Florida lawmakers to angry voters: We hear you

TALLAHASSEE -- What a difference an election can make. As legislators return to Tallahassee for their two-month-long annual session, beginning Tuesday, they will tackle some of the state’s most intractable problems, and they vow to do it with a new tone.From property insurance and foreclosure reform to implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also...

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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...

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Yes, Manti — they’re all real

Now that his fake-girlfriend nightmare is over, NFL prospect Manti Te’o scouts a squad of leggy cheerleaders in Atlantic City. The Notre Dame linebacker was accepting the Maxwell Award and Chuck Bednarik Award as last year’s top player. At Friday’s ceremony, he dodged questions about his online romance with a terminally ill girl that was revealed to be...

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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...

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Attorney for dad of missing Hallandale Beach baby says evidence was damaged

The tiny bones recovered from a backyard grave have a story to tell: Are these the remains of Dontrell Melvin, a baby whose family didn’t report him missing for 18 months? And how was the baby killed?According to notes in the Hallandale Beach police lead investigator’s file, there was blunt force trauma to the child’s cranium after his death, likely caused during the search...

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Ellen DeGeneres Pens Open Letter to Supreme Court to Pass Prop 8 for Gay Marriage

With a touch of her trademark humor, Ellen DeGeneres tackles a very serious topic close to the talk show host's heart: gay marriage.In an open letter posted to her website, Ellen reaches out to members of the Supreme Court, who will soon decide the fate of same-sex couples who wish to wed.Pics: 'Amazing Race' Stars Cheer Up Bullied Gay Fan "Portia and I have been married for 4 years and they have...

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How the West won Square

Jack Dorsey wanted to base his tech start-up, Square, in New York City — but he was in a hurry.The 36-year-old Twitter co-founder said he changed his plan and based the payments platform in San Francisco because access to engineering talent was easier out West — and he wanted to build Square quickly.Dorsey, a New York University dropout, made the comments...

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Tom Hudson: China’s new leaders plan quiet transition

If everything goes smoothly, you won’t hear much out of China in the new week. And that’s the way its new leaders want it. Even though the world’s second largest economy officially seats a new president and premier, the beginning of China’s parliamentary session on Tuesday comes without the usual pomp and circumstance. Instead, China’s new leaders hope to show their own version...

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’Les Mis’ touring company works out to stay in shape at Wilton Manors gym

Even if you’re a Broadway dancer in top shape, it’s not easy looking good and staying fit when you’re on the road with a show like Les Misérables."Touring is a difficult life because you’re constantly moving," said Trinity Wheeler, production stage manager for the Les Mis touring company, playing through Sunday at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami."It’s not like you can...

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The CW Says Goodbye to 90210

The CW's remake of the '90s hit show 90210 will reportedly end its five-year run in May.PICS: The High School Hotties of 90210According to Us Weekly, the show (starring AnnaLynne McCord, Shenae Grimes, Matt Lanter, Jessica Stroup and Jessica Lowndes) has been canceled due to meager ratings.The show has reportedly averaged 1.23 million viewers this season, being overshadowed by new hits The Vampire...

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Wireless deal in doubt

John Paulson is moving against MetroPCS.The hedge-fund billionaire, whose Paulson & Co. hedge fund is the biggest shareholder of the wireless carrier, said yesterday he intends to vote against the proposed sale to T-Mobile. “MetroPCS is contributing 42 percent to the pro forma company’s value but its shareholders are only receiving 26 percent of the...

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Don’t get too personal on LinkedIn

Have you ever received a request to connect on LinkedIn from someone you didn’t know or couldn’t remember?A few weeks ago, Josh Turner encountered this situation. The online request to connect came from a businessman on the opposite coast of the United States. It came with a short introduction that ended with “Let’s go Blues!” a reference to Turner’s favorite hockey team...

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2006 report detailed problems with Havana Palms condos in Little Havana

In January 2006, executives at Montara Land V, LLC, hired a firm to do an analysis of the roof, structure, plumbing, and other conditions of an apartment complex in Little Havana that they wanted to convert to condominiums. This report, submitted to the state department that regulates conversions, concluded that the buildings, constructed in 1946, barely had five more years...

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Christina Applegate's Gorgeous Wedding Ring

Christina Applegate and longtime boyfriend Martyn Noble said 'I do' on Saturday and now we have a look at the actress' stunning sparkler.PICS: Most Memorable Celeb Weddings of All-Time The dazzling diamond ring by Neil Lane completed Applegate's wedding attire along with a gown by Maria Lucia Hohan.The event took place during a private ceremony at the couple's Los Angeles home. This marks Applegate's...

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LI man, ‘insider,’ arrested

Federal prosecutors charged a Long Island man with insider trading yesterday after he supposedly sold an advance earnings report to an undercover FBI agent for $7,000.Damian Perna, 30, who works at Merrill Lynch, obtained draft earnings reports for several publicly traded firms before they were released, according to charges.Perna, who lives in Oceanside,...

