run.  Crime plummeted during the Chief’s tenure.  The Chief was known  as a very accesible Chief, and was also popular with his men and women in blue. He joined in neighborhood crime marches, held fish frys to bring together neighbors in the NW, and even agreed to play the part of the first Fort Lauderdale resident in an historical play written  and directed by yours truly :-).

….   Adderley the actor !

…. The Chief’s most difficult time on the force occurred when his wife at the time, suspecting marital infidelity, burst into the bedroom, grabbed the Chief’s service revolver, and began firing. Adderley lept up in his underwear, and dodged the bullets and made it safely to his neighbor’s home (McKinzie).

…… His wife, pictured above, served some time for the offense, even though the Chief asked that she not be charged.

…….    The Chief tells me he is leaving as Chief due to an impasse with the City lawyers concerning his, and 20 other City employees’ pay.    Apparently, the City lawyers decided that the City  had been paying the Chief and the others too much, as an IRS regulation on former employees receiving pensions and being rehired went overlooked for three years, and were attempting a $60,000 clawback if the Chief stayed on.

…. (I think I got all this right, although I wasn’t taking notes), and legal action in the cases is also pending.

……….   the Chief will be missed.

…. You faithful long term readers will recall that every year we try and do something really  special for the most deserving little kids at Christmas time!

……..   I waited to at least  Thanksgiving to kick off this unusual toy drive ( take note Walmart:-), but now I need you all to jump into action….

…….. So here’s the deal ……   We’ve asked some of the poorest local elementary schools to pick 25 of their kids that are excelling, despite their challenging lives ….

………   so it’s our job to take the frown off these kids’  faces –

….and replace them with these !

…….. If you do your part, we can make it happen!    …..  So go buy a really nice toy, for either a boy or girl, ages 6 up to 11, (we’ll need about 300 toys!) ….. and don’t wrap them , and take them here –

 …. that’s the famous Christmas Palace that is located at 800 NE 13th Street in Fort Lauderdale     ….  from now until Dec. 17th …  tell them it’s for the Christmas Toy Drive ….

……We’ll pick up the toys on Dec. 17th, and on Sunday Dec. 18, we’ll hold a great big party for these wonderful, most deserving kids, and their parents,  at the Middle River Terrace Park – 1329 N. Dixie , from 1 until 4 pm   …. We’d like you to come to the party also, so you can see how happy your presents make these kids    …..

……………………….     thanks as usual  ……    Tim

…. I was beginning to wonder whether this 100 year old house, one of the very oldest remaining in the city, would ever get finished with its renovations.

…….  this is the house as it was in 1916, the home of the infamous second Judge of Broward, Judge Shippey   …. he was the “marrying Judge”, actually married Tarzan in the house ( no, not to Jane).

……  this is the house being relocated to the historic district, about 5 years ago ….it was in very bad shape!

… as it arrived to its new home, in very bad shape,  in the historic district ..

…. i hear there were hundreds of thousands of dollars, and boodles of volunteer hours, spent moving, renovating, landscaping, furnishing etc…. ( second photo  is Jessica, a social worker who moved here from New York,  just in time to help with the landscaping !)

…..  yes, that’s me on left  – chief landscaping volunteer, with house nearly complete

…..   and here is the ribbon cutting, all big-shots smiling, proving that the effort was a success!

…………… congrats to us all ! ( and thanks to Cal Deal,for all his photos)

…. it is the day after,the day after  ……

…. and many of us are feeling a tad sad, depressed, maybe even despondent ..  (see above)  …..

……. but  my sister in law just shared with me the following insightful Chinese Parable, and my mood may be changing!  …. I hope you get the same message I did!

    …………..   the Chinese Parable, ….. the Chinese farmer’s horse

………  one day , a chinese farmer’s horse ran away   ……  the farmer’s neighbors  came around to console the farmer and they all said to the farmer –

 your horse is gone,  ….”isn’t that terrible?  …..

   …… but  strangely,  the farmer said ” MAYBE” …….

 …….  the next morning, the farmer’s horse returned with a herd of wild horses … now, the farmer had lots of horses   …

……   another neighboring farmer saw all the bounty of the free herd  of horses arriving  and said to the farmer – “ isn’t that wonderful”  ?

   ….but strangely,   the farmer again said “MAYBE” 

……. the next morning, the farmer’s son went out to break the wild horses, but instead, one of the wild horses threw the son off the horse and broke his leg !

  … all the  concerned neighbors came by  to say… “isn’t that terrible?”

  … as you might now guess,……  and again, and surely most strangely, the farmer calmly said“MAYBE”……….

……  and just then, the Chinese army came by, looking for young recruits to conscript for war, but they couldn’t  take the Chinese farmer’s son due to the newly broken leg  !

      …….    the wise farmer

…………..   the renewal of this long ignored business district (13th Street- NE 4th Avenue) has begun   …. Soon you will be wishing you had invested near there !

……   The groundbreaking event was amazing   ….. One account has the attendance at nearly 300 people ……  The standard (some say boring) groundbreaking ceremony was had, but here are two pictures proving the event was anything but boring !

Transportation/Mobility Czar Diana Alarcon really was all wet at the event !

And here is yours truly proving that nothing is left on the table when it comes to getting things right ! …. Here I am getting properly dressed for my turn in the dunk tank !

Here’s three things that are happening in the City now , but seemed to take forever to accomplish – do you agree?

 ……… 

…………..    the ICON is the big Condo being built on Las Olas in front of the oldest house in the City, the Stranahan House  ….. It was first proposed in 1999, but was fought by the City’s politicians for years, then couldn’t be built after the economy collapsed…. The developers finally won the lawsuit, the economy rebounded, and it looks to be about 10 stories now and climbing ( I think to about 40 floors) ….

…….   the Shippey House is that early 1900’s  historic house, owned by infamous Broward Judge Fred Shippey, the Judge who married Tarzan (in this house!) …… The house  was saved from the wrecking ball by activists many years back, but the renovation was stalled in what has seemed like forever, but it is finally going strong ….here it is with front porch going on ….. Expect a ribbon cutting soon – I Think 🙂

………..   My favorite …..  My pet project ( that I should have accomplished a long time ago)  is finally happening !!!! …..  the road that is 13th Street in Fort Lauderdale is about to experience a $1.5 million dollar upgrade in it’s business district …..

……  The neighborhood groups are celebrating by hosting a Yee Ha  party and construction (check the homepage for construction services)  kickoff  shindig on Sept 14th at 6pm …..   Come to the intersection of 13th and Dixie for the fun  ….   Free food catered by Southport, live music by that cool local band Sunday’s at Five, ….   and because it took me so long . If you’re remodeling your home, then you can hire contractors from here!

………….  I will be in the dunk tank   …. (joining me in the tank will be City traffic CZAR Diana Alarcon, because she took too long also 🙂   ….see you all there