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A few mild, calm weather days have kicked in pre-spawn bass action on Lake George and nearby Little Lake George, located on the St. Johns River near Georgetown and Welaka.

On Lake George, the west shore warm spring feeder creeks have been best, chiefly Salt Springs and Silver Glen Springs. Bass are available in the springs, but also on the big lake at the spring mouths.

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Food Lion closing all First Coast stores
01/12/2012

All Food Lion stores on the First Coast, including a dozen in Jacksonville, are closing, company officials announced Wednesday night.

The stores will be closed within 30 days, the company said.

Stores in Clay, St. Johns, Nassau, Baker and Alachua counties are also closing. In addition, the Food Lion in Waycross is among the Georgia stores slated to be closed.

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Gene Frenette: Jaguars GM Gene Smith must give Mike Mularkey the right tools
01/12/2012

When you cut through all the outside noise, most of it skepticism, about the Jaguars’ coaching hire, it comes down to this: The Jaguars did the safe, practical thing in handing the keys to Mike Mularkey.

Only time will tell if it was the right thing. But the truth is there wasn’t anybody out there who wanted the job who had as much experience to deliver what the Jaguars so badly need — a consistent leader with the offensive acumen to turn Blaine Gabbert into a productive NFL quarterback.

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Name game on money in regard to Atlanta
01/12/2012

2 cents

Oddsmakers in Las Vegas have made the New England Patriots a 13½-point favorite in Saturday night’s game against the Tim Tebow-led Denver Broncos. So does that mean the Patriots are supposed to be 13½ points better?

No.

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Brown wants summit, 'one stop' center for small businesses
01/12/2012

Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown plans a Feb. 7 summit on small business meant to help entrepreneurs grow their companies part of a push to help locally owned businesses add jobs.

“The small business summit is the first step,” Brown said during a meeting Wednesday with the Times-Union’s editorial board.

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Law & Disorder: Jacksonville drug deal at center of December homicide
01/12/2012

A suspect in the shooting death of another man during a December drug deal has been arrested on another charge, Jacksonville police said.

Donald Alvin Brown, 35, was charged with possession of a weapon by a felon after the death of Terrance Lee Jones, 24, who was found in a car in the 3200 block of Broadway Avenue bleeding from bullet wounds. He died later at Shands Jacksonville hospital.

Police said Jones was shot several times Dec. 9 when he was meeting with drug buyers, including Brown.

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Tim Tebow takes time to meet families in crisis amid hoopla of playoffs
01/12/2012

In his first 2011 start as the Denver Broncos quarterback, Tim Tebow was in the glare of the national spotlight.

During pregame activities before playing the Miami Dolphins on Oct. 23, though, Tebow focused not only on the football game ahead but also on 16-year-old Garrett Atwood.

Garrett, a Winter Springs youth who has been treated for a life-threatening illness in Jacksonville, spent time with his hero, thanks to Tebow’s desire to help children and families, especially those in crisis.

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Waves: Sports TV/Radio listings for Thursday, Jan. 12
01/12/2012

Listings for Jacksonville Comcast cable system and subject to change without notice. (*-indicates a channel only available on digital cable and satellite systems. NBCSP is the new name of the former Versus network.)

Sports TV Channel Guide for the Jacksonville area

THURSDAY, JAN. 12

GOLF
European PGA Tour: Joburg Open (tape), 9 a.m., TGC,
PGA Tour: Sony Open, 7 p.m., TGC

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Your Evening Sift
01/10/2012

The SFDB Weekend Widget is up and running in the right sidebar and we're almost into Friday. Supplement your nice evening with a Sift, please.

A- Gun Free Zone is electing to remember last year's attempted assassination of Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the murder of 6 Americans by posting a photograph of his gun.

Now, on January 8th, light a candle next to your favorite gun and post it in your blog, Facebook page or Twitter account to stick it in the eye of the Dancing-On-Blood Vultures of the Brady Campaign.

The king of blues playfully performed in front of a full house who was overpowered by the sound of the 86 years-old powerful voice. Occasionally stopping to tell story of the band over the years or joke around with the crowd, B.B. King received so much applause and shout outs that the concert competed with the Miami Heat game cheering fans three blocks down Biscayne Boulevard.

