Several injured, one dead after tour bus hits overpass at airport

Several people have been injured and one is dead after the top of a tour bus entering Miami International Airport hit an overpass at the airport's arrivals entrance.

There were 30 to 35 people on the bus and some suffered "major injuries," said Greg Chin, a spokesman for the aviation department.

About a dozen fire trucks and six ambulances blocked the airport entrance, and traffic entering the airport was delayed about 30 to 40 minutes as of 9 a.m.

As of 9:30 a.m., a body was still trapped near the driver's seat, which was crushed.

Mike Barber, who was running late to his flight to Los Angeles with American Airlines, was calm.

"There are worse things than losing a flight," he said.

People arriving from their flights were peeking from their windows to get a view of the scene.

On the first floor, in arrivals, a crashed white bus with the top missing over the driver's seat was parked. Shattered glass covered the floor.

The back side emergency door was missing and a bus chair was on the ground.

"You would think the driver should have know his bus was too high," Susan Lillis said, flying in from Baltimore. "You would think he would have been here before."

Ricardo Fernandez an employee at the airport brought bottles of water, granola bars and other snacks out for police officers and rescue.

The luggage had been removed from the bus' inferior level.

The top two rows of the bus were under the rubble. About 9:40 a.m., traffic homicide investigators arrived. Two men dressed in light forest green entered the bus with clip boards. One was wearing black pants and a white dress shirt. Firefighters holding a large hose stood by.

This article will be updated as more information becomes available.

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Woman grazed by bullet after shots fired near Chelsea nightclub

A woman was wounded when gunfire erupted near a troubled Chelsea nightclub early today, authorities said.

The 26-year-old woman was grazed in the leg by a bullet on 28th Street and 7th Avenue about 4:10 a.m., cops said.

A nearby security guard said shots were fired after a fight broke out at the nightclub Shadow and spilled out down the block.

It was not clear who the intended target was. The victim was taken to Beth Israel Hospital in stable condition.

Nearby residents called for the closure of Shadow after shots were fired there earlier this year. The popular spot has also been the scene of stabbings and noisy clashes.

Seth Gottfried

Cops examine the scene of today's shooting

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Boat Show may block Miami’s 2016 Super Bowl bid

This winter, the biggest NFL match-up in South Florida might be Super Bowl versus Boat Show.

As South Florida readies a bid for the 2016 Super Bowl, it must contend with a major potential conflict on the tourism calendar. The National Football League may move the Super Bowl to Presidents’ Day weekend, already home to the five-day Miami International Boat Show since the 1940s.

It’s a significant enough conflict that, in the past, local tourism officials have declined to pursue a Super Bowl if it fell on boat show weekend. But this time around they may have no choice. For the first time, the NFL is requiring that potential host cities agree to a Presidents’ Day weekend Super Bowl if they want to pursue the big game at all, said two people who have seen the NFL request for Super Bowl bids.

The NFL “invited South Florida [to bid] knowing there was going to be an issue with Presidents’ Day weekend and the boat show,” said Nicki Grossman, Broward’s tourism director. “In the past, South Florida has not responded to a Super Bowl date that included Presidents’ Day weekend. This package is different.”

South Florida vies with New Orleans as the top Super Bowl host, with government and tourism leaders touting the game as both a boon to the economy and a publicity bonanza. But the notion of accommodating both Super Bowl and boat show — not to mention a major arts festival in Coconut Grove — strikes some top tourism officials as a bad idea.

“There is not sufficient hotel inventory available in Miami that weekend to host a Super Bowl,” said William Talbert, president of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We have taken a close look at that weekend, and it’s not physically possible in Miami to host Super Bowl during the Presidents’ Day weekend because of the boat show and the Coconut Grove Arts Festival. The hotel inventory is all being used for these two great events.”

His comments are at odds with the region’s top Super Bowl organizer and reflect the burden that the boat show may be to South Florida’s Super Bowl hopes for 2016 and 2017. The NFL invited Miami and San Francisco to bid for the 2016 Super Bowl by April 1, with the loser vying with Houston for the 2017 game. Talbert said the bid package states both decisions will be made in May.

For now, South Florida’s Super Bowl organizers face a largely hypothetical challenge, because the current NFL schedule has the Super Bowl occurring two weeks before Presidents’ Day weekend. The bid requirements for the ’16 and ’17 Super Bowls include three consecutive weekends as possibilities for the game, with the latest falling on the Presidents’ Day holiday.

