South Florida Security Consultant: Former Commander, Florida State Police

Preview: MiamiHerald.com: Florida

MiamiHerald.com: Florida

Florida Lotto jackpot up to $6 million
The Lotto jackpot grew to $6 million after no one matched the six numbers drawn Saturday night, the Florida Lottery said. Saturday's numbers were 2, 4, 8, 10, 30 and 33.

From dry to drenched, South Florida's rainfall in '08 was `average'
It started with Lake Okeechobee wallowing near historic lows. It ended even dryer, especially in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, which over the last two months have recorded less than an inch and a half of rain.

Cuban American named Florida Supreme Court justice
Jorge Labarga, who fled his native Cuba as a boy after Fidel Castro seized power, on Friday became the second Cuban-American justice to serve on the Florida Supreme Court.

PSC: Expand `clean energy'
If Florida wants to meet the governor's goal of having 20 percent of all electrical power come from renewable energy by 2020, the cheapest and easiest way to do it is to change the definition of renewable to include nuclear and clean coal.

Cruise-ship worker missing after falling overboard
A crew member of the cruise ship Carnival Sensation is missing after falling overboard about 20 miles east of Vero Beach early Thursday morning, the Coast Guard said.

Powerball jackpot huge, but sales are slow
Peter Vasquez strolled out of the Publix supermarket near Northeast 90th Street and Biscayne Boulevard on Sunday, several lottery tickets in hand.

Florida Legislature about to chop budgets for education, other services
Florida legislators will start the new year in familiar fashion: by cutting aid to schools and other programs, borrowing money, skimming cash surpluses and hiking traffic and court fees to patch a $2.3 billion hole in a leaky state budget.

Florida Legislature about to chop budgets for education, other services
Florida legislators will start the new year in familiar fashion: by cutting aid to schools and other programs, borrowing money, skimming cash surpluses and hiking traffic and court fees to patch a $2.3 billion hole in a leaky state budget.

Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom hires attorney in ethics case
House Speaker Ray Sansom has hired a well-known Tallahassee lawyer to defend him against an ethics complaint filed in connection with his taking a $110,000 job at his local college.

Florida Legislature to hear public's views on budget cuts
The state Legislature will give the public a fleeting chance to sound off next week before making deep cuts in programs to patch a $2.3 billion budget deficit.

Northwest Florida State College has a friend in Legislature
More than a year before accepting a controversial job with his hometown college, House Speaker Ray Sansom was regularly taking direction from the man who later would become his boss.

Gov. Crist's budget plan spends savings
To close a $2.3 billion budget hole, Gov. Charlie Crist asked lawmakers Tuesday to gamble a bit: Raid savings accounts and trust funds, avoid permanent spending cuts for now and hope for better times to come.

Second Cuban American in running for Florida Supreme Court seat
Gov. Charlie Crist started to quiet criticism over a Cuban-American lawyer's nomination for a Supreme Court seat by saying Tuesday that he'll consider another candidate, Judge Jorge Labarga, for the seat as well.

Weston lawmaker Franklin Sands among Madoff's victims
Weston legislator Franklin Sands -- Democratic leader of the Florida House -- said Monday he and his wife Leslie Sands are among investment advisor Bernard Madoff's victims. He didn't specify their loss but said it's ''significant'' and that he is assessing his options for recovery.

Lawmakers cash in with campus jobs
By taking a six-figure job at a state college, House Speaker Ray Sansom has focused attention on a pattern of behavior that has gone on largely unchecked for decades in Florida's higher education system.

Crist offers up ideas for balancing budget, sparing services
Florida lawmakers can fill a $2.3 billion budget hole by slightly trimming government spending, nearly emptying savings accounts and approving a gambling agreement with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, according to a draft document approved by Gov. Charlie Crist.

Fla. corrections officer dead after punch in Ala.
A Florida corrections officer has died after being punched in the face at a football party at his home in southeast Alabama.

Chargers' Bennett, former teammate sued in Fla.
A Florida man is suing San Diego Chargers running back Michael Bennett and a former Tampa Bay teammate, saying they attacked him at an International House of Pancakes.

4 indicted in $1 billion insurance fraud scam
Four men are facing federal charges in a $1 billion Miami life insurance fraud first exposed in 2004.

Free beer at Busch parks run dry
There are no free lunches in life, but one could always count on free beer samples at Anheuser-Busch theme parks. Until now.

Baby killed in central Fla. traffic crash
Authorities say a 6-month-old child is dead after a traffic accident in central Florida.

Disney opening American Idol Experience Feb. 14
An attraction inspired by the "American Idol" TV show offically opens at Disney's Hollywood Studios Feb. 14.

8 dead, 1 hurt after chopper crashes in La. marsh
Authorities searched a southern Louisiana marsh by boat Monday for clues that might determine what caused a helicopter crash that killed eight people bound for an offshore oil platform.

Manatee deaths up slightly from 2007
State wildlife officials say 337 manatees died in Florida last year, a slight rise from 2007 but still below the five-year average.

Fla. man sues 2 former Tampa football players
A Florida man is suing two former Tampa Bay Buccaneers players, saying they attacked him at an International House of Pancakes restaurant in Tampa nearly three months ago.

PHI identifies dead in 'copter crash
The company that owns the helicopter that crashed in Louisiana marsh land, killing eight people, has released the names of the dead an injured.

