Top Miami Area Local News Stories
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<p> Broward Sheriff's deputies shot and killed a man in Pompano Beach Monday when they said he brandished a gun in front of deputies.</p><p> Deputies blocked off the 800 block of Southeast 22nd Avenue just after 6:20 p.m. BSO said deputies responded to a report of a disturbance where a man with a gun was attacking a subject and that there was possibly a woman held hostage.</p><p> At some point during the incident, the suspect was shot, BSO said. Officers did not confirm that a hostage was being held.</p>
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:16:34 GMT
<p> For the first time since a giant machine began boring Miami's Port Tunnel last November, Local 10 cameras were invited in and underground to see the progress. </p><p> As of Monday, 131 concrete rings were in place, composing the first 700 feet of tunnel. </p><p> PHOTOS: Port Tunnel tour</p><p> The moving labyrinth of walkways and machinery is currently 45 feet below the MacArthur Causeway on a 5 percent grade, headed down to an eventual 120 feet. </p><p> The giant cutting wheel on the front of the machine is about to encounter a layer of earth crews call "Strata 5," which they say is the hardest limestone they've encountered yet. </p><p> "Today, we're going under maintenance to make sure the cutter blades, the face shield and everything is in place to properly deal with that," said Christopher Hodgkins, vice president of the Miami Access Tunnel consortium. </p><p> The machine runs on electricity and hydraulics. </p><p> The 52,000 tons of hydraulic pressure that moves the boring machine forward also pushes back onto each concrete ring as its set into place.</p><p> "We're not just building frame," said Hodgkins. "We're putting in conduit, fire flow, pressurized water, pressurized air, and all of this is taking place as we're building the tunnel. We're trying to complete as much of the tunnel as we can as we go through the process."</p><p> Crews aim to complete 20 feet of tunnel a day.</p>
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:20:20 GMT
<p> A bomb squad detonated an 'improvised grenade' in a northwest Miami-Dade County neighborhood on Monday afternoon. </p><p> The object was found at Northwest 102nd Street and Northwest 15th Avenue, and someone called police.</p><p> The bomb squad detonated the suspicious object, which resembled a grenade. Miami-Dade police said the object was an improvised grenade. They said it was similar to a hollowed-out grenade sold at an Army/Navy surplus store, filled with something. They did not know what it was filled with. </p><p> The object was taken to a lab to determine if the material was dangerous.</p><p> Police did not say where or who it came from.</p><p> The object was near a sidewalk and next to a chain-link fence in front of a home.</p><p> No evacuations were ordered, but Northwest 102nd Street was blocked off by police.</p>
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:08:14 GMT
<p> Two men and a 14-year-old boy are arrested in connection with the death of a man whose body was found in a burning car in Miami Beach.</p><p> The body of Cordell Cooper was found Aug. 11 in the back seat of a burning vehicle at 973 Bay Dr., Miami Beach police said. The body was so badly burned that DNA was used to identify it. </p><p> An autopsy showed that Cooper was beaten, stabbed and strangled before being set on fire, police said. </p><p> After identifying Cooper, detectives spoke to an informant who led them to suspects Martin Gallegos, 20, and a 14-year-old boy. Gallegos was in the Miami-Dade County Jail on a probation violation. </p><p> Miami Beach police said Gallegos admitted to his involvement and told investigators that Cooper had been the target of a robbery and carjacking. </p><p> "They saw the victim walking down the street and decided to make him the target of a robbery and a carjacking. When that didn't pan out, they decided to kill him because he knew who they were," said Detective Juan Sanchez, of the Miami Beach Police Department. "They did beat him. They did strangle him, and they did stab him to death."</p><p> Sanchez said that after what they did to Cooper, the would-be robbers left empty-handed. </p><p> "He had nothing for them to rob," Sanchez said. "All they had was a vehicle, and they tried going to his ATM. There was no money in the account, so they weren't able to accomplish what they set out to do, which was to rob this individual of money."</p><p> Police said the pair killed Cooper and left him in the vehicle. But an acquaintance, Ellis McDaniel, 21, told Gallegos he should burn the body to keep it from being identified, drove him to a gas station and gave him a gas container, which Gallegos used to torch the body and the vehicle, Miami Beach police said.</p><p> Gallegos and the 14-year-old boy each face charges of first-degree murder. McDaniel is charged with accessory after the fact to murder.</p>
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:26:02 GMT
<p> Many water and sewer lines in South Florida are in need of repair, but utilities said they simply do not have enough money to fix them.</p><p> Miami-Dade County's Water and Sewer Department is the largest in the southeastern United States. Its deputy director, Douglas Yoder, said there have been some dramatic ruptures in South Florida in recent months, including a sewer spill in Hollywood in November and a Christmas Eve water main fiasco in Fort Lauderdale.</p><p> The majority of Miami-Dade County's system is more than 50 years old. The lifespan of a pipe varies depending on what is flowing through it, where it is located and possible human error. Yoder said there have been failures in pipes that are 30 to 40 years old because there were some flaws in their original construction.