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 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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Independent Spirit Award Winners 2013

The 2013 Film Independent Spirits Awards were handed out in Santa Monica, CA today and lots of Oscar frontrunners cemented their status by dominating in their categories once more.

Check out all the winners below:

Best Feature

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Bernie

Keep the Lights On

Moonrise Kingdom

Silver Linings Playbook

BEST FEMALE LEAD

Linda Cardellini, Return

Emayatzy Corinealdi, Middle of Nowhere

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Smashed

BEST MALE LEAD

Jack Black, Bernie

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

John Hawkes, The Sessions

Thure Lindhardt, Keep the Lights On

Matthew McConaughey, Killer Joe

Wendell Pierce, Four

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Rosemarie DeWitt, Your Sister's Sister

Ann Dowd, Compliance

Helen Hunt, The Sessions

Brit Marling, Sound of My Voice

Lorraine Toussaint, Middle of Nowhere

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike

David Oyelowo, Middle of Nowhere

Michael Pena, End of Watch

Sam Rockwell, Seven Psychopaths

Bruce Willis, Moonrise Kingdom

BEST DIRECTOR

Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom

Julia Loktev, The Loneliest Planet

David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook

Ira Sachs, Keep the Lights On

Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

BEST SCREENPLAY

Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom

Zoe Kazan, Ruby Sparks

Martin McDonagh, Seven Psychopaths

David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook

Ira Sachs, Keep the Lights On

For the full list of winners, click here.

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Wall St. wants Fed sequester

Jonathon M. Trugman

While the Obama administration and Congress face a week of photo ops and talking points on sequestration, Wall Street’s laser focus is on announcements coming from Washington’s Marriner S. Eccles Building, which houses Ben Bernanke’s office.

As the Fed chief released the board’s latest minutes last week — which said there is a growing number of Fed governors wishing to slow down the printing presses sooner than 2014 — spooked investors started running for the doors.

But the markets aren’t terribly spooked by the specter of severe sequestration budget cuts.

They’ve seen this play before in DC: Wait till the last minute and then kick the can down the road. Wall Street saw the fiscal cliff and treated it like a speed bump.

Right now the market players just want budget and spending cuts, although that could change if the tone gets worse.

The markets are essentially a giant calculator. Whether the government saves $85 billion on ice cubes or on lightbulbs makes no difference on the Street; it’s the same math.

However, if there was a legitimate long-term debt reduction deal that was growth-oriented, the market would move much higher.

A “grand bargain” would remove the biggest impediment to both the market and the economy: Washington.

True tax reform — lowering corporate taxes — so companies can hire and do more business here, along with legitimate entitlement reform and intelligent spending cuts that rapidly bring down unemployment, could move equities.

Corporate America has loads of cash to deploy in a more tax-friendly environment. Apple, for example, has billions on the books. It could use that cash to help grow our economy, and the markets would applaud loudly if a plan were in place to do so.

Isn’t it time for the denizens of DC to get to work on spending reforms? Wall Street is looking at them out of the corner of its eye.

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The faces of Florida’s Medicaid system

The tea party governor now says he wants to expand Medicaid. The Republican Legislature isn’t as sure.

Hanging in the balance?

Access to health care for 1 million or more poor Floridians.

Billions of dollars in federal money.

The state budget, which — already — pumps $21 billion a year into care. Florida’s Medicaid system today serves more than 3 million people, about one in every six Floridians. The decision whether to expand the system by a full third will be made by men and women in suits in Tallahassee’s mural-filled chambers this spring.

But the impact is elsewhere, in children’s hospitals in Tampa and Miami, in doctors’ offices in New Port Richey and in the home of a woman who recently lost her full-time teaching job.

The Suddenly uninsured

This was not how she envisioned her 60s.

Jean Vincent dreamed of turning her five-bedroom home into a bed and breakfast. She painted murals on walls, created mosaics on floors and let her imagination guide the interior decorating. There is a “garden” room, a “bamboo” room and a “canopy” room.

In 2010, Vincent lost her full-time job teaching in Citra north of Ocala. Her mother became sick with cancer and needed around-the-clock care before dying in August. Then, doctors began prescribing Vincent costly medications to treat osteoporosis and early-onset diabetes.

“I started getting a little behind with my mortgage,” said Vincent, 61. “All of a sudden, I found out I had to have an emergency retina eye surgery.”

Today, Vincent is searching for roommates to move into her home and help pay the bills. She begs Gainesville’s Sante Fe Community College and City College to schedule her for as many classes as she can handle as an adjunct geography professor; this semester’s four is the most she’s ever had.

But her biggest worry? Not having comprehensive health care.

Vincent —who is too young for Medicare — is enrolled in CHOICES, a health services program the Alachua County government created for the uninsured. It covers preventative care like her flu shots and helps with her drug therapy. But if Vincent ever got so sick she needed to go to the hospital, she’d be on her own.

Under current Florida law, adults with no dependents are not eligible to participate in Medicaid no matter how little they make. Vincent’s four children are all grown, which means even as her income has dwindled she can’t become eligible for the health insurance program run jointly by the federal and state governments.

If Florida decides to expand the Medicaid system, people in Vincent’s position for the first time could be covered.

The expansion would allow any single adult making about $16,000 a year eligible for Medicaid.

On the matter, Vincent has become an activist. She joined with patient rights group Florida CHAIN and traveled to Tallahassee to lobby lawmakers.

“When I gave my testimony, that’s all I wanted them to do was see there were people out there that weren’t just trying to take advantage of the system,” she said.

This summer, she expects to only be assigned one class at Sante Fe. That will provide about $2,000 for her to live on for three months. Meanwhile, her retirement dreams are put on hold.

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Shots fired as Hialeah police attempt to stop a stolen vehicle, perimeter set up in search of suspects

A perimeter has been set up in Hialeah as police search for car thieves after shots were fired in an attempt to stop the vehicle.

According to Hialeah police Sergeant Eddie Rodriguez, shots were fired as police approached a stolen blue mini-van in an attempt to make a stop. The occupants then fled and crashed into an occupied vehicle around the corner at East 6th Avenue. and East 27th Street. before abandoning the van.

A perimeter has been set up from East Seventh Avenue. to East Fourth Avenue and from East 21st Street. to East 27th Street. as police search for the thieves.

