Miami police union challenges officer’s firing for fatal shooting




















The Fraternal Order of Police filed a lawsuit against the city of Miami on Friday, asserting that an officer who fatally shot an unarmed motorist in 2011 was improperly fired from the police department.

Officer Reynaldo Goyos shot and killed Travis McNeil as he sat in a car at a Little Haiti intersection. It was one of a string of seven deadly shootings of black men in the inner city by Miami police officers in 2010 and 2011.

Goyos was cleared of criminal wrongdoing by prosecutors in 2012. But he was terminated last month after the department’s Firearms Review Board concluded that the shooting was unjustified.





The police union lawsuit claims that the board violated state open-government laws by failing to open its meetings to the public.

Goyos “was improperly terminated by the city of Miami Police Department by a review board that violates the law,” union President Javier Ortiz wrote in a statement.

The lawsuit contends that Goyos should be reinstated.

City Attorney Julie O. Bru declined to discuss the specifics of the case. “We reviewed the allegations, and the city maintains that the board has operated consistent with the requirements of law,” she said.





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North Korea warns US commander in South Korea of 'miserable destruction' if US goes ahead with drills








PYONGYANG, North Korea — North Korea warned the top American commander in South Korea on Saturday of "miserable destruction" if the U.S. military presses ahead with routine joint drills with South Korea set to begin next month.

Pak Rim Su, chief of North Korea's military delegation to the truce village of Panmunjom inside the Demilitarized Zone, sent the warning Saturday morning to Gen. James Thurman, Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency said, in a rare direct message to the US commander.

The threat comes as the US and other nations discuss how to punish North Korea for conducting an underground nuclear test on Feb. 12 in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions banning Pyongyang from nuclear and missile activity.




North Korea has characterized the nuclear test, its third since 2006, as a defensive act against US aggression. Pyongyang accuses Washington of "hostility" for leading the charge to punish North Korea for a December rocket launch that the US considers a covert missile test.

The US and North Korea fought on opposite sides of the three-year Korean War, which ended in a truce in 1953, not a peace treaty, and left the Korean Peninsula divided by a heavily fortified border monitored by the US-led UN Command.

Washington also stations 28,500 American troops in South Korea to protect its ally against North Korean aggression.

South Korea and the US regularly conduct joint drills such as the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises slated to take place next month. North Korea calls the drills proof of US hostility, and accuses Washington of practicing for an invasion.

"You had better bear in mind that those igniting a war are destined to meet a miserable destruction," KCNA quoted Pak as saying in his message to Thurman. He called the drills "reckless."

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, meanwhile, has been making a round of visits to military units guiding troops in drills and exercises since the nuclear test, KCNA said.










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South Florida hospitals could lose $368 million from sequestration




















A detailed survey shows that South Florida hospitals could lose $368 million over 10 years in federal budget cuts starting next Friday, if the sequestration program kicks in as scheduled.

The Florida Hospital Association, using data from the American Hospital Association, estimates that over the next decade, sequestration would cause Miami-Dade hospitals to lose $223.9 million and Broward facilities $144.4 million under the Congress-mandated budget cuts that hit virtually all federal programs unless Republicans and Democrats can work out a compromise.

The New York Times and other national news organizations are reporting that sequestration, unlike the New Year’s fiscal cliff, seems virtually certain to take place.





The law requires across-the-board spending cuts in domestic and defense programs, with certain exceptions. Because healthcare represents more than one in five dollars of the federal budget, it will be a huge target for cuts.

For hospitals and doctors, the major impact will be felt in Medicare cuts, which according to the budget law are limited to 2 percent of Medicare payments. Medicaid, food stamps and Social Security are exempted from cuts, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.

The FHA study calculates that over 10 years, Jackson Memorial Hospital stands to lose $30.6 million, Mount Sinai Medical Center on Miami Beach $27.3 million, Holy Cross in Fort Lauderdale $23.8 million and Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood $21.4 million.

“The problem with sequestration is that it just makes broad cuts across the board,” said Linda Quick, president of the South Florida Hospital and Healthcare Association. “The Affordable Care Act is looking at all sorts of intelligent ways to reduce costs,” including coordinated care that will stop duplicated tests and reduce hospital readmissions. “But sequestration takes an ax, and that doesn’t make any sense.”

FierceHealthcare, which produces trade publications, says sequestration cuts over the next decade will include $591 million from prescription drug benefits for seniors, $318 million from the Food and Drug Administration, $2.5 billion from the National Institutes of Health, $490 million from the Centers for Disease Control and $365 million from Indian Health Services.

The National Association of Community Health Centers estimates that 900,000 of its patients nationwide could lose care because of the cuts. The group said the cuts were “penny wise and pound foolish” because they would mean less preventive care while more and sicker patients would end up in emergency rooms.

Like the fiscal cliff, Republicans and Democrats agreed on a sequestration strategy, with the idea that the drastic measure would force the two sides to reach agreement on more deliberative budget adjustments. That hasn’t happened.

The White House reports that the law will mean that nondefense programs will be cut by 5 percent, defense programs by 8 percent. But since the first year’s cuts must be done over seven months, that means in 2013, nondefense programs need to be cut by 9 percent, defense programs by 13 percent.





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Marquee Memories




















John Travolta set his boogie shoes strolling in Saturday Night Fever at Miami’s The Omni 6. Angie Dickinson shared her shower with us as she Dressed to Kill at the Concord on Bird Road and 114th Avenue. The revelation, “Luke, I am your father,” had you gripping your plush, gold seat at the Dadeland Twin movie theater as The Empire Strikes Back revealed its shocker.

Plus, who, among people of a certain age, didn’t stand in line to see Jaws at Coral Gables’ Miracle Theatre in the summer of 1975?

“Apparently the whole world saw Jaws there,” recalls Rebecca Smith, head of Special Collections at History Miami. Yes, she saw Jaws at the Miracle, too.





As Hollywood celebrates the best of 2012 with Sunday’s Oscars telecast, movies take center stage once again. In Miami-Dade, the best of Hollywood stood out in grand movie palaces, where red velvet curtains parted across wide screens, where marquees lit the night sky, and where crystal chandeliers hung like constellations above the balconies.

Hollywood premieres? We had them, too.

Press agent Charlie Cinnamon remembers the publicity stunts he’d conjure for the Lincoln Road movie theaters he represented on the mall, like the Lincoln, Carib and the Beach. He orchestrated the opening of Elizabeth Taylor’s epic Cleopatra in 1963 at the Lincoln and the British comedy Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines two years later at the Carib, a theater whose facade above the marquee displayed a full-scale map of the Caribbean.

