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 and recovery of the skeleton.

And that, says attorney Ed Hoeg, who is representing the baby’s father, could have an impact on the case against his client.

“If evidence is compromised, it could change how the case goes,” Hoeg said. “You would hope the evidence would be in pristine condition.”

Meanwhile, the missing child’s parents remain in Broward County jails. Brittney Sierra, 21, faces two counts of felony child neglect; Calvin Melvin, 27, was charged with three felony counts of providing false information to police.

But those charges could be increased if a Texas lab confirms that DNA from a tiny skeleton unearthed in January behind the couple’s former Hallandale Beach rental home matches that of their baby, Dontrell Melvin.

Dontrell, who would have turned 2 last month, had not been seen for nearly 18 months before police learned of his disappearance on Jan 9.

At first, Melvin told Hallandale Beach police that the child was with his family in Pompano Beach. But when police went there, they were told by the grandparents that they didn’t have the child and hadn’t seen him.

During questioning by police, Melvin changed his story several times, investigators said.

At one point, he told them he’d taken the baby to a fire station under Florida’s Safe Haven Law.

But police didn’t believe him and began questioning Sierra, as well. The couple, who have another child together, pointed fingers at one another, police said.

Their answers led police to the backyard of their former rental home at 106 NW First Ave.

It was there that tiny bones were found.

Nearly 90 percent of the baby’s remains were recovered and reconstructed. An initial review of the bones did not reveal any trauma to the bones, said Hallandale Beach Police Chief Dwayne Flournoy.

However, on Jan. 25, forensic anthropologist Heather Walsh-Haney briefed investigators, including Flournoy, Maj. Thomas Honan and Capt. P. Abut, on the case. In his notes, a Hallandale Beach investigator, who was not identified, wrote: “Dr. Walsh-Haney stated that there were no signs of perimortem blunt trauma. However, there was evidence of a postmortem blunt trauma to the cranium. She stated that said postmortem trauma had probably occurred during the search and recovery of the skeleton.”

The notes were provided to The Miami Herald by Hoeg.

The damage to the cranium, Hoeg said, could prove problematic for the case against his client.

“If there is only trauma afterward, did the damage destroy evidence?” he said.

But on Friday, Police Chief Flournoy insisted there was not any damage caused post-mortem to the skeleton. “The bones were not compromised in any way,” said Flournoy.

Regardless, the Texas lab working to identify the baby’s remains has enough evidence to work with.

All a scientist needs is a small bone fragment to create a DNA profile, said John Fudenberg, the president-elect for International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners.

“Unless there is significant trauma noted, it’s very difficult for a medical examiner to determine the cause of death,” Fudenberg added.

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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 go to a grocery store and have a kitchen and cook the foods that you want and have a consistent workout schedule. We created something that is consistent for the cast," said Wheeler, who is also a certified trainer. "Eating out every meal and stuff can be challenging to stay healthy. Being healthy and on tour is a goal we all try to accomplish."

Thursday morning, Wheeler held a “Guns of the Barricade” boot camp at Steel Gym in Wilton Manors. The workout session allows cast members and others to stay in shape while they’re on the road, Wheeler said.

The Les Mis touring company has 89 people who travel with the show: cast members, crew and musicians, according to Wheeler.

"It’s a large group of people that have this nomadic lifestyle," he said. "Having fitness incorporated into it, you feel better, you wake up, have more energy. It’s been really great for us as individuals, but also for the show."

Among the touring cast members: Wheeler’s partner, Alan Shaw, who plays Joly. The couple own a house in Fort Lauderdale’s Poinsettia Heights neighborhood.

" Les Mis is three hours long and we do eight shows a week. I realized early on because I’ve been with the show over two years now that if I don’t take care of my body and if I don’t eat right and if I don’t really stay on top of it, I can’t do eight shows a week," Shaw said. "We’re onstage in front of 2,000 people on average every night. You have to look your best. It’s part of our job."

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Friday is the deadline for homestead exemption applications

Friday is the deadline to apply for a homestead exemption or other property-tax break with the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser.

Two new exemptions are on the books. One aims to cut the tax burden for low-income seniors who have lived in their homes more than 25 years. The other is for the spouses of police and fire-rescue workers who have died in the line of duty.

Homeowners can apply for homestead and other tax cuts at the Property Appraiser’s offices or by calling 305-375-4091 for forms.

Information and online filing for homestead exemption also is available at the Property Appraiser’s website at http://www.miamidade.gov/pa/.

A homestead exemption excludes $50,000 of the assessed value of a primary residence from taxation and caps the annual increase in a property’s assessed value at a maximum of 3 percent.

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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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Hialeah sugar firm Banah files for bankruptcy

A sugar processing company that brought hype to Hialeah after it moved into a 300,000-square-foot space last July — promising to hire up to 300 workers — has filed for bankruptcy protection.

