Around South Florida with Elgin Jones 08-29-13

The Florida Lottery is giving gambling a bad name. Secretary Cynthia Connors announced someone in Orlando finally hit the Florida Lottery’s Lotto jackpot, the first time since April 20 that a player won. The $59 million win ended the longest period of rollovers in Florida Lottery history.

The drought was not due to a lack of people playing the game, however. The Florida Lottery’s rip-off odds are what led to months of no winners and it was by design. If a private company ran such an operation, it would be facing possible jail time. It came as state Sen. Gwen Margolis, D-Miami, introduced a measure that would allow Lottery tickets to be sold over the Internet. There is opposition to this but it’s time Florida transitions into the digital age as well.

Palm Beach County

FACEBOOK SOLICITATION
High school teacher Stevie Glasspool, 31, has been arrested at her Boca Raton home on charges she used the Internet to solicit sex from at least four of her students. She is now suspended from her job as an English teacher at Mavericks Charter High School in Pompano Beach. Her alleged victims were between the ages of 15 and 17 when, according to police, she invited them to spend the night with her and even promised one of them marijuana to smoke. To make matters worse, she did some postings on Facebook, where anyone could view them, police said. Glasspool was transported to Broward County to face the charges. The investigation is ongoing and police are asking anyone with information to contact the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

BLOOD BAN
Congressman Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, is pushing for an end to the lifetime ban on gay men donating blood. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1983 banned “men who have sex with other men” from donating blood because of the high incidence of gay men testing positive for the HIV virus. Deutch says the policy is outdated and unwarranted.

Broward County

HIV WELLNESS CENTER
Congressman Alcee L. Hastings, D-Miramar, attended the grand opening of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s Broward Wellness Center. The clinic is located at 700 S.E. Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale. The facility is under contract with the Florida Department of Health to provide treatment for sexually transmitted diseases. AHF is the largest provider of HIV/AIDS medical care in the United States. The company has more than 200,000 patients in 28 countries.

Miami-Dade County

O.J. FORECLOSURE
O.J. Simpson, who is serving time in a Nevada prison over his 2008 robbery conviction, is now being evicted from the million-dollar home he owns in Kendall. Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Gisela Cardonne Ely ruled in a foreclosure lawsuit brought by JPMorgan Chase Bank for more than $660,982 in delinquent mortgages payments that the four-bedroom, four-bathroom, 4233-square-foot house should be put up for  auction. The lawsuit also involves years of unpaid property taxes.

CANDIDATE RECRUITMENT
Annette Taddeo-Goldstein, chairwoman of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party and vice-chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party, recently held a candidates recruiting event at Miami’s Los Arrieros. The plan is to recruit candidates to contend for every office held by Republicans, even in non-partisan races. She is also pledging the support and resources of the state party. Miami-Dade County has a majority of Democratic registered voters but Republicans hold a number of key offices, particularly in the Legislature and Congress.

AGENT SUED
Former NFL player Terrell Owens has filed a $6.5 million lawsuit against his former sports agents Drew Rosenhaus and Jason Rosenhaus, owners of Rosenhaus Sports Representation (RSR). Owens is accusing RSR of fraud, misrepresentation and negligence, among other things. The lawsuit accuses them of steering Owens to financial advisor Jeffrey Brett Rubin of Lighthouse Point, who is now banned by the securities industry for alleged misconduct. Owens says he lost $5 million due to investments made through Rubin. Rubin invests money for more than 30 other NFL players, who lost a combined $40 million. The lawsuit also accuses Rubin of receiving oversized commissions, forging Owens’ signature on documents, and stealing money from his account and placing it in the account of NFL players Jevon Kearse and Frank Gore.

Monroe County

NELSON SPEAKS
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson toured the Florida Keys to assess the Joint Interagency Task Force South’s 3-D training simulator. It is used to replicate military battles. Nelson also met with officials of the Keys-based anti-drug task force and local politicians for an update on their fight against drugs. Nelson spoke of his commitment to the anti-drug effort. I wonder if that means more resources or funds.

STABBING DEATH
Timothy Howard, 59, and Richard Maslar, 53, both lived in a makeshift homeless camp located in a mangrove swamp in Marathon. Both had extensive arrest records, some of which involved violence. The two got into a fight and Howard ended up stabbing Maslar multiple times with a knife, police reported. Maslar, who fled, was found dead a short distance away at the edge of a wooded area. Howard has been charged with murder.