Still, possible logistical hurdles may combine with political obstacles if the Miami Dolphins resume their push for a tax-funded renovation of Sun Life Stadium, the Super Bowl’s South Florida home.

Last year, the Dolphins proposed that Broward and Miami-Dade counties subsidize a $225 million renovation at Sun Life as a way to keep the region competitive for Super Bowls and other large events. The renovation includes a partial roof that would prevent the kind of drenching Super Bowl spectators suffered in 2007 when a rare February downpour hit Miami Gardens.

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College student seeks immunity in South Miami man’s stabbing death

James Arauz, the Miami Dade College student who stabbed his mother’s employer to death, testified Thursday in the first day of a hearing to determine whether he would be granted Stand Your Ground immunity.

Arauz, who was 20 at the time, stabbed Vincent Pravata to death and went on a shopping spree with his credit cards in Oct. 2009. Investigators later found bloody fingerprints on a glass that led them to Arauz, who confessed to the murder and claimed self-defense.

The defendant’s mother worked as a housekeeper for Pravata for eight years and Arauz helped do yardwork for four months.

After Arauz’s father died from a heart attack in 2008, the 63-year-old Pravata offered to act as a mentor.

Arauz, an engineering student, testified that Pravata, who was openly gay, occasionally made comments about Arauz’s “beautiful eyes” and asked if he’d ever thought about gay sex.

The defendant’s mother said Pravata was unusually excited when Arauz broke up with his girlfriend less than a month before the stabbing.

From the witness stand Thursday, Arauz said he went to Pravata’s South Miami home to pick up the letter of recommendation he had requested for an internship application.

He said Pravata demanded sexual favors in exchange for the letter.

When Arauz rejected Pravata’s advances and tried to leave, he said the older man “went into a rage and tried to pin me against a wall”

After a chase and physical resistance, Arauz grabbed a decorative knife off a filing cabinet and stabbed Pravata 18 times when he tried to prevent him from opening a metal gate outside the house.

“I had already tried flight and it didn’t work, so I was trying to fight,” Arauz said, describing the desperate struggle for the knife. “It was the survival instinct.”

As Arauz was moving the body back into the house, he saw the victim’s wallet in his pocket and took his credit cards and $480 cash.

Arauz was also facing an outstanding shoplifting charge at the time. He was charged with second degree murder and credit card theft.

Judge Yvonne Colodny will hear further testimony on Friday and decide whether to grant the motion for immunity. If she decides that the defense has not provided enough evidence for Stand Your Ground, the case will go to trial before a jury.

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Two men shot in Staten Island apartment building for allegedly being too noisy

One man is dead and another is fighting for his life this morning after they were shot in a Staten Island apartment building for being too noisy, police sources said.

The victims, 20 and 21, were in a first floor apartment in a Bodine Street building drinking and being rowdy around 6 a.m. when the upstairs neighbor complained to her boyfriend, the source said.

The man decided to take matters into his own hands and marched downstairs to put an end to the ruckus, sources said.

The confrontation quickly turned violent and the man sunk a bullet into the 20-year-old’s back and then shot the 21-year-old in the stomach, police said.

Emergency workers rushed the 20-year-old victim to Richmond University Medical Center, but were unable to save him, cops said. The other victim was taken in a private car to the same hospital, where he is in critical condition, cops said.

The shooter fled from the building and is still at large, police said.

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California Pizza Kitchen brings prototype to Sawgrass Mills

The restaurant chain that took barbecued chicken pizza mainstream is ready to push the culinary envelope again. How about a pizza topped with roasted Brussels sprouts and applewood smoked bacon or a Korean barbecue pizza with pork loin and spicy kimchee salad?

Innovative menu items are just one piece of what’s unique about California Pizza Kitchen’s new flagship restaurant unveiled Thursday at Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise. The first of its kind, the Sawgrass location aims to reinvigorate the brand that started in 1985 in Beverly Hills.

“The whole idea is about taking the best of what put us on the map and making it relevant for 2012 and beyond,” said G.J. Hart, who took over as chief executive officer of the chain just over a year ago. “Over the years the brand morphed from being a leader and it became a follower of food trends. We want to bring back the hip, cool feel.”

