The Random Pixels Selfish Douche Bag of the Week Award goes to ....

...the female driver of this Mercedes C300 - Florida tag number V95 7CV - who late this morning, opened her door and threw out her trash on the road at the intersection of Kendall Drive and State Road 874.

-Thanks to Eli for the great shot!

Marlins stadium parking problems: Déjà vu all over again?

Back in the day, only a lucky few got to park on the grassy parking spaces
at the Orange Bowl.

From today's Miami Herald:

Early verdict on Marlins stadium parking: It ‘really stinks’

BY ADAM H. BEASLEY AND CHARLES RABIN

Congratulations, Marlins fans, you have a beautiful ballpark. Good luck getting there — and finding a place to park your car.

For fans driving to the ballpark Wednesday night, a wreck on the Dolphin Expressway was only half the headache. For the first time since the complex was unveiled last weekend, fans came to grips with the reality of a 37,000-seat venue with fewer than 6,000 on-site parking spots.

So who's to blame for this?

How about Claude Delorme?

From the Palm Beach Post, Sept. 22, 2011:

At new Florida Marlins stadium, getting a ticket won't necessarily mean getting a parking space

After Claude Delorme moved to South Florida from Montreal seven years ago, he decided to attend a few events at the Orange Bowl. But Delorme wasn't there to watch the University of Miami Hurricanes storm the field via their smoke-filled tunnel, wasn't interested in mega-concerts and certainly didn't make a beeline for the infamous concession stands.

"I wanted to focus only on the parking," Delorme said.

It wasn't a bizarre hobby, but rather research for his role as the Marlins' vice president of ballpark development. Next season, the Marlins will move to their new ballpark on those old Orange Bowl grounds.
[...]
Parking will be included in most season tickets, but if you have season seats beyond the baselines or buy single-game tickets, your best options will be to use shuttle services from nearby lots, public transportation or someone's lawn.

I wonder if Claude still has his job?

But, besides attending a few events at the old Orange Bowl, did Claude conduct any kind of research? After all, the problem of parking at sports venues in South Florida is not exactly new.

Let's take a trip down memory lane.

Miami Daily News, Nov. 30, 1957

Miami News, Aug. 5, 1971

Miami News, June 30, 1976

Miami News, Oct. 4, 1982

Miami News, Sept. 13, 1984...City manager Howard Gary pulls gun on two
men who parked on his lawn during a football game at Orange Bowl.

And in 1987 when the Miami Dolphins abandoned the Orange Bowl for the new Joe Robbie Stadium, they took the parking problems with them.

Miami News, July 30, 1987

Miami News, Aug. 17, 1987

Hopefully, the parking problems associated with the new Marlins Stadium can be solved. Perhaps an answer can be found in some Orange Bowl history.

In 1966, they simply tore down some of the homes in the neighborhoods surrounding the Orange Bowl to make room for more cars! Problem solved.

Miami News, Aug. 25, 1966, (Click to enlarge)

Grand Forks ND Olive Garden receives warm welcome

Here at Random Pixels, we're constantly trying to come up with that one post, the one photo or video that will send our daily page views into the six-figure range.

So far, we haven't had much luck.

So, we were impressed today when we learned that a restaurant review written by a columnist for a small North Dakota paper had garnered something like 90,000 page views.

Marilyn Hagerty

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Internet's newest star, Marilyn Hagerty, long-time columnist for the Grand Forks, (ND) Herald.

Marilyn's been writing for the Herald for decades, but for some reason her delightful review of the new Olive Garden in Grand Forks that appeared in today's paper is what's burning up the Internet.

Perhaps Marilyn's breezy, small-town honest, no-nonsense style of writing is what's striking a chord with readers:

All in all, it is the largest and most beautiful restaurant now operating in Grand Forks. It attracts visitors from out of town as well as people who live here.

At length, I asked my server what she would recommend. She suggested chicken Alfredo, and I went with that. Instead of the raspberry lemonade she suggested, I drank water.

(One Gawker.com commenter points out that small town newspaper readers simply want to know, "Was the food okay? How much do meals cost? Can I take my kids there?")

As I write this, Marilyn's review has been tweeted more than 6,700 times and has more than 4,300 Facebook shares.

And if there are any snotty, self-absorbed types reading this who might feel inclined to make fun of Marilyn or find fault with her writing, here's what she told the Village Voice: "If anyone's got time to sit out there and nitpick, I kind of feel sorry for them. Get a life."

But, while it's Marilyn's Olive Garden review that's getting all the attention, I think her column about a recent trip to Florida contains two of the most wonderful paragraphs ever to appear in a newspaper:

An elderly white-haired gentleman leaned over me when I was sitting on a bench in Florida. He said, “Say something! Say something!”

I thought he was trying to pick me up. Then I realized he wanted to know if his hearing aid was working. He had just paid to have it fixed and wanted to be sure about it.

Stranded dolphins on Brazilian beach are saved by locals

-filmed by Gerd Traue
About 30 Dolphins stranded and saved by local people at Arraial do Cabo (Brazil) in the morning at 8:00 AM on March 5th 2012.

Marlins team president David Samson thinks taxpayers who paid for new stadium are 'not the smartest people'

Miami Marlins chief swindler President David Samson thinks
Miamians are stupid.

When Miami Marlins team president David Samson spoke before a Beacon Council breakfast meeting on Tuesday, he probably didn't count on his words leaving the room.

But in the audience was Miami Today reporter Scott Blake.

Blake whipped out his notebook and started writing down what Samson told the group.

And then Blake went back to his office and wrote a story.

Reflecting on the controversy surrounding the Miami Marlins' new baseball stadium and parking complex, team President David Samson on Tuesday had some colorful and critical words for elected officials, pundits and even Miamians as a whole.

"I don't have to hold back now that the stadium is built — not that I ever have," Mr. Samson said while addressing a group of about 75 people who came to hear him speak at a Beacon Council breakfast meeting.

He called politicians "not the intellectual cream of the crop," adding about the entire population, "We're not the smartest people in Miami. If you're in this room, you're instantly in the top 1%."

Here are a few more quotes from Samson's speech:

On Tallahassee politicians: "I went to Tallahassee. I don't know what they do up there. There are so many special interests. You walk through the building, and they're watching "Family Feud.'"

On Marlins stadium opponent Norman Braman: "I don't see Norman Braman trying to fix anything. If he has the time and money, let's see [him] run for public office. He should stop saying how bad it is, and start trying to make a difference."

Read the entire Miami Today story by clicking here.

.....
Samson tells CBS4 his remarks were taken out of context.



H/T Tim Elfrink.

100 years ago today - Roy Tucker was fined $5 for almost hitting Judge Phillips on 12th St.

From the Miami Daily Metropolis, March 7, 1912.