The freshman 15: South Florida’s newest lawmakers




















The youngest is 28, the oldest 66. They are teachers, real estate agents, attorneys, entrepreneurs and farmers. And in their spare time, they fly planes, play guitar, raise sheep, write screenplays and go to their kids’ ball games.

These are the faces of the 59 new members of the Florida Legislature (15 from South Florida), which begins its regular session on Tuesday.

The freshman House class of 44 members is tied for the second-largest ever since term limits took effect in 2000. (There were also 44 new members in 2010 and 2008, and the record is 63 in 2000.)





The freshman Senate class of 15 members, meanwhile, ranks in size behind only the freshmen classes of 2002 and 2010.

In total, the new group of legislators includes nearly the same number of Democrats and Republicans, though 10 of the 15 new senators are Republican.

“We’re a broad range of ages and backgrounds,” said Rep. Cary Pigman, R-Avon Park, who like the majority of new representatives is serving in elected office for the first time.

Pasco County businessman and egg farmer Wilton Simpson holds a special distinction: He was unchallenged in his first bid for Senate and was elected without a vote.

Rep. Mark Danish, D-Tampa, said his desire to serve derives from his role as a middle-school science teacher. “I want to extend that and make a difference. There’s a lengthy priority list,” he said, citing issues from creating a homeowner’s bill of rights to addressing local transportation issues.

Another new legislator, Rep. Richard Stark, D-Weston, notes that he, and likely other officials whose homes are hundreds of miles from Tallahassee, “feels a little like college freshmen on their first semester away from home.”

José Javier Rodríguez, D-Miami, who is serving in his first elected office, said chief issues for South Florida involve Citizens Property Insurance, healthcare and education.

“Property insurance, if not at the top, comes close to the top of the list that brings most of us together.”

He also said that he’s been surprised by the expectation of “conformity” in the Legislature. “Asking tough questions definitely rattles people,” said Rodríguez. “Often people expect you to play along, which I find shocking, especially for those of us who ran to shake things up a little bit.”





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Modern Family Stars Get Stuck in Crowded Elevator

No good deed goes unpunished.


PICS: Candid Celeb Sightings

While on their way to a fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City on Friday night, three stars of ABC's hit sitcom Modern Family were trapped in a crowded elevator for almost an hour, ABC News reports.

Julie Bowen, Eric Stonestreet and Jesse Tyler Ferguson took pictures together during the ordeal, which Ferguson posted to his Twitter account.

"This is us right now. 45 minutes stuck in this elevator," Ferguson wrote, captioning the snapshot from the Sheraton Kansas City Hotel's third floor.

The actors were an hour late to the event after the Kansas City Fire Department rescued them, but they maintained a good sense of humor about their plight, reportedly joking about the ordeal on stage.

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Here we go again: Calif. Republican activist says pregnancies rare in rape cases








SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The leader of a conservative faction within the California Republican Party said pregnancies by rape are rare because a woman's body is traumatized by the violence, recalling remarks that derailed a U.S. Senate candidate's campaign last year.

Celeste Greig, president of the California Republican Assembly, made the remarks to the San Jose Mercury News ahead of this weekend's state GOP convention in Sacramento.

Greig was responding to a question about former Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin, who last year said women's bodies have the power to prevent pregnancy — or "shut that whole thing down" — after what he termed "a legitimate rape."




Greig said Akin's comment was insensitive and required an apology, but she then gave a similar remark.

"Granted, the percentage of pregnancies due to rape is small because it's an act of violence, because the body is traumatized," Greig told the newspaper. "I don't know what percentage of pregnancies are due to the violence of rape. Because of the trauma the body goes through, I don't know what percentage of pregnancy results from the act."

The newspaper cited statistics from a 2003 study by St. Lawrence University that showed women get pregnant after rape at a rate that is more than double that for a single act of consensual sex. Relying on data from U.S. National Violence Against Women survey, the study said the per-incident rape-pregnancy rate was 6.4 percent while the same rate for women having consensual sex was 3.1 percent per encounter.

Many Republicans blame the Akin comment on abortion and a later one by Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock for GOP setbacks in last fall's election. Mourdock, who also lost his Senate bid, was criticized after saying pregnancy resulting from rape is "something God intended."

Greig's comments come as the California Republican Party is trying to reboot its image after years of election defeats and registration declines.

The party has dropped below 30 percent in voter registration, does not hold a single statewide office, has less than one-third of the seats in the state Legislature and does not yet have a credible candidate to challenge Gov. Jerry Brown when he is up for re-election next fall.

Public opinion surveys show Republicans are consistently in the minority on a range of social issues supported by a majority of California voters.

Greig did not immediately respond to a telephone message and email asking whether she would like to elaborate on her comments to the newspaper.










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When the latest layoff story is about you




















It’s an odd feeling reading in the newspaper about losing your job. I didn’t learn about being fired in the newspaper but the story of losing my position was there. Why I lost my job (along with more than a dozen of my colleagues) was the lead story in the business section of The Miami Herald on Feb. 22. It even had a picture of me right next to the paragraph describing how we lost our jobs with the public television program Nightly Business Report.

What’s nice about sharing your employment woes with the entire community is the outpouring of support you get. I received dozens of emails from friends, fans and colleagues across the country, expressing sympathy and pledging to help any way they could. It is humbling to hear how you have impacted people’s lives, especially those you don’t know directly. The range of emotions you feel when you face a job loss can be overwhelming, but a short email or voicemail from an associate can lift your spirits, giving you the strength to press on. The medium of the messages does not matter. A tweet of support, LinkedIn endorsement or text message of sympathy fuels the encouragement to face the anxiety of joblessness.

After news of my job elimination was in the newspaper and blogosphere, there were compassionate glances from fellow parents on the sidelines of the kids’ weekend soccer games. I didn’t have to break the news — most had already read about it. A pedestrian on the sidewalk stopped me in mid-stride to express his disappointment. The inevitable questions came: What are you going to do? Will you stay? Do you have anything you’re working on?





I am lucky my employment status was on the business front page. Thousands of other people are treated as statistics. As a business journalist, I have been guilty of that. Company layoffs numbering in the dozens as ours did rarely demand attention. The cuts have to be in the thousands to have any hope of getting much media attention. Even then, it’s only a number. The names of those losing their jobs are known only to their HR departments, in order to fill out the paperwork. It’s unfortunate, but that’s the nature of job loss. Each job cut is a story that begins en masse in boardrooms and offices but plays out individually in kitchens and living rooms across America.

In January, there were more than 1,300 mass layoffs of U.S. workers. A mass layoff impacts at least 50 people from a single company. More than 134,000 individuals were involved in such action, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. My job loss and that of my colleagues won’t show up in February’s report. There were too few of us. Some of us will appear in other employment data, but we will be just statistics. Each of those statistics has groceries to buy, bills to pay and hope for a new opportunity.

In a $16 trillion economy, it’s understandable that we become statistics. The stakes are just too big to pick up the noise from any of our individual unemployment stories. The weekly and government reports I have spent my career reporting on don’t ask why. They don’t ask who. They only ask how many. It’s our friends and family and colleagues who ask, “How can I help?”





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High-flying executive Claudio Osorio pleads guilty to fraud, money-laundering conspiracies




















Claudio Osorio, the former globe-trotting executive who had headed a Fortune 500 company, faces up to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing millions of dollars from investors in his ill-fated venture to build low-cost housing in Haiti and other developing countries.

Osorio, a Venezuelan native who once held fund-raisers for Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and other political stars at his Star Island home, pleaded guilty Thursday to two conspiracy offenses: wire fraud and money laundering.

The fraud conviction carries up to 20 years and the laundering conviction up to 10 years. But Osorio is expected to be imprisoned for 12 or more years under federal sentencing guidelines at a hearing set for May 9.





FBI agents arrested Osorio, 54, in December after some of his investors accused the high-flying entrepreneur of using his Miami Beach-based company, Innovida Holdings, to fleece $50 million from them and the U.S. government. Among the fleeced investors: former Miami Heat star Alonzo Mourning. Osorio stole the money to prop up his Star Island lifestyle, and maintain resort homes in Switzerland and Telluride, Colo., according to authorities.

Previously, Osorio had headed a computer distribution business in Miami that was listed on the Fortune 500 before it filed for bankruptcy in 2000. Despite the failure of CHS Electronics, several investors said they trusted Osorio with their money in his Innovida start-up because the charming executive sold them on its likely profitability.

Although Innovida had a manufacturing facility in North Miami-Dade, it never got off the ground.

Osorio, represented by attorney Humberto Dominguez, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William Dimitrouleas in Fort Lauderdale federal court. As part of his plea, the U.S. attorney’s office agreed to drop 20 other charges in the fraud indictment.

