City National Bank of Florida and its Spanish parent have four years to evaluate the Miami bank’s future ownership

City National Bank of Florida, the Miami bank purchased by Bankia (formerly Caja Madrid) of Spain in November 2008, said Wednesday that its parent has a “four-year window to evaluate alternatives” for the bank’s future ownership and will work closely with management in Miami during the process.

The Spanish government has reached and agreement with the European Union related to Spain’s financial system problems, which will result in a recapitalization of Bankia and other institutions, the bank said. The agreement calls for Bankia to sell non-core assets and its holdings outside of Spain so that Bankia will emerge with a solid capital position and be more focused on its core domestic business.

“Because City National Bank is so well capitalized, profitable and well positioned in the marketplace, we are going to take our time to fully evaluate all of our strategic alternatives,” City National Bank President and CEO Jorge Gonzalez said in a statement. “This does not impact our ongoing strategy of profitable growth and diversification or our commitment to the markets we serve. Our focus continues to be taking excellent care of our clients and employees. ”

City National, founded 65 years ago, has $4.32 billion in assets and 26 branches from Miami-Dade County to the greater Orlando area.

INA PAIVA CORDLE

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Man shot and killed in police-involved shooting identified

The man shot and killed by police Tuesday afternoon in a West Miami-Dade apartment complex has been identified as Alexis Suarez Reyes, Miami-Dade police said Wednesday.

Reyes, 47, lived at the apartment complex at 1907 SW 107th Ave. Miami-Dade police detectives had gone to the complex to follow up on an investigation of a case from Miami International Airport when they encountered Reyes in the apartment.

According to a news release issued Wednesday, Reyes was armed when police confronted him. He was shot multiple times and subsequently transported to the Trauma Center at Kendall Regional Medical Center, where he died.

Reyes is the second person to be shot and killed by Miami-Dade police in the past week. It is unclear why police were investigating Reyes, and the circumstances that led to his shooting are under investigation.

Police said they found a ballistics vest in Reyes’s possession, though it is unclear if he was wearing it at the time of the shooting.

John Rivera, president of the Miami-Dade chapter of the Police Benevolent Association, said two police officers were involved in the shooting.

“They’ll take a couple of days off administratively,’’ he said. “When you shoot somebody, regardless of whether you kill them or not, it’s always a very traumatic situation.’’

Rivera, an advocate for the police, said he spoke with the two officers shortly after the shooting. Though he declined to divulge their conversation, Rivera said that he believes “the evidence” will prove their actions were justified.

“It was a clean shoot,’’ he said.

WPLG-ABC 10 reported that Reyes’s family said he was a security guard at Miami International Airport. Miami-Dade police said late Tuesday they also had received that information and were trying to determine whether it was true.

It was the second police-involved shooting this week. On Sunday, one man was killed and a second was hurt at Flea Market USA, 3015 NW 79th St.

In that shooting, Miami-Dade police believed the men may have been connected to a home invasion robbery earlier in the day.

When officers approached the van the men were in, police said the driver hit the gas and rammed a police vehicle. Officers fired, and the van tried to get away, hitting other parked cars before it came to a stop, police said.

Miami Herald staff writer Diana Moskovitz contributed to this report.

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Jane Lynch Glee Interview Elfbot

With countless commercials and animated movies (including 2012's sublime Wreck-It Ralph) to her credit, Jane Lynch's voice has been gracing the airwaves for more than two decades. Now she's lending those perfect pipes to a new Nook book called Elfbot, which finally reveals how Santa Claus is able to produce so many presents a year!

Lynch not only got to work with her best friend on the project, but also her stepdaughter Chase, who makes her voice-over debut with the children's book. ETonline caught up with the Emmy winning actress to talk about this family affair, the significant change her Glee character has undergone and why voice over acting will always have her heart.

ETonline: What appealed to you about working on Elfbot?

Jane Lynch: The first thing that appealed to me is that my very best friend in the world, Jeannie Elias, directed it. This brings together all of my friends from the ICM voice department, who I hung out with for 20 years, sitting in that [recording booth]. We never worked together, so when they asked me to be a part of this, I said yes.

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ETonline: Once Elias told you about the story, what did you think?