Police have recovered a firearm from inside the stolen mini-van.

It is still unclear who fired the shots.

This story will be updated as more details become available.

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2013 Oscars Preview

Security is airtight at the Dolby Theater in the days leading up to Oscar Sunday, but ET has your ticket inside the heavily guarded streets of Hollywood as the Academy preps for the big day!

Our Brooke Anderson even snagged a moment aside with host Seth MacFarlane where the funnyman revealed that nine-time emcee Billy Crystal was kind enough to give the newbie a few pointers. Despite the pep talk, MacFarlane fears Crystal's words won't be enough.

Pics: The 15 Best Oscar Dresses of All Time

"He gave me a lot of really, really useful pointers that will still not save me," the host said with a chuckle.

Not only will ET be front and center for all the red carpet action come Sunday, we are the only entertainment television crew allowed inside the prestigious Vanity Fair after party!

Related: 'Les Mis' Director Addresses Oscar Musical Number

Stay tuned to ETonline for complete Oscar night coverage when the 85th Annual Academy Awards hosted by Seth MacFarlane airs live on Oscar Sunday, February 24, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center.

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Crime ring chief gets 7 years for illegal guns, motorcycle thefts

The kingpin in a massive ring that sold at least 13 illegal guns and stole scores of motorcycles off city streets is going to prison for at least 7 1/2 years.

Tiwane Paul, 31, had asked for less time, arguing through his lawyer that he'd had a tough childhood in his native Dominica.

But prosecutor Diana Florence countered that Paul "was a very, very smart and cunning person," and that hours of wiretaps demonstrated, "Mr. Paul was able to negotiate with people who were very difficult and, frankly, very scary."

Paul, who faces certain post-prison deportation back to his Caribbean homeland, ran his criminal enterprise with Selwyn Mills, 22, who has pleaded guilty and is serving a 5-to-9 year prison sentence.

Of the 33 people originally arrested in Paul's gang, one has been dismissed, 11 are awaiting trial, and the remainder have pleaded guilty.

The case made headlines last July, when prosecutors announced the cycle-snatchers had been caught in the act of reselling more than 50 high-end bikes, including a Dukati Monster and a Kawasaki Ninja.

The case was back in the news just two months later, when seven of the stolen bikes were re-stolen -- from an NYPD lot in the Bronx. The twice-stolen bikes have since been recovered.

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Ian Schrager joins forces with chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten for new Edition Hotel

Two of the best-known names in their respective fields — hotelier Ian Schrager and chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten — have teamed up for the Edition Hotel in Miami Beach, they told The Miami Herald Friday.

The partnership had not previously been officially announced, but the two were set to host a cocktail party Friday night at the site of the old Seville Beach hotel, 2901 Collins Ave.

On Friday at the sales pavilion for the Residences at the Miami Beach Edition, the duo chatted nonstop as they examined an elaborate model of the hotel and grounds.

“We just have a good time together,” Vongerichten said. “He’s excited, I’m excited.”

Vongerichten pointed out a lower-level area on the model building that he described as a grab-and-go food court with a deli, bakery, hot kitchen and raw bar. Schrager referred to it as an “updated Wolfie’s,” referring to the deli eight blocks south on Collins Avenue that closed in 2002.

“It’s not just for the people at the hotel, it’s for everybody,” said Schrager, whose launch of the Delano in 1995 helped bring new life to South Beach.

Plans at the Edition also call for a beach eatery and upscale-but-modern restaurant that Vongerichten said would be “chic and glamorous” and focused on local ingredients. He referred to that restaurant as the Matador Room, a nod to the hotel’s previous life.

Vongerichten said Schrager approached him about the project nearly six months ago; they have worked together since he opened the Pump Room restaurant at Schrager’s Public Chicago in late 2011.

Vongerichten is also behind the lauded J&G Grill at the St. Regis Bal Harbour, which opened in January 2012, but the Edition will be his first foray into Miami Beach.

“You always have to wait for the right project,” Vongerichten said.

A partnership between Schrager and Marriott International, the Edition brand includes one hotel in Istanbul. A site in London is set to debut in August, followed by Miami Beach in early 2014, possibly late in the first quarter. Other locations in New York and Bangkok are scheduled to come online in 2015.

Already years in the making, the Miami Beach project has been closely watched since Marriott bought the property in July 2010. Now, construction at the massive site is well underway, with cranes towering over the gutted existing buildings and a new tower. The finished product will include a hotel with about 250 rooms as well as 26 residences, nearly half of which are already sold. The property also features an ice skating rink, a bowling alley and historic outdoor details including a sundial and diving board.

“It’s a little bit like a bamboo shoot that sits there for 100 years, then all of a sudden it shoots up 50 feet in weeks,” Schrager said. “It’s coming to life.”

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Are Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake coming to South Florida? It seems likely

The rumored Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z tour appears closer to reality — and a South Florida show is in the plans.

First, bloggers hinted the Legend of the Summer Tour would take place in at least 12 outdoor venues across the U.S.

Then Thursday night, Jay-Z's lifestyle website, Life + Times, coyly posted photos of 12 stadiums — including Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Yankee Stadium in New York and Fenway Stadium in Boston.

No dates have been announced yet.

The pairing of the two popular stars could be the biggest tour of the summer, competing in a tight race that may also include Jay-Z’s wife, Beyonce, who will also be on the road, including shows at BB&T Center in Sunrise on July 9 and AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami on July 10.

Justin Timberlake's made his return to performing earlier this month at the Grammys, where he performed hit current single Suit and Tie, which features Jay-Z.

Timberlake's third album, The 20/20 Experience, will be released March 19.

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Prince Michael Uncovers Oz the Great and Powerful Casting Secrets

While on his first assignment as an ET correspondent, Michael Jackson's 16-year-old son Prince Michael got the scoop on who else was in the running with James Franco for the lead role in Oz the Great and Powerful.

PICS: Bewitching Oz the Great & Powerful Posters

Despite director Sam Raimi's decade-long friendship with Franco (they worked together on the Spider-Man trilogy), Raimi revealed that he initially didn't even consider the 34-year-old actor for the part.

"When I first read the script, I heard that Robert Downey Jr. was attached to star in it," said Raimi. "I met with Robert a few times. It turned out not to be right for him. And then briefly Johnny Depp considered the project. It turned out not to be right for him either. And then I heard that James had read it and liked it, and I hadn't even thought of James."

