Politics On The Mind

Barack Obama picked up a key endorsement from the Democratic Party’s most well known political family. We rarely hear from Caroline Kennedy, but she wrote an Op-Ed piece in the NY Times endorsing Obama… titled “A President Like My Father.” As I write this, Senator Ted Kennedy is giving an empassioned endorsement speech on the campus of American University in Washington, D.C.

Hillary Clinton was in South Beach last night, and picked up the backing of Miami Mayor Manny Diaz.

Meanwhile– the Republicans are hoping a last minute push will get them votes for tomorrow’s Primary Election in Florida.

Tonight we have a special edition of South Florida Nightly News. We are focusing on politics, ahead of tomorrow’s big day.

Debate Night

It’s a busy day around here… and in the world of politics.

The GOP candidates for the presidential nomination are in Boca Raton, on the campus of Florida Atlantic University for tonight’s debate. You can watch it live at 9pm on MSNBC.

But tonight at 7pm, join us for complete coverage of everything leading up to the debate. Nick Bogert caps off our coverage with the latest poll numbers and what to expect tonight…. Steve Litz will be at a Rally for Romney… while Hank Tester will join us live from a Rally for McCain.

Tragic Hollywood

Another tragic story involving a Hollywood star…
Actor Heath Ledger found dead inside an apartment.

Most of my co-workers knew him from Brokeback Mountain, or even his upcoming role as the Joker in this summer’s Batman…

But my Heath memories date back to “10 Things I Hate About You” — a remake of the classic Shakespeare play “The Taming of the Shrew,” set in a modern day high school. The scene where he walks up and down the bleachers singing “I Love You Baby” was a favorite in my social circle when it came out.

When the lives of ‘my generation’ of Hollywood are cut tragically short, it hits close to home.

Holiday Monday

It’s Monday.
It’s Martin Luther King Day.
And the newsroom is pretty much empty.

It’s a slow day so far… but we’ve got still a full schedule of newscasts to bring you.

Everyone and anyone trying to get to the White House is participating in some sort of MLK celebration… and Republicans have invaded the Sunshine State ahead of the January 29th primary in FL. McCain sipped cuban coffee at Versailles Restaurant this morning… Hank Tester will have that story tonight at 7pm.

Plus– A grandfather is accused of firing off a gun to defend his grandson’s car from a possible thief. Steve Litz will have a live report.

So

Another Coach, More Hope…

Johnson.
Wannstadt.
Saban.
Cameron.

Ladies and gentlemen… meet Tony Sparano. He is the last in the long list of head coaches for the Miami Dolphins. Not until today’s announcement did I truly realize how many coaches the Fins have had. Sparano is the fifth since 2004. Wow.

Tonight we’ll have live team coverage with Joe Rose and Adam Kuperstein from Dolphins Camp in Davie. Both have been there all morning, where Sparano spoke to the media for the first time, shortly after being offered the job. Just last night he was flown on a private plane to South Florida for dinner with the Dolphins brass. Hopefully this is a new direction for the Fins. Sparano and Fins VP of Operations Bill Parcells worked together with the Cowboys when Parcells was head coach from 2003-06… so hopefully this is a good sign.

Death, Taxes & Breaking News

Death, Taxes, and Breaking News. Three things you can’t escape. (ok, only if you work in the news industry).

Today breaking news forced us to hold the one on one interview Tom Llamas had with Rudy Giuliani. You can look for that on Tuesday…

And the big breaking news? Andrew Rolle turned himself in to police just before airtime on Monday… he’s the latest suspect named in the murder of Miami detective James Walker (murder charges were dropped against the first man named in this case)

Suspect, Sunshine, Sad Awards

Officer Walker
Police have announced they are looking for a second man in connection with the shooting death of Officer James Walker. The first man taken into custody was cleared of all charges, and now the search is on for Andrew Rolle.

Rudy Loves Sunshine
The Republican hopeful has been spending lots of time in Florida campaigning, and what visit to Miami would be complete with a stop at the Three Kings Parade in little Havana? While Rudy was in town, our own Tom Llamas sat down with him to talk about the campaign. You can check out the full interview tonight at 7pm.

Lacking Luster
The Golden Globe Awards were anything but Golden last night. Fans were subjected to a news conference announcement of the winners that wrapped up in less than an hour. Jackie will be talking to Access Hollywood’s Shaun Robinson tonight about the awards.