The company’s move to its new headquarters even prompted Miami-Dade County to rename a stretch of Southeast 10th Avenue “Banah Sweet Way” in honor of the company. Several local leaders, including county Mayor Carlos Giménez, attended the naming ceremony.

But late last week, the company, which is owned by a convicted drug trafficker and which had sought taxpayer benefits from a government program promoting investments, left behind a line of outraged creditors. The company had only 15 employees.

Banah Sugar International Group Inc. reported that it owed between $1 million and $10 million to a list of 232 people and companies, according to public records.

The company’s administrative director, Luis Estrada, told El Nuevo Herald on Monday that the company’s owner, Alex Pérez, was meeting with company officials and added that he was not authorized to comment on the issue.

The bankruptcy was filed under Chapter 11, which allows for an attempt to reorganize the company. It allows the company’s management to continue day-to-day operations, but the bankruptcy court must make all the company’s important decisions.

On Monday, several creditors criticized Banah’s owner for failing to make payments.

“I feel frustrated and deceived,” said Alexander A. Pérez, owner of Florida Patrol Investigators (FPI), a Hialeah company that provided security services to the company. “They sent me checks that bounced, and we sued them.”

FPI’s owner said that the company owes him close to $70,000 for security services at Banah his company at 215 SE 10th Ave.

Hialeah’s mayor, Carlos Hernández, declined to comment on the sugar company’s bankruptcy filing, but he defended renaming Southeast 10th Avenue after the company, saying that Banah had promised to make significant investments in the area.

County spokesperson Fernando Figueredo said that Giménez had attended the ceremony “in good faith,” since its intention was to highlight an investment made in a 10-acre plant where 200,000 bottles of liquid sugar were supposed to be processed every day.

“The mayor knew nothing about the company’s background,” Figueredo said. “He attended because the company was creating jobs and was being recommended to be recognized in Hialeah.”

Hiram Mendoza, an aide to County Commission Chairwoman Rebeca Sosa, said that in 2012 Banah requested to be included in a program to receive county and state financial incentives. He added, however, that Banah did not meet the goal of creating 300 jobs it had promised. “They have not received any financial aid from the state or the county,” Mendoza said. “It’s true that they asked for it, but they did not meet the goals.”

Last year, Banah executives announced it would hold a job fair.

On Monday, Estrada said the company never had a job fair. Currently it has 15 employees, he said.

In October, Francisco Alvarado, a New Times reporter, revealed that in 2001 the federal government had indicted Banah’s owner on felony charges of conspiracy of cocaine possession and possession with intent to sell. Two years before, DEA agents had arrested two men with six kilograms of cocaine hidden in a vehicle. The men declared under oath that Pérez, Banah’s owner, had handed them the drugs.

In 2003, Pérez pleaded guilty of one of the charges and served four years in a federal prison.

Diego Leiva, Banah’s former executive director, said he was surprised by the bankruptcy. “I left the company when Pérez’s past came to light,” said Leiva, who is among the company’s creditors. “I didn’t know anything about that.”

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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 to praying because if you’re going to ride a motorcycle, you should know how to pray,” said Wenski, who has been riding his motorcycle for about 10 years. “This is a way to bring some good attention, find financial support for St. Luke’s Center [Catholic Charity] and have a good time.”

Behind him, more than 60 other riders followed for about 90 miles through South Florida roads.

“Today he is not just my spiritual leader,” said Natacha Quiroz, the only woman driving a motorcycle on her own. “He is my road leader.”

At every stop, including Robert Is Here, the fruit and vegetable farm stand in Florida City, Cafe 27 in Weston, and Peterson’s Harley-Davidson in Miami Gardens, the contestants picked up a card, eventually collecting a complete poker hand.

The bikers were also able to interact with the archbishop and others while competing for the $500 Harley-Davidson gift card.

But Wenski’s favorite stop was at the Schoenstatt Center in Homestead, where riders were able to stop at the chapel, say a private prayer and enjoy refreshments.

“It’s always good to ride with good people,” said Bob Borges of Hollywood, who rode with his daughter. “The problem with a lot of other rides is that they all go from bar to bar to bar, and I don’t drink when I ride.”

The Chrome Knights Motorcycle Association and other groups helped the archdiocese organize the poker run and guided the inexperienced drivers. Volunteers from the organization also helped guide the riders and stop traffic at intersections.

For Quiroz, who had never experienced riding in a group, the privilege of riding with the archbishop was indescribable.

“My heart is pounding so hard,” said Quiroz, who took out her motorcycle from her garage for the fist time in more than a year. “My motorcycle is the tiniest among these huge machines, and if you see me I look like a butterfly among eagles. But to know that I’m the only girl makes me feel like an eagle, I am proud.”

The Poker Run, according to the Rev. Luis Rivero, was also a way to show others that following Christ can be fun.

“It’s a way for us to learn to use the tools of today, speak the language of the younger generations and bridge the gap between the ancient and the new,” said Rivero, who has been riding his three-wheeled Spyder for the past three years. “The archbishop makes fun of me and says that because I have three wheels I’m still in training.”

