Palm Beach County
JUST THE FAX
Stephen Polk, CEO of R.L. Polk & Company, is not denying reports that the firm is looking to sell Carfax.com or take it public. Carfax is a vehicle data-mining company that tracks sales, accidents, repairs and other information such as title transfers. The information is compiled from more than 34,000 sources in the U.S. and Canada. Carfax information has become important to consumers seeking to purchase vehicles.
PORN CHARGES
Wilbert Perez, 26, of West Boca Raton is charged with 15 counts of child pornography possession. Details of the charges are unknown. Perez remains in the Palm Beach County Jail in lieu of $300,000 bond.
NOT SMART
Two men were robbed at a shopping plaza in Boca Raton and among the items the suspect took was an iPhone. The phone was never turned off or deactivated and detectives tracked its signal to a home in West Palm Beach. The man at the home told detectives he purchased the phone from Keyshawn Winn the day before. Winn was located and arrested. One of the robbery victims identified him as the person who allegedly robbed them.
Broward County
PIONEER HONORED
Pompano Beach’s own Dorothy Jones has been honored with the prestigious “Living Legacy Award” from the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History (ASALH). Jones was one of just 20 recipients from around the U.S. to receive the honor during a recent ceremony held in Washington, D.C. ASALH was established in 1915 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the father of black history. Award recipients were selected for their leadership and accomplishment. Along with her late husband Sid, Jones founded the Collier City Redevelopment Corporation, a community organization that provides educational, job training and social services and other types of assistance to residents in the Pompano Beach neighborhood. Jones has been a community leader in Collier City for more than 40 years. She opened the first daycare in the area, began a cable TV franchise to serve area residents and successfully pushed to transform Collier City from a migrant farm camp with dirt roads and no sidewalks, sewers or running water into to the shining community it is today. Through her efforts, the area is thriving with affordable housing, a fire station, a public library, a park and new development. It’s a well-deserved and long overdue recognition. Congratulation, Mrs. Jones!
LESS GOVERNMENT
Lauderdale Lakes Mayor Barrington Russell broke a tie vote on a proposal to reduce the city commission from seven to five members. Russell voted in favor of a ballot measure in which voters will decide the issue. A date for the referendum has yet to be set.
GOOGLE LAYOFFS
Google’s Motorola Mobility will lay off 1,200 workers. The company has not said which of its locations will be affected, only that the “majority” of the cuts will be made outside the U.S. Motorola Mobility has a research and development center in Plantation where 160 workers were laid off last August.
Miami-Dade County
STORY-TELLING
The Miami-Dade Public Library System will host its 13th annual International Art of Storytelling Family Festival. This year’s edition will take place at the Homestead public library and as usual it is free and open to the public. Besides reading and storytelling, there will also be face painting, arts and craft activities and multicultural events. The festival will run from 10:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday, March 30. The library is located at 700 N. Homestead Blvd. For more information, call 305-246-0168.
NERO RESIGNS
Frank Nero is out as president/CEO of the Beacon Council, Miami-Dade County’s nonprofit agency that works to lure business and economic development to the county. Nero accepted a severance agreement reportedly out of concern the board was preparing to fire him. Nero’s relationship with board members is said to have been chilly in recent months. There was surprise when Nero expressed his opposition to a gaming resort coming to Miami-Dade County and some seem to think that may have been his downfall. Robin Reiter-Faragalli is the interim president of the Beacon Council.
AT IT AGAIN
On April 4, 2007, Don Imus kicked off a storm of controversy when he made insulting remarks about the Rutgers University women’s basketball team which lost the NCCA championship to Tennessee the night before. Imus called the Rutgers players, most of whom were black, “some rough girls.” His producer, Bernard McGuirk, called them “hardcore hoes.” Imus then called them “nappy-headed hoes” and McGuirk followed up by remarking that the two teams looked like the “jigaboos versus the wannabes.” Imus initially defended the remarks but as advertisers dropped his show he apologized. MSNBC stopped simulcasting his radio program which is still on the air and is simulcast on the Fox Business Network. Well, Imus has outdone himself with his insults about Miami Heat star player Chris Bosh’s wife. Stay tuned.
Monroe County
CHARLES BROOKS, 82
Charles Brooks, who served on the Key Largo Wastewater Treatment District board on and off for years, has died. Mr. Brooks was known for his meticulous consideration of issues. Born in Washington, D.C., he relocated to South Florida and went on to serve in the Korean War. He worked in numerous jobs, including in carpentry and the computer industry and as a manager at The Miami Herald. He was 82.
AUDIT ISSUES
David W. Martin, Florida’s Auditor General, has released the results of an audit of the Monroe County School District’s finances and it’s not pretty. The 102-page report sets out numerous areas for which recommendations have been made for improvements and to bring the district into compliance with Florida statutes.
NEW DEVELOPMENTS
Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet have voted to allow 3,550 new residential units to be built in Monroe over the next 10 years. The new developments will be in unincorporated areas of the Florida Keys, Islamorada and Marathon. The building-permit allocations are based in part on improved utilities infrastructure and hurricane evacuation plans. Environmentalist oppose the new development, citing the garbage abd sewage disposal concerns.
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