In court, Osorio admitted he “solicited and recruited investors by making materially false representations and concealing and omitting material facts regarding ... the profitability of the company, the rates of return on investment funds, the use of investors’ funds and the existence of a pending lucrative contract with a third-party entity,” according to a statement issued by the U.S. attorney’s office.

Dimitrouleas took over the case this week from U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga, who was supposed to hear Osorio’s change of plea in Miami on Friday. Altonaga recused herself from the case because her husband is an attorney in the same Miami law firm as the defense lawyer for Osorio’s co-defendant, Craig S. Toll, 64, of Pembroke Pines. Toll, who pleaded not guilty, was the chief financial officer for Innovida.

Held without bond, Osorio will remain at the Miami Federal Detention Center.

Osorio was convicted of using Innovida, which claimed to produce high-tech building panels for low-cost housing, to deceive investors and boost his lifestyle.

In 2011, a bankruptcy judge ordered Osorio to sell the one major asset that belonged to him and his wife, Amarilis. The couple auctioned their one-acre, two-story Star Island home with infinity pool for $12.7 million.

The sale of the heavily mortgaged property generated millions for banks and other lenders, and some money for his burned investors, including NBA star Carlos Boozer and Miami-Dade businessman Chris Korge.





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Les Miserables Vocal Warm Up Clip

Much has been made about Les Miserables' use of live singing in the critically acclaimed Tom Hooper film, and in this brand new behind-the scenes clip, you get to see just how much work it took to get the actors' voices in tip-top shape!

"You walk from the corridor, and from all the different dressing rooms you just hear the oddest, oddest warm-ups," laughs Samantha Barks, who plays Eponine in the film.

Related: Spears Suggests 'Toxic,' 'Les Mis' Mashup

"I play my voice up and finding all this stuff in there you know, it's just been massively enjoyable," adds Russell Crowe. "I only really enjoy things when they're so damn scary."

Click the video to hear a raw snippet of Amanda Seyfried and Eddie Redmayne's romantic duet.

Related: Scarlett Johansson Talks Failed 'Les Miserables' Audition

Les Miserables arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on March 22, 2013.

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Woman sues, claiming FedEx sent her pot — then gave her address to intended recipients








PLYMOUTH, Mass. — A Massachusetts woman has sued FedEx, claiming the company mistakenly sent her a package containing seven pounds of marijuana, then gave her address to the intended recipients, who later showed up at her door.

Maryangela Tobin of Plymouth said in the suit filed Feb. 12 that by disclosing her address, the company violated state privacy laws and put herself and her children in danger.

"I feel like the safety of my daughters and myself was invaded and it makes things complicated," she told WBZ-TV. "I walk into my house first every time, my kids don't."




Tobin said she thought the package was a birthday present for her daughter, because when she opened it, she found candles, pixie sticks and peppermint. There was also something she thought was potpourri, but it was marijuana.

Tobin said that about an hour later, a man knocked on her door looking for the package, while two men sat in a vehicle in her driveway, waiting. She said she didn't have it, and bolted and slammed the door. Tobin claims FedEx gave out her address, which led the men to her home.

Police made an arrest, but Tobin said now she's worried about retribution.

Memphis, Tenn.-based FedEx said it doesn't comment on pending lawsuits.










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Florida class-action case takes aim at Citizens’ reinspection program




















Thousands of Florida homeowners buffeted by higher windstorm premiums have sued state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to recover potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in “back-door” rate increases driven by “arbitrary” reinspections of their residences.

The proposed class-action lawsuit, filed in Broward Circuit Wednesday, aims to halt Citizens’ reinspection program, claiming it has illegally stripped discounts from homeowners who had earned them under a 2007 inspection program approved by the Florida Legislature. Their original inspections were supposed to be valid for five years.

But in 2010, Citizens violated the due-process rights of homeowners, who had submitted official inspection forms, by arbitrarily reinspecting their properties to boost lost revenue that the agency could not generate lawfully through premium hikes, the suit said.





Lawyers who filed the suit, whose class representative is a Broward homeowner, said Citizens violated the due-process rights of its policyholders, costing each higher premiums averaging upwards of $1,000 — and possibly more — a year.

The collective cost to homeowners throughout Florida exceeds more than $100 million, said attorney Todd Stabinksi, whose Miami law firm, Stabinksi & Funt, filed the suit with Farmer, Jaffe of Fort Lauderdale and Kula & Samson of Aventura. They gathered Thursday for a press conference outside the West Broward County Courthouse in Plantation.

“Citizens got the benefit of lowering their risks, but Citizens’ policyholders did not get the benefit of lower premiums,” Stabinski said. “It should have been a mutually beneficial bargain.”

Consumer advocates have accused Citizens of using the reinspection program to impose “massive” rate hikes on homeowners. Citizens has denied the charge, saying that it is simply trying to get accurate information about the homes it insures.

“Since at least 2010, Citizens has used a wind mitigation reinspection program to systemtically deprive policy holders of legitimate wind mitigation credits,” said a nonprofit group, Florida Association for Insurance Reform, which praised the legal action.

A spokesperson for Citizens said the company has been operating under the law, and that the reinspections came after regulators changed the mitigation criteria. “Our position is Citizens’ reinspections were conducted under statutory authority afforded any insurer to verify, at the insurer’s expense, the accuracy of inspection reports submitted for a mitigation discount,” said spokesman Michael Peltier.

Discontent has been widespread among Citizens’ policyholders, who spent large sums of money on roof, window and other upgrades to earn windstorm mitigation discounts while protecting their homes against potential hurricane damage. In response, Citizens unveiled major changes to its home reinspection program last August, after consumers expressed outrage over media reports about a staggering $137 million in premium increases generated by the unpopular program.

Under its new plans, homeowners who lose insurance discounts because of a reinspection can receive a second inspection free of charge. They will have new tools to dispute the findings of the first reinspection. That decision could impact more than 200,000 property owners, who have already seen their premiums go up by an average of about $800 after the initial reinspection.





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Driver gets 6 years for hit-run death of 11-year-old




















A Miami-Dade County judge on Thursday sentenced a driver for the 2009 hit-and-run death of an 11-year-old girl to six years in prison, plus eight years of probation.

Harvey Abraham, 37, was convicted in November of fleeing the scene where he struck and killed Ashley Nicole Valdes as she crossed a West Kendall street on Jan. 8, 2009.

He was arrested after a citizen who had been following the case saw Abraham’s Ford F-150 outside a South Miami auto body shop. Abraham took the truck to the shop and filed an insurance claim after the crash, saying he was the victim.





On Thursday, Judge Thomas J. Rebull decried Abraham’s decision to flee the scene.

“Mr. Abraham, if you had just stopped, even if there was nothing you could do to help Ashley Valdez, I can’t imagine you would be facing what you are facing,” he said.

Abraham received six years in prison plus four years of reporting probation for leaving the scene of an accident involving death. For tampering with evidence by attempting to have his truck repaired, he received an additional four years of probation.





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Hannibal Full Trailer NBC 2013

Every since it was announced last May, NBC's Hannibal has been high atop my must-see list -- and this just-released trailer for Bryan Fuller's latest small screen endeavor does not disappoint!


RELATED - TV's Most Devastating Deaths

Starring Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale's Le Chiffre), Hugh Dancy, Laurence Fishburne and Caroline Dhavernas, Hannibal looks to be a dark, disturbing and dynamic reimagining of Thomas Harris' classic Hannibal Lecter saga.

Watch the bloody exciting trailer & tune in to the April 4 series premiere of NBC's Hannibal at 10 p.m.

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Prostitute kidnapped, forced to service multiple 'Johns' before leaping through 6th floor Harlem window to escape: DA








A trio of Manhattan men held a female prostitute enslaved for two days in apartments on the Upper West Side and Harlem, forcing her to have sex with multiple additional "customers" until -- desperate to escape -- she jumped from a sixth story window, prosecutors said in describing a horrific rape-kidnapping case today.

The unnamed woman had gone last November to an escort job at an apartment on West 92nd St. and Columbus Avenue -- only to have her "John" steal her cell phone, money and identification, telling her, "You're not leaving the apartment -- you're working for me and making me money."




That first "John," -- an unapprehended man identified only as "Mike," struck her and held a pillow to her face when she protested, prosecutors say. The woman repeatedly snuck 911 calls on a cell phone she found in the apartment, but couldn't give an accurate address, and police were unable to save her, officials said.

The woman was taken the next night to a second apartment on West 149th Street -- where there were six or seven additional men waiting to have sex with her. "You do what I say in there," "Mike" allegedly threatened her again.

Instead, she climbed out of a window of the sixth-floor apartment -- attempting to use her jacket as a rope but instead falling to the ground, breaking both femurs and her back, according to the complaint against the two men who have been arrested as codefendants in the alleged rape-kidnapping so far.