“I did the opening of Cleopatra and we had a parade down Washington Avenue with the Miami Beach High School. In those days we had big parades and the Lincoln was the theater,” Cinnamon said from his office on Lincoln Road. “For Magnificent Men we had vintage cars and airmen and a parade. Fantastic openings. Hollywood openings right here in Miami. We haven’t had that in years and it’s so sad that we don’t have that kind of premiere anymore where the whole community joined in to have big events and red carpet openings.’’

The theaters got into the spirit during the Golden Age of Cinema. The Byron-Carlyle, on 71st Street in Miami Beach, for instance, had its ushers dress up like Dracula when the 1979 remake starring Frank Langella opened. Cobwebs and black velvet curtains lent an air of Transylvania to the theater, which has since become the home to the Miami Beach Stage Door theater company.

Perhaps the reason The Miracle, now home to the Actors’ Playhouse, stands out for its screening of Jaws is because the theater decorated the lobby in the style of the seafaring movie — netting on the ceiling, nautical props along the walls. The only thing missing was “Bruce” the mechanical shark, but he revealed plenty of himself on the large screen inside.

“That was the whole point, that movie theater was always great to go to because they always fit the theme when you went there,” said Eugene Flinn, the former mayor of Palmetto Bay. “It was a great theater to see things, too. So formal with everything. A throwback theater, even for our age group, and that’s why I’m so thrilled it’s been properly repurposed and it’s a great place to go see plays. What a treasure,” said Flinn, 50.





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New York-Newark is fourth worst area for traffic congestion; DC takes top spot: report








The grass, it seems, is always greener on the other side of the highway median. Ask any US driver about his commute, and you’ll likely get a lengthy tirade about the abysmal traffic conditions on his daily drive.

Whether you live in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Spokane, New York or even Orlando, chances are that you dread the daily commute and believe that traffic is better anywhere else in the United States than in your city.

Thanks to the most recent Annual Urban Mobility Report from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), we now know who’s got bragging rights for the latest year studied, 2011.





Robert Kalfus



Traffic in the George Washington Bridge toll plaza coming into New York





According to the TTI, traffic in Washington D.C. is the worst, with each commuter losing an average of 67 hours per year in traffic. Los Angeles and San Francisco are tied for second place, with each municipality taking 61 hours annually from its commuters.

In fourth place is Newark, New Jersey, lumped into one miserable bundle with New York, New York. Drivers here can expect to waste 59 hours sucking down exhaust fumes each year, which is quite a bit worse than fifth-place Boston (with a mere 53 hours annually).

To read more, go to Fox News










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National Hotel nears end of long renovation




















A panel of frosted glass puts everything in perspective for Delphine Dray as she oversees a years-long, multi-million dollar renovation project at the National Hotel on Miami Beach.

“Chez Claude and Simone,” says the piece of glass stationed between the lobby and restaurant, a reference to Dray’s parents, who bought the hotel in 2007.

“Every time I am exhausted and I pass that glass, I remember why,” said Delphine Dray, who joined her father — a billionaire hotel developer and well-known art collector in France — to restore the hotel after the purchase.





After working with him for years, she is finishing the project alone. Claude Dray, 76, was killed in his Paris home in October of 2011, a shooting that remains under investigation.

In a recent interview and tour of the hotel’s renovations, which are nearly finished, Dray did not discuss her father’s death, which drew extensive media coverage in Europe. But she spoke about the evolution of the father-daughter working relationship, the family’s Art Deco obsession and the inspiration for the hotel’s new old-fashioned touches.

The National is hosting a cocktail party Friday night to give attendees a peek at the progress.

Dray grew up in a home surrounded by Art Deco detail; her parents constantly brought home finds from the flea market. By 2006, they had amassed a fortune in art and furniture, which they sold for $75 million at a Paris auction in 2006.

That sale funded the purchase of the National Hotel at 1677 Collins Ave., which the Drays discovered during a visit to Miami Beach.

After having lunch at the Delano next door, Dray said, “My dad came inside the hotel and fell in love.” The owner was not interested in selling, but Claude Dray persisted, closing the deal in early 2007. Her family also owns the Hôtel de Paris in Saint-Tropez, which reopened Thursday after a complete overhaul overseen by Dray’s mother and older sister.

Delphine Dray said she thought it would be exciting to work on the 1939 hotel with her father, so she moved with her family to South Florida. She quickly discovered challenges, including stringent historic preservation rules and frequent disagreements with her father.

“We did not have at all the same vision,” she said.

For example, she said: “I was preparing mojitos for the Winter Music Conference.” Her father, on the other hand, famously once unplugged a speaker during a party at the hotel because the loud music was disturbing his work.

“We were fighting because that is the way it is supposed to be,” she said. “Now, I understand that he was totally right.”

She described a vision, now her own, of a classic, cozy property that brings guests back to the 1940s.

Joined by her 10-year-old twin girls, Pearl and Swan, and 13-year-old son Chad, Dray pointed out a new telephone meant to look antique mounted on the wall near the elevators on a guest floor. She showed off the entertainment units she designed to resemble furniture that her parents collected. And she highlighted Art Deco flourishes around doorknobs and handles.

“It’s very important for us to have the details,” she said.

With those priorities in mind, she is overseeing the final phase of the renovation, an investment that general manager Jacques Roy said will top $10 million. In addition to the small details, the renovation includes heavier, less obvious work: new drywall in guest rooms, for example, and new windows to replace leaky ones.

Painting of the building’s exterior should be finished in the next two to three weeks, Roy said. Dray compared its earlier unfinished state to resembling “a horror movie — the family Addams.”

And the final couple of guest room floors, as well as the restoration of the original Martini Room, should be done by the end of April.

“At the end, I will be very proud,” Dray said.

The National’s renovation wraps up as nearby properties such as the SLS Hotel South Beach and Gale South Beach & Regent Hotel have been given new life. Jeff Lehman, general manager of The Betsy Hotel and chair of the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority, said the National has always been true to its roots. He managed the hotel for 10 years, including for a few months after Dray bought the property.

“I think historic preservation and the restoration of the hotels as they were built 70, 80 years ago is such a huge piece of our DNA,” he said. “It’s a lot of what sets us apart from any other destination on the planet.”





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Broward doesn’t plan to sit out of Super Bowl




















As the Miami Dolphins push Miami-Dade County to raise hotel taxes in pursuit of Super Bowl 50, Broward County’s tourism industry may be fighting for some home-field advantage.

