Events showcase Miami’s growth as tech center

One by one, representatives from six startup companies walked onto the wooden stage and presented their products or services to a full house of about 200 investors, mentors, and other supporters Thursday at Incubate Miami’s DemoDay in the loft-like Grand Central in downtown Miami. With a large screen behind them projecting their graphs and charts, they set out to persuade the funders in the room to part with some of their green and support the tech community.

Just 24 hours later, from an elaborate “dojo stage,” a drummer warmed up the crowd of several hundred before a “Council of Elders” entered the ring to share wisdom as the all-day free event opened. Called TekFight, part education, part inspiration, and part entertainment, the tournament-style program challenged entrepreneurs to earn points to “belt up” throughout the day to meet with the “masters” of the tech community.

The two events, which kicked off Innovate MIA week, couldn’t be more different. But in their own ways, like a one-two punch, they exuded the spirit and energy growing in the startup community.

One of the goals of the TekFight event was to introduce young entrepreneurs and students to the tech community, because not everyone has found it yet and it’s hard to know where to start, said Saif Ishoof, the executive director of City Year Miami who co-founded TekFight as a personal project. And throughout the event, he and co-founder Jose Antonio Hernandez-Solaun, as well as Binsen J. Gonzalez and Jeff Goudie, wanted to find creative, engaging ways to offer participants access to some of the community’s most successful leaders.

That would include Alberto Dosal, chairman of CompuQuip Technologies; Albert Santalo, founder and CEO of CareCloud; Jorge Plasencia, chairman and CEO of Republica; Jaret Davis, co-managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig; and more than two dozen other business and community leaders who shared their war stories and offered advice. Throughout the day, the event was live-streamed on the Web, a TekFight app created by local entrepreneur and UM student Tyler McIntyre kept everyone involved in the tournament and tweets were flying — with #TekFight trending No. 1 in the Miami area for parts of the day. “Next time Art Basel will know not to try to compete with TekFight,” Ishoof quipped.

‘Miami is a hotbed’

After a pair of Chinese dragons danced through the audience, Andre J. Gudger, director for the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Small Business Programs, entered the ring. “I’ve never experienced an event like this,” Gudger remarked. “Miami is a hotbed for technology but nobody knew it.”

Gudger shared humorous stories and practical advice on ways to get technology ideas heard at the highest levels of the federal government. “Every federal agency has a director over small business — find out who they are,” he said. He has had plenty of experience in the private sector: Gudger, who wrote his first computer program on his neighbor’s computer at the age of 12, took one of his former companies from one to 1,300 employees.

There were several rounds that pitted an entrepreneur against an investor, such as Richard Grundy, of the tech startup Flomio, vs. Jonathan Kislak, of Antares Capital, who asked Grundy, “why should I give you money?”

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South Florida summit message: Climate change is here

South Florida took the threat seriously before most everybody else, with four counties reaching a landmark compact in 2009 to work together to start addressing the risks of global warming.

But four years and one “super storm” named Sandy later, the risks to Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties — as well as much of coastal Florida — seem only bigger, scarier and no longer quite so far down the road.

An eye-opening example: Fort Lauderdale’s famous “strip,” where waves from Sandy, followed by routine high tides and heavy seas three weeks later, chewed away beach, seawall, sidewalk and roadbed, leaving a four-block-long swath of State Road A1A whittled from four lanes to two.

During a two-day regional climate change summit that ended Friday in Jupiter, political leaders and climate experts stressed two messages: One, South Florida faces a long, immensely costly war to protect its heavily developed coast and economy from the rising sea and increasingly destructive flooding from hurricanes like Sandy. Two, the “super storm” underlined why the region should quickly ramp up “adaptation” efforts and spending to reduce its exposure — from restoring beach dunes to building bigger sea walls to elevating roads and homes and maybe even moving them from the most vulnerable areas.

“Planning is nice, but now it’s all about implementation,’’ said Susanne Torriente, an assistant city manager in Fort Lauderdale who helped craft a wide-ranging climate-change action plan approved by Broward and Monroe counties in the past few months. County commissions in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach are expected to consider the plans by early next year.