Franco's reactions to Raimi's comments suggest that he was hearing this for the first time.

"What?" Franco said with a chuckle.

The movie imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum's beloved character from The Wizard of Oz. After Oscar Diggs (Franco) is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he first thinks he's hit the jackpot -- until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting.

Oz the Great and Powerful hits theaters March 8.

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Realtors waiting for spring

Don’t call it a shortage — but the number of homes on the market has shrunk to a 13-year low.

The decline, coupled with a double-digit increase in buyers in some parts of the country, and you have Realtors itching for the spring selling season to begin.

“With fewer homes available, and more buyers’ demand, it’s easy to see that home prices have only one way to go — up,” said Tricia Chirco, market analyst at the Long Island Board of Realtors, covering Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties.

“We had one home on the market in East Meadow last week at $399,000 and it got six offers during the weekend, some over the list price, ” she said. “That’s demand.”

“Homeowners are going to be putting homes on the market in March and April, which is what they’ve wanted to do for a long while,” she said. “Flowers are out and it’s easier to show a home.”

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, which yesterday said the US inventory of homes hit a 13-year low, declared:“We’ve transitioned into a seller’s market.”

Indeed, the number of homes for sale in Queens, Nassau and Suffolk shrunk by 21 percent in the past year, while traffic of home-hunters has soared by as much as 40 percent, even in the frigid winter months, said Chirco.

Statewide, inventories of homes for sale tumbled 19 percent to 74,731 in the past year while demand is up by the double digits,

“This is going to push up median home prices,” said Sal Prividera, a spokesman for the New York State Association of Realtors.

“Homeowners who were sitting on the sidelines waiting for prices to rise will now have a change to make their moves,” said Prividera.

The NAR said the median price for homes in the New York-Northern New Jersey area is up 3.6 percent to $392,000 from a year earlier. In the Northeast, home sale deals were up 12.1 percent in January from a year ago, to an annual pace of 650,000 deals, said the NAR.

The nation's inventory of existing homes for sale dropped 25.3 percent past year to 1.74 million homes, for a 4.2-month supply of homes at the current sales pace.

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National Hotel nears end of long renovation

A panel of frosted glass puts everything in perspective for Delphine Dray as she oversees a years-long, multi-million dollar renovation project at the National Hotel on Miami Beach.

“Chez Claude and Simone,” says the piece of glass stationed between the lobby and restaurant, a reference to Dray’s parents, who bought the hotel in 2007.

“Every time I am exhausted and I pass that glass, I remember why,” said Delphine Dray, who joined her father — a billionaire hotel developer and well-known art collector in France — to restore the hotel after the purchase.

After working with him for years, she is finishing the project alone. Claude Dray, 76, was killed in his Paris home in October of 2011, a shooting that remains under investigation.

In a recent interview and tour of the hotel’s renovations, which are nearly finished, Dray did not discuss her father’s death, which drew extensive media coverage in Europe. But she spoke about the evolution of the father-daughter working relationship, the family’s Art Deco obsession and the inspiration for the hotel’s new old-fashioned touches.

The National is hosting a cocktail party Friday night to give attendees a peek at the progress.

Dray grew up in a home surrounded by Art Deco detail; her parents constantly brought home finds from the flea market. By 2006, they had amassed a fortune in art and furniture, which they sold for $75 million at a Paris auction in 2006.

That sale funded the purchase of the National Hotel at 1677 Collins Ave., which the Drays discovered during a visit to Miami Beach.

After having lunch at the Delano next door, Dray said, “My dad came inside the hotel and fell in love.” The owner was not interested in selling, but Claude Dray persisted, closing the deal in early 2007. Her family also owns the Hôtel de Paris in Saint-Tropez, which reopened Thursday after a complete overhaul overseen by Dray’s mother and older sister.

Delphine Dray said she thought it would be exciting to work on the 1939 hotel with her father, so she moved with her family to South Florida. She quickly discovered challenges, including stringent historic preservation rules and frequent disagreements with her father.

“We did not have at all the same vision,” she said.

For example, she said: “I was preparing mojitos for the Winter Music Conference.” Her father, on the other hand, famously once unplugged a speaker during a party at the hotel because the loud music was disturbing his work.

“We were fighting because that is the way it is supposed to be,” she said. “Now, I understand that he was totally right.”

She described a vision, now her own, of a classic, cozy property that brings guests back to the 1940s.

Joined by her 10-year-old twin girls, Pearl and Swan, and 13-year-old son Chad, Dray pointed out a new telephone meant to look antique mounted on the wall near the elevators on a guest floor. She showed off the entertainment units she designed to resemble furniture that her parents collected. And she highlighted Art Deco flourishes around doorknobs and handles.

“It’s very important for us to have the details,” she said.

With those priorities in mind, she is overseeing the final phase of the renovation, an investment that general manager Jacques Roy said will top $10 million. In addition to the small details, the renovation includes heavier, less obvious work: new drywall in guest rooms, for example, and new windows to replace leaky ones.

Painting of the building’s exterior should be finished in the next two to three weeks, Roy said. Dray compared its earlier unfinished state to resembling “a horror movie — the family Addams.”

And the final couple of guest room floors, as well as the restoration of the original Martini Room, should be done by the end of April.

“At the end, I will be very proud,” Dray said.

The National’s renovation wraps up as nearby properties such as the SLS Hotel South Beach and Gale South Beach & Regent Hotel have been given new life. Jeff Lehman, general manager of The Betsy Hotel and chair of the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority, said the National has always been true to its roots. He managed the hotel for 10 years, including for a few months after Dray bought the property.

“I think historic preservation and the restoration of the hotels as they were built 70, 80 years ago is such a huge piece of our DNA,” he said. “It’s a lot of what sets us apart from any other destination on the planet.”

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U.S. Supreme Court ruling affects many immigrant convicts in South Florida

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling Wednesday shuts the door on appeals for hundreds of Floridians convicted in the past of crimes for which they could be deported.

The high court, in Chaidez v. United States, ruled that immigrants convicted of certain crimes before 2010 cannot appeal their cases if their criminal defense lawyer did not properly warn them of deportation.