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is pledging to base future championships in Miami-Dade if his proposed financing plan gets approved, and he has come close to apologizing for the central role Broward played as host of the 2010 Super Bowl.

“We are the Miami Dolphins,” Ross said the day he proposed using $199 million in state and county dollars to fund half of the upgrades for the 25-year-old stadium. “We know the NFL headquarters will be in Miami. The last time it was in Broward, way before I got involved. I can tell you, it will be in Miami. That’s who is going to benefit.”





The pursuit of the 2016 Super Bowl looms large in the Dolphins’ effort to win Miami-Dade taxes for the upgrade, with team executives campaigning for a referendum in time for the May meeting when Ross and his fellow NFL owners award the 50th championship game. The push isn’t sitting well in Broward, which paid $2 million toward Super Bowl expenses in 2010 but now warns that local organizers can’t count on the money this time around.

“The news out of Miami-Dade County about what goes where and what may happen with the Super Bowl certainly doesn’t lend itself to Broward saying: ‘How can we participate?’ ” said Nicki Grossman, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau, a county agency. “Why would we make a significant contribution to the host committee if we’re getting no Super Bowl events?”

Private sponsors fund the bulk of local Super Bowl budgets, which typically land somewhere between $12 million and $15 million, said Rodney Barreto, the longtime chairman of the region’s host committee for the games. In 2010, Miami-Dade paid $1.5 million to the committee, and its tax-funded tourism bureau paid about $400,000. Losing Broward’s contribution would mean more of an uphill climb for the committee’s fundraisers, though Broward would likely offer to pay something in order to participate in the bid.

But the issue is a prickly one. In 2007, Miami-Dade lost top billing for local Super Bowls when the NFL changed the official host from “Miami” to “South Florida.” The regional brand continued in 2010, when Broward played host to the Super Bowl’s official media center, headquarters hotel and other official NFL events. An economic study funded by Barreto’s host committee put the 2010 game’s impact at $58 million in Broward compared to $40 million in Miami-Dade.

But when the Dolphins in 2011 proposed changing state law to allow both Broward and Miami-Dade to raise hotel taxes to fund a Sun Life renovation, Broward commissioners berated the plan. Mike Dee, the team’s CEO, later warned the vote against the plan might cost Broward a role in future Super Bowl bids. And the Dolphins have hinted at a bigger shift south for spending tied to the NFL, with Dee’s telling Miami-Dade commissioners the team wouldn’t rule out moving its training facility out of Davie and into Miami-Dade as part of a financing deal.

Dolphins executives declined to be interviewed for this article, issuing a statement that said in part: “Miami-Dade will receive a significant return on any investment it makes.”





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Water in LA hotel tasted funny for weeks, decomposed body found in cistern








LOS ANGELES — British tourist Michael Baugh and his wife said water had only trickled for days as they brushed their teeth, showered and drank from the taps at the Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, but they could not have imagined the disturbing reason.

The body of a Canadian woman was later discovered at the bottom of one of four cisterns on the roof of the historic hotel near Skid Row. The tanks provide water for hotel taps and would have been used by guests for washing and drinking.

"The moment we found out, we felt a bit sick to the stomach, quite literally," Baugh said.





AFP/Getty Images



The Cecil Hotel.




AP



Canadian tourist Elisa Lam.





Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials were expected to release the results of tests on the water on Thursday.

When the body was discovered on Tuesday, they issued a do-not-drink order while a lab analyzes the water, said Terrance Powell, a director coordinating the department's response. The disclosure contradicts a previous police statement that the water had been deemed safe.

Powell said the water was also used for cooking in the hotel; a coffee shop in the hotel would remain closed and has been instructed to sanitize its food equipment before reopening.

"Our biggest concern is going to be fecal contamination because of the body in the water," Powell said. He said the likelihood of contamination is "minimal" given the large amount of water the body was found in, but the department is being extra cautious.

Powell said the hotel hired a water treatment specialist after the department required it to do so to disinfect its plumbing lines.

A call to the hotel was not returned.

The remains of Elisa Lam, 21, were found by a maintenance worker at the 600-room hotel that charges $65 a night after guests complained about the low water pressure.

Police detectives were working to determine if her death was the result of foul play or an accident.

LAPD Sgt. Rudy Lopez called it suspicious and said a coroner's investigation will determine Lam's cause of death.

Before she died, hotel surveillance footage showed Lam inside an elevator pushing buttons and sticking her head out the doors, looking in both directions. She was later found in the water tank.

Lam, of Vancouver, British Columbia, traveled alone to Los Angeles on Jan. 26 and was last seen five days later by workers at the hotel.

Lopez said the hotel has four cisterns on its roof that are each about 10 feet tall, 4.5 feet wide and hold at least 1,000 gallons of water pumped up from city pipes.

Lam's body was found Tuesday morning at the bottom of one cistern that was about three-quarters full of water, Lopez said.

The opening at the top of the cistern is too small to accommodate firefighters and equipment, so they had to cut a hole in the storage tank to recover Lam's body.

The cisterns are on a platform at least 10 feet above the roof.

To get to the tanks, someone would have to go to the top floor then take a staircase with a locked door and emergency alarm preventing roof access.

Another ladder would have to be taken to the platform and a person would have to climb the side of the tank.

Lopez said there are no security cameras on the roof.

Lam intended to travel to Santa Cruz, about 350 miles north of Los Angeles. Officials said she tended to use public transportation and had been in touch with her family daily until she disappeared.

The Cecil Hotel was built in the 1920s and refurbished several years ago. The hotel is on Main Street in a part of downtown where efforts at gentrification often conflicts with homelessness and crime. It had once been the occasional home of infamous serial killers such as Richard Ramirez, known as the Night Stalker, and Austrian prison author Jack Unterweger, who was convicted of murdering nine prostitutes in Europe and the U.S., the Los Angeles Times reported.

By noon Wednesday, the Cecil Hotel had relocated 27 rooms used by guests to another hotel, but 11 rooms remained filled, Powell said. Those who chose to remain in the hotel were required to sign a waiver in which they acknowledged being informed of the health risks and were being provided bottled water, Powell said.

Baugh and his wife, who were on their first trip to the U.S., had planned to go to SeaWorld on Wednesday. Instead, they were trying to find a new hotel. Their tour agency placed them in another downtown hotel with a less than sterling reputation, from what they heard.

"We're just going from one dodgy place to another," Baugh said, resigned, "but at least there's water."










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Broward doesn’t plan to sit out of Super Bowl




















As the Miami Dolphins push Miami-Dade County to raise hotel taxes in pursuit of Super Bowl 50, Broward County’s tourism industry may be fighting for some home-field advantage.

