Low-income Pines families with overdue rent or mortgage payments now have a lifeline through the Department of Children and Families.

That’s because the state department is now accepting applications from near- or already-homeless residents through its Emergency Financial Assistance for Housing Program, or EFAHP.

Eligible homeowners must be seeking security deposits for households that are homeless, are being evicted, or whose homes were damaged by natural disasters like fire and hurricanes.

The state can mail, if the application is approved, a $400 check to the property owner, landlord or mortgage company.

To enroll, previous or current homeowners should fill out an application and enclose Social Security numbers for all family members, a signed Vendor Agreement, a written statement explaining the housing emergency and the applicant’s signature. DCF also requires that at least one child under 18 must reside in the affected home full-time.

Residents and download an application by visiting www.dcf.state.fl.us/homelessness, or by calling 1-877-891-6445.

Fax applications to 1-850-921-2559 or mail to:

Department of Children and Families
Office on Homelessness
1317 Winewood Blvd.
Tallahassee, FL 32399

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It was the night Frankie the Fist traded bills for thrills, amendments for ring talent and votes for, well, pounding the stuffing out of a former NFL linebacker.

Pembroke Pines Mayor Frank Ortis donned the boxing gloves and brawled with Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor Aug. 29, headlining an amateur summer boxing showdown to benefit the Pines Police Athletic League.

The Saturday evening inside Walter C. Young Auditorium, at 955 N.W. 129th Ave., treated packed crowds to a pugilistic powerhouse of 15 bouts. Each card boasted the P.A.L. Boxing program's best fighters, including Pia Abraham, a recent gold medalist in the 2009 Women's Golden Gloves Championships.

"I’m trying to resurrect P.A.L. to get it to be a greater organization for the city," said Ortis, whose marquee slugfest with Taylor resulted in a draw. "I wasn’t satisfied with the way P.A.L. was heading. PAL can give these disadvantaged kids a new hope."

While the showdown matched amateurs according to height, weight and skill, Ortis's clash with the New York Giants player couldn't have been more uneven, said the Pines official.

Boxing enthusiasts and P.A.L. supporters alike donated about $10,000 toward the program, a juvenile crime prevention league maintained by the Pines Police Department.

Proceeds could be funneled into rebuilding the existing PAL building at 7900 Johnson St. and shifting the location behind the Pines Police station, said Ortis.

PHOTO: Mayor Frank Ortis throws a few practice punches before his bout with former NFL linebacker Lawrence Taylor during the Police Athletic League Summer Amateur Boxing Showdown.
PHOTO/Submitted

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A new glass-enclosed building for a controversial September 11 memorial might come to fruition thanks to a vote during last Wednesday’s commission meeting.

City commissioner Angelo Castillo asked City Manager Charles Dodge to draft plans to install the sculpture near City Center’s planned amphitheatre after one of the memorial’s sculptors, Benoit Menasche, proposed a 1,400-square-foot green building to house the project.

Menasche’s pitch, created by his son and Davie-based architect Maurice Menasche, features a lone air-conditioned two-story gallery fitted with four double-doors, closet space and two bathrooms.

Since 2006, plans to house the 9/11 memorial have floundered after Pembroke Pines failed to secure developers for the City Center project, a 115-acre mixed-use downtown plaza sitting just west of Pines City Hall. Menasche and fellow co-sculptor Felix Gonzalez showed concern that the monumental steel and marble project would lose its possible permanent home if City Center tanked.

“My fear is that the city won’t be able to use these statues at all since no proper building exists to house them,” Pines commissioner Angelo Castillo wrote in a July 28 e-mail to the artists. “Our city has no money to construct a building around these statues, especially now, no matter the purpose or how impressive the statues.”

The multi-ton memorial, slated to debut on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 tragedy, was the brainchild of Gonzalez and Menasche. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s donation of a two-foot by two-foot girder to Castillo in May 2005 inspired the artist duo to fashion an ambitious memorial that featured the 250-pound hunk of rusted wreckage yanked from the rubble of the World Trade Center.

He estimates the 40-foot by 40-foot free-standing green building would cost about $300,000, which could be financed through a nonprofit “9/11 Foundation” city staff would create by culling donations from the local community. Menasche also feels the city can divert unspent money from the unrelated Artist Colony project to back its construction.

