Results tagged “florida”

Tiger Woods issued a statement on his website about his Friday car accident, blaming himself for the incident, calling his wife Eiln's actions "courageous," and refuting the "many false, unfounded and malicious rumors" (namely that he and his wife got into a fight preceding the accident), "This situation is my fault, and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me. I'm human and I'm not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again."

Giants legend Lawrence Taylor was arrested in Hialeah, Florida yesterday for leaving the scene of an accident where he allegedly hit a car and then a guard rail. TMZ wants to assure us that he wasn't under the influence—police say he "was so coherent when he was arrested for hit-and-run last night , that officers didn't feel the need to perform a sobriety test." Plus "when they found Taylor, he was standing outside of his car -- which was missing a front tire. The tire was found at the scene of the crash .. which means Taylor may have driven several miles on just the axle." He was taken to the station house and released on $500 bail.

With Sad Rat and Sad Panda making us all so sad, it's nice to have Happy Manatee around. Ilya was rescued from the cold clutches of New Jersey earlier this week, and flown down to the more manatee-friendly state of Florida yesterday. The NY Post reports that he is expected to make a full recovery, and a rep at the US Fish and Wildlife Service confirms: "He is safely home in Florida, and currently in a nice pool at the Miami Seaquarium."

"The Empire State is being drained of an invaluable resource -- people," proclaims a new study from the Empire Center For NY State Policy. It shows that many New Yorkers are leaving the state in record numbers, and the move is looking to be quite taxing on the state. Between 2000 and 2008, 1.5 million state residents left for other parts of the U.S., leaving the state with a huge loss in taxable income. Nearly 80% of those who left were New York City residents.

It's conventional wisdom that the most important ingredient in New York bagels is NYC tap water. So today a south Florida company, The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co., has started selling bagels that owner Steve Fassberg claims taste just like our bagels—because they're made with "Brooklyn water." The effect isn't achieved by a tap water pipeline from Brooklyn, but by an elaborate water filtration system, enclosed behind a glass wall in the restaurant. Fassberg, a Flatbush native, tells the Sun Sentinel, "We have scientific proof to back up every state of the process." And the man behind the water system, Alfie Lipshultz, declares, "By the time it gets past our systems, it's Brooklyn water. We make it ultra pure to begin with and then we reinsert those nuances that make it Brooklyn water." He declined to elaborate on just what those nuances are, but we detect strong notes of B.S. and chutzpah. Back in 2006, the owner of Terrace Bagels hauled 150 gallons of filtered New Jersey water to Brooklyn, made a batch of bagels, and declared, "The bagels came out just as good. In towns in New Jersey you can’t find a decent bagel. I don’t know if that’s the water or the people that make them."

Former Yankee Jim Leyritz was arrested once again at his South Florida home, this time charged with domestic battery against his ex-wife. He's accused of dragging Karrie Leyritz out of bed and pushing her to the floor because she wrote a check without his permission. However, like Leyritz's faulty Breathalyzer test in May, the details around the incident sound complicated. Police say Leyritz's ex-wife gave two conflicting reports, the other story being that the slugger punched her in the face twice because they were arguing over child support. Leyritz, awaiting trial for DUI manslaughter, told police that she was drunk (which she admits) and most likely hit herself to set him up because she was angry over being evicted from their house. One of their three children told cops he believed that this probably was the case. But Karrie Leyritz said of her son, "He's constantly hearing his father bad-mouth me. I can't control what my ex-husband says."

Last week, western NY billionaire, former gubernatorial candidate and owner of the Buffalo Sabres Tom Golisano announced he was changing his legal address to Florida, to avoid paying about $4.75 million more a year in taxes, thanks to the state's increased taxes for higher income brackets. Yesterday, he told reporters he was frustrated with the State Senate Democrats (he backed quite a few of them during the election) for passing the measures, "One or two of those senators could have said, ‘Wait a minute, we'd better take a look at this budget.' A 9 percent increase in a recession. But none of them had the fortitude to do that, which is absurd." Golisano added, "Nobody wants to leave New York. Just economically, it makes so much sense to leave it, and that's because of the irresponsible government we've had." Still, the State Department of Taxation and Finance tells the Buffalo News, "If you’re a nonresident making money in New York, you are going to pay taxes to some extent." The Buffalo News points out that Golisano is dating Monica Seles (ewww), also splits her time in NY and Florida.

