MIA director to unveil Airport City project at annual speech

The futuristic plan for Miami International Airport envisions newly arrived visitors checking in at a four-star hotel to relax at a pool, corporate executives hopping onto a people mover to meet at a business center minutes away, and locals crossing the street from the terminal to pick up Fido at the pet spa.

And the airport wouldn’t pay a cent to build any of it.

Instead, a private developer, Odebrecht USA, would finance the $512 million project. In return, Odebrecht would run the new facilities for half a century, paying rent and a percentage of revenues to the county.

This is Airport City, a massive project — in the works for nearly five years — intended to create new funding sources for the airport by turning MIA into a travel destination itself.

On Wednesday, Miami-Dade Aviation Director José Abreu will announce at the annual “state of the ports” speech, delivered with PortMiami Director Bill Johnson, that, three years after the county selected Odebrecht’s bid for the project, Airport City will come before county commissioners for approval next month.

“This can be the future,” Abreu said in an interview, calling Airport City “essential for us to be able to move forward.”

The reason: The more money the county-owned airport makes from non-aviation sources such as concessions, the lower the landing fees and other charges have to be paid by the airlines that bear the financial burden of operating MIA. During Odebrecht’s 40-year agreement with the county, with an option to renew for 10 more years, the airport could receive nearly $580 million in operating revenues.

“The more business we get, the more the airport gets,” said Gilberto Neves, president and CEO of Odebrecht. The company approached the county with the Airport City idea more than four years ago. Miami-Dade later put the project out for bids, and Odebrecht won.

Airport City would represent a capstone of sorts for MIA, which has spent about $6.3 billion and more than a decade — partly because of delays, cost overruns and, in some cases, corruption — expanding. The airport’s chief contractor: Odebrecht, which, as part of a joint venture with Parsons, upgraded the North Terminal, built a new South Terminal and put up the rails for the MIA Mover train that connects the airport Metrorail station to the terminal.

For Abreu, who was hired in 2005 to take control of the troubled capital-improvements program, launching an airport city — like the ones that exist in places such as Beijing, Frankfurt and Dallas/Fort Worth — is part of the legacy he hopes to leave when he retires at the end of March.

“The great thing about it is, it doesn’t hit our books” to develop the project, Abreu said. “There’s no downside.”

As part of the project, Odebrecht , which is working on a $4 billion mixed-use Rio de Janeiro port redevelopment project known as “Porto Maravilha,” would make the investment — and take on the risk — to develop, in phases, 41 acres east of the airport’s terminals and parking garages.

The county would retain ownership of the land, and the assets would revert to Miami-Dade at the end of Odebrecht’s agreement.

The project is divided into three parcels:

• A $359 million business center, with corporate offices, meeting space, a hotel and a new station for the MIA Mover train;

Read More..

Lady Gaga Postpones Shows Due to Injury

Lady Gaga announced on Tuesday that she has had to cancel four upcoming shows due to a severe inflammation of joints that has left her unable to walk.

PICS: Candid Celeb Sightings

Through a series of Twitter messages, Mother Monster revealed that she's been hiding the "show injury and chronic pain" from her staff "for sometime now," but now her condition has worsened.

"I didn't want to disappoint my amazing fans," Gaga tweeted. "However after last night's performance I could not walk and still can't. It will hopefully heal as soon as possible, I hate this. I hate this so much. I love you and I'm sorry."

According to The Associated Press, the dates in question include Feb. 13-14 in Chicago, Feb. 16 in Detroit and Feb. 17 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Makeup dates for these cancellations will be announced later, according to the news source.

Read More..

WATCH: Cops punch, kick Queens teen in drug arrest

A Queens teen got a brutal beatdown by a group of NYPD police officers during a stop outside the Flushing YMCA, dramatic video released today shows.

The Jan. 8 attack — which was captured on a witness’ cell phone — begins about 12:38 p.m. with two cops fighting to restrain Queens resident Robert Jackson, 19, on the ground while yelling “put your hands behind your head.”