The proceeds of the run will go to programs that help people in the community recover from various types of addiction, and Wenski is hoping to establish the poker run as annual event to support St. Luke’s.

“Many people know I’ve been riding a motorcycle for some years now, so hopefully they’ll support it even if they don’t ride a motorcycle,” Wenski said. “I pray before, during and after I ride my bike.”

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Miami Dolphins hopeful on stadium referendum date

The Miami Dolphins are hopeful the Miami-Dade County Commission will approve a May 14 date for a referendum on the $400 rehabilitation of their stadium, time enough to get South Florida in play for Super Bowl 50, a Dolphins spokesman said Saturday.

Spokesman Ric Katz said the language of the proposed referendum has yet to be decided, and ultimately the commission decides the date.

But, he said, “we’d be very happy with” May 14 because “that gives us a week to communicate to the NFL before they make the important decision of Super Bowl 50.”

NFL owners are slated to meet on May 22 to pick the site of the 2016 Super Bowl — seen as a tourist revenue prize for whichever host city gets the 50th anniversary contest.

Mayor Carlos Gimenez met Friday with Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and CEO Mike Dee to discuss the proposed stadium rehabilitation.

From the mayor’s side, there has been no agreement on a date and Gimenez does not plan to bring the proposed May 14 referendum to the commission at this time, said spokeswoman Suzy Trutie.

Friday’s was a “first meeting” at which “many things were discussed,” including the Dolphin’s preference for May 14.

But, “We continue negotiating with the Dolphins with regards to finances.”

One proposed financing plan would increase the bed tax in mainland Miami-Dade by 1 percent and increase the sales tax rebate the team already gets at the stadium in Miami Gardens. Ross had initially offered to pay at least $201 million in his financing plan. But Katz, a Miami publicist representing the team in the stadium campaign, said the two sides were still in negotiation on what the mayor would ask the commission to put to taxpayers in a referendum.

Trutie said the proposed referendum would gauge public opinion on increasing hotel taxes from 6 to 7 percent to fund the stadium renovations.

Of the commission, Katz said, “We do not take them for granted. They have the prerogative.”

Attorney Kendall Coffey did not return calls asking whether the Dolphins had hired him to write the ballot language.

Dolphins lobbyist Marcelo Llorente had said in recent weeks that the team was considering May 7 and 14 as possible referendum dates.

Any activity by the Florida Legislature would likely have to be undertaken before then. The regular session is slated to end May 3.

Miami Herald staff writers Patricia Mazzei and Doug Hanks contributed to this report.

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Miami police union challenges officer’s firing for fatal shooting

The Fraternal Order of Police filed a lawsuit against the city of Miami on Friday, asserting that an officer who fatally shot an unarmed motorist in 2011 was improperly fired from the police department.

Officer Reynaldo Goyos shot and killed Travis McNeil as he sat in a car at a Little Haiti intersection. It was one of a string of seven deadly shootings of black men in the inner city by Miami police officers in 2010 and 2011.

Goyos was cleared of criminal wrongdoing by prosecutors in 2012. But he was terminated last month after the department’s Firearms Review Board concluded that the shooting was unjustified.

The police union lawsuit claims that the board violated state open-government laws by failing to open its meetings to the public.

Goyos “was improperly terminated by the city of Miami Police Department by a review board that violates the law,” union President Javier Ortiz wrote in a statement.

The lawsuit contends that Goyos should be reinstated.

City Attorney Julie O. Bru declined to discuss the specifics of the case. “We reviewed the allegations, and the city maintains that the board has operated consistent with the requirements of law,” she said.

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Bill to ban smoking on some public land advances

Cities and counties could bar smokers from beaches, parks, and other publicly owned outdoor areas under a proposal that passed an early Florida Senate test Thursday, despite concerns from restaurateurs.

By unanimous vote, the Senate Regulated Industries Committee approved the measure (SB 258), which expands the state’s clear indoor air restrictions to more outdoor venues.

Voters approved the Florida Indoor Clean Air Act a decade ago.

The proposal would allow local governments to create smoke-free areas on publicly owned land as long as smoking sections are also available.

A similar bill stalled last year after concerns over smoking on sidewalks.

The current version of the bill prohibits smoking only on sidewalks in public parks, on public beaches, or in recreations areas while continuing to allow smoking on regular street-side sidewalks.

The bill would also allow cities and counties to extend smoke-free zones from public buildings to 75 feet from the entrance, or the same distance from a ventilation system or windows.

Law-enforcement officials would be required to first alert violators of the no-smoking restrictions and ask them to leave before they can issue a citation.

“Nobody wants to put anyone in jail for doing these things but it does send a signal,” said Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine.

“This state wants to be smoke free, eventually. . . . This is just one incremental step toward getting there.”

Rep. Bill Hager, R-Delray Beach, filed a House version of the bill this week.

