Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is Good, But No iPad Killer [REVIEW]

Unboxing the Kindle Fire HD 8.9

Click here to view this gallery.

[More from Mashable: Apple Now Owns the iMessage Name]

Amazon expands its tablet sights with the bigger, more powerful Kindle Fire HD 8.9. Can it compete against Apple‘s iPad?

If there’s one company that deserves credit for reigniting the iPad competitor market, it’s Amazon. Despite some bugs and an overall blah design, its 7-inch Kindle Fire was the first Android tablet that made sense to consumers who gobbled it up to help the Fire grab 50% of the Android tablet market in just 6 months.

[More from Mashable: 9 Black Friday Deals For iPhone Owners]

That tablet essentially opened the flood gates for a new set of ever-more-powerful 7-inchers from, notably, Barnes & Noble and Google. All three companies have already updated their 7-inch offerings to more powerful components and higher-resolutions screens. They’re all still running Android, though Amazon and Barnes & Noble choose to hide the Google OS behind smarter and much more consumer-friendly interfaces.

All this led Apple to finally enter the mid-sized tablet space with the iPad Mini. It’s easily the best-looking tablet of the bunch, but also $ 120 more expensive than its nearest competitor.

The more interesting development, though, is Amazon‘s (and Barnes & Noble‘s) decision to go toe-to-toe with Apple’s full-size iPad and launch the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9 (in 4G LTE and WiFi-only). The move is akin to a middle weight boxer putting on the pounds to take on the Heavyweight world champion. Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD is slightly smaller (the iPad is 9.7-inches), lighter (567g vs. 625g), cheaper ($ 369 for 32 GB model vs. $ 599 for the iPad 4th Gen — Amazon subsidizes with sleep-state ads, that I do not mind) and overall somewhat less powerful. In order to win the battle, the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD better be pretty nimble on its feet, while able to throw that all important knockout punch.

Short version of this story: the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 does some serious damage, but the iPad 4th Gen gets the decision and retains the tablet leader title.

The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is by no means a failure. In many ways, it’s as good as the smaller Kindle Fire HD, but throughout my tests I noticed odd bugs and glitches (which should all be fixable by software) and a somewhat disturbing lack of power that’s especially obvious when you put the Fire HD 8.9 next to the iPad 4th Gen

What It Is

If you’ve never seen an iPad and someone handed you the Kindle Fire HD .9, you’d likely say its jet-black, soft-to-the-touch plastic body felt good in your hands and was more than effective at all the core tasks (reading, game playing, e-mail, web browsing).

Design-wise, the 8.9 device looks exactly like the 7-inch model, complete with the too-hard to find volume and power buttons. There are no other physical buttons on this device, but Amazon chooses to hide the few it has by making them the exact same color as the chassis and flush with the body. Every time I use the tablet I do the “where’s the damn button” dance, rotating the Kindle Fire HD round and round until I feel the buttons (since I can barely see them).

I have applauded Barnes & Noble for putting the physical “N” home button right on the face of their Nook HD. Bravo for having the guts to do this. Amazon apparently looks at Apple’s iPad home button and thinks to have anything similar would be seen as “copying” the Cupertino hardware giant, when instead they should realize that it works, consumers like it and tablets without it are at a distinct disadvantage.

Amazon’s interface has you make do with a virtual, slide-out home button that is always available. Problem is, I found times when it wasn’t available. When I played Spider-Man and Asphalt 7, the tiny little left-had bar would disappear and I couldn’t exit the game unless I hit the sleep/power button.

The rest of the Kindle Fire HD 8.9′s body is solid and unremarkable (if you read my Kindle fire HD 7 review, then you know exactly what to expect.). Like the iPad 4th Gen, the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 has a front-facing 720p-capable camera. It’s useful for capturing video, snapping 1 Megapixel images and, probably most important, Skype video chats. Skype has built a fairly sharp-looing Kindle Fire app, though the design doesn’t fully fit the larger 8.9-inch screen. Skype just updated its Android app for better tablet viewing and hopefully, we’ll see this update hit the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 as well.

The iPad also has an HD rear-facing camera. The Kindle fire HD 8.9 does not (Barnes & Noble leave out cameras altogether)

Not Packing a Punch

As a large-screen high-resolution tablet (though iPad’s 2048×1536 retina display beats it), the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 offers plenty of attractive screen real estate for web browsing, book and magazine reading and games. But the results can be mixed. Silk, Amazon‘s custom web browser, was occasionally less than responsive and games, though, they ran well, never looked half as good as they do on the considerably more expensive iPad 4.