</p><p> Raw Interview: Douglas Yoder</p><p> Fixing the problem requires money, which can be hard to come by. Utilities nationwide are feeling the pinch from higher operating and regulatory costs paired with decreasing revenues as more people use less water. That is great for conservation, but bad for a budget already reeling from cuts, experts said. </p><p> For its size, Miami-Dade County is the second least expensive in the country, but raising rates is never popular, especially in today's economic climate. </p><p> Yoder said that prevention is always cheaper than treatment, as was evident in a recent water main break in Hialeah. He said it cost $2 million to repair an intersection destroyed by the break, but replacing the section of pipe that caused the mess would have cost $60,000 before the break.</p><p> Yoder said the county is working on a plan to assess which pipes need fixing or replacement and how much it will cost.</p><p> Miami-Dade County's woes are a microcosm of what is happening nationwide. The American Society of Civil Engineers recently gave the country's sewer system a D-minus grade. </p><p> "The latest report shows that our nation's drinking water and wastewater infrastructure is aging and overburdened, and that investment is not keeping up with the need," the ACSE stated in a 2009 report.</p><p> Like Yoder, the ASCE said investing money into preventative maintenance before a burst would save taxpayers more money in the long run because the economic losses, both public and private, are much greater following a rupture.</p><p> Meanwhile, Alan Garcia, the director of Broward County's Water and Wastewater Services, told Local 10 that Broward County commissioners have "fully funded all year's capital and operating requests. Those include $42.9 million for fiscal year 2009, 19.3 million for fiscal year 2010 and $26.3 million for fiscal year 2011, all from the capital budgets, to replace aging infrastructure in Broward County.</p><p> "We have approximately 6,611,000 feet of pipe with about 3 percent greater than 50 years old," Garcia said.</p><p> Garcia said the county general considers 50 years to be about the time it considers replacing a pipe. </p><p> "With the newer pipe, say after 1990, we are considering a 60-year life, unless specific data for that pipe says otherwise," Garcia said. "In addition, we have spent approximately $3 million per year on pipe breaks in 2010 and 2011 from our operating budget."</p><p> Click here for information on pipe ages in Broward County.</p>
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:22:35 GMT
<p> Opening arguments began Monday for the trial of Paul Francois, a man whom police call the “Sweetheart Swindler.” </p><p> Prosecutors said Francois stole women's hearts, as well as their money. </p><p> According to investigators, Francois wined and dined two women at the same time in June 2007. Police said he tried to convince both of them, who were from New York, to move to Florida and to marry him. Francois also convinced them to open joint bank accounts with him, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said. </p><p> One woman realized something was wrong when she tried to write a check from their account in October 2007 and it bounced, according to police. </p><p> Investigators said Francois wiped out all the money. In total, Francois is accused of stealing nearly $400,000 from both of them. </p><p> "He played on their emotions," said prosecutor Al Guttmann. </p><p> Francois was arrested by the Broward Sheriff's Office Aug. 12, 2009. </p><p> The defense is expected to make opening statements later Monday afternoon.</p>
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:26:55 GMT
<p> A 19-year-old man was arrested in connection with the sexual battery of a woman in her Coral Springs home Sunday night. </p><p> Coral Springs police said the 25-year-old woman was with her newborn baby at their home in the 2300 block of Northwest 95th Avenue at about 8 p.m. when a man came in. </p><p> Police believe the man planned to burglarize the house, but when the woman confronted him, he pulled a knife and attacked her. The man beat, choked and sexually battered the woman, Coral Springs police said. The baby was not harmed. </p><p> The attacker stole the woman’s cellphone and escaped, police said. </p><p> The victim called police, who established a perimeter and arrested the suspect, whom they identified Monday as Gary Lenard Holmes, 19, of Pompano Beach. </p><p> According to the arrest affidavit, police said Holmes, who was wearing a bloody shirt, admitted to sexually battering the woman, stealing her cellphone and throwing it in the garbage. Police said he called an ex-girlfriend and told her what he had done. </p><p> The woman was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. </p><p> Holmes faces charges of armed sexual battery, burglary with battery, armed occupied burglary and petit theft.</p>
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:43:10 GMT
<p> Miami Heat superstar LeBron James is larger than life, and a new statue created by a Fort Lauderdale-based company brings new meaning to the phrase. </p><p> Melissa Perlamn of Primetime Amusements said the statue took three weeks to build, and it was hand-sculpted, drawn and painted.</p><p> PHOTOS: Slideshow</p><p> The 18-foot statue weighs 250 pounds and is made entirely of foam. The 6-foot, 8-inch sculpture also weighs 250 pounds.</p><p> Primetime Amusements is working on a Dwyane Wade statue now, and Chris Bosh is next. That would create the “really” big three. </p><p> There’s still no word on where the monoliths will be on display. </p><p> “Hopefully, they end up with a players charity or an NBA charity,” said Pearlman. </p><p> They should all be ready by All-Star weekend, which is just about two weeks away.</p>
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:32:59 GMT
Love is in the air! Get gift ideas, learn mistakes to avoid and check out recipes for sweets for your sweetheart.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:24:09 GMT
Whitney Houston's death over the weekend at age 48 prompted cries of shock that she died so young. Join us in remembering Houston and these other celebrities and stars who died too early.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:43:17 GMT
As hard you try, sometimes it's just impossible to defend the male species of the human race. Don't believe us? Just take a look at the agonizing proof that men appear to be dumb
Published: Thu, 07 Oct 2010 21:25:52 GMT
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