Lynch: The story is so sweet. What I love about it, and think kids will love about it, is you always wonder how Santa makes toys for everybody because the population is so huge. Now, we find out he's created Elfbots – and we have one Elfbot, who is voiced by Kenny G, who wants to become more than an Elfbot. It's like a Pinocchio story. I think it could become one of those Christmas stories you tell over and over again.

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ETonline: And you got to work with your stepdaughter on this!

Lynch: I know! It's her first acting job. She went into the studio and just knocked it out of the park. She has a natural acting vibe. I met her when she was 7, and even before I met her, she was doing plays and in an improve group from the time she was five years old. We always say, Lara [Embry, Lynch's wife] gave birth to her, but she's really my daughter.

ETonline: Are you and Lara in favor of her pursing an acting career?

Lynch: I have a funny thing about it. I started from nothing and faced adversity, so...It will become clear if she really, really wants to do this and I won't stop her if it's something she feels strongly about. We're not going to take her out of school or anything – she does plays at school and this is her first voice over thing, so we'll see.

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ETonline: You also supplied the voice of Sergeant Calhoun in Wreck-It Ralph. What did you think of your animated incarnation?

Lynch: Oh my God, she was like the hottest version of me you could come up with. It's what I might have looked like in days gone by if I had a good haircut ... and a trainer.

ETonline: You've been doing voiceover work for years -- what is it about that artform you love?

Lynch: When I was doing voiceovers and radio commercials and TV narration, I was so happy. I love sitting in a booth and making something out of just your voice. I look at it as an opportunity to kick back and relax and create because it's one of the most low-stress, purely creative thing you can do ... and it's great to roll in wearing sweatpants [laughs]. I could have done it forever and ever, but I'm glad my acting career took off.

VIDEO - Jane Lynch On Sue's "Evil" Minion, Becky!

ETonline: The last four years have been particularly busy for you between the insanity of Glee and getting married. Has it been a whirlwind?

Lynch: So much has changed, and some of it's been heady and exciting, but I definitely think it helped that I was close to 50 when this all happened. And creating a homebase for my family was a real priority for us at that time, so all of that was going on while hosting The Emmys and doing this great television show. It was insane, but I love to be busy, I love to be active, I don't like sitting around, so the last four years have kept me very, very happy.

ETonline: There have also been a lot of changes at Glee this year -- what do you like about Sue's interactions with the new characters?

Lynch: These kids are fresh meat for Sue Sylvester, but you see how she's softening a bit in the fact she can't come up with a mean nickname for Marley. I really like that Sue's redemptions have actually stuck. I'm not just randomly mean like I was before. I had a nice arc that made her more comfortable in where she is, so Sue's not using her powers for evil as much any more.

To purchase your copy of Elfbot, click here! And if you live in California, the voice cast (Lynch, Mark Hamill, Kenny G & more will be at the Barnes & Noble at the Americana in Glendale on December 7 at 7 p.m.

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Nokia sues RIM for breach of contract over cellular patents

HELSINKI — Nokia Corp. is suing Research in Motion, the maker of the Blackberry, for breach of contract in Britain, the United States and Canada over cellular patents the two companies agreed on nine years ago.

The struggling cellphone and RIM agreed in 2003 on a "cross-license for standards-essential cellular patents." Since then, RIM has sought to amend the deal, claiming the license should also have covered patents for non-essential parts. A Swedish tribunal earlier this month ruled against RIM's claims.

Nokia says Wednesday that it is now filing a lawsuit to enforce the tribunal's latest decision against RIM's claims. According to that decision, RIM is not entitled to manufacture or sell WLAN products, used widely in smartphones, without first agreeing royalties with Nokia, which is based in Finland.

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Gift ideas for the techie on your list

The holidays are coming fast, and if you’re like me, you’ve probably gotten very little of your gift shopping done.

Here are suggestions for a variety of gifts for the techie and the not-so-techie people on your list.

Some of these items can be found in stores and some are only available online, but you should be able to order them in time for Christmas or Hanukkah.

IOMEGA EZ MEDIA & BACKUP CENTER

What is it? A hard drive that lives on your home network so you can share files, store all your photos and music and back up your home computers. Works on Macintosh, Windows and Linux computers.