Defendant Johnny Jackson, 53, told cops that his only involvement was in lending his apartment out so "Mike" could bring "a girl" over for prostitution. "She was OK with it," he insisted. "She didn't want to leave."

"My client is an honorably discharged Marine -- that's all I feel comfortable saying right now," Jackson's lawyer, Arnold Keith, said after Jackson and co-defendant Benjamin Gaston, 36, pleaded not guilty in Manhattan Supreme Court.

"The facts of this crime are truly heinous," Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance said after today's arraignment. "These defendants are accused of holding a woman hostage in order to essentially enslave and prostitute her."










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Crime Watch: Monitor your kids’ credit reports to catch fraud early




















Several of you have emailed me with some horrific stories regarding your child having their Social Security number taken by identity thieves. The crooks then open up credit card accounts, which they don’t pay, thereby trashing the youngster’s credit score.

Therefore I am going to share the information again with you.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, child identity theft is a growing problem.





As we all know, parents apply for a Social Security number after a baby is born because nowadays you need it for filing your income tax. Well, criminals are making good use of those numbers. Children are the new target for identity thieves. They make a great target because it can be years before it will be detected, when the victim finally gets old enough to apply for credit.

This is a huge issue, and we need to start with checking to make sure that our children’s Social Security numbers have not been stolen. Parents really need to start taking action now, even if you just have a newborn. Identity theft could affect your child’s future credit and employment history if the thieves (who sometimes turn out to be family members according to the TransUnion credit agency) obtain credit accounts or event get jobs with your child’s identity.

How do you know if your child’s identity has been stolen? This is where you need to start paying attention:

First, you need to check with the Social Security Administration once a year to make sure no one is using your child’s number. Secondly, you need to check your child’s credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling 877-322-8228. By law you are entitled to free report once a year from each of the three major credit -reporting companies.

Third, if your child starts getting suspicious mail, like pre-approved credit cards and other financial offers normally sent only to adults, pay attention.

Not to fret if you get started now and work with the different credit agencies, because many of them have programs to flag your child’s information, just visit their sites or email me and I will send you the information.

Now here is something you can help with by asking your legislators to do what Maryland did by passing a Child Identity Lock bill that allows parents to take step of freezing their child’s credit at any time. The legislative session starts this week in Tallahassee, so make those calls.





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Spike: The 'Spock' of 'Buffy'?

Fans of Avengers director Joss Whedon's campy ‘90s teen vampire show Buffy the Vampire Slayer would be hard pressed not to think of actor James Marsters' pivotal, genre-defying role as suave bad-boy vampire Spike when reminiscing about the series. But what did Marsters think of the character?

"In Buffy, I thought that I wanted to be the new Spock," he tells ET. "I was a little side character that no one really thought would be much, but I kind of turned the theme at a different angle so you could kind of look at it. …Spock was that side character that nobody thought would be much and he ended up kind of turning the theme on its head, ‘cause Star Trek really was about human beings perfecting a world view and then sharing it with the galaxy, and then Spock was just trying to figure out how to be human in the first place."

The now fifty-something star was just one of many sci-fi icons present at Creation Entertainment’s Grand Slam Convention: The Star Trek and Sci-Fi Summit in Burbank, CA, among other such notables as Sir Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Brent Spiner, and many more.

Fee-Fi-Fo-Fun! Giants on the Big Screen

Marsters went on to do a bit of reminiscing himself, eventually giving us his take on the differences between the more traditional, aggressive Buffy vampires of then and the softer, more melodramatic Twilight vampires of now. "In the world of Buffy, vampires were supposed to be ugly and very quickly dead. Joss used to say that he wasn't into the Anne Rice thing. He didn't want vampires to be romantic. That's why in Buffy when we bite people we become hideously ugly. Because in Buffy vampires are a metaphor for all the problems you face in adolescence. So, the vampires of today are very different. They're more in the Anne Rice vein. And that's cool too."

"I think every generation has their own take on vampires, and I think it's fabulous," he continued. "I think vampires, for some reason, they are the most malleable of all of the basic archetypes of horror. Like, wolfman has to be wolfman, has to be a good man or woman that's forced to do evil by the moon. If the wolfman is a jerk, it just doesn't work. Or, if the invisible man is not a jerk, it won't work. The reason the invisible man works is he's a real jerk and so the audience is terrified when he's invisible cause, what's he going to do now? If it's a really nice guy and he's invisible, who cares? But for some reason, vampires can almost be anything. You can use them to whatever ends that you want. Whatever the zeitgeist is in this decade, or whatever, vampires can morph to fit that."

Naked Fan's Encounter with 'Fringe' Star

When talking about Buffy creator Whedon, Marsters fondly referred to the man as a "true artist," though he recalled one encounter in particular that made him realize that even the most talented of artists suffer their creations. "I asked him one time, 'It must be wonderful to wind up the universe and just see how it plays out,’ and he was sweating. He was like, 'Yeah, the problem is I have to keep winding.' He was really killing himself to put the show out, and basically do a 48-hour movie every week, and so I got to see him under intense pressure."

"He's a genius," Marsters concluded, "so it's like, some days you'll get a huge amount of love, and some days you want to hide from him."

Creation Entertainment, the company behind the event, hosts a number of interactive film and television genre conventions throughout the year. For more information on upcoming events, CLICK HERE.

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2nd person arrested after missing mom found dismembered, scattered around Bronx nabe








A man has been busted for allegedly helping his friend chop up his own mother's body after a woman's dismembered remains were found in trash bags in the Bronx.

Sources said that the son will likely be charged with stabbing 45-year-old Tanya Byrd to death.

SON IN ALLEGED SAVAGE CHOP RAMPAGE: SOURCES

Her 23-year-old son, Bahsid McLean, and his acquaintance, 26-year-old William Harris, have been arrested on charges of unlawfully dissecting a human body and hindering prosecution — but not on murder or manslaughter charges.

Police say they're still investigating, and one of the men may be responsible for her death.





Tomas E. Gaston



Tanya Byrd's body was chopped up and scattered around her Bronx neighborhood.






It isn't immediately clear whether the suspects have lawyers. No phone numbers could be found for their homes.

Yesterday, sources told The Post that the lunatic son hacked up his mother and dumped her remains all over the neighborhood because the woman told him to grow up and move out.

The dismembered remains of the home health aide and devoted mother of three were found in four locations around Morrisania beginning at around 4 a.m. by a father and son walking their dog.

McLean confessed to the horrific crime — telling cops he did it, “basically because his mom wanted him to grow up and move out and be a man,” said a law-enforcement source.

Her body parts were wrapped in plastic, with some stuffed in luggage, cops said.

Police discovered a saw blade and gloves in their apartment, which reeked of bleach, the law-enforcement sources said. A box for a new Black & Decker handsaw was found in the apartment, but the tool was missing.

McLean, being held with charges pending last night, told cops he chopped up his mother in the bathtub, where he drained the blood, the sources said.

He and Harris were seen on surveillance video hauling the bags out of the house, the sources said. After at first confessing to the crime, he changed his story and said his cohort killed her.

“He and another guy are blaming each other,” said a law-enforcement source. “He’s constantly changing his story as we find more physical evidence. There’s no question he did it.”

The dog walkers who found some of the remains picked up two bags thinking they contained books, law-enforcement sources said.

They later realized it contained an arm and leg and called cops in a panic.

McLean was arrested for stealing cash from his mother in 2009.

His grandfather said the man was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was institutionalized for much of his childhood.

With AP. Additional reporting by Dan MacLeod










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Miami hotels saw big numbers in January




















College football was good to South Florida hotels last month.

Boosted by the Jan. 7 BCS National Championship Game, the Miami-Dade hospitality industry reported strong year-over-year improvement.

Hotels countywide were 82.5 percent full, an increase of 4.7 percentage points compared to the previous year, according to data from Smith Travel Research. Rates leapt more than 12 percent to top an average of $211 a night, and revenue per available room soared 17.5 percent to $174.26.





Broward too posted gains, though not as large. Hotel occupancy increased one percentage point to 80.1 percent at average rates of almost $141, nearly 6 percent higher than January of 2012. Per-room revenue increased 7 percent to nearly $113.

In the Florida Keys, hotels were 79.2 percent full, a jump of nearly 5 percentage points. Rates were up more than 7 percent to $225.42 a night, with revenue increasing 12.6 percent to $178.53.





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Handcuffed suspect eludes Hollywood cops




















Hollywood Police are looking for a man who escaped policy custody Tuesday afternoon in front of a doctor’s office.

The man, identified as Marc Vega, was placed under arrest for a domestic dispute in front of Pediatric Associates at 4500 Sheridan St. about 2 p.m., said Sgt. Lester Cochenour.

