Tim Smith's Fort Lauderdale

     Proving that it is entirely possible to push a very heavy object up a very steep hill……..
 
     ……former Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Tim Smith (that’s me), finished his sixth half-marathon Sunday at the Fort Lauderdale A1A Marathon.

     

                                                                                                  
                                                         Smith rounding the turn to the finish line

     After the race, Smith said that the effort was a “walk in the park”, but then quickly added that he was lying through his teeth!

     Smith also said that he finally figured out, after finishing 6 half-marathons and 2 full marathons, why his wife always prepared a T-Shirt for him to wear during the runs with POPS emblazoned across the front.

     The onlookers, whenever Smith began to slow down or even think about walking, kept yelling out 

                                           “GO POPS”
    
       and Smith would pick up the pace. Smith said that as soon as he can walk again and chase his wife down, he was going to  “have a chat with her about that”!

     Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Frank Adderley has had a tough year.

     Today, he had an exceptionally good day.

                                                 
                                                                                    the Chief

     Adderley’s Department jointly announced today the culmination of a successful year-long undercover operation it conducted with Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the US Marshal’s Service, and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.

     The operation, named “Operation Smoking Gun“, was aimed at  “crime and violence associated with gang activity”.

     Here’s just a snapshot of some of the results:

     ……  320 guns seized, including a machine gun and 3 sawed- off shotguns

    ……  2956 Oxycodone pills seized
 
    ……  1616 Percocet

    ……   7762 Ectasy pills

    ……   stolen personal I.D.’s of 300 theft victims

    ……   1.5 kilos of crack cocaine

    ……    100 violent gang criminals arrested

     Adderley celebrated the good news tonight by going out on Patrol. Adderley is known to patrol the city after dark, (usually on Fridays) after a full week of Police administration and mind-numbing city politics.
 
     He says he has fond memories of his work “on the streets as a Patrolman and Raider ” ( the Police street crimes unit), and enjoys these night patrols.

     Tonight, I rode with Adderley and clicked a few pictures of him checking out the streets.

                                                 
                                                      Adderley checking on his house off Sistrunk Boulevard

                                                  
                                                               Chief checking in on a recent crime victim


                                              
                                                   Adderley yucking it up at the local Haitian barbershop

                                                                          
                                                                          the future of Fort Lauderdale

     The City Fathers (and Mothers) hope you can see it. As a matter of fact, there are counting on YOU to tell them what the future of Fort Lauderdale should look like, act like, be like!

                                                  
                                                           key city fathers and mother!             

   The Fort Lauderdale City Commission has appointed a group of citizens to ……………………………….

          ” develop and recommend to the City Commission an initial model plan that outlines a process to seek the perspectives of under-represented individuals so that a citywide vision will reflect the hopes and viewpoints of all residents in the City of Fort Lauderdale; and to organize a broad-based, community focused process and produce a vision plan for the next century that will guide the City Commission in their policy and decision making.” 

     That’s government speak for …… figure out how to get input from all the Citizens, to produce a Vision for the Future, so the Commission can have an idea of what the peeps really think! ( and then make it happen!) 
     
     The Visioning Committee, ( which some are now calling VisCom!) is clearly a capable group. It is made up of well known local figures, leaders in their fields. Included in the group are some notables, a pillar, a business baron, a couple of big shots, a bigwig, and a nabob.

     Not to mention a charming and capable Chairperson! (see pictured below)

              Chairperson Smith
   ( Jeez, I wish I still looked like that!)

     The panel has held their first meeting and planned their second.

     The second meeting will feature experts in the field of Visioning, and then the Committee will hear from local experts that will give them the current conditions in the City on major topics  like Public Safety, Economic Development, Waterways and Beaches, Neighborhoods, Green Initiatives, and the like.

     You should attend. The public is welcome, meeting to be held on the 8th floor of City Hall on Tuesday March 9th at 4 p.m. You can always call me if you have questions at 954-822-4727

                                 See you there  ……   Tim 
    

     Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler has had about enough of some of Fort Lauderdale’s zaniest citizens.

