Parents and teachers are digging through their closets to sell their clothes for a good cause.

On Nov. 1, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., there will be a garage sale at Pines Charter School West, 8500 Pembroke Road, to benefit three children from the school who have cancer. The money will go toward chemotherapy treatments for the students.

"The whole sale is going to be a collection of items brought from home by parents and teachers of Pines Charter FSU and Middle West," said Frank Jones, the teacher who's coordinating the event with Pembroke Pines Relay for Life. "We've gotta do this very, very quick."

Marianna Gonzalez, 11, was diagnosed one year ago with a Wilms Tumor on her kidney. Gonzalez, whose cancer's in remission, started A Child's Hope Foundation in June to benefit other children.

Doctors diagnosed Pilar Sanchez, 10, with leukemia four years ago. She relapsed in July and needs a bone marrow transplant.

Faith Griffin, 5, carries an inoperable brain stem tumor but hopes chemo treatments will stabilize the cancer.

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If mummy rap battles are your bag this Halloween, take the kiddies trick-or-treating at Pines Recreation Park, 7400 Pines Blvd.

Boo-ville, an outdoor carnival hosted by the city of Pembroke Pines, will feature rides, midway games, costume contests and endless trick-or-treat stations so children can stay off the spooky neighborhood streets. The event runs 6 to 9 p.m.

Starting at 6:15 p.m., magician Gary Goodman takes the stage. Following the magic show, parents and kids can enjoy spooky story times and the Monster Mash, a dance-off to the Macarena and Michael Jackson's "Thriller." There's also a pumpkin patch, where children can dig for prizes in bales of hay.

"We bought close to 40,000 pieces of candy, so there should be enough for everybody and their second cousin," said Francie Novo, Pines special events coordinator.

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Pines residents are one step closer to seeing their dream downtown area come to fruition.

Commissioners approved 5-0 to adopt a conceptual site plan for City Center Wednesday during a joint meeting with the city's Planning and Zoning Board. City Center is the all-inclusive shopping, park and civic center located behind City Hall.

The downtown area will feature an amphitheater, a park, 250 units of affordable housing, a 150-room hotel, a public transit hub, a movie theater, a civic center, City Hall and retail stores, according to the site plan.

The vote hands commissioners the right to reject any amenities they believe aren't financially useful, said Commissioner Angelo Castillo.

"You're offering people a lifestyle," Castillo said. "But I'm skeptical about the hotel. It's too far from I-75 and no one from hotel businesses I've spoken to have given me any interest in going there."

PNZ member Paul Girello stressed to commissioners that City Center, which runs along Pines Boulevard, shouldn't be visible from the road because it deserves privacy. He also urged commissioners to start selling residential space immediately.

Download the site plan from the Pembroke Pines Web site.

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Twenty-nine Pines Charter High students earned Advanced Placement Scholar Awards by the College Board.

Students who won scholar awards must have passed at least three AP Exams with a score of 3 or higher. In total, two students passed with an average grade of 4 or higher on all eight exams. Six students passed with an average grade of 3.5 on all eight AP exams, seven with an average grade of 3.25 and 14 by passing three or more exams with an average grade or 3.

Passing an AP Exam translates to future college credit, which is why high school Advanced Placement classes are designed to mimic the difficulty of college-level courses.

The 29 charter high schoolers join 288,000 other students across the country by securing several college credits before they ever step foot inside a university.

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PHOTO: Shanna Martin of Davie sings a scary song while Michael Stearus of Southwest Ranches plays the violin and Chris Kastle of St. Augustine plays the guitar at the Autumn Harvest Howl at the Southwest Regional Library in Pembroke Pines.
Staff photo/ Eric Bojanowski
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The Pembroke Pines City Commission will meet on Oct. 29 to discuss the three proposed site plans for the City Center project from 1 to 3 p.m. at Southwest Regional Library, 16835 Sheridan St. in room 224 of the second floor conference room.

The 82-acre property has been a bone of contention among many residents who feel the project hasn't gained any traction since the land was purchased in 2002.

City Center is slated to be a mixed-use downtown shopping center with hundreds of low-cost, affordable housing units, dozens of stores, an amphitheater, a park, a hotel high-rise and a new City Hall.

Developers Retail Property Group and Trammell Crow Residential bid on the land in early 2008. Early blueprint models clashed with each other and caused uproar among certain residents, but commissioners agreed that a third site plan from planning consultant Zyscovich and Associates looked much improved.

"This is a total, impossible dream like Alice in Wonderland," said resident Phil McConaghey, during a recent town hall meeting. "This has been in the works for years and years, and nothing is happening."

City Center is expected to net Pines roughly $2.9 million per year in tax revenue, said Mayor Frank Ortis.

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Dr. Brenda C. Snipes, Broward County Supervisor of Elections, is encouraging voters to vote early to help alleviate the influx of people at voting sites on Election Day. Broward County has opened several early voting sites in order to accommodate residents.

Voting sites are open daily through Nov. 2. The hours are Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturdays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and Sunday 1 to 4 p.m.

Be sure to bring a valid picture identification card with you. According to the Florida Division of Elections Web Site, approved ID’s must have a signature and include a Florida driver’s license, Florida ID card, U.S. passport, military, and student ID’s.

The early voting site in Pembroke Pines is at the Southwest Regional Library,
16835 Sheridan St.

