Attorney for dad of missing Hallandale Beach baby says evidence was damaged

The tiny bones recovered from a backyard grave have a story to tell: Are these the remains of Dontrell Melvin, a baby whose family didn’t report him missing for 18 months? And how was the baby killed?

According to notes in the Hallandale Beach police lead investigator’s file, there was blunt force trauma to the child’s cranium after his death, likely caused during the search and recovery of the skeleton.

And that, says attorney Ed Hoeg, who is representing the baby’s father, could have an impact on the case against his client.

“If evidence is compromised, it could change how the case goes,” Hoeg said. “You would hope the evidence would be in pristine condition.”

Meanwhile, the missing child’s parents remain in Broward County jails. Brittney Sierra, 21, faces two counts of felony child neglect; Calvin Melvin, 27, was charged with three felony counts of providing false information to police.

But those charges could be increased if a Texas lab confirms that DNA from a tiny skeleton unearthed in January behind the couple’s former Hallandale Beach rental home matches that of their baby, Dontrell Melvin.

Dontrell, who would have turned 2 last month, had not been seen for nearly 18 months before police learned of his disappearance on Jan 9.

At first, Melvin told Hallandale Beach police that the child was with his family in Pompano Beach. But when police went there, they were told by the grandparents that they didn’t have the child and hadn’t seen him.

During questioning by police, Melvin changed his story several times, investigators said.

At one point, he told them he’d taken the baby to a fire station under Florida’s Safe Haven Law.

But police didn’t believe him and began questioning Sierra, as well. The couple, who have another child together, pointed fingers at one another, police said.

Their answers led police to the backyard of their former rental home at 106 NW First Ave.

It was there that tiny bones were found.

Nearly 90 percent of the baby’s remains were recovered and reconstructed. An initial review of the bones did not reveal any trauma to the bones, said Hallandale Beach Police Chief Dwayne Flournoy.

However, on Jan. 25, forensic anthropologist Heather Walsh-Haney briefed investigators, including Flournoy, Maj. Thomas Honan and Capt. P. Abut, on the case. In his notes, a Hallandale Beach investigator, who was not identified, wrote: “Dr. Walsh-Haney stated that there were no signs of perimortem blunt trauma. However, there was evidence of a postmortem blunt trauma to the cranium. She stated that said postmortem trauma had probably occurred during the search and recovery of the skeleton.”

The notes were provided to The Miami Herald by Hoeg.

The damage to the cranium, Hoeg said, could prove problematic for the case against his client.

“If there is only trauma afterward, did the damage destroy evidence?” he said.

But on Friday, Police Chief Flournoy insisted there was not any damage caused post-mortem to the skeleton. “The bones were not compromised in any way,” said Flournoy.

Regardless, the Texas lab working to identify the baby’s remains has enough evidence to work with.

All a scientist needs is a small bone fragment to create a DNA profile, said John Fudenberg, the president-elect for International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners.

“Unless there is significant trauma noted, it’s very difficult for a medical examiner to determine the cause of death,” Fudenberg added.

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South Florida farmers cash in on farm-to-table movement

A growing number of farmers making a living in South Florida are capitalizing on the farm-to-table trend. Some are taking their fruits and veggies to markets, others are opening the doors of their fields for people to pick their own.

Jerry Sanchez grew up planting seeds and harvesting vegetables in the farms of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

On his way to the farms in Florida, he passed in front of the schools in Leisure City and watched the children carrying their books and bags.

“I would think all these kids were lucky, so I would say, ‘One day, when I grow up, I am going to get my kids to school,’ ” said Sanchez, 42, who didn’t have a chance to finish high school. “And I did.”

He now owns a farm in South Miami-Dade and runs Jerry’s Here, which sells the farm’s fresh vegetables and fruits to an expanding list of farmers’ markets throughout South Florida.

On weekends, Sanchez, his wife Natalia and their three children — along with nieces, nephews and cousins — fan out to farmers markets, selling their tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, zucchini, eggplant, corn and onions from their Krome Avenue farm. On Saturday, they’re at the Coral Gables and Delray Beach markets, on Sunday, the Pinecrest Gardens market. On Monday and Thursdays, they’re at the market at Ocean Reef. On Tuesday, they’re at Palmetto Elementary and Miami Children’s Hospital on Wednesday.

The Sanchezes are one of a growing number of farmers making a living in South Florida, capitalizing on the farm-to-table trend. While the Sanchezes take their fruits and veggies to markets, others open the doors of their strawberry fields or vegetable gardens for people to pick their own.

As children, Kathy Magee and Charles Burr Jr. helped their father, Charles Burr, grow his strawberries, even if that meant waking up at 2 a.m. to irrigate the fruits to save them from freezing.

Magee, 61, and Burr Jr., 69, started helping their mother, Mary, 90, at Burr’s Berry Farm in Goulds after their father died in 2001. Last year, they adopted the hydroponic system, growing the strawberries in vertical structures, and they opened the farm for u-pick.

“We want to encourage our people to know where our food comes from because it’s coming from farther and farther away, from out of the country, and there are very few local farms left,” said Magee, who lives in Orlando with her husband, David, and drives the farm every strawberry season from December to May.

For Miguel Brito, 21, a visual designer who recently went u-picking for the first time with his father and sister, the best part was finding a perfect strawberry.

“I found this one,” said Brito, proudly holding up a round and red strawberry. “I found it from a distance and it was just dangling. I checked both sides and then snip, in my basket. I’m going take it home, wash it, eat it fresh and save it for a shake or a smoothie.”

