The Victoria Park Civic Association will forgo its regularly scheduled monthly meeting on Dec. 3 to present a forum for mayoral and District 2 Commission candidates seeking election in 2009. The forum will take place at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria of St. Anthony Catholic School, 820 NE Third St. in Fort Lauderdale.

"We’ve invited and received positive replies from ... candidates," Association Vice President Ted Fling said.

Candidates scheduled to be in attendance include Charlotte Rodstrom, Steve Glassman, Howard Elfman, Steve Rossi, Earl Rynerson, Jack Seiler and Dean Trantalis.

Association members and residents can submit questions for candidates via e-mail to Association Secretary Lindsay Koehler at lindsaykoehler@aol.com. The deadline for submitted questions will the be the end of day Dec. 1.

"[The important thing] is that the people who are going to be our representatives come and talk," Fling said.

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Recycling may get a bit easier in Poinsettia Heights.

The neighborhood has been chosen for a new city program that should make recycling efforts easier, at least for residents.

The new program will allow all recycled materials to be placed in one bin, rather than separate bins for different materials, Fort Lauderdale’s Recycling Program Coordinator Loretta Cronk, said. Sorting would then take place at the recycling center.

Poinsettia Heights has been chosen as one of the testing sites for the program. The city will deliver new bins to residents when the program begins April 1. Residents will then be polled to measure the program’s success and determine if it should be implemented citywide.

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After becoming disillusioned with the journalism profession and hitting her 50th birthday in 2004, Sailboat Bend resident Deborah Sharp abandoned the news business to pen mystery novels. But not just any kind of mystery novels: Florida mystery novels.

“Things really took a serious and somber tone and none of the news was lighthearted and fun,” she said. “Like a lot of journalists, I had that forgotten manuscript in a drawer.”

Sharp describes her series - including Mama Does Time, which was released in October, and Mama Rides Shotgun, which comes out in July 2009 - as "Agatha Christie meets ‘My Name is Earl’.”

“Being a Florida native, there was nowhere else [I wanted] to set my novels,” she said. “It’s kind of cool to write about places no one else is writing about.”

Sharp attended Stranahan High School in Fort Lauderdale and Florida International University before working at the Fort Myers News-Press.

This month, she appeared at the Miami International Book Fair.

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Those interested in getting a firsthand look at police life will get their chance during Fort Lauderdale’s Community Police Academy, an annual program run by the city’s Police Department for the past 24 years. The Academy offers residents a 14-week course that utilizes several departments and an eight-hour ride along as a finale.

Enrollment in the Academy has grown over the years. During its first few years about 25 residents signed up. Average attendance now is closer to 50.

“[Residents] know everything that’s going on in the neighborhood,” said Fort Lauderdale Police Sgt. Frank Sousa.

Enrollees range from teenagers to retirees, Sousa said. All participants must be at least 18 and pass a background check. Academy participants will also get a chance to see various presentations given by the Department in the city’s real-life training unit.

The final stage in the academy’s training is a chance to take part in the volunteer Citizens on Patrol Program.

Applications for the Community Police Academy are available online at www.fortlauderdale.gov. For information call 954-828-6428.

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South Florida certainly does its best to bring the holiday spirit to us, even though most of the year is spent in the warm, humid air.

Case in point: The Museum of Discovery and Science's "Polar Paradise," which brings 30 tons of snow into the museum’s back yard. And know that it’s real, not the ice chips or mysterious chemical compounds they pass off as snow down south. In fact, the staff advises bringing mittens. "Polar Paradise" begins the weekend of Nov. 28, and opens at noon daily.

This season, the museum is also offering its new holiday film, "The Light Before Christmas," which opens Nov. 27 in the IMAX theater. The film is a 30-minute animated dazzler that centers around two kids lost in a blizzard.

Admission for the "Polar Paradise" weekend is $10 for adults, and $8 for children 2 to 12. IMAX film tickets are $9 for adults, and $7 for children 2 to 12

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Got plans for your third Thursday of the month?

No? Well, that's perfect then. Although the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale , 1 E. Las Olas Blvd., might seem an unlikely spot for a bash - complete with a bar serving drink specials and a rock band - it's really just the place for you to kick back on a third Thursday.

This week kicks off the first of the museum's new "Third Thursday" series with free admission from 5 to 8 p.m., and continuing through February. The monthly event also has live music and drinks to keep you occupied.

Three-piece local band The Gardis will perform this Thursday, while a local pianist will crank out holiday favorites on Dec. 18.

Other "Third Thursday" dates include Jan. 15 and Feb. 19. For information call 954-525-5500.

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Come one, come all! It's that fruit tree time of year again.