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Would-be convention center developers make pitches to Miami Beach residents

Developers on Wednesday presented Miami Beach residents with competing ideas for what the city’s Convention Center could look like after an overhaul. It was the public’s first glimpse of what could become of the 52-acre site. Two heavy-hitting teams are competing for the project, which could cost up to $1 billion.Both teams – Portman-CMC and South Beach ACE – stressed that...

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Broward commissioner withdraws pit bull ban proposal

Pit bull lovers came out in force on Tuesday to oppose a county commissioner’s effort to get the breed banned in Broward County.After hearing dozens make emotional pleas, County Commissioner Barbara Sharief agreed to withdraw her proposal for a ban and work with experts to help keep neighborhoods safe from all dangerous dogs.Read the full story at Sun-Sentinel.com. ...

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Tina Fey and Amy Poehler Will Never Host the Oscars Together

To the dismay of William Shatner and fans around the world, Tina Fey recently revealed that she has no intention of ever emceeing the Academy Awards ceremony with or without her BFF, and Golden Globes co-host, Amy Poehler.Pics: The 2013 Oscars! When asked if she'd ever consider the gig, Fey told The Huffington Post that she wouldn't dare sign up for the task because the Oscars are far too much work."I...

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MTA ‘fare’ thee well

It’s the MTA’s most reliable service — constant fare hikes.The transit agency will increase fares for the fourth time in five years this weekend, infuriating fed-up riders who are now searching for cheaper ways to get around town.The hikes will send the cost of a monthly MetroCard to $112. At this time in 2008, the same card cost just $76. That’s an incredible...

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Coral Gables native Martin Zweig, Wall Street wiz, dies in Florida

A decade before he foresaw the 1987 stock market crash, Coral Gables native Marty Zweig was already considered a Wall Street wizard.Renown business journalist Dan Dorfman called him “the country’s hottest investment adviser” in 1981, his picture appeared on the cover of Money Magazine in 1982, and he was frequent guest on the PBS financial show Wall Street Week.He wrote...

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Is this really the end of Cuba’s Castro brothers? Exiles say not so fast

On the streets of Miami, the announcement of a possible end to the Castro brothers’ rule was met with uncharacteristic silence Monday — no clanging of pots and pans in Little Havana and Hialeah. No loud pronouncements on Spanish-language radio, either, about the news that President Raúl Castro planned to retire in 2018 and had named an heir apparent. “There’s like, a little...

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Bachelor Recap: Sean Lowe Invites Catherine, Lindsay and AshLee to the Fantasy Suite

Fresh from last week's hometown dates, Bachelor Sean Lowe whisks his remaining ladies off to the sunny shores of Thailand.Lindsay is the first of the three to snag some time with the hunky Texan, and the pair uses the opportunity to experience the strange and wondrous delights of an open-air Thai marketplace. Determined to show she's adventurous, Lindsay accepts Sean's challenge to eat an array of...

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Blade: I’ll be back

Legless Olympian Oscar Pistorius, possibly facing life in the slammer for killing his model girlfriend, told cops yesterday that he’ll soon be on the “run.” The “Blade Runner” disclosed to South African authorities that he’ll resume training while he’s out on bail for the Valentine’s Day shooting of Reeva Steenkamp. It was the first time Pistorius, 26,...

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David Samson: Miami Marlins saw trouble with ticket sales before Day One

The Miami Marlins’ new ballpark was slow to draw fan interest even before a disastrous season led to a collapse in attendance so steep that the front office never contemplated it, team president David Samson said Monday. “It didn’t occur to us... that the off-field results of last year could be what they were,’’ Samson said during a press conference at Marlins Park. “We didn’t...

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Archbishop Wenski leads 90-mile motorcycle run

After a blessing, motorcycles roared their engines and drove out of St. Richard Catholic Church in Palmetto Bay to participate in the first Motorcycle Poker Run organized by the Archdiocese of Miami. Heading the bikers: Archbishop Thomas Wenski wearing a biker’s leather jacket and riding his black Harley-Davidson Street Glide motorcycle. “Bikers are people that are accustomed...

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Oscar 2013 Recap

Argo, Daniel Day-Lewis and Jennifer Lawrence were among the big winners during the star-studded telecast of the 85th Oscars, host by Seth MacFarlane live from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Read on for the recap...CLICK HERE for the complete list of winners.The Best PictureFulfilling its promise of incredible momentum this awards season, Argo was named Best Picture over Amour, Beasts of the Southern...

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Exploiting addiction

Andrea Peyser He’s ringmaster in the Circus of the Damned.Dr. Drew Pinsky is the nation’s leading huckster for celebrity addicts — the go-to guy for almost-famous faces lost to liquor, sex, ecstasy and crack.Since 2008, Dr. Drew has glammed up and tarted up B- and Z-list celebs on his hit VH1 show, “Celebrity Rehab” — renamed “Rehab”...

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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...

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