How do you say “Sue!” in Spanish? October 1, 2009

The day of the funeral, we just watched Anais Cruz from a distance, cried for her, hurt for her, as she walked into the service.  I wanted to take the cameras away, to allow her the privacy she deserves as she deals with the profound and bottomless grief of losing a child.  But the school [...]

Candid Camera September 23, 2009

Memo
To: Beverly Gallagher, Suspended Broward School Board Member/Accused Criminal
Cc: Other Arrested Public Officials
South Florida watched you run from news reporters today after your arrest for extortion, wire fraud and bribery.  You covered your well-known face while someone held up papers in front of the camera lenses.  That was a slap in the face to your [...]

Sauced September 23, 2009

I tried it.  I had to.
We are covering the case of a (now-former) Miami-Dade teacher charged with child abuse, accused of giving two of her autistic students hot sauce-spiked soda.  She took the stand in her own defense today and said that the spiked soda was her soda, she loves to drink her soda with [...]

Metal or Mental Detectors? September 15, 2009

If you haven’t seen Coral Gables Senior High School, let me describe it to you. 
It’s the kind of architecture I’d describe as Tropical Mediterranean.  Aside from obvious Spanish influences, the school that first opened for the class of 1954 has lots of windows, breezy walkways and sunny courtyards, nothing like the prison-chic architecture of later [...]

Fuzzy Math September 7, 2009

Those who know me well will tell you: I am not a numbers girl.
Sure, I can add, subtract, multiply and divide. I can figure the cost of a dress on the 25% off rack.  But Budgets?  Taxes?  Amortization?  Debt Service?  Even those words make my eyes glaze over.  I’m one of those people who have [...]

Who’s Your Daddy August 26, 2009

Two Miami courtrooms, two cases, one very interesting juxtaposition of Florida law:
In criminal court, prosecutors dropped a child abuse case against a man named Loscar Rodriguez, a father, who decided that a good belt lashing would teach his 8 year old son to get better grades.  Did the boy get better grades?  Not sure, but [...]

When Here is not Really Here August 17, 2009

There is so much to ask Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart.
South Florida’s tenured Cuban-American Congressman became Governor Charlie Crist’s surprise list-topper to fill the temporary caretaking post of retiring Mel Martinez’s U.S. Senate seat.  A chess move in Republican Party strategy?  Conservative credential-building for the Governor?  What’s in it for the Congressman to be a temporary placeholder? 
The [...]

Some Justice is More Equal Than Others August 13, 2009

In the courtroom where a judge was considering changes to Donte Stallworth’s house arrest, you’d have thought The Media was the defendant.
The judge derided the press for the way some reported Stallworth’s request to leave house arrest for daily workouts with his trainer.  The judge poked fun at the media scrutiny (ie: public scrutiny) of [...]

Code Blue July 30, 2009

Somebody call President Obama.  We have a case of a police officer acting “stupidly”. 
 Hollywood Police Sergeant Dewey Pressley apparently orchestrated a cover up, reconfiguring the facts of a car wreck caused by his fellow officer to instead blame it on the young woman whose car he rear-ended.  After all, who (and what court) would ever [...]

And That’s The Way It Is… July 19, 2009

Chances are you learned a lot about Walter Cronkite this weekend, if you watched or read any of the many tributes.  The pedestal is high, and he is firmly planted on it into perpetuity as the gold standard of journalists and a sterling human being.  
Chances are, through those tributes you relived, or even witnessed for [...]