In December, Sarasota County Judge Maryann Boehm ruled that Sarasota’s ordinance banning smoking in public parks was unenforceable, arguing that regulating smoking was a task left to the Legislature.

Thursday’s vote came after representatives of the state’s restaurant industry expressed concerns about the potential of unintended consequences but said they hoped to work with the sponsors to work out problems as the bills progress.

“When the smoking ban was passed, many businesses spent hundreds of millions of dollars to reconfigure their properties to accommodate both the new law and our customers,” said Richard Turner, of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association.

“At the moment, we are concerned that some of these ordinances could impact the investments that have been made.”

Some panelists also expressed concerns, saying they want assurances that beaches and public parks will not be totally off limits to smokers.

“The beach belongs to everybody,” said Rep Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville. “And people are different.”

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Sleek pizza cafe brightens tech park

Thea Goldman, no stranger to culinary pioneering, has put down roots in a neighborhood on the edge of Overtown dubbed the Health District thanks to an ambitious building project around the University of Miami’s Life Science & Technology Park.

Thea’s Pizzeria and Café is modeled on Joey’s Café, the business she and now ex-husband Joey Goldman opened in Wynwood in 2008. Their bold move spurred a cascade of interest and investment in an area that five years later is a hipster haven.

Here, the willowy, British-accented dynamo has taken a similar approach to an area with few eating options. That is part of the plan, says Goldman who opened in the fall for breakfast and lunch and is testing the dinner waters with Friday night openings.

Though only 15 minutes from South Beach, this tiny and stunning eatery, situated almost under I-95, is worlds away. It’s surrounded by office buildings, warehouses, car repair shops, a technical school and, most importantly, plans for a large hotel and retail space.

Dressed causally in black jeans and T-shirts and hailing from as far away as Naples, Italy, and as close as the surrounding Allapattah neighborhood, wait staff takes its cue from the upbeat boss with sunny smiles and quick service.

A dramatic, 30-foot-wide mural of peonies, roses, daffodils and daisies shimmers with 210,000 pieces of Italian glass pieced together by designer Carlo dal Bianco of Bisazza Mosaico. It’s set against a black backdrop with simple wooden tables set with vases of white hydrangea. Buffed, eggshell-colored concrete floors and soaring ceilings lend an industrial edge, while golden globes of light cast an elegant sheen.

The food is equal parts rustic and refined. Simple starters include pristine salads of baby arugula, mint, escarole and nicely roasted beets and a tiny greenhouse arrangement, all farmed locally.

A nice array of pizzas is cooked in a gas-fueled stone oven. The crust could be a bit saltier and chewier, but it makes a fine vehicle for generous and deftly handle toppings such as sausage-ricotta and anchovy-caper. My favorite is artichoke hearts with arugula, or maybe Gorgonzola with toasty walnuts and truffle oil.

A slightly stiff and too-thin focaccia loaded with shredded pecorino cheese and black pepper could use more loft.

Daily fish specials such as a silken cod fillet over mashed potatoes and a puree of briny black olives are always a good bet, as is the perfectly grilled salmon with lemony caper sauce over white bean and red onion salad. Chicken paillard, pounded thin and served with roasted potatoes and green beans, is simple and satisfying.

Like the menu, the wine list is modest but well done. Most of the two dozen or so labels are available by the glass, including a robust sangiovese from Emiglia Romana coincidentally named Thea.

With the exception of imported ravioli, pastas are of the boxed variety but well handled. We sampled the indulgent rigatoni with nicely browned coins of sausage and Italian ricotta.

Desserts are as simple and elegant as the place itself. Icy frozen espresso, granita topped with whipped cream and salted caramel ice cream are fine choices, as is a light but deeply flavored chocolate cake with a simple dusting of powdered sugar and a handful of plump raspberries.

Thea’s is a bustling hive of activity at breakfast and lunch, and dinner is growing more popular. Like a bright patch in a weed-strewn lot, this burgeoning eatery is full of promise.

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FAU stadium strikes deal with prison firm

Florida Atlantic University’s announcement to change the name of its football stadium to that of a private prison corporation accused of human rights violation has surprised and outraged students as well as South Florida’s pro-immigrant activists.

FAU announced Tuesday that it would name its stadium GEO Group Stadium after reaching an agreement with the private prison company that included a $6 million donation to the university, to be paid over 12 years. GEO is the company that owns the immigration detention center in Pompano Beach, about 10 miles from the stadium.

FAU President Mary Jane Saunder initially agreed to talk about the news, but after hearing questions about the immigration detention center, a university spokesperson said they would have to return the call later. At press time, the university had stopped responding to El Nuevo Herald’s calls.

But in a press release sent out earlier on Tuesday, Saunder praised GEO’s philanthropic gesture of making the largest donation the university’s athletic department has ever received.

“This gift is a true representation of The GEO Group’s incredible generosity to FAU and the community it serves,” she said.

Noor Fawzy, a political science student at FAU whose parents are Palestinian immigrants, is not so happy with the news.