Pilot got the scoop: an interview with Fidel Castro
Giles S. Gianelloni's foray into broadcasting lasted exactly one day. His first and only scoop: an interview with Fidel Castro, five days after the rebel leader declared victory in Cuba's civil war.

Florida Legislature to hear public's views on budget cuts
The state Legislature will give the public a fleeting chance to sound off next week before making deep cuts in programs to patch a $2.3 billion budget deficit.

Sluggish sales imperil 'Yes We Can' cruise
Despite its upbeat name -- and purpose -- the ''Yes We Can 2009 Cruise'' is in jeopardy. The cruise, designed to provide an affordable way for Barack Obama supporters to attend his historic January inauguration, has not drawn enough ticket sales so far to meet the minimum required by the cruise company.

Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom hires attorney in ethics case
House Speaker Ray Sansom has hired a well-known Tallahassee lawyer to defend him against an ethics complaint filed in connection with his taking a $110,000 job at his local college.

Missing cruise ship passenger may have committed suicide
Five days after disappearing from a cruise ship off Mexico's coast, a Florida woman is still missing and her family suspects she may have taken her own life.

Northwest Florida State College has a friend in Legislature
More than a year before accepting a controversial job with his hometown college, House Speaker Ray Sansom was regularly taking direction from the man who later would become his boss.

Almost one in 10 Floridians on food stamps
Unemployed and strapped for cash, Floridians are asking for state assistance to feed their families in record numbers. In the last two years, the number of Floridians on food stamps has increased more than 40 percent to 1.7 million. That increase is the highest in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And it's the second-largest jump in the state's history, surpassed only during the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, said an analyst at the Center of Budget and Policy Priorities...

Obama donor sharing in D.C. hoopla
To the list of celebrities like Jamie Foxx and big-name donors such as George Soros giving the maximum to help pay for Barack Obama's inauguration, add one more name: Raul Pedraza, a Miami business owner who until this year hadn't given a cent to a politician.

Powerful forces oppose Seminoles' gambling expansion
The state's top lawyer and a local parimutuel on Thursday began pursuing a two-pronged approach to staunch the spread of the Seminole Tribe's Las Vegas-style card games, such as blackjack, which the Florida Supreme Court nullified months ago.

Miami-Dade School Board lobbies Tallahassee over spending
Fresh from cutting up to $123 million in spending, the Miami-Dade School Board has taken its case to the state Capitol to spread the word: Don't cut classroom spending any more.

Firms keep eye on workers comp rates
State regulators grilled an insurance group looking to raise workers compensation rates statewide, which could cost Florida employers $240 million more to do business in 2009.

Big Tobacco moves closer to tax hike. But there's a catch.
Big Tobacco appears more ready than ever to accept a higher tax on cigarettes that would raise Florida smokers' costs by up to $1 a pack. But there's a catch: It wants lawmakers' help in fending off a rising competitor from Opa-locka that makes dirt-cheap smokes.

Florida Legislature sets special budget crisis session
Florida's legislative leaders announced Monday that they will convene an extraordinary lawmaking session Jan. 5 to close the state's ever-widening $2.3 billion budget hole.

Special session called to close state budget gap
Florida's legislative leaders announced Monday that they will convene an extraordinary lawmaking session Jan. 5 to close the state's ever-widening $2.3 billion budget hole.

Who's coming? Some names have leaked
Look for top political donors, Florida State University fraternity brothers, lobbyists and state officials as well as family and friends to be among the gussied-up guests arriving in St. Petersburg Friday for Gov. Charlie Crist's wedding.

Here comes the guv: Crist wedding bonds power with wealth
The weather should be beautiful -- crisp and clear, in the low 60s -- Friday when Charles Joseph ''Charlie'' Crist Jr., 52, weds Carole Rome, née Oumano, 39, before 200 or so friends and allies at the United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg.

Former Miami Heat player Antoine Walker arrested
Former NBA player Antoine Walker has been charged with suspicion of drunk driving in Miami Beach.

Authorities nab Fla. man facing child porn charges
Authorities have arrested a man wanted by U.S. marshals and New Smyrna Beach police on 37 counts of possessing child pornography.

Death certificate: Travolta son killed by seizure
Jett Travolta's body shows no sign of head trauma and his death certificate says he was killed by a "seizure," an undertaker said Monday, as the 16-year-old's celebrity parents prepared for a Florida funeral.

Mexican singer Montero making drug rehab progress
A Miami judge says Mexican singer and actor Pablo Montero is doing well in a drug rehabilitation program.

Fla. lawmakers work on $2.3B budget deficit
Lawmakers will have to make deeper spending cuts than anticipated because December tax collections fell $100 million below forecast, Senate President Jeff Atwater said as the Legislature convened Monday in special session to confront a growing budget deficit.

1.5 M Powerball tickets sold on first day in Fla.
Lottery officials say about 1.5 million Powerball tickets were sold the first day they went on sale in Florida.

Florida House speaker to leave college job
Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom announced Monday he will give up the $110,000 Northwest Florida State College job he took the day he was sworn in as speaker.

Fla. lawmakers work on $2.3B budget deficit
Florida legislators are beginning their search for ways to close a $2.3 billion deficit in the current state budget during a two-week special session.

South Florida Security Consultant

South Florida Security Consultant for Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County Florida

South Florida Security Consultant