Fort Lauderdale, Torriente said, is working with Broward County and state transportation experts on shoring up its heavily eroded strip. Repairs will easily run into the tens of millions of dollars and include elevating some of the iconic strip or building beach dunes, which some residents have long resisted because it spoils the view from AIA.

“Adaptation is not something we’re talking about in textbooks any more. It’s happening right in our backyard,” she said. “People like to see the water, but let’s be realistic.”

Though Sandy’s worst impacts were in the Northeast — where the storm killed more than 100 people, flooded New York City subways, swamped New Jersey coastal — it also caused extensive erosion along much of the South Florida coast.

While it remains uncertain what if any impact climate change had on Sandy, the devastating storm, which caused tens of billions of dollars in damage, gave both the public and political leaders across the country a glimpse of potential future scenarios. It also has injected new urgency in efforts in South Florida, many of the elected officials, planners, scientists, engineers and other experts at the annual regional summit agreed.

John Englander, an oceanographer who this year published a book called High Tide on Main Street, called Sandy a wake-up call for many coastal communities like Fort Lauderdale.

“People are starting to get increasing awareness to their vulnerability from storm surge,’’ he said. “They just can’t ignore the beach and walk away from billions of dollars worth of hotels.’’

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The Era of Twitter Without Instagram Has Now Begun

We know everyone is a little bummed about all those filtered photos disappearing from your Twitter streams this weekend, but let’s not get all worked up about it: They are disappearing, and there is no scandal.

RELATED: Why You Can’t See Instagram Photos on Twitter Anymore

TechCrunch’s  Drew Olanoff got a little too excited on Friday and thought a single in-stream photo meant that Instagram was allowing its Twitter cards back on Twitter and thought the two services were planning a sudden reunion. You may have seen some, too, but a Facebook spokesperson assured users these Instagram photos on Twitter were the last holdouts in the switchover. ”What you are seeing now may be some sort of regression depending on the mobile client, but we’re checking in with the engineers,” read Facebook’s statement, via Talking Points Memo’s Carl Franzen.

RELATED: How to Get Over the Twitter-Instagram War on Photos

Which means the end of this particular social-media marriage is upon us. Despite the immediate user backlash, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom has made it pretty clear that the photo-sharing app doesn’t plan on making nice with Twitter. In case you hadn’t accepted the reality of Silicon Valley competition the first time around, this photo-friendly weekend might be the time to check out our handy three-step guide to getting over it. 

Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Reese Witherspoon's Priceless Christmas Present

Santa came early this year for Reese Witherspoon and husband Jim Toth when their son Tennessee was born on September 27. On Friday, the actress was appropriately honored as a role-model mother at the March of Dimes' Celebration of Babies.

"It's always such an exciting time in your life when you have a brand-new baby," Witherspoon gushed. "It's Christmas and it's so nice to have this beautiful present in our lives."

RELATED: Brian Austin Green Dishes on Son's Secret Birth

Megan Fox quietly became a mom around the time that Witherspoon welcomed her third child, and she and husband Brian Austin Green had nothing but good things to say about March of Dimes.

"It's an amazing organization," said Green. "Anyone that supports and takes care of children and newborns and pregnant women -- you can't lose."

March of Dimes is a leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health.

Other notable attendees included Hilary Duff, Elizabeth Banks and the master of ceremonies Nick Cannon. Watch the video for more.

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DA drops fight against pair wrongfully convicted in Bronx cabby slay

Robert Kalfus / Tomas E. Gaston

Eric Glisson (left), gets a hug and Cathy Watkins (right) beams after their release in October.

Bronx prosecutors are giving up their fight in the case of a man and woman wrongly convicted in the notorious robbery-slaying of a cabby — and may also drop charges against three other suspects in the case.

Eric Glisson, 37, and Cathy Watkins, 44, were freed in October after spending 17 years in prison in the January 19, 1995 slaying of cabby Baithe Diop. They will be able to remove their ankle monitoring bracelets after a hearing next week.

