Miami Private Investigator: Former Commander, FHP LT. Florida State Police

Preview: MiamiHerald.com: Miami-Dade

MiamiHerald.com: Miami-Dade

Miami-Dade School Board OK's $89M in budget cuts
In a strong show of support for Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, the Miami-Dade School Board unanimously approved a plan to slash $89 million from the school system's budget.

Guantánamo court reopens with case against bin Laden cook
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVY BASE, Cuba -- A Sudanese captive accused of being Osama bin Laden's cook and bodyguard sat side by side with a human rights attorney from his homeland Wednesday as a team of U.S. lawyers argued for dismissal of his war crimes case.

Pine Crest High swim coach held on child-porn charges
A Broward County swim coach has surrendered to federal authorities after an investigation revealed he had dozens of child-pornography images on his laptop.

Much-needed restorations to begin at Vizcaya
To the casual visitor, the magnificent palace of Vizcaya appears today much as industrialist James Deering left it upon his death in 1925.

Knight Foundation to help fund King Memorial in Washington
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced Wednesday that it will make a $1 million donation to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation to help build the historic four-acre King Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Artificial heart keeps teen alive for 118 days in Miami
Tall, slim, wearing a hospital mask, a long scar running down her chest, D'Zhana Simmons, 14, stood up from her wheelchair. She took a few tentative steps and sat down at a table before the TV cameras. In a barely audible voice, she spoke of living for 118 days without a heart, her blood circulated by a pair of mechanical pumps, in limbo between transplant operations.

Gay comedy suddenly gets new relevance
Playwright Michael Yawney spent the last three years crafting a comedy about Anita Bryant's 1977 campaign to repeal Miami-Dade County's first gay-rights ordinance. Yawney never expected that on the eve of its world premiere Thursday in Miami, 1,000 Homosexuals would be so relevant.

Flying high: TSA names Miami Airport of the Year
The Transportation Security Administration said Tuesday that it named Miami International Airport as its Airport of the Year at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Miami Herald writer wins award for Medicare report
Miami Herald staff writer Jay Weaver has been awarded the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association's Excellence in Public Awareness Award for a series of investigative stories he wrote exposing massive Medicare fraud in South Florida.

Student, 21, named to Hialeah City Council
A 21-year old St. Thomas University student and former staff member of Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina was appointed Tuesday night to the Hialeah City Council.

Bob Ross wins runoff for Pinecrest council seat
Bob Ross handily defeated Mike Guilford in Tuesday's runoff election for a seat on the Pinecrest Village Council. Ross received 57.7 percent of the vote -- 1,248 of the 2,166 ballots cast -- compared to Guilford's 42.3 percent, according to Miami-Dade County election results released late Tuesday.

Miami-Dade approves 19 charter schools, closes four
The Miami-Dade School Board on Tuesday voted to close four charter schools -- and approved contracts for 19 new ones. The news caused heartache for some parents and teachers, who showed up at Tuesday's School Board meeting to fight for the schools facing shutdowns.

Cutler Bay considers mandatory parking lot cameras
In a skirmish that will pit retailers against elected officials, Cutler Bay may become the first municipality in Florida to require some shopping centers to install surveillance cameras in their parking lots.

Husband held in death of wife found floating in St. Augustine Inlet
After years of waitressing and partying in Coconut Grove, Melissa Lightsey's life finally settled down. She met her handsome husband at the beach. They had two children, a boy and a girl. Melissa Lightsey, an aspiring special-education teacher, enrolled in college.

'Extraordinary' lawyer fought to the very end
The scene unfolding in the intensive-care unit was extraordinary. Milton M. Ferrell Jr. -- a second-generation Miami lawyer, philanthropist and Democratic Party activist just nine days past his 57th birthday -- lay dying. The primary cause: mesothelioma, an asbestos-linked cancer that cost him a lung in May.

Cuban fighter, Miami exile
Orlando C. Manrique -- who smuggled weapons into Cuba to try and overthrow the government, was later shot seven times in a failed 1957 coup and took part in the Bay of Pigs invasion -- died Saturday. He was 84.

Singer starred in Latin combo
In the 1950s, vocalist Lynn Baumel dazzled Miami club-goers with her bandleader husband's Latin combo -- a vision of postwar glamour in body-hugging satin gowns.

Activist fought status quo in Latin America
Nita Rous Manitzas, a Ford Foundation Latin America expert, died Nov. 6 at her Coral Gables home. She was 74. She had been suffering from multiple health problems, according to her husband, journalist Frank Manitzas.