The female victim suffered injuries to her face and other areas of her body including her legs, Cochenour said.





Cochenour said Vega, donning handcuffs, managed to pry open the back door of the police car.

The man, who was covering his handcuffs with a green shirt and wearing a white or gray T-shirt, was heading south through several Hollywood neighborhoods, police said.

According to police, Vega is 6-feet-2, 220 pounds and is sporting tattoos throughout his body.

Cochenour said unmarked and marked police cars, K-9 units and a helicopter were searching for the man.

Anyone who spots Vega is asked to call 9-1-1.





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Carrie Fisher Briefly Hospitalized

ET confirms that Star Wars legend Carrie Fisher was hospitalized briefly in Los Angeles following a medical incident related to her bipolar disorder.

Pics: Actors Who Almost Got the Part

According to the 56-year-old star's rep, "There was a medical incident related to Carrie Fisher's bipolar disorder. She went to the hospital briefly to adjust her medication and is feeling much better now." Fisher is currently in Los Angeles.

The star was recently honored with the Utah Film Center's Kim Peek Award for Disability in Media for her forthright candor in dealing with her bipolar disorder and for raising awareness about the condition, saying that people suffering from bipolar disorder must choose between being a victim and "taking it on and flying in the face of it."

Related: Carrie Fisher Loses 50 Pounds!

The accomplished writer and performer has also been making headlines as of late with rampant speculation that the original Star Wars trilogy cast will appear in the in-development Star Wars VII, directed by J.J. Abrams.

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Elderly woman targeted in elevator rape attempt








A twisted sicko tried to rape an elderly woman in an elevator of a Harlem apartment building late this morning and he was caught in the act, sources said.

The 74-year-old victim took the elevator to the floor she lives on in an East Harlem housing project and noticed a suspicious man lurking in the hallway around 11:30 a.m., sources said.

Sensing that something was wrong, she returned to the elevator, only to have the creep follow her and try to rape her as the lift continued on to other floors, sources added.

Another tenant trying to get on the elevator got a shock when the door opened to reveal the heinous crime in progress, sources said. That witness called 911, and the perpetrator was still inside the elevator when cops arrived to cuff him, the sources added.



The 50-year-old suspect, who also resides in the building where the attack occurred, is in custody but his name has not been released and he has not been formally charged yet.

kconley@nypost.com










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Homestead, farmer look to settle lawsuit with Air Force




















The Homestead City Council met Monday night to discuss settling a lawsuit that the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed on behalf of Homestead Air Reserve Base against the city and a family farm near the base.

For decades, the city has struggled to find a balance between property owners’ rights and base officials’ safety concerns. The lawsuit, filed in 2011, alleged that the city had ignored safety restrictions after it allowed Alger Farms to develop residential units near the end of the base’s runway.

Alger Farms President John Alger said he had no intention of building the residential units or selling the property to developers. But Air Force officials were concerned the city was putting lives at risk since Alger Farms lies in the flight paths of F-16s, F-15s and other warplanes that pass 750 feet overhead while coming in for a landing.





“We have no immediate desire for development,” said Alger, a third-generation farmer. “But the development rights allow us to preserve a hypothetical value that can be used for collateral.”

City restrictions established in 2010 limit development in an area of Homestead that the Air Force calls “the accident potential crash zone.”

Councilman Stephen Shelley said this week he worked on a settlement agreement that respects the safety restrictions.

“The settlement will benefit all of the parties involved,” Shelley said. “The solution is so simple. I’m not sure why we didn’t think of it before.”

Shelley said the deal would allow Alger to transfer his development rights to another property he owns that is not in the danger zone.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed the lawsuit after the city allowed Alger Farms to build one residential unit per five acres. This translated into 48 housing units in Alger’s 240 acres. The new proposal would allow Alger to transfer the right to build those units to another tract he owns in the city.

The other site “is not the greatest place for homes, but I still have this value,” Alger said.

With the new deal, Alger would have the right to build 55.4 units on a 37-acre property, because he would have the 7.4 units inherent to the 37 acres and the 48 units transferred. Shelley said there would not be a density issue.

“We clustered the density into an area that is not compromising the safety and it’s much less dense than what’s adjacent to it,” Alger said.

Alger’s grandfather, Mason W. Alger, started farming the land in 1934, and in 1942 military planes started taking off and landing at the base nearby. Alger’s father, Richard Alger, and his grandfather purchased land from South Dade farms in the late 1950s. They now grow sweet corn, snap beans, and trees for landscaping.

The base is home to units of the Air Force Reserve Command, Florida Army National Guard, Florida Air National Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Coast Guard, and Special Operations Command South.

When Alger found out that the restrictions affected his land, he thought the U.S. Constitution and Florida’s Bert J. Harris Act, which passed in 1995, protected him. The act allows property owners to seek remedies against government regulations causing an "inordinate burden."

But the U.S. Attorney’s lawsuit questioned the existence of Alger’s development rights. Before the council granted Alger Farms the right to build the residential units, city staff and city attorneys said Alger Farms didn’t have any development rights in the first place, because it lost them after annexation into the city in 1996. Alger disagreed.

“It’s an asset,” Alger said. “The federal government was asking me to devalue an asset without compensation.”

Alger said he is in agreement with the settlement that Shelley is proposing. Now he hopes that military officials will be in agreement too.

The settlement the council discussed Monday night will come up for a final vote within the next month or so, Shelley said.

“My family is very anxious to get our name off that lawsuit,” said Alger. “Imagine that your government is suing you because you want to preserve your rights. So I can spend money paying my lawyers while my government uses my own money to pay for their lawyers.”





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Poll: 7 in 10 back FL medical-marijuana plan, could affect governor’s race




















As many as seven in 10 Florida voters support a state constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana – more than enough to ensure passage and possibly affect the governor’s race — according to a new poll from a group trying to put the measure on the 2104 ballot.

Medical pot’s sky-high approval cuts across party and demographic lines, with Republican support the lowest at a still-strong 56 percent, the poll conducted for People United for Medical Marijuana, or PUFMM, shows.

The outsized support of Democrats and independents brings overall backing of the amendment to 70 percent; with only 24 percent opposed, according to the poll obtained by The Miami Herald.





Regionally, voters from the Miami and Orlando areas, among the most socially liberal in the state, want medical marijuana the most.

Non-Hispanic white women, blacks and Hispanics — all Democratic leaning — are the most-likely to back the measure and could be more likely to turn out to vote in two years if the medical marijuana makes the ballot.

“Supporters of the proposed amendment are less certain to cast ballots in the 2014 governor’s race,” David Beattie, Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson’s pollster, wrote in an analysis of the poll of 600 registered voters taken Jan. 30-Feb. 3 by his firm, Hamilton Campaigns.

If it made the ballot, the measure would draw even more attention to Florida’s nationally watched 2014 election in which Gov. Rick Scott will fight for his political life.

“The proposal to allow the medical use of marijuana could provide a message contrast in the Governor’s race,” Beattie wrote, “heightening its effectiveness as a turnout mechanism.”

But, Beattie warns PUFMM in a memo, “don’t frame turnout efforts on the passage of the ballot initiative in a partisan way.”

To that end, former-Republican-operative-turned-Libertarian Roger Stone is planning to join PUFMM’s efforts to give it a bipartisan feel.

A longtime backer of marijuana legalization, Stone, a Miami Beach resident, is seriously considering a run for governor, where he’ll likely advocate for the initiative called “Right to Marijuana for Treatment Purposes.”

On the Democratic side, former Nelson and Hillary Clinton fundraiser Ben Pollara, of Coral Gables, is signing up as the group’s treasurer. Pollara said they’ve had discussions with Eric Sedler, managing partner at Chicago-based ASGK Public Strategies, which he started in 2002 with former White House advisor David Axelrod, still a President Obama advisor.

“The poll numbers were very encouraging,” Pollara said. “But it’s still a Herculean effort.”

That’s because Florida’s Legislature and voters have made it tougher than ever to get measures on the ballot by citizen petition. PUFMM needs to collect the valid signatures of 683,149 Florida voters. That could cost up to $3.5 million.

Right now, PUFMM has raised just $41,000 and has collected only 100,000 signatures, not all of which are valid. Some might be too old because they were collected as far back as 2009.

PUFMM’s Florida director, Kimberly Russell, said the group hopes that this poll and the top-notch campaign minds could turn things around.

“If we get this on the ballot, we have a great chance of getting this passed,” Russell said. “The more these pass in other states, the more people support it everywhere else.”





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Pretty Little Liars Sneak Peek Clip Out of Sight Out Of Mind Ezra's Son

Since day one, Pretty Little Liars fans have been hot for teacher, and thanks to the revelation that Ezra Fitz fathered a love child, he's now firmly cemented his status as a D.I.L.F. as well.