More than 350 very young fruit trees will be lined up in pots at the entrance to Holiday Park, 1300 E. Sunrise Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale, for the city's annual tree giveaway from 9 to 11 a.m. Nov. 22.

Tree lovers can take one home and replant it, as most people do, in any part of their yard and hopefully yield some tasty fruit.

"And they’re totally free," said Fort Lauderdale Forester Gene Dempsey.

The annual program is paid for by a grant from the San Diego-based Fruit Tree Planting Foundation. Now in its third year, Dempsey said, the free giveaway has become an annual event ever since 2005's Hurricane Wilma devastated Fort Lauderdale’s foliage. Although it’s too early to say, Dempsey said he believes that in four our five years residents should begin seeing an increase in the city’s canopy.

Proof of residency such as a drivers' license or water bill is required, and there is a one tree limit per household. Residents can choose from citrus, mango, avocado, lychee and carambola trees.

The tree giveaway will be set up along Federal Highway, near Parker Playhouse. For more information call 954-828-5785.

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Two local neighborhoods that know all too well how to throw a good party, are now putting the finishing touches on their usual assortment of holiday festivals.

The annual children’s "Holiday Fest" organized by the Coral Ridge Neighborhood Association first began as a street festival, said Association President Betsy Dow.

In recent years however, the association’s seasonal festival has taken on grander proportions, including this year's from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 6 at George English Park, 1101 Bayview Drive in Fort Lauderdale. 2008 will feature a rock-climbing wall, bounce house and a likely guest appearance by Fort Lauderdale's Mounted Patrol Police Unit. Santa will turn up in a Florida-style sleigh, of course.

The Imperial Point Homeowners Association used to truck in real snow from an ice company in Miami in previous years for its "Winter in the Park" festival. But things got too expensive, said Association President Betty Shelley.

So this year will be a hayride instead of a snowride, and plenty of music and food. The "Winter in the Park" festival happens from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 12 at Dottie Mancini Park, 6400 NE 22nd St. in Fort Lauderdale.

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During a recent monthly meeting of the Middle River Terrace Neighborhood Association, board members has just about one thing on their minds: crime.

Association President Mark Hensel said he has seen a slight increase in crimes, albeit offbeat and crafty.

The city's Police Department has cracked down on stolen property being sold in the area, and thieves that pick through garbage in search of personal information like credit card and identification numbers.

"They gather a bunch of bins, take them to a warehouse and go through them at their leisure," Hensel said.

The final safety tip of the evening? Shred your documents well.

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Crimes spiked in the month of October in the neighborhood of Victoria Park in Fort Lauderdale, according to Fort Lauderdale Police Sergeant Bill Schultz.

In the period of Oct. 1 through 31, the neighborhood saw 23 crimes of either larceny, robbery or burglary, Schultz said, which are referred to as “Part One” crimes. Additionally, the Department made a total of 39 arrests during the same period, for 12 different types of offenses.

Opportunity thieves also focus on garage doors that are left open, Schultz said, and reminded residents to call police when they see any criminal activity.

“Don’t think you’re bothering us,” he said. “Something that’s nothing could be something.”

The Victoria Park Civic Association also announced two locations where dogs have been known to attack neighbors and pets. One spot is the northwest corner of Northeast Eighth Street and 17th Avenue, while the other is in the 800 block of Northeast 16th Terrace.

“People walking little dogs should be aware,” said Association Vice President Ted Fling, “because these things come out of nowhere.”

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This past Tuesday, Fort Lauderdale City Commissioners gave its blessing to the Annie Beck House, granting it a long-awaited historic designation.

That means the 92-year-old house, originally built in 1916, can now be properly restored for future generations to enjoy.

Broward Trust for Historic Preservation, which now owns the house, will take on responsibility for restoring the historic property. And that’s a duty Broward Trust President Diane Smart takes on happily.

"This is one of the few remaining Craftsman-style bungalows in South Florida," Smart said.

Indeed, it’s worth taking a drive past the home's new location inside Middle River Terrace Park, 1329 N. Dixie Highway in Fort Lauderdale. In July, the house was literally lifted off it's foundation on Southeast 11th Avenue and moved to the park. The city required that the house be moved before giving it a historic designation.

Like much of the early South Florida architecture, the house has wide porch steps, wood siding and a durable look.

"This is [an example of] what it was like here,” Smart said.

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An occasional art show can always be found now and again at the Tarpon River Art Centre, including the upcoming open house on Nov. 14.

Although the center serves mainly as a workplace for practicing artists such as former Broward Art Guild president Larry Joe Miller, who tours with a rock band when he isn’t producing the shimmering, Impressionistic paintings that are his trademark. Miller is among a group of artists that has a studio there. So does Albert Phillips, whose massive acrylics are drawing ever more local attention.