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is pledging to base future championships in Miami-Dade if his proposed financing plan gets approved, and he has come close to apologizing for the central role Broward played as host of the 2010 Super Bowl.

“We are the Miami Dolphins,” Ross said the day he proposed using $199 million in state and county dollars to fund half of the upgrades for the 25-year-old stadium. “We know the NFL headquarters will be in Miami. The last time it was in Broward, way before I got involved. I can tell you, it will be in Miami. That’s who is going to benefit.”





The pursuit of the 2016 Super Bowl looms large in the Dolphins’ effort to win Miami-Dade taxes for the upgrade, with team executives campaigning for a referendum in time for the May meeting when Ross and his fellow NFL owners award the 50th championship game. The push isn’t sitting well in Broward, which paid $2 million toward Super Bowl expenses in 2010 but now warns that local organizers can’t count on the money this time around.

“The news out of Miami-Dade County about what goes where and what may happen with the Super Bowl certainly doesn’t lend itself to Broward saying: ‘How can we participate?’ ” said Nicki Grossman, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau, a county agency. “Why would we make a significant contribution to the host committee if we’re getting no Super Bowl events?”

Private sponsors fund the bulk of local Super Bowl budgets, which typically land somewhere between $12 million and $15 million, said Rodney Barreto, the longtime chairman of the region’s host committee for the games. In 2010, Miami-Dade paid $1.5 million to the committee, and its tax-funded tourism bureau paid about $400,000. Losing Broward’s contribution would mean more of an uphill climb for the committee’s fundraisers, though Broward would likely offer to pay something in order to participate in the bid.

But the issue is a prickly one. In 2007, Miami-Dade lost top billing for local Super Bowls when the NFL changed the official host from “Miami” to “South Florida.” The regional brand continued in 2010, when Broward played host to the Super Bowl’s official media center, headquarters hotel and other official NFL events. An economic study funded by Barreto’s host committee put the 2010 game’s impact at $58 million in Broward compared to $40 million in Miami-Dade.

But when the Dolphins in 2011 proposed changing state law to allow both Broward and Miami-Dade to raise hotel taxes to fund a Sun Life renovation, Broward commissioners berated the plan. Mike Dee, the team’s CEO, later warned the vote against the plan might cost Broward a role in future Super Bowl bids. And the Dolphins have hinted at a bigger shift south for spending tied to the NFL, with Dee’s telling Miami-Dade commissioners the team wouldn’t rule out moving its training facility out of Davie and into Miami-Dade as part of a financing deal.

Dolphins executives declined to be interviewed for this article, issuing a statement that said in part: “Miami-Dade will receive a significant return on any investment it makes.”





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Election reform, bridge repairs top Miami-Dade Commission agenda




















Miami-Dade commissioners are expected Wednesday to urge the state legislature to allow Election Day voters to drop off their absentee ballots at their local precincts, and ask the mayor to identify funding to repair and upgrade the county’s 203 bridges.

Returning absentee ballots to local precincts was one of 13 recommendations in a report by an Election Advisory Group that needs local and state approval to become law. Now, absentee ballots can only be returned to election headquarters in Doral.

The advisory group, created after the embarrassing November presidential election saw people waiting in lines for up to six hours, also wants to change the name of absentee ballots to “Vote by Mail.”





Other recommended voting changes include expanding early voting days from eight to 14, including the last Sunday before an election; expanding the number of permissible voting sites; limiting ballot language on constitutional amendments to 75 words; and expanding the number of days elections supervisors are allowed to total and check votes from 15 to 20.

Commissioners are also expected Wednesday to urge Mayor Carlos Gimenez to identify funding sources to repair the county’s bridges. The county estimates that over the next two decades it will need as much as $450 million for repairs. The issue came to light in early January when the county was forced to close down the west-bound half of Bear Cut Bridge leading to Key Biscayne, after structural flaws were found.





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Some problems as NYC school bus drivers return to work








New York City school bus drivers who serve tens of thousands of children were back at work Wednesday after a monthlong strike that forced students — many of them disabled — to take taxis, public transportation or car services to school.

"We're happy to be back," said driver Philip Pan, 57, whose dashboard was adorned with a hand-drawn "Welcome back" card, complete with a picture of a bus.

"We're like a family. We're really close with these kids," said Pan, who's been on the job eight years.

But not all parents were happy. Sadia Awan, 34, ended up taking her seventh-grader to school herself because their bus didn't come.





Getty Images



School buses rolling again in Queens





Her son, Hurrera, has a prosthetic leg. They waited about 90 minutes before giving up.

"I was calling, calling, calling, waiting, waiting, waiting. Nothing," said the angry mother said outside Middle School 88 in Park Slope, Brooklyn. "If he's late, the school's going to go after his academics. It's not good for me, it's not good for him."

Awan also said she had struggled with the online reimbursement process to cover her son's taxis during the strike. They cost $20 a day. "That's rent money," she said.

"I understand the drivers need security but they shouldn't have done it to the kids," said Awan.

Regular schedules resumed on all 7,700 routes serving the nation's largest public school system. Five thousand of those routes were affected by the strike. The city has about 1.1 million children in public schools.

Drivers and assistants known as matrons from the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 walked off the job Jan. 16, the first school bus driver strike in the city since 1979.

Union officials called off the strike Friday after leading mayoral candidates promised to address job security issues if elected.

Matron Sandy Cardinale, 56, said her time off the job "was horrible."

"It's nice to be working with these kids again," said the 14-year veteran. "We missed them. I'm so glad it's over."

The city spent roughly $20.6 million in transit cards, taxis and gas mileage to get tens of thousands of stranded students to school during the strike; some still didn't get there at all, schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott said Monday. But he estimated the city saved $80 million because it wasn't paying bus companies during the strike.










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Remote employees require care to feel like part of the team




















Working from home, hundreds of miles away from your boss, may sound like a perk, but that’s not always the case.

Ken Condren remembers the moment when he experienced the frustration his remote employees face. He was working from home, participating in a conference call and heard a side conversation going on, but had no idea what was being said. “I felt so out of the loop,” Condren recalls.

Today, businesses want the talent they want – and are more willing to hire or retain someone to fill a job even if they live or move thousands of miles away. Yet even with a great number of employees working remotely, nobody wants to be that guy who doesn’t get the inside joke during a conference call.





