Miami Beach builder Robert Turchin looks back — and ahead




















If former Miami Beach vice mayor Robert Turchin had been a Miami decision maker during the recent vote that decided the fate of The Miami Herald building, he would probably have voted with the ‘nays’ allowing its demolition.

“There’s nothing special about it,” says the 90-year-old Turchin as he cruises Collins Avenue between 63rd and 48th streets, a strip dense with buildings from the same period as the Herald’s — specimens of post-war Miami Modern (MiMo) architecture that he constructed.

It is no exaggeration to say that Turchin built much of post-war Miami Beach, collaborating with Melvin Grossman, Morris Lapidus and other MiMo period architects. From 1945 to 1985, his firm was the busiest in the building trade. Royal York, Montmartre, Moulin Rouge, King Cole, Charter Club, Four Ambassadors — the list goes on, numbering upward of 100 buildings.





“I grew up when Miami Beach was a small town. It was 1945, and the hotels would close during the summer for renovations because they had no air conditioning. I couldn’t wait for summers, when I would return from school and work on the construction sites,” Turchin says.

In an era when hotel signs sometimes read “No Jews or dogs,” Turchin’s father was a successful builder who hoped his son would be a diplomat. It was not to be. After serving in World War II, for which he recently received a French Legion of Honor medal, he started his first project. Like subsequent ones, it broke the mold.

“The GI Bill made housing affordable for veterans, but it was single-family housing. I wanted to build a four-family unit under the bill,” Turchin says. It was an unprecedented proposal that went from city to state to federal agencies before it was approved. The multi-unit buildings launched the concept of condominiums.

As did other builders, he began to experiment with air conditioning. “Once we were able to air condition them, the hotels stayed open year-round. The beach boomed then,” he says.

Buildings came down to make way for new ones. Turchin’s Morton Towers went up where Carl Fisher’s circa 1920 Flamingo Hotel stood on 15 acres. “The land had become more valuable than the building,” he explains.

Turchin became known as “the builder’s builder” for riding to the top floor of construction sites on the hook of a crane, and walking the beams to inspect the work. His view of the built landscape was daring, pragmatic, and often at odds with those of preservationists like Nancy Liebman, a Miami Beach city commissioner from 1993 to 2001 who served with Turchin on the city’s first historic preservation board.

“A lot of the beautiful mansions on the bay and beach were lost to that kind of development,” laments Liebman. “It was the typical mentality of throw it away and build something new.”

But Turchin was building for the next generation. To him, the Art Deco buildings of his father’s generation — Edgewater Beach, the Sands and the Sea Isle where he honeymooned with his wife — were old school.

“They made no sense. They were all building with a few trees in front. They weren’t called Deco back then. Curlicues on concrete is how we thought of them,” he says.





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Drummers bring beat to Arsht Center




















Mirlanta Petit Homme speaks softly, but her cowbell doesn’t.

In rehearsal, the bell’s tinny tones rise above the drums, just enough to stand out but always on the beat.

“If I get an instrument, I’m going to make sure I’m heard,” she said.





This weekend, the 18-year-old will be heard when she performs with 34 other students in renowned drummer Willie Stewart’s Rhythms in Africa production.

The youth, all members of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami, were chosen from some of the lowest-performing schools in the county.

On Saturday, 10 weeks of hard work will culminate in a performance during Family Fest at the Adrienne Arsht Center.

Starting at 1:30 p.m., the young musicians, along with Stewart and a group of professional musicians, will perform a selection of African songs.

The idea of getting some kind of music program going started last year when Big Brothers Big Sisters officials were brainstorming program ideas for a group of older teenagers.

“This is a very difficult group to engage, and to serve,” said Marianne Weiss, director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami’s Mentoring and Resource Center. “They have to be cool.”

After hearing about Stewart’s Rhythms of Africa production with Fort Lauderdale children in 2011, she knew a music program would be a perfect fit.

Weiss called every kid in the program who she thought would be interested. In particular, she said, she reached out to those with behavioral problems or those who didn’t have anything to do after school. She ended up with 35, mostly high school students.

At the first rehearsal at Elizabeth Virrick Park in Coconut Grove, Stewart set up his drums and invited his new students to come forward.

He picked a few to lead by creating a drum beat. Everyone had to follow and learn the beat. It wasn’t long before they were all drumming in unison.

“At the end of the activity, they sound like an orchestra,” Weiss said. “It’s insane.”