The Burrs also have u-pick for carrots, onions, beats and turnips. They also grow mangoes, lychee, tomatoes, peppers, avocados, cucumbers and sunflowers.

Burr Jr. grows the strawberries with farmer Antonio Diaz, while Magee works in the stand, making milkshakes and canning the homemade jams, jellies and salsa.

Mary also helps the customers and makes most of the business decisions.

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Miami-Dade mayor says partnerships, technology will move county forward

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez will deliver his annual speech to the county Thursday, laying out his goals for revving up the local economy, promoting regional cooperation and improving a public transportation system that is, at best, inadequate.

In a wide-ranging interview previewing his state-of-the-county speech, Gimenez told The Miami Herald that he is optimistic about the county’s future, citing improved economic indicators and a record year for business at Miami International Airport and PortMiami, two major economic engines.

“I think we’re a hot commodity, and people are starting to see our potential,” he said. “We just need to keep our eye on the ball.”

Unlike his first speech a year ago, the political pressure is off this time for Gimenez, who in August was elected to his first full term in office. His first year amounted to a red-shirt season, completing the term of former Mayor Carlos Alvarez, who was ousted in a 2011 recall.

In Thursday’s speech, to be delivered at Liberty City’s Joseph Caleb Center, Gimenez will announce the creation of an advisory group to study rising property-insurance rates and make recommendations about how to lobby state lawmakers on the issue. The Florida Legislature regulates Citizens Property Insurance, the state’s insurer of last resort, which recently increased homeowners’ insurance rates and scaled back coverage.

“We’re going to look at why our people here are getting slammed,” Gimenez said.

A similar task force made recommendations last month to improve the county elections process. The county, however, generally has more control over elections than over property insurance.

The mayor will also promote an initiative — begun with Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and already underway — to prevent youth violence. And he will tout a new partnership announced Wednesday in which the county will take part in technology giant IBM’s Smart cities program, which lets local governments test and use software to better analyze municipal data.

Among his successes in office, Gimenez will mention streamlining permitting at some county agencies — in some cases by three months, he said — posting employee salaries online and providing internships in his office to college students.

Looking to spur entrepreneurship and create local jobs, Gimenez’s administration also has committed $1 million in funding over four years to Launch Pad, in conjunction with the University of Miami. Launch Pad is a public/private partnership that introduces young technology businesses to each other to help them grow.

In his speech, the mayor will also throw his support behind Endeavor, a global nonprofit that works to accelerate entrepreneurship in metropolitan areas. The organization plans to set up shop in Miami after receiving a $2 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Taking the long view, Gimenez said he hopes to make it easier for commuters to take public transportation between Miami Beach and the mainland and from Kendall to the urban core. The mayor said he doesn’t have any specific plans yet — or money to finance them — but said that clogged streets are getting in the way of residents’ productivity.

By way of example, Gimenez said he left County Hall in downtown Miami at 5 p.m. on a recent afternoon for a 6:30 p.m. event at the Hammocks, in West Kendall.

“I didn’t make it,” he said. “I can’t imagine your having to do that every day. We’re wasting time. We’re spending money. We’re spending gas.”

For those and other big-ticket improvements, including looming, extensive water-and-sewer piping that will have to be replaced soon because it is so antiquated, Gimenez said Miami-Dade won’t be able to count on much state or federal financial aid. Instead, there will be some water-rate hikes in coming years, he said, and future transportation projects might be partnerships involving heavy private-sector investments.

“More and more, it’s likely that we’re going to have to do these things ourselves,” he said.

Better than going at it alone, Gimenez said, would be teaming up with counties with similar issues to share ideas and work together for funding and state support. To that end, Gimenez had dinner last year in St. Petersburg with the mayors of Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa. He also has hosted the mayors of Broward and Palm Beach counties to brainstorm ways to work together.

“People have been very good and very successful at dividing us, and we’ve done that to ourselves,” Gimenez said. “We should have a lot more in common than we have differences.”

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Two charged with taking protected live sharks from the Keys

For the second time in weeks, federal prosecutors have ordered the arrest of people for illegally taking live sharks out of the Florida Keys.

Two officials of Idaho Aquarium Inc. in Boise were indicted on federal charges of conspiracy and illegally purchasing four spotted eagle rays and two lemon sharks, all protected species and all from Keys waters.

Ammon Covino, 39, president of Idaho Aquarium, and corporate secretary Christopher Conk, 40, were arraigned late last week in Idaho and ordered to appear in U.S. District Court in Key West on March 15.

The Idaho Aquarium is a display facility covering 10,000 square feet operating in a converted Boise warehouse. Listed as a nonprofit educational center, the aquarium opened in late 2011. It claims to offer "over 250 different species of animals and marine life" for the $9 adult admission fee.

The indictment from November was unsealed this month.

On Feb. 7, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami unsealed a separate indictment against two Broward County aquarium suppliers. They were charged with conspiracy to acquire and resell juvenile nurse sharks without a required permit, and angelfish larger than the maximum size allowed. Those fish from the Keys allegedly were sold to a Michigan buyer.

"While both cases relate to the marine living resources of the Florida Keys and involve violations of the Lacey Act, predicated in part on [Florida law], there is no public record material to suggest there is any other relationship between the cases," said Alicia Valle, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

In the indictment against Idaho Aquarium and its officials, prosecutor Thomas Watts-Fitzgerald wrote that the defendants knowingly conspired with fish collectors in the Keys to have the rays and sharks captured without permits and shipped north.

After being offered $1,250 for each live eagle ray, an unnamed fish collector eventually told Covino that permits needed to take the rays could not be obtained. Covino reportedly answered, "Just start doing it.... Who gives a ...".