“The fact that they are locking up people of color and immigrants like my parents is shameful,” said the 22-year-old, who is an elected member of the student government. “We don’t want our university to be associated with an entity that is being investigated for human rights abuses.”

Besides the United States, GEO Group also has private prisons in South Africa, the United Kingdom and Australia, where in 2003 it lost a contract after evidence was found that children detained in its facilities suffered cruel treatments, The New York Times reported in 2011. The company, which controls thousands of beds in private prisons and is worth almost $3 billion, is now in the middle of a multimillion-dollar lawsuit about mistreatment of prisoners.

Laura Pérez said the news was like a “pitcher of cold water.” In 2010, the Perezes were detained in the detention center at Pompano Beach known as Broward Transitional Center. Laura’s brother is now an FAU student. She asked for her brother to remain anonymous.

BTC has recently been in the mist of controversies after activists and people detained in the place denounced irregularities. Some complained to the media that they weren’t getting the proper medical care while others argued that they have been detained for lengthy periods of time at BTC despite meeting the qualifications to be eligible for prosecutorial discretion offered by the Obama administration.

GEO wouldn’t accommodate a phone interview on Tuesday. Instead, the firm asked to address questions in writing. A GEO Group executive said through email that the purpose of the donation is to help FAU’s academic priorities and athletic programs. GEO Group’s headquarters is in Boca Raton and the company’s president, George Zoley, is an FAU alumnus and a former chairman of the university’s board of trustees.

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North Miami police investigating fatal hit-and-run

Police were investigating a fatal hit-and-run in North Miami Monday night that left an elderly man dead.

The accident occurred around 7 p.m. when the victim was apparently crossing at the intersection of North Miami Avenue and Northwest 123rd Street and was struck and killed, said police spokesman Maj. Neal Cuevas.

The driver failed to stop. Police said there appeared to be no witnesses to the accident.

The body of the black male was discovered in the middle of North Miami Avenue, Cuevas said.

Police said the fleeing driver only left behind a hubcap and pieces of shattered glass.

The victim’s name has not been released awaiting notification of next of kin.

Earlier Monday, the Florida Highway Patrol sponsored a Hit-and-Run Awareness event. They revealed that last year there were 20,000 hit-and-run accidents in Miami-Dade and Broward.

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The builders of the Sen. Marco Rubio brand

WASHINGTON --
Sen. Marco Rubio is on a breathless rise, a testament to his political skill and demographic appeal that last week saw him delivering the Republican State of the Union response and appearing on the cover of Time as “The Republican Savior.”

But behind the scenes is a relentless, methodical effort to build the Rubio brand, aided by a team of strategists and media handlers positioning the 41-year-old Floridian for an expected presidential run.

They include members of Rubio’s Senate staff and presidential campaign veterans who work for the political committee Rubio formed ostensibly to help elect other conservatives.

Instead the Reclaim America PAC has focused on consultants and building a national fundraising network. Last year, his PAC spent more than $1.7 million, with the vast majority going toward staff and fundraising, and about $110,000 going to other candidates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

“It connotes a machine, someone who is grooming his image for a jump to higher position,” said the center’s executive director Sheila Krumholz.

Rubio’s team plots policy and publicity moves, including his recent foray into the immigration debate. He was among eight senators working on a proposal, but Rubio took them by surprise — and ensured he would be front and center — with a Wall Street Journal piece laying out the framework before the group announced it.

The Rubio machine cultivates the image of a new breed of Republican, youthful, and as at ease talking about Tupac and the Miami Dolphins as talking about budget deficits. At the same time, advisors dole out nuggets to the news media, they aggressively contest even the smallest points in articles.

The political fascination with Rubio has made it easier for his team to build helpful story lines. When he first took office in the U.S. Senate, it was Rubio the humble, political star keeping his head down. That followed with periodic “major” policy rollouts — foreign policy, job creation, the middle class. When Rubio gives a speech, it’s invariably a “major” address. A young assistant is always there to record it on video and take photographs.

“It’s almost like he’s the Backstreet Boy of American politics, a Hollywood creation of what a model political candidate should be,” said Chris Ingram, a Republican communications consultant from Tampa who has been critical of Rubio. “He has to deliver on the hype but from a P.R. perspective, it’s textbook.”

And constant. Last week, Rubio issued 17 press releases. By comparison, former vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, another potential 2016 candidate, released three.

Behind the scenes

Rubio’s political inner circle includes PAC employees Heath Thompson and Terry Sullivan, two operatives who made their names in South Carolina’s bare-knuckled political culture and are close with former Sen. Jim DeMint. The hyper-competitive Thompson is a college football fanatic more comfortable in a baseball cap than suit and tie.

For broad messaging strategy, there is the roguishly charming Todd Harris who knows practically everybody in the political media and is never shy about excoriating reporters.

The Senate staff includes Alberto Martinez, who goes back to Rubio’s days as speaker of the Florida House and can anticipate where critics might attack Rubio, and Alex Burgos, another Rubio campaign alum and true believer who pushes back at any hint of negativity in Rubio coverage.