Wednesday’s decision followed up on the court’s 2010 ruling throwing out the conviction of military veteran Jose Padilla, whose lawyer failed to warn him he faced deportation to his native Honduras when pleading guilty to marijuana smuggling in Kentucky.

After the ruling in Padilla v. Kentucky, thousands of convicted immigrants — fearing deportation, or some ordered deported — asked lower courts across the country to throw out their convictions. That included Roselva Chaidez, a longtime U.S. resident from Mexico convicted in Chicago of auto insurance fraud.

But seven of nine justices said Wednesday that the Padilla ruling established “new law” and was not legally “retroactive.” Under federal law, non-citizens convicted of an “aggravated felony” can be deported.

The U.S. Attorney General’s Office had also argued that applying Padilla retroactively “would be overwhelming to the administration of justice” — flooding the courts with thousands of cases, most of them so old that witnesses or evidence in the cases have disappeared.

South Florida defense attorneys greeted Wednesday’s ruling with dismay.

“There will be an increase in voluntary departures, only the ‘voluntariness’ will be based on the fact that there is no recourse if the person’s case pre-dated Padilla ... an increase in orders of deportations and in increase in money spent to supervise people who cannot be deported to countries such as Cuba,” said defense attorney Maggie Arias, who along with Benji Waxman argued the issue before Miami’s appeals court.

“They’ve cut the legs out of anyone who would have recourse in criminal court based on bad advice — or no advice — from a criminal defense lawyer.”

Two Supreme Court justices, Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, dissented.

The issue of “retroactivity” had been particularly vexing in immigrant-rich South Florida, and several Miami cases had made their way through the appellate courts.

One such case: Gabriel Hernandez, who arrived in the United States from Nicaragua when he was 2 years old. Now 30 and a legal resident, he boasts a bachelor’s degree and works as a successful computer network administrator for a Miami bank group.

His one blemish occurred when he was 19 years old. He was arrested on charges of selling LSD.

In an outcome typical for first-time offenders, Hernandez pleaded guilty and accepted a year of probation in return for a promise that no felony conviction would appear on his record. But Hernandez insists he never understood that the plea deal could wind up getting him deported to Nicaragua.

Miami’s Third District Court of Appeals denied Hernandez’s bid to throw out the conviction based on the Padilla case. The Florida Supreme Court, in November, upheld the ruling.

Hernandez’s lawyer, Michael Vastine, was chagrined by Wednesday’s court decision.

“From here on out, Florida immigration judges are going to be deporting people for crimes that are constitutionally suspect,” Vastine said. “I find that a little bit galling.”

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Independence Party nominates Carrion to run for mayor

There’s going to be a three way race for mayor.

The Independence Party shook up the race for City Hall tonight by unanimously nominating former Bronx President Adolfo Carrion as its standard bearer.

Carrion will face against whoever the Democratic and Republicans elect in their respective party primaries.

“Today the Independence Party gave New Yorkers a real choice. I will not let you down,” Carrion told about 50 of the party’s delegates following their vote at the Scholastic Book Store in Soho.

Carrion, 51, served in the Obama administration as the White House director of urban affairs and later as regional director in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, after his tenure as borough president.

He switched his party affiliation from Democrat to independent last fall.

“The issues are more important than any political party,” Carrion said.

It’s a change of strategy for the Independence Party, who backed Mike Bloomberg in the last three elections. But Bloomberg also ran on the Republican line – and the votes from the two lines combined helped him defeat his three Democratic opponents.

It will be a much more difficult challenge for Carrion to win as a third party candidate – and without Bloomberg’s financial resources . He is also seeking Republican Party support. But because he is not a registered Republican, he needs the backing of three GOP county leaders to run in a Republican primary and that support hasn’t materialized..

But Independence Party political strategist Jacqueline Salit was enthused about Carrion running as a “third force.”

“This is going to be a three way race that’s going to chage the dynamics of politics in New York. Adolfo’s candidacy is defining the race,” Salit said.

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Caribbean cell phone company asks South Florida relatives to buy minutes for family back home

An Irish billionaire’s telecommunications company, which has revolutionized cell phone usage in some of the world’s poorest countries, is bringing it’s latest marketing pitch to South Florida.

Digicel is tapping into South Florida’s close ties to Haiti and Jamaica in a campaign that asks families stateside to send minutes home.

Irish billionaire Denis O’Brien has staked a claim in the telecommunication industry by building his cell phone company in developing countries in the Caribbean and South America The South Florida Digicel campaign includes bus bench ads, billboards and television spots. The message is simple: “Send minutes home.”

Customers stateside can pay to send airtime minutes to family and friends’ pre-paid cell phones in the Caribbean. The concept is not new, but Digicel is seeking to broaden it’s reach.

It is a nod to South Florida’s ties to the Caribbean and the financial influence of the region’s diaspora. Families in Haiti and Jamaica rely heavily on remittances from abroad.

Haiti received $2.1 billion in remittances in 2011, which represents more than one quarter of the national income, according to the Inter-American Development Bank . In 2011, Jamaica received nearly $2 billion in remittances.

“We understand the value of the diaspora,” said Valerie Estimé, CEO of Digicel’s diaspora division. “They are our lifeline.”

Typically the company relies on ethnic media outlets like radio programs and niche publications for advertising, but there was a gap in reaching second- and third- generation Caribbean Americans, who are more plugged in to mainstream media, said Andreina Gonzalez, head of marketing in Digicel’s diaspora division.

“There was an opportunity to step up and go a little further,” Gonzalez said.

The campaign comes at a time when the company is facing some public relations backlash in Haiti and Jamaica. Customers from both islands have taken to social media to decry shoddy connections and poor customer service.

In Haiti, the problems were so acute that Digicel released an apology letter to its customers in December. When the company tried to integrate Voilà, a competitor Digicel acquired, into its network, the integration caused system failures.

“Quite simply, we did not deliver what we promised and we did not communicate effectively with customers through the problem times,” Damian Blackburn, Digicel’s Haiti CEO wrote in the apology.. “We apologize for letting our customers down and want to thank them for their patience and understanding.”

In South Florida, the marketing pitch is family-centered and draws on the diaspora’s need to stay connected. Digicel representatives say airtime minutes are as valuable as the cash remittances families send to the Caribbean.