“I can’t, I can’t, please stop,” Jackson pleads, crying, as the number of cops kicking and punching — and at one point scraping his face against the asphalt — increases to seven officers.

Robert Jackson, 19

Meanwhile, shocked bystanders are heard shouting, “Why are they hitting him?” and “They’re actually jumping him!”

Cops managed to arrest Jackson and charged him with obstructing governmental administration, resisting arrest, unlawful possession of marijuana and disorderly conduct.

He was mouthing “profanity threats” against one of the cops prior to the incident, court records show.

But Jackson’s lawyer, Jacques Leandre, said he wants the charges to be dismissed because his client is “an innocent victim of police brutality.”

“Its unfortunate that this could happen to somebody like me when cops are supposed to be protecting us,” said Jackson, whose badly-bruised face is still scarred from the incident.

Jackson has four prior arrests, including an Aug. 2012 arrest for criminal possession of a weapon, police sources said. Three of his arrests are sealed.

Police yesterday said the incident has been referred to the city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board.

Read More..

Romance and the executive woman: When it comes to love, leave work mode at the office

While on a blind date, Alexandra Arguelles found herself behaving as if she were interviewing a candidate for a job.

“I caught myself asking him question after question and trying to control everything.” Afterward, she says she felt as if she had been at a business dinner.

“It’s not easy for me to be laid back,” says Arguelles, a 42-year-old sales executive at a travel IT company in Miami. “But on my next date, I’m going to try.”

Women have made huge strides in business. We have climbed to the top of companies, built million-dollar businesses and forged into traditional male professions. We’ve positioned ourselves as some of the most powerful voices in politics and on the Internet. Yet, when it comes to romantic relationships, we still struggle to make it happen in love.

IT’S US

Ask the growing army of high-earning women and they will say men are intimidated by their professional and financial success, making it difficult to date and marry. But relationship experts say we have it wrong. It’s not them; it’s us.

“Today’s women just don’t seem to understand you have to leave the office at the office,” says Maya Ezratti, a relationship coach and owner of Rewarding Relationships. “You can’t treat your husband, boyfriend or date like an employee.”

Fewer Americans are married today than at any point in at last 50 years, according to a 2011 Pew Research study. The causes and consequences are the subject of much debate. But what is clear is that as more women have gained economic control over their lives, they need to switch modes when it comes to relationship dynamics.

John Gray, author of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, says keeping romance alive in the age of female empowerment takes getting in touch with your feminine attributes: “In the workplace, to be successful, women have to be independent, self reliant, focused on solving problems and managing people. Outside the office, those attributes are romance killers.”

In dating, Gray says a woman comes across as more attractive when she puts out a vibe she is happy and that a man can make her even happier. “Men want a job. They need to be needed,” he says. But a successful women’s natural instinct may be that she can do it all herself. “Be in touch with the part of yourself that is looking to have someone in your life that would lighten your load, and be open to receiving what he has to offer.”

In Miami, Ezratti coaches businesswomen to change their approach: “A lot of women are pursing romance like business.”

First, she advises they lose their pant suit and show up in more trendy, flirty attire. Next, she suggests they let go of being competitive. “Some women have no problem ripping men to shreds to prove their intelligence. No guy wants to go out on a date and feel like a schmuck. You don’t’ have to prove anything; the quiet one wins.”

David Berry, a 28-year-old Miami writer and author of a dating blog, affirms that most of his single male friends are scared to approach women who are rich, successful, brilliant and beautiful. They assume the women won’t be interested. “We have fears approaching women anyway. Now add in that they out earn us or drive a nicer car, and we start to doubt our ability to impress them.”

Read More..

First Lady Michelle Obama invites 102-year-old North Miami woman to State of Union speech

WASHINGTON --
At age 102, it's possible Desaline Victor is the oldest guest ever to attend a State of the Union address.

But the North Miami woman, known as "Granny" among the city’s Haitian community, was chosen less for her age than what she signifies.

