Pistorius may have beaten girlfriend with bat before shooting her: report

“Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius may have beat his girlfriend with a cricket bat before shooting her to death in his South Africa home, according to a new report.

Pistorius, who gained fame by using carbon fiber prosthetics to compete on the world stage against able-bodied runners, was arrested last week and charged with murder for shooting his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp early Thursday morning.

Pistorius told cops he mistook her for a burglar, but investigators said a bloodied cricket bat was found in the runner’s home, according to The City Press, a South African newspaper.

AP

Reeva Steenkamp poses on set during the shooting of the reality show "Tropika Island of Treasure."

Pistorius’ may have either used the bat to attack Steenkamp or break down the bathroom door where she was hiding, or she may have used the bat to defend herself, City Press reported. Police are investigating all three scenarios.

'I'VE KILLED MY BABA,' PISTORIUS SOBBED TO FRIEND

"There was lots of blood on the bat. Forensic tests will show whose blood it was," a source with inside knowledge of the case told City Press.

As well as bullet wounds to the head, arm, hand and hip, Steenkamp suffered a “crushed” skull, according to the South African paper.

Steenkamp, 29, was sitting on the toilet when she was hit four times, in the arm, head, hip and finger by bullets fired through the bathroom door, London’s Sun reported.

Meanwhile Pistorius’ best friend said he received a phone call moments after the shooting.

Before the Olympic athlete called the emergency services he phoned Justin Divaris, 27, at 3:55 a.m. to tell him what had happened.

"I said to him, “What are you talking about?” He then repeated himself – “There has been a terrible accident, I shot Reeva”,’ he told The Sun.

By the time Divaris got to the home it had already been sealed off by police. Divaris said the model’s body was "covered in blankets and towels."

Steenkamp had been dating Pistorius, a double-amputee known as the Blade Runner, since November.

But she has also been linked to a playboy rugby player, a relationship that could have led to a final, fatal dustup with Pistorius.

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NBA’s best player (LeBron James) isn’t best-paid

HOUSTON --
When LeBron James walks onto the court for Houston’s NBA All-Star Game Sunday, he’ll do so as the undisputed king of his sport.

Named the league’s most valuable player three times in the past four years, James is once again dominating the NBA and most likely headed for his fourth MVP award — two fewer than Michael Jordan — with presumably a long career still ahead.

But while James is the most valuable player in the NBA, he’s nowhere close to being the league’s highest paid. Of the 10 players voted into the starting lineup of Sunday’s All-Star Game, five earn more than James, whose salary for this season ranks 13th in the NBA.

James’ decision a while back to “take my talents to South Beach” was a case of trading dollars for victories. The league caps what teams can spend on salaries.

The bimonthly checks cut by team owner Micky Arison this year will equal a bargain come season’s end: $17,545,000.

Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, the league’s highest-paid player, will earn about $10 million more than that this season.

James understands he’s underpaid in the purest sense, but he also understands reality: He makes obscene amounts of money playing a game. Super-rich athletes who gripe about money seldom get much sympathy — witness the outpouring of scorn when golfer Phil Mickelson recently complained that increased taxes on high earners, coupled with California’s high tax rates, might force him to make “drastic changes” in his playing schedule.

James also makes a fortune in endorsements, from companies ranging from Nike to Sprite to Samsung to Dunkin’ Donuts.

Still, the obvious question remains: Considering not only James’ impact on the Heat, but also his overall contribution to the entire NBA, how much money could James command on the open market if there were no league-imposed economic constraints?

“Per year, if there were no salary-cap restrictions, I think he’s worth well over $100 million, easy,” said Shane Battier, the Heat’s heady forward and former Duke University schoolmate of Heat CEO Nick Arison.

That’s $100 million per year.

It’s an audacious and historic number, but considering James’ recent run of play, it’s not complete fantasy. James is performing at a historic level of excellence. After thoroughly wiping the court in Oklahoma City on Thursday, scoring 39 points, pulling down 12 rebounds and dishing out seven assists, James has scored at least 30 points in seven straight games.

The last player to accomplish that feat going into the All-Star break was Wilt Chamberlain back in 1963.

“This guy, LeBron James, he’s doing stuff that I’ve never seen,” said Hall of Famer Charles Barkley on Thursday night during TNT’s Inside the NBA. “He’s on another planet.”

