Tim Smith's Fort Lauderdale

  

                 

                     

 
                                        CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE
                                           POLICE DEPARTMENT

                                                PRESS RELEASE

February 5, 2014

HOMICIDE

                         

     The Fort Lauderdale Police Department is investigating a homicide that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th shortly before 8:00 A.M. The incident took place in the 1200 block of Northeast 4th Avenue in the City of Fort Lauderdale.

     The Fort Lauderdale Police Department received a report of shots fired at this location.
When the officers arrived, they discovered a male victim lying in the roadway.
The victim has been identified as Pierre Akeem Gustave, B/M, 04/11/90, a resident of the City of Margate.

     Gustave was recently released from Florida State Prison on August 13, 2013 and known to frequent the area.
This is an active and on-going investigation. Investigators are encouraging anyone who may have witnessed this shooting or who may have information about the incident to contact Detectives Mark Shotwell at 954-828-5517 or Jim Jaggers at 954-828-5970.

 
                                        CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE
                                           POLICE DEPARTMENT

                                                PRESS RELEASE

February 5, 2014

HOMICIDE

                         

     The Fort Lauderdale Police Department is investigating a homicide that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th shortly before 8:00 A.M. The incident took place in the 1200 block of Northeast 4th Avenue in the City of Fort Lauderdale.

     The Fort Lauderdale Police Department received a report of shots fired at this location.
When the officers arrived, they discovered a male victim lying in the roadway.
The victim has been identified as Pierre Akeem Gustave, B/M, 04/11/90, a resident of the City of Margate.

     Gustave was recently released from Florida State Prison on August 13, 2013 and known to frequent the area.
This is an active and on-going investigation. Investigators are encouraging anyone who may have witnessed this shooting or who may have information about the incident to contact Detectives Mark Shotwell at 954-828-5517 or Jim Jaggers at 954-828-5970.

      I could tell it was something serious.

                          

     Just a few blocks north of Home Depot, on NE 4th Avenue, the Police vehicles were thick. Squad cars, Sergeant Cars, the Crime Scene Unit, an Ambulance and a Fire Truck.

     The yellow Police line was stretched around the perimeter, no way to see what was happening. I walked into my friend George Fortney’s appliance store and out to the back lot where George and his grandson, George, were standing. From there you could see all the carnage.

 
                   

     
          Right away it was apparent to me that another kid had been shot, gang style. The two bicycles littering the crime scene were the dead give-a-way. Another murder in South Middle River.

                      

       And there he was. Word has it that he was shot in the head while on his bike.

       Senseless…..

                                           

    Tomorrow, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission will convey some important recognitions on some worthy citizens. They will choose the Citizen of the Year, the Distinguished Citizen, Exemplary Former Employee,  and the Honored Founder.

         These are the winners from last year …

                               

      The recipients are chosen from nominations sent in from the citizenry, and a Board (made up of former Mayors and a few other leading citizens) pick the winners.

      This year, a nomination for the Distinguished Citizen came in for John Rodstrom – from his wife – the famous Charlotte Rodstrom!

      He didn’t win.

     Personally, I think John deserves some sort of recognition from us. He served the public  (albeit being well paid) for something like 30 years.

     Hell, I’ll go as far as saying that it might be time to recognize Jim Naugle for his years of service to the City ( at least his early years).

                        What do you think?

      So, what are the chances?

     That one of Fort Lauderdale’s most dependable volunteers – a retired, divorced elementary school teacher –  Marge Anderson, would meet up with a rascally Alaskan back woodsmen on a bus near Anchorage, and end up spending weeks with him, alone, at Murder Lake ??

                       

     Well sure enough it happened!

    ……   and I suggest you go to Amazon, read this fun, unusual tale, and find out for yourself!

                                                            Tim

      Jack Seiler has been good for Fort Lauderdale, let me tell you why I think so.

