By Rob Quinn
The motive for Pedro Vargas’ murder of six people is still unclear, but a newly released 911 call gives some insight into his mind before the South Florida shooting spree . In the call, made several hours before the rampage, the 42-year-old complained that he was followed and somebody was casting… …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home
Pedro Vargas killed six neighbors in a shooting rampage over the weekend in South Florida. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
By The Huffington Post News Editors
More than three months after a new state law forced senior arcades into retirement, the low-stakes, adults-only gaming venues are re-emerging across South Florida, with their owners and patrons playing by a new set of rules.
The law doesn’t call for an outright ban on senior arcades, but its restrictions, such as not allowing gift cards to be awarded as prizes, make them less attractive to players. As a result, senior arcades disappeared from South Florida.
In recent weeks, however, about 40 have reopened, complying with the law by offering retrofitted, coin-operated gaming devices and paper towels and cookware as prizes.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
By Wayne G. McDonnell, Jr., Contributor
Major League Baseball has just announced that Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers has been suspended for the remainder of the 2013 season as a result of its investigation into Biogenesis and performance enhancing substances. In a story that has intrigued the sports industry for the past seven months, it was finally determined that Braun has violated the Basic Agreement and the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. As his suspension begins immediately, everyone’s attention will now turn towards names such as Alex Rodriguez, Nelson Cruz, Bartolo Colon, Melky Cabrera and others who have been associated with Anthony Bosch and his now defunct anti-aging clinic in South Florida. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
By The Huffington Post News Editors
For those struggling to let go, a South Florida funeral home is offering a new way to keep your loved ones close.
Very close.
Palm Beach Memorial Park in Lantana will deliver and install engraved granite monuments, benches or statues to create a personalized “cremation estate” on your property, for about the same price as a similar set-up at its cemetery.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
By MiamiCuse
Being in South Florida, I have always been told that termites are facts of life, it’s not a matter of IF, but a matter of WHEN.
I have had two houses tented so far, by reputable companies. One by a national chain (Terminix) and one by a local family owned company. Tenting was the recommended treatment, termite droppings (dust) were found but since no one knows how widespread, we opted for the tenting as the ultimate solution.
Both times, after the tenting, the activities stop, but after two years, we saw same activities in the same general areas. It seems like the tenting does not kill off all the termites, and when I called the companies to complain, they said those could be new termites – but in the same areas? Twice?
The only way is to continue to combat them by buying the termite maintenance program and pay yearly and when you see new activities they tent again.
Now I have a property that I am doing some major rehab, with moisture damages to the ceiling and after I took down most of the sheet rock, I see termite dusts being “ejected” in 14 different areas in the 4000SF house. It would form a circular area about 6″ to 8″ in diameter like coffee grounds spread on the floor. Being that there are so many areas seem like tenting is the only way to go, right?
But how do I know it won’t come back in 2 years like last two times? Is it possible the gas only kill off the termites but leaves the eggs unharmed and when the eggs hatch after they removed the tents it starts over again?
If I can see the actual beam or plank with the tiny pin holes, is there a way I can spot treat this? How? I still would tent it but I might consider spot treatment if possible to get rid of all the visible infected areas.
Any comments or advice greatly appreciated.
Source: DoItYourself.com
By The Huffington Post News Editors
You never know what lurks in the water at South Florida beaches, but soon swimmers may face a new element of uncertainty.
The Obama administration’s proposed 2014 budget would eliminate funds to states to test the water quality at beaches, which means there will be fewer water samples taken to determine the presence of human or animal waste.
Molly Koon Kellogg, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Health, said the federal cuts would result in a five percent reduction in testing.
From: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/21/beach-water-testing_n_3124584.html
By MiamiCuse
I have included a sketch to explain my questions below.
(1) I have seen a bunch of youtube videos and also hired window pros to install windows before. What’s confusing me is most of the videos I saw, they do a water proofing all the way around the window opening with felt plastic or whatever, folding over to the outside surface of the exterior wall. However in South Florida, I have NEVER seen any window guys do any sort of paper waterproofing. Most of the time it’s just buttering some caulk and sealant. Why is this? Is it because most homes down here are masonry walls and the stucco layer over the edges effectively waterproofs it?
(2) When installing an aluminum window, install instructions said to apply a bead of silicon all the way around the underside of the flange (point A in my sketch), and put the window up. That seals it from the inside. After it’s all secured and screwed in, then another bead of sealant all the way around between the edge of the flange and concrete on the outside. Sounds good. However, I have seen people down here removed windows on a few projects, and I have never seen any caulk or sealant on the underside of flanges. Usually the cut the outside sealant with a blade, then unscrews the edges, and the window comes out, never any window got “stubborn” with any sealant on the inside of the flanges. So is that inside flange silicon really necessary?