Granted, you can’t always find the same high-quality immersive action games on both Android and iOS, but Asphalt 7 Heat is a notable exception and it throws the performance differences between the two tablets into stark contrast. Game play is equally responsive on both platforms: the Kindle Fire HD 8.9’s accelerometer reads my moves just as well as the iPad.

The graphics on the Kindle Fire HD, however, are reduced to blobs and blocks (palm trees without distinct leaves, buildings without discernible windows) . The iPad’s quad-core graphics simply overmatch the Kindle Fire. I have never, for example, seen an iPad draw the game as I was playing, as I did when I tried out The Amazing Spider-Man.

Additionally, I experienced more than my share of crashes with games and even magazine apps like Vanity Fair.

The Good

Not everyone, however, will compare the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 to the iPad. Some will see the $ 299 entry-level price point (for the 16 GB model) and appreciate the power, flexibility and utility of this device. Like all Fire’s before it, the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 makes it easy to consume mass quantities of content. Nearly every menu option: Games, Apps, Books, Music, Videos, Newsstand, puts you just one click away from shopping for fresh content. If you have an Amazon account (and who doesn’t) your desired book, music or movie is just a click away. Plus, you can still easily store any of it locally, and worry about running out of storage space, or in the cloud, and never worry about space or accessibility—you can get to that purchased Kindle content from any Kindle app or registered Amazon device.

Watching movies on the tablet is a pleasure. I streamed a couple through Amazon Prime; they looked good on the 1920 x 1200 screen and the Dolby Stereo speakers produced sharp, loud, almost room-filling sound—an impressive feat not even the iPad can match.

The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 also includes a mini-HDMI-out port, which prompted me to connect the tablet to my 47-inch LED HDTV so we could watch Disney’s Brave. Yes, I had to get up and tap on the Kindle screen each time I wanted to pause and restart the move, but otherwise, I was pretty impressed with how the Kindle handled the task.

Obviously I yearn for an Apple Airplay-like feature on Android tablets (rumor has it one is coming), but this is the next, best thing.

There isn’t a lot to say about the Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch interface that I did not say in the Kindle Fire HD 7 review. I will note, however, that the increased real estate makes the trademark task carousel seem almost too big. Icons for everything from your recently played Spider-Man game to magazine apps, books and Web sites all sit side-by-side-by side. Some, like book covers, look gorgeous.

Others like a broken web-page link look stupid. Worse yet, none of them have labels, which can occasionally make it hard to identify which app or task you’re looking at. I’m just not sure this interface metaphor is sustainable.

Personally I prefer either the clean consistent look of iOS, or the uber-user friendly, family-oriented Nook HD profile-based one. Amazon may want to take a hard look at those and start over.

Staying Connected

The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is also Amazon’s first cellular-based tablet. That fact puts it even more squarely in competition with the iPad (which obviously has always had 3G models and now offers blazing fast 4G LTE ones as well on all major carriers).

Amazon’s mobile broadband plans are a little more conservative, with just the AT&T 4G LTE option (the 32 GB 4G model that I tested lists for $ 499, which is still $ 224 less than a comparable iPad 4th Gen).

In my experience, the connectivity is superfast and fairly ubiquitous. Amazon‘s $ 49 (a year) flat fee plan is attractive, but with a cap of 250MB per month of data, it’s unlikely it will satisfy the most data-hungry users. If you do need more data, users can also get 3GB and 5GB data plans directly from AT&T on the device.

At press time, Amazon had not enabled streaming video over LTE. Having it sounds nice, but even with the most generous data plans, streaming video would eat it up faster than you can say, “I’m streaming Back to the Future in HD over 4G LTE on my Kindle fire HD!”

The reality for most users is that WiFi is plentiful and you’ll be hard pressed to find a spot where you can’t connect for free or a small one-off fee. It’s the reason Barnes & Noble’s line of HD Nooks do not include a cellular option.

Review continues after FreeTime Gallery

FreeTime

Kindle HD FreeTime Start

Click here to view this gallery.

