Miami Beach hotels seek more political clout

When Miami Beach wanted local hotels to scale-back their popular rooftop parties and bars, Alexander Tachmes fought back.

An attorney who has represented Beach hotels on a myriad of issues, he “cobbled” together a group of his hotelier clients and went before the city commission to ask them to curb the proposed rules.

The hotels won.

It was a learning experience, said Tachmes, who came to believe that the Beach needed a permanent group of industry heavyweights to take political action in the face of restrictive city policies.

With that in mind, Miami Beach’s hotel industry is taking on a decidedly political tone by reviving a previously-formed electioneering organization, just in time for election season on the sandbar.

The group is called Hospitality for a Better Miami Beach, and as an Electioneering Communication Organization (ECO), it can raise unlimited money to run ads, send fliers and make telephone calls about political issues. They’ve also created Miami Beach Hospitality Coalition, which Tachmes said will soon be registered as a non-profit.

Behind the organizations are Tachmes and big-name hoteliers Mike Palma, Executive Vice President of Hospitality for Brio Investment Group (which owns the Clevelander) and the Perry South Beach Hotel General Manager Tim Nardi.

“Political clout is something that will help to further the goals of the industry,” Tachmes said.

Hotels already have their interests represented by the Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association and the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. But the association is tax-funded and the visitor’s bureau is tax-exempt, so neither can raise or spend money for political purposes.

Stuart Blumberg, who headed the hotel association for 15 years, thinks the industry has enough clout without having to wade into politics.

“You’re getting a group of hoteliers who’ve decided they want a voice in government. And that’s dangerous,” he said of the ECO.

An outspoken leader, Blumberg often took political stances and faced elected officials — and he often found success.

Blumberg led the charge to exempt pool decks and outdoor patios from a constitutional amendment banning smoking, and pushed to delay the start of the school year so that Florida teens could continue working at local hotels. At a farewell gathering after Blumberg announced his retirement, he didn’t hesitate to take a shot at then-Gov. Charlie Crist, calling him out on a proposed tax increase on car rentals.

“We were able to accomplish a lot of things because we weren’t tarnished by, ‘Yeah, I supported that guy or that guy,’” Blumberg said. “You stand and fall on the merits of an issue.”

Citing the huge impact the tourism industry has on Florida, he added: “We don’t need to spend money to win influence.”

According to state figures, the tourism industry has a $67.3 billion economic impact on Florida.

In Miami-Dade, the accommodation industry accounts for 3 percent of the county’s 1 million non-farm jobs, or about 27,000 positions. The industry also contributes about $1 billion in income a year in Miami-Dade, or about 2 percent of total wages.

With a November election in Miami Beach — in which a majority of the city’s commission seats up for grabs — now is the time to translate economic importance into political prominence, said Palma.

In a city where resident-activists are vocal and plentiful, and where residents are often at odds with party-seeking tourists, Palma said city leaders lately have tilted more in favor of residents rather than businesses

Added Tachmes: “The residents of the city benefit by having a thriving hotel industry...all we want is a seat at the table.”

The electioneering committee was registered last year and is currently not active, according to state records.

Tachmes said the group is in the process of recruiting members — whom he would not name — and creating a board, at which time the group will be re-opened. Members are planning to interview candidates to decide who to support in the upcoming elections.

Wendy Kallergis, president and CEO of the hotel association, pointed out that many of the ECO members are also members of her organization. She doesn’t think the new group will be a competitor.

“We’re not able to do some of the things they can do,” she said. “I think it’s going to strengthen the voice on the Beach.”

Miami Herald staff writer Douglas Hanks contributed to this report.

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Rick Scott circa 2013: It's about teachers, not tea party

TALLAHASSEE --
For Gov. Rick Scott, it’s now about teachers, not the tea party.

Cutting spending is out. “Investing” is in.