The advertising features members of a culturally ambiguous animated family smiling and talking on cell phones.

The ads that appear in Little Haiti, North Miami and North Miami Beach are largely targeting the Haitian community. In South Broward, the focus shifts to the Jamaican population.

A similar campaign has also been launched in New York.

Prices range for $7 to $60 to add minutes to a relative’s Digicel account. Transactions can be made online or at participating stores in South Florida.

“You’re able to make a very big difference with a very small amount of your disposable income,” said Estimé. “We know how important it is to be able to get in touch with a mother, a sister or a brother.”

The company recognizes that some of its older customer base prefer the retail model, while younger and more savvy consumers would rather send pay for minutes directly from their computers or cell phones.

“It was really impressive to see Digicel online,” said Geralda Pierre, a Miami Gardens resident who sends minute to Haiti. “It’s so convenient to add minutes for my dad in Haiti who is sick. It makes it easier for me to get in touch with him.”

For now, Digicel says it will continue to mix the old and new. The Creole-language advertisements on Haitian radio and Island TV, a Creole language cable network, are here to stay.

“We are bringing first world convenience in some cases to third world countries,” Estimé said. “Digicel has in a way improved the lives of our loved ones back home.”

Follow @nadegegreen on Twitter

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Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez to speak at Miami’s Freedom Tower

Dissident Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez, who is on a world tour after 10 years of being barred from leaving her homeland, plans to visit Miami April 1 and speak at the iconic Freedom Tower.

“It is such an honor to not only have Yoani speak at what we affectionately call Democracy’s College, but also at the Freedom Tower. I can think of no better venue for this historic conversation in Miami,” said Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón, president of Miami Dade College., in an email Tuesday night.

The Freedom Tower, which is located on the MDC campus, was the old headquarters of The Miami News but went on to a second life as a center for processing and offering services to Cuban refugees who fled the Castro regime in the 1960s.

The federal government sold the Mediterranean Revival style building in 1972 and after changing hands a few times, it was donated to Miami Dade College.

Sánchez will take part in what is billed as a special conversation with community leaders and students at 2 p.m. on April 1. The conversation will be live-streamed from the tower, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Cuban blogger, who began an international tour this week that will stretch to nearly three months, will receive the Miami Dade College Presidential Medal for championing human rights.

Past honorees have included President Bill Clinton; Lech Walesa, former Polish president and leader of the Solidarity Movement, and Mikhail Gorbachev, who brought economic and political change to the Soviet Union..

“I think it’s wonderful that she’s coming,’’ said Andy Gomez, a senior fellow at the University of Miami’s Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies.

“It will give her the opportunity to see how embracing the Cuban-American people are to Cubans on the island and how much we care about them. I hope she will go back and tell this to the Cuban people.’’

More importantly, he said, it will give people here and at the other venues Sánchez plans to visit the ability to see Cuba from the point of view of a journalist, “a simple blogger’’ and help them understand the hardships of daily life in Cuba.

“We need to listen to their voices; a lot of times the voices on the island are different but they are so important in building bridges between here and there,’’ Gomez said.

But he added, “I think too much pressure is being put on the shoulders of Yoani. She’s not a politician; she’s not an academic; she’s not a public figure by design and people abroad have made her into a public figure.

“She’s one of the many — many dissidents on the island. I hope she doesn’t burn out,’’ said Gomez.

But during her first stop in Brazil this week, Sánchez proved resilient in the face of pro-Cuba hecklers who disrupted the screening of a film about press freedom in which she appears. On her arrival in the Brazilian state of Bahia, protesters also threw fake dollar bills at her and accused her of being financed by the CIA.

But during a news conference Tuesday, Sánchez, 37, said, “I’ve found something here like what Cuba could be in 20 years in terms of diversity of opinion.’’

Asked about her future role in Cuba, she said she hoped to work in a Cuban newsroom free of censorship.

“I have a dream of founding a media outlet in my country because I believe in the power of journalism as a regenerative force,” said Sánchez.

Her critical blog posts, tweets and columns are followed by hundreds of thousands of people around the world, although because Internet access is so limited in Cuba, she is not well-known on the island.

Through the years, Sánchez has had to turn down many invitations to visit abroad because the Cuban government wouldn’t give her an exit visa.

But under a travel and migration reform last month, Cubans are no longer required to obtain the so-called tarjeta blanca to leave the island. And they are allowed to stay outside the country for extended periods without losing their Cuban citizenship rights.

Sánchez requested her passport soon after the reform went into effect and began planning an itinerary that includes several stops in the United States, an appearance at an Inter American Press Association meeting in Mexico, and visits to a number of European nations.

Sánchez, who also plans to visit her sister while in South Florida, appeared at the 2011 Miami Book Fair International — but via a phone call and a pre-recorded video message. Earlier this month she participated in the live program Avanza Cuba — a collaboration of MDC and TV Marti, via phone.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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Emma Stone and Nicolas Cage Get Animated for The Croods Movie

Emma Stone will soon make her very first foray into the world of CGI with DreamWorks' caveman comedy The Croods, and the starlet tells ET that the project got her animated in every sense of the word.

"I didn't really realize that there was going to be so much movement playing an animated character," laughs Stone about lending her voice to adventurous teen cavegirl Eep in the film. "It was pretty fun."

Pics: Stars on Set

In fact, Eep's rambunctious zest for life made accepting the role, opposite Nicolas Cage and Ryan Reynolds, a no-brainer for the actress.

"I liked her rebellion and I liked her strength physically," said Stone, who adds that she was especially impressed by Eep "being able to physically pull people over her shoulder" as cave people are apt to do. "There's a lot I could relate to about her."

Video: Watch Andrew & Emma's 'Spider-Man' Screen Test

Watch the video for more from Emma Stone and her co-star Nicolas Cage, who play's the Crood family's over-protective patriarch.

Catherine Keener, Clark Duke and Cloris Leachman also star in the family-friendly film, in theaters March 22.

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Judge blocks city from Ken Burns film footage

Famed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns today beat back an effort by the city to obtain raw footage and outtakes from his recent movie on the infamous "Central Park jogger" rape case.

A judge granted the PBS icon's request to quash a subpoena for the unused material on grounds that his production company, Florentine Films, is covered by the "reporter's privilege."