When the success of a team depends on the people, and all the people are scattered, it’s the manager who must make sure relationships stay vital and productivity high. Getting the most out of remote workers takes a manager who knows how to motivate and communicate from a distance. “Virtual workers still need a personal connection,” says strategic business futurist Joyce Goia, president of The Herman Group. “They want camaraderie and to feel like they are part of a team.”

More managers are using technologies such as videoconferencing, instant messenger and other collaborative software to help make remote workers feel like they are “there” in the office. Not being able to speak face-to-face can quickly be solved with Skype, Face Time or simple VoIP systems.

Condren, vice president of technology at C3/CustomerContactChan-

nels in Plantation, uses Microsoft Lync to connect virtually with a team spread across geographies and time zones. Employees see a green light on their screen when a colleague is available, signaling it’s a good time to video chat or instant message. Instead of meeting in physical conference rooms, team members get together in a virtual work room where they can hold side conversations during conference calls or meet in advance to prepare for the call. “You lose the visibility of waving hands during an in person meeting, but we can build that with virtual workspaces.”

Beyond that, Condren says he holds weekly video conference calls with his staff to help his remote workers become better team players. He also sets aside 45 minutes to an hour each week to check in with his remote workers. “It’s a little extra effort to make sure they are giving me the updates that happen casually in the office.”

Condren says adapting to a virtual workforce has allowed him to hire talent in any geographic market with the skill set he wants. And he has been able to hire them at competitive salaries.

In the current economy, such flexibility can be critical for a company looking to attract top talent. CareerBuilder’s Jennifer Grasz says the recession has created a less transient workforce, making it difficult for workers to sell their homes and relocate. “Employers are turning to remote work opportunities to navigate the skills deficit.”

Even from a distance, managers say there are ways to hone in on remote workers who are having problems. Billie Williamson managed virtual teams as a partner for Ernst & Young and would focus on the tone of someone’s voice during a group conference call. She would even listen for silences. “Silence can mean consent, or it can mean the person you’re not hearing disagrees or is disengaged.” If she sensed a team member was lacking engagement, she would follow up immediately.





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‘Animal walk’ to help rescue groups find homes for pets




















When Laurie Hoffman decided to foster Gracie, a 3-year-old mixed toy greyhound who was found running in the streets and getting caught in the grates of a bridge in downtown Miami, she didn’t expect to keep her.

But she couldn’t help it.

“Many of us have gotten to a point in our lives where we want to give back. We want to be able to help others who can’t help themselves,” said Hoffman, associate executive director at the Humane Society of Greater Miami. “We chose the animals because that’s our passion.”





And it’s this same passion that she hopes many people will feel on Saturday, when this year, for the first time, Walk for the Animals, a yearly event held by the Humane Society of Greater Miami, is launching an “adoption arena.” There, attendees can adopt pets from the Humane Society, an animal shelter, and local animal rescue groups.

“Every step counts!” is the slogan for the walk that will take place on Feb. 23. Registration will open at 8:30 a.m., and the event runs through noon at Bayfront Park, 301 N. Biscayne Blvd.

There will be music, games, prizes, product samples and food after 9 a.m. The one-mile walk around the park will begin at 10 a.m.

The minimum donation for an individual walker is $50, and it includes a Walk T-shirt, a goodie bag and a dog bandana.

Attendees are encouraged to form packs or teams with their family and friends.

Eleven rescue groups are confirmed to attend, but Danijela Kandera, 35, manager of marketing and corporate development at the Humane Society, expects more to join.

“We are already hoping to fundraise enough with the Walk,” said Kandera. “But we are also here to help other organizations because we are all working together for the same goal, which is helping the animals.”

The goal is to reach $50,000 and find new homes for the pets.

“In order for us to care for the 300 animals that are here every day and to provide the programs or services that we do, we need to raise money,” said Hoffman.

Each group will take about five to 10 pets, and all animals set for adoption are spayed, neutered and microchipped.

Requirements for adoption vary per group.

Kandera recommends that interested adopters bring a valid ID and a checkbook.

Tents will be set in the arena for each rescue group. All costs are sponsored by Pet Supermarket.

“Our No. 1 priority is animals, whether it is the ones that we sell, the ones that come into our store or the ones we have for adoption,” said Steve Renzelmann, 49, regional manager of Pet Supermarket.





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Hackers in office next to Chinese military base accused of plundering US gov't








BEIJING — Cyberattacks that stole massive amounts of information from military contractors, energy companies and other key industries in the U.S. and elsewhere have been traced to the doorstep of a Chinese military unit, a U.S. security firm alleged Tuesday.

China's Foreign Ministry dismissed the report as "groundless," and the Defense Ministry denied any involvement in hacking attacks.

China has frequently been accused of hacking, but the report by Virginia-based Mandiant Corp. contains some of the most extensive and detailed accusations to date linking its military to a wave of cyberspying against U.S. and other foreign companies and government agencies.





AP



The building housing "Unit 61398" of the People’s Liberation Army is seen in the outskirts of Shanghai,.





Mandiant said it traced the hacking back to a neighborhood in the outskirts of Shanghai that includes a drab, white 12-story office building run by "Unit 61398" of the People's Liberation Army.

The unit "has systematically stolen hundreds of terabytes of data from at least 141 organizations," Mandiant wrote. By comparison, the U.S. Library of Congress 2006-2010 Twitter archive of about 170 billion tweets totals 133.2 terabytes.

"From our observations, it is one of the most prolific cyberespionage groups in terms of the sheer quantity of information stolen," the company said. It added that the unit has been in operation since at least 2006.

Mandiant said it decided that revealing the results of its investigation was worth the risk of the hackers changing their tactics and becoming even more difficult to trace.

"It is time to acknowledge the threat is originating in China, and we wanted to do our part to arm and prepare security professionals to combat that threat effectively," it said.

In a statement faxed to The Associated Press, the Defense Ministry firmly rejected any involvement in hacking, saying Chinese law forbids all activities harming Internet security.

"The Chinese government has always firmly combated such activities and the Chinese military has never supported any form of hacking activity," the ministry said. "Statements to the effect that the Chinese military takes part in Internet attacks are unprofessional and are not in accordance with the facts."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei did not directly address the claims, but when questioned on the report Tuesday, he said he doubted the evidence would withstand scrutiny.

"To make groundless accusations based on some rough material is neither responsible nor professional," Hong told reporters at a regularly scheduled news conference.

Reiterating a standard China government response on hacking claims, Hong said China itself is a major victim of such crimes, including attacks originating in the United States.

"As of now, the cyberattacks and cybercrimes China has suffered are rising rapidly every year," Hong said.