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Speaker to discuss the Jews of Zimbabwe

You are invited to hear Modreck Zvakavapano Maeresera and Tudor Parfitt, as they lecture on "The Lamba Jews of Zimbabwe" at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday at the Jewish Museum of Florida, 301 Washington Ave. in Miami Beach.

You will want to attend this event; Maeresera is a leader in the Lemba Jewish community in Zimbaabwe. He coordinates a program of Jewish cyber-learning, studying with volunteer rabbis and teachers via the Internet in Harare, where he teaches other students what he has heard and recorded. In the rural congregation of Mapakomhere, 150 miles from Harare, Maeresera leads Shabbat services and promotes Jewish education.

In a press release statement he said, "My vision is to have a vibrant Lemba community that is fully committed to observing Judaism, the religion of our forefathers, and to have the necessary infrastructure that a Jewish community would need, such as synagogues and schools and religious leaders." He said, in the near future he would like to see Lemba fully reintegrated into mainstream Judaism.

Parfitt is the President Navon Professor of Sephardi-Mizrahi Studies and Research Professor in Florida International University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and has studied emerging Jewish communities around the works. He has studied the Lemba Jews for decades.

It’s free and open to the public.

Kids’ art event continues through Monday

The Children’s Trust will present a "Kids Grove Arts Party," from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Monday in the kids zone at Peacock Park in Coconut Grove. The event is in conjunction with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Abrakadoodle Coconut Grove Arts Festival.

Each day the Abrakadoodle staff will present "Art in Our World Curriculum," one-hour sessions where children will draw, paint, sculpt, design mosaics and collages and well as create in the styles of multicultural master artists to include Picasso, Bearden, Matisse, Miro, Hokusai, Monet, Martinez and Kahlo.

Other highlights will include a 10 a.m. show each day, the musical "Party with Picasso and Friends," presented by Sugar and Spice Puppet Theater, and at 11 a.m., the musical "The Dean of Green, " an eco-children’s theater production that teaches children the importance of growing up green, healthy living and protecting the earth. The play is directed by Corky Dozier, event creator and founder and director of the Coconut Grove Children’s Theater. Dozier also celebrates she 50th year in children’s theater, this year.

Author to speak in Key Biscayne

Lunch with an Author will present award-winning author Mary Murray Bosrock, presenting her newest book, "Grandma Has Wings," at noon Thursday in the Island room of the Key Biscayne Community Center, 10 Village Green Way.

Bosrock, a part-time resident of Key Biscayne, is a popular radio and television guest and has appeared on CNN, CNBC, Fox News and A&E Network. She said she got her "wings" when her two sons, Matt and Steve, gave her six granddaughters in eight years. It amazed her, she said, that her little girls noticed things like arm fat, brown spots, veins and dropping chins, and learned to love what she couldn’t change by turning it into a story. Her granddaughters loved the story so much, that Bosrock decided to share it with other grandmas.

She also is the author of the book series, "Put Your Best Food Forward," which sold worldwide and has been published in Polish, Chinese, Russian, Thai and India.

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Joe Martinez says he’ll challenge Joe Garcia

Joe Martinez, the former Miami-Dade Commission chairman who lost his bid to become county mayor last year, said Friday that he intends to run against U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia in 2014.

“I’m meeting with different people and feeling them out, seeing what the level of support will be there,” Martinez told The Miami Herald shortly after announcing his intentions on Facebook. He wants to get in the race, Martinez said, “to shake it up.”

Martinez’s name has been floated in political circles in connection with the 26th Congressional District since Garcia, a Democrat, defeated incumbent Republican Rep. David Rivera in November. The district extends from Kendall to Key West.

Cites experience

Martinez, a Republican, said he sees himself as a pragmatist in tune with residents’ needs after his 12 years on the County Commission, including two terms as chairman. In his first term, former Mayor Carlos Alvarez campaigned for a strong-mayor referendum. In his second, Alvarez was recalled.

Both times, Martinez said, he helped lead the county. “It actually ran really smoothly,” Martinez said.

He gave up his seat last year to unsuccessfully challenge Mayor Carlos Gimenez. Martinez said Friday that he has since opened a public relations and business development consulting firm.

Focused on duties

Garcia’s chief of staff, Jeffrey Garcia (no relation), said that the congressman “is focused on doing the work that the people sent him here to do.”

“There’ll be plenty of time for politics later,” he added.

Martinez, conceding that “it’s too early to tell” how well Garcia will do as a freshman congressman, said he’s committed to running in two years.

“I’ve survived Miami-Dade politics,” he said. “What’s Washington?”

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Miami-Dade packed for weekend of events

Lured by sailboats and megayachts, urban street art and Romero Britto — and, of course, the lack of snow — thousands of visitors are expected to pour into Miami-Dade this holiday weekend.

