DAILY (CHANGE*) SUNDAY (CHANGE)
Tampa Bay Times 340,260 (+14%) 402,422 (-7%)
Tampa Tribune 191,477 (+33%) 281,086 (+7%)**
Orlando Sentinel 161,070 (-7%) 268,257 (-7%)
S. Fla. Sun-Sentinel 163,728 (-1%) 228,906 (-7%)
Miami Herald 147,130 (-9%) 190,751 (-10%)
Here's an email the Miami Herald's Senior VP of Circulation & Operations, Craig Woischwill, sent to Herald staffers on Tuesday.
Everyone,
We have decided to delay the start of our office staff move to Doral by one week. This affects all three phases of the move.
Timing for receiving the necessary permitting and inspections to move into the Office Building has become too tight to guarantee adequate notice to those of you who were to start moving this Friday. We are still on target to complete all phases of the move before the end of May.
Work won’t slow down at either building. We are pushing hard on detail work, clean up, installation of fixtures and system preliminaries. The result will be a very nearly finished work environment when people arrive.
The move schedule has changed for a small number of work groups, driven by month-end closing and operational needs. Divisional move coordinators will receive an updated schedule tomorrow.
On the production building side, we anticipate approval to begin printing newspapers and operating by the weekend. In all likelihood, we will print our last papers in this building next week.
Lots going on, so thank you for being patient and flexible. We will continue to keep you updated.
Thanks,
Craig
Craig Woischwill | Sr VP Circulation & Operations
Miami Herald Media Company
The web has seen plenty of cats riding on Roombas before, but nothing like this. A cat, dressed as a Halloween shark, rides the robotic floor cleaner as a giddy baby duckling runs along. Finally, a witch dog appears just as the Roomba runs out of juice.
.....“The disappointment as the Roomba shuts off is palpable.”
“It seems the City of Miami Police Department has a culture of corruption that exceeds all other police departments. You threw away your career for chump change — $800.”
-From remarks made today by U.S District Judge Robert Scola before sentencing Miami police officer Harold James to 15 months in prison for extortion.
Scola, a former state prosecutor and circuit judge, reminded the eight-year veteran that some people in the community have a hard time believing police officers because of the wrongdoing of cops like James and others in his embattled department.
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| The bodies of three men believed to be drug dealers are pulled from the Miami River on July 29, 1985. (Tim Chapman/Miami Herald) |
3 FOUND IN RIVER MAY HAVE DROWNED IN COCAINE RIP-OFF
Wednesday, July 31, 1985
by JOAN FLEISCHMAN
Herald Staff Writer
Three men whose bodies were found floating in the Miami River died from drowning, but they may have been the victims of a cocaine rip-off, robbed by a gang of men masquerading as police, Metro-Dade detectives said Tuesday.
"We don't know exactly what caused them to drown, whether they fell into the water or they were pushed in or purposedly jumped in," said Homicide Detective Alex Alvarez.
The three were identified as Pedro Martinez, 40, of 6800 SW 14th St.; Adolfo Lopez-Yanes, 37, of 5271 NW Second Ter.; and Juan A. Garcia, address unknown.
Garcia owned a restaurant, Lopez was a self-employed painter and Martinez was a handyman who did ceiling work, police said.
They were dressed in sports clothes when their bodies were fished out of the water Monday afternoon by employees of a salvage firm. Each of the victims had between $800 and $1,000 in large bills in their pockets, and still wore jewelry. Garcia and Martinez also carried pistols in their waistbands, police said. Only Garcia had an arrest record, but the charges were misdemeanors, police said.
From Putney's intro: "[Stephen] Ross makes his case for using tax dollars to modernize Sun Life Stadium. He says it's a perfect public-private partnership. Others call it corporate welfare for a billionaire."
Photographed Sunday in Coconut Grove by retired Miami Herald arts/entertainment editor Margaria Fichtner.
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“We smell smoke, people running to the center, cars going straight, cars turning to the right. Whether they cordoned off this block, we can see a helicopter that is up in the air. Something has just happened. Police officers are running, we have a dog, a dog that’s on its way. Interesting, that dog is barking. Whether that’s a canine, we don’t know.” -Deborah Feyerick, CNN.
"That's why a bomb can't beat us. That's why we don't hunker down. That's why we don't cower in fear. We carry on. We race. We strive. We build, and we work, and we love." - President Obama, speaking today in Boston.