Mandiant's methodology used in the investigation was sound, said Massimo Cotrozzi, managing director of KCS Group, a London-based international cyber investigation consulting firm that was not involved in Mandiant's research.

"No one as yet has provided the world conclusive evidence of a link between the Chinese military and the attacks. This report is the nearest thing to conclusive evidence that I have seen," Cotrozzi said.

Mandiant said its findings led it to alter the conclusion of a 2010 report it wrote on Chinese hacking, in which it said it was not possible to determine the extent of government knowledge of such activities.

"The details we have analyzed during hundreds of investigations convince us that the groups conducting these activities are based primarily in China and that the Chinese government is aware of them," the company said in a summary of its latest report.

It said the hacking was traced to the 2nd Bureau of the People's Liberation Army General Staff's 3rd Department, most commonly known as unit 61398, in the Shanghai suburbs.

News of the report spread Tuesday on the Chinese Internet, with many commentators calling it an excuse for the U.S. to impose greater restrictions to contain China's growing technological prowess.

Graham Cluley, a British cybersecurity expert who was not involved in Mandiant's research, said people in the computer industry believe China's government is behind such attacks but have been unable to confirm the source.

"None of us would be very surprised or be uncomfortable saying we strongly suspect the Chinese authorities are involved in spying this way," said Cluley, a senior technology consultant for security firm Sophos in Britain.

"I think we are seeing a steady escalation" of sophistication in hacking, Cluley said. "This is really the new era of cybercrime. We've moved from kids in their bedroom and financially motivated crime to state-sponsored cybercrime, which is interested in stealing secrets and getting military or commercial advantage."










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Sign up for Feb. 21 Miami Herald Small Business Forum featuring Zumba’s CEO, 4 interactive panels




















Prepare your best pitch for the Miami Herald’s Small Business Forum on Thursday, Feb. 21, at the south campus of our sponsor, Florida International University.

In addition to how-to panels and inspirational stories from successful entrepreneurs, our annual small business forum will include interactive opportunities with experts to learn about financing options and polish your personal and business brands.

During our finance panel, audience volunteers will be invited to explain their financing needs to the group. During our box-lunch session, they will be invited to pitch their business or personal brand to our coaches.





Those who prefer just to listen will be treated to a keynote address by Alberto Perlman, co-founder of the global fitness craze Zumba (see bio below). Panels include success stories from the local entrepreneurs who founded Sedano’s, Jennifer’s Homemade and ReStockIt.com; finance tips from experts in small business loans, venture capital, angel investments and traditional bank loans; and insiders in the burgeoning South Florida tech start-up scene. Scroll down to see the panelists’ bios

Plus, it’s a real bargain. $25 includes the half-day seminar, continental breakfast and a box lunch.

Register here.

Program

8 a.m.

Registration and continental breakfast, provided by Bill Hansen Catering

8:30 a.m. Welcome

Host: David Suarez, president and CEO, Interactive Training Solutions, LLC

•  Jerry Haar, PhD, associate dean & director, FIU Eugenio Pino and Family Global

Entrepreneurship Center

•  Alice Horn, executive director, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE South Florida)

•  Jane Wooldridge, Business editor, The Miami Herald

Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge Overview:

•  Nancy Dahlberg, Business Plan Challenge coordinator, The Miami Herald

8:45 a.m. Session I – Success Stories

Moderator: Jerry Haar, PhD, associate dean & director, FIU Eugenio Pino and Family Global

Entrepreneurship Center

Speakers:

•  Jennifer Behar, founder, Jennifer’s Homemade

•  Matt Kuttler, co-president of ReStockIt.com

•  Javier Herrán, chief marketing officer, Sedano’s Supermarkets

10 a.m. Session II – All about Tech

Moderator: Jane Wooldridge, Business editor, The Miami Herald

Speakers

•  Susan Amat, founder, Launch Pad Tech

•  Nancy Borkowski, executive director, Health Management Programs, Chapman Graduate School of

Business, Florida International University

•  Chris Fleck, vice president of mobility solutions at Citrix and a director of the South Florida Tech Alliance

•  Charles Irizarry, co-founder and director of product architecture, Rokk3r Labs

11:15 a.m. Keynote

Speaker: Alberto Perlman, CEO and co-founder of Zumba® Fitness

Introduction: Jane Wooldridge, business editor, The Miami Herald

11:45 a.m. Session III – Show me the money: Financing your small business

An interactive session featuring audience volunteers who will be invited to make a short investment pitch before a panel, including experts in microlending, SBA loans, traditional bank loans, venture capital and angel investing. Audience volunteers should come prepared with a two-minute presentation that includes details about current backing, how much money they are seeking and a brief synosis of ow that money would be used.





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Two face 1,300 fishing violations




















Two commercial fishermen have been charged with a total of more than 1,300 conservation violations after being found inside a no-take zone in the Dry Tortugas, marine law-enforcement officers report.

Both men were cited last week for harvesting 664 yellowtail snapper — one misdemeanor count for each fish — seized from the commercial boat Candelaria, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Boat owner Evelio Lazar Egusquiza Fornes, 49, of Miami and mate Jorge Nesto Gellart, 49, also were charged with fishing inside the Tortugas Ecological Reserve, a no-fishing zone enacted under the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, and other violations.





"The two occupants were actively harvesting yellowtail snapper by hook and line, and were very surprised to see us," FWC Lt. Josh Peters wrote in a report.

Signals from the boat's vessel monitoring system, a radio beacon required aboard commercial boats in some federal waters, showed the boat was stopped inside the no-take area, Peters reported. Officers patrolling the Dry Tortugas responded and located the Candelaria in the northern reserve.

"A chum bag, lines and baited hooks were in the water," Peters said. "An inspection of the vessel's catch revealed some of the yellowtail were still alive and fighting for life."

The Tortugas reserves were established to protect the area's marine ecosystem from effects of harvesting marine life, including fish. Commercial boats can navigate through the zones but cannot stop if they have fish aboard.

The 781 pounds of confiscated yellowtail was sold for $2,558, which will be held in escrow until the case is decided.

"We see occasional cases from the Tortugas but this is one of the bigger ones," said FWC Officer Bobby Dube, an agency spokesman.





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Alec fast & slur-ious









Actor Alec Baldwin allegedly called a black Post photographer a racial epithet, a "crackhead" and a "drug dealer" during a confrontation on an East Village street yesterday morning, prompting police to intervene.

Baldwin had first been approached by a Post reporter while walking his dogs outside his East 10th Street pad at around 10:50 a.m. He was asked for comment on a lawsuit against his wife, Hilaria, involving her work as a yoga instructor.