The governor who once showed indifference to state workers now wants to give them cash bonuses, in addition to his $480 million plan to give every teacher a $2,500 raise.

Scott’s messaging is completely different, too.

When he unwrapped his first budget two years ago, he did it at a rally of flag-waving tea partiers under a stylized sign that said “Reducing Spending and Holding Government Accountable.”

His new budget is Florida’s biggest ever in sheer dollars at $74.2 billion. Scott unveiled his latest spending plan Thursday with a supporting cast of grateful educators and a sign that read “Florida Families First.”

As Scott seeks a second term, he’s embracing education as never before and seeking $4 billion more in spending — and some Republicans don’t like what they see.

“It’s perplexing,” said Henry Kelley of the Tea Party Network in Fort Walton Beach. “To say we’re going to give $480 million more to teachers from someone who ran on accountability and changing things? Three years later, and it’s ’Let’s make government bigger in Tallahassee.’”

Kelley said paying teachers more is a great idea, but it shouldn’t be dictated by Tallahassee.

At the same time, some Democrats, who say Florida schools are chronically underfunded, praise Scott’s budget for seeking $1.2 billion more for schools.

“(It) clearly responds to the unprecedented challenges facing school districts,” said Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee.

In an interview with the Herald/Times Friday, Scott insisted his pro-education philosophy is the same as when he became governor two years ago.

“It has not changed,” Scott said. “Look at my life. Any success I’ve had in my life is tied to the fact that I was able to get an education.”

What has changed, he said, is that times are better and more money is available.

“Our biggest resource is our teachers,” Scott said, a year after he reduced their salaries by 3 percent.

One of those who stood alongside Scott at his budget-unveiling event was Mary Beth Perkins, an elementary school art teacher from Orlando, who noted that a $2,500 raise only makes up for last year’s pay cut.

“But I’m glad he’s listening,” Perkins said. “We at least feel like we’re part of the solution.”

To those who accuse him of wanting to grow government, Scott says he wants to keep shrinking it. His new budget plan would eliminate another 3,600 jobs.

His messengers are pushing back against a perception that Scott is a big spender, saying that when population growth is factored in, Scott’s budget increase isn’t as large as any of Jeb Bush’s. To make such a comparison requires making Bush look like the big spender, not Scott.

The governor’s office also highlights a figure that repeated cuts to the state work force have left Florida with 5.2 state workers per 1,000 residents, lowest in state history.

In the coming weeks, Scott will hit the road for a campaign-style promotion of his budget, including highlighting money for road projects, increased services to disabled adults and performance-based incentives for state universities.

With Scott’s persistently low job-approval ratings in polls, his standing has nowhere to go but up. Some say he has never received sufficient credit for progress such as a 3 percentage point drop in the state’s jobless rate.

“He gets a really bum rap in terms of popularity,” said business lobbyist Rick McAllister of the Florida Retail Federation, citing the tough stands Scott took in his first two years, when the state was losing tax revenue.

McAllister also says Scott is still learning.

“Since he’s been governor, I think he has a broader appreciation of the role of education in Florida,” he said. “Not that he didn’t before, but I think he’s learned a lot about what the education system requires.”

Rep. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, criticizes Scott for refusing to expand Medicaid under the federal health care law to expand the number of people with health insurance.

Even though Scott has not definitively said no to Obamacare, Fasano called it a “cop-out” for Scott to delay.

Fasano said Scott’s actions reveal a governor desperate to shore up his popularity for a re-election bid.

“With his poll numbers, no other politician would even consider running for re-election,” Fasano said. “He’s doing this because his political life is hanging by a thread. This is more politics than it is policy.”

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Coming soon to Facebook- more action, battle games

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – When nWay began a trial of its dark, sci-fi combat game “ChronoBlade” on Facebook last year, the San Francisco-based startup felt sure it had a hit on its hands.

“First of all, what comes is, ‘Wow, I had no idea you could actually do a game of this quality on Facebook,’” said Dave Jones, Chief Creative Officer of nWay, who has worked on “Grand Theft Auto.”