As a naturalized U.S. citizen who waited for more than three hours to cast her ballot on Nov. 6, Victor, says the White House represents what President Barack Obama wants to highlight most in his second term. So Victor will sit in the First Lady’s box, along with military families, people who are championing immigration reform, and victims of gun reform.

"I know I’m going to sit with the president’s wife. I did not think I would get here," she said. "I am proud."

As an immigrant, former farm worker, and respected elder and minority from one of the poorest parts of South Florida, Victor and others like her stand to benefit most from the policies the president will discuss during his speech, say White House officials.

Victor came to the attention of the White House through the Advancement Project, which was tracking problems at the polls after Florida lawmakers cut early voting days.

The White House describes Victor as "a spirited and independent centenarian," who was born in Haiti in 1910 and arrived in the U.S. in 1989. She enjoys attending church services and cooking her own meals.

Victor voted at a library on the first day of early voting when waits were as long as six hours. She stood in line for three hours until some voting rights activists complained that an elderly woman was struggling on her feet. A poll worker asked Victor to return later. She did so, emerging that evening from the building with an "I Voted" sticker.

That prompted the crowd to erupt into applause — and encouraged many to wait their turn instead of giving up on voting, the White House said.

“The line was shorter at night,” she said. “I wanted to voted for my guy, my son President Obama.”

"She said even if she got dizzy or collapsed on the line, 'This is something I have to do,'" said Philippe Derose, a North Miami Beach councilman who met Victor after her challenges during early voting.

For South Florida, Victor symbolizes thousands who endured long lines during a reduced early voting schedule and on election day.

Local activists and observers expect Obama to address voter’s rights during the State of the Union address. During his election night speech Obama said “we have to fix that” in referring to those who waited hours to vote.

He echoed a similar sentiment in his inauguration speech. “Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote," he said.

Two Florida House members are also making a political statement with their guests at the State of the Union address. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston and Lois Frankel of West Palm Beach both invited those impacted by gun violence.

Frankel’s guest, Lynn McDonnell, is the mother of Grace, 7, who died in December in the shooting spree that killed 26 people, mostly children, at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. McDonnell’s husband, Chris, will attend the State of the Union with Rep. Gloria Negrete McLeod, D-Calif.

"The reality is that it's going to be pressure from the public that's going to move some of our colleagues, and that's the reason so many of us are bringing guests from Newtown," Frankel said. "I want my colleagues to look these parents in the eye, and tell them that we can get this done, that we can do something. You cannot look these parents in the eye and say 'I'm sorry, there's nothing we can do.' That's why these folks are going to be there."

Frankel sits on the Democratic Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, which recently outlined several gun-control measures. They include a ban on high capacity magazines; requiring criminal background checks for all firearms purchased at gun shows; banning assault weapons; requiring universal background checks and closing loopholes that allow gun purchasers to avoid a background check altogether; and strengthening mental health programs.

Grace's father gave Obama one of his daughter's paintings, which Obama keeps in his private study just off the Oval Office.

"Every time I look at that painting, I think about Grace, and I think about the life that she lived and the life that lay ahead of her," Obama said recently. "And most of all, I think about how when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable among us, we must act now...for all the Americans who are counting on us to keep them safe from harm."

Wasserman Schultz invited Megan Hobson, 17, of Hialeah, who in May was the victim of a drive-by shooting.

She was hit by a bullet that entered through the trunk of a car and helped save the life of a two-year-old passenger, according to the congresswoman's staff. Hobson spent three weeks under intensive care at Memorial Regional Hospital.

Hobson, now a senior at Miami-Dade's American Senior High, will join Wasserman Schultz at a news conference Tuesday morning before traveling to Washington for the president's speech.

Miami Herald staff writer Jacqueline Charles contributed to this report.

Read More..

13-year-old who opened fire on crowd of people arraigned

The geeky 13-year-old named "Elmo" charged with opening fire into a crowd of people in East Harlem was arraigned today on attempted murder charges.