The Grove neighborhood became accustomed to the Sunday drumming rehearsals. Passersby often stopped to listen, sometimes forming a crowd of up to 25 people.

Once, a jogger stopped to ask Weiss about the program and said she wanted to help. She jogged home, then came back with a check for $100 made out to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami.

The help is appreciated. Although Stewart received a $25,000 Knight Foundation grant for the program, there are still costs left over that Rhythms of Africa and Big Brothers Big Sisters had to raise funds for.

Weiss and Stewart would like to form an ongoing percussion ensemble, but again, its success would depend on funding.

This is the third year Stewart - who spent 23 years playing percussion with the internationally known reggae band Third World - has involved youth in the performance of Rhythms of Africa.

After sharing the stage with such illustrious acts as Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder and Carlos Santana, he established the Embrace Music Foundation to restore music to schools and communities.

Several years ago, Stewart used to present the music to the children, but he felt he needed to introduce them to a new way of learning.

He decided to bring them onstage. As well as learning about music and African culture, he said, the kids learn focus, discipline and self-esteem.





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Factbox: Video game industry meets with Biden gun task force






WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Representatives from the companies that make “first-person shooter” games such as “Call of Duty,” “Medal of Honor” and “Grand Theft Auto” met with Vice President Joe Biden on Friday as the Obama administration looks for ways to curb U.S. gun violence.


Biden is heading a task force formed after a gunman shot dead 20 children and six adults last month at a Connecticut elementary school. Biden plans to make recommendations on reducing gun violence to President Barack Obama by next Tuesday.






The vice president has held discussions with a wide range of groups including gun retailers, gun owners, the National Rifle Association gun rights lobbying organization, the film industry, victims of gun violence, and law enforcement authorities.


Following is a list of groups present at Friday’s meeting with Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.


Activision Blizzard Inc


Electronic Arts Inc


E-Line Media


Entertainment Software Association


Entertainment Software Ratings Board


Epic Games


GameStop Corp


Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop


Take-Two Interactive Software Inc


Texas A&M University


University of Wisconsin at Madison


Zenimax Media Inc


(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Will Dunham)


Gaming News Headlines – Yahoo! News





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Tim Allen and Richard Karn's Home Improvement Reunion on Last Man Standing

No, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you! It's 2013 and Tim Allen is once again sharing the small screen with his old Tool Time sidekick Richard Karn. 

For the first time in over a decade, the Home Improvement stars are reuniting and ET was there as Tim and Richard slipped comfortably back into their chummy Tim and Al days while filming an episode of Last Man Standing.

"It's almost [as if] I'd rather be doing Tool Time… When we get together, I miss doing that show," admits the 59-year–old comic who, adorably, spent much of the interview joshing with Richard.

Video: Tim Allen Talks Life After 'Home Improvement'

The episode, airing tonight, casts Richard as a star architect (and Tim's close friend) competing for a job opposite a hot, female colleague preferred by Tim's TV wife, Nancy Travis.

Though Richard's appearance is brief, Tim promises viewers will see more of the dynamic duo.

"I didn't want to get into this if it wasn't something [long term]," says Tim of wrangling his old co-star, a now-dedicated theater actor, back to television.

Watch the video for more!

Last Man Standing airs Fridays at 8 p.m. on ABC.

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Suspect in city's first 2013 murder caught in Ohio

Police have nabbed a suspect wanted for New York City's first murder this year in Ohio, law-enforcement sources said today.

Raymond Mayrant, 25, will be extradited back to New York for the murder of a Bronx school crossing guard, sources said.

Mayrant was dating her daughter, and allegedly shot them both in a confrontation at a Soundview apartment on Jan. 3.

Elzina Brown, 59, was shot in the chest, while her daughter was shot in the nose, authorities said.

It was not immediately clear why he went to Ohio after the slaying.




NYPD



Raymond Mayrant, caught in Ohio.



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Should children be used to develop an anthrax vaccine?




















The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues will hold an open meeting in Miami beginning Monday on the tough issue of whether children should be used in attempts to develop an anthrax vaccine.

The public is welcome to the meeting, to be held at University of Miami Hospital’s Seminar Center at 1400 NW 12th Ave., starting at 9 a.m. Monday and continuing to noon Tuesday.