The changes are obvious from the moment you walk into the restaurant, which opens to the public Monday. The new look is all about focusing on the chain’s California roots. Very little of the bright yellow and chrome remains. The design is California-casual with earth tones and reclaimed wood everywhere from the walls to the floor and tables. An outdoor terrace with couches and fire pits is designed to encourage lingering. Large windows and glass doors let in lots of natural light and fold open to enjoy the weather.

Pizza is center stage with the kitchen designed so diners can watch the pizza makers at work. At the Sawgrass location — and by mid-2013 at all restaurants — pizzas will once again by hand-tossed. Currently the chain uses a pizza press to make the dough more uniform.

The new focus is on upping the culinary quotient across the board with dishes like a roasted beets and whipped goat cheese salad, plus a sweet pea carbonara featuring pea-filled pasta purses tossed with Italian pancetta and a Romano cream sauce. These are some of the unique items only on the Sawgrass menu, which also features a specialty menu of hand-crafted cocktails.

Chain-wide the company has actually slimmed the menu from more than 100 items to 74 in order to improve execution. But there are also more healthy choices like quinoa and arugula salad or a fire-roasted chile relleno stuffed with chicken, cheese, mushrooms, spinach and eggplant that dishes up at only 380 calories.

“As we grew, we didn’t keep up with the creativity on the menu and we tried to be all things to all people,” said Brian Sullivan, senior vice president of culinary innovation, who has been with the company for 24 years. “We’re always going to be pizza-centric. But we’ll continue to push the envelope with these specialty items that resonate with who we are. We don’t want items that you are going to see in other restaurants.”

The chain chose Sawgrass to unveil its new flagship location because of a combination of the area’s diverse demographic base and the influx of international visitors. South Florida has already been a strong market for the brand, which has seven locations in the tri-county area stretching from Coral Gables to Palm Beach Gardens.

The opening is the culmination of a new vision that began to take shape when Golden Gate Capital purchased California Pizza Kitchen in July 2011 for $470 million, taking the company private and bringing in Hart as the new chief executive.

“They saw a brand that was undervalued,” said Hart, who has an ownership stake in the chain. “This is an iconic brand with so much brand equity. If we can bring the excitement and enthusiasm back we’re only going to see it go up.”

Industry experts say the changes make sense because the brand still has a loyal following, although it has not kept pace with the competition.

“It’s a good time for them to go back to what were the fundamental things that made the brand so intriguing,” said Dennis Lombardi of WD Partners, a restaurant industry consultant. “The difficulty is going to be getting the word out to consumers that this is different. The devil is always in the details in these kind of evolutions.”

Based on consumer reaction, the plan is to take pieces of the Sunrise concept and introduce it into the chain’s other 268 existing restaurants. Some restaurants could be completely remodeled, but most will only get elements of the new prototype, which cost $2 million in Sunrise, Hart said. The company’s Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton locations could be strong candidates for remodeling next year or early 2014, he said.

Community and business leaders, who got a first look at the restaurant on Thursday, were impressed.

“This is phenomenal,” said Luanne Lenberg, general manager of Sawgrass Mills. “We’re so excited to have this caliber of restaurant and to be their test for the rest of the world.”

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Keys stabbing suspect surrenders in Miami-Dade

A 33-year-old Islamorada man wanted in connection with a stabbing earlier this week has surrendered to law enforcement authorities in Miami-Dade.

Alexander Flores told police he stabbed his ex-girlfriend after breaking into her Plantation Key house.

She was airlifted to the Ryder Trauma Center in Miami on Tuesday. Her condition is listed as stable.

Monroe County Sheriff’s detectives drove to Miami Wednesday and picked up Flores, who was charged with aggravated battery, burglary, criminal mischief and resisting arrest. He was booked into the Monroe County jail.

The arrest report says Flores entered the victim’s bedroom and stabbed her in the chest. Flores reportedly told police he became angry when he learned his ex was seeing someone else. He also told police he got drunk, broke into her house and attacked the victim.

The 33-year-old Plantation Key woman told police that Flores held the knife to her throat after the stabbing and forced her to leave the house with him. As they walked out the door, a friend of the victim was outside and Flores ran northbound on the old highway.

The friend then drove the victim to Mariner’s Hospital, where she was later airlifted for treatment in Miami.

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Tiffany & Co.'s third-quarter results miss Wall Street estimates as jewelry company cuts 2012 outlook

Tiffany & Co.'s third-quarter net income fell 30 percent, stung by a higher-than-expected tax rate, ongoing economic weakness and high precious metal and diamond costs.