When the Grapevine first started out, I would write about the same people and places over and over again, which seemed to annoy some, but I was actually writing as if we were a little reality show and I was keeping up with the characters in the same locations. I know that visitors would come to town and ask to see the places and people I was writing about.

I have connections with Bravo tv and Endomal productions, which produces so many reality shows. Maybe we should really look into it.

After the transition, the county will continue to maintain one toll booth lane east and west for drivers paying cash, but the Sun Pass devices will work on all lanes.

It should enable smoother traffic flow, Bauman said, but the county still wants the toll plaza to serve as a “calming” influence to ensure the causeway doesn’t become a speedway.

No one starts out as a trial lawyer. It takes many years of working in courtrooms. In each of those years you improve as you learn the profession. For several years you get steady, measurable results through your development, that is by learning and practicing basic techniques. But after a while doing more of what you do well yields only small incremental improvement and you reach a plateau. Your skill development flattens out. You need a new type of stimulus to break through to the next level. Coaching can provide that.

I cannot believe the Miami Chamber of Commerce endorsed the casino idea. Do they not know how to read? Do they not see what a BAD DEAL this is? It was reported as such on 11/19/11 -- the Miami Herald said that Florida's proposed 10% tax was a jackpot for the industry. A 10% casino tax would be the 4th lowest in the country. 18 States charge more. And, we would have to lower the current rates for the racinos if this 10% gets approved.

Coconut Grove



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photo and video chronicle of a recent train trip to South Carolina is a post that mixes some self-examination with a little unexpected humor and realism and the photos aren't too bad either.


Nominee #3: "Metrorail ‘Bike and Ride’ Gets a Boost With New Hanging Bike Racks"

Transit Miami stumbled upon a couple bike racks that had been installed in a Metrorail car and was astute enough to have a camera to take a few photos and put together a solid post that may document the beginnings of a bike and ride program involving Metrorail.


Nominee #4: "Party At The Farm"

Farm Day at Bee Heaven Farm in the Redland served as a backdrop for Redland Ramble's wonderfully written post that was supplemented with a generous number of images that contain their own description and/or narration. Farm Day was a fun time and that feeling was clearly transmitted through the post by the author.



So there are your nominees. SFDB's illustrious panel of 14 Editors will scratch their chins and burn the midnight oil considering these nominees for the SFDB December Post of the Month. I'm going to ask them to get back to me by next Wednesday, January 11th, at 5 PM with their decision. The results should be announced here before the end of next week.

As always, feel free to add your own thoughts about the nominated posts in the comments below.


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01/10/2012

Everyone has their least favorite stretch of South Florida roadway. You know that place. It's where you refuse to go during a particular time or day because you know it's going to be absolutely FUBAR and you will wind up wasting gobs of time.

Well, I have 5 of these special pieces of Asphalt Paradise in South Florida that I'm about to tell you about. None of them are bad all the time [well, maybe one] so I'll also give you the day and hours that I find them at their worse. Here we go...

The Palmetto
Where: 836 north to the Golden Glades
When: Any weekday between 6 AM and 8 PM

North or southbound, there is no telling how many wrecks or broken down cars or junk refrigerators you are are going to find in the roadway. Volume alone slows things to a crawl but when you throw in one of the aforementioned items, fugghedaboutit.


Pines Boulevard
Where: University Drive to Dykes Road
When: Weekends and holidays

The mass of humanity that resides in the area west of I-75 and north of Miami-Dade County is mind-boggling. And on weekends they all want to go to the Pembroke Lakes Mall or The Shops at Pembroke Gardens at I-75 and Pines Boulevard. That means they all head east on Pines on the weekend. Coming from the west is the North Miami-Dade County population and those who live in the eastern fringes of the Pines and Hollywood. To make matters even more dire, the stellar traffic engineers of Broward County have failed to synchronize the lights but miraculously found the time to put red light cameras at just about every intersection. Coincidence? I think not. Something to look forward to: the only Whole Foods in Southern Broward County opens in a couple months on the west side of I-75 at Pines.


Doral
Where: NW 25th and 36th Streets
When: Any weekday between 7 AM and 7 PM, but especially Friday afternoons

Mixing semis and cars in large amounts on secondary streets is a recipe for disaster which is exactly what you have in Doral. The industrial and cargo areas that serve MIA attract the trucks and the large number of offices and residential areas in west Doral attract the cars. It's a madhouse but even more so on Friday afternoons when the trucks are trying to make their last deliveries for the business week and the cars are getting out of the office parking lots early to start their weekends or to take their 2-hour lunches. Can anyone say gridlock?