The discussion concerns the scenario of terrorists creating weapons in which deadly bacteria could kill thousands of people. There’s discussion of developing a vaccine to counter such attacks, but could it proved to be effective for children if it were not tested on them? And what parents would permit such testing?





The panel is chaired by Amy Gutmann, president of the University of Pennsylvania. President Barack Obama created the commission in 2009 to advise him on bioethical issues.

A live webcast will be available at bioethics.gov.





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Sen. Bill Nelson is going python hunting




















Sen. Bill Nelson has taken some ribbing for his focus on Pythons in the Everglades. But the problem is real. So little surprise the 70-year-old Democrat will participate in Florida’s first snake hunt, which begins Saturday and offers cash prizes.

Nelson will go out Thursday with a rancher in Davie.

“He’s had a hand in drawing attention to the problem and it has, in fact, proven to be a very serious problem,” spokesman Dan McLaughlin said. “Bill doesn’t mind the heat, the mosquitoes, the alligators and the poisonous snakes. It puts him in touch with natural Florida.”





Nelson and another hunter will wield machetes and pistols, McLaughlin said.

Hundreds of people have signed up for the python challenge. Grand prizes of $1,500 for harvesting the most Burmese pythons will be awarded to winners of both the general competition and the Python permit holders competition, with additional $1,000 prizes for the longest snake, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.

As of Thursday morning, 670 people had signed up for the python challenge. Grand prizes of $1,500 for harvesting the most Burmese pythons will be awarded to winners of both the general competition and the Python permit holders competition, with additional $1,000 prizes for the longest snake, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.





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Jimmy Dushku: The 25-year-old who is North Korea’s one true Twitter friend






Mother Jones takes a look at a globetrotting young investor who’s the only American — and the only human being — Pyongyang follows


Google Chairman Eric Schmidt capped a controversial four-day visit to North Korea on Thursday with a call for the country’s censorship-happy communist government to give its people access to the internet, or face further economic decline due to the country’s global isolation. It was a strong message from one of the web’s most powerful figures, although North Korea watchers seem pretty confident the country’s young leader, Kim Jong Un, will ignore it. There’s one American, however, Pyongyang does appear to listen to. That would be Jimmy Dushku, a young investor who is one of exactly three Twitter users Kim’s government follows on Twitter. What’s the story behind this unlikely online bromance? Here, a guide:






Who is Jimmy Dushku?
He’s a 25-year-old financial whiz kid from Austin, Texas. Dushku, who also goes by the nicknames “Jimmer” and “Jammy,” started a website development business when he was 14, according to Mother Jones, and he parlayed his early earnings into investments that now include everything from construction projects in Europe to real estate in Texas to mines in South America. He’s also a rabid Coldplay fan, and when he isn’t jetting around the world, he says he likes to play Rachmaninoff on his piano and zoom around on his Ducati Monster motorcycle.


SEE MORE: North Korea’s rocket launch: 3 consequences


So how did he become buddies with North Korea?
Dushku tells Asawin Suebsaeng at Mother Jones he’s not really sure. “People always ask me how it happened, and I honestly can’t remember,” he says. “It started sometime back in 2010. I was initially surprised.” North Korea followed him, he followed North Korea “out of courtesy.” He tweeted back, “Hello my friend,” and a relationship was born. Then, the North Korean government, which has piled up some 11,000 followers in two-and-a-half years on Twitter, abruptly whittled down the number of accounts it follows, leaving just three. Dushku made the cut (along with a Vietnam account and another official North Korean handle).


What has Dushku gotten from the relationship?
Death threats, for one thing. Not long after he linked up with North Korea’s account, which goes by @uriminzok (or “our nation”), Dushku says he started getting angry messages from exiles and South Koreans. Since then, he has mostly kept a low profile, just to be safe, although he does occasionally grant interviews to foreign publications. For its part, North Korea gets a rare glimpse at the outside world through Dushku, as his is the only account North Korea follows that is regularly updated — the other two haven’t tweeted in months. He’s also the only human being in the bunch.


Will @JimmyDushku and @uriminzok ever meet in real life?
That’s always the question for acquaintances who meet online, isn’t it? Dushku says his friendly relationship has won him a standing offer to visit North Korea. Casual observers, however, advise him to proceed with caution. “Am I the only one thinking they picked some random guy so they can lure him into North Korea and use him as a political prisoner/bargaining chip?” one commenter at Gizmodo said. Another suggests that Dushku play it cool, without making Pyongyang angry, saying, “Never unfollow anybody with nuclear weapons.”