In court papers filed today, Bronx DA Robert Johnson’s office admitted that new evidence uncovered in the case last year may also clear the other three suspects — Devon Ayers, Michael Cosme and Carlos Perez. The DA has agreed on a near hearing to hear evidence in their cases.

Two gang-bangers admitted to Diop’s killing in an unrelated federal investigation, and have already pleaded guilty to a federal robbery charge in his death. They can’t be prosecuted further.

The Bronx DA is holding the line for now on the convictions of Ayers, Cosme and Perez in the slaying of Denise Raymond, a Fed Ex executive found dead in her Soundview home three days before Diop was killed.

But the trio also hopes for a new hearing in that case as well. They said fresh evidence shows Raymond was murdered by an ex-boyfriend, who is now deceased.

Glisson and Watkins were not charged in Raymond’s death.

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Pilots approve new contract

DALLAS --
Pilots at American Airlines approved a new labor contract, which could clear the way for consideration of a merger with US Airways.

The pilots’ union announced Friday that 74 percent of its members voted to ratify the contract. Pilots rejected a similar offer in August, but union leaders lobbied hard for passage the second time around.

Under the contract, pilots will get pay raises and own 13.5 percent of American Airlines’ parent AMR Corp. after it emerges from bankruptcy protection.

Union officials and analysts say the vote gives AMR creditors certainty about the company’s labor costs, making it easier for them to weigh which gives them more money — American on its own, or getting bigger through a merger with US Airways.

“This contract represents a bridge to a merger with US Airways,” said union spokesman Dennis Tajer. He said the vote “should not in any way be viewed as support for the American stand-alone plan or for this current management team.”

American also hailed the vote as a key step in its turnaround after years of heavy losses.

The pilots’ vote “gives us the certainty we need for American to successfully restructure,” said Denise Lynn, American’s senior vice president of people, in a statement. She added that “the modernization of our company is well under way, and we remain focused on emerging as a competitive, world-class airline.”

American employs 9,000 workers at its Miami International Airport hub.

“The members of the unions and other employees are relieved this part of the process is over,” Sidney Jimenez, president of Transport Workers Union 568, said in an email to The Miami Herald, “but now we have to adjust, take a deep breath and once again look towards the challenges ahead. Most prominent is the reported merger between American and US Airways which hold its own set of obstacle we must now contend with and overcome.

“It seems we’re in the middle rounds of a heavyweight fight and we haven’t been knocked out despite all the blows. We’re getting our wind back and preparing for the second half of the bout. Don’t count us out yet.”

AMR and American filed for bankruptcy protection in November 2011. With the pilots’ deal in hand, the company could exit Chapter 11 early next year, a faster reorganization than those in the last decade at United Airlines and Delta Air Lines.

Friday’s vote filled in the last unknown piece in AMR’s labor-cost puzzle. The company’s creditors “very much wanted a contract because they want some visibility on what the cost structure will be,” said Ray Neidl, an airline analyst for Maxim Group PLC.

US Airways has proposed a merger that would give AMR creditors 70 percent of the combined company, which would be run by US Airways Group Inc. CEO Doug Parker, according to a person familiar with the discussions and who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private.

There have been reports that AMR might seek up to 80 percent for its creditors, which could be unacceptable to US Airways shareholders, the person said. Last month, a committee of bondholders told the pilots’ union they would only support an independent American if AMR had a new board that would pick managers to run the airline.

The airlines have exchanged confidential financial information and talked about a potential merger for several weeks, although a deal is not certain.

American has about 7,500 active pilots plus a few hundred others on furlough. The union said the vote to ratify the contract was 5,490 to 1,951.

The six-year contract will raise pilots’ pay by 4 percent on signing and 2 percent per year after that, with an adjustment in the third year to bring pay in line with that at other big airlines. The union will get 13.5 percent of the stock in the new AMR when it emerges from bankruptcy, which analysts estimate would amount to at least $100,000 per pilot.