The collector reportedly shipped three eagle rays in May 2012 and another in June 2012. All were sent to Covino at the Idaho Aquarium.

A second unnamed collector reportedly was solicited by Conk in June for two lemon sharks. The collector said no capture permits for lemon sharks are being issued so "the transaction would have to be conducted on the 'down low,' " the indictment says.

In a later conversation, Covino is accused of saying the lack of permits for the lemon sharks was "no big deal." The lemon sharks were purchased for $650 each and sent to Idaho in October.

Neither collector was named in the indictment.

According to the U.S. District Court documents, Covino and Conk could receive prison terms of up to five years on each of four counts.

The Idaho Aquarium could be fined $500,000. The government is seeking to seize Conk's 2005 Ford pickup truck, reportedly used to transport the fish from an airport.

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Bagpipes and kilts come to South Florida on Saturday

As tradition calls for it, burly male competitors will be on hand to throw large, heavy wooden poles, some as far as 20 feet.

But it’s not just the athletics that will keep fans of Southeast Florida’s 30th annual Scottish Festival entertained. Expect to hear Charlie Zahm’s Celtic music, Albannach band playing the drums and blowing bagpipes, and men wearing the kilts of their clan. “It’s very important for the people to know that the Scottish culture in this community is not exclusive,” said Nigel MacDonald, one of the founders of the festival. “It’s for everyone — the music, dancing and piping is enjoyed by everyone.”

More than 4,000 are expected to fill Fort Lauderdale’s Snyder Park for the festival, which began three years ago in Key Biscayne.

“In Scotland there are games like this in every town, but we didn’t have any here and we had to go to other games in Orlando, Atlanta or the Carolinas,” said MacDonald.

Steve Rogers of Plantation hasn’t missed a festival in the last 12 years. He fell in love with the culture and even learned to play the bagpipes.

“At first I wasn’t involved, but after going a couple of times, I learned to play the bagpipes,” said Rogers, whose wife also got involved in the Scottish culture by playing the drums. “It turned out to be a very good decision. I participate in a lot of things that normally I wouldn’t be able to do.”

Among the activities that caught his attention was the caber toss, a traditional Scottish athletic event where men throw a large wooden pole that’s almost 20-feet long and weighing about 175 pounds.

Besides the caber toss, strong men compete in such age-old events as the hammer throw and the shot put.

These events come from the Highland games which are held throughout the year in Scotland and other countries as a way of celebrating Scottish and Celtic heritage.

Plenty of Scottish merchandise and food will be on sale, including Scottish eggs, (a plate of hard-boiled eggs wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried); sticky toffee, (a moist sponge cake made with finely chopped prunes); clootie dumplings, (a traditional dessert pudding made of breadcrumbs, dried fruit and spice) and of course, traditional Scottish beer.

Although there is no dress code, many of the men will be dressed in traditional kilts with patterns of their clan’s tartan. The different Scottish clans and societies will also set up displays to welcome members and educate people about their roots.

“There are the MacDonalds, the Campbells, the Ritchies and others,” said MacDonald. “We have all these families and set up tents where people who are associated, or not associated, can learn about our heritage.”

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Second Miami cop-killer suspect changes mind; plea deal falls apart yet again

With his brother finally mentally sound and agreeing to plead guilty, cop-killing suspect Dennis Escobar changed his mind Monday. No plea deal.

And so the perplexing legal saga of the Escobar brothers, accused of murdering Miami Officer Victor Estefan in 1988, took yet another bizarre twist.

The plea deal – 55 years in prison – for now has fallen apart again.

And Escobar, accused of gunning down Estefan after a traffic stop in March 1988 in Little Havana, will resume his trial and face a potential death sentence if convicted.

“F---ing playing games is what he’s doing,” Estefan’s son, Angel, growled he stormed out of the courtroom.

The Escobar brothers were previously convicted and sent to Death Row in 1991, a conviction later overturned by the Florida Supreme Court.

Monday’s development came after a week of stunning legal drama in Dennis Escobar’s murder trial, which began earlier this month. The timeline:

On Feb. 17, prosecutors discovered a previously unknown police audio tape in which Escobar appears to tell a Miami detective in 1988 that he wants to speak to his lawyer. The tape damaged the credibility of the case’s lead detective, who long claimed Escobar agreed to waive his right to remain silent before confessing in detail.

With the case damaged, prosecutors revealed last Tuesday that they had offered to waive the death penalty if Escobar pleaded guilty and accepted a life prison term.

On Wednesday, both sides asked for a mistrial – but Circuit Judge Leon Firtel refused. He ordered lawyers to pore over every piece of evidence in dozens of boxes to make sure there were no more items that could impact the case.

On Friday, after days of behind-the-scene negotiations, both sides agreed on a plea deal to be taken in that afternoon.

The deal called for a guilty plea to second-degree murder and a sentence of 55 years. Under 1988 Florida law, that means each brother would spend only about 18 more years in prison for the Estefan murder.

After that, the brothers would have been returned to California, where they must each serve a life sentence for trying to kill highway patrol officers there in 1988. They are, however, eligible for parole in California.

On Friday afternoon, as Estefan’s relatives and Miami homicide detectives gathered, the deal appeared to be set. But when Firtel began asking Douglas Escobar standard questions about pleading guilty, the man refused to accept the offer.

Douglas, who had a history of mental illness, clearly could not grasp the plea deal. In mixed English and Spanish, Douglas told the judge he didn’t want to go to trial — but he didn’t think he was guilty because “he didn’t shoot nobody.”