City commissioners plan to discuss the 9/11 memorial during the Sept. 16 commission meeting.

PHOTO: An artist rendering of a proposed glass building that will house the 9/11 memorial statues, which includes a series of steel twin towers, an imported Italian marble base and four human figures.
PHOTO/Submitted

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The Southwest Focal Point Senior Center is dishing up a variety of relaxing exotic teas guaranteed to soothe the ol' joints and muscles.

The Afternoon Tea Time runs from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Aug. 26 at the venue at 301 NW 103rd Ave. Sippers can sample and savor a wide selection of roughly half-a-dozen teas, nosh on sandwiches, indulge in desserts and chat with friends over the experience.

Advance registration is required for center members, and the cost is $10.

For more information, call 954-450-6888.

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Pembroke Pines thespians eager to hone their acting chops can flutter over to Susan B. Katz theater today for “Bye Bye Birdie” auditions.

Pembroke Pines Theatre of the Performing Arts, the city-based nonprofit theater troupe, is staging public auditions from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Aug. 25 and Aug. 26 the River of Grass ArtsPark theater, 17195 Sheridan St.

Prospective actors should have a working knowledge of the Broadway musical, about a hip-gyrating rock-and-roll up-and-comer named Conrad Birdie who’s drafted into the Army.

PPTOPA tryouts should also prepare 16 measures of an upbeat ballad in their key, preferably from “Bye Bye Birdie,” and be expected to perform cold script readings.

If needed, callbacks are from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Aug. 31 and all talent will be cast by Sept. 3. The musical is slated to debut on Nov. 6.

For more information, call 954-437-4884, or visit www.pptopa.com.

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Thanks to a new grant, families with current or previous-deployed soldiers can rest easier knowing their loved one is fighting overseas.

Boca Raton-based nonprofit Family Readiness Team and Broward’s Student Support Department pocketed a $75,000 grant from Dade Foundation aimed at launching a support program for students and families of American soldiers preparing for deployment, already overseas or recently returned from Iraq or Afghanistan.

The largesse provides individual and group counseling, community outreach, home visitations, tutoring, training and educational opportunities, plus sporting and family events courtesy of local Family Readiness Groups.

District estimates tally Broward, Palm Beach and Martin county’s active-duty military personnel targeted for deployment in late-2009 at roughly 23,000. There are 80,000 servicemen, 42,000 military spouses and 33,000 children of military personnel living in Florida alone.

Among those, two to three percent of children are students enrolled in Broward County schools, according to Student Support Department statistics.

For more information, call department director Laurel Thompson at 754-321-2490, or visit www.broward.k12.fl.us/studentsupport.

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Pembroke Pines officials are angling for public input on the decaying eastern half of the city.

That’s why they’re running an Eastern Pembroke Pines Redevelopment Town Hall meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Pines City Hall, 10100 Pines Blvd.

Officials are encouraging as many businesses and residents to participate in the discussion as possible.

For more information, call 954-435-6513, or visit www.ppines.com.

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Pembroke Pines parents with pressing questions about school bus transportation can now pitch them to district officials.

Broward’s transportation employees are packing Pines’ South Area Transportation Terminal, 900 S. University Drive, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 22 and Aug. 23.

Here, they’ll field parents’ questions regarding which students are eligible for bus transportation, bus stop assignments organized by neighborhood, special bus passes and special alternate stop requests and depot stops.

The South Terminal, one of five belonging to the district’s Pupil Transportation Department, services public bus routes 3000 through 3999.

Broward families can also visit:
North (Routes 1000 – 1999) 1751 NW 22nd Ave., Pompano Beach
Northwest (Routes 5000 – 5999) 2600 NW 18th Terrace, Pompano Beach
Central (Routes 2000 – 2999) 3831 NW 10th Ave., Oakland Park
West Central (Routes 4000 – 4999) 2320 College Ave., Davie

For more information, call 754-321-4100, or visit www.pupiltrans.org.

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Pembroke Pines residents hoping to someday become celebrated artists now have an outlet to pimp their works.