                                                                 
                                                                                       Mayor Seiler

    Local politics can be difficult, and stepping in as Mayor of Fort Lauderdale after 25 years of Jim Naugle must make it that much harder.

     Naugle did little, but he did suffer his citizenry, regardless of their insane rantings. Naugle would smile,  thank them for their input, and shake their hand (unless they were gay, then he’d do the above, but wash well afterwards!)

     Seiler just can’t do it. 

     The Sun-Sentinel reported today about a terse back and forth with beach Hi-Rise resident and anti-Hi-Rise activist Mel Rubenstein. To see that, read Brittany Wallman’s blog at http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2010/02/mayor_seiler_to_beach_resident.html .

     Now, Seiler has had about enough of Earl Rynerson, who unsuccessfully ran for Mayor against Seiler, and has made it his business to jab at Seiler at every turn. Here’s what Jack wrote back to Rynerson supporter Ray Dettman this week.
                                                      ………………………………
     “Earl’s political website is always spreading false information about our City and our Commission, and you (along with 3 or 4 others) always forward his fiction to me.  Quite simply, your friend is a frustrated former candidate for public office (losing and receiving 15% of the vote after spending a hundred thousand dollars of your own money will cause that frustration) and he has a bad habit of publishing incorrect, inaccurate, and misleading stories about our City.  Most people know Earl’s history and thus ignore his emails and website, but it seems there are still 4 or 5 of you who continue to follow him despite the facts.   

Best wishes, and have a Super Sunday!”

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

     By my count, Fort Lauderdale has at least 100 or so more wingnuts – could be a long three – term run for Seiler!

    

     Fort Lauderdale’s Office of Professional Standards has cleared Fort Lauderdale’s Police Chief Frank Adderley of wrong doing, in relation to the accident involving Scott Rothstein friend Moe Sohail.

                                                            
                                                              Chief Adderley

     An investigation was started after a picture emerged showing Adderley standing with convicted swindler Rothstein on the sidelines of the violent August crash.  


                                                                   
                                                Adderley in background with Rothstein 

     
     The investigation concluded that there was ” no evidence of misconduct on the part of Chief Adderley” in relation to the accident scene.

     Adderley admits he got a call from Rothstein informing him that their mutual friend, cigar shop         owner Moe Sohail had been involved in a crash on NE 3rd Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. Adderley testified that he had been just blocks away and arrived at the scene quickly, concerned about his friend.

     Thirty three witnesses were questioned including 15 Public Safety personnel and other bystanders and none testified that Adderley “interfered or directed” the accident investigation.

      One unsolved question is the report from Fire Lt. Connor that testified seeing “upwards of a half dozen stacks of cash“  on the passenger floor of the crashed Bentley. Conner reported seeing Sohail pick up the cash and put it in a white bag. No other witness reported seeing the cash, though reports verified that the Bentley had left a bank prior to the crash.

     Adderley says he was “confident” that he would be cleared in the crash investigation, as he had “done nothing wrong“.

     

    

   I’ve been gone.

     You see, I’m allergic to bad weather, (whether too hot or too cold!)

                                                         
                                                      no tan beach!   

     So when balmy Fort Lauderdale headed to record freezing temperatures last week, I headed

                                                
                                                     South of the border ….  Cancun, Mexico – 

     I had talked the wife (Cindy) into a four day educational / research trip.

     The trip had only two simple objectives –

                          *  Find the lost Mayan tribe of Tullum

                    *  Define current Mexican culture

     Objective #1 – The ancient Mayan villagers of Tullum mysteriously disappeared somewhere around 1500 AD. The people just disappeared into thin air. No explanation for it has ever been found. I figured I’d go find them!

                                                
                                                        the Ruins of Ancient Tullum  

     I’d like to report that I hiked through the jungle for days, beating back malaria filled mosquitoes and bands of indigenous Indians, but that’d be a stretch.