The 836 Westbound
Where: West of NW 27th Avenue
When: Weekdays after 3:30

Okay, so maybe the same stretch of roadway is as bad headed in the opposite direction in the morning, but fortunately (or unfortunately) I've only experienced the afternoon session. Yes, everyone is piling out of downtown and heading back to Kendall, West-Miami Dade or Doral, but throw in the beautiful views of jets landing at MIA that everyone has to slow down to see and you got yourself a parking lot that will last for 3-4 hours every single evening during the week. The north side of the roadway is not the only one afflicted with the Gaze-At-The-Pretty-Planes Syndrome. South side drivers heading east also fall victim, especially when the aircraft are landing from the east.


MIA
Where: Departing The Airport
When: Anytime

You've just arrived home from a long flight, collected your luggage, settled into your car, paid for your parking and now you're finally headed home. Well, hold on bucko, because if you haven't slotted yourself perfectly coming out of MIA, you might wind up in Hialeah, on the Airport Expressway [and trust me, you do NOT want to get off before I-95], or in that weird neighborhood that exists across LeJeune and over near the Miami River where all those shady rental car places are or were. You better be in the correct lane because there is no way in hell that Haitian cab driver is letting you over to where you need to be. I avoid MIA like the plague because I live in Broward and don't fly to Central or South America very often so all these things might have changed since the last time I was there. Haven't they built some kind of new car rental center and set up a new Metrorail station? Come to think of it, maybe its gotten worse.


So those are my five. I'm willing to bet you have yours.


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A- Sun-Sentinel: We only catch the stupid ones.

An armed robbery suspect and a possible accomplice were arrested Wednesday after the suspect offered to sell an iPad and iPhones to the man he is accused of robbing at gunpoint two days earlier, according to Miramar police.

B- Sun-Sentinel: Lawyers making sense.

Failing to use a sidewalk or a crosswalk – where one is provided – is not a crime, but lawyers for the Broward Public Defender's Office say Fort Lauderdale police officers are using the traffic infraction as an excuse to stop and search people for drugs, mostly in the city's low-income and minority neighborhoods.

While some say it already seems like excessive enforcement to stop and search people for not walking on the footpath, the defense lawyers say some officers have taken it to a whole other level — by stopping and even citing people for not using sidewalks on streets that have no footpaths.

"We're not quite sure what they think our clients should do in neighborhoods where there literally is no sidewalk to walk on — should they fly?" said Samantha Epstein, an assistant public defender who's recently had drug cases dismissed against two clients who were first stopped by officers for allegedly violating the statute.

C- Sun-Sentinel: Kidz these dayz.

An argument that erupted in a high school cafeteria Thursday escalated after school when a 15-year-old girl was stabbed by schoolmates as she walked home, police said.

The victim, identified by friends as Kiana Henry, apparently argued with other girls earlier in the day over rumors circulating around Miramar High School, witnesses said.

The older girls feuding with Kiana — seniors at the high school — threatened to settle the fight after school, according to a friend of the victim.

After the final bell rang, Kiana was walking home, blocks away from the school, when two girls accosted her in the parking lot of the Village of Mallorca apartments, near the school at 3601 SW 89th Ave.

One of the girls swung, but Kiana ducked, according to witnesses. Then one of the girls reached for a weapon in her waist pocket, pulled it out and stabbed Kiana twice under her arm.

D- Palm Beach Post: You just know there's something fishy here.

STUART — Distinguished Everglades activists, policy makers and politicians who have witnessed decades of stalled projects and broken promises applauded Gov. Rick Scott this evening when he held firm on finding $40 million in this year's state budget to spend on restoring the Everglades.

"It's an exciting time as long as you are an optimist," Scott said during the opening reception at the Everglades Coalition's annual conference.

As for the $40 million, "I'm very optimistic we will get there," Scott said.

E- Palm Beach Post: Life in South Florida.

A dispute over the volume of a stereo led to domestic assault charges against a suburban Boca Raton man Thursday, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said.

[...]