Alec Baldwin is caught in a photograph during a verbal spat with The Post's Tara Palmeri. According to Palmeri, who recorded the confrontation, Baldwin told her "I want you to choke to death."

G.N.Miller/New York Post

Alec Baldwin is caught in a photograph during a verbal spat with The Post's Tara Palmeri. According to Palmeri, who recorded the confrontation, Baldwin told her "I want you to choke to death."






The “30 Rock’’ star grabbed the reporter, Tara Palmeri, by her arm and told her, “I want you to choke to death,” Palmeri told police, for whom she played an audiotape of the conversation.

He then called G.N. Miller — a decorated retired detective with the NYPD’s Organized Crime Control Bureau and a staff photographer for The Post — a “coon, a drug dealer,’’ Miller’s police statement said.

At one point, Miller showed Baldwin ID to prove he’s a retired NYPD cop, which Baldwin dismissed as “fake.”

Cops were called, and Miller, 56, and Baldwin, 54, both filed harassment claims against each other.

Minutes later, Baldwin ranted on Twitter.

“Thank u 2 NYPD officers who came to my home 2day so that I could file a formal complaint against NY Post “photographer’’ who assaulted me,’’ he tweeted.

In another post, Baldwin referred to Miller, for unknown reasons, as “Ralston,” writing, “Moments after I tweet about the Post, Ralston, the ex-crackhead ‘photographer’ shows up at my door w 1 of Murdoch’s nieces in tow.”

He added, “Ralston claims he’s ex NYPD!! That can’t be!!! Ex NYPD don’t become crackhead, ex jailhouse paparazzi!”

The actor eventually removed most of the posts.

Miller also said the actor bumped him in the chest during their tete-a-tete, although Baldwin told cops the photographer “pushed into him,’’ according to the actor’s complaint.

Baldwin said he “asked [Miller] to keep his distance,’’ the complaint said.

But Miller said Baldwin was the one getting “too aggressive,’’ so he showed him his retired-cop ID.

Baldwin called the ID a “fake’’ and added Miller was a “crackhead” and a “drug dealer” who “just got out of jail,” Miller said.

Baldwin also made “disparaging remarks’’ about Miller’s mother, the photographer said.

As oblivious pedestrians walked by, Baldwin told him to “suck my d--k,” Miller said.

Baldwin also walked up to random people — including a dad pushing his child in a stroller — and told them Miller was an ex-con and drug dealer, Miller said.

“He was saying some serious racist stuff,” Miller said. “He said some choice words about my mother, and he was telling people in the street that I’m a drug dealer.

“He could have said a lot of other stuff. But he used all of the stereotypes associated with black people.”

Miller worked for the NYPD for nearly 15 years, spending most of his time in narcotics.

Although both men made police reports, it’s a case of he said-he said because the incident did not happen in the presence of a police officer.

Neither police complaint will go any further, except in possible civil action.

Baldwin’s spokesman, Matthew Hiltzik, called Miller’s accusations “completely false.’’

Baldwin, through Hiltzik, denied making the racist remarks, adding, “That’s one of the most outrageous things I’ve heard in my life.’’

But Baldwin has a history of making inappropriate comments to photographers.

Last June, the day before his wedding, Baldwin shouted to a black photographer on the street, “You gotta back up there Rodney.”

The photographer’s name wasn’t Rodney.

leonard.greene@nypost.com










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Small business lending rebounds in South Florida




















For years, Pablo Oliveira dreamed of buying a property to house his high-end linen and furniture rental company, Nuage Designs, which has created settings for such glamorous events as the weddings of Carrie Underwood and Chelsea Clinton.

A few months ago, that dream came true, when Oliveira purchased a warehouse across the street from his current Miami location. He is now renovating the loft-like space with the help of a $2.1 million, 25-year small business loan.

“It allows me to own my own space as opposed to renting, and that will decrease my costs for infrastructure and allow me to build equity with time,” said Oliveira, who secured a U.S. Small Business Administration-guaranteed loan from Wells Fargo.





For small businesses like Oliveira’s, a loan can be the critical key to growing a business, as well as the kindling to ignite an operation.

Take Harold Scott’s fledgling Great Scott Security, which manufactures window guards in Hollywood that can open quickly in case of need.

When he was 13, Scott’s stepfather perished in a Georgia house fire because he couldn’t escape through heavy window bars. Scott made it his mission to fix the problem.

“I promised myself I would dedicate all my time to working on a solution,” said Scott, 60.

Now retired from a 23-year career in the U.S. Justice Department, Scott recently secured a $7,500 microloan from Partners for Self Employment. He used it to buy a computer and pay for marketing and other business expenses for his quick-release window guards, which have met national, state and Miami-Dade County fire safety codes.

During the depths of the recession, business owners often griped that gaining access to capital was their biggest hurdle. Saddled with bad loans, many banks were wary of making new ones. At the same time, both the value of collateral and the creditworthiness of many borrowers tumbled.

Now, at last, banks are starting to open their pocketbooks again, experts say, though lending is still not on par with pre-recession levels.

“There is no question that small business borrowing declined as a result of the recession and has yet to recover to pre-crisis levels,” said Richard Brown, chief economist for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., via email. “According to the Federal Reserve, total loans to noncorporate businesses and farms stood at just under $3.8 trillion in September, which remains below the peak of about $4.1 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2008.”

Signs of Growth

In South Florida, more businesses are applying for loans and getting approvals from banks, according to lenders, officials at government agencies and leaders of organizations that help small business owners secure loans.

“Lenders are expressing a greater interest than they have in the past few years in terms of meeting the needs of the small business community,” said Marjorie Weber, Miami-Dade Chapter Chair of SCORE, which helps business owners put loan packages together and refers them to bankers.

Loan figures are indeed rising. During the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2012, SBA-guaranteed loans were up in both Miami-Dade and Broward counties, according to the SBA. In fiscal 2012, 449 loans were approved in Miami-Dade, totaling $213.3 million, up from 426 loans for $154.4 million in 2011. In Broward, 262 loans for $91.4 million were approved in fiscal 2012, compared to 257 loans for $102.4 million in 2011.





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Speaker to discuss the Jews of Zimbabwe




















You are invited to hear Modreck Zvakavapano Maeresera and Tudor Parfitt, as they lecture on "The Lamba Jews of Zimbabwe" at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday at the Jewish Museum of Florida, 301 Washington Ave. in Miami Beach.