The Fletcher Art and Cultural Center is accepting artist submissions for the 5th Annual Art Competition through Sept. 14, slated for premiere at the Pines Glass Gallery on Oct. 14 and run through Nov. 23.

Prospective artists should drop by City Hall at 10100 Pines Blvd., fill out an application, attach a photograph of their artwork and mail an entry fee of $15 to enter the competition.
Artist can submit up to three entries and must sign an Art Exhibition Agreement to display the winning pieces.

A juried panel of Art and Culture Advisory Board members and gallery curator Ben Menasche will award cash prizes for best-judged artworks during an artist reception from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 20 at Glass Gallery.

Rewards are $200 in the Best Sculpture, Photography, Painting and Mixed Media categories and $500 for Best of Show. A separate category, for Best Poster Design to promote next March’s Art Festival in the Pines, pays $300.

For more information, call 954-986-5027, or visit www.ppines.com.

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Pembroke Pines officials voted against slamming the brakes on a contract fining red-light runners Wednesday after a camera company agreed to protect the city in future lawsuits.

City commissioners unanimously green lighted a proposal to continue erecting red light traffic cameras at major Pines intersections after equipment operator American Traffic Solutions invested $100,000 into an escrow account the city could use for legal fees in court.

Worried that ticketed drivers might file suit against the city and win in court, some uneasy commissioners wanted a legal force field that indemnified them during trial.

Commissioner Carl Shechter had added an item to Wednesday’s agenda to terminate the Scottsdale, Ariz. -based ATS’s contract after researching two similar pending red light camera lawsuits in Aventura and Temple Terrace near Tampa Bay.

“There’s a question if enforcing the cameras will be legal,” Shechter said. “There could be an order made for all the traffic citations to be refunded, so I wanted to terminate this contract until the Florida Legislature determines that red light cameras in our city are completely legal.”

City Attorney Samuel Goren said Wednesday that the pending lawsuits alarmed commissioners enough to pursue legal protection, and that the “city wants to get a lawsuit precedence.”

“There was discussion because we were venturing into uncharted waters here,” said Goren.

Last April, Tallahassee shot down a bill that legalized surveillance cameras on state-owned roads. Since March, Pembroke Pines has sidestepped that ruling by installing the equipment on local roads and by charging residents a code violation instead of a traffic violation, said Shechter.

Currently, one camera on the corner of Pines Boulevard and 129th Avenue is active; ATS enforced a six-month warning period lasting through March and issued warning notices to drivers.

The other five intersections will be:

Northbound Dykes Road and Pines Boulevard
Eastbound Sheridan Street and Northwest 72nd Avenue
Eastbound Taft Street and North Hiatus Road
Northbound North Hiatus Road and Taft Street
Northbound Southwest 136th Avenue and Pines Boulevard.

For more on this, read the Sept. 22 edition of the Pembroke Pines Gazette.

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One Pembroke Pines venue aims to cool down South Florida’s back-to-school madness.

The Pines Ice Arena, 12425 Taft St., is throwing a chilly Ice Skating Party from 7 to 9 p.m. Aug. 20 designed to skate a figure-eight around school prep hassles Broward County students face before classes resume next Monday.

The fête combines an ice rink skate-a-thon with plenty of face paining, caricature drawing, stilt walking and food sampling activities for children, 5 and older.

The back-to-school frosty fest also features free three-week “Learn to Skate” classes courtesy of the arena, plus gift basket and other prize drawings.

For more information, call 954-704-8700, or visit www.pinesicearena.com.

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Thanks to a recent American Red Cross announcement, the city of Pembroke Pines has something to make a splash about.

The Red Cross ranked Pines among its list of top-scoring aquatics programs throughout Broward and Miami-Dade counties for reaching out and teaching roughly 5,000 residents how to swim in 2008.

The city received a new aquatics banner for its efforts in schooling amateur swimmers under its municipally-run “Learn-to-Swim” service, a program design to reduce swim-related fatalities among youngsters in public pools, home spas, lakes and the ocean.

Miramar and Cooper City also picked up accolades for nearly 25,000 and 600 "Learn to Swim" participants, respectively.