Former president Bill Clinton made, as Politico's Jonatha Martin reports, "his first campaign appearance by Barack Obama's side" at a late-night rally in Florida. Clinton said, "Barack Obama represents America’s future and you better be there for him next Tuesday.” See video of the rally after the jump.

Mayor Bloomberg was in the Sunshine State yesterday, attending a breakfast hosted by the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County, and took the opportunity to slam the "whisper campaign" smears against Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama. Bloomberg said, "Let's make sure that we, as Jews and as voters, keep the conversation focused on the facts and not let it descend into false rumor and innuendo."

In a televised meeting that could be subtitled "Death by a Thousand Paper Cuts," the Democratic Party's Rules & Bylaws Committee is meeting today to discuss and hear testimony on the dilemma of Florida's and Michigan's delegates.

With the South Dakota primary next week, Senator Hillary Clinton made a visit to Mount Rushmore. But her campaign was dealing with news that lawyers for the Democratic Party believe, according to party rules, that "Florida and Michigan [should] lose at least half their delegate strength," which damages Clinton's hopes of overtaking Senator Barack Obama.

NJ Governor Jon Corzine and Pennsylvania Ed Rendell have offered a plan to re-stage the Florida and Michigan Democratic primaries. The two men, both Clinton supporters, say they will raise half of the $30 million it would take for new primaries. Funny, where's Governor Spitzer, who said he'd support Clinton but has called Obama "spectacular"?

Hillary Clinton may have won more votes in Tuesday’s crucial primaries, but the victories barely made a dent in Barack Obama’s lead, narrowing the gap by only a few delegates. Unless scandal or some other meltdown severely damages Obama, Clinton’s chances of beating him on pledged delegates are extremely difficult.

Fresh off her big night of wins in Ohio and Texas, Hillary Clinton spoke on CBS's Early Show and mentioned the words "dream ticket" in relation to the heated Democratic presidential race. Harry Smith told Clinton, "We talked to a lot of people in Ohio who said there really isn't that significant a difference between you two, and they'd like to see you both on the ticket." After remarking how "incredibly close" the race is, she said pairing up "may be where this is headed, but we have to decide who is on the top of the ticket, and I think that the people of Ohio very clearly said that it should be me."

Release the hounds. The latest innovation in bedbug eradication is being brought to you by Advanced K9 Detectives, a company using man’s best friend to sniff out the bloodsucking pests plaguing New York City. Since 2004, complaints about bedbugs to the Department of Housing have soared to 6,889 (up from 537 a year) and 2,008 building owners issued summonses (compared to 82 in ’04).

Five different Rangers scored goals and ten different Rangers had points in the win. Brandon Dubinsky showed his versatility when he pulled Sean Avery away from a fight, only to step into the action on his own. Dubinsky fought to a draw which was about the only thing the Rangers didn’t win Sunday.

One of the key factors in Roger Clemens condemnation of the Mitchell Report and the testimony of his former trainer Brian McNamee is the pitcher's assertion that he never attended a birthday at Jose Canseco's Florida home ten years ago. A photo may exist, however, that shows Clemens at that very party posing with an 11-year-old fan.

At this point, it's hard to tell whether Ed Begley, Jr. is more famous for his decades of acting or his decades of environmentalism. Sure, he's logged over 200 appearances on stage, film and television, including his Emmy-winning breakout role on St. Elsewhere and his priceless turn on Arrested Development. But his funniest performance is arguably his self-effacing cameo as a hardcore green activist in the classic 1999 Simpsons episode "Homer to the Max", in which he's shown driving a nonpolluting go-cart powered by his "own sense of self-satisfaction." Off screen, he's embraced this role of ardent environmentalist with an infectious positivity and seemingly tireless commitment to reducing his own impact on an increasingly injured ecosystem. The many green improvements to his largely solar powered, energy efficient home have been documented in the amusing and informative reality show Living With Ed, and now a newly published book offers a wide range of changes readers can implement to make their lifestyles more sustainable. Called Living Like Ed, it's as inspiring as it is handy, and Begley will be at the Strand bookstore at 7pm tonight for a reading and book signing organized by Environmental Defense.