The EZ Media & Backup Center is available in 1-, 2- and 3-terabyte capacities. It is simple to set up. It lives next to your home router and plugs into the network via Ethernet.

Major features include a built-in iTunes server so your music is available to all connected computers, Time Machine support for easy Macintosh backups and Iomega’s Personal Cloud to access your data from any Internet connection.

It can also stream your video files to your TV if you’ve got a compatible streaming box or an Internet-connected TV.

Software for backing up Windows PCs is also included.

Who’s it for? Any family that wants central storage for their digital lives. This is a great home for your digital photo, music or video library.

What does it cost? One terabyte for $169.99, two terabytes for $209.99, three terabytes for $279.99.

Where can you get it? Online at www.iomega.com, Amazon, Best Buy, Apple store, Fry’s.

NETATMO URBAN WEATHER STATION

What is it? A wireless indoor/outdoor weather station that displays through an application on your Apple or Android mobile device.

There are two parts, one that lives in your house and one you place outside.

The indoor component plugs into the wall and monitors the temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, carbon dioxide level and even the sound level in decibels.

The outdoor module is battery-powered and measures temperature and humidity.

Once you connect the Netatmo to your home Wi-Fi network, you can download the free app and see your weather stats from anywhere.

Setup was easy enough, and you can set the app to notify you when carbon dioxide rises to levels that you should be warned about — which is great.

Who’s it for? Weather geeks and people who like to know what the temperature is without having to fire up a browser.

What does it cost? $179

Where can you get it? www.netatmo.com

3M LED ADVANCED LIGHT

What is it? 3M’s first foray into the home light bulb market is with the LED Advanced Light, which uses light-emitting diodes (LED) to produce 800 lumens (the light of a 60-watt bulb).

The Advanced Light has a life span of 25 years and costs just $1.63 per year if it’s turned on for three hours per day.

The bulb lights instantly and is dimmable.

It’s a little intimidating to start buying light bulbs that might outlive me, but my wallet approves.

Who’s it for? Anyone who wants to save money or wants a bulb that might not have to be changed until 2035.

What does it cost? $25

Where can you get it? Select Wal-Mart stores. For more information, go to www.3mlighting.com/LED.

STEM IZON 2.0 WI-FI VIDEO MONITOR

What is it? A small, wireless video camera that you can monitor remotely with an iOS device.

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Defense in Rilya Wilson trial asks for mistrial based on prosecutor’s standing with Florida Bar

The defense for Geralyn Graham, the foster mother accused of murdering 4-year-old Rilya Wilson a decade ago, asked for a mistrial Tuesday morning after a Miami Herald reader found that one of the prosecutors was not technically a member of the Florida Bar.

The trial is proceeding as usual, and Judge Marisa Tinkler-Mendez will rule on the mistrial by the end of the day.

Assistant state attorney Joshua Weintraub completed more than the required 30 hours of continuing education in August but failed to enter the correct course number, and the credits were not recognized by the Florida bar. A reader identified as “Bambie” commented on The Miami Herald article about the opening day of the trial, saying that according to the Florida Bar registry, Weintraub was not eligible to practice law. The reader’s concern was that “it would be a travesty for this case to proceed to verdict only to learn that the Assistant State Attorney had no authority to prosecute the case.”

Defense attorney Michael Matters asked for a mistrial based on Weintraub’s “individual participation in depositions of critical witnesses” and his presentation of himself as an assistant to state attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle.

“Whether he’s suspended for small or humongous violation, it’s still a suspension,” Matters said. “It’s absolutely inappropriate, unethical and wrong. There is no justification for someone practicing law without a license.”

Neither Weintraub nor the other two prosecutors on the case — one of whom is his mother — addressed the continuing education oversight. Don Horn, one of the chief assistants to the state attorney, said Weintraub was pulled from the trial Monday afternoon and temporarily suspended until his continuing education course credits could be straightened out. As of Tuesday morning, on the second day of the trial, Weintraub was reinstated and resumed his seat at the prosecutor’s table.

The trial resumed with Willie Harris, supervisor for the Department of Children and Families taking the stand. He was questioned on his decision to remove then 3-year-old Rilya Wilson from the home of her first foster mom, Pamela Kendrick, and place her in the care of Geralyn Graham, who is now standing trial for her murder.