The banner encourages parents and guardians to enroll their children in more Pines Learn to Swim classes, which also trains parents how to respond to or prevent a drowning emergency.

For more information about Pembroke Pines’ Learn to Swim program, call 954-538-3646, or visit www.ppines.com.

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One Pines library is proving that next generation video games aren’t merely for kids.

Southwest Regional Library, 16835 Sheridan St., is launching a monthly Wii For Adults session designed for the young-at-heart.

The over-18 crowd is hitting the joystick for a free 90-minute shoot-em-up race-a-thon from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Aug. 21.

For more information, call 954-538-9996, or visit www.broward.org/library.

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A recent Pembroke Pines City Commission meeting toasted two Pembroke Pines firefighters and two South Florida residents for acts of bravery around the city.

City Commissioners dubbed Fire Captain David Gaines and firefighter Louis Bailly co-Firefighters of the Year for evacuating an elderly couple from a third-floor Century Village apartment.

Last March, Gaines encountered thick smoke billowing from the apartment and raced inside with Bailly. Gaines hoisted the elderly man, who was paraplegic, to his chest and carried him to the third floor landing, while Bailly escorted the woman outside. Since the couple suffered from smoke inhalation, a battery of firefighters helped them downstairs, loaded them into the ambulance and drove them to the hospital, where they survived.

For the rescue, Gaines and Bailly each earned the award and a split cash bonus of $600.
Hollywood resident Javier Quintana pocketed a Phoenix Award trophy for diving into a Pines homeowner’s pool last June and rescuing and applying CPR to a drowning 12-year-old Weston resident. The Phoenix Award, depicting a clear crystal flame fastened to a wooden base, marks the highest prize citizens can receive for a live-saving deed.

Wadlin Fevrief, of Miami, earned a Citizen’s Award for escorting a dazed and confused couple from their smoke-filled Pines home after spotting their garage fire on patrol. Wadlin’s Citizen’s Award, a plaque recognizing a heroic or courageous act, was also accompanied by a $500 check.

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The Southwest Focal Point Senior Center is launching a bunch of new health classes designed to promote wellness among Pembroke Pines seniors.

The health education lectures at 301 NW 103rd Ave., offered for members aged 55 or older on Tuesdays from 10 to 11 a.m., range from proper eye care to neighborhood safety.

On Aug. 18, Broward County Elderly and Vets spokeswoman Betty Ross will chat about “Staying Healthy: Your Physical Health.” Bill Fitch, a representative from Broward County Senior Safety Neighborhood Awareness Project, kicks off Aug. 26 with a discussion on resources for homeowners concerned about senior health and safety around their community.

Coast to Coast Legal Aid attorney Gladys Gerson leads the confab on Sept. 2 when she presents “Tenant Issues in Public Housing.” On Sept. 8, a Memorial Healthcare Systems professional will lecture on “Normal Memory vs. Problematic Memory.”

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Amateur anglers can test their fishing mettle by casting their reels this weekend at C.B. Smith Park in Pembroke Pines.

Sponsored by Bass Pro Shops, the Junior Bass Trail Fishing Tournament pits 40 fishermen aged 16 and under to land the hugest large-mouth bass in the county-run park.

Each competing young angler fishes using artificial lures, vying for bragging rights, trophies, prizes and tournament standings heading toward a championship round slated for December 5.

This event, the fifth of six qualifying tourneys run by nonprofit Bass Fishing Kids, help fishers gain tournament points, with overall champions receiving an eight-foot Pond Prowler fisherman’s boast with trolling motor and battery courtesy of Bass Pro Shops.

For more information about upcoming tournaments, call tournament director Gary Waingrow at 954-914-5827, or visit www.bassfishingkids.com.

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One west Pembroke Pines event is certain to satisfy loyal devotees of homegrown SoFla bands.
Music junkies can jones out on the three-day mega rock-a-thon FanFest ’09 beginning Friday through Sunday at The Talent Farm, 20911 Johnson St. #111.

The jam-packed jam sessions cobble 36 of South Florida’s wellspring of eager talent angling to carve a niche among the industry’s hall of rock legends. FanFest includes an afterparty featuring meet-and-greets with the three-dozen bands, all of whom are regular staples at the west Pines concert venue.