In exchange, pilots will fly more hours and American will get more flexibility to outsource flying to other airlines.

American, which has already frozen pension plans and made other changes in benefits and work rules, is trying to use the bankruptcy process to cut annual labor costs by 17 percent or about $1 billion.

In recent months flight attendants and ground workers have ratified separate contracts that reduced benefits and outsourced thousands of jobs. American expects to cut about 10,000 jobs, with 3,000 layoffs and the rest coming from early retirements and attrition.

Miami Herald staff writer Hannah Sampson contributed to this report.

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Driver of MIA bus crash that killed two offers apology

The driver behind the wheel of a bus that rammed into an overpass at Miami International Airport — killing two passengers and leaving many more injured — issued an apology Thursday, while a group of survivors began speaking with a lawyer.

On Thursday, a relative sent out a short statement in Spanish from driver Ramon Ferreiro. In it, Ferreiro extended his sympathies to the families of those killed in the crash.

“I know there are no words of comfort for what happened, but my family and I are praying for all those affected and their loved ones,” he wrote in Spanish. “I’m emotionally and physically very shocked by what happened, and for this reason I ask you to respect my family’s privacy during this difficult time.”

The crash happened a few minutes before 7:30 a.m. Saturday. The bus carried members of a Jehovah’s Witness congregation on their way to the annual general assembly meeting in West Palm Beach.

Ferreiro, 47, took a wrong turn on South Le Jeune Road. He was going too fast. He sped past multiple signs warning of the low clearance at the airport’s arrival concourse, smashing the 11-foot-tall bus into an overpass.

Two people sitting in the front were killed; the remaining 30 passengers went to hospitals for examinations and treatment.

As of Thursday, four people from the crash remained at Jackson, spokeswoman Lidia Amoretti said. Of the group, three were in good condition and one was in critical.

Another eight people admitted after the crash already had been discharged.

And some of the survivors have begun speaking with West Palm Beach lawyer Patrick Cousins.

Cousins, who also is Jehovah’s Witness, said that members of his religion tend to shy away from legal battles, and that’s why he hopes to settle the matter with the bus service’s insurance company out of court.

The goal, he said, would be to get compensation for costs such as their hospital bills.

“We are not the type of people to create problems or issues,” Cousins said. “But this is not something we really created. We just want to make sure everybody gets their compensation.”

Saturday’s accident appears to be the first blemish on the record of both the driver and the bus company, Miami Bus Service Corporation, which is own by Mayling and Alberto Hernandez.

Ferreiro has a valid commercial driver’s license with the proper endorsement to carry passengers, according to records from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

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Zynga moves to enter US gambling market

NEW YORK (AP) — Online games company Zynga said it has asked Nevada gambling regulators for a decision that could pave the way for it to enter the U.S. gambling market.

This follows Zynga’s October disclosure that it has signed a deal to offer online poker and casino games, played with real money, in the U.K. It plans to launch those games in the first half of 2013.

Zynga Inc. said in an email late Wednesday that it is seeking an “application for a preliminary finding of suitability” from the Nevada Gaming Control Board. This, the company says, is part of its plan to enter regulated “real-money gaming,” that is, gambling markets.

Zynga has not said what it plans to do with a gaming license. But the company, whose games are played primarily on Facebook, has faltered in recent months and is looking for additional revenue sources beyond online games such as “FarmVille 2″ and “Words With Friends.”

The San Francisco-based company says the process with Nevada regulators should take 12 to 18 months. If Zynga passes the first regulatory hurdle, it can then apply for a gaming license in the state. That, the company said, takes two to three months.

Zynga’s stock rose 17 cents, or 7.1 percent, to close Thursday at $ 2.49. The company went public about a year ago, when its stock priced at $ 10 per share.

Gaming News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Roger Ebert Hospitalized With Hip Fracture

Legendary film critic Roger Ebert has been admitted to the hospital following an unidentified incident which fractured the 70-year-old's hip.