Perhaps the best new addition to the Kindle Fire family is not a piece of hardware or new component, but the new FreeTime app. Amazon put a lot of loving care into this parental control interface, but almost mucks the whole thing up by hiding the tool under an app that you have to scroll down to (or search) to find. By contrast profiles and age and content controls are baked into the Barnes & Noble Nook HD in a way that makes them impossible to ignore.

Even so, once you do access FreeTime, I think you’ll be pleased with the level of control it gives you. I added test profiles for my two children and then hand-picked every app and piece of content they could access. I was also able to block broadband mobile and even set time limits for access to content and overall screen viewing time (on a per profile basis). The set-up is a bit wonky and it bizarrely switches between landscape and profile screens, but I still applaud the effort. It would make sense for Amazon to move FreeTime into a device set-up screen. If the user has no additional family members or kids using the device, they can easily skip it.

To Buy or Not to Buy

Amazon’s expansive content and shopping ecosystem has always been a strong draw and it’s just as good in this large screen tablet as it was in the very first Kindle Fire. Still, you have to compare it with the equally strong iOS ecosystem, which is no slouch in the content shopping department. Apple doesn’t connect you as seamlessly to physical products, but there’s nothing difficult about shopping on Amazon.com via your iPad. It’s also notable that tablet competitor Barnes & Noble has added movie and TV viewing, rental and purchase.

Ultimately, all of these tablets are offering more and more of the same content options, apps, and features. The decision will likely come down to price, app selection, interface and overall ease of use. The Amazon Kindle fire HD 8.9 scores well on all of these, but does not always lead.

For the price, it’s a great value, but I want Amazon to focus on hardware and interface design for the next big update. Then, they may get my full endorsement.

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade brings cheer to storm-hit NY

The annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade kicked off in New York on Thursday, putting a festive mood in the air in a city still coping with the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

The young, and the young at heart, were delighted by the sight and sound of marching bands, performers and, of course, the giant balloons. The weather was a sunny 47 degrees. Some parade-goers had camped out to get a good spot, staying snug in sleeping bags. Others came well-prepared with folding chairs.

Airports, train stations and highways were expected to remain busy Thursday as people made their way home to reconnect with family and friends for Thanksgiving — though some reunions might be bittersweet because of the damage and displacement caused by Superstorm Sandy.

Getty Images

People line Central Park West for the 86th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade today.

For some, the once-sacrosanct harvest feast now starts the holiday shopping season — and store openings keep getting earlier. Black Friday now starts on Thanksgiving Day itself at many national stores, and some shoppers planned to race from their dinner tables to line up for bargains, delaying their second helpings until they've purchased the latest toys or electronic devices.

The popular Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, attended by more than 3 million people and watched by 50 million on TV, includes such giant balloons as Elf on a Shelf and Papa Smurf, a new version of Hello Kitty, Buzz Lightyear, Sailor Mickey Mouse and the Pillsbury Doughboy. Real-life stars were to include singer Carly Rae Jepsen and Rachel Crow of "The X Factor."

Other cities planned to have showy marching bands, cartoon character balloons and musical extravaganzas, as well. Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit were among the big cities hosting parades.

Among the scheduled highlights were a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey spectacular in Chicago; Phillies star Ryan Howard and Miss America 2012 Laura Kaeppeler in Philadelphia; and a group of 2012 U.S. Olympic champions in Detroit.

The holiday came as portions of the Northeast still were reeling from Sandy's havoc, and volunteers planned to serve thousands of turkey dinners to people it left homeless or struggling.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said his office would coordinate the distribution of 26,500 meals at 30 sites in neighborhoods affected by Sandy, and other organizations also were pitching in.

The Long Beach Surf Association and a charity called Surf for All were sponsoring a Thanksgiving dinner in the Long Island community of Long Beach.

U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks, whose New York district includes the heavily battered Rockaways neighborhoods, said he planned to stop by Thanksgiving dinners at three churches and a school.

"They are still giving thanks," Meeks said of his constituents. "They are thankful that they're alive and thankful to the people who are coming to help them."

Some used social media to coordinate Thanksgiving volunteering. Elle Aichele, of Toms River, NJ, started a Facebook page called Hurricane Sandy Thanksgiving Adopt a Family for Dinner.

"Please host a family that needs something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!" she wrote. "I have been thinking about what I can do to help and this is it!"

For some travelers, the need to stretch their money dictated how they were to arrive at their destinations.