Firtel gave Douglas’ lawyers the weekend to talk him. On Monday morning, his mind sharp with medication, Douglas told his lawyers he understood and wanted to indeed plead guilty.

Two court-appointed psychologists interviewed him Monday, morning. “He’s stable, well organized mentally,” one of them told the judge.

But then, the bombshell. Dennis Escobar no longer wanted to plead guilty, attorney Phillip Reizenstein told the judge.

“He wishes to go to trial,” Reizenstein said.

The shocking decision spurred Estefan’s son to leave court, slamming the door. Estefan’s sobbing widow, Delia Estefan, left too.

Lawyers will reconvene in the afternoon to decide what to do now. Judge Firtel has yet to rule on the mistrial —the jury is still on standby.

If the trial indeed goes forward, Escobar’s defense team will likely ask that his confession be thrown out because of the audiotape. The detailed confession lies as the heart of the prosecution’s case.

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Miami Dolphins hopeful on stadium referendum date

The Miami Dolphins are hopeful the Miami-Dade County Commission will approve a May 14 date for a referendum on the $400 million rehabilitation of their stadium, time enough to get South Florida in play for Super Bowl 50, a Dolphins spokesman said Saturday.

Spokesman Ric Katz said the language of the proposed referendum has yet to be decided, and ultimately the commission decides the date.

But, he said, “we’d be very happy with” May 14 because “that gives us a week to communicate to the NFL before they make the important decision of Super Bowl 50.”

NFL owners are slated to meet on May 22 to pick the site of the 2016 Super Bowl — seen as a tourist revenue prize for whichever host city gets the 50th anniversary contest.

Mayor Carlos Gimenez met Friday with Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and CEO Mike Dee to discuss the proposed stadium rehabilitation.

From the mayor’s side, there has been no agreement on a date and Gimenez does not plan to bring the proposed May 14 referendum to the commission at this time, said spokeswoman Suzy Trutie.

Friday’s was a “first meeting” at which “many things were discussed,” including the Dolphin’s preference for May 14.

But, “We continue negotiating with the Dolphins with regards to finances.”

One proposed financing plan would increase the bed tax in mainland Miami-Dade by 1 percent and increase the sales tax rebate the team already gets at the stadium in Miami Gardens. Ross had initially offered to pay at least $201 million in his financing plan. But Katz, a Miami publicist representing the team in the stadium campaign, said the two sides were still in negotiation on what the mayor would ask the commission to put to taxpayers in a referendum.

Trutie said the proposed referendum would gauge public opinion on increasing hotel taxes from 6 to 7 percent to fund the stadium renovations.

Of the commission, Katz said, “We do not take them for granted. They have the prerogative.”

Attorney Kendall Coffey did not return calls asking whether the Dolphins had hired him to write the ballot language.

Dolphins lobbyist Marcelo Llorente had said in recent weeks that the team was considering May 7 and 14 as possible referendum dates.

Any activity by the Florida Legislature would likely have to be undertaken before then. The regular session is slated to end May 3.

Miami Herald staff writers Patricia Mazzei and Doug Hanks contributed to this report.

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Miami police union challenges officer’s firing for fatal shooting

The Fraternal Order of Police filed a lawsuit against the city of Miami on Friday, asserting that an officer who fatally shot an unarmed motorist in 2011 was improperly fired from the police department.

Officer Reynaldo Goyos shot and killed Travis McNeil as he sat in a car at a Little Haiti intersection. It was one of a string of seven deadly shootings of black men in the inner city by Miami police officers in 2010 and 2011.

Goyos was cleared of criminal wrongdoing by prosecutors in 2012. But he was terminated last month after the department’s Firearms Review Board concluded that the shooting was unjustified.

The police union lawsuit claims that the board violated state open-government laws by failing to open its meetings to the public.

Goyos “was improperly terminated by the city of Miami Police Department by a review board that violates the law,” union President Javier Ortiz wrote in a statement.

The lawsuit contends that Goyos should be reinstated.

City Attorney Julie O. Bru declined to discuss the specifics of the case. “We reviewed the allegations, and the city maintains that the board has operated consistent with the requirements of law,” she said.

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Miami-Dade has authority to enact absentee ballot law, judge rules

In its effort to crack down on voter fraud, Miami-Dade County has the authority to limit how many absentee ballots a voter can possess, a judge ruled Friday.

The ruling came in the case of Sergio “El Tio” Robaina, whose lawyers had challenged a county ordinance that makes it a misdemeanor to collect multiple absentee ballots.

Prosecutors say Robaina, 74, illegally collected absentee ballots and filled out two against the wishes of two voters, one of them a woman with dementia. He faces two felony counts of voter fraud, and two misdemeanor counts of illegally possessing absentee ballots.

The Miami-Dade County Commission, worried about the perception of election fraud, passed the ordinance two years ago. A person may turn in only two absentee ballots in addition to their own: one belonging to an immediate family member and another belonging to a voter who has signed a sworn statement designating that person as responsible.

Friday’s order by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch was his second ruling against Robaina.

Last month, Hirsch ruled that Robaina did not have standing to challenge the constitutionality of the ordinance. His lawyers argued that the law disenfranchise elderly Hispanic voters who rely on friends and associates to help them deliver absentee ballots.

In Robaina’s latest request, lawyers claimed that Miami-Dade County — under a recent state voting law — did not have the power to enact the ordinance because elections also feature state and national candidates.

But Florida, in 1885, granted Miami-Dade County sweeping powers because of its unique status as the state’s preeminent city.