Then came some resistance: Jones admits some potential investors and partners questioned how an action-focused game with slick graphics can play to a Facebook audience more accustomed to “Farmville” and other less time-consuming casual games. Others wondered how the game — which launches this spring — would gain significant users and revenue on the social network.

But Facebook Inc is betting nWay and a clutch of other developers this year can extend console-style action games beyond Microsoft Corp‘s Xbox or Sony Corp’s PlayStation onto the world’s largest social network.

Facebook is spearheading the launch of 10 high-quality games created by third-party developers in 2013 that squarely target so-called hardcore gamers, an atypical audience overlooked thus far against the wealth of family-friendly offerings like Zynga Inc’s “Farmville” that now dominate the social network’s gaming landscape.

The effort, which began late last year but will accelerate in 2013, is part of Facebook’s ongoing objective of making sure its 1 billion-plus users log in and spend more time on the network, which in turn boosts ad revenue. Facebook also takes a cut of its applications’ revenue.

Facebook’s push into action and battle games follows a meeting in January between companies that make games like “first-person shooters” and Vice President Joe Biden to look for ways to curb gun violence in the wake of the Connecticut school shootings.

Based on the console gaming industry experience, hardcore gamers — typically men 18 to 30 years old — spend more time and effort to master fast-paced games such as first-person shooters (Microsoft’s “Halo”) or real-time strategy games (Activision Blizzard’s “StarCraft”).

“You’ll see a whole set of games hitting in the next two quarters in particular and throughout the year that really start to redefine what people think of Facebook games,” Sean Ryan, head of game partnerships at Facebook said in an interview.

Facebook will embrace games from “casual all the way up through first-person shooters, massively multiplayer online games, real-time strategy games – all those types of more core player-versus-player games.”

Just as hardcore gamers interact online and form clans in multiplayer games on console game networks like Xbox LIVE, Facebook can be that social layer needed to foster such gaming communities that help popularize titles, Jones said.

GAMING POPULATION

Over a quarter of Facebook’s 1.06 billion monthly active users play games, one of the largest gaming communities in the industry, and the social network hopes that can grow.

Facebook also aims to make more revenue from games. Revenue from the area was flat in the fourth quarter from a year ago, the company said on Wednesday without providing details.

The 8-year-old social network takes a 30 percent revenue share from game developers who offer their product free but then charge for virtual goods — like ammunition and power boosts.

On Wednesday, Facebook’s Chief Financial Officer David Ebersman told analysts on a post-earnings conference call that its “games ecosystem continues to show healthy signs of diversification” and suggested that games revenue would grow with increasing user engagement.

To grow its gaming business, Facebook has invested time and resources to work with developers since the summer to bring titles like u4iA’s first-person shooter “Offensive Combat” and Plaruim’s real-time strategy game “Stormfall: Age of War” alive, Ryan said.

“It doesn’t mean we’re walking away from other games, but there’s no question our focus for 2013 much of it will be about becoming a better platform for core gamers and developers who make those games.”

To help users discover them, Facebook added new action and strategy games categories on its App Center that also shows you friends from your list playing those games. It brought back notification messages from game apps — a feature that had been removed because users found the annoying — with certain restrictions that stop developers from spamming a gamer.

Developers also rely on word-of-mouth publicity and ads on Facebook’s advertising platform to draw in prospective gamers.

“Stormfall” has a player base of 4.5 million and hardcore games were proving to be far more lucrative, said Gabi Shalel, chief marketing officer Of Tel Aviv, Israel-based Plarium.

“Hardcore gamers pay more, play more and generate higher average revenue per user than traditional casual games.”

Kixeye, which makes the warfare-strategy game “War Commander,” said its gamers spend 20 times more than players of social games, helping it stay profitable over the past three years.