Ashlee Denaro, 35, of Irvine, Calif., was at Los Angeles International Airport Wednesday with her three children. The divorced woman had flown to Salt Lake City to pick up the children from her ex-spouse for a flight back to Southern California.

To economize, Denaro, a physical therapist, flew to Phoenix, changed planes for Salt Lake City, then returned to LAX instead of landing at her local Orange County airport. She then planned to drive an hour to Irvine.

The circuitous route saved her $500 on plane fare.

A Pennsylvania Turnpike service plaza just outside Pittsburgh was packed early Wednesday afternoon, with occasional lines of cars waiting for gas.

Linda Lapp-Stout, 64, was traveling from Cleveland to see family in Parkesburg, between Philadelphia and Lancaster. Lapp-Stout, who has driven a school bus for 32 years, said she was thankful for the holiday break and the warm weather, but she was worried about the economy.

"It's hard to even afford gas," she said.

Landscape designer Anne Murphy, of Gorham, Maine, was waiting for an Amtrak train at Boston's South Station as she and her husband, Ken, headed for Thanksgiving dinner in Gibbsboro, N.J. She said she travels smarter by searching for deals online, using cheaper airports farther from home and packing fewer bags to avoid baggage fees.

"I think we probably travel a little bit less because of costs, but we've definitely traveled more public transportation in order to save on gas," said Murphy, 56.

Read More..

Black Friday is creeping into Thanksgiving evening

Marling Sequeira has her Thanksgiving all planned: turkey, trimmings and pumpkin pie at her boyfriend’s in Miami, then a moonlit drive to Walmart to snag a 72-inch Samsung TV on sale for $800.

“It’s more exciting at midnight,” said Sequeira, 22, a medical assistant who is moving into a new Brickell-area apartment with her boyfriend on Friday. “Besides that, the specials are more convenient.”

All over South Florida on Thursday, bargain-hungry shoppers will be gobbling down their Thanksgiving meals with an eye on heading to the mall.

Thursday is becoming the new Black Thursday, as the old-fashioned kickoff day of the holiday, Black Friday, creeps into Thanksgiving dessert.

“Retailers are now commercializing Thanksgiving, giving the opportunity to the consumer who doesn’t want to watch 12 hours of football,” said Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst at the NPD Group, a consumer and retail market research firm based in Port Washington, N.Y.

The stores’ goal, he said, is to compete more vigorously with online sites for those valuable early holiday dollars.

And retailers have learned that if they open their doors and offer deals, shoppers will come. Last year those who extended their hours saw sales rise up to 22 percent for the Black Friday weekend, while those retailers that did not lost up to 8 percent, Cohen said.

The result: this year, more than ever, shopping is seeping into Thanksgiving festivities.

Kmart is opening at 6 a.m. and Bass Pro Shops at 8 a.m. on Thursday. Sears and Toys”R”Us are opening at 8 p.m. Target is opening at 9 p.m. Loads of stores, including Macy’s, The Gap, Old Navy and Best Buy are opening at midnight. Best Buy is promising deals on such items as TVs, laptop computers, digital cameras and more.

Walmart is open 24 hours, so it will stay open all day on Thanksgiving, with specials offered at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Thursday and 5 a.m. on Friday.

“Whether you want to stay up late on Thursday night or get up early on Friday, at Walmart we have a Black Friday event for you,” said spokesman Steve Restivo. Walmart is offering price guarantees to shoppers who are inside a store between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., on three hot-selling items, an Apple iPad2, an Emerson 32-inch LCD TV and an LG Blu-ray player.

In South Florida, even entire malls will open on Thanksgiving. Dolphin Mall in Sweetwater and Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise will be first, each opening at 9 p.m., and staying open until 10 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., respectively, on Black Friday.

Dadeland Mall and Miami International Mall will open at midnight Thursday.

“We’re very excited to open at midnight and give our shoppers a head start to the holiday season,” said Sara Valega, director of marketing for Miami International Mall, which will stay open until 11 p.m. on Friday.

Nationwide, 17 percent of consumers, or 41 million people are expected to shop on Thanksgiving, according to the latest consumer holiday tracking survey, released Tuesday by The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs.

With stores opening earlier and earlier, and some retailers launching pre-Thanksgiving sales, the retail industry has officially crossed the traditional Black Friday barrier — with no end in sight, said Kimberly Taylor, associate professor of marketing at Florida International University.

Read More..