PHOTOS - TV's 10 Best Dressed Characters

Now, with the secret that threatened to tear Ezria apart out in the open at long last, PLL has also opened the door for Ezra's son to come to Rosewood -- which is exactly what happens in Tuesday's all new episode, titled Out of Sight, Out of Mind.


RELATED - Troian Talks Spencer's Spiral Downwards

ETonline scored a sneak peek at Aria's unexpected first meeting with Malcolm -- but that pales in comparison to the shock Ezra lays on her. Watch!


Pretty Little Liars
airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC Family.

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Teen caught with loaded BB gun in Harlem school








Police were called to a Harlem school today after a teenager was caught with a loaded BB gun, authorities said.

A teacher at P.S. 46 on Frederick Douglas Boulevard found out that the 13-year-old had the pellet gun just before 1 p.m. and notified the principal, cops said.

The boy refused to fork over the weapon, so the school called the police and the child’s parents, said a spokeswoman for the Department of Education.

"A student had a small BB gun, the parent was notified, NYPD was notified. He is at the 32nd precinct now with his mother. No problems, no one got injured," said principal George Young.




The child did not make any threats to use the gun and no one at the school was hurt, cops said.

"He should be punished, that's the only way he'll learn. You can do harm with a BB gun, he should be suspended," said David Lawrence, 26, who has two children that attend the elementary school.

He was brought to police station to be questioned and faces disciplinary action by the school, police and DOE said.

"It's kind of crazy for something like this to happen in an elementary school," said Luis Ramirez, 25.










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Miami medicine goes digital




















About 10 years ago, Dr. Fleur Sack quit her practice as a family physician to become a hospital department head. Spurring her decision was the need to switch from paper records to electronic ones to keep her private practice profitable. “At that time, it would have cost about $50,000,” Dr. Sack recalled. “It was too expensive and it was too overwhelming.”

But times and technologies changed, and last year, Dr. Sack left her hospital job to restart her medical practice with an affordable system for managing electronic patient records. She agreed to a $5,000 setup fee and a subscription fee of $500 per month for the system. Her investment also qualified her for subsidy money, which the federal government pays in installments, and to date, her subsidy income has paid for the setup fee and about two years of monthly fees. “So far, I’ve got my check for $18,000,” she said. “There’s a total of $44,000 that I can get.”

That kind of cash flow is one reason why so-called EHR software systems for electronic health records have been among the hottest-selling commercial products in the world of information technology. EHR system development is a growth industry in South Florida, too. Life sciences and biotechnology are among the high growth-potential sectors identified by the Beacon Council-led One Community One Goal economic development initiative unveiled in 2012; already, the University of Miami has opened a Health Science Technology Park while Florida International University has launched a program in its graduate school of business oriented toward biotechnology businesses.





For many young businesses in the area’s IT industry, government incentives are paving the way. The federal government is pushing doctors and hospitals to use electronic health records to cut wasteful spending and improve patient care while protecting patient privacy — sending digital information via encrypted systems, for example, rather than regular email.

Under a 2009 federal law known as the HITECH Act, maximum incentive payments for buying such systems range up to $44,000 for doctors with Medicare patients and up to $63,750 for doctors with Medicaid patients. Hospitals are eligible for larger incentive payments for becoming more paperless. The subsidy program isn’t permanent; eligible professionals must begin receiving payments by 2016. But by then, the federal government will be penalizing doctors and hospitals that take Medicare or Medicaid money without making meaningful use of electronic health records.

“What the government did is, they incentivized, and now they’re going to penalize,” said Andrew Carricarte, president and CEO of IOS Health Systems in Miami, one of the largest South Florida-based vendors of online software service for physician practices. He said insurance companies also may start penalizing physicians for failing to adopt electronic health records because “the commercial payers always follow Medicare and Medicaid.”

It’s all part of the growth story at IOS Health Systems, which has more than 2,000 physicians across the nation using its online EHR system. Carricarte said many of the company’s customers buy their second EHR system from IOS after their first one flopped. “Almost 40 percent of our sales come from customers who had systems and are now switching over to something else,” he said.





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Cessna crashes into Biscayne Bay; four people rescued near Homestead




















A Cessna carrying four people crashed into the waters of Biscayne Bay Sunday afternoon within Bayfront Park in Homestead.

The crash occurred at around noon. Four people onboard were rescued from the water by Miami-Dade fire rescue workers,” said U. S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Jon-Paul Rios.

The plane was headed to the Florida Keys at the time of the accident.





“We understand the crash happened at the water entrance to the park,” Rios said.

The four onboard suffered minor injuries but were transported to local hospital for treatment.

It’s unknown if the plane was attempting an emergency landing in the water or crashed. The incident is under investigation

At this time, the Cessna remains submerged in the bay.

“We have sent out a Coast Guard vessel to determine if its a hazard to navigation,” Rios said.

An earlier version of this story implied the crash was near Miami’s Bayfront Park.





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Independent Spirit Award Winners 2013

The 2013 Film Independent Spirits Awards were handed out in Santa Monica, CA today and lots of Oscar frontrunners cemented their status by dominating in their categories once more.

Check out all the winners below:


Best Feature


Beasts of the Southern Wild

Bernie

Keep the Lights On

Moonrise Kingdom

Silver Linings Playbook


BEST FEMALE LEAD


Linda Cardellini, Return

Emayatzy Corinealdi, Middle of Nowhere

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook


Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Smashed


BEST MALE LEAD


Jack Black, Bernie

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

John Hawkes, The Sessions


Thure Lindhardt, Keep the Lights On

Matthew McConaughey, Killer Joe

Wendell Pierce, Four


BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE


Rosemarie DeWitt, Your Sister's Sister

Ann Dowd, Compliance

Helen Hunt, The Sessions


Brit Marling, Sound of My Voice

Lorraine Toussaint, Middle of Nowhere


BEST SUPPORTING MALE


Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike


David Oyelowo, Middle of Nowhere

Michael Pena, End of Watch

Sam Rockwell, Seven Psychopaths

Bruce Willis, Moonrise Kingdom


BEST DIRECTOR


Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom

Julia Loktev, The Loneliest Planet

David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook


Ira Sachs, Keep the Lights On

Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild


BEST SCREENPLAY


Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom

Zoe Kazan, Ruby Sparks

Martin McDonagh, Seven Psychopaths

David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook


Ira Sachs, Keep the Lights On

For the full list of winners, click here.

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Man commits suicide by leaping in front of Manhattan subway train








G.N.Miller/New York Post


A train at the Manhattan subway stop where a man jumped to his death today.



A suicidal man died after jumping in front of a subway train in Manhattan this morning, police said.

The unidentified victim was near the edge of the platform at Eighth Avenue and West 23rd Street in Chelsea around 9:30 a.m. as the E train neared the station, sources said. He stepped back about 10 feet before taking a running leap just before the train arrived, sources added.

The MTA suspended C trains and rerouted E trains below 53rd Street and Fifth Avenue for about two hours after the incident.



kconley@nypost.com










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South Beach Wine & Food Festival changes Miami's culinary scene, impacts economy




















For Miami restaurateurs, this is Showtime.

With dozens of top chefs — Bobby Flay, Todd English, Daniel Boloud and Masaharu Morimoto among the list — in town for the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, the pressure is on everywhere, from Michy’s to the new Catch Miami. The goal: Show everyone from around the country that Miami’s food scene has arrived on the national stage.

Chef Michelle Bernstein’s staff whipped up dishes designed to impress guests at Michy’s — like foie gras, oxtail and apple tarte tatin — while she juggled menus for multiple events. Bernstein kept her cellphone handy to make sure any chef friends could get a table, even though her namesake restaurant was sold out.





As always, Joe’s Stone Crab was a must-do stop for many, including Paula Deen and New York restaurateur Danny Meyer. Aussie Chef Curtis Stone attracted a string of admirers as he ate his way around town, with stops at Prime 112, Pubbelly Sushi and Puerto Sagua. Khong River House and Yardbird Southern Table & Bar hosted Meyer, The Food Network’s Anne Burrell and Chef Anita Lo.

Michael’s Genuine was another hot spot.

“This is kind of our coming out party for Khong and it’s our chance to knock it out of the park and wow people,” said John Kunkel, owner of Khong and Yardbird.

Prime 112 owner Myles Chefetz admits he’s a fanatic about checking plates when they come back from a chef’s table. And he’s always on the lookout for the table ordering 20 different items, because that’s usually a restaurateur doing research.

“If you have Jean-Gorges or Bobby Flay eating at your restaurant, you want to make sure he has a great experience,” Chefetz said. “You want to put your best foot forward because you know you’re going to get scrutinized.”

The Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival is not just a forum for impressing the culinary elite. It’s among the top three tourist draws for Miami restaurants and hotels. In its 12th year, the festival draws more than 60,000 people to Miami Beach for a weekend of decadence, featuring more than 50 events spread over four days.

It is neck and neck with two of the area’s other most prominent weekends: Art Basel and Presidents’ Day (which coincides with the Miami International Boat Show).

There’s the immediate economic impact, of course, but the festival has made its mark in other ways: helping transform Miami’s food scene from a cultural wasteland to one of the country’s hot spots, one where top chefs all want to set up shop.

“Twelve years ago I don’t know if you could even name five really good restaurants. Now, you can’t think of where you want to eat because there are so many good restaurants,” said Lee Brian Schrager, festival founder and vice president of communications for Southern Wine & Spirits, its host. “What the festival can take credit for is introducing the culinary world to the great talent down here, and really highlighting South Florida as a great dining destination.”

There has been plenty of indulgence to go around. Flay finally broke his losing streak and took home top honors at the Burger Bash with his award-winning crunchified green chili burger. At the Q, barbecue lovers had their choice of Al Roker’s lamb ribs with baked beans or Geoffrey Zakarian’s smoked tagarashi crusted tuna, among other offerings.





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Wish Book donations brighten the lives of more than 800 people




















Payton Petty, a vivacious 4-year-old boy who lives in Fort Lauderdale with his father, a disabled block mason, and grandmother, was born with the rare condition keratitis, a disorder that scars the corneas. Sometimes he can make out shapes and colors. But his eyes can be so inflamed, he often keeps them closed to ward off the pain that arrives with even the tiniest bit of light.

The Miami Herald told Payton’s story in January as part of The Herald’s 2012 Wish Book campaign. The Pettys received home repairs, including a bedroom makeover and window treatment to deflect light and minimize the pain from WorldCause Foundation, a Fort Lauderdale-based nonprofit humanitarian organization. The Foundation arranged a visit to Rooms to Go in Oakland Park, where Payton gravitated to a retro, red-and- white butterfly chair, among other pieces.

Readers kicked in money for an iPad, vision devices and Braille story books. One donor particularly wanted to help because he, too, is blind.





“The generosity of the readers was exceptional, especially in light of economic uncertainties that loomed toward the end of 2012,” said Wish Book coordinator Roberta DiPietro. The December tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, where 20 children and six adults were slain in a mass shooting, diverted attention.

And yet Wish Book, managed by Miami Herald Charities, still raised $325,000 and received more than $140,000 in good and services, on par with previous years, DiPietro reported. More than 800 people had some or all of their needs met due to the generosity of Miami Herald readers.

“Many items could not be valued, including a donation of a kidney,” she said.

When Zelanda Larragoity was nominated for Wish Book, which has run in the newspaper for 31 years, readers learned the 46-year-old hadn’t been able to work since 2010 after doctors discovered her kidneys had stopped functioning properly.

So, three readers offered to donate a kidney — t o a complete stranger.

Jackson Memorial Hospital, where Larragoity has been on a waiting list since July 2011, screened the candidates. One kidney passed the first test. The potential donor is now undergoing other tests to determine compatibility with Larragoity.

Whatever the outcome, Larragoity was touched. She told The Herald in January that she felt victorious “just knowing that people care like that.”

People do care.

Maria and Fred Foyo opened their hearts to the Wong family of Cutler Bay after they read how the family had adopted seven special needs children. Readers met one of them, Daniel, 19, who was born with cerebral palsy and quadriplegia. He needed a vehicle with a power lift so the Wongs could transport him to his doctors’ appointments.

The Foyos donated their handicap-accessible family van to the Wongs. About two months before Daniel’s story ran in January, the Foyos lost their little boy, Joey, who was 12.

Joey’s ailment stymied the experts who couldn’t quite call it cerebral palsy or multiple sclerosis. They were just able to offer a vague term. “Muscular disorder,” neurologists told the Foyos.

“Joey was one of the most special kids alive,” Maria and Fred Foyo shared with Wish Book staff. “He was smart, witty, friendly, and most of all, always happy. At school, he was top of his class and very popular among his peers. Thanks to this van, Joey’s last two years were memorable. We were able to take him everywhere including a long trip to Pennsylvania to watch one of his brothers play football. We know that Joey would want someone else to have the opportunity to have the freedom he had thanks to this van. He loved riding it, and listening to music on the radio. We hope that it brings as much happiness to the Wong family as it did to us and our little boy.”

Joey died in October from unexpected complications.

“We wish to keep Joey’s legacy alive by being of help to others in his same predicament,” the Foyos said. The family wanted people to know of Joey and their gift — to inspire others to grant wishes.

And don’t forget Moises Brutus, 22, who lost his lower legs and left hand in a 2010 motorcycle accident. An anonymous donor gave him a 2013 Suzuki Kizashi so he could attend school at Miami Dade College, where he’s pursuing a degree in chemistry. The vehicle was outfitted with special controls so Brutus can operate the car with his artificial limbs.

Mack Cycle in South Miami donated an expensive training bicycle and heart monitor, among other goods, so that Brutus can follow his dream to compete in the 2016 Paralympics in Brazil.

“The things that stick out are that people are so giving,” said DiPietro.

Follow @HowardCohen on Twitter.





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Double Take Celebrity Lookalikes



Alice Eve and Brooklyn Decker







ETonline has found the lookalikes to the stars and, as it turns out,
it's their Hollywood peers. Click the pics and let us know if you think
these celebs bear a resemblance to one another.








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Bank moves to foreclose on Kiss guitarist

YORKTOWN — One of the founding members of the rock band Kiss is in danger of losing a New York home to foreclosure.

The Journal News newspaper reports that a bank initiated foreclosure proceedings on Feb. 15 on a Yorktown property owned by former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley.

The three-bedroom house is in a wooded area off the Taconic State Parkway north of New York City.

U.S. Bank National Association said in a court filing that Frehley stopped paying his mortgage in 2011. The Yorktown tax receiver's office also lists liens for thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes on the house.




UPI



Playing the blues: Guitarist singer Ace Frehley is in danger of losing his New York home.



Frehley was with Kiss in its 1970s heyday, performing in heavy makeup as a character known as the "Spaceman."

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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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New witness comes forward in South Beach ‘party princess’ hit-and-run case




















About a week after self-described “party princess” Karlie Tomica, 20, was charged with DUI manslaughter in a hit-and-run that killed a South Beach chef, another witness has come forward to offer gruesome details about what happened on them morning of the tragedy. And he encourages the other witnesses who were there — and there were others, he said — to do the same.

Security guard Roosevelt Johnson Jr., 24, was working at the Shelborne Hotel in South Beach on the night shift.

He had just finished giving a guest directions to a nearby restaurant when he heard and saw the accident that killed chef Stefano Riccioletti, 49, who worked at the Shore Club.





His account helps answer questions after the tragedy: Was Riccioletti standing in the street? Did he walk into Tomica’s lane?

“No,” Johnson said to both.

“He was not jaywalking,” Johnson said. “He was not standing in the street, or in the car’s path.”

Tomica has pleaded not guilty and is under house arrest. The part-time bartender has moved back to her parents’ home in Port St. Lucie. Her next hearing in Miami-Dade court is Wednesday.

Before the sun rose on Jan. 28, Riccioletti was walking at the edge of road construction on Collins Avenue and 18th Street. That’s when Tomica, driving north on Collins and appearing to lose control of her car, swerved and hit him, Johnson said.

Riccioletti was dragged up Collins Avenue and landed in the Shelborne hotel’s driveway. That’s where Johnson, who also is a security guard for The Miami Herald, was standing.

Riccioletti’s body bounced three times hard and rolled “like a test dummy,” Johnson said.

At that point, Tomica screeched the brakes and slowed down significantly, but never completely stopped, Johnson said. She zoomed off again, and began to be followed by “Good Samaritan” witness Jairo Fuentes.

Johnson ran inside to call 911. He was on the phone with a dispatcher for about a minute, then went back outside to where a police officer had already come to Riccioletti’s side.

The officer administered CPR but stopped when he realized it was too late.

“He’s gone,” Johnson recalls the officer saying.

Paramedics arrived and attempted to revive Riccioletti.

Johnson remembers the event clearly, down to what Riccioletti was wearing (a gray hooded sweater, red short, shorts and tennis shoes), because the event flashes in his mind so often, he said.

“Half the time, I close my eyes, and it replays,” he said.





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Denise Richards House Tour

Denise Richards recently gave ET's Nancy O'Dell a personal tour of her home for her upcoming appearance on HGTV's Celebrities At Home, letting our cameras in to her intricately designed, spacious pad.

Richards' home is indicative of her personal tastes, including her super-feminine approach to design. Plush leopard seats, constant bedazzling and corset-inspired chairs in her closet are just some of the items you'll find in her swanky house.