(3) On a concrete wall, do you set your strips of window buck tight to the window frame by shimming between the buck and the concrete face? Or do you attach the buck to the concrete face, then shim between the window frame and the buck? Which is the right way?
(4) Since there is a “lip” around the window frame (point B), once I pushed the window in there is still a little bit of space between the window’s metal edge and the buck. When I try to screw the window in through point D, the screw will “pull” the edge towards the buck. Is this OK? I was thinking inserting another piece of 1/8″ shim under the screw hole but the lip is in the way I can’t slide it in there.
Thanks for any advice! 🙂
From: http://www.doityourself.com/forum/house-home-doors-windows/493486-window-install-questions.html
By Evann Gastaldo No, this is not a 1970s B-movie: South Florida really is dealing with an invasion of giant African land snails. The beastly mollusks can grow as large as rats (the biggest measure eight inches long, the Ocala Star-Banner reports), and can eat their way through plaster and stucco. More than…
From: http://www.newser.com/story/166225/florida-invaded-by-rat-sized-snails.html
Five young adults have been killed in a two-vehicle crash on an interstate exit ramp in South Florida.
The Florida Highway Patrol reports that a Mercedes ran a red light as it exited Interstate 95 in Riviera Beach early Saturday and struck a Lexus.
“The Mercedes failed to stop for the traffic signal and T-boned the Lexus,” FHP Lt. Tim Frith told the Florida Sun-Sentinel.com.
Frith says the Lexus rolled over and hit two trees. Several passengers were ejected.
Four of the occupants of the 1994 Lexus were pronounced dead at the scene. A fifth died at the hospital. The three females and two males were between the ages of 18 and 22.
Authorities identified Jason A. Mahlung, 21, and Shonteria Grimsley, 17 as two of the passengers killed, the Sun-Sential.com reported.
Frith says the 21-year-old driver of the Mercedes, identified as Jabari S. Kemp, was taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center and was not cooperating with investigators.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/UjgFUuIQkFE/
By ESPN.com news services Major League Baseball has paid a former employee of the South Florida anti-aging clinic linked to performance-enhancing drugs for documents on athletes named in the case, the New York Times reported on Thursday night.
From: http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9162689/report-major-league-baseball-pays-biogenesis-documents
The Florida parents charged with kidnapping their boys from their grandparents and sailing to Cuba on a boat called “Salty” to elude authorities were expected to face a judge Thursday for the first time since they were forcibly returned from the island nation.
Joshua and Sharyn Hakken face charges including kidnapping, child neglect, false imprisonment, burglary and interference with custody.
Four-year-old Cole and 2-year-old Chase are now with their grandparents, who planned to talk about the ordeal publicly Thursday morning.
The couple arrived with their sons in Florida early Wednesday morning, accompanied by federal, state and local authorities after being handed over by Cuban officials.
The couple seemed to have a charmed life, doting on their two young boys, buying a comfortable home and building successful careers as engineers. It all derailed last year when police in Louisiana found the family inside a hotel room with drugs, weapons and promises from the parents to take “a journey to the Armageddon.” The parents lost custody of their sons who were cared for by their grandparents.
Friends of the couple said the family seemed happy and had no marital problems.
“This is a train that went completely off the tracks, and I don’t have any explanation for how it can go off the track that badly basically in a year and a half. It’s very bizarre,” said Darrell Hanecki, who employed Sharyn Hakken for nearly a decade at Hanecki Consulting Engineers.
Hanecki said she was an easygoing and relaxed employee who worked from the home they owned in sunny Tampa, Fla., so she could spend more time with the kids. She brought the boys into the office a few times to show them off to her colleagues.
“The kids were really well-behaved. From everything I could tell, she was a great mom. Her kids were definitely her priority,” Hanecki said.
He said Sharyn Hakken was pragmatic and responsible, graduating from the University of South Florida in 2008. She occasionally gave advice to Hanecki’s daughter, an aspiring engineer, and encouraged her to stay in school and finish her degree.
She resigned in 2011, saying it was too difficult to juggle work with caring for an infant and toddler.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/i8cd3fWIyiw/
Some students at the University of South Florida plan to wear empty gun holsters around campus this week in a protest against the state’s ban on concealed firearms at colleges and universities.
“I don’t feel like my right to self-protection and self-defense should be inhibited in any way,” Emily Schwab, a student, told Fox 13.
The students, on their Facebook page “USF Students for a Gun Free Campus,” are urging others to join and plan to hand out literature to anyone interested.
University officials were informed of the protest in advance to prevent any confusion over the holsters, Fox 13 reports.
Last week, around 75 students conducted similar protests in colleges and universities across Georgia, according to Fox 4 News.