You will want to attend this event; Maeresera is a leader in the Lemba Jewish community in Zimbaabwe. He coordinates a program of Jewish cyber-learning, studying with volunteer rabbis and teachers via the Internet in Harare, where he teaches other students what he has heard and recorded. In the rural congregation of Mapakomhere, 150 miles from Harare, Maeresera leads Shabbat services and promotes Jewish education.

In a press release statement he said, "My vision is to have a vibrant Lemba community that is fully committed to observing Judaism, the religion of our forefathers, and to have the necessary infrastructure that a Jewish community would need, such as synagogues and schools and religious leaders." He said, in the near future he would like to see Lemba fully reintegrated into mainstream Judaism.





Parfitt is the President Navon Professor of Sephardi-Mizrahi Studies and Research Professor in Florida International University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and has studied emerging Jewish communities around the works. He has studied the Lemba Jews for decades.

It’s free and open to the public.

Kids’ art event continues through Monday

The Children’s Trust will present a "Kids Grove Arts Party," from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Monday in the kids zone at Peacock Park in Coconut Grove. The event is in conjunction with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Abrakadoodle Coconut Grove Arts Festival.

Each day the Abrakadoodle staff will present "Art in Our World Curriculum," one-hour sessions where children will draw, paint, sculpt, design mosaics and collages and well as create in the styles of multicultural master artists to include Picasso, Bearden, Matisse, Miro, Hokusai, Monet, Martinez and Kahlo.

Other highlights will include a 10 a.m. show each day, the musical "Party with Picasso and Friends," presented by Sugar and Spice Puppet Theater, and at 11 a.m., the musical "The Dean of Green, " an eco-children’s theater production that teaches children the importance of growing up green, healthy living and protecting the earth. The play is directed by Corky Dozier, event creator and founder and director of the Coconut Grove Children’s Theater. Dozier also celebrates she 50th year in children’s theater, this year.

Author to speak in Key Biscayne

Lunch with an Author will present award-winning author Mary Murray Bosrock, presenting her newest book, "Grandma Has Wings," at noon Thursday in the Island room of the Key Biscayne Community Center, 10 Village Green Way.

Bosrock, a part-time resident of Key Biscayne, is a popular radio and television guest and has appeared on CNN, CNBC, Fox News and A&E Network. She said she got her "wings" when her two sons, Matt and Steve, gave her six granddaughters in eight years. It amazed her, she said, that her little girls noticed things like arm fat, brown spots, veins and dropping chins, and learned to love what she couldn’t change by turning it into a story. Her granddaughters loved the story so much, that Bosrock decided to share it with other grandmas.

She also is the author of the book series, "Put Your Best Food Forward," which sold worldwide and has been published in Polish, Chinese, Russian, Thai and India.





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'I've killed my baba,' Pistorius sobbed to friend moments after girlfriend shot

Oscar Pistorius sobbed to his best friend: “My baba, I’ve killed my baba — God take me away” moments after his girlfriend was shot, it emerged last night.

The panicking 26-year-old Blade Runner called pal Justin Divaris before alerting emergency services to the early hours shooting of model Reeva Steenkamp, it was claimed.

Justin told how he sped to Pistorius’s luxury home and said the star sobbed for an hour in his garage as cops sealed off the property.

It was revealed last night that Reeva, 29, was sitting on the toilet when she was hit four times, in the arm, head, hip and finger by bullets fired through the bathroom door.




Getty Images



Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp in January 2012



Pistorius carried her blood-soaked body to the front door and was trying to save her with the kiss of life when a security guard and neighbor arrived — alerted by the gunshots.

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NBA’s best player (LeBron James) isn’t best-paid




















When LeBron James walks onto the court for Houston’s NBA All-Star Game Sunday, he’ll do so as the undisputed king of his sport.

Named the league’s most valuable player three times in the past four years, James is once again dominating the NBA and most likely headed for his fourth MVP award — two fewer than Michael Jordan — with presumably a long career still ahead.

But while James is the most valuable player in the NBA, he’s nowhere close to being the league’s highest paid. Of the 10 players voted into the starting lineup of Sunday’s All-Star Game, five earn more than James, whose salary for this season ranks 13th in the NBA.





James’ decision a while back to “take my talents to South Beach” was a case of trading dollars for victories. The league caps what teams can spend on salaries.

The bimonthly checks cut by team owner Micky Arison this year will equal a bargain come season’s end: $17,545,000.

Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, the league’s highest-paid player, will earn about $10 million more than that this season.

James understands he’s underpaid in the purest sense, but he also understands reality: He makes obscene amounts of money playing a game. Super-rich athletes who gripe about money seldom get much sympathy — witness the outpouring of scorn when golfer Phil Mickelson recently complained that increased taxes on high earners, coupled with California’s high tax rates, might force him to make “drastic changes” in his playing schedule.

James also makes a fortune in endorsements, from companies ranging from Nike to Sprite to Samsung to Dunkin’ Donuts.

Still, the obvious question remains: Considering not only James’ impact on the Heat, but also his overall contribution to the entire NBA, how much money could James command on the open market if there were no league-imposed economic constraints?

“Per year, if there were no salary-cap restrictions, I think he’s worth well over $100 million, easy,” said Shane Battier, the Heat’s heady forward and former Duke University schoolmate of Heat CEO Nick Arison.

That’s $100 million per year.

It’s an audacious and historic number, but considering James’ recent run of play, it’s not complete fantasy. James is performing at a historic level of excellence. After thoroughly wiping the court in Oklahoma City on Thursday, scoring 39 points, pulling down 12 rebounds and dishing out seven assists, James has scored at least 30 points in seven straight games.

The last player to accomplish that feat going into the All-Star break was Wilt Chamberlain back in 1963.

“This guy, LeBron James, he’s doing stuff that I’ve never seen,” said Hall of Famer Charles Barkley on Thursday night during TNT’s Inside the NBA. “He’s on another planet.”

Considering Barkley’s sharp criticism of James in the past, not to mention his history of going head-to-head with Michael Jordan during both men’s prime, that’s high praise.

But a market value of $100 million?

“Really, it boils down to the ego of an owner,” Battier said. “A lot of owners would pay just to have LeBron James on their team. I can think of a couple that would pay him, easily, nine figures per year.”

According to one numbers cruncher — John Vrooman, an economics professor at Vanderbilt University — Battier’s figure is an overestimation of James’ worth by about $60 million. Here is how his math works: Vrooman used an advanced metric known in the sports world as “win-share,” which assigns a number to each player on a team based on his contributions, both offensively and defensively, for a season. Last season, when James led the Heat to the championship, he had a win-share value of 14.5, which translates to 31.5 percent of the 2011-12 Heat’s 46 regular-season wins.





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