     Actually, with a fairly good tour map and a two hour bus ride – there it was! 

     Now, if I could just find those darn Tallumians!

     I looked everywhere, under every rock (and there’s a lot of rocks there!) But they were nowhere to be found!

     I decided to hike down the cliffs to the Caribbean Sea to see if they were hiding there.

     Nope, no Mayans there!  I interviewed some locals on the beach to see if they had any info.


                                                 
                                                               local interviewee!   

     So, then Cindy suggested ( rather strongly!) that I move quickly over to  –

          Objective #2 – Mexican culture. Quite interesting. I decided to get up close and personal with it.
   
                                                        
                                             Mexican sensation – three guys and a gringo!

     Now, all that research work can really work up and appetite, and, after all, food and beverages are culture!



                                           
                                            education and research purposes only  

     So I’m back home and declare my trip a 50% success. I didn’t find the Ancient tribe, but I found plenty of Mexican culture.

     Maybe I’ll return someday if it gets really cold here again – if I can only remember how to find that sensational Cantina!  

    

     This week, it’s the Downtown Development Authority complaining about the chronically homeless. 

     Last week, the downtown residents and the downtown merchants were crying foul about the homeless feeding camps taking place in downtown parks. They say the feedings are creating all sorts of problems, and they petitioned the Fort Lauderdale City Commission to move the chronic homeless out of the downtown, by designating feeding camps somewhere on the outskirts.

                                                     
                                                            The City Commission

    At this week’s meeting of the DDA, they talked about the heavy – handed panhandling that has been unnerving customers throughout the downtown streets.( To hear Brittany Wallmans’ report of the discussions, go here http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/ .)

     So everyone’s looking for solutions to this age old problem –  how about this for a start ? 

     1.) First, we need to stop the cash flow!  Develop a City Wide Program that attempts to stop folks from giving to the panhandlers. Other cities do that by locating donation meters on city streets. This way, folks can give, but the money goes towards helping the homeless, not fueling their substance problems.
 
              These converted “parking meters” dot many city’s downtown sidewalks with explanations that they are for homeless programs. Other signs ask pedestrians  “please don’t give to panhandlers”, but to feed the homeless meters instead.

     2.) Get more Homeless Social Service professionals on the streets. A portion of the homeless, even the chronically homeless, can be helped and persuaded back into society. The Fort Lauderdale Police Department  has been recognized nationally for their programs that deal with the homeless, but their resources are very limited – beef them up!

                                                                      
                                                               Cops and the Homeless

      3.) Get creative ! Start a new program that hires and trains Downtown Authority Ambassadors that can cover the streets of downtown, dressed in an official looking capacity, equipped with cell phones that merchants can call to report aggressive panhandlers. The Ambassadors can be trained to find beds for the homeless, gently encourage them to move along, or get Police to the scene quickly – if necessary.

     4.) Think comprehensively. Just pushing them off here or there will not solve the problem. Let’s become the model that other cities follow!

     5.) Remember that soon it will be warm again up north, and the problem will slow to a trickle, until next winter!

      

    

     Fort Lauderdale’s very own infamous ponzi-schemer Scott Rothstein’s expensive stuff will soon be available, to you!

                                        
                           how about a poster with Rothstein’s slogan of Passion, Integrity, Commitment! 

     Rothstein is in jail for a long time, most suspect. His investors are decimated, his partners in flux, and his stuff in storage – at AMC Liquidators, a furniture liquidator owned by  Fort Lauderdale citizen Mike Grimme. 

     Grimme, a mover-shaker who once owned hotels on the Fort Lauderdale beach, started his furniture liquidation business a few years back. He has already liquidated another famous ponzi schemer’s goods, Alan Stanford of Standford Financial. 

     So when Rothstein fell, Grimme says he already “knew the drill”, and swooped in and proposed the deal to auction off Rothstein’s holdings.