Going forward, nWay’s Jones says Facebook must have a defining title that comes along that establishes it as a hardcore gaming spot for gamers.

“Like ‘Super Mario’ did for Nintendo or ‘Halo’ on Microsoft, I think it just takes one title to come along, sort of as a benchmark to legitimize the whole thing,” he said.

(Reporting By Malathi Nayak; editing by Andrew Hay)

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Penelope Cruz Pregnant: The Spanish Star and Husband Javier Bardem Expecting Second Baby

It's true!

The internet was awash with rumors this morning that Penélope Cruz and husband Javier Bardem were expecting their second child. As it turns out, there was truth to the talk.

Pics: Hollywood's Hottest Baby Bumps!

People magazine confirmed the happy news on Friday that Penélope, 38, is indeed pregnant.

The bundle of joy will make a little brother or sister to the couple's son Leonardo, 2.

Video: Penelope Cruz Debuts Sexy Singing Skills

Interestingly enough, Penélope's sister Mónica is also expecting a child.

Penélope married fellow Academy-Award winner Javier in July 2010. The twosome famously co-starred in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, for which Penelope won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

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Career crook held on bail; allegedly targeted Asians

A career crook wanted for targeting Asians in eight violent East Harlem muggings was ordered held on one of the alleged attacks today, with the rest remaining under investigation.

Jason Commisso, 34, committed the eight attacks on Asian men and woman late last month, prosecutors say.

"The people are still investigating, as are the police, the hate crimes aspect, as all of the victims are of Asian descent," assistant district attorney Sioban Carty said of Commisso's alleged spree in Manhattan Criminal Court.

Commisso was ordered held in lieu of $150,000 bond or $75,000 cash bail on the one robbery he has so far been charged in -- that of an Asian woman inside an elevator at 1641 Madison Avenue on Jan. 24.

In that robbery, Commisso allegedly punched his victim in the face -- breaking her cheekbone and cutting her eye and chin -- as he stole her purse and cell phone, according to the complaint against him.

Commisso is due back in Manhattan Criminal Court on Feb. 6.

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Who is Rick Ross? Shoot-’em-up raises new questions

After being caught in a fusillade of bullets on Las Olas Boulevard earlier this week — all of them missing the 300-pound rapper, his girlfriend, and the Rolls-Royce they were riding in —questions are resurrected about the real Rick Ross.

Rick Ross has always styled himself as a tough guy who grew up in Miami’s cocaine cowboy-like underworld, mingling with drug traffickers and armed outlaws. The successful rapper has powered his way to the top of the Hip Hop world with rhymes about his rags-to-riches life, scrapping for food while his mother worked three jobs.

His critics and fellow rappers, however, have been relentless over the years, accusing the self-proclaimed “Boss” of rap of letting his thirst for riches get in the way of the facts of his life.

So when he was caught in a fusillade of bullets on Las Olas Boulevard earlier this week — all of them missing the 300-pound rapper, his girlfriend and the Rolls-Royce they were riding in — it resurrected questions about the real Rick Ross.

Some, including fellow rapper and nemesis 50 Cent, have said it’s difficult to believe that anyone firing that many shots would miss such a large target. They essentially accused Ross of staging the shooting to boost his larger-than-life image.

They have good reason to wonder, since Ross has not always adhered to literal truth in his self-portrayals. He was outed in 2008 as once having a respectable career as a Florida prison guard. At first, he denied the notion, but was forced to come clean when The Smoking Gun website printed his Florida Department of Corrections personnel record which included a citation for perfect attendance. Then a drug trafficker named “Freeway” Rick Ross sued him for stealing his moniker, which Ross claimed was morphed from his many high school nicknames. The lawsuit was thrown out, but it further dented Ross’ credibility in the rap world.