We’ve got a packed show tonight… and Florida Governor Charlie Crist just walked into the building for an interview with Nick Bogert… so stay tuned.

Gangs, Campaigns, Cameras, & Growing Pains

I live in North Miami Beach. I have a nice view, I’m 5 minutes from the ocean, and apparently I’m also 5 minutes from gang territory. I don’t consider myself to be naive, I grew up in South Florida, and know where I should and shouldn’t be driving at night… but it took the shooting of Officer James Walker for me to open my eyes to the gang activity that’s deeply rooted in NMB.

Officer Walker Killed
Ricardo Ajuste was arrested this morning in connection with the shooting of Officer Walker. Police say he’s a known gang member, and has a lengthy record. He’s only 21 years old, but yet he already has 28 arrests under his belt. Steve Litz will have a live report tonight on the latest developments in the shooting… plus we’re learning more about how the whole thing went down.

Decision ‘08
Decision 2008 is also still very big at 7pm… Tonight we have Hank Tester following the Casino Decision in South Florida, and Steve Handelsman live in Washington, D.C…. the city all these candidates would love to call home soon.

Somebody’s Watching You
Working in a TV station, you know there are cameras everywhere. We have one in our newsroom, a handheld that roams through the studio, and several studio cameras. You expect to be “caught on camera” and there have been several times where something someone does in front of a camera they thought *wasn’t* recording… ends up as a blooper clip. With that said, we’ve also come to expect surveillance video in all the stories that we cover. Now Broward County is trying to make it mandatory for businesses to have surveillance cameras shooting the parking lots. Hetal Gandhi will have the story tonight.

Too Big For It’s Britches
If you love traveling, but hate flying out of MIA, then you love that Ft.Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport has added tons of flights over the last year. But all this growth is a bit much for them to keep up with. Joel Connable reports tonight on the growing pains of FLL.

It’s Wednesday… meaning the newsroom is packed with overlapping shifts… it’s a busy day… see you at 7!

Tuesday Afternoon Notes

Another South Florida Police Officer is gunned down. This time, the officer wasn’t on duty, but it doesn’t make the death any easier. When did people stop respecting police officers? Since August of 2007, it seems like we’ve been covering police death after police death. We still don’t know the exact circumstances of this death, but it’s still unsettling. We’ll have live team coverage of this story tonight with Steve Litz and Hank Tester.

Also– it’s Super Tuesday in New Hampshire. John McCain is trying to keep the lead the polls have been talking about… and Barack Obama is trying to keep the momentum going through the nominations. We’ll have a live report from Steve Handelsman tonight.

Plus– want to add 14 years to your life? We’ve got the 4 things that a new British study says you should do to keep it going.

But my favorite story of the day is the man who found himself shipwrecked, but managed to survive, and capture it all in photos. Ari Odzer will have a sneak peek, and the Today Show will have the details tomorrow morning.

Back To School, Back To Work

It’s been 2008 for a week now, but today feels like the beginning of the year. It’s back to school for Miami-Dade and Broward county students, and in turn, back to work for parents. Last week, with so many people still out on vacation, it felt like a holiday. But now it’s a fresh start.

The sad story we’ve been working on since the weekend, is the 12 year old boy accused of beating a toddler to death with a baseball bat, because the child wouldn’t stay quiet. If you’ve been in South Florida a long time, then you’ll understand how this case is eerily reminiscent of Lionel Tate. Do you think the boy should be charged as an adult? It’s our web poll of the day.

‘Twas the Night Before The New Hampshire Primary… and all the candidates are out… (sorry this doesn’t match the poem!)… but everywhere you turn, cable, newspapers, internet… there is coverage of tomorrow’s NH Primary. We’ll have a preview of what you can expect, and a Q&A session with Political Reporter Nick Bogert.

What is the next IPod? or Bluetooth? Can you imagine a life where those didn’t exist? Just the other day a certain 8-year-old that I know asked how people used their DVD players without a remote control in the 1970’s. For the people who have grown up around electronics and gadgets and technology… it’s difficult to imagine life without something as simple and overlooked as a remote control… let alone a DVD player! We’ve got a lot at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas… where the popular gadgets of tomorrow are shown off today.