Police say Barbara Sheehan confessed to killing her retired cop husband in their Howard Beach home, saying, "I shot him. I shot him. I think he's dead." Sheehan, charged with second-degree murder, pleaded not guilty and was held without bail.

With some of his current Yankees teammates on hand, Andy Pettitte addressed the media in Florida this afternoon. Pettitte, who previously admitted using Human Growth Hormone in 2002 and again in 2004, apologized to the Yankees, Astros, and his fans for the "embarrassment" he caused. Pettitte said, "I want to apologize to the New York Yankees and Houston Astros organizations, their fans, my teammates and all baseball fans for the embarrassment I have caused them. I also want to tell anyone who is an Andy Pettitte fan that I am sorry."

After the NY Times story revealed how NYC votes for Barack Obama appear to have been undercounted for the unofficial (yet official enough to be sent to the AP and other news outlets) results on primary night, State Senator Bill Perkins of Harlem spoke out. Perkins, who supports Obama, told the Post

: "Every election has problems, but in this case, all the problems seem to have been his," said state Sen. Bill Perkins (D-Harlem). "He got all the zeroes and undercounting.

Continue reading "Pol: NYC's Unofficial Count of Primary Votes Contributed to Clinton's "False Momentum""

After Hillary Clinton's started airing a commercial in Wisconsin questioning why Barack Obama declined to appear in another debate, Obama came back with his own ad. The voiceover says:

After eighteen debates, with two more coming, Hillary says Barack Obama is ducking debates? It's the same old politics, the phony charges, and false attacks. On health care, even Bill Clinton's own labor secretary [Robert Reich] even says Obama covers "more people" than Hillary and does more to cut costs, saving $2500 for the typical family. Obama's housing plan it stems foreclosures and cracks down on crooked lenders. That's change we can believe in.

Hillary Clinton's February flop continued today as voters in Virginia, Maryland and D.C. turned out for Barack Obama by nearly two-to-one margins (in D.C. he won by 75% to 24%). According to exit polls, Obama not only did well with young voters, blacks and independents but, surprisingly, with certain demographics Clinton's been counting on: senior citizens, women and blue collar voters. Polls suggest 49% of those who voted for Obama were white and voters over sixty backed Obama by 52%.

It's another Tuesday test of candidates' appeal as D.C., Maryland and Virginia have primaries today. Both the Republicans and Democrats have primaries those three states, but most attention is being focused on the battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, who are just about neck-and-neck in terms in delegate totals.

Brenna Stewart, the daughter of convicted so-called "terrorist lawyer" Lynne Stewart, is to undergo psychiatric testing after she was charged with providing phony doctors' notes claiming she was sick to get days off from her job as a gym teacher. Ironically, the fake notes, at least one of which she submitted to attend the sentencing of her mother, could land her in jail for up to seven years. Stewart was busted last year when an administrator at the school where she taught noticed that the phone number of the doctor's office on her notes was the same as that of Stewart's emergency contact number on file. Stewart's sister is an actual physician, but practices in Florida.

The specter of a Mormon multimillionaire as president has been lifted; Mitt Romney announced his withdrawal from the Republican primary race this afternoon. Romney used his speech to the Conservative Political Action Committee to declare: “If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win.” Wonkette liveblogged the speech to great comic effect.

The former mayor is finally out of the hunt for the White House. Rudy Giuliani made the announcement at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, with John McCain beside him. Giuliani endorsed McCain, saying the country needed "someone who can be trusted in times of crisis." He added, "Obviously I thought I was that person. The voters made another choice."

Now that former mayor Rudy Giuliani is getting ready to officially throw in the presidential nomination race towel after his third place finish in the Florida primary, Giuliani watchers seem to be enjoying the chance to analyze his campaign's stunning collapse.

John Edwards will drop out of the presidential primary race. The Caucus finds symmetry in the announcement, since Edwards will give "a speech this afternoon at the same place where he began this campaign — in New Orleans." Which now means the path is cleared for a full-tilt boogie Hillary Clinton vs. Barack Obama fight for delegates and the nomination. We also expect some wooing from Clinton and Obama for Edwards' delegates.