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Awarded to the Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, FL, for its well documented investigation of off-duty police officers who recklessly speed and endanger the lives of citizens, leading to disciplinary action and other steps to curtail a deadly hazard.
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The Sun Sentinel was awarded the prestigious Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for public service journalism on Monday for its investigation of off-duty police officers endangering the lives of citizens by speeding.
The newspaper launched its three-month investigation after ... off-duty Miami police officer [Fausto Lopez] was pulled over by a Florida state trooper for driving 120 mph in the fall of 2011.
The resulting series, Above the Law: Speeding Cops, broke new ground in database journalism and had an immediate and lasting impact on the community.
Sun Sentinel investigative reporter Sally Kestin and database specialist John Maines, working with investigative team editor John Dahlburg, used data collected from SunPass toll booths to calculate the officers' speed.
The three-part series was published in February, revealing the shocking behavior of law enforcement officers behind the wheel. The reporters found nearly 800 officers who reached speeds of 90-130 mph, many of them while off duty. The accidents caused by officers driving at high speeds had caused at least 320 crashes since 2004, killing or maiming 21 people.
[...]
The project was led overall by Metro Editor Dana Banker, Associate Editor Willie Fernandez, and Sun Sentinel Editor Howard Saltz.
"This is such an exciting moment for our newsroom and it's a reflection of the kind of work that we want to be known for," Fernandez said.
The Sun Sentinel newsroom erupted in cheers Monday and toasted the Pulitzer-winning team with champagne.
"I'm just so proud of this team," Banker said. "It was a huge commitment: These reporters analyzed more than a million database records and drove more than 2,500 miles to accurately determine the speeds and distances involved. Their work made a difference — and that's what good local journalism is all about."
Their efforts were coupled with essential contributions from graphic artist Cindy Jones-Hulfachor, video reporter Ihosvani "Geo" Rodriguez, photographer Mike Stocker, database specialist Dana Williams, and copy editors Jeremy Lang and Kathy Laskowski.
"Before the series ran, cops around South Florida were notorious for speeding,'' said Maines. "We had all seen them zip by at breakneck speeds. After the Miami incident made headlines, Sally came up with the idea of using SunPass data."
From: From: Landsberg, David
Date: Tue, Jan 15, 2013 at 12:20 PM
Subject: Furlough Announcement
To: MIA All Herald Users
To all Herald staff:
Today we are announcing a furlough program for the first half of 2013. Most full-time employees who work a regularly scheduled 40-hour week, including executives and managers, will be required to take one week of unpaid furlough by June 30, 2013.
Nationwide as well as in our business, recovery from the recession continues to be choppy, so we must strive to manage our expenses accordingly.
Furlough information and scheduling forms can be accessed by clicking on this link to HR Forms on HeraldHub. Each division will communicate specifics regarding this program and manage its own process for sign-up and scheduling.
Please know that we are seeing some positive results in our new revenue initiatives despite the uneven economic environment. Your contributions have been key to the accomplishments we’ve achieved in moving toward a successful future.
Thank you for your talent, hard work and dedication.
David
Miami Herald announces yet ANOTHER unpaid furlough. Lucky the best things in life are free. Except food. Rent. Electricity. Beer. Etc.
— glenngarvin (@glenngarvin) June 19, 2012
McClatchy spends $164,643 to move Kansas City Star publisher to Sacramento
Kansas City Star publisher Mark Zieman is named McClatchy operations veep “With his move to the Sacramento metropolitan area from Kansas City to take the position of Vice President, Operations, the Company provided Mr. Zieman with relocation benefits. For 2012, these benefits included shipping household goods, temporary housing and assistance with the sale of his prior home. These benefits totaled $164,643.” – from McClatchy’s SEC filing
Mark Zieman
McClatchy CEO Gary Pruitt resigns to become Associated Press president paintings“Upon his retirement from the Company after nearly 28 years of service, 16 of those years as CEO, Mr. Pruitt was presented with two paintings that had hung in his office. These were valued at approximately $25,000, and after being grossed up for taxes the value of the total gift was $35,848.” – also from the SEC filing
Patrick Talamantes, who replaced Pruitt as McClatchy CEO, made $1.6 million in 2012 and gets a 10% raise in 2013, bringing his base salary from $750,000 to $825,000. In 2012, he got a $270,000 bonus because “under Mr. Talamantes’ leadership, the Company continued to make significant progress in meeting the challenges faced by newspaper companies,” says the filing. [The next time you run into a Miami Herald staffer, ask them when they last got a bonus or pay raise.]
