The nature of his job led John Lugo to sign up for Fort Lauderdale’s Community Emergency Response Team training early in March. But he never imagined he have to use it so quickly.

On March 19, just two weeks after he finished his training, Lugo witnessed a head-on collision on the Florida Turnpike as he was driving to work.

“Suddenly about five cars ahead of me, a car went out of control and hit the concrete median,” he said. “Then it got hit head-on by a truck. The car did a couple of 360s.”

He quickly pulled his SUV to the shoulder. Inside the smashed car, he found a young woman who told him said she was also pregnant.

Lugo, 37, works for Fort Lauderdale-based Citrix Systems Inc. and signed up for the training after hearing about two co-workers that had gone through the course.

“It sounded right up my alley,” he said.

The federally-funded program trains volunteers in first aid, search and rescue, and other basic triage skills. In 2007, the city received an $11,600 state reimbursement grant to help fund the program.

After calling 911, Lugo stayed with the woman and even offered up his cell phone until emergency services arrived. But he never got the woman’s name.

“I was nervous,” he said. “But it’s important that we help each other out.”

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When North Side Elementary School in Fort Lauderdale completes its ‘green’ makeover; the historic school will feature some of the most advanced technology available, from smart lights to radiant barriers.

The Broward County School District is putting nearly $7 million into the old school at the corner of Andrews Avenue and Northeast 11th Street. Construction is expected to be completed within the next 10 years.

Rather than completely remodel the old school, Garretson said, the current building will be remade into administrative offices, while a brand new 26,000-square-foot building will house the new classrooms. Walkways will eventually connect both buildings. Design of the new buildings will be done by Fort Lauderdale architectural firm Cubellis.

“[The new school] will be L-shaped,” said staff architect Dory Khater, “allowing the beautiful courtyard to be expanded as a green area.”

Some of the green features the new school will include are self-regulating lights that automatically adjusts based on natural light, which effectively saves electricity. The building will also include a white roof to reflect the sun and heat, and a radiant barrier under the roof to help use less energy and make the cooling system more efficient.

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Fort Lauderdale’s chances for a downtown streetcar system — called The Wave by some proponents — seemed to get a little stronger at a meeting in the Poinciana Park neighborhood of last week.

But officials are wondering whether future assessments could still derail the project.

The Downtown Development Authority has been working on the proposal for seven years. As proponents move forward, they hope to gain the approval of neighborhood organizations such as Poinciana. And a bit of their money, too.

“It’s going to cost some of you a modest amount,” Development Authority executive director Chris Wren said. “There will be an assessment. That’s the primary reason I’m here.”

“If the neighborhoods raise a big enough voice against it, it can’t be done,” planning assistant Kate Sheffield said.

The project does have the support of Poinciana Park resident Mike Ramos.

“I live near Cordova Road and I see tourists outside the hotels, looking stranded,” he said. “If we had a trolley to take them to Las Olas, they’d have a place to spend their dollars.”

Resident Dwight Ledbetter said that currently too many motorists are cutting through the neighborhood.

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The city’s Stonewall Library & Archives has been operating at its new home on Sunrise Boulevard since the end of January. But on April 23, it will finally be official.

“Every elected official we can corral will be outside that door,” said Stonewall’s executive director, Jack Rutland, pointing to the library’s new entrance.

On April 23, Rutland will ceremoniously unlock the entrance to the site on the eastern end of the building it shares with ArtServe and the county’s Fort Lauderdale branch library.

The move from the old site on Andrews Avenue — and the reconfiguring of the Sunrise Boulevard building — has been in the works for about two years. While a library moving across town does not usually attract much attention, Rutland said Stonewall’s move is “a huge deal.”

The library’s collection of gay and lesbian writings, videos and historical documents makes it the largest organization of its kind, right here in quiet Fort Lauderdale, Rutland said.

In 2007, former Mayor Jim Naugle tried to block Stonewall’s move onto public-owned property. The city commission eventually voted 3-2 to approve the move.

“America has a history of overcoming its prejudices against skin color, gender and sexual orientation,” said Stonewall vice president Steve Wahl. “Someday, I dream, Stonewall will have a sister institution on the National Mall [in Washington, D.C.].”

New Stonewall Library location
1300 E. Sunrise Blvd.
(near ArtServe)
954-763-8565

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Hand-printed in big block letters on 8x10-inch sheets of paper, the sign read: “The Art of Hope.”

That was the name given to an exhibition of artwork created by residents of the Broward County Central Homeless Assistance Center last week in Fort Lauderdale and organized by the Broward Partnership for the Homeless Inc.

The art program was created from a grant awarded by the Broward County Commission. The grant allowed the Broward Partnership to teach art classes from January through September.

Self-esteem was shining from one artist, Dave, whose pastel piece sold fairly quickly.

“I’ve always dabbled in art,” he said. “It’s great therapy.”

Another artist 51-year-old Pat, is a fan of Andy Warhol.

“The future is up in the air,” she said. “I’m hoping to go back to school.”

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Hurricane Wilma roared through Fort Lauderdale less than four years ago and gave many places such as Christ Lutheran Church on Oakland Park Boulevard a terrific pounding. For this small building in Oakland Park, it was a blow that would take years to clean up.

“A third of the roof, from altar to balcony, was gone,” said Pastor Ron Springer, recalling his first walk through the wreckage when calm returned.

Following the storm, Sunday services were moved to a relatively undamaged school next door. Meanwhile, about 35 volunteers spent two weekends cleaning up debris in the church.

It took the church more than five weeks to find a contractor who could give the roof a temporary patch, Springer said, and then another 22 months to settle with the insurance company.

One day last week, Joe Neble, a member of the church council, stood inside the gutted 5,000-square-foot nave and watched the workmen. A rededication of the building, accompanied by a blessing of the entrance, altar and baptismal font, is scheduled for May 2.

“We’re trying to get the word out,” Neble said. “We’d like everyone to come.”

Once renovations are complete, Springer said the inside of the church will be dramatically different, including some significant upgrades such as hurricane-impact windows.

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In a small room on the fifth floor of the Main Library in downtown Fort Lauderdale, a handful of hopeful home buyers recently gathered around a long table and answered a resounding “yes” to the question of whether or not any of them wished to buy their first home.

“It’s better than paying rent,” said Myra Bethel, one of fewer than a dozen first-time home buyers attending an hour-long seminar on home ownership sponsored by the library’s Business, Law and Government Services department.

Librarian Helene Palmer said the library has been offering financial literacy seminars for about two years now, on hot topics such as preventing identity theft and building good credit.

This seminar on this day was led by Kathy Kiley, a customer education manager for Consumer Credit Management Services Inc. in Delray Beach, a nonprofit agency offering a variety of credit counseling and other services.

“Things will go up again, but right now they’re really down,” she said.

Rittivia Moore, a 39-year-old renter, came to the seminar because said she is tired of spending money every month on something she will never own.

“I’m just throwing my money away,” Moore said.

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