                                           

      First …..  let me assure you that I am not a Seiler lackey, and am ready to criticize him when I think he does wrong, but I think Seiler has done far more right than wrong over the last 5 years as Mayor……  ( I’m sure you’ll let me know if you disagree!)

      And I’ll add that I don’t think I have any particular right to give Seiler a score card either way, but I’m going to do it anyway.

      We’ve had only 6 mayors in the last 40 years, but thankfully we instituted term limits in 2000,  (thanks to some successful brilliant legislation from an aggressive cub Commissioner :-), so we should have a lot more turn over in the future.

                                 

     Two of the five former Mayors left us this past year – Clay Shaw, ( second from left). and Bob Cox, (middle).

                                    

      Jack Seiler has taken his job of Mayor of Fort Lauderdale very seriously.

     The rap on Jack is that he is taking aim at higher office, and I’m sure that is true, but by taking his current job so seriously, he just might have that chance.

                          

                                     

                                

                                                    
      Seiler  has had some difficult times as Mayor, and has taken some difficult votes that not everyone agreed with, (including me), but that goes with the territory.

                                                

       But Seiler’s predecessor, (Jim Naugle), at the end of his very long Mayoral career, was no longer serious, and was making our City a laughing stock. (If you have lived here a while, you know what I mean.)

                                              

     Seiler seems to have turned the City’s reputation around.

     For the last five years, Jack has been the City’s top  cheerleader.  He works long hours, (besides working as a lawyer in the daytime),  and will cut a ribbon, throw a first pitch, or join a neighborhood in a trash pick-up, any time asked.

                                             

                                        

                                          

                                                         

                                       

                                          

       So I give Jack Seiler a solid …. B – Grade ……  and if he can get the downtown back on track, push the burglary rate back to tolerable, and continue to make Fort Lauderdale a serious, respectable town  ……..

                      …. he can count me in as a strong supp
orter  !

 
                                                                                               
 

 

    

     

    

    

     

       Sistrunk Boulevard has had a good year.

      First, they got respect…  A brief controversy ended when the Sistrunk street name was extended all the way down to US 1, ( even though Charlie King opposed it !)

     Then, Sistrunk got a whole new, multi million dollar makeover on the street itself ….

                                    

     And today they got their cherry on the top of the sunday – a spankin’ new
                                                      Police Substation !

                      

     Many of the city bigshots were there to cut the ribbon ( though Trantalis and Rogers weren’t there).

      Interestingly, both the Chief (Adderley) and the assistant Police Chief (Anthony Williams), grew up in the area, and Adderley lives just off Sistrunk today.

                            
                               Williams on left, Sistrunk District Commander London on right

     Now – let’s get that BB King’s House of Blues – Fort Lauderdale  built there!

     
       The City/City Commission has done a good job controlling our homeless issues, but when the temperature falls into single digits up north –

               

      This morning, there were homeless advocates, with about 4 vans full of food and warm clothes, attending to what looked like over 100 homeless.…

                                    Here are the stories of three of them

                     

      On the far left is Thomas, 57, from upstate New York. He said he can’t stay in shelters (HAC) because of his alcohol problems.

      Thomas seems very weak, trembly, says he has been on the streets of Fort Lauderdale for about 3 years. He survives on $780 a month in disability payments.

     Next to him is Elizabeth. She is 59 and came to America as a teen from Glasgow Scotland. She says like most women on the street, she has been sexually molested. She says she has reported it to the Police, but “the guy is still on the streets”. Says she also can’t stay in shelters due to a serious drinking problem.

                                      

     Then there is Joseph Anthony Jones.

     Quite a character – Jones, 44, says he is a hobo, “been in 52 states”. Says he gets a Navy pension of $700 a month.  He says he drinks a lot, and to prove it pulled a beer out of his blanket and put it on his head, his “breakfast”. Told me to take a picture.

     I asked him what the solution was for people like him and his friends, to get them off the streets…

      He just started quoting the Steve Miller Band – “people living on the streets, there’s a solution, you’ve got to fly like an eagle …”

      I left as confused with the issue as ever  ………