Ex-McClatchy CEO Gary Pruitt made $3.6 million in 2012 (mediakc.wordpress.com)
January 2013: McClatchy paper tells employees to take a week of unpaid furlough (jimromenesko.com)
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At 6pm every station in town leads their newscast with the story and the dramatic footage.The [helicopter] camera captures Walker’s [younger] brother [Antwan Carl Walker] first rush past the police tape to the body on the sidewalk, which is surrounded by evidence markers pinpointing spent bullet casings.
Several Miami police officers grab him and try to lead him away.
Then Walker’s [older] brother [Anthony Ezel Carl Walker], wearing a white tank top and turquoise shorts, pushes through the yellow police tape and joins the melee, trying to help his older brother now scuffling with up to six officers and detectives.
[Homicide detective Feranando] Bosch, in a white shirt, tie and slacks, grabs and pushes the second Walker brother back to the other side of the yellow police tape.
As he does, Bosch throws three fast punches at the man’s face, briefly chokes him [at 1:51 on the tape below] and then punches him [at 1:57] a fourth time. The final punch is so powerful that it knocks the man to the ground. He's then handcuffed and arrested by a uniformed officer.
As that incident ends, Walker’s mother is seen running to her dead son and trying to lift the tarp to make sure it’s him. She, too, is grabbed by an officer and led away, handcuffed and detained.
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If you believe Lammos, quite a few people saw Walker's murder. Let's see if any of them come forward and share what they saw with police.....Monday night, a tearful [Patricia] Lammos stood over the spot where Walker had died. There were a dozen bullet holes on the bloodstained pavement.
“They told me the shooter stood over him and shot him several times as he lay on the ground,” Lammos said.
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But just two months into his training, he crashed his car into another vehicle on I-95 while drag-racing at speeds in excess of 110 miles per hour, according to the FHP report. A city of Miami police detective witnessed the race, the report said. Perez, who was off duty, was taken into custody on reckless driving charges. It’s not clear from the report whether he was driving a patrol car or his personal vehicle.
But he was fired the following day and kicked out of the police academy.
He applied to Opa-locka a month later, noting on his application that the reason for leaving Miami Shores was because he “received a criminal traffic citation.’’
Opa-locka hired him a year later, in March 2008. There is no indication in his personnel file that the city conducted a background check or investigated why he left Miami Shores.
A month later, he was given a “post-accident substance control test,’’ which he passed. It’s not clear why the test was administered, since there is no accident report in his file.
German Bosque's personnel file looks more like a rap sheet than a résumé.But wait! There's more!
In two decades, the Opa-Locka Police Department opened 40 internal affairs cases on Bosque. Sixteen of them were for battery or excessive force.
Fired five times and arrested three, he was charged with stealing a car, trying to board an airplane with a loaded gun and driving with a suspended license.
Internal Affairs investigations found that Bosque split a man's lip with a head butt. He opened another man's head with a leg sweep and takedown. He spit in the face of a drunken, stumbling arrestee. One time, he smacked a juvenile so hard the boy's face was red and swollen the next day.
Bosque has been caught defying direct orders, lying to supervisors and falsifying police reports. Off duty, he was accused by women of domestic violence and stalking. During inspections, the agency found a counterfeit $20 bill, cocaine and crack pipes in his patrol car.
Still, Bosque has kept his badge.
[...]
Bosque is surprised he still wears a badge. He knows he is lucky to have gotten one in the first place.
He was kicked out of two police academies, the first for sleeping in class and the second after he was arrested on charges he stole a car, had a gun and impersonated an officer. He was later acquitted.
To most Florida law enforcement agencies, Bosque would be toxic. In Opa-Locka, he has been promoted to sergeant.
The city and its 62-person police force have been waylaid by years of incompetence, corruption and instability.
Bosque and other former officers guessed the department has had at least a dozen chiefs over the last 20 years. The interim city manager, Bryan Finnie, could not offer a definitive count.
The current chief, Cheryl Cason, was suspended earlier this year and investigated for allegedly covering up her role in a traffic crash. In 1995, when she was an Opa-Locka officer, Cason's certification was put on probation after she tested positive for cocaine.
Local news outlets have reported at least four city officials have been indicted on charges including tax fraud, taking bribes from a contractor and even using a city credit card to woo a paramour at P.F. Chang's.