The fest kicks off from 5:30 p.m. to 12 a.m. Friday, Aug. 14 and runs from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. Saturday and from 1:30 p.m. to 12 a.m. Sunday.

Tickets run $12. For more information about the scheduled band roster, call 954-438-3488 or visit www.thetalentfarm.com.

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The School Board of Broward County recently launched its updated free and reduced price meal policy for the 2009-10 school year.

Parents seeking eligibility for the reduced school breakfasts and lunches for their children must satisfy certain household size and income criteria.

Families who receive free and reduced price meal applications by mail must provide current annual household income, which must match Federal Poverty Level guidelines; to receive free meals, however, families must earn within 130 percent of the poverty level or within 185 percent for reduced meals.

Applications must include complete eligibility information, including total household income before Social Security, taxes or other reductions, adult signature, Social Security number, names of household members and a list of food stamp providers (including TANF) if the homeowner receives them.

Parents dissatisfied with the final ruling of Broward Schools’ Food and Nutrition Services Department, 7720 W. Oakland Park Boulevard, Suite 204, Sunrise, should call director Barbara Leslie at 754-321-0215, or visit www.browardschools.com.

Those parents wishing to view a copy of the policy should call Mark at 754-321-0233.

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For Pembroke Pines families with lingering questions about filing property taxes and homestead exemptions, the Broward County Property Appraiser’s office has you covered.

That’s because the Broward County Property Appraiser’s office is swooping n just in time for TRIM notice season.

Deputy appraisers will be on hand from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Aug. 11 at Pembroke Pines City Hall, 10100 Pines Blvd. to assist with Homestead, Senior, Portability and other property tax exemption applications.

Interested residents should bring a current Florida driver's license ID, a voter registration card or declaration of domicile and proof of permanent residency.

Eligible senior citizen residents, or those with a total adjusted gross income less than $25,873, should bring either a copy of their 2008 income tax return or 2008 Social Security 1099 Form.

Both Broward County Property Appraiser’s offices, at 115 S. Andrews Ave., Room 111, Fort Lauderdale and 1 N. University Drive, Suite 111-A, Plantation, will also be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on three Saturdays - Aug. 22, Aug. 29 and Sept. 12 – to offer families extended hours.

For more information, call Kelly Brown at 954-357-5579, or visit www.bcpa.net.

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Thanks to a scholarship, one Charles W. Flanagan High School student won’t be sweating his first-year college tuition costs.

Ryan V. Chancoco pocketed a National Merit Scholarship valued between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years at his chosen school, the University of Florida.

Chancoco, who just graduated from the school at 12800 Taft St. joins 12 other National Merit recipients attending Broward County Public Schools, and roughly 4,700 winners this year altogether.

The scholarship will dole out $36 million nationwide to award-winners for use during all four years at University. To be eligible, Chancoco was sponsored by a representative of the University of Florida.

For more information or to view all 13 winners, visit www.browardschools.com.

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A Pembroke Pines Barnes and Noble bookstore will have a meet and greet with Miramar author Richard Outram.

His new children’s novel, “The Adventures of ExoKid and the Teachings of Money,” aims to mine the early childhood educational learning industry by schooling kids in the practical and spiritual aspects of managing money.

Outram, a certified public accountant with his firm Fianncial Acumen, Inc., conceived the fiction book as a method of introducing money in a fun and engaging way by infusing a plotline involving a superhero on a journey to discover the lessons of financial responsibility.

Outram will read chapters from “ExoKid” at 2 p.m. Aug. 8 and sign copies afterward at the bookstore, 14572 SW Fifth St., inside the Shops at Pembroke Gardens.

For more information, call 954-437-7078, or visit www.bn.com.

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A new Broward Schools grant promises to boost district student’s math and science grades.

That’s because Broward County Public Schools recently received a $265,000 HP Innovations in Education grant from the computer manufacturer, which is designed to encourage teachers to raise student achievement and increase awareness in high-tech college and career opportunities.