Considering Barkley’s sharp criticism of James in the past, not to mention his history of going head-to-head with Michael Jordan during both men’s prime, that’s high praise.

But a market value of $100 million?

“Really, it boils down to the ego of an owner,” Battier said. “A lot of owners would pay just to have LeBron James on their team. I can think of a couple that would pay him, easily, nine figures per year.”

According to one numbers cruncher — John Vrooman, an economics professor at Vanderbilt University — Battier’s figure is an overestimation of James’ worth by about $60 million. Here is how his math works: Vrooman used an advanced metric known in the sports world as “win-share,” which assigns a number to each player on a team based on his contributions, both offensively and defensively, for a season. Last season, when James led the Heat to the championship, he had a win-share value of 14.5, which translates to 31.5 percent of the 2011-12 Heat’s 46 regular-season wins.

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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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Oscars Flashback: Drew Barrymore 1983

Considering that Drew Barrymore turns 38 today, it's fascinating to think that she attended her first Oscars thirty years ago. At the 1983 Oscars, the charming, young actress is adorable as ever as she is interviewed on the red carpet.

Although she had won a Young Artist Award for best actress for her performance in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Barrymore didn't receive a nomination for an individual award at her first Oscars despite the majority consensus that she should have.

VIDEO: Drew Barrymore Opens Up About Motherhood

However, the film, her second feature in her young acting career, was nominated for Best Picture at that year's Academy Awards.

With her sweet and sassy personality, 8-year-old Barrymore arrives to Hollywood's biggest celebration wearing a hot pink dress designed by her "momma" with a bow in her hair and a pearl necklace that was given to her by E.T. director Steven Spielberg.

"I don't know if it will win, but I'm hoping so much!" she says enthusiastically of the Oscar-nominated film.

VIDEO: Oscars Flashback '86: 10-Year-Old Angelina Jolie

Also nominated that April evening was the film's director, Spielberg, for whom she reveals she voted in addition to voting for the film. As for the Best Actress category, which was loaded with talented actresses Meryl Streep, Julie Andrews, and Jessica Lange, Barrymore wasn't too interested.

"I'm not nominated," she replies with a smile when asked about her vote for Best Actress.

Two years later, Barrymore received her first major awards show nomination at the Golden Globes for the 1984 film Irreconcilable Differences. Despite more Globes nominations over the years, she has never been nominated for an Oscar.

VIDEO: Oscars Flashback '83: Pregnant Meryl Wins Actress

However, twenty-seven years after her first Oscars, Barrymore won her first major awards (Golden Globes, SAG Awards) for Grey Gardens.

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Woman's badly decomposed body washes up in Breezy Point

A woman’s body was discovered in Queens this morning, police said.

She was found shortly before 8:40 a.m. by a passerby in Breezy Point, washed up near Bayside Avenue, cops said.

The body was badly decomposed, and only part of her skull was there, according to a police source. But she was clothed, and there were no obvious signs of trauma.

The woman has not been identified, and it was not clear how old she was when she died, cops said.

The medical examiner will determine the cause of death, and whether is any criminality.

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Sign up for Feb. 21 Miami Herald Small Business Forum

Prepare your best pitch for the Miami Herald’s Small Business Forum, Feb. 21 at the south campus of our sponsor, Florida International University.

In addition to how-to panels and inspirational stories from successful entrepreneurs, our annual small business forum will include interactive opportunities with experts to learn about financing options and polish your personal and business brands.

During our finance panel, audience volunteers will be invited to explain their financing needs to the group. During our box-lunch session, they will be invited to pitch their business or personal brand to our coaches.

Those who prefer just to listen will be treated to a keynote address by Alberto Perlman, co-founder of the global fitness craze Zumba. Panels include success stories from the local entrepreneurs who founded Sedano’s, Jennifer’s Homemade and ReStockIt.com; finance tips from experts in small business loans, venture capital, angel investments and traditional bank loans; and insiders in the burgeoning South Florida tech start-up scene.

Plus, it’s a real bargain. $25 includes the half-day seminar, continental breakfast and a box lunch.

Register here.

Program

8 a.m.