Elmo Williams had allegedly pulled a 9 mm pistol and tried to shoot a rival 14-year-old in front of Jefferson Houses just after school let out on Thursday. Manhattan Family Court Judge Stewart Weinstein ordered the young teen remain in a juvenile detention facility, and set Feb. 27 for his next hearing.

No one was injured, and Williams dropped the gun and ran when cops intervened, getting arrested almost immediately.

Williams was accompanied at court with his brother, who is his legal guardian, and several other family members.

Read More..

Green cards for sale at a South Beach hotel: Competition is on for EB5 investment visas

If David Hart gets his way, South Beach’s 42-room Astor Hotel will be on a hiring spree this year as it adds concierge service, a roof-top pool, an all-night diner, spa and private-car service available 24 hours a day.

New hires will be crucial to Hart’s business plan, since foreign investors have agreed to pay about $50,000 for each job created by the Art Deco boutique.

The Miami immigration lawyer specializes in arranging visas for wealthy foreign citizens under a special program that trades green cards for investment dollars. Businesses get the money and must use it to boost payroll. The minimum investment is $500,000 to add at least 10 jobs to the economy. That puts the pressure on Hart and his partners at the Astor to beef up payroll dramatically, with plans to take a hotel with roughly 20 employees to one with as many as 100 workers.

“My primary responsibility is to make something happen here over the next two years that will create the jobs we need,’’ Hart said a few steps away from a nearly empty restaurant on a recent weekday morning. “It’s all going to be transformed.”

Though established in the 1990s, the “EB5” visas soared in popularity during the recession as developers sought foreign cash to replace dried-up credit markets in the United States.

Chinese investors dominate the transactions, accounting for about 65 percent of the nearly 9,000 EB5 visas granted since 2006. South Korea finishes a distant second at 12 percent and the United Kingdom holds the third-place slot at 3 percent. If Latin America and the Caribbean were one country, they would rank No. 4 on the list, with 231 EB5 visas granted, or about 3 percent of the total.

Competition has gotten stiffer for the deep-pocketed foreign investors willing to pay for green cards. The University of Miami’s bio-science research park near the Jackson hospital system raised $20 million from 40 foreign investors under the EB5 program, most of them from Asia. The money went into the park’s first building; visa brokers are waiting to see if the second building will proceed so they can offer a new pool of potential green-card sales.

In Hollywood, the stalled $131 million Margaritaville resort had hoped to raise about $75 million from EB5 investors before ditching that plan last year to pursue more traditional financing. A retail complex by developer Jeff Berkowitz in Coral Gables also launched a program to raise $50 million in EB5 money for the project, Gables Station. Hart worked with other EB5 investors to back pizza restaurants in Miami and South Beach. A limestone mine in Martin County also was backed by EB5 dollars.

This year, the city of Miami itself is expected to get into the business by setting up an EB5 program to raise foreign cash for a range of city businesses and developments. The first would be the tallest building in the city — developer Tibor Hollo’s planned 85-story apartment tower, the Panorama, in downtown Miami.

With a construction cost of about $700 million, Miami’s debut EB5 venture hopes to raise about $100 million from foreign investors, said Laura Reiff, the Greenberg Traurig lawyer in Virginia working with Miami on the EB5 effort. “This is a marquis project,’’ she said.

The arrangement is a novel one for Miami, with the city planning to help a private developer raise funds overseas for a new high-rise. And it would allow Hollo and future participants to tout the city of Miami’s endorsement when competing with other Miami-area projects for EB5 dollars. “We will have the benefit of the brand of the city of Miami,’’ said Mikki Canton, the $6,000-a-month city consultant heading Miami’s EB5 effort. “A lot of these others are privately owned and they won’t have that brand.”

Read More..