Sources: Austinist, CNN, Gizmodo, Mother Jones


View this article on TheWeek.com Get 4 Free Issues of The Week


Other stories from this topic:


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Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News




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Shanola Hampton Talks Shameless Season Three


Shameless
secured a spot on my Best of 2012 list thanks to a startlingly fresh combination of honesty, heartache and humor -- and the third season doesn't stray from that fantastic formula.

All the characters get exhilarating new story arcs beginning January 13, particularly Veronica and Kevin, who board the baby train and, according to Shanola Hampton, take fans to uncharted territory. ETonline caught up with the divine Hampton to find out why people love this scrappy family and if they're capable of earning (or accepting) their Happy Endings.


ETonline: I got to check out the first four episodes of this season, and I just adored them. What's your take on season three?


Shanola Hampton: Season three is epic. It's my favorite season so far. You're in their lives and it goes to a whole new level. The dynamic between Fiona and Jimmy is totally different now that they're past the wooing stage and living together. Lip is all about life after Karen and what it means to be in this new relationship with Mandy, who loves him more than he loves her. Kevin and Veronica are really focused on having a baby, no matter what it takes. Everyone has something so juicy going on.


RELATED - Best TV Shows of 2012


ETonline: Did the experience with Ethel change things for Veronica?


Hampton: For sure. It really triggered something in Veronica, who, in the first season, was all about going out and partying. She wasn't thinking about a child. Then you thought she took in Ethel for the money, but her hard shell softened and that biological clock starting ticking -- hard. She really wants a baby, and the one thing we know about Veronica is that when she wants something, she gets it. No matter what. That opens up a whole new passion and way of going about doing things. The storyline that happens as a result has never been seen on television before. I swear.


ETonline: Despite their drama, I find myself wanting to be a part of The Gallagher family -- and I know I'm not alone. Why do you think so many people feel that way?


Hampton: There's something so grabbing about people who will do anything for one another. Veronica may not be related, but she loves every Gallagher like a blood relative. There's that sense of "If we're going down, we're going down together." It's that love, loyalty and togetherness that makes fans want that kind of friend, brother, sister or family.


VIDEO - Exclusive Season Three Trailer


ETonline: This season also shines a light back on Veronica's relationship with Fiona. What do you like about that dynamic?


Hampton: What's great about their relationship is that Veronica does give that sound advice and brings reality into the conversation. She wants to guide Fiona and be that angel on her shoulder. But in the same sense, when Veronica needs her, Fiona is right there backing her up. It's a very mutual friendship.


ETonline: The Season Three poster played off the idea of Happily Ever After. Do you think the characters are capable of getting -- and accepting -- a Happy Endings?


Hampton: No, I don't. I think that you see this with Lip a lot. That's an incredibly smart character who just can't get out of his own way. You get so used to a world that you complain, but never actually want anything different. Why crave the unfamiliar? That's why I think the typical Happily Ever After will never happen on Shameless -- but all of the characters will get their own version of Happily Ever After.


Shameless
premieres Sunday at 9 p.m. on Showtime.

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Goat-loving oddball accused of sexually assaulting drunk teen








A goat-loving oddball, known for dining in Manhattan with his livestock in tow, is accused of sexually assaulting a teen who was too drunk to consent, prosecutors said.

Cyrus Fakroddin, 51, picked up a 19-year-old girl who had partied with friends at a Manhattan nightclub and was physically and mentally incapacitated when she encountered the eccentric early in the morning of Nov. 17, prosecutors added.

Fakroddin, whose “Pizza Goat,” Cocoa, is a New York animal celebrity, got the inebriated teen in his van and took her to his home in Summit, N.J., where he sexually assaulted her, prosecutors said.





Facebook



Cyrus Fakroddin.





The victim regained consciousness several hours later and had no memory of meeting the goat-herder or going to his house, according to New Jersey authorities. The teen called a friend and made her way back to New York, where she sought medical attention, authorities said.

Fakdroddin, known for leading his leashed four-legged friend all over town, was arrested Wednesday after police gathered physical evidence and statements supporting the teen's claims, prosecutors said.

He is being held in Union County Jail on $250,000 bail.

Prosecutors refused to identify the club where the teen party. They did not immediately respond to questions about whether they tipped off Manhattan authorities about a nightspot that may be serving underage girls.

kconley@nypost.com










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