Hirsch pointed out that decades ago, the state’s Supreme Court said Miami-Dade was a “teeming, cosmopolitan city” that needed broad powers to legislate its affairs. The same hold true even today, Hirsch ruled.

“Miami has become one of the crossroads of the world,” Hirsch wrote in a 15-page order. “It is a leader on a global scale, in countless commercial, cultural and other activities.”

The judge agreed with county attorneys, who said absentee ballot fraud had become a “cottage industry” unique to Miami-Dade. The ordinance, the judge said, still does not prevent a Miami voter from filling out an absentee ballot and mailing it.

Robaina has long admitted to collecting the ballots, but merely as a way to help elderly citizens. The probe started after authorities discovered 164 absentee ballots dropped off at a North Miami-Dade post office.

The bundle was dropped off by an aide to Miami-Dade Commissioner Esteban “Steve” Bovo, who has not been accused of wrongdoing. Robaina, the uncle of former Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina, has consistently shifted the blame to that aide, now a key witness against him.

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LGBT students, allies, supporters put on Youth Pride Band concert

Music is “a great conversation starter,” says Ezequiel Beltrame, an 18-year-old flutist from Hollywood Hills High School. “Even if you have nothing to talk about, you can talk about music. And that usually leads to other things.”

For Beltrame and more than 50 other South Florida Youth Pride Band students, who perform Sunday at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, post-music discussion topics include sexual orientation, gender identity and bullying.

“We don’t talk about it enough,” says Beltrame, who identifies as pansexual. “Most people don’t even know what that is. It means that gender is not a factor in my attraction.”

The Youth Pride Band is a project of the South Florida Pride Wind Ensemble, an LGBT band that marched last month in President Barack Obama’s inaugural parade in Washington, D.C.

“It started as an idea of our board in April 2011,” said ensemble member Adam DeRosa, youth band coordinator and president of the international Lesbian and Gay Band Association.

In June 2011, the Community Foundation of Broward gave the adult ensemble $5,000 to launch a youth band. In 2012, 23 students participated in the three-week program, and the ensemble awarded five $1,000 college scholarships.

Last year, the Community Foundation gave another $8,000. Private donors have also contributed, and additional scholarships will be announced at Sunday’s concert.

The youth band will be joined on stage after intermission by the adult ensemble. The program, called “Taking Flight,” will feature songs including Come Fly With Me, Defying Gravity from Broadway’s Wicked and Theme from Superman.

“The concept of bringing in the 50-some young musicians to sit beside the older musicians is a fantastic learning opportunity,” said Grammy-winning vibraphonist Gary Burton of Fort Lauderdale, who has guest-starred with the wind ensemble. “I’ve heard other gay bands around the country, and I have to say it’s one of the best.”

Ensemble director Dan Bassett said the adults advertised in high school marching band programs and relied on word of mouth to reach teen musicians from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

“The kids get out of it a real sense of camaraderie,” said Bassett, assistant principal and band director at St. Mark’s Episcopal Academy in Oakland Park.

There’s no requirement that youth members be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. “It’s not something we ever ask,” DeRosa said. “We don’t ask our own members and they’re adults.”

Ensemble members want to nurture the students and provide a safe space for them, he said. “The most important thing is we want it to be an outstanding musical experience for the kids. The idea of the organization is to celebrate diversity and be a positive way to combat bullying.”

“This is my second year here,” said clarinetist Jake Glass, 17, of Pompano Beach and North Broward Prep. “It’s a great experience. ... Because it’s a gay-straight alliance band, it’s an extremely open community. I’m straight myself, but I have a number of friends who have been bullied or suffered through it because they are gay or bisexual.”

Clarinetist Natalie Mullen, 18, of McArthur High School in Hollywood, said the band experience has taught her much.

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Election reform, bridge repairs top Miami-Dade Commission agenda

Miami-Dade commissioners are expected Wednesday to urge the state legislature to allow Election Day voters to drop off their absentee ballots at their local precincts, and ask the mayor to identify funding to repair and upgrade the county’s 203 bridges.

Returning absentee ballots to local precincts was one of 13 recommendations in a report by an Election Advisory Group that needs local and state approval to become law. Now, absentee ballots can only be returned to election headquarters in Doral.

The advisory group, created after the embarrassing November presidential election saw people waiting in lines for up to six hours, also wants to change the name of absentee ballots to “Vote by Mail.”

Other recommended voting changes include expanding early voting days from eight to 14, including the last Sunday before an election; expanding the number of permissible voting sites; limiting ballot language on constitutional amendments to 75 words; and expanding the number of days elections supervisors are allowed to total and check votes from 15 to 20.

Commissioners are also expected Wednesday to urge Mayor Carlos Gimenez to identify funding sources to repair the county’s bridges. The county estimates that over the next two decades it will need as much as $450 million for repairs. The issue came to light in early January when the county was forced to close down the west-bound half of Bear Cut Bridge leading to Key Biscayne, after structural flaws were found.

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Scholastic Writing Awards recognizes four students’ creative writing skills

Hallee Meltzer, Andrea Villa, and Haley Zilberberg of School for Advanced Studies and Christopher Leesang of the Academy of Advanced Academics were recognized for Silver Key Awards in the 2013 Scholastic Writing Awards for their creative writing skills.

Hallee became a regional finalist in humor, persuasive writing, and poetry categories. Andrea is being honored for her entry in the short story category. Haley’s work in personal essay and memoir, short story, and poetry earned her recognition as a regional finalist. Christopher is being recognized for his poem, Where the Sky Touches the Sea.

