As many as 16,000 registered voters showed up at a polling station set up at
the Orange Bowl in Miami on Saturday and cast their ballots, not complaining
about the long lines or any irregularities. These were, um, Venezuelan
citizens voting for president at a station run by the consulate. [South
Florida Sun-Sentinel]
The Miracle Bed That (Mainly) Hispanics Know About
The Ceragem is this magical, Korean-made, massage bed that its fans claim
somehow cures a range of ailments (from stroke paralysis to high
cholesterol, in addition to its only FDA-approved use, which is for
arthritis-type pain) and which thrives particularly by the word-of-mouth
marketing characteristic of Hispanic communities (such as Hialeah, Fla.,
where this report is filed). The deal is that a franchisee will set up some
of these roller-massage beds and give a generous number of free sessions
(which should be a tip-off at the huge mark-up on the $3,000 retail price).
Nearly half the 61 franchises in the U.S. are in Hispanic 'hoods. No one has
complained yet in Florida, though. [New York Times]
It's Not Citrus or Sugar, But It's Getting There
An Associated Press report, citing "national drug officials," told us what
Rush Limbaugh already knows: Florida is a go-to spot for physicians who
promiscuously write Percocet and oxycodone (etc.) prescriptions. 340 of your
fellow F-staters died of overdoses of the Big O last year. [South Florida
Sun-Sentinel]
Update
Dept. of Children and Families Secretary Lucy Hadi, no doubt weary of
getting trashed by Yr Editor (!), resigned Friday, assuring that she won't
be spending Christmas in jail for contempt of court for continuing to
violate state law and a judge's orders to move mentally-ill prisoners from
jails to treatment centers within 15 days of diagnosis. Gov. Bush, who's
sooooo close to a legacy that'll feature him running the table on
tax-cutting, continues his twin strategy of shrugging off the mentally ill
and mocking his critics (even if one of 'em is a Republican judge). [St.
Petersburg Times] [The F State, 12-1-2006]
Your Daily Loser
Maria Campo, 19, was arrested on Saturday night in Plant City after her
2-yr-old kid was discovered in Campo's car at 11 p.m., having been neglected
for at least 45 minutes while Campo was inside a bar dancing. Bonus feature:
Cops reached inside the locked car fairly easily to snatch the kid, meaning
anybody could have snatched the kid. [St. Petersburg Times]
More Things To Worry About Today
Various people were upset to find the Spencer's store [aka Spencer Gifts] in
Jacksonville's Regency Square Mall selling, right there on display at
urchins' eye-level, "Pornaments," which are Christmas-tree ornaments in the
design of just what you think they are [WKMG-TV (Orlando)]
This article appears in Nov 29 – Dec 5, 2006.