The activities started Thursday morning with the opening day of the 72nd annual Progressive Miami International Boat Show at the Miami Beach Convention Center and the Yacht & Brokerage Show on the Indian Creek Waterway. Art Wynwood kicked off with a VIP preview Thursday night. And the Coconut Grove Arts Festival, in its 50th year, opens its gates on Saturday.

Combined, the events expect nearly 250,000 attendees over Presidents’ Day weekend — many of them from out of town.

“Presidents’ Day weekend is the busiest weekend here in South Florida,” said Nick Korniloff, founder and director of Art Wynwood. “It’s when the 30 five-star resorts are at the highest occupancy, when the Europeans and South Americans and Northeast residents come here. It’s a very diverse, well-cultured audience.”

Expecting similarities in audiences interested in yachts and art, Korniloff will have shuttles running between Art Wynwood in the Midtown Miami neighborhood and the Yacht & Brokerage Show near the Fontainebleau.

In its second year, the fair features 70 dealers from around the world, many representing urban street artists or selling Latin American and Asian art. That’s a jump from last year’s 53 dealers. Korniloff said he expects about 30,000 attendees this year, up from 25,000 at the inaugural event.

At the boat show, which includes locations in Miami Beach and downtown Miami, organizers anticipate more than 100,000 visitors. About 40 percent are from outside the state and a quarter of visitors are international, said Cathy Rick-Joule, show manager and vice president of the boat shows division for the National Marine Manufacturers Association.

“We’ve definitely seen a continued influence of Brazilians; you hear Portuguese spoken everywhere,” Rick-Joule said, adding that Russian, Chinese and Korean visitors have also been increasing.

Monty Trainer, president of the Coconut Grove Arts Festival, has been busy publicizing the 50th year of the event with pop artist Romero Britto, who designed this year’s festival poster and will attend at some points during the weekend.

“This is the best year for all our exposure,” Trainer said. “Romero Britto is going to be a big draw.”

The show will feature 380 artists this year, 30 more than last year, when about 118,000 people attended. Of those, nearly 40 percent were overnight visitors who came to town for the festival.

Trainer expects this year’s activities to draw a bigger crowd — with a caveat.

“If this weather holds up, we’re in business,” he said. “But if you get bad rain, all your promotions are out the window.”

On that front, the forecast is mixed. The National Weather Service calls for a 60 percent chance of rain in Miami on Friday, dropping to 20 percent for Saturday with a high near 77. Sunday should be sunny and cool, with a high only in the mid-60s. By Monday, the weather should be just about perfect for February: sunny and topping out around 74.

“When other folks unfortunately have it bad, we have it good,” said Rolando Aedo, chief marketing officer for the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. “I think the country as a whole, with the exception of us, has been experiencing severe weather. It bodes well for our hoteliers and frankly bodes well for our winter season. We’re hearing very, very good things.”

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Jewish liturgical music festival continues through Sunday

The Fifth International Festival of New Jewish Liturgical Music is being celebrated in Miami through Sunday. It will feature new works from composers from throughout the United States, Canada, Israel and the United Kingdom. The music reflects a diverse range of musical styles and traditions.

The six-day festival is presented by Shalshelet: The Foundation for New Jewish Liturgical Music and will include school and youth workshops and Shalshelet composers in residence at area congregations over Shabbat.

The main festival events will include workshops from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus, 20350 NE 26th Ave., and the Festival Concert at 7 p.m.

As a part of the festival, composer Raquel Pomerantz Gershon, who is known for her uplifting, original take on Jewish sacred music, will sing her own songs and traditional prayers in the Kabbalat Shabbat service at 6 p.m. Friday at Beth David Congregaton, 2625 SW Third Ave. The service will be followed by a Shabbat dinner.

Gershon started composing songs in her teens and has won awards at past Shalshelet festivals. She has performed throughout the United States, Europe and Israel. She has recorded three CDs, including "Jerusalem on My Mind," and lives in Dallas with her husband Rabbi Bill Gershon and their three children.

For more information on the Kabbalat service and the dinner following the service, call 305-854-3911 or go to www.bethdavidmiami.org.

Wenski to say Mass for members of religious orders

Archbishop Thomas Wenski will celebrate a thanksgiving Mass for all consecrated men and women, who have chosen religious life. The Mass will be at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at St. Mary Cathedral, 7525 NW Second Ave. The Archdiocese of Miami will also celebrate those who this year will celebrate their 25th, 50th and 60th anniversaries of consecrated life.

Also, on Feb. 24, the 2013 Archbishop's Motorcycle Poker Run will take place at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary-St. Richard Catholic Church at 7500 SW 152nd St. in Palmetto Bay.

The event starts at 8 a.m. with Mass; registration at 9 a.m., and Kick Stands up at 9:30 a.m., with the poker run concluding at Peterson's Harley Davidson, 19400 NW Second Ave in Miami Gardens.