Fort Lauderdale police are investigating this week’s gunfire, but have released few details and have no suspects. But Ross does have his enemies, chief among them a gang named the Gangster Disciples, who have demanded The Boss pay them for using one of their leader’s names in his songs. In November, the Florida branch of the gang posted a video threatening to kill him he doesn’t pay up. But the shoot-‘em-up has not been tied to the gang.

After the incident, Ross beefed up his security, but has yet to publicly comment. His lawyer, Allan Zamren, declined address the matter. His publicist has not returned phone calls.

So who is Rick Ross?

Ross, whose real name is William Leonard Roberts II, came from a middle-class family with educated parents, earned average grades in high school and was a standout football lineman his senior year. He won a football scholarship, became a prison guard, then suddenly, completely changed gears.

By 2006, Ross at the age of 30, was on the verge of rap mega-stardom. His first two albums debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 album chart. His second single, Push It, was an homage to the movie Scarface. His first album went gold.

Last year, Ross seemed to make it to the pinnacle of his fame as both a rapper and the founder of Maybach Music Group, despite the furor over his past. He made the cover of Rolling Stone, unabashedly shirtless, pants hanging low, wearing his signature dark shades. The headline: “Gangster of Love.’’

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After 25 years, Collins Center closes amid financial woes

TALLAHASSEE --
The Collins Center for Public Policy, one of the state’s most respected think tanks, announced Thursday it is closing its doors after 25 years as a non-partisan Miami-based policy center.

A roller coaster period of growth, followed by recession-induced decline over the last two years, led to a financial fall from which the organization, named after former Gov. LeRoy Collins, could not recover.

"This is a sad, somber day for the Collins Center, the causes it espoused so valiantly, the numerous people and organizations the center helped and those who’ve fought to save it from a fiscal abyss that proved too deep to overcome,’’ said Merrett R. Stierheim, the board’s most recent chairman, in a statement.

Parker Thomson, a Miami lawyer who served as the board’s long-time chairman, said the center had been "the standard bearer for the legacy of former Gov. LeRoy Collins and his vision for a better Florida."

For years, the center was called upon to craft solutions to difficult policy challenges, Thomson said. It became the "conscience of Florida" on issues as diverse as ethics and election reforms, racial and ethnic discrimination, public safety, the environment, natural disasters, education, constitutional amendments and smart growth.

In the last election cycle, the center became a go-to source of non-partisan information on the lengthy list of constitutional amendments on the November ballot.

In recent years, the center offered services in foreclosure mediation, launching a program to provide financial counseling and mediation services in six of the 18 judicial districts. During that time, the center increased its staff 62 percent to meet the need and to draw mediation revenue from Fannie Mae.

"Those changes, however, were not nearly offset by grant revenue,’’ the center said in a press release on Thursday.

Financial problems deepened, however, when Miami-Dade County canceled its foreclosure mediation contract with the center and a robo-signing scam triggered cancellation of the judicial mediation program altogether. The center’s revenues dropped from $15.4 million in 2010 to $9.5 million in 2011 and its net revenues declined from $4.3 million to a loss of $4.2 million by July 2011.

Stierheim, the former Miami Dade County manager, was recruited to serve as interim president and CEO in August 2011. After ordering deep staff reductions and other cost savings, the center appeared headed for a turn-around.

In March 2012, the board recruited and hired Ann Henderson, then-director of the Graham Center for Public Policy at the University of Florida, to replace Stierheim. But the financial woes continued. The center lost its only remaining source of revenue — its financial counseling and mediation contract with Fannie Mae — in the fall of 2012.

"Over the past several months, we have striven to generate additional revenue,’’ Henderson said in a statement. "We have eliminated most positions, closed several offices and negotiated equipment leases and other obligations, but it has not been sufficient to survive."

The board has now voted to file for administrative dissolution and immediately cease all operations. The next step is to settle its debt to its creditors, Henderson said.

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U.S. tablet shipments soar during holidays, threaten to surpass PCs

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook’s prediction that tablets would one day outsell personal computers appears to be coming true.