Arsht Center flood repairs top $4 million

The cost of fixing the damage caused by flooding at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts earlier this year has crept up to $4.35 million, though county officials say that could still go up as the final bill is tallied.

County commissioners authorized up to $5 million for repairs at the county-owned center, which is run by the Performing Arts Center Trust.

In a memo, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said the major construction work needed for the repairs was finished in time for the center’s new season to start in October.
The total cost is offset by a partial payment of $250,000 to the trust for a business income interruption insurance claim; the memo said efforts are being made to get more money from insurers. And a forensic engineer is finishing an investigation into what caused the extensive flooding, which Gimenez said could prompt additional action by the county and trust.

Read More..

Long Island driver killed after hitting tractor-trailer pulling out of driveway

Police say a motorist was killed after striking a tractor-trailer pulling out of a driveway on Long Island.

The driver was identified as 43-year-old Roger Coiro of Bethpage.

The accident occurred at 12:44 a.m. on South Broadway in Hicksville.

Police say a 2012 Freightliner was pulling out onto South Broadway when it was struck by Coiro's 2005 Mercury.

Coiro was pronounced dead at the scene. The truck driver was not injured.

Several hours later, at 4:50 a.m., a car struck a pole on Hicksville Road in Bethpage. The two accidents occurred about three miles apart. The driver's condition was not immediately available.

Read More..

Hottest tech products of fall 2012

Every year we roll out our fall list of the products getting the most attention from readers, and every year it ends up being a list dominated by phones. But not this year. No, this time you guys are spicing things up with a surprising mix of products. Here’s what’s getting your attention right now.

Sony Vaio Tap 20

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (Very good)

The good: By slapping a battery inside a 20-inch touch-screen all-in-one, the company has given birth to a new PC category with great potential in tech-savvy homes.

The bad: The touch screen has some frustrating drag, and Sony made a few missteps among some otherwise reasonable sacrifices for portability and price.

The cost: $999.99

The bottom line: A compelling experiment in tablet-desktop hybridization, the Sony Vaio Tap 20 is a great fit for home tech enthusiasts willing to try something new.

Toshiba Portege Z935-P300

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (Very good)

The good: This Toshiba product has very good features, performance and battery life for its price and is very thin and very light.

The bad: The keyboard may be too small for some users and the laptop doesn’t feel particularly sturdy, especially the lid and display.

The cost: $779.99 to $876

The bottom line: The Toshiba Portege Z935-P300 is an excellent ultrabook value if you can overlook its few design shortcomings.

Apple iPad Mini

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)

The good: The ultrathin and light design makes it seem far more intimate and booklike than the larger iPad, and its cameras, storage capacities, optional LTE antenna and general functionality offer a full iPad experience. The screen’s dimensions elegantly display larger-format magazines and apps.

The bad: It costs too much, especially considering the lower resolution of its 7.9-inch display, which isn’t a Retina Display. The A5 processor isn’t as robust as the one in the fourth-gen iPad and iPhone 5. Typing on the smaller screen is not quite as comfy.

The cost: $329.99 to $549.99

The bottom line: If you want the full, polished Apple tablet experience in a smaller package, the iPad Mini is worth the premium price. Otherwise, good alternatives are available for less money.

Apple iPhone 5

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)

The good: The iPhone 5 adds everything we wanted in the iPhone 4S: 4G LTE, a longer, larger screen, free turn-by-turn navigation, and a faster A6 processor. Plus, its top-to-bottom redesign is sharp, slim, and featherlight.

The bad: Apple Maps feels unfinished and buggy; Sprint and Verizon models can’t use voice and data simultaneously; the smaller connector renders current accessories unusable without an adapter; there’s no NFC; and the screen size pales in comparison with jumbo Android models.

The cost: $199.99

The bottom line: The iPhone 5 completely rebuilds the iPhone on a framework of new features and design, addressing its major previous shortcomings. It’s absolutely the best iPhone to date, and it easily secures its place in the top tier of the smartphone universe.

Read More..

Kendall man confesses to suffocating, raping wife and 8-year-old daughter, police say

A Kendall man confessed to suffocating his wife and raping her 8-year-old daughter inside a West Miami-Dade home, police say.

Alberto Sierra, 28, was charged early Tuesday with the murder of Gladys Machado and her two young daughters, whose bodies were found inside the bedroom closet of a home last week. Machado was also raped, according to an arrest report.

The shocking details cap a furious police investigation into a brutal killing that shocked South Florida. He is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of sexual battery.