The center is tucked inside an industrial area, with an auto repair shop nearby and across the tracks a place that makes boat propellers. Which is fitting, according to Miller.

"The artists do shows, hang their work in galleries, have commissions. This is their ‘art shop,’ the place they come to every day. Like a job," he said.

Miller thinks of the Tarpon River Centre as "a good artist community with strong support from the public." The public has a chance to show support on Nov. 14, along with an opportunity to pick up some fine art work at nongallery prices. Pieces go from around $30 to as high as $3,000 for those mighty acrylics.

The art open house is from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tarpon River Art Centre’s is at 61 SW Flagler Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. For more information call 954-257-6862.

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Florida’s condo and homeowners associations have faced extensive legislative changes this year that weren’t necessarily written in clear language. Director abstention, insurance, repairs and construction are among the topics affected by new legislation for associations.

To help local boards and property managers understand these laws, a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm will offer a series of free seminars through November and December.

“There is a lot of confusion. We thought it would be important to give a word,” said Robert Kaye, attorney at Robert Kaye & Associates, the firm specializing in the representation of community associations that is offering the seminars.

Such is the case of the Coral Ridge Colony Condo Association, which usually relies on its attorney to explain new law changes. This year, however, there are so many new items that the association was looking forward for a seminar to explain them, where they could follow-up with questions, said Kathy Santoro, the association’s president.

“I don’t get anything from the state other that what I hear on television. We have to implement the laws but no one explains them to us,” Santoro said.

The next condo and homeowners association law seminar will take place from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Nov. 11 at ArtServe, 1350 E. Sunrise Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. For reservations call 954-776-1999, ext. 222.

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Although the Fort Lauderdale Police Department’s new Street Crimes Unit has only been making arrests since Sept. 12, the 40-man force has already gotten some good reviews from several neighborhoods. In addition to that, the unit has made more than 400 arrests.

Mark Hensel, president of the Middle River Terrace Association, knows all about the importance of close-knit crime units. For years, police detailed an area of the Middle River Terrace neighborhood known as a high drug area, Hensel said.

And now with the addition of the Department’s new Street Crimes unit, which Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Frank Adderley made a priority after taking the job in June, Hensel is even more optimistic.

“They’ve been even more effective,” he said. “And in a very short time.”

The new Crime Unit was formed from the combination of three other policing units: a drug crime unit, a tactical team and a special problems unit.

With the economy hurting in many places there’s a chance crime could spiral out of control, said former city commissioner Tim Smith. Having a group of “hand-picked officers, the tough and assertive kind, [that are] able to swarm an area and make substantial progress quick, is the way to go,” Smith said.

City spokesman Matt Little said that the unit has one lieutenant, four sergeants and 10 detectives, providing coverage in all districts all the time. And each homeowners association has a detective assigned to it.

“The unit gives us a sense of protection,” said Ron Weinbaum, treasurer of the Poinsettia Heights Neighborhood Association.

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Even with a well-known reputation for nightlife and gourmet dining, one of Fort Lauderdale’s most popular events is still the annual Christmas on Las Olas; plans for which are already well under way.

For more than 40 years about 50,000 people — if last year is any gauge — turn up to stroll the four blocks to listen to choirs, snack at the food stalls, take children to see Santa, shop, or even look at the snow.

“It’s the snow that does it,” said Milton Wolfe, co-owner of Objets d’Art, 813 E. Las Olas Blvd.

Wolfe and his wife, Brigitte, will take part in this year’s Christmas on Las Olas event on Dec. 2, when the city closes off Southeast Sixth Avenue to Southeast 10th Avenue.

Of course, those adults that came to South Florida to escape the snow can also have their memories refreshed via the event’s “Snow Mountain,” featuring 16 tons of shaved ice trucked in from Royal Palm City Ice in Miami, said Laura Mogilewski, executive director of the Las Olas Boulevard Association.

“It’s big,” Mogilewski said. “You’ll have to go up stairs to reach the top, then sit on a saucer-shaped sled to slide to the bottom.”

Pride of place belongs to the Riverside Hotel’s Ice Bar, sculpted by a real sculptor out of a 1,200-pound block of ice. For the casual stroller, pleasant surprises abound.

Luke Moorman of Carroll’s Jewelers, 915 E. Las Olas Blvd., said his shop will be offering free family photographs while Peter Glenn Ski & Sports in Oakland Park will truck in a ski-instruction machine, which looks sort of like a carpet on rollers.

Christmas on Las Olas will take place from 6 to 10 p.m. Dec. 2 along Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. Any unwrapped toy donations will be delivered to the Children’s Home Society of Florida.

For information call 954-937-7386 or visit www.lasolasboulevard.com.

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