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Drivers who run a red light at one Pembroke Pines intersection can soon expect a fine inside their mailbox, according to a City Commission.

By Nov. 5, commissioners plan to pass a new ordinance that tickets red-light runners caught on camera at the intersection of Pines Boulevard and 129th Avenue.

Pines commissioners contracted American Traffic Solutions to install a red light camera last November and run a six-month trial starting April 15. Since ATS installed the first camera, they've mailed roughly nine warnings a day to drivers.

"We've had six months of this camera," said Mayor Frank Ortis. "They are flying through the intersections. This is a need to stop violators."

Drivers can expect fines between $17.50 and $125, according to the ordinance.

Starting next month, ATS will install three more cameras at the intersections of Dykes Road and Pines Boulevard, 155th Avenue and Pines Boulevard and Northwest 72nd Avenue and Sheridan Street.

ATS plans to mail notices out to Pines residents within 45 days.

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Pembroke Pines Mayor Frank Ortis and Miramar Mayor Lori Moseley are pressing for all mayors across Broward County to cast early votes Oct. 23 at 5:15 p.m. at Miramar City Hall, 2300 Civic Center Place.

The reason, Ortis said, was to set a precedent to encourage Broward voters to take advantage of the fortnight of early voting opportunities and to help dwindle the long lines expected on Election Day.

Ortis, the former president of the Florida League of Cities, and Moseley, the current president of the Broward League of Cities, will emcee the get-together.

Pines residents can cast their early votes at their local site, Southwest Regional Library, 16835 Sheridan St., or visit one of 17 polling stations across the county. The polling locations are open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays.

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During a recent Pembroke Pines City Commission meeting, Robyn Vegas and Denise Lamazares took home plaques for earning best employee of the first and second quarters, respectively.

Vegas, a four-year Pines staffer with the Parks and Recreation Department, got the award for her "hard work and dedication" to the Fletcher Art and Cultural Center, the city's Art and Culture advisory board, plus organizing the annual Art Festival in the Pines event, said Parks director Dean Combs.

Vegas supervises drawing, sculpting, painting and music classes at Fletcher and the River of Grass Arts Park.

Lamazares, a budget analyst for the Pembroke Pines Charter Schools, worked the last 11 years in Accounts Payable and Public Services before being promoted to Budget Analyst in 2003, said Public Works director Shawn Denton.

Today, she prepares the charter school budget, audits and organizes fundraising events the charters, including the mayor's annual golf tournament.

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To balance the 2008-2009 fiscal budget adopted on Oct. 1, Pines commissioners opted to switch most city employees to a four-day workweek starting Oct. 21.

The change excludes all shift employees, like police officers, firefighters and wastewater plant personnel.

As a result, City Hall and other public service buildings will close Fridays, but expand their hours from 7:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Pines employees also have the option to take a voluntary 10 percent pay cut and work nine hours per day instead of 10 to further help reduce the city's budget deficit, which sits at roughly $300,000, said public services assistant director Joseph McLaughlin.

Since City Hall is expanding its hours, this gives Pines residents who want to apply for passports an advantage, said city clerk Judith Neugent. The Passport Acceptance Facility will open earlier, at 7:30 a.m., and close at 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Passport applicants should first schedule an appointment and download forms from the city's Web site, www.ppines.com, before dropping by, added Neugent.

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On Oct. 14, Pembroke Pines Charter Elementary East campus K-Kids got to aid Haitian hurricane victims for a day when student members loaded boxes filled with clothes and non-perishable foods onto a truck bound for Haiti.

The K-Kids club, part of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Pembroke Pines, convinced parents of children who attend the East Campus to donate all the food and clothing they could to Food for the Poor's Coconut Creek location, which ships the goods overseas to Haiti.

The clothing and food drive lasted an entire week in October. When the delivery truck arrived at the East campus, 10801 Pembroke Road, K-Kids and student council members hauled the bags and boxes of goods aboard.

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Children in Pembroke Pines can grab their tap shoes and tu-tus and join the new jazz, tap and ballet classes offered at TownGate Recreation Center, 901 NW 155th Ave.

The city hired dance instructor Lisa McDermaid-Roberts from her company, Tour De Force, to lead the classes, which give children, ages 3 to 11, the chance to learn warm-up exercises, aerobic movement, dance steps, pre-ballet and ballet, tap, story and song interpretation and movement exploration.

McDermaid has already taught in several studios in different countries, said Holly Leon, park supervisor.

Classes are taught Wednesdays from 2:45 to 3:15 p.m. for ages 3 and 4, 3:30 to 4:40 p.m. for ages 5 and 6 and 5 to 6 p.m. for ages 7 through 11. To register, call 305-303-6688, or visit www.ppinesdance.com.

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Mayor Frank Ortis wants to pass an ordinance punishing Pines residents who fail to report a lost or stolen firearm to the police department within 72 hours.

The proposed law doesn't mention how much residents will be fined, however, Ortis believes not reporting the missing firearm could result in dangerous consequences.

"You have to report it within 72 hours because then it is a dangerous gun out on the street," Ortis said. "The gun could be used in a crime and people could get hurt."

The law states that residents must report the gun once they discover it's missing. Commissioner Angelo Castillo pointed out that police would have a rough time enforcing the 72-hour law, since some residents might not realize the gun is missing in that time range.

Commissioners voted to shelve the ordinance until a future meeting, which leaves the mayor to gather more research.

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