The jewelry company's results missed Wall Street's expectations and it cut its full-year earnings forecast.

Shares dropped $5.58, or 8.7 percent, to $58.15 in premarket trading Thursday.

For the period ended Oct. 31, the company known for its blue boxes earned $63.2 million, or 49 cents per share. That's down from $89.7 million, or 70 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts polled by FactSet forecast earnings of 63 cents per share.

Chairman and CEO Michael J. Kowalski said in a statement that Tiffany had expected its quarterly results would be affected by ongoing economic softness and tough year-ago comparisons. But he added that the retailer's gross margin rate of 54.4 percent — down from 57.9 percent in the prior-year period — was weaker than expected and its tax rate was higher than expected. Gross margin, a key performance metric, is the amount of each dollar in revenue a company actually keeps.

While cautious about worldwide economic conditions, Kowalski said that the company anticipates results improving during the holiday season partly because of easier year-over-year sales comparisons but also because of new stores and new products.

The holiday season is critical for retailers, as it can make up to 40 percent of stores' annual revenue.

Revenue increased 4 percent to $852.7 million from $821.8 million. Wall Street expected $858.8 million.

Sales rose 6 percent in Europe and 3 percent in the Americas region. Asia-Pacific sales climbed 2 percent, while Japan sales rose slightly. Tiffany said that its other sales jumped 73 percent as it converted five stores in the United Arab Emirates from independently-run distribution to company-run stores.

Tiffany now expects 2012 earnings of $3.20 to $3.40 per share. Its prior outlook was for earnings of $3.55 to $3.70 per share.

Analysts predict earnings of $3.59 per share.

Tiffany had 272 stores at quarter's end.

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City National Bank of Florida and its Spanish parent have four years to evaluate the Miami bank’s future ownership

City National Bank of Florida, the Miami bank purchased by Bankia (formerly Caja Madrid) of Spain in November 2008, said Wednesday that its parent has a “four-year window to evaluate alternatives” for the bank’s future ownership and will work closely with management in Miami during the process.

The Spanish government has reached and agreement with the European Union related to Spain’s financial system problems, which will result in a recapitalization of Bankia and other institutions, the bank said. The agreement calls for Bankia to sell non-core assets and its holdings outside of Spain so that Bankia will emerge with a solid capital position and be more focused on its core domestic business.

“Because City National Bank is so well capitalized, profitable and well positioned in the marketplace, we are going to take our time to fully evaluate all of our strategic alternatives,” City National Bank President and CEO Jorge Gonzalez said in a statement. “This does not impact our ongoing strategy of profitable growth and diversification or our commitment to the markets we serve. Our focus continues to be taking excellent care of our clients and employees. ”

City National, founded 65 years ago, has $4.32 billion in assets and 26 branches from Miami-Dade County to the greater Orlando area.

INA PAIVA CORDLE

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Group to begin reviewing Miami-Dade’s elections practices

A group tasked with making recommendations to improve Miami-Dade elections will begin meeting Tuesday morning, three weeks after Election Day was marked by long lines and a surge of absentee ballots that took several days to count.

County Mayor Carlos Gimenez convened the advisory group to examine state and local elections laws and practices, and suggest changes. The first meeting is expected to feature an overview of legal issues, an outline of the county’s approach to elections and a tour of Miami-Dade’s elections headquarters.

The elections department has not yet submitted its “after-action report,” a post-mortem detailing how things went during the election.

The group will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the county’s Doral elections department, 2700 NW 87th Ave. The meeting is open to the public.

In addition to Gimenez, the group includes 13 members he appointed. Among them are four county commissioners: Lynda Bell, Sally Heyman, Dennis Moss and Rebeca Sosa.

The other members are: Alice Ancona of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce; the Rev. Victor Curry, president of the Miami-Dade chapter of the NAACP; Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert; former County Attorney Murray Greenberg; Lovette McGill, an activist who has been involved with African-American trade unionists; Gepsie Metellus, executive director of Sant La, a Little Haiti-based social services agency; C.J. Ortuño, executive director of the gay-rights advocacy group SAVE Dade; and elections attorneys Kendall Coffey and Robert Fernandez, who represented Gimenez and newly elected Property Appraiser Carlos Lopez-Cantera in recent elections challenges.

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