Member of early Homestead family
John Ballard Tower III descended from one of Homestead's founding families. Tower Road bears its name. His grandfather was one of the town's early doctors, his father a grower who lectured widely on the care and cultivation of fruit trees.

Longtime educator mentored black teens
Wilkes J.S. Kemp, the son of migrant workers who educated himself out of poverty then mentored thousands of black teens through his fraternity -- while teaching math for 32 years in the Miami-Dade County schools -- died Oct. 19.

Educator was tireless advocate for her causes
When Nettie Elizabeth Cook-Dove was watching a Miami Heat or Chicago Bulls game on television, you knew not to interrupt -- unless Barack Obama was on another station.

Cuban-born modernist's paintings celebrated life
Cundo Bermudez, the Cuban artist who stylized on canvas the color and luminosity of traditional places and musical scenes of his homeland, died on Thursday in Miami-Dade from a heart attack. He was 94.

An architectural review of Miami Beach's renovated Fontainebleau Hotel...
An architectural review of Miami Beach's renovated Fontainebleau Hotel, which appeared Sunday on Page 3M, stated incompletely the name of the firm in charge of the hotel's new towers and renovations. It is Nichols, Brosch, Wurst, Wolfe & Associates.

Due to a typographical error, Jeff Schader was misquoted in a Business...
Due to a typographical error, Jeff Schader was misquoted in a Business Monday story about his company, The Skins Factory. His quote should have read that he took contacts, not contracts, in incorporating.

Because of an editing error, the profile of retired race car driver...
Because of an editing error, the profile of retired race car driver Bobby Allison in Sunday's Miami Herald contained an extraneous three words at the end of the article.

The status of two Fontainebleau restaurants was misstated in a story...
The status of two Fontainebleau restaurants was misstated in a story that appeared Friday on Page 1C. While construction delays prompted the Miami Beach resort not to use Gotham Steak and Scarpetta for this weekend's grand-opening parties, resort executives said Miami Beach has cleared the eateries to operate temporarily.

An item in Wednesday's Ticket in the Tropical Life section listed seasonal...
An item in Wednesday's Ticket in the Tropical Life section listed seasonal subscription prices to the University of Miami Jerry Herman Ring Theatre instead of individual ticket prices for The Winter's Tale. The correct prices are weeknights and matinees: general admission $16; seniors, UM faculty/staff/alumni: $14; students: $6. Friday & Saturday nights: regular admission: $18; seniors, UM faculty/staff/alumni: $16; students: $8.

A story Saturday on Page 1C about David Nelson, the head of the Miami...
A story Saturday on Page 1C about David Nelson, the head of the Miami office of the Securities and Exchange Commission, not facing disciplinary action for dropping a case against Bear Stearns requires clarification. Brenda Murray, the SEC official who found no wrongdoing, was not acting in her capacity as an administrative law judge. Her finding that Nelson did nothing wrong was not a ruling. Nonetheless, Murray's decision ends the inquiry.

A headline atop a brief news item about a body found on a West Broward levee was incorrect
A headline atop a brief news item about a body found on a West Broward levee was incorrect. The body was found by a South Florida Water Management district employee. The victim did not work for the water district. The error, on Page 3B of Friday's local section, was made in the editing process.

A story Thursday on Page 1C about a charity ball moving from Miami...
A story Thursday on Page 1C about a charity ball moving from Miami Beach's Fontainebleau Resort to another hotel contained an incomplete description of the event. The Archdiocese of Miami's 50th Anniversary Jubilee Gala will benefit both Catholic Charities and Catholic Health Services.

Family reveals secret in Cuba hijacking
For the Ponce de Leons, the deadly hijacking of a Cubana Airlines plane is more than unresolved history -- it's a family secret that has been buried for a half century.

Dade transit watchdog agency chief resigns, takes Super Bowl gig
The executive director of Miami-Dade County's embattled citizens transportation watchdog group resigned Tuesday after accepting a new job as the county's chief liaison to the 2010 Super Bowl organizing committee.

Sugar land price still $400 million too high, consultant says
The state already has shaved $400 million off its bid for U.S. Sugar, but an independent financial advisor says another $400 million whack is necessary to reach a fair price for taxpayers.

45 players hit jackpot in Miami-Dade housing lottery
For Fountainbleu's Violeta Iglesias, it means having a bathroom accessible to her 15-year-old daughter, who is in a wheelchair. For Palmetto Bay's Linda Cunningham, who had always wanted her kids to live in a home fronted by sidewalks, it means playing outside won't mean frolicking in the street.

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