Registration and continental breakfast, provided by Bill Hansen Catering

8:30 a.m. Welcome

Host: David Suarez, president and CEO, Interactive Training Solutions, LLC

•  Jerry Haar, PhD, associate dean & director, FIU Eugenio Pino and Family Global

Entrepreneurship Center

•  Alice Horn, executive director, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE South Florida)

•  Jane Wooldridge, Business editor, The Miami Herald

Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge Overview:

•  Nancy Dahlberg, Business Plan Challenge coordinator, The Miami Herald

8:45 a.m. Session I – Success Stories

Moderator: Jerry Haar, PhD, associate dean & director, FIU Eugenio Pino and Family Global

Entrepreneurship Center

Speakers:

•  Jennifer Behar, founder, Jennifer’s Homemade

•  Matt Kuttler, co-president of ReStockIt.com

•  Javier Herrán, chief marketing officer, Sedano’s Supermarkets

10 a.m. Session II – All about Tech

Moderator: Jane Wooldridge, Business editor, The Miami Herald

Speakers

•  Susan Amat, founder, Launch Pad Tech

•  Nancy Borkowski, executive director, Health Management Programs, Chapman Graduate School of

Business, Florida International University

•  Chris Fleck, vice president of mobility solutions at Citrix and a director of the South Florida Tech Alliance

•  Charles Irizarry, co-founder and director of product architecture, Rokk3r Labs

11:15 a.m. Keynote

Speaker: Alberto Perlman, CEO and co-founder of Zumba® Fitness

Introduction: Jane Wooldridge, business editor, The Miami Herald

11:45 a.m. Session III – Show me the money: Financing your small business

An interactive session featuring audience volunteers who will be invited to make a short investment pitch before a panel, including experts in microlending, SBA loans, traditional bank loans, venture capital and angel investing. Audience volunteers should come prepared with a two-minute presentation that includes details about current backing, how much money they are seeking and a brief synosis of ow that money would be used.

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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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Vin Diesel Sings Stay by Rihanna

Vin Diesel may be best known for kicking ass on the big screen, but the Fast & Furious star would also like you to know he's super sensitive.

VIDEO - Watch Rihanna's Stay Video

Case in point: Vin covered Rihanna's Stay last night and posted the video to his Facebook page (via) as a Valentine's Day gift to "V's Angels."

Best. Gift. Ever.

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NYC teachers' pension fund divests from gun makers

The pension fund for New York City schoolteachers has sold its stock in companies that make guns and ammunition.

City Comptroller John Liu said Friday that the move came after a thorough review of the fund's exposure to such investments.

Teachers union head Michael Mulgrew said selling the stock was "the right thing to do" after the school shootings in Newtown, Conn. Similar reviews of gun-industry holdings are under way at pension funds across the country since the massacre.

Liu says the $46.6 billion New York City Teachers' Retirement System is the largest pension fund to sell its gun industry holdings so far.

William Farrington

Michael Mulgrew

The fund had a total of $13.5 million invested in five gun makers. Those included Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. and Sturm, Ruger & Co.

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In Key West, women earn more than men

Key West is one of just four cities in the United States where the median income for women exceeds that of men, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The American Community Survey, which goes beyond population figures and analyzes comparative social, economic and educational data, found that nationwide, men older than 16 working full-time and year-round earn an average of $47,233.

The same group of women on average earns around 78 percent of that, $37,199.

But it's different in Key West; Sebring, Fla.,; Madera, Calif.; and Fort Payne, Ala., according to survey data from 2011, the most recent figures released.

In the Southernmost City, women on average earn $33,956 while men earn $31,716.

Tiffany Horton, director of sales at the Ocean Key Resort and Spa and formerly the revenue manager for the Marriot Beachside, pointed to Key West's hospitality-driven economy as an explanation.

"I think it's a great area of success for women because of their compassion and their motherly instinct," she said. "In hospitality, sales and the hotel industry, you have to relate to so many different people and understand different personalities and work with them."

In Sebring, total earnings for both groups are slightly less but women still out-earn men, taking in an average of $28,677 compared to $27,094.

Jodi Weinhofer, executive director of the Lodging Association of the Florida Keys and Key West, noted there are many high-level female executives and managers in Key West's hospitality industry, as well as numerous female guesthouse owners.

"I do think the hospitality industry is somewhat blind to men and women," she said. "In hospitality, it doesn't matter who you are. Across the board, it's all about performance."

Catherine Hill, director of research for the American Association of University Women, said of the comparative pay levels, "The big issue is what type of industries you have in that city."

"Every industry has its own drivers in terms of where you see higher wages, lower wages, more equality, and food service or hospitality is one of those," she said. "There's also such a thing as a culture. In some communities, you see a much more level playing field."

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