Targeted at students in grades between six and 12, the award gives Fort Lauderdale’s Stranahan High students with a litany of HP technology, cash, and professional services. The devices include wireless HP tablet PCs, wide-format HP DesignJet printers, high-power mobile workstations, mini-notebook PCs, and graphing calculators.

Partly sponsored by Broward’s Global Learning Initiative through Digital Education for Students (GLIDES). the tech gadgets will allow Stranahan students to be technologically prepared to achieve in high-level mathematics and pre-engineering programs in the classroom.

For more information, visit www.hp.com/go/grants or www.browardschools.com.

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Fresh from summer hiatus, Pembroke Pines commissioners pulled no punches Tuesday night as they voted to hire a private firm to handle adult day care services.

Easter Seals wedged out fellow bidder SarahCare Adult Day Care Center for management of the department, which provides services to infirmed elderly and Alzheimer’s patients at Southwest Focal Point Senior Center.

The outsourcing move marks the city’s latest stab at plugging a gaping $23.8 million budget deficit for the 2009-10 fiscal year, an amount much higher before officials axed roughly 100 employees between the Community Services and the Planning and Building Department last June.

Commissioners targeted the senior center at 301 NW 103rd Ave. for bloodletting as officials gutted the Community Service Department to save $1.44 million. Roughly 33 grant-based and salaried jobs saw the chopping block, leaving all but five: Community Services Director Jay Shechter, an administrative assistant, a clerical aide, a recreation supervisor and an activities coordinator, said City Manager Charles Dodge.

Another 46 positions, 79 in total, were traded among the city’s Transportation Authority or shifted to an outside contractual entity, added Dodge.

“We’re advertised for years and there’s not a lot of participation in the evening programs,” said Dodge. “Our salaries that we pay and the ranges we have paid have really outpaced the industry standards.”

Easter Seal is responsible for replacing 21 layoffs in the senior center’s Adult Day Care and Alzheimer’s center, and will supervise an emergency disaster plan, cleaning and maintenance, and routine assessment of each patient’s physical and emotional needs, according to commission documents.

“We’re letting go of staff. We’re letting go of people’s careers,” said Vice-Mayor Angelo Castillo. “But it has to be done.”

For more on this, read the Aug. 22 edition of the Pembroke Pines Gazette.

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The Pembroke Pines Glass Gallery has always catered to budding local talents in art circles.

So it’s no surprise that the venue, which crowds sections of the lobby at Pines City Hall, 10100 Pines Blvd., will play host to roughly 80 renowned Florida and International artists from 7 to 9 p.m. Aug. 5.

Eminent painters from Rolande Moorehead to Viola Davis bookend the Gallery’s newest exhibit, “Second Wind,” a European-infused panoply of impressionistic paintings ranging from watercolor to acrylic. The exhibit also showcases Tibetan mandalas, or geometric sand painting used in Buddhist rituals to symbolize purification and healing.

“A good wind blew in great artists for us,” said gallery curator Benoit Menasche on the origin of the exhibit’s title. “Second Wind” replaces the previously slated “Innovative Genius of Hersza Barjon” display.

“Second Wind” runs through Sept. 8 at the gallery. Fore more information, call 954-435-6500, or visit www.ppines.com.

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Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” Chinese yo-yoing and Looney Tunes cartoons turned a recent Saturday afternoon daffy at one Pembroke Pines library.

That’s because a performance troupe of nearly two-dozen teen library volunteers brought the silly during the fifth annual Slapstick Sillies Vaudeville Show. The comical showcase ran the gamut between physical fall-down humor during original sketches to a dance-off featuring the tunes of the late King of Pop.

The vaudeville program is part of the Southwest Regional Library’s end-of-summer children’s programming designed to introduce younger generations to comedic traditions that existed nearly a century ago, said event coordinator Debra Helmliner.

“We wanted this to resemble the old vaudeville acts from silent films like Charlie Chaplin,” said Helmlinger. “It’s all to show what life and entertainment was like before video games and TV and X-Box.”

Activities ranged from a 60-minute stage performance by the teen volunteers, which included juggling, sketches involving a black box and spin-offs of “The Dating Game” to children huddling around the projector munching on free popcorn during a screening of Looney Tunes cartoons.

For more information, call 954-538-9996, or visit www.broward.org.

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