Registration is $25 for rider entrance fee, and includes a commemorative T-shirt. The winning hand receives a $500 Peterson's Harley Davidson gift card. Proceeds will benefit Catholic Charities and St. Luke's Center.

Art exhibit highlights graffiti

Catalyst, a program geared toward reaching out to the hip-hop youth culture in Miami and its sponsor, Greater Miami Youth For Christ, will have its first Graffiti Art Exhibit from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday at Pyramid Art Studios, 8890 SW 129th Terr in The Falls Art District.

Vivian Stigale, Catalyst spokeswoman said the exhibit is called "26," and will feature the work of 26 different street artists.

"It takes much skill, dedication and strength to do graffiti — aerosol art and street-style murals — and is often misunderstood and is frequently criminalized," Stigale said.

The Catalyst program, founded nearly a decade ago in Miami Springs by Joel Stigale, allows emcees, break dancers, graffiti artists and DJs to practice their art in a safe, drug-free environment while being challenged to embrace a relationship with Jesus Christ.

For more information call Bonnie Rodriguez or Vivian Stigale at 305-271-2442.

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Man killed in Miami home invasion robbery

Miami police are investigating a home invasion robbery in which a man was killed.

The home is at 4315 NW 16th Ave., Miami police spokesman Kenia Reyes said Wednesday morning.

This report will be updated as more information becomes available.

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'Gun bounty' suspects open fire on Miami-Dade cops; 1 suspect wounded, another at large

A wounded suspect was in custody Tuesday morning after a pair of men opened fire on Miami-Dade police at a Florida City home and officers returned fire.

A search is on for the second suspect.

According to Miami-Dade police, officers on Monday night went to a residence at 326 NE Eighth Ave. after receiving a "gun bounty tip," police said Tuesday morning.

"As the officers approached the residence, two subjects immediately open fire at the officers. The officers returned fire and both subjects fled the area," police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta said.

Police found one of the suspects, wounded by gunfire, in an area hospital. They did not release his name nor the names of the officers involved.

The second suspect remains at large.

Police recovered two guns outside of the Florida City house.

No officers were injured in the trade of gunfire that happened just before 9 p.m.

Late Monday night, a police helicopter and K-9 units circled the area with a giant spotlight apparently searching for suspects. A six-block radius around the shooting was closed off to traffic.

This article will be updated when more details become available.

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With millions at stake, tutoring lobby goes into action

Second of two parts

Every year for nearly a decade, private tutoring companies have made millions in Florida because the federal government required school districts to hire them.

That was in danger of changing last February, when the state won freedom from mandated private instruction for poor children in the state's worst schools.

But the tutoring industry wasn't letting go without a fight.

At the end of last year's legislative session, Florida became a key target as the tutoring lobby battled to retain funding.

The effort paid off in March, when state lawmakers quietly voted to keep the money flowing.

The moment marked a major victory for the tutoring industry, but, as the Tampa Bay Times reported on Sunday, it also ensured the survival of a program that is shot through with cheating, opportunism and fraud.

In tracing the new law from the agenda books of a special interest group to the pages of state statutes, the Times reviewed public records and interviewed legislators, lobbyists, education officials and advocates.

It found that the push to fund tutoring in Florida was part of a national campaign by the industry, an undertaking that failed in other places but succeeded in Tallahassee.

To save tutoring, the industry formed a nonprofit group that sold the effort as a civil rights struggle, spent $2.4 million on campaign contributions and lobbying fees and pushed legislation in states across the country.

In New York and Maryland, tutoring companies and their lobbyists battled fiercely for a law requiring funding and still made no headway.

In Florida, all it took was a phone call.

Rallying support

By the summer of 2010, midway through President Barack Obama's second year in office, tutoring companies that had thrived on government contracts knew they were in trouble.

Industry groups were expecting the administration to gut requirements for private tutoring, known as supplemental educational services, that made up a key part of President George W. Bush's education reform act, No Child Left Behind.

What the industry needed was a campaign to rally people who otherwise might not show support. The solution? Defend subsidized tutoring as a civil rights cause.

Steve Pines, head of the Education Industry Association, previewed the strategy in a PowerPoint presentation for tutoring companies in June 2010. His organization, a trade group for for-profit education businesses, would spend $1.5 million to help launch a nonprofit called Tutor Our Children.

The new organization would hire lobbyists, create a pro-tutoring website and encourage parents to flood public officials with support for mandated tutoring, all while positioning the campaign as a fight for civil rights.

It cultivated ties to the Urban League of Greater Miami and the United Farm Workers of America. In April 2011, it organized a panel discussion in Washington called "Waiving Away Education Civil Rights."

In October 2011, Tutor Our Children announced it had hired a spokeswoman, Stephanie Monroe, a Washington lobbyist who formerly served as assistant secretary of education for civil rights in the Bush administration.

About a week later, Monroe testified in a Senate hearing on the organization's behalf.

The same day, the group posted on its website a photo of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. It showed an inscription — a quote from King — that reads in part: "Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights."

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