Manhattan Magistrate Judge Ronald Ellis ruled that Florentine proved its "journalistic independence" when Burns' daughter and collaborator on the film, Sarah Burns, "presented specific facts demonstrating an intent to publish at the time newsgathering commenced."

Ellis also said city lawyers were "misleading" when they claimed that Ken Burns told the trade magazine Variety that the "purpose" of last year's "The Central Park Five" was to spur settlement of a $250 million civil-rights suit filed by the five men whose convictions were tossed in 2002.

"Burns does not indicate what the film's 'purpose' is, and the quoted portion by defendants mischaracterizes the quote and Ken Burns' position," Ellis wrote.

The city claimed that it needed what Burns left on the cutting-room floor to help defend itself against wrongful-conviction claims by Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Kharey Wise, Raymond Santana and Kevin Richardson, whose pending suit was filed 10 years ago.

Ellis said upcoming depositions "will provide full access fo the main plaintiffs" and give city lawyers "the opportunity to pose questions concerning contradictions in the edited film and elsewhere."

Executive Assistant Corporation Counsel for Public Safety Celeste Koeleveld said the city was "disappointed" and considering its options.

"While journalistic privilege under the law is very important, we firmly believe it did not apply here," Koeleveld said.

"This film is a one-sided advocacy piece that depicts the plaintiffs' version of events as undisputed fact. It is our view that we should be able to view the complete interviews, not just those portions that the filmmakers chose to include."

Burns said he, his daughter and her husband, David McMahon -- who also worked on the film -- "are grateful for this important decision; we feel the judge made exactly the right ruling."

"We are also mindful that this ruling goes far beyond our current situation; this adds a layer of important protection to journalists and filmmakers everywhere," Burns added.

"We recognize too that this attempt to subpoena our outtakes and notes only further delayed the nearly decade long efforts by the plaintiffs to seek redress. We hope this serves as a positive impetus to move that original suit to a resolution."

bruce.golding@nypost.com

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Best photo apps for Android devices

Whether you want to slap a simple filter on your photo or get granular and change attributes like color levels and saturation, we’ve got a list of the Android apps you’ll want to use.

Snapseed

The good: With its unique gesture-based interface, this offers an incredible level of control over its effects and filters.

The bad: The tools and interface aren’t intuitive, so it could take a while to get familiarized. Also, the lack of a zoom function makes it difficult to see finer adjustments.

The cost: Free

The bottom line: If you’re a serious mobile photographer looking for an app with which to fine-tune your photos, Snapseed is your best choice.

Pixlr Express

The good: Offers more than 600 effects that all work well and are easy to use. Auto Fix and Focal Blur (tilt-shift) are particularly effective.

The bad: The app doesn’t warn you before backing out, which can result in lost work. A Recent Files picker upon launch would be nice.

The cost: Free

The bottom line: One of the most powerful Android apps in its category. Despite its minor flaws, it should be your go-to mobile photo editor.

Instagram

The good: An excellent way to turn mundane images into cool-looking photos you can share with friends. Mapping features mean people can easily browse all your geotagged shots.

The bad: Photo Map features default to showing all your geotagged shots, which could be dangerous under some circumstances.

The cost: Free

The bottom line: If you like taking retro-looking shots and sharing them, Instagram is tough to beat. Mapping features and frequent updates to the app mean your pictures will have a longer browsing life span.

Photo Grid

The good: Offers a huge menu of grid templates and a dead-simple interface for combining photos into framed collages.

The bad: The app unfortunately doesn’t let you customize the thickness of collage borders or the level of curvature on rounded panels.

The cost: Free

The bottom line: Even though it’s missing a couple of nifty customization tools other collage apps have, Photo Grid’s simple interface and outstanding menu of predesigned grids make it the best collage app on the market.

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Work begins on State Road A1A repairs in Fort Lauderdale

The battered section of northern Fort Lauderdale’s shoreline will start to take its former shape this week, when pieces of a 2,600-foot-long sea wall made of corrugated steel are installed.

The repairs, initiated to undo the damage left by Hurricane Sandy in October, will not be complete before spring break or possibly the Fort Lauderdale Air Show in April, Florida Department of Transportation officials said.

“All the work that we are doing should take until April,” said Barbara Kelleher, spokeswoman for the transportation department. “It’s just to make emergency repairs.”

The urgent need erupted after the beach area became so badly eroded that the outer edges of State Road A1A began to crumble from the lack of support underneath.

The old concrete barrier wall, which was built to withstand powerful currents, was no match for the storm in several spots north of Sunrise Boulevard. The resulting damage to the oceanfront road prompted the state to accelerate its repairs.

The estimated cost of the repairs: $8.3 million. They are expected to be complete by early May, Kelleher said.

The new A1A between Northeast 14th Court and Northeast 17th Street will narrow to two lanes from four until the city of Fort Lauderdale initiates a much broader plan for the mostly residential stretch of the busy road.

A series of trails called greenways will be built after the state transportation department completes the essential improvements. The trails will provide a safe and scenic way for bicyclists, joggers and dog walkers to travel along A1A.

The city has asked for feedback from residents on a website called Restore A1A to decide how the restored stretch of A1A should look.

As the larger plan comes together, Broward County will pick up the $1.2 million tab for the thousands of tons of sand to replenish the beach along the road.

“The city and the county are sort of sharing the cost at this point,” said Eric Myers, a county natural resources administrator. “It’s supposed to be a much more robust structure.”

As part of the emergency repairs, 44-foot-long pieces of creased steel will be sunk 42 feet into the ground, forming a barrier that, Kelleher says, will be more stable than the concrete embankment that Sandy ravaged.

The new wall will be capped with wood that residents can sit on when the project is completed. The undamaged portions of the sea wall farther south will stay put.

“There hasn’t been any erosion problem there yet,” Kelleher said.

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Newtown massacre gunman wanted to exceed Norway shooter's death toll

The gunman who carried out the Newtown school massacre was inspired by violent video games — and was trying to outdo a Norwegian mass murderer who killed 77 people, it was reported today.

Adam Lanza believed he was in ghoulish competition with Anders Breivik, who carried out a bloodbath at two locations in July 2011, law enforcement sources told CBS News.

Breivik, a paranoid ultra nationalist, fatally shot 69 people at a summer camp after murdering eight others in downtown Oslo.