Copertino's niece told deputies that she had arrived home from work that evening and heard music "blasting" from Copertino's room. When she asked him to him to turn the music down, Copertino cursed at her, the woman said. The woman said she turned the music down, at which time Copertino allegedly grabbed the stereo, smashed it over her head and struck her repeatedly.

The woman's father, Copertino's brother-in-law, intervened and pulled him off of her, according to the affidavit. The men eventually made their way outside and began screaming at each other in the front yard.

F- WPLG: Remember, it's not the breed.

LAUDERHILL, Fla. - A dog attacked a woman, a 2-month-old and a 9-year-old Thursday in Lauderhill.

The attack occurred in the 1100 block of Northwest 41st Terrace.

Police said the woman was walking with the two children when a pit bull that was roaming free in the area attacked them.

Neighbor Shaymar Myles heard the commotion and saw the dog attacking the woman, who had the baby in a carrier that was strapped to her.

"I see this pit bull attacking this lady, and when she turned around, she had a newborn with a strap on the front, so I grabbed the baby from her so she could try to get the pit bull," Myles said. "Then the owners of the pit bull came down here and got the dog."

G- WSVN: There's one other choice that commissioners refuse to consider...increase revenue.

MIAMI (WSVN) -- Miami-Dade commissioners voted against forcing officers in the county to spend more of their hard-earned money, which means that hundreds of officers may soon receive pink slips.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez has asked for $239 million in concessions from all of the unions, $75 million specifically from the Police Benevolent Association.

In November, the Police Benevolent Association and the County reached an agreement to cut $57 million, but the union rejected the portion of the contract that increased healthcare contributions.

On Thursday, the commission was forced to choose whether they would require Miami-Dade Police officers to contribute another five percent toward their healthcare benefits, or lay off law enforcement officers.

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A- Obalesque makes me laugh.

B- The Miami Bike Scene posts a nice video showing us the new M-Path and adds some commentary.

The new M-Path bicycle and pedestrian bridge will help users cross over the dangerous entrance ramp to SR 878/Snapper Creek Expressway. However, once the cyclist/pedestrian is off the bridge they'll encounter plenty of intersections along the path and must exercise extreme caution. The video is a great reminder of how poorly people drive in South Florida, in just a few minutes you can lose track of how many motorists fail to stop behind the white line as required by law.

C- It's all about the whites giving to the blacks, or the "blahs," as some Republicans call them...at Bark Bark Woof Woof.



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A- Some Blogging Guy opines on smoking bans in public places.

I think this is a case where individual rights come into play. Non-smokers should have the right to not choke on stinking tobacco smoke.

B- Miamism takes a look at the Miami Shores real estate market for 2011.

The best improvement evidenced in Miami Shores in 2011 was the luxury homes market with 6 sales above $1 Million, compared to one in 2010 and none in 2009. Miami Shores home owners wanting to sell their luxury or waterfront properties can now rest assured that they will not just sit unsold for 2 years like seen in the past.

C- Nikon Miami posts some wonderful ornithological images.

D- Bark Bark Woof Woof defends the actions of a Republican. *gasp*

So if there's anything at all to note about Mr. Santorum's story of the loss of his child, it is that he deserves as much respect and privacy as he would deprive from those women and families who make the intensely personal and private choices about what they can or must do about their own bodies.

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A- Strap on your flight helmet and head up to the skies above Alligator Alley with Go Hydrology!

B- Florida Keys Girl has the 411 on what sounds like a new and very good take-out restaurant in Key West.

We had the sesame tuna sandwich, with aioli, and it was delicious. A large sandwich, filled with fresh tuna. You can’t really go wrong with that. Also part of the order was the chicken pesto sandwich, covered in cheese and delicious pesto. You need to be really hungry when you order from Luigi’s, as the sandwiches are huge. If for some reason the abundance of protein and accompaniments isn’t enough, the sandwiches also come with potato chips.

C- Speaking of new restaurants, the Delano has a new one, according to Eater Miami.

Opening to the public January 27, Bianca picks up where Blue Door leaves off, as the new and 'improved' Delano's new dining destination run by Las Vegas nightlife heavyweights The Light Group. Brian Massie, who has trained with Lidia Bastianich, Charlie Palmer and Gualtiero Marchesi, will serve as executive chef. Expect, they say, "an inventive Italian menu featuring local, farm-­-to-­-table organic ingredients and will participate in the Slow Food movement.