Holiday season shipments of tablet computers touched a record 52.5 million, up 75 percent from a year ago, as consumers snapped up a wide range of the touch-enabled mobile devices and lower priced offerings, according to International Data Corp (IDC), which tracks both markets.

Growth of the tablet market handily outpaced that of personal computers, with PC shipments sliding 6.4 percent to 89.8 million in the October-December period.

In another sign of the rise of tablets, Apple, the No. 1 seller of tablets, shipped 22 million of them in the fourth quarter, compared with 15 million personal computers shipped by No. 1 PC seller Hewlett-Packard Co during the same period.

But increasing competition means that Apple’s one-time stranglehold on the tablet market continues to loosen. The market share of its iPad fell to 43.1 percent in the fourth quarter from 51.7 percent the previous year, IDC said.

Samsung Electronics, the No. 2 seller of tablets with its flagship Galaxy brand, captured 15.1 percent of the market, more than double its 7.3 percent share a year earlier.

Software maker Microsoft Corp, which launched its Surface with Windows RT tablet during the holidays, shipped about 900,000 units, IDC said.

Microsoft has been banking on Surface to showcase its new Windows 8 software to compete with Google Inc‘s Android-based tablets and the iPad.

Amazon.com Inc, despite having a wider range of products for the holidays, saw its share slip to 11.5 percent from 15.9 percent. Asian manufacturer Asus, which makes the Google-branded Nexus 7 tablet, saw a its share increase to 5.8 percent from 2 percent, IDC said.

IDC’s figures underscore the sliding fortunes of PC makers such as HP and Dell Inc, which is now in the process of taking itself private.

“New product launches from the category’s top vendors, as well as new entrant Microsoft, led to a surge in consumer interest and very robust shipments totals during the holiday season,” said Tom Mainelli, research director, tablets, at IDC.

“The record-breaking quarter stands in stark contrast to the PC market, which saw shipments decline during the quarter for the first time in more than five years,” Mainelli said.

(Reporting By Poornima Gupta; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

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NFL 'Characters Unite' to Battle Ignorance

Super Bowl Sunday is just a few days away, and football stars Larry Fitzgerald (Arizona Cardinals), Jameel McClain (Baltimore Ravens), Justin Tuck (New York Giants) and more are bravely speaking out about the uphill battles they faced long before they became NFL superstars: Prejudice, bullying and discrimination.

Pics: Beyonce & Star Sightings

This year's Characters Unite special airs February 8 on USA, and in it the NFL stars share tales of their very personal struggles and stress how important it is to be a positive role model for today’s youth.

Video: Watch Beyonce Super Bowl Rehearsal Footage

Watch the inspirational video for a sneak peek!

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Man convicted in murder of pregnant ex-girlfriend

A Queens man was convicted today for the murder of his pregnant ex-girlfriend and her toddler.

Jimmy Humphrey was found guilty of strangling Linda Anderson to death and setting her lifeless body on fire. The fire ultimately killed her 2-year-old son, Aiden Hayes, as he searched for his mother through the smoke in their St. Albans apartment.

"I'm not happy about the verdict, I really don't know how to feel. My little sister, Aiden and Gabriel are all gone," said Anderson's heartbroken older brother Rob, 40, outside of Queens Supreme Court.

The 6-foot 2, muscular Humphrey, 25, choked back tears as the forewoman read eight "guilty" verdicts to the court.

Humphrey will be sentenced on March 6.

Anderson, 25, was seven months pregnant with Humphrey's son -- to be named Gabriel -- when their complicated relationship escalated to a crime of passion on July 13, 2010.

Humphrey testified that after their altercation he went home to for a few hours to call his girlfriend and called 911 to report the fire from a pay phone three blocks away.

"I'll be alright, I love ya'll," said Humphrey, who faces up to 50 years in prison, to his family.

Both of Anderson's brothers are expected to give impact statements.

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