Lanza wanted to exceed Breivik’s death toll, according to investigators.

He chose the Sandy Hook (Conn.) Elementary School because it was the “easiest target” with the “largest cluster of people,” two officials who have been briefed about the investigation said.

Lanza saw his victims as characters in a shooting video game and the higher the death toll, the better his “score.”

Investigators said they had found evidence that Lanza was obsessed with Breivik, who posted a bizarre extremists manifesto the day of his attacks.

Sources told CBS that investigators have also uncovered a “trove” of video games from Lanza’s basement.

He is believed to have spent much of his free time in a basement play room, with the windows blacked out, engaged in a kind of target practice on video games.

It was not disclosed which games he played. But Breivik boasted that he trained for his rampage by playing a war-simulation game named “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.”

He said he developed “target acquisition” by practised his aim using a “holographic aiming device” on the game, which he believed was being used to train combat soldiers.

Norwegian prosecutors also said Breivik played “World of Warcraft” an astounding average of six hours and 50 minutes a day for four months while he was preparing his attacks.

The fate of the two mass murderers turned out differently.

Lanza, 20, killed himself after slaying 20 children and six adults before police closed in.

But Breivik surrendered to police and is being held in a Norwegian jail on a 21-year sentence, the longest allowed in his country.

In his manifesto and afterward Breivik said he was inspired by Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, the Knights Templar of the Middle Ages, al Qaeda, “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski, and Japanese “banzai” warriors.

He said he was motivated by fear of an Islamic takeover of Europe, a decline in Western values and the growth of Europe’s left-leaning political parties.

No manifesto or written explanation from Lanza of his rampage has been found.

Before his fatal spree he destroyed the hard drive on his computer, which may have kept some of the records of the games he played and who he played with.

But investigators are believed to be making progress in tracing Lanza’s on-line life.

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Open English expands across Latin America

Back in 2008, Open English, a company run from Miami that uses online courses to teach English in Latin America, had just a handful of students in Venezuela and three employees. Today the company has more than 50,000 students in 22 Latin American countries and some 2,000 employees.

To fund this meteoric expansion, the founders of Open English — Venezuelans Andrés Moreno and Wilmer Sarmiento and Moreno’s American wife, Nicolette — began with $700. Over the last six years, the partners have raised more than $55 million, mostly from private investment and venture capital firms.

Their formula for success? The founders rejected traditional English teaching methods in physical classrooms and developed a system that allows students to tune into live classes every hour of the day from their computers at home, in the office or at school, and learn from native English-speaking teachers who may be based anywhere. Courses stress practical conversations online and the company guarantees fluency after a one-year course, offering six additional months free if students fail to become fluent.

“We wanted to change the way people learn English,” said Andrés Moreno, the 30-year-old co-founder and CEO, who halted his training as a mechanical engineer and worked full-time at developing the company with his partners. “And we want students to achieve fluency. Traditionally, students have to drive to an English academy, waste time in traffic, and try to learn from a teacher who is not an native English speaker in a class with 20 students.”

Using the Internet, Open English offers classes usually with two or three students and a teacher, interactive videos, other learning aids and personal attention from coaches who phone students regularly to see how they are progressing.

Courses cost an average of $750 per year and students can opt for monthly payments. This is about one-fifth to one-third of what traditional schools charge for small classes or individual instructors, Andrés noted.

“We work at building confidence with our students and encourage them to practice speaking English as much as possible during classes,” said Nicolette Moreno, co-founder and chief product officer, who met Andrés in Venezuela while she was working there on a service project. “Students are taught to actively participate in conversations like a job interview, traveling and talking on a conference call,” said Nicolette, who previously lived in Los Angles, worked with non-profits to create environmentally friendly products and fight poverty in emerging markets, and was head equity trader at an asset management firm. “Students need to speak English in our classes, even though it is sometimes difficult. They learn through immersion.”

Open English has successfully tapped into an enormous, underserved market. Millions of people in Latin America want to learn English to advance in their jobs, work at multinational companies, travel or work overseas and understand the popular music, movies and TV shows they constantly hear in English. Many of them take English courses at public and private schools and learn little if any useful conversational English. While students at private schools for the upper middle class and wealthy often learn foreign languages extremely well from native English-speaking teachers, most people can’t afford these schools or courses designed for one or two students.

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The builders of the Sen. Marco Rubio brand

WASHINGTON --
Sen. Marco Rubio is on a breathless rise, a testament to his political skill and demographic appeal that last week saw him delivering the Republican State of the Union response and appearing on the cover of Time as “The Republican Savior.”

But behind the scenes is a relentless, methodical effort to build the Rubio brand, aided by a team of strategists and media handlers positioning the 41-year-old Floridian for an expected presidential run.

They include members of Rubio’s Senate staff and presidential campaign veterans who work for the political committee Rubio formed ostensibly to help elect other conservatives.

Instead the Reclaim America PAC has focused on consultants and building a national fundraising network. Last year, his PAC spent more than $1.7 million, with the vast majority going toward staff and fundraising, and about $110,000 going to other candidates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

“It connotes a machine, someone who is grooming his image for a jump to higher position,” said the center’s executive director Sheila Krumholz.

Rubio’s team plots policy and publicity moves, including his recent foray into the immigration debate. He was among eight senators working on a proposal, but Rubio took them by surprise — and ensured he would be front and center — with a Wall Street Journal piece laying out the framework before the group announced it.

The Rubio machine cultivates the image of a new breed of Republican, youthful, and as at ease talking about Tupac and the Miami Dolphins as talking about budget deficits. At the same time, advisors dole out nuggets to the news media, they aggressively contest even the smallest points in articles.

The political fascination with Rubio has made it easier for his team to build helpful story lines. When he first took office in the U.S. Senate, it was Rubio the humble, political star keeping his head down. That followed with periodic “major” policy rollouts — foreign policy, job creation, the middle class. When Rubio gives a speech, it’s invariably a “major” address. A young assistant is always there to record it on video and take photographs.

“It’s almost like he’s the Backstreet Boy of American politics, a Hollywood creation of what a model political candidate should be,” said Chris Ingram, a Republican communications consultant from Tampa who has been critical of Rubio. “He has to deliver on the hype but from a P.R. perspective, it’s textbook.”