IMMACULATA-LA SALLE HIGH SCHOOL

Immaculata-La Salle High School, in Miami, was named an Apple Distinguished Program for its iLearn@ILS iPad program. The iLearn implements technology to help develop the student and teacher experience in the classroom by allowing students to respond quickly and teachers to support and create engaging lessons.

The Apple honor is reserved for programs that meet visionary leadership, innovative learning and teaching, professional learning, evidence of success, and a flexible learning environment.

MATER ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL

Mater Academy High School’s business and marketing club, in Hialeah, will compete in the 48th annual Florida Collegiate Distributive Education Clubs of America competition in Orlando on Feb. 28 through March 3.

Students across the state will compete in various categories including marketing, management, merchandising, hospitality, and more. Participants are taking business courses and participating in afterschool activities to prepare for the conference.

CORAL REEF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Tanarut Chaisuesomboon, Prudhvi Lokireddy, Carly Misztal, Nicolas Reed, and Jialin Zhang of Coral Reef Senior High School were announced as National Merit Scholarship Program finalists.

These four students will be considered for a National Merit Scholarship and the Merit Scholar title.

MIAMI KILLIAN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Miami Killian Senior High School students Kathryn Lopez, Jaclyn Cruz-Alvarez, and Eduardo Fuentes-Moran were selected to represent their school in the Miami Dade County Public School’s 2013 Superintendent’s High School Honor Band at the Lehman Theater.

Kathryn plays flute, Jaclyn bassoonand Eduardo is on the euphonium, a brass instrument.

NORTH BEACH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

North Beach Elementary School student’s David Tamen and Zavian Schwartz are both visual arts winners and were recognized in the Reflections Arts competition. David also earned an honorable mention for literature.

—  Compiled by Adrianne Richardson

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Leader of Coconut Grove school to be honored

After 45 years of educating children at Vanguard School of Coconut Grove, Director John Havrilla will retire. His life’s work of helping over 3,000 students with varying learning difficulties will be celebrated at the school’s upcoming annual gala.

Havrilla and four other teachers from Vanguard School in Pennsylvania opened the Miami school with just 13 students in 1968. Along the way Havrilla has been honored and praised for his commitment. The Association of Independent Schools of Florida gave him the Distinguished Educator Award for developing a program to successfully mainstream students with learning disabilities into traditional classrooms or other school settings.

The nonprofit school’s motto is “Never, never quit.”

"I have enjoyed the experience of working with all the teachers, students and parents over the past 45 years,” Havrilla said. “It has been very rewarding to watch our students grow and become successful adults. My interest has always to been to help children and I have always tried to do my best to do just that."

Alumni, parents and staff are invited to the gala starting at 7 p.m., March 9 at Shake-A-Leg Miami. Tickets are $75. The volunteer parent group, the Vanguardians, is also holding fundraising for a commemorative tile mosaic wall as a tribute to Havrilla and the school. Current parents, alumni parents and all students may purchase and personalize a tile to add to this ongoing memorial.

For information on gala tickets or to purchase a commemorative tile call 305-445-7992 or write vangcg@aol.com. Vanguard School has individualized programs for first through eighth grade students with learning difficulties and/or attention deficit disorder. For more about the school check www.vanguardschool.com.

“EYES ON THE EARTH” FESTIVAL

The DuMond Conservancy will host a festival to celebrate the Earth from 1-4:30 p.m., Feb. 23 at Monkey Jungle, 14805 SW 216th St.

Dr. Kate Detwiler, one of the members of the history-making team that discovered the Lesula monkey last year in the Democratic Republic of Congo, will deliver the festival’s keynote address.

This youth-led festival will feature performances by Momentum Dance Company, and Brazilian dancers and drummers. There will also be a play written by New World School of the Arts drama student Kaithleen Conoepan, an Eco Fashion Show, and family activities to show ways our community can contribute in conservation.

Pre-sale tickets to the festival are $15 for adults, $10 for children (5-18 years) and students, and free for children under five years of age. Family tickets (two adults and up to three children) are $30. Admission to the festival also includes admission into Monkey Jungle. Buy online because tickets at the door are $29.95 for adults, $23.95 for children ages three to nine, and free for children under three. Pre-sale tickets can be purchased at www.dumondconservancy.eventbrite.com.

39 YEARS OF CHICKEN BBQ

Amazing slow-cooked, fall-off-the-bone chicken meals for $9 are what make the annual Chicken BBQ of the Silver Palm United Methodist Men a 39-year success story in rural Redland. This year the event will be on Feb. 23 with takeout meals served starting at 2:30 p.m. from the bright red First National Bank of South Florida trailer at the front of the parking lot at 15855 SW 248th St. (Coconut Palm Drive)

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What’s your Academy Awards IQ?

From the Pakistani military complex that once housed the elusive Osama bin Laden depicted in Zero Dark Thirty to the fiercely divided halls of Congress brought to life in Lincoln to the poverty-stricken streets of 19th century France captured in Les Miserables, the big screen in 2012 took audiences on a wide-ranging and captivating journey through history and across genres. Now, with the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards behind us and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Oscars drawing ever-closer, film aficionados and casual viewers alike are beginning to reflect on the cinematic grandeur of the year just completed. Test your memory of the film cornucopia that was reeled out in 2012 with this quiz.

1.Nine-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis is the youngest nominee for Best Actress in Oscar history for her leading role in which film?

A. Beasts of the Southern Wild

B. Life of Pi

C. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

D. Les Miserables

2.Which of the following films has received the most Academy Awards nominations?