Sierra, a convicted felon who was long the main focus of the investigation, confessed after hours of questioning Monday night. Also on Monday, detectives found Machado’s missing car near the Kendall apartment where Sierra was staying with his mother.

According to an arrest report, Sierra accompanied Machado and her daughters to the Mall of the Americas in West Miami-Dade. The on-again-off-again couple began to argue and Sierra, armed with a knife, stabbed her.

Then, he drove the three to the Flagami-area home where the family had lived up until recently. The home was vacant because the couple had split.

According to police, Sierra put the daughters in an adjacent bedroom and suffocated Machado in the master bedroom, then raping her. Then, Miami-Dade police said, Sierra called the oldest daughter to the master bedroom, raping and suffocating her.

Then, police say, Sierra went to the other bedroom and suffocated the youngest daughter as she slept.

The bodies were not found until Tuesday afternoon. A woman who rents an efficiency in the home found Machado and Julia and Daniela Padrino, ages 8 and 4, laid out inside a closet.

A convicted felon with a long rap sheet, Sierra walked into the Kendall substation last Wednesday. After homicide detectives questioned him for several hours, he was allowed to leave. His criminal history includes convictions for drugs and weapons.

But armed with forensic evidence, Miami-Dade homicide detectives called him in for questioning Monday and he confessed.

Machado has a violent past. Back in 2010, Machado told police he bit her arm during a heated argument. Investigators later found him with 79 grams of Ecstasy, a stolen 9mm Smith & Wesson pistol and ammo.

After he was sentenced to one year of probation, he and Machado were married in October 2011.

That same month, Sierra was also investigated by the state’s child welfare agency after Julia told a teacher that her stepdad had bitten her on the arm.

The girls’ biological father asked for sole custody of the children, but the Department of Children and Families closed out its investigation when Sierra was again arrested in November on charges of possessing a firearm by a convicted felon. At the time, he was living with Machado at the same Flagami-area house where she was later found dead.

Officers seized a rifle, a shotgun and ammo. His probation was also revoked and Sierra later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 364 days in a Miami-Dade jail.

In June, Sierra was released from a Miami-Dade jail and had returned to living with Machado. It is not known when the two separated.

Read More..

Police take down major East Coast heroin network

Federal and state officials in New Jersey say they've cracked a major heroin network.

State Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa says the network was selling millions of dollars in heroin in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington.

The attorney general says the network operated out of a series of heroin mills and stash houses in Paterson.

AP

Opium poppies which after processing can be turned into heroin.

Read More..

AHCA rethinking Medicaid doc pay

An early showdown about how Florida’s political leadership responds to Obamacare may be off.

The Agency for Healthcare Administration said Monday evening it was reconsidering its position on whether legislative approval is needed for higher rates for Medicaid primary care doctors starting Jan. 1, as required by the Affordable Care Act.

Shelisha Coleman, an AHCA spokeswoman, told The Miami Herald in an email: “There has been further conversation about this and upon further review an LBC [Legislative Budget Commission] may not be required. We're looking into it and will get back to you with more information as soon as possible.”

Earlier, AHCA stated -- and the office of Gov. Rick Scott repeated -- that legislative approval was necessary either during the session that starts in March or earlier, by the Legislative Budget Commission.

Staffers at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington have been telling journalists that the federal government is picking up all of the increase for two years and the increase should be paid automatically, without need for state approval.

On Monday, a spokeswoman for Sen. Don Gaetz, incoming president of the Florida senate, said that was also the understanding of Senate staff.

Read More..

Pembroke Pines hosts winter camp for special needs kids

The City of Pembroke Pines is accepting registration for its two-week Winter Camp for special needs children ages 6 through 14.

Participants will engage in indoor and outdoor activities, games, arts and crafts, and other activities.

Participants must be independent in toileting skills and be able to administer, with supervision, their own medications.

The camp will be held at Rose G. Price Park, 901 NW 208th Ave., Pembroke Pines.

The camps will be 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 24 and 26 -28; and Dec. 31 and Jan. 2-4.

One week will cost $100; two weeks will cost $175. The fee does not include snacks, lunch or drinks, but it does include camp supplies. Payment is due at time of registration.

For additional information, contact Mary Wilson Palacios, Special Population Coordinator, at 954-450-3663 or mpalacios@ppines.com.

Read More..