ON THE RADIO
If you missed last week’s Steve Kane Show, a radio program where I am a co-host on Fridays, you didn’t hear what Kane, and his sidekick, Brian Craig, said about blacks and slavery. The Florida Legislature last week passed a resolution apologizing for the state’s brutal role in the slave trade. In response, Craig said, “Blacks should just get over slavery and move on.” Hmm, does he also want American Indians to forget about their history and the Trail of Tears? Do they also advocate removing from the history books all accounts of the Holocaust? Moreover, what about 9/11, or other events like the crucifixion of Jesus? While different segments of the population may not feel comfortable with certain aspects of history, none of it should be forgotten or downplayed, including the American slave trade. Craig is simply wrong. Join us with your thoughts this and every Friday morning from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. on the Steve Kane Show. Listen live on the radio at 1470 AM, or over the Internet at SteveKaneShow.com. The toll-free, call-in number is 1-877-275-2326.
FORECLOSURES
West Palm Beach city officials recently announced a plan to help families facing foreclosure on their homes, and put $1 million into the program to boot. The Foreclosure Assistance Center, located at 464 Fern St., will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays to offer the help. The move came as a result of thousands of homes already being in foreclosure, and nearly 2,000 already in the pre-foreclosure phase in the city. The program will work with lenders to re-negotiate mortgages, and provide loans from the city of up to $10,000 each to help pay past-due mortgage bills. The phone number to schedule an appointment is 561-822-1575. This is a great idea, and is an example that other agencies should follow.
VICIOUS DOGS
Two Rottweilers mauled Christian Franco, a 10-year-old Davie boy, after he entered the fenced-in yard of a home to retrieve a ball. He is recovering in intensive care after undergoing seven hours of lifesaving and cosmetic surgery. The dogs were not registered or licensed, and were taken into custody, but will be released after a 10-day quarantine. Broward County Animal Care and Regulation division officials cited owner Victor Cantelmo, but determined that the animals reacted naturally, and were provoked by the child’s entering their confined yard.
DEMOCRATS
A newcomer, Brett Berlin, is the new chairman of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party after defeating several more-experienced candidates, including Daisy Black, the only African-American in the race. In Broward, Mitch Caesar and his family continue to run the Broward Democratic Party after more than a decade, with blacks holding no meaningful positions and playing only superficial, minstrel show-like roles. Now we see how Sen. Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, are making sure that America knows Sen. Barack Obama is a black man. In realistic terms, the race is over, and, barring some unforeseen slime the Clintons may scrape from the bottom of a barrel, he is the party’s presumptive presidential nominee. Clinton should get out, or be forced out of the race, but the crookedness continues. Here in Florida, Clinton supporter Sen. Bill Nelson sounds like a circus clown on the issue, so I won’t waste much ink on him. However, other Clinton supporters, like the state’s only black Congress members, Alcee Hastings, Corrine Brown and Kendrick Meek, should step in and end the Clinton charade.
COP CREDIBILITY
Almost daily, more citizens are complaining about heavy-handed tactics in attempts to force confessions from them by Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives who are investigating the murder of BSO Sgt. Chris Reyka. Normally, such claims would not get much attention, but BSO has a “record” of its own. It includes pinning crimes on innocent people, deputies being convicted of falsifying crime stats, and a corrupt former sheriff who is serving time right now in the federal pen. In Deerfield Beach, BSO detectives obtained the cell phone and Internet records of city employee Wayne Adams by falsely claiming in formal subpoenas that he was distributing child pornography over the Internet. The emotions involved when a colleague is killed are understandable. Nevertheless, it might be time for BSO to take a back seat in the Reyka investigation, and turn it over to state and federal agents.
MARKETING GURU
Meet the bubbly Suzan McDowell, founder and CEO of Circle of One Marketing, a public relations firm based in Miami-Dade County. Her firm has provided promotional services to some of South Florida’s highest profile events, including the remarkable Jazz in the Gardens event held at Dolphin Stadium recently. I won’t reveal all of the details just yet, but get used to seeing Suzan in my column from time to time.
NEGRO GENTRIFICATION
Fort Lauderdale city officials have approved a $161,500 forgivable loan (corporate welfare) for Specialty Automotive Treatments Inc. The money is slated to help the firm build a $4.2 million headquarters. When complete, it will be a nice facility located in an area that is rapidly losing black property owners. At the same time, black businesses along Sistrunk Boulevard, in what has been historically referred to as the “Negro District,” are just giddy over the table scraps they have gotten in the name of redevelopment. This time, the crumbs come in the form of weird plastering, painted in ridiculously bright colors, from a city “façade” improvement program. This is no April fool’s joke, so go and see it for yourselves, but take your sunglasses.
POLITICAL SOUP
Two people who were unlikely to even be in politics a year ago are emerging as the frontrunners to become their respective party’s nominees in the race for Broward sheriff. Incumbent Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti will likely get the nod for the Republican nomination, while law enforcement veteran Wiley Thompson is emerging as the leader among Democrats. Both are law-enforcement professionals who worked for BSO. Lamberti is highly respected, and Thompson has a platinum resume with experience that dwarfs others in the field. This is another race that will heat up, and it’s up for grabs.
SCHOOL SCANDAL
The ongoing probe into allegations of unspecified improprieties at Sunrise Middle School has taken a new turn. The Broward School District’s Special Investigations Unit is not confirming or denying it, but my sources say it surrounds operations of programs during principal Rebecca Dahl’s tenure. When I spoke with Dahl last week, she said she had no knowledge of the investigation prior to being contacted by us. Records show she joined the district as a teacher at Deerfield Beach Elementary in 1973, and has been promoted several times. She has a stellar reputation and an impeccable history.
FALSE TEETH
Roger King, one of the founding brothers of the King World television production firm that produced such shows as Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, died of a stroke last December at age 63. His widow, Raemali King, has filed a lawsuit against Dr. Deborah Davis, a Boca Raton dentist, alleging that work on his dentures was not completed prior to his death. Raemali King says it resulted in a loss of “support” and “service,” and she is seeking unspecified damages. You have an empire worth billions, yet you sue over false teeth for a dead person?
ELGIN JONES. EJones@SFLTimes.com
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