A. Les Miserables

B. Lincoln

C. Zero Dark Thirty

D. Argo

3. One of the nominations for the James Bond flick “Skyfall” is for Best Original Song — in this case, “ Skyfall,” performed by Adele. Which of the Bond movies was the last to receive an Academy Award nomination for its theme music?

A. The Spy Who Loved Me

B. Tomorrow Never Dies

C. For Your Eyes Only

D. Live and Let Die

4. Amour snagged five Oscar nominations, including one for Best Actress for Emmanuelle Riva. It’s also up for Best Foreign Language Film. Which country is its writer and director from?

A. France

B. Austria

C. Canada

D. Switzerland

5. Which of these films is not nominated in the category of Best Animated Feature Film?

A. Frankenweenie

B. ParaNorman

C. Hotel Transylvania

D. Wreck-It Ralph

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Joe Martinez says he’ll challenge Joe Garcia

Joe Martinez, the former Miami-Dade Commission chairman who lost his bid to become county mayor last year, said Friday that he intends to run against U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia in 2014.

“I’m meeting with different people and feeling them out, seeing what the level of support will be there,” Martinez told The Miami Herald shortly after announcing his intentions on Facebook. He wants to get in the race, Martinez said, “to shake it up.”

Martinez’s name has been floated in political circles in connection with the 26th Congressional District since Garcia, a Democrat, defeated incumbent Republican Rep. David Rivera in November. The district extends from Kendall to Key West.

Cites experience

Martinez, a Republican, said he sees himself as a pragmatist in tune with residents’ needs after his 12 years on the County Commission, including two terms as chairman. In his first term, former Mayor Carlos Alvarez campaigned for a strong-mayor referendum. In his second, Alvarez was recalled.

Both times, Martinez said, he helped lead the county. “It actually ran really smoothly,” Martinez said.

He gave up his seat last year to unsuccessfully challenge Mayor Carlos Gimenez. Martinez said Friday that he has since opened a public relations and business development consulting firm.

Focused on duties

Garcia’s chief of staff, Jeffrey Garcia (no relation), said that the congressman “is focused on doing the work that the people sent him here to do.”

“There’ll be plenty of time for politics later,” he added.

Martinez, conceding that “it’s too early to tell” how well Garcia will do as a freshman congressman, said he’s committed to running in two years.

“I’ve survived Miami-Dade politics,” he said. “What’s Washington?”

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Boss of alleged Miami-Dade pot ring plans to plead guilty to conspiracy charges

Derrick Santiesteban, the boss of an alleged marijuana growhouse ring that authorities say made millions off selling potent pot between Miami and New York, faces his reckoning Friday afternoon.

He plans to plead guilty to conspiracy charges along with his wife, Yadira, in Miami federal court, according to public records.

Raul Ramirez, a growhouse caretaker for the Santiesteban family, is also expected to plead guilty.

Last week, a Santiesteban relative pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute marijuana and to kidnap a rival gang member, admitting he witnessed the man’s murder after the target stole 50 pounds of pot from the Miami-Dade clan.

Juan Felipe Castaneda’s plea agreement signaled a major development in the federal government’s crackdown on one of South Florida’s largest suspected growhouse operations.

The Santiestebans — headed by the patriarch, Mariel boatlift refugee Gilberto Sr., and joined by sons Derrick, Gilberto Jr., Alexander and Darvis — were charged last June with operating 20 hydroponic marijuana growhouses since 2004. The operation yielded at least 1,146 potent pot plants that produced millions in profits, authorities say.

Castaneda admitted he collaborated with alleged ringleader Derrick Santiesteban, accused shooter Norge Manduley and other members of the syndicate in June 2009, when they kidnapped Fidel Ruz Moreno after carjacking his van.

While en route to one of Santiesteban’s grow houses in southwest Miami-Dade, Castaneda witnessed Manduley struggle with Ruz in the back of the van and then shoot him with a revolver, Castaneda said in a court statement.

Castaneda said that after Ruz’s body was tossed out into the street, he saw Manduley “approach [the] prone body and repeatedly strike [Ruz] about the head with the butt of revolver that Manduley was wielding,” according to a statement filed with the plea agreement in Miami federal court.

Castaneda, a growhouse caretaker who fled the area last June when FBI agents arrested most of the 16 Santiesteban-syndicate members, was the first defendant to plead guilty to the main charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 1,000 marijuana plants. He also pleaded guilty to the kidnapping conspiracy.

In April, he faces a minimum-mandatory sentence of 10 years for the drug charge and up to life in prison for the kidnapping. His cooperation with prosecutors William Athas and Pat Sullivan is helping them put pressure on other defendants to cut plea deals.

The Ruz kidnapping and slaying — along with the possibility of a second, unrelated homicide, as well as suspicions that a Miami-Dade police officer was working with the Santiesteban clan —elevated the case beyond a routine pot-trafficking investigation.

At a detention hearing, Athas and Sullivan described Derrick Santiesteban, the lead defendant in the case, as the “mastermind behind the [Ruz] kidnapping.”

Investigators are zeroing in on a Miami-Dade officer who is suspected of playing a role in the family’s alleged drug syndicate. The officer, Roderick Silva, worked patrol in the Hammocks area of West Kendall. He was suspended with pay in June 2009, records show. He is the brother of another of the Santiestebans’ accused growhouse caretakers, David Silva.

Homicide detectives are also trying to determine whether an unsolved April 2006 slaying of a teenager in West Kendall is linked to an alleged Santiesteban growhouse in the area.