D- The bounty for CSA Share Week 5 is on display at Redland Rambles.

E- The Chowfather enjoyed his first visit to the new Salumeria 104.

Salumeria 104 is the type of place we need more more of if we are going to continue to evolve into a legitimate food city My first visit was a great experience and I highly recommend checking it out.

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Some gun extremists have taken offense with this remembrance and have organized an online campaign that is represented locally by Gun Free Zone. In his post today, GFZ includes this image...

 ... and claims that the Brady Campaign doesn't...

...want you to light a candle for Non-Americans or everybody who was not subject to gun violence. They don’t care about any other kind of violence because it is not about the violence but about guns and how to control people.

I'm not sure what GFZ is expecting from an organization that is about "enacting and enforcing sensible regulations to reduce gun violence." Perhaps he wants them, in the interest of "fairness," to include memorials for victims of knife, hammer and machete attacks. Maybe he would like the Brady Campaign to remember victims of strangulation or baseball bat beatings.

Or maybe, just maybe, GFZ really could care less about these victims of violence. Indeed, for GFZ, and those like him, it's just one more opportunity for them to harangue the Brady Campaign for doing something that brings attention to the fact that far too many people are killed by bullets in this country every year. It's a message that most gun enthusiasts would agree with but that extremists, like GFZ, are scared of and find threatening to what they interpret as their 2nd Amendment rights.

So on a day that for victims of gun violence is probably a solemn time of remembrance, GFZ and his minions have become the gun advocate's version of Westboro Baptist Church and have decided that posting callous and inflammatory pictures that are nothing more than gun porn is the best way of delivering their message.

Good job, guys.  Stock up on your candles. MLK Day is just around the corner.




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A- It doesn't sound as if Worst Pizza was particularly bowled over by Sir Pizza out on Key Biscayne but they still gave them 6 out of 8 stars.

When I got my pizza, Sir Pizza was still rocking. The pizza had no crust so to say, and it was cut into squares. I guess this is their way of being different, or maybe their pizza makers never learned how to cut things into eight, so they just play it safe and have them make lines all across. The pie was thin, and I liked watching them spread the sauce on with a knife, like someone would spread peanut butter on bread. Some people even at their pies with ranch sauce. The sauce was tasty on top of the thin tasting crust, which although wasn’t entirely tasty, still was pretty good. The cheese tasted average, so I cannot say it was the best or the worst for that matter.

B- Go Hydrology! features a cool little beach sand project he found on Florida's west coast.

C- Coconut Grove Grapevine says LoKal is the new hotspot in the Grove.

I spent a lot of time at LoKal, the burger joint, which seems to be the place to be in the Grove now. Just stand there for a bit and the whole Grove ends up there after awhile. I have seen more local service industry people there than anything! They literally come from other restaurants to eat or take out!

D- Eye on Miami's self-described Sunday sermon on climate change.

Those who go to church, to temple, or to mosques on Sunday or any other day of the week: by all means pray for a better place in the next world, but what if our world-- this one-- is the next world? What if we are judged for what we have done to the blue planet that feeds us through a stable climate with predictable growing seasons? We've been lucky. So far.

E- The Reid Report posts a video of her appearance on The Ed Show.



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A- Just remember that Ron Paul is running as a Republican when you read this Reid Report post about a disgusting video ad that Ron Paul supporters have allegedly released.

B- Soul of Miami shares some photos from the Chalk Ping Pong And Billiards Lounge Official Grand Opening on Thursday night.

C- South Florida Guy shows us a side of Stuart that you may not have known existed.

When I was there last weekend, I found a little boardwalk along the river and decided to follow it. I remember the hurricane a few years ago put a hurting on the docks and boardwalk and I was very pleased to find it was even better than years ago.

D- Tile Fort Lauderdale ends a long hiatus, drops Flower Eyes at Gateway Shopping Center in Fort Lauderdale and gives us a nice story.

Flo resolved to abandon her computer, and her evil workplace, and get the hell outside. When a neighborhood blog did a little story about her transition, the article got picked up by a local newspaper that had fired most of its writers and began relying solely on bloggers who worked for free ... Apparently, many cubicle dwellers and other workers decided they liked Flo's little idea. They printed T-shirts that said Go with The Flo and several stopped working overtime. Their days of volunteering for large greedy corporations were finally over.

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