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Off-duty NYPD cop busted in alleged LES assault

An off-duty NYPD sergeant was arrested for attacking someone this morning in the Lower East Side, authorities said.

Besemah Rogers, 42, allegedly punched the victim in the face, it is not clear what sparked the fight, police sources said.

The 77th Precinct sergeant was busted on assault charges, police said.

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Shoppers welcome holiday sales by buying early, often — and online

Shoppers swooped into stores in droves on Thanksgiving weekend, topping last year’s sales, as more retailers opened their doors earlier than ever on Thursday, luring bargain hunters away from eating another plate of turkey.

And now Cyber Monday is expected to set a record for online shopping this year, for those who prefer the Internet to the mall.

Spending per shopper nationwide averaged $423 — $25 more than last year — from Thursday to Sunday, while total spending increased nearly 13 percent, to an estimated $59.1 billion, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation.

“I think the only way to describe the Thanksgiving openings is to call it a huge win,” said Matthew Shay, the trade group’s president and chief executive. Shopping, he said, “has really become an extension of the day’s festivities.”

South Florida was no exception, as a flurry of stores, as well as several malls, opened on Thanksgiving. Thursday has seemingly become the new Black Thursday, taking a bite out of the old-fashioned kickoff day of the holiday, Black Friday.

“We had an excellent weekend,” said Humberto Maldonado, director of marketing for Dadeland Mall, which opened at midnight on Thursday. Sales figures are not yet in, but the overall trend was up from last year, he said Monday.

“It was really busy from midnight to 5 a.m., then it slowed, and picked up again at 7 a.m. or 8 a.m., and stayed busy all day on Friday,” Maldonado said.

Nationwide, about 35 million people visited stores and shopping websites Thursday, up from 29 million last year. More than double that number — 89 million, up from 86 million — shopped on Black Friday.

“There were more people shopping every single day of the weekend,” Shay said.

Topping off the weekend, Cyber Monday’s early results, tabulated at 3 p.m. Monday, showed that online shopping was up a whopping 25.6 percent compared with the same time period a year ago, according to figures by IBM Benchmark.

Nationwide, most of the weekend’s shoppers — roughly 58 percent — bought clothing and accessories. Another 38 percent bought electronics and 35 percent shelled out for toys, National Retail Federation figures show.

Retailers made an effort to lure people in, with updated mobile shopping applications for smartphones and tablets, and expanded shipping and layaway options.

Still, it remains to be seen whether increased sales over the Thanksgiving weekend will translate to higher sales throughout the holiday shopping season. Analysts have been predicting mediocre sales this year, nationwide, as shoppers remain uncertain about the broader economy. Overall holiday sales are expected to increase 4.1 percent from 2011, compared with sales growth of 5.6 percent last year, the National Retail Federation said.

However, Florida is expected to beat those figures. Buoyed in large part by tourists and snowbirds, the Florida Retail Federation is forecasting a 5.3 percent gain this year over last, to $58 billion, marking the highest percentage growth predicted since the recession. Pre-recession, retail sales peaked at $54.3 billion in 2006.

Christian Cutillo, 26, of Weston, hit Walmart, then Sears, Target and Old Navy after eating Thanksgiving dinner.

She began at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and by 3 a.m. Friday she had finished shopping for all 15 people on her list, mostly buying clothing and toys.

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Police seize haul of bogus lobster tags

An ongoing investigation into an elaborate scheme to counterfeit state-issued tags for spiny lobster traps has pulled in a second suspect.

Jesus Alonso Perez, 51, of Miami was charged with possession of phony trap tags after his arrest last week by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers in Miami-Dade County.

Perez is the first person arrested in the case since Ramon Rojas, 44, of Hialeah was arrested on Monroe County and Miami-Dade warrants earlier this month.

Rojas has been charged with dozens of conservation counts for possessing and using fake trap tags, and fishing traps without required state certificates. A handful of Rojas' personal traps bearing counterfeit trap tags were hauled from water off Big Pine Key before his arrest.