And constant. Last week, Rubio issued 17 press releases. By comparison, former vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, another potential 2016 candidate, released three.

Behind the scenes

Rubio’s political inner circle includes PAC employees Heath Thompson and Terry Sullivan, two operatives who made their names in South Carolina’s bare-knuckled political culture and are close with former Sen. Jim DeMint. The hyper-competitive Thompson is a college football fanatic more comfortable in a baseball cap than suit and tie.

For broad messaging strategy, there is the roguishly charming Todd Harris who knows practically everybody in the political media and is never shy about excoriating reporters.

The Senate staff includes Alberto Martinez, who goes back to Rubio’s days as speaker of the Florida House and can anticipate where critics might attack Rubio, and Alex Burgos, another Rubio campaign alum and true believer who pushes back at any hint of negativity in Rubio coverage.

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Mindy McCready Dies of Apparent Suicide

A source confirms to ET that country music singer Mindy McCready has died. She was 37 years old.

RELATED: Stars We Lost

Her death is allegedly the result of an apparent suicide, according to FOX reporter Stacy McCloud.

McCready had attempted suicide before, having been hospitalized in 2008 after she cut her wrists and took several pills. Her passing follows the shooting death of boyfriend David Wilson on January 13.

Wilson, a record producer, was initially rushed to the hospital after suffering a reported self-inflicted gunshot wound that did not immediately kill him. McCready recalled how she discovered him after the shooting in an interview on NBC's Today. "I just started screaming, calling 911. I laid down next to him and just pleaded with him not to die." The singer said Wilson "was responding" after the shooting, but only making sounds, not words. McCready was admitted to an in-patient facility weeks later.

After she was admitted, a rep for the star gave ET this statement: "While taking appropriate, much needed and deserved time to grieve, [McCready's] sons have been placed in foster homes where they are comfortable and cared for. We have no further statement at this time."

McCready had several successful country albums in the '90s, but her career was later overshadowed by domestic abuse issues and drug and DUI arrests.

In 2011, McCready was reported to have gone missing with her oldest child, who was under the custody of McCready's mother at the time. During the episode, McCready posted a Facebook message, writing, "FB Friends I know it has been a long time since you have heard from me... I have been fighting the Florida court system to protect my son, and bring him home. Wink TV has once again reported nothing but lies and they are most likely being supported by the attorney for DCF child services. There is NO AMBER ALERT and my son is not missing! Detectives from the Cape Coral Police department established that this afternoon via Skype. Please do not worry or support anything they continue to lie about!! Thanks Always.... Mindy"

McCready is survived by her two sons: 6-year-old Zander (fathered by ex Billy McKnight) and 9-month-old Zayne (who she had with now-deceased boyfriend David Wilson).

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7 hurt when cab crashes into food cart crowd

Seven people were injured on West 34 Street and Eleventh Avenue when a cabbie plowed into a vehicle, jumped a curb and hit a small crowd of people near a food cart on the sidewalk, cops and witnesses said.

A witness said the cabby was stopped behind another vehicle in the eastbound lane at a light on 34th Street at around 5 p.m. when he suddenly “took off," Hanna Ramzey,25, a vendor, said.

"The cab first hit the car then the vendors, three customers and people on the corner,” he said.

"He [one vendor named Maged] was injured in his head and leg. And had blood from his nose. One man, his leg was twisted the wrong way. One woman was bleeding from the back of her head,” Ramzey added.

All the victims were taken to Bellevue Hospital with minor injuries, cops said.

Police sources said the yellow-cab driver is in police custody and charges were pending.

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Small business lending rebounds in South Florida

For years, Pablo Oliveira dreamed of buying a property to house his high-end linen and furniture rental company, Nuage Designs, which has created settings for such glamorous events as the weddings of Carrie Underwood and Chelsea Clinton.

A few months ago, that dream came true, when Oliveira purchased a warehouse across the street from his current Miami location. He is now renovating the loft-like space with the help of a $2.1 million, 25-year small business loan.

“It allows me to own my own space as opposed to renting, and that will decrease my costs for infrastructure and allow me to build equity with time,” said Oliveira, who secured a U.S. Small Business Administration-guaranteed loan from Wells Fargo.

For small businesses like Oliveira’s, a loan can be the critical key to growing a business, as well as the kindling to ignite an operation.

Take Harold Scott’s fledgling Great Scott Security, which manufactures window guards in Hollywood that can open quickly in case of need.

When he was 13, Scott’s stepfather perished in a Georgia house fire because he couldn’t escape through heavy window bars. Scott made it his mission to fix the problem.

“I promised myself I would dedicate all my time to working on a solution,” said Scott, 60.

Now retired from a 23-year career in the U.S. Justice Department, Scott recently secured a $7,500 microloan from Partners for Self Employment. He used it to buy a computer and pay for marketing and other business expenses for his quick-release window guards, which have met national, state and Miami-Dade County fire safety codes.

During the depths of the recession, business owners often griped that gaining access to capital was their biggest hurdle. Saddled with bad loans, many banks were wary of making new ones. At the same time, both the value of collateral and the creditworthiness of many borrowers tumbled.

Now, at last, banks are starting to open their pocketbooks again, experts say, though lending is still not on par with pre-recession levels.

“There is no question that small business borrowing declined as a result of the recession and has yet to recover to pre-crisis levels,” said Richard Brown, chief economist for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., via email. “According to the Federal Reserve, total loans to noncorporate businesses and farms stood at just under $3.8 trillion in September, which remains below the peak of about $4.1 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2008.”

Signs of Growth

In South Florida, more businesses are applying for loans and getting approvals from banks, according to lenders, officials at government agencies and leaders of organizations that help small business owners secure loans.

“Lenders are expressing a greater interest than they have in the past few years in terms of meeting the needs of the small business community,” said Marjorie Weber, Miami-Dade Chapter Chair of SCORE, which helps business owners put loan packages together and refers them to bankers.

Loan figures are indeed rising. During the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2012, SBA-guaranteed loans were up in both Miami-Dade and Broward counties, according to the SBA. In fiscal 2012, 449 loans were approved in Miami-Dade, totaling $213.3 million, up from 426 loans for $154.4 million in 2011. In Broward, 262 loans for $91.4 million were approved in fiscal 2012, compared to 257 loans for $102.4 million in 2011.

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