      Grimme says Rothstein’s 35,000 square foot offices were “pretty elaborate”, with classy office furniture, fancy accessories, and loads of technology ( Grimme says the computers have “swapped out hard drives “, so don’t expect any juicy leftovers!)

     The Auction, run by Fisher Auction will take place on Saturday, January 23rd, at 10:00 am at AMC Liquidators. You can preview the bounty on Thursday the 21st and Friday the 22nd, but here’s an early preview !

                                      
                                                                       fancy leather

                                       
                                                                       stocked bar

                                        
                                                                even the fish tank!


     Grimme says the best stuff, Rothstein’s personal office and the memorabilia ( pictures of Rothstein and Charlie Crist, Rothstein and Governor Bush, Rothstein and Sarah Palin etc. ), will be on display for all to see at his store next week. 

     You can call Mike for more details at 954-735-5777.

     

     It was a very well attended anti-crime march in the Fort Lauderdale neighborhood of Progresso Village Friday night.

                                           
                                                  Neighborhood President Doug Sterner


        The neighborhood, on the edge of the Northwest part of Fort Lauderdale, butting up against Sunrise Boulevard, looked like it was going to be redeveloped during the last land boom, but only a few blocks of pretty townhouses got built before the boom went bust.

     Today, crime is the issue. Police Department statistics show the relatively small neighborhood bursting with crime in 2009. It ended the year with a 6% uptick over 2008 and logged 211 major crimes  (29 robberies, 34 burglaries, 93 car break-ins, 16 cars stolen, and 39 business burglaries).

     Compare those stats to similarly sized safe neighborhoods like Riviera Isles with 2 total crimes (both car break-ins) and the beaches’ Dolphin Isles with 5 total crimes (all burglaries).
[ Ironically, Progresso Village is on a list of possible locations to move the Downtown Vagrant Feeding Camps to.]

     Impressively, four of the five City Commissioners attended, only missing a full quorum with the absence of Commissioner Romney Rogers.

                   Here’s some of last night’s action! 

                                               
                                         Commissioner Rodstrom and Chief Adderley – still friends


                                               
                                Commissioner Bobby Dubose and Housing Authority Scott Strawbridge


                                               
                      Townhouse builder Rene Lepine with Mayor Seiler and Commissioner Roberts    


                                                     

     The local residents sent out an e-mail last week saying they were “mad as hell, and not going to take it anymore. Looks like the powers -that- be might have heard them.                                     

                                                                      Stay Tuned!

     Just a few weeks before Christmas, in the Smith House, not a creature was stirring, especially the dog that tried to bite his lips off!

     In a horrific case of pound dog-gone crazy, former Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Tim Smith,  (that’s me), rushed himself to the Broward General Medical Center holding most of his upper lip in his left hand and driving with his right.

     Smith had been trying to help leash a bull terrier/german shepard mixed mutt that his son Tim ( not junior) had rescued from the Humane Society. The dog had apparently been beaten by a former owner and was very neurotic, bordering on psychotic. When Smith tried to leash the mutt, he leapt toward Smith’s lips and carnage ensued.



                                        
                                                Smith’s lips hours after leaving Broward General’s specialist surgeons

     
     Only minutes after arriving in the Emergency Room, I was taken to an observation room. The attending physician took one look at my kisser and exclaimed “Yikes, let’s get the specialists  (Maxillofacial) called in on this one”. 

     After a rather lengthy wait in the observation room, a most dedicated and efficient surgeon got to the scene. He took a look at my chewed up lips and called the nurses for supplies – “lets see if we can make these look like lips again” he chirped. “Give it your best shot”, I mumbled incoherently.

     I’ve been pretty miserable the last few weeks, but amazingly, the stitches (tons of them) are out and I’m looking almost handsome again ( maybe I should have asked for a full face lift while lying there!)  

     With my catastrophic, worthless Blue Cross/Blue Shield medical insurance, we expect an astronomic bill will arrive in the mail any day now, but my lips are worth it!

     I know you’re asking, so I’ll tell you, the dog no longer resides at the Smith house.