The students were affiliated with Students for Concealed Carry, which describes itself on its website as a “national, non-partisan organization which advocates for legal concealed carry on college campuses.”
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
PV-10 Immunology Data Presented by Moffit Cancer Center Researchers at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB: PVCT, http://www.pvct.com), a development-stage oncology and dermatology biopharmaceutical company, announced that a poster presentation detailing the induction of tumor specific immunity after intralesional PV-10 treatment was presented by researchers from the Moffitt Cancer Center at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.
The poster presentation, based on Abstract #1248 entitled, “Intralesional Injection with PV-10 Induces a Systemic Anti-tumor Immune Response in Murine Models of Breast Cancer and Melanoma,” was authored by Shari Pilon-Thomas1, Amy Weber1, Krithika Kodumudi1, Lisa Kuhn1, Paul Toomey2 and Amod A. Sarnaik1 of 1Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL and the 2University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.
Provectus’s PV-10, a 10% solution of Rose Bengal, is currently being examined as a novel cancer therapeutic. It is designed to selectively target and destroy cancer cells without harming surrounding healthy tissue, significantly reducing potential for systemic side effects. In melanoma patients, intralesional (IL) injection of PV-10 has led to regression of injected lesions as well as distant metastases.
The Moffitt Cancer Center investigational study, which examined the potential immune mechanism of PV-10 treatment in murine models of breast cancer and melanoma, demonstrated that injection of PV-10 led to regression of injected and untreated contralateral subcutaneous lesions, with a significant increase in survival in mice treated with PV-10. In related experiments using a melanoma lung metastasis model, mice that received PV-10 treatment of a cutaneous tumor had markedly fewer lung metastases compared to controls receiving saline. The poster was presented by Shari Pilon-Thomas, Ph.D, Immunology Program, Moffitt Cancer Center.
Dr. Pilon-Thomas commented, “We believe our findings are meaningful because they confirm the induction of tumor-specific immunity after single treatment with IL–PV-10 in multiple tumor types. Our data show that T cells play a crucial roll in this response, and we are continuing our work to further elucidate the mechanisms that occur following PV-10 treatment.”
Dr. Amod Sarnaik observed, “The systemic response to intralesional PV-10 treatment observed in murine models was sufficiently compelling to warrant further clinical investigation. We look forward to additional insights from our current investigational study of the immune mechanism of PV-10 ablation in cutaneous melanoma patients.”
Additional details on the immunological mechanism of action of PV-10 being presented during the AACR Annual Meeting poster session will be forthcoming. Abstract #1248 can be accessed at the following link:
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
KYTHERA Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. Announces Positive Interim Results from Open-Label Phase IIIb Study of ATX-101 at the 11 th Anti-Aging Medicine World Congress (AMWC)
MONTE CARLO, Monaco–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KYTHERA Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NAS: KYTH) today announced positive interim results from a Phase IIIb, multicenter, open-label study (ATX-101-11-26) of ATX-101 during the “Innovations and Renewals” session of the 11th Anti-Aging Medicine World Congress (AMWC), April 4-6, Monte Carlo, Monaco. The study, presented by investigator Susan Weinkle, MD, FAAD, evaluated the safety and efficacy of ATX-101, a potential first-in-class, non-surgical, injectable drug in Phase III trials for the reduction of unwanted submental fat (SMF), commonly known as “double chin.” The results found that ATX-101 is well tolerated and may be effective in reducing SMF by both clinician- and patient-reported outcome measures. AMWC is the world’s largest event for global aging management, and attracts aesthetic dermatologists, surgeons and clinicians in the regenerative, preventative and anti-aging medicine industry from more than 95 countries.
“The positive interim results are consistent with previous ATX-101 studies,” said Weinkle, a board certified dermatologist and affiliate clinical professor at the University of South Florida, Tampa, Fla., U.S. “Worldwide, doctors are receiving requests from their patients for a non-surgical way to treat their double chin. The results of this study suggest that microinjections of ATX-101 have an acceptable safety profile and can reduce the appearance of a double chin with high patient satisfaction.”
ATX-101 is a proprietary formulation of synthetically-derived deoxycholic acid (DCA), a molecule found in the body that helps break down dietary fat. In this open-label Phase IIIb study, interim results three months after the last ATX-101 treatment are outlined below. Observations were made using validated rating instruments for which one-grade changes are considered to be clinically meaningful:
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Paul Hagen Two weeks after Major League Baseball filed a lawsuit against Anthony Bosch and five others connected to the now-defunct South Florida anti-aging clinic that allegedly provided performance-enhancing substances to some of the game’s biggest names, there was a development in the case Friday. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at MLB
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Regions Bank Enhances Commitment to Small Business; Taps Veteran Banker Joe DiNicolantonio to Lead Business and Community Banking Line of Business
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Regions Bank has created a new Business and Community Banking line of business led by veteran banker Joe DiNicolantonio. The new division reports directly to John Owen, head of business lines and is dedicated to providing a full array of banking, lending, and advisory services to businesses with up to $20 million in sales.