Roger's wife Chaz confirmed the news to The Associated Press on Thursday, explaining that "doctors are making assessments" about her husband's condition. She later took to Twitter to assuage fans' worry, all the while keeping a sense humor about the situation.

Related: Roger Ebert's Amazing Medical Transformation

"Roger in hospital with hip fracture (tricky disco dance moves) but he is doing well," Chaz tweeted. "[He's] asking for computer, will probably tweet."

Not long after, Roger posted, "Yes, fracture. But no surgery needed. Details follow. :)"

In recent years, the Chicago Sun-Times film critic has battled thyroid cancer and ultimately lost his lower jaw and the ability to speak after a tracheostomy. Roger now communicates via pen and paper or text-to-speech computer software.

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Jury to start deciding the fate of the 'Vaad Father' accused of sexually abusing 12-year-old-girl

Prosecutors say he was a feared power broker in the most insular of Orthodox Jewish sects in Brooklyn who thought he could get away with anything — including the alleged sexual abuse of a 12 year old girl.

That’s the argument an impassioned assistant district attorney made to jurors today as the nearly two-week-long sex abuse trial of Hasidic counselor Nechemya Weberman drew to a close.

“What happens in the defendant’s office stays in the defendant’s office,” prosecutor Linda Weinman said, referring to the secrecy surrounding the small room where Weberman, 54, allegedly forced himself on the girl — and where he also admittedly hosted other pretty young Satmar women.

Spencer Burnett

Nechemya Weberman enters the Brooklyn Supreme Court.

Prosecutors argued the now 18-year-old alleged victim was terrified to report the three years of abuse because of Weberman’s exalted status in the cloistered Satmar sect in Williamsburg.

“Who’s going to believe a 12-year-old girl?” Weinman said in Brooklyn Supreme Court. “She was afraid. She believed he was a member of Vaad Ha’Tnius.”

Weberman has denied he was ever a member of Vaad Ha’Tnius, the modesty committee that enforces Satmar rules and dress codes — and in her closing remarks, his lawyer downplayed his power among the ultra-Orthodox.

“They want you to believe Mr. Weberman is the Vaad-Father,” quipped attorney Stacey Richman, who compared the prosecution of her client to the Salem witch trials and the Red Scare of the 1950s.

“If Mr. Weberman’s so powerful, why can’t he keep [her] in school?” Richman said, referring to the multiple schools the teen was asked to leave while receiving counseling from Weberman.

Richman also hammered away at the prosecution’s lack of physical evidence.

“The only evidence in this case is the word of [the alleged victim.] That’s it,” Richman said, questioning why years of frequent alleged sexual abuse failed to leave any emails, witnesses or DNA.

“Three years of oral sex? That’s a lot of semen!” she said.

“We’ve all seen ‘CSI,’ Richman said, referring to the TV crime lab show. “DNA lasts forever.”

Richman repeated the defense argument that the teen falsely accused Weberman because she was angry he told her father she had an older boyfriend.

Judge John Ingram barred the defense from telling the jury that her father then secretly filmed the couple having sex and used the footage to have the boyfriend arrested for statutory rape, infuriating the teen.

“He listened to her. He was truly her friend. But when she found that she had been betrayed, she went wild,” Richman said. “It’s all about revenge.”

Prosecutors scoffed at the notion that the teen had an ulterior motive for reporting Weberman.

“She said, ‘I had a responsibility. I didn’t want anybody else to go through what I went through,’” Weinman said, quoting the teen’s testimony last week. “Those are not the words of someone seeking revenge. They are words of pain.”

Richman also used the OJ defense tactic of, If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit, showing photos of a faulty lock on a door the victim claims locked her inside Weberman’s office

“It doesn’t fit. It never fit,” Richman said.

Hasidic women in wigs supporting Weberman buried their heads in their hands and prayed when prosecutors described graphic sexual acts. One prayed so loudly a court officer shushed her.

The jury will begin its deliberations tomorrow. Court will end early for the Jewish Sabbath.

jsaul@nypost.com

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