After going to visit a girlfriend near Southwest 172nd Terrace and 153rd Place, Angelo Lopera, 17, was attacked and shot multiple times. Police believe Lopera may have been killed because he was mistakenly suspected of visiting the neighborhood to steal marijuana plants from the Santiestebans’ house at 17231 SW 153rd Pl., according to sources familiar with the probe.

The Santiesteban indictment was built around a dozen cooperating witnesses, most of whom were involved in the family’s alleged drug organization and have or will be separately charged, court records show.

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Crime Watch: Steer clear of these latest email scams

Today I want to share with you some interesting scam emails shared by readers. We truly need to be super-careful and not open or respond to any of them.

I personally got the one from Kabul and had to laugh because this was a new one for me. I am not showing the email address, but trust me it looked very official especially when I do have friends that are stationed in Kabul. Here is the email I got:

Subj: Greetings from Kabul.. ... .

Hello,

I am CPT. Greg Hooper an officer of the U.S Army presently serving with the 395th CSSB peace keeping forces in Afghanistan. You may not know me but i really need your help as i have some very important packages to ship to you for safekeeping until i return back home to the USA.

I will explain in details only if you meet my conditions. Thanks for your prayers & support as we hope to return in one piece!!

CPT. Greg Hooper.

The second email I want to share came from a read who had some very good suggestions and its really worth sharing, since he had a personal experience with the email. Here is what he had to say:

Dear Carmen:

Thank you for your article in The Miami Herald on Jan. 6, 2013, titled "Two email scams you shouldn’t fall for." I haven’t seen the second one you mentioned yet, but I’ve received the first one several times over the last two or three years. It’s amazing how many of my friends and acquaintances have been robbed overseas in the last few years!

I’m writing because I thought there was one element to the scam that I thought important to be emphasized, and, if you ever decide to re-publicize the information, I’d suggest including it. Sometimes, when I’ve received those e-mails, they are not only from someone I know, but the email address in the "FROM" line is identical to the email address of the friend who is supposedly writing to me. This instantly leads a person to trust that the email is legitimate. And, since a quick "reply to" will allow the recipient to verify that it’s true, it’s easy to fall for it.

However, when you hit "reply to", the e-mail address to which the message will be sent is NOT the same as the one from which it appeared to have been sent. The address changes — very, very subtly.

For example, I could receive a message from a friend at "FRIEND101@gmail.com", but, when I hit "reply to", the message will be sent to "FRIEMD101@gmail.com" (the "N" was subtly changed to a "M") or "FRlEND101@gmail.com" (the capital "I" has been changed to a lower-case "L"). So if I sent an email to the person using "reply to", asking "is this true?!?", I would likely receive a message back from the scammer verifying it’s fictitious validity.

Thanks for listening and for aiming to protect the public!

Jeff Rothkopf

Folks, like I always say the Internet is a wonderful form of communication, but it brings its dangers, therefore we all must be vigilant and astute when using it.

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Miami Beach clinic head surrenders to FBI

Kathryn Abbate, former head of the Miami Beach Community Health Center, surrendered to the FBI on Wednesday, charged with defrauding federal healthcare agencies.

She is scheduled to make her first court appearance at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Abbate was fired last year after the center’s board alleged that she had diverted $6.8 million in funds to her personal use -- money that were intended to provide care for the poor who used the clinic, which is a federally qualified health center, entitling it to special state-federal Medicaid funds.

The formal charges accuse Abbate of taking more than $10,000 between 2008 and 2012, according to a federal court document. . She is charged by information, a sign she is cooperating with prosecutors and FBI agents. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison.

The center employs about 300 people and gets about $4 million annually from the federal government.

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Chinese New Year rings in at St. Thomas University

A Chinese Lunar New Year celebration was held at St. Thomas University on Sunday, Feb. 10, in Miami Gardens. The free event was open to the public and also featured an ancestral-veneration ceremony, lion dances and a reception.

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Carnival ship fire quickly extinguished as ship wallows in Gulf awaiting tug

The Carnival Triumph, a Galveston, Texas-based passenger cruise ship with the theme “Great Cities Around the World,” might have been better off sitting at port, as a court initially ordered.

As of Monday morning the 14-year old ship was going nowhere, operating on emergency generator power after a fire Sunday in one of the diesel generators killed its propulsion. The fire was quickly put out by an automatic fire extinguishing system, and none of the 4,229 passengers or crew are said to be in any danger

All were waiting patiently as a giant tug boat trudged toward the Triumph, now operating under generator power, with the intention of hauling the 100,000 ton, 893-foot vessel to the nearest port in Progreso, Mexico. It is expected in port some time Wednesday afternoon. Carnival Cruise Lines headquarters are in Miami-Dade.

“The cause of the fire is still to be determined,” said Carnival spokesman Vance Guliksen. In a brief news release, Guliksen said “there were no casualties to guests or crew.”

He said all passengers will be flown back to the United States and will be fully refunded.. Carnival said it will cover any additional transportation expenses. Passengers will also receive a free future cruise.

As of 11 a.m. Tuesday another Carnival ship, the Carnival Elation, was on the scene transferring food and beverages.

According to Carnival, some basic auxiliary power has been restored, cabin toilets are working on part of the ship and some elevators are operational. The dining areas are serving hot coffee and limited hot food.

The $420 million Triumph made news early last year after the family of a German tourist killed in the Costa Concordia disaster in the Mediterranean filed a $10 million lawsuit against Carnival. A judge found the family had standing, and ordered the ship held at port in Galveston. The court later allowed the ship to move between ports until a hearing takes place.

The lawsuit contends that Carnival Cruise Lines is the corporate parent of the Costa Concordia.

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