Joe DiNicolantonio, head of Business and Community Banking, Regions Bank (Photo: Business Wire)
“Small businesses have unique challenges and rely on their bank to help them manage and grow their companies,” said Owen. “Joe brings a deep knowledge of both our community markets and small business capabilities to his new role and I’m excited that he will lead our efforts to serve more small businesses.”
Previously Regions managed business and community banking, including small business, as part of the company’s business services group. Establishing the Business and Community Banking division will allow Regions to increase its historically strong focus on serving small business customers through both branch and relationship-managed channels. John Asbury, head of Business Services, will now focus exclusively on Regions’ Commercial Banking, Treasury Management, Real Estate Banking, Business Capital, Specialized Industries and Capital Markets businesses and will continue to report to Owen.
DiNicolantonio joined Regions Bank in 1998 and has held a number of leadership roles in the retail and small business banking arena. Most recently he served as West Tennessee area president with oversight for the bank’s retail, commercial, middle market and small business banking activities throughout Memphis, Tenn. and surrounding communities. Prior to this, he held a number of retail and small business banking leadership roles in the bank’s Florida market. DiNicolantonio earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Finance from the University of Florida at Gainesville and a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of South Florida at Tampa.
David May, who most recently served as West Tennessee Commercial Banking executive, will succeed Joe DiNicolantonio as West Tennessee area president. May joined Regions in 1992.
Lynetta Steed has been named director of Government and Institutional Banking for the East Region and will report to East Regional President Brett Couch. Steed joined Regions in 1992 and has provided leadership to the Business and Community Banking team since 2011.
About Regions …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By The Huffington Post News Editors
WASHINGTON — After Todd Akin lost the Missouri Senate race to Democrat Claire McCaskill in November, he had one final piece of business to take care of as an outgoing member of the House of Representatives — giving piles of government money to his staff. Akin nearly doubled the salaries of his House staffers in the quarter after his defeat, according to the website LegiStorm, which tracks congressional pay.
Only retiring Democrat Gary Ackerman of New York was more generous with public money, barely topping Akin’s 98 percent increase in pay, the website shows. Allen West, a Tea Party favorite from South Florida, was the fourth biggest giver of taxpayer bonuses after he lost reelection to Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.). Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-Minn.) was the third most generous, according to LegiStorm.
West and Akin routinely decried wasteful and out-of-control government spending, calling for major cuts to social programs.
A dozen real estate agents who won $1 million in the Powerball are paying it forward and sharing part of their earnings with a new employee who opted out of joining the South Florida agency’s office pool.
“The way we are as a group, we absolutely would not want anyone to ever feel left out,” team leader Laurie Finkelstein Reader said Thursday.
The twelve real estate agents at Keller Williams Partners Realty in Plantation joined the office pool for the March 23 Powerball drawing, pitching in $20 each. Employee No. 13, Jennifer Maldonado, started her job March 8 and decided not to join the pool until she received her first paycheck.
“I said to her, ‘Jen, if you don’t play, we are definitely going to win,'” Finkelstein Reader recalled. “And her response was, ‘I’ll take the fall for you guys.’ And look what happened – we hit the Powerball.”
The team of 12 matched five numbers, and Finkelstein Reader said they expect to take home about $83,000 each.
Finkelstein Reader, excited about the winnings, had to be the one to tell Maldonado. It got her thinking: “This is just not going to be fun without her.” So, Finkelstein Reader said, she sent a text message to the team. “It would be a great idea for us to include her,” she texted. One by one the real estate agents chimed in and said they were on.
Maldonado won’t say how much her co-workers are giving her, but she is looking forward to taking a vacation with her son and husband with the money.
“I don’t feel like I deserve the money at all,” she said in the office she shares with Finkelstein Reader. “I just stopped crying five minutes ago. It was a very emotional experience to learn that I had a chance at a piece of a million dollars and I just let it slide right through my fingers.”
Hundreds of emails and phone calls have poured in to the Keller Williams office with well wishes and words of support. A local politician’s office even called Finkelstein Reader on her cellphone to congratulate the team on the selfless act.
“The most amazing part of this whole experience is, besides coming together closer as a team, are the emails, the text messages from people …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
By The Huffington Post News Editors
The Miami Dolphins have offered to repay Miami-Dade County for a portion of the public costs of renovating Sun Life Stadium, and to pay millions of dollars in penalties should the team fail to bring major events to South Florida, including four Super Bowls over the next three decades, The Miami Herald has learned.