The current mayor, Myra Taylor, took a plea deal in a federal tax case in 2004, left office and was re-elected in 2010. She did not return calls for comment.
Opa-Locka made headlines again last month when federal agents stormed City Hall to seize records on a police captain charged with protecting a drug ring and acting as a lookout during a bank robbery.
State law enforcement officials have investigated the police department but change has been slow. In 2002, the FDLE did a full review of the department and found it lacked enough squad cars, computers and weapons. FDLE agents also discovered untagged evidence in storage lockers, emergency calls put on hold and staffing shortages.
Former officers told the Herald-Tribune they once had to buy their own guns and bulletproof vests because the budget was so lean. And while there has been a recent push to replace aging weapons and patrol cars, Opa-Locka remains one of the worst-paying jobs in Florida. Rookie officers make $32,000, among the lowest entry wage for law enforcement officers in all of South Florida.
[Bosque was again fired by Opa-Locka last October...the sixth time in two decades.]
Good news for those of you who love reading about the Miami Herald and all the drama at One Herald Plaza.
“The people who are here are still doing very good journalism. There are fewer of them and it’s a challenge. But I think, especially when compared to other papers, they’re still doing some serious journalism.” -John Dorschner, retired Herald business writer
“If I wanted to do a story on the Herald, it would be how corporate in Sacramento has set up what I call the death spiral. It’s inexorably leading to the Herald’s demise.” -Anonymous Herald staffer
“They overpaid for Knight Ridder, and now [McClatchy] is too far in debt. The Herald is a profitable newspaper in and of itself. The problem is that it’s not profitable enough to meet the company’s needs.” -Jim DeFede, former Herald columnist and CBS4 Investigative reporter
“It’s still a terrific newspaper. There’s no news organization that comes close to it in Miami.” -Joseph Treaster, retired New York Times reporter
“They’re an important institution and they are the major newspaper of the community. They wield a lot of influence in the community and they have the ability of causing a lot of things to happen.” -Norman Braman
“Any newspaper in this nation would be delighted to have those people and others like them who still work in the Herald newsroom.” -Martin Merzer, retired Herald senior writer
“What’s left of the staff seems heavily weighted toward interns, and much of the daily report seems thinly reported and/or misplayed. Also, the Herald has been getting badly beaten on some sports scandals and other stories lately.” -Martin Merzer
“The paper’s technical quality has diminished, with frequent typos, grammatical and punctuation errors, erroneous geographical references.” -Martin Merzer
“Every time there’s cost-cutting, I think maybe they’re dressing it up to be sold.” -Seth Gordon, Miami media consultant
“Something called the Miami Herald will be here in five years and probably in ten years, though no one can say what form it will take. Twenty years? I’m not so sure.” -Martin Merzer
“I hope they have fun. The only fun I’ll have is when they bulldoze the son of a bitch.” -Tim Chapman, retired Herald photographer on his decision not attend a recent reunion of current and former staffers
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| Opa-Locka police officer Sergio Perez, left, working an "off-duty" job on South Beach in March, 2013. |
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| Opa-Locka Police Corporal Sergio Perez. |
...a recording of police communications during the pursuit showed an officer may have still been pursing Dumel when he entered I-95 going the wrong way.(NOTE: There are gaps in the audio below where nothing is being transmitted.)
"This guy is all over the road. Now he's going against traffic on I-95. We're going northbound in the southbound lanes," said an officer, according to the recording.
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| "Here I am with some of the dangerous response [sic] we took off our streets today!"- @JerryLibbin |
The financial mess at Marlins Park: inside the numbersAlso in Sunday's Herald was this full page ad with for Marlins Opening Night. Looks like Loria has had enough and plans to go out in a blaze of glory. Why is no one talking about this?
By Douglas Hanks and Barry Jackson
dhanks@MiamiHerald.com
A new baseball stadium was supposed to fix South Florida’s lukewarm embrace of professional baseball. But the Marlins’ first season in their new ballpark may have made things even worse for the team.
Splurging on payroll last year gave owner Jeffrey Loria a $100 million lineup that he couldn’t afford without a windfall from a winning season. The trades that followed last year’s 93-loss debacle sent payroll down 60 percent to the second-lowest in baseball, leaving fans more furious at the Marlins than at any time in the franchise’s 20 year-history.
And while cutting payroll used to produce profits, the added debt and operating costs of a new $634 million stadium have left team executives predicting another loss on top of last year’s team record $47 million operating loss.
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