Tawdry allegations may emerge in criminal trial of former Florida GOP chairman Jim Greer

TALLAHASSEE --
They headed for Marsh Harbour Airport in the Bahamas, most of them on private planes owned by billionaire Harry Sargeant III, then the finance chairman of the Florida Republican Party.

The weekend trip began on Friday Jan. 11, 2008, for a select group of Floridians —maybe 20 or so — who helped raise money for a constitutional amendment that would increase homestead exemptions.

Those who attended have differing memories of how many were there or what occurred, and no one is very anxious to talk to a reporter about the gathering.

Perhaps it’s the accusation of a golf cart filled with prostitutes that scares them away.

The five-year-old gathering has gained a life of its own in the criminal case against former Florida GOP chairman Jim Greer, who has been charged with money laundering and grand theft for allegedly diverting about $200,000 in party funds to a corporation he created. The trip itself isn’t tied to Greer’s legal problems, but details of the weekend could surface in testimony at his trial, which begins with jury selection Monday in Orlando, or remain secret, depending on which lawyers win out.

The Bahamas trip included an impressive outdoor seafood dinner with then-Gov. Charlie Crist, Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas Ned Siegel, Florida GOP Chairman Jim Greer and a handful of Tallahassee lobbyists and big campaign donors.

It was organized by Greer and Sargeant for supporters of “Yes on 1-Save Our Homes Now,” a constitutional amendment campaign Crist was pushing to expand the state’s homestead exemption. Delmar Johnson, former executive director of the state Republican party and a key witness against Greer, describes it as a thank you trip for those who contributed some of the $4.4 million raised in support of the measure. Others, including Crist, say the gathering was a fundraiser. The amendment was approved by Florida voters on Jan. 29, 2008, a few weeks after the trip.

The trip was for men only. Even women who worked for the party and helped with fundraising were excluded.

Johnson told prosecutors last summer that he saw women who appeared to be prostitutes in a golf cart driven by one of Sargeant’s employees. The information surfaced late last year when a video of Johnson’s testimony was made public.

More specifics have been hard to come by.

Johnson’s testimony is included in a sealed Florida Department of Law Enforcement report prepared last summer by investigators looking at possible witness tampering in the Greer case. Prosecutors say the report — and details about the Bahamas trip — may be used as rebuttal evidence against some of those scheduled to testify on Greer’s behalf.

Lawyers for two unidentified witnesses have asked that the report remain sealed, saying it contains information that would embarrass them. Greer Circuit Judge Marc Lubet says the records must be made public if they are used in an attempt to impeach the testimony of witnesses who might be embarrassed by details of the Bahamas trip.

After reviewing the report in chambers last year, Lubet read the names of four men: Lobbyist Brian Ballard, Sargeant, Johnson and new state Rep. Dane Eagle, R-Cape Coral, asking if they would be witnesses at the trial. At the time of the trip Eagle was a travel aide for Crist. Prosecutors said all but Eagle, now a state legislator, are expected to be witnesses at the trial.

Read More..

3 Killed Filming Discovery Channel Production

Three people were killed Sunday morning in a helicopter crash during a production shoot for a Discovery Channel reality show.

The crash occurred about 3:40 a.m. in an open field in the town of Acton outside Los Angeles, Deadline reports. The three victims were thrown from the helicopter and pronounced dead at the scene.

PICS: Star Sightings

In a statement to Deadline, the Discovery Channel confirmed the accident, which occurred during filming by the reality show's producer, Eyeworks USA. "We are all cooperating fully with authorities. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families," the statement said.

Shooting at the location began Saturday and a film permit listed the production as "Untitled Military Project."

Read More..

Houseboat man found dead under dock in Brooklyn

The body of an elderly man who lived on a houseboat was found floating under a dock today in Brooklyn, authorities said.

The 74-year-old man’s boat was docked in the Plumb Beach Channel off of Ebony Court in Gerritsen Beach when he he was spotted in the water around 12:35 p.m., cops said.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police do not suspect any criminality at this time, cops said.

The city’s medical examiner will determine the cause of death.

Read More..