Video: Denise Richards Defends Skinny Photos

An example of her dedication to detail?

She even replaced all her couch's buttons with crystals to make it "more unique to [her] personality."

"I bedazzled everything," she laughs. "Like I said -- everywhere I could put it, I did."

Related: Richards Says Working with Sheen Was 'Awkward'

Check out the video to see Richards' "sexy" entertainment room, wine room and closet, and to see why she might even be getting into a little trouble with Nancy regarding where she placed Nancy's Christmas gift to her!

Celebrities At Home airs Thursdays at 8.p.m./7 c on HGTV.

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Blame Barney! Researchers say character causing kids to think T. rex stood tall — beast really walked like a bird









Getting it right: 'Jurassic Park' depicts T-rex walking like a bird, rather than upright, as had been believed.



Here's a test of your dinosaur knowledge: Did Tyrannosaurus rex stand upright, with its tail on the ground?

The answer: No. But a lot of young people seem to think so, and the authors of a study are blaming toys like Barney and other pop influences for that misconception.

Scientists used to think T. rex stood tall, but they abandoned that idea decades ago. Now, the ferocious dinosaur is depicted in a bird-like posture, tail in the air and head pitched forward of its two massive legs.




The change led major museums to update their T. rex displays, study authors said, and popular books have largely gotten the posture right since around 1990. So did the "Jurassic Park" movies.

But when the researchers asked college students and children to draw a T. rex, most gave it an upright posture instead. Why? They'd soaked up the wrong idea from toys like Barney, games and other pop culture items, the researchers conclude.

"It doesn't matter what they see in science books or even in 'Jurassic Park,'" says Warren Allmon, a paleontology professor at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., and an author of the study.

AP


No love for Barney from scientists, who say the kids show character is leading kids to cling to an outdated view of how Tyrannosaurus Rex really stood.The model outside the Museum of Science in Boston (right) isn't helping, either.



It struck him when he saw a box of dinosaur chicken nuggets at a grocery store.

"What they grew up with on their pajamas and their macaroni and wallpaper and everything else is the tail-dragging posture," he said.

If the explanation is correct, Allmon said, it's a sobering reminder of how people can get wrong ideas about science. The study will be published in the Journal of Geoscience Education.

The authors examined 316 T. rex drawings made by students at Ithaca College and children who visited an Ithaca museum. Most of the college students weren't science majors.

Seventy-two percent of the college students and 63 percent of the children drew T. rex as being too upright. Because the sample isn't representative of the general population, the results don't necessarily apply to young people in general.

When the authors looked at other depictions of T. rex, they found the obsolete standing posture remains in pop culture items like toys, games, cookie cutters, clothing, comics and movies.

Mark Norell, a prominent paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York who didn't participate in the study, said he doesn't know if the upright-posture myth is as widespread as the new study indicates.

But he said it makes sense that children's first impressions of T. rex can persist. If they don't study dinosaurs later, "that's what they're stuck with."










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Register for our free Business Plan Bootcamp




















Whether you are planning to enter the Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge or just want to refine your short business plan, The Miami Herald’s free Business Plan Bootcamp on Tuesday can help.

Melissa Krinzman, a veteran Business Plan Challenge judge and managing director of Venture Architects, will be leading a panel of experts who will give you advice on crafting a short business plan aimed at grabbing the attention of investors — or judges.

If you are entering the Challenge, we encourage you to bring your entry with you because the panel will critique critical sections of the short plan.





Panelists include:

•  Richard Ginsburg, co-founder of G3 Capital Partners, a mid-market and early stage investment company.

•  Steven McKean, founder and CEO of Acceller, a Miami-based tech company, and a Challenge judge.

•  Mike Tomas, CEO of Miami-based Bioheart, president of ASTRI Group and a Challenge judge.

Time, date, place: 6:30 p.m. Feb. 26, Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus Auditorium, Room 1261, Building 1, 2nd floor. (Please note: There is no food or drink allowed in the auditorium, and no food will be served.)

To register: It’s free, but please register here.

Parking: Free parking at the MDC garage at 500 NE 2nd Avenue. It is important to note that the entrances are on NE 5th and 6th Streets.

You do not have to enter the Business Plan Challenge to attend our free boot camp, but we hope you will. The Challenge deadline is March 11. Find the rules and more information on MiamiHerald.com/challenge.





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Jackson Health System earns $5.5 million in January




















Jackson Health System reported strong financial results in January, with a surplus of $5.5 million due to an influx of patients, rigid cost controls and good cash collections, Chief Financial Officer Mark Knight told the board on Thursday.

Days of cash on hand remained at a low 14.5 days, far below the benchmark of 175 days of cash that financially successful hospitals are supposed to have.

While the system has been struggling for more than a year with a steady decline in patient volume, January reversed the trend -- with $87.2 million in net patient revenue, compared to $82.6 million in January 2012.





Because the audit for fiscal 2011-2012 showed a surplus of $8.2 million, Knight said that Chief Executive Carlos Migoya earned a bonus of $219,000 on top of his $590,000 salary.

Migoya negotiated a bonus possibility with the board when he started in 2011, in return for accepting a considerably lower salary than the maximum of the $975,000 that the board could have offered. Last March, union fliers accused him of laying off 1,000 workers so that he could earn a hefty bonus. Migoya responded that he would donate any bonus received to the Jackson Memorial Foundation.

On Thursday, Migoya reiterated his intention to donate the bonus.





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'Jack the Giant Slayer' Ewan McGregor & Nicholas Hoult Interviews

Fee-fi-fo-fum! The classic Jack and the Beanstalk fable gets a brand-new twist with Bryan Singer (X-Men movies, Superman Returns) at the helm with Jack the Giant Slayer, and ET's Christina McLarty is in London with the cast, who all seem to agree that actually climbing a beanstalk to a realm of giants in the sky would be pretty terrifying.

Pics: 13 Must-See Movies of 2013

"In the film, of course, we're all very gung-ho about it; we're not afraid of heights or anything," says Ewan MacGregor. "But in reality I think it would be terrifying."

"I think what would happen is most people would start out [climbing]," chimes in Stanley Tucci. "And then once you hit the troposphere or something, you kinda go, 'Nah.'"

"Then how do you get down?" asks Ewan. "You just scream," replies Stanley. "Help!!!"

In theaters March 1, Jack the Giant Slayer stars Nicholas Hoult (Warm Bodies, About a Boy) in the title role as a young farmhand who unwittingly receives some magic beans that open a gateway between his medieval world and a fearsome race of giants in the sky. When the kingdom's adventurous princess (Eleanor Tomlinson) is trapped in the giant's realm, he must team up with the king's men – some noble, some nefarious – to rescue her and thwart a war between worlds.

Video: Watch the 'Jack' Trailer!

Technology was not quite ready to do the story justice in the past on the big screen, and Nick notes that previous Jacks always seemed to wear tights, which didn't sit well with him: "The first thing when I turned up on this one I was like, 'No tights for me.'"

Watch ET for more with the stars of Jack the Giant Slayer!

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Biden tries to rally support for gun control in Conn. speech

DANBURY, Conn. — Vice President Joe Biden is trying to rally support for the administration's proposals to curb gun violence, saying there will be a moral price to pay for inaction.

Biden is speaking Thursday at a conference in Danbury, Conn., just a few miles from the scene of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. He says that America has changed its views of gun control since the Dec. 14 massacre of 26 people inside the Newtown school.

Other speakers, including the parents of a 7-year-old girl killed at Sandy Hook, urged Congress to honor the memories of the victims with strong action.




Getty Images



Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a conference on gun violence at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, Connecticut.



Meanwhile, Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced he wants to immediately ban high-capacity ammunition magazines, require background checks for the transfer of firearms and expand the state's assault weapons ban.

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Jackson Health System earns $5.5 million in January




















Jackson Health System reported strong financial results in January, with a surplus of $5.5 million due to an influx of patients, rigid cost controls and good cash collections, Chief Financial Officer Mark Knight told the board on Thursday.

Days of cash on hand remained at a low 14.5 days, far below the benchmark of 175 days of cash that financially successful hospitals are supposed to have.

While the system has been struggling for more than a year with a steady decline in patient volume, January reversed the trend -- with $87.2 million in net patient revenue, compared to $82.6 million in January 2012.





Because the audit for fiscal 2011-2012 showed a surplus of $8.2 million, Knight said that Chief Executive Carlos Migoya earned a bonus of $219,000 on top of his $590,000 salary.

Migoya negotiated a bonus possibility with the board when he started in 2011, in return for accepting a considerably lower salary than the maximum of the $975,000 that the board could have offered. Last March, union fliers accused him of laying off 1,000 workers so that he could earn a hefty bonus. Migoya responded that he would donate any bonus received to the Jackson Memorial Foundation.