"During the investigation, we were able to determine [Rojas] actually was in the midst of selling some of these counterfeit tags and ended up selling 100 at $50 a pop," said FWC Officer Jorge Pino, an agency spokesman. "We knew some of these tags were being used already."

The case could lead to additional state and federal counts.

Investigation started June 29 when U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents intercepted a suspicious package shipped to Florida from Colombia.

Inside the package were 1,512 yellow plastic tags bearing serial numbers and state identification. The package was passed along to federal wildlife officers, who forwarded it to the FWC.

"To an untrained eye, they might have looked like real tags but our inspector immediately identified the tags as counterfeit," Pino said. "Not to mention, they were coming into Florida from Colombia."

The package was re-sealed for delivery, with FWC officers keeping watch. Other details on the investigation are still considered confidential.

"We've seen counterfeit trap tags before so that wasn't a surprise," Pino said. "We were a little surprised at the lengths he went to, going to another country to get this many."

"This goes contrary to everything the FWC is trying to achieve as a conservation agency in terms of protecting the resource," Pino said. "Putting what could have been a large number of illegal traps in the water has the potential to do a lot of damage."

Trap tags have been required by the state since 1992 as part of an effort to control and reduce the number of traps used by Florida commercial fishermen. Currently about 490,000 tags are issued annually, down from a peak of 750,000. Lobstermen receive an allocation of tags based on their history of commercial trap harvests.

People who want to enter the fishery or increase their trap numbers must buy trap certificates, which include the right to buy trap tags, from other fishermen. A tag itself costs only $1 each from the state but certificates can sell for more than $100 each.

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Yes, the Government Can Still Spy on Your Digital Life (for Now)

Ahead of a controversial Senate debate on digital privacy this week, the battle over warrantless cell-phone and Internet searches is beginning to take shape — even as law-enforcement agencies continue to carry out the searches anyway. Judges across the country have thrown out cases that used tracked digital American lives without warrants, but others haven’t, reports The New York Times‘s Somini Sengupta. A DC court, for example, compared text messages to voicemail messages, which because they can be overheard are not protected by state privacy laws, argued one judge. A Louisiana court is deciding if cell-phone records are like business records. Another court ruled that GPS cell phone tracking without a warrant was fine, too. Others, however, argue that cell phones are more than just a paper trail. One judge called cell phones “raw, unvarnished and immediate, revealing the most intimate of thoughts and emotions,” as in something that is subject to higher privacy standards. Meanwhile, we see the same inconsistencies with Internet protections, reports The Wall Street Journal‘s Joe Pallazolo. A federal court recently ruled that people who use their neighbors’ WiFi without permission forfeit privacy, opening up government officials to warrantless searches. The same ruling other courts have made for IP addresses. However, the law isn’t that clear-cut, either, argues George Washington University professor Oren Kerr. 

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Without clear rules, government agencies have continued investigations with warrantless searches. As people have started using cell phones more often and for more than just calling, law enforcement agency requests for cell-phone information have increased, reported The New York Times‘s Eric Lichtblau earlier this year. AT&T gets more than 700 requests a day from various agencies, triple what it got in 2007, he notes. Last year, the total number of requests came in at at least 1.3 million. At the same time, the application for wiretapping warrants declined 14 percent last year to 2,732, according to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. A curious pattern considering the requests for information have gone up. Though these wireless carriers say they require a search warrant, a court order or a formal subpoena to release information, “in cases that law enforcement officials deem an emergency, a less formal request is often enough,” writes Lichtblau. Or, it’s possible that law enforcement has opted for other forms of tracking that don’t require warrants, at least not according to some judges. 

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A Senate debate beginning Thursday to make changes on the Electronic Communications Privacy Act might bring some clarity to these issues. However, it’s unclear if the revised bill will give the government more or less power, and it doesn’t sound like the vote will apply to all cell phone or Internet data. An early draft of the bill reportedly allowed warrantless e-mail searches, reported CNET’s Declan McCullagh. Since, Senator Patrick Leahy, who is spearheading the bill, has denied that the updates to the regulation will do that, however. Instead, the revised bill will require search warrants to get into email no matter how old, says Sengupta. That should presumably apply to some of our smartphone and Internet data, too. But it doesn’t address text messages or location information, other concerns of consumers.

Wireless News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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