On Thursday, Migoya reiterated his intention to donate the bonus.





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No mistrial after surprise evidence surfaces in trial of Miami cop-killing suspect




















A judge won’t grant a mistrial, for now, in the case of cop-killing suspect Dennis Escobar after a startling police audiotape surfaced that could taint the man’s confession.

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Leon Firtel made the decision against the backdrop of history: In 1997, the Florida Supreme Court threw out Escobar’s original conviction and death sentence. It took until last week for Escobar to finally begin his new trial.

“I don’t want to deny the defendant his rights but this judge has an obligation to the State of Florida to get this case to trial after 15 years,” a frustrated Firtel told prosecutors and defense lawyers, who had agreed to ask for a mistrial.





Firtel on Monday will reconsider granting a mistrial after lawyers hash out more legal issues. Jurors, for now, are on standby.

Escobar, 52, is accused of shooting Miami Officer Victor Estefan to death after the veteran officer pulled him and his brother, Douglas Escobar, over in a stolen Mazda in Little Havana in March 1988.

The brothers fled to California, where they were wounded in a shootout with highway patrol troopers about 180 miles north of Los Angeles.

Police have long maintained that Escobar, while in a California prison hospital room, agreed to waive his right to remain silent and talk to Miami homicide detectives. Three days later, he confessed to killing Estefan.

But on Sunday, an unmarked, undated cassette tape was found in an evidence box that depicted Escobar refusing to speak, instead telling Detective Jorge Morin to talk to his lawyer.

Morin himself discovered the tape and alerted prosecutor Reid Rubin, who immediately turned it over to Escobar’s defense team.

With the case significantly weakened, prosecutors floated an offer to the brothers: no death penalty if they plead guilty and agreed to life in prison.

Escobar has yet to decide whether to accept the deal. The brothers are already serving a life prison term in California for the attack on the troopers.

Defense attorney Phillip Reizenstein may also ask the judge to throw out the confession. That would deliver a major blow to the prosecution’s case in this trial — or a future one.

As Escobar mulled the plea offer Tuesday night, prosecutors found a second audiotape, this one of Escobar’s interview with California detectives investigating the attack on the highway patrol troopers.

The second tape wasn’t wholly a surprise: Lawyers on each side long had a transcript of that interview.

But the additional discovery was enough that Judge Firtel ordered lawyers to listen to and document every tape left in evidence, about 15 or so, to make sure none others could impact the trial. Firtel gave them until Monday to finish.

Escobar’s defense team has also asked the judge to conduct a hearing to find out why the state attorney’s office, years ago, never turned over the tape to Escobar’s previous lawyer.

Reizenstein said the current prosecution team “did their job honorably” in immediately turning over the tape. Rubin has also told the defense, many months ago, that the evidence box of cassette tapes was available for examination.

But Detective Morin, or the original prosecutors, should have to explain why the tape was never disclosed years ago, and if prosecutors knew that Morin lied under oath at previous hearings, Reizenstein told the judge.





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Miranda Lambert Guest Stars on Project Runway

Miranda Lambert is flaunting her curves and looking all-around fabulous in this exclusive clip from Project Runway's brand-new episode Thursday, in which the remaining designers will be creating an outfit especially for the country cutie.

"I don't know if the fabric on me will be super-forgiving. Doesn't look like I can squeeze a Spank underneath that very easily," she laughs, giving her honest opinion on a contestant's tight-fitting creation.

Video: Bette Midler Nails Her 'Project Runway' Appearance

Though judge Nina Garcia begs to differ.

"With your curves, you're gonna rock this dress," she insists.

Video: Watch Susan Sarandon Have a Ball on 'Project Runway'

Check out the video to judge for yourself!

Project Runway featuring guest star Miranda Lambert airs on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013 at 9 p.m. ET on Lifetime.

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Unlucky in love: MTA struggling to seduce straphangers








Here’s one four-letter word straphangers just won’t use.

A new survey that asked subway riders what they “love” most about the MTA found that nearly a third refused to name anything.

“I don’t use the word ‘love’ in the same sentence with the ‘MTA,’” was the second most popular response in the multiple-choice survey, garnering 31 percent of the vote.

The majority of respondents — 38 percent — cited the “convenience” as the number one reason they loved the MTA.

Sixteen percent cited “other,” five percent said “my fellow riders,” and four percent said “my boss can’t reach me.”




Not one of the 248 respondents in the Straphangers Campaign Survey chose the “fare discounts” option.

“That’s sort of what I like the best,” said Gene Russianoff, head of the Straphangers. “I can live in New York without my car.”

He was also surprised that only 31 percent of people couldn’t pick something to love about the often maligned-agency, particularly because fare hikes are coming in weeks.

“We’re a grudging lot. New Yorkers are pretty picky about their government services,” he said.

The MTA said in a statement “We aim to give our customers reasons to love us – and even if they don’t, we’ll keep trying.”

jennifer.fermino@nypost.com










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Health Foundation gives $1.8 million




















The Health Foundation of South Florida on Wednesday annnounced it was awarding grants worth a total of $1.8 million to 21 organizations.

Among the awards in Miami-Dade were $197,000 to the Miami-Dade County Health Department, $200,000 to Open Door Health Center and $107,000 to the University of Miami. Other Miami-Dade grants included $20,000 to the Banyan Community Health Center, $45,000 to Centro Mater Child Care Services, $230,000 to the Chapman Partnership, $51,000 to CHARLEE of Dade County, $75,000 to Farm Share and $60,000 to the Miami Dade College Foundation.

In Broward County, grants included $96,300 to Archways, $120,000 to Boys & Girls Club of Broward County and $150,000 to the Broward County Health Department.





In Monroe County, the Rural Health Network received $130,000.

The foundation has awarded more than $98 million in grants and support since 1993.





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Tough gals: Roller derby players enjoy contact sport




















For Danielle Shaffner, 33, raising three children with another on the way and having her husband patrol the streets on his police vehicle could be stressful.

That’s why she counts on a sport on wheels for relief: women’s roller derby.

“I let loose and become a little maniac on the rink,” said Shaffner, who is four month pregnant and goes by the name of Pree-T-Manik.





Shaffner, who lives near Palmetto Bay, is one of many professional women competing in Miami’s Vice City Rollers roller derby team. The team was formed back in 2011 and practices at the Palmetto Golf Course hockey rink, 9300 SW 152nd St. in South Miami-Dade.

“It just comes a little naturally,” said Shaffner, who works as a dental assistant and has skated since she was a child. “I love the adrenaline rush. I use it as anger management. It is a great way to make friends and socialize.”

Her pregnancy doesn’t allow her to have contact, so for now, she is taking advantage of the exercising the sport provides.

The team has started their second season on a high note defeating their fist opponent in January.

The game is played on a rink wearing quad roller skates. There are five players to a team. Games consist of a series of short match-ups where a designated player known as a jammer scores points by lapping members of the opposing team, who in turn try to stop the jammer from scoring.

Team president and skater Kristen De La Rua, 30, was instrumental in putting together the team. She and other teammates practiced for Broward’s team, the Gold Coast Derby Grrls. They felt it was only appropriate Miami had a roller derby team.

“Miami needed it’s own team,” she said. “We got a huge response.”

At first, she worried playing because her profession is of a massage therapist, so an injury to the wrist or hands could be costly.

“I was always getting scared because of my career, but I got over it,” she said. “Once I started playing it, it was not that bad.”

Players were recruited using Facebook. Each player pays $40 a month to cover the team’s cost such as paying for the practice location and travel fees.

USA Roller Sports sanctions the games and they play under the Women's Flat Track Derby Association rule set.

Currently, they are playing Florida teams, but plans are to travel and play teams outside of the state and overseas. There are about 30 members. Each player has a nickname that fits their character, but names are earned. The team is still considered amateur.

Edley Duclos is one of few males who practice with the girls. He is a referee and acknowledges the women’s hard work.

“I do it for the exercise, “he said. “Keeping up with these girls is hard.”

Wearing a pink helmet, elbow and knee pads, Marcy Mock skated around with teammates at the outdoor hockey rink, at Coral Reef Drive and U.S. 1.

She goes by the name of Pinky Gomez, 41. She is a graphic designer who travels from North Miami to practice. She says the game could lead to injuries, but the sport’s rush keeps her motivated. She suffered two broken ribs during a game and still came back to finish.

“You get this adrenaline rush that you don’t feel anything,” said Mock, who also teaches spinning classes.

Aside from the competition, Mock said their bond built between teammates and opponents is a great feeling.

“It doesn’t matter who wins,” she said. “You are playing this game and it’s a women’s driven game.”

Their next game is scheduled for March 2. All of their home games are held at the Palmetto Golf Course hockey rink.

For information visit facebook.com/miamirollerderby.





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