Stone-crab season suffers in the Keys

Despite rocketing prices for stone-crab claws, many Florida Keys commercial fishermen have nearly given up on the season only 2 months old.

"We may see record prices but also record pain," said Gary Graves, general manager of Keys Fisheries in Marathon. "Prices don't mean anything if you can't catch anything."

Harvests since shortly after the season opening Oct. 15 have been "as bad as I can remember during my 45 years in the business," Graves said. "It's just bleak."

Keys Fisheries, one of the state's leading wholesalers for stone crabs, has laid off half of its production staff, maybe 20 people, Graves said.

"We hate to do it to our people but we're probably not finished," he said. "Right now, a big day for us is 1,000 pounds [of claws]. It should be around 15,000 pounds. We're doing nothing."

Keys Fisheries has raised its dockside prices paid to fishermen several times to encourage fishermen to keep their traps in the water.

Graves said it costs a fisherman about $1,200 in fuel, labor and other expenses to make a day's trip. The fish house's current prices are $9 per pound for medium-size claws and $17 per pound for the coveted jumbos.

"Our wholesale sales prices are higher than that and retail is through the roof," Graves said. "But we can't fill the orders we have."

A Marathon community group recently canceled the organization's annual stone crab feast for members because no claws were to be found.

The season runs until May 15.

Last season, Monroe County produced about 1.1 million pounds of legal-size claws, accounting for a large portion of Florida's total 2.67 million-pound harvest worth an estimated $23.6 million to the commercial fleet.

About 1,000 people statewide are licensed to fish traps for stone crabs. Only the claws are kept. Historically, stone-crab harvests have topped three million pounds of claws.

"The last two years were good and the recruitment looked normal," Graves said. "The first round of trap pulling was fine but it went downhill from there — like falling off a cliff."

Fishermen and researchers are baffled.

"Blame it on global warming, blame it on BP [Deepwater Horizon oil spill], blame it on Mother Nature," Graves said. "Everybody's got an idea but nobody can say why. It's probably a combination of a bunch of things."

News reports from stone-crab fleets farther up the Florida Gulf Coast suggest an octopus population explosion. Crabs are a favorite food of octopus, which are smart enough to get into traps.

"We've seen more octopus in the 6- to 8-pound range, which is abnormal," Graves said. State experts have suggested warm winters may have triggered the octopus boom.

"Things could turn around," Graves said, "but realistically the chances of it happening this season are slim."

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WWII vet to receive French Legion of Honor

Hal Lobree was an 18-year-old radio operator with the U.S. Army’s 106th Infantry Division, less than three weeks into his deployment to war-ravaged Europe, when Adolf Hitler launched a surprise blitzkrieg that would later be known as the Battle of the Bulge.

From his post in a farmhouse cellar in the town of St. Vith, Belgium, Lobree frantically connected calls from the front to the various commanding officers. Each was more desperate, as the Germans encircled and cut off U.S. forces.

“They’re on top of us!”

“We’re outmanned!”

“I can see them coming!”

As the radio calls ceased and casualties began to mount — it turned into the bloodiest battle U.S. forces experienced during World War II, with 19,000 American dead — Lobree and three others from his regimen fell back into the woods. They hid there until they were rescued by a U.S. Army Corps of Engineer truck.

Lobree would spend the rest of the war with another Army outfit, the 28th Infantry Division, attached to Gen. George Patton’s Third Army, as it chased the Germans through northern France and into eastern Germany. Lobree never again saw any of the 106th Infantry guys who had trained with him in Indiana’s Camp Atterbury and then fought in the Ardennes, the dense forest and mountain region that extends through Belgium, Luxembourg and France.

“What saved my life was one thing – I was a switchboard operator,” he recalls with a rueful shake of the head.

Now, almost seven decades after those frigid, snowy December days in 1943, Lobree will be presented with the French Legion of Honor on Wednesday at a ceremony in Surfside, along with a handful of other South Florida World War II veterans. It’s not the only honor the 1943 graduate of Miami Beach High has received for his service during the war. He was also awarded the Bronze Star for Meritorious Achievement in Ground Operations Against the Enemy in 1948.

In what Lobree calls “a happy coincidence,” one of his sons, Shawn Lobree, a senior captain with the U.S. Navy, will receive an honor of his own. Within hours of the French Legion ceremony, on the deck of the U.S.S Peleliu somewhere in the Arabian Sea, the younger Lobree will be installed as Commodore of the Third Amphibious Squadron of the U.S. Navy, in charge of a fleet of ships.

“As that 18-year-old in the army 69 years ago, I would’ve never figured on something like this happening.”

The elder Lobree says he’s “very pleased, very proud” of his son’s 26-year Naval career. But he’s not surprised. Shawn, like his older brother H.Baird and his twin brother Shawl, were champion sailors in their youth, winning multiple Florida state titles and national championships.

Lobree loves talking about his children’s feats and only reluctantly talks about his own. The French Legion award prompted him to dig out photos and other memorabilia.

“See that?” he says, pointing to a black scrapbook. “It was gathering dust until all this happened.” In it are photos, magazine and newspaper clippings, calendars and ticket stubs that chronicle a long, eventful life.

After the war, Lobree attended the University of Texas on the G.I. bill and graduated to a job in the oil industry as a petroleum geologist in Indiana. There he married and had four children before moving back to his hometown 42 years ago.

Two of those children remain in Miami — daughter Fleur, a Miami-Dade County Court judge, and son H. Baird, a professional management and information technology consultant — and will attend the Dec. 19 ceremony. In February, Fleur Lobree will be elevated to the Eleventh Judicial Circuit by Gov. Rick Scott.

Jeannine, his wife of 51 years, died in July. “She would’ve loved seeing all this,” he says.

And though he appreciates the war honors, he also admits that dredging up the memories can be painful. “War changes you,” he says. “You’re never the same again.”

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Merry Christmas, America-Haters?

When TNT was preparing its annual special “Christmas in Washington” with the president of the United States, you’d think the last star musician they would consider to join the official caroling would be Psy, the South Korean rapper. What on Earth is Christmasy about this man’s invisible-horse-riding dance to his dorky disco-rap hit “Gangnam Style”? It’s not exactly the natural flip-side to “O Holy Night.” But TNT couldn’t resist this year’s YouTube sensation.

This inane publicity stunt backfired when the website Mediaite reported on Dec. 7 that Psy (real name: Park Jae-sang) had participated in a 2002 protest in which he crushed a model of an American tank with a microphone stand. But that’s nothing compared to the footage of a 2004 performance after a Korean missionary was slaughtered by Islamists in Iraq. These lyrics cannot be misunderstood.

“Kill those f—-ing Yankees who have been torturing Iraqi captives … Kill those f—-ing Yankees who ordered them to torture … Kill their daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law and fathers … Kill them all slowly and painfully.”

This isn’t just anti-American. It’s anti-human.

Guess where this story first surfaced in the American media? CNN, from the same corporate family tree as TNT. It was posted back on Oct. 6 on CNN’s iReport, an open-source online news feature that allows users to submit stories for CNN consideration.

The Korean one-hit wonder put out the usual abject careerist apology, but he weirdly said, “I’m deeply sorry for how these lyrics could be interpreted.” Those darn lyrics and those darn people who misinterpret lyrics about killing Yankees’ mothers. It is like Barack Obama expressing regret for the awful things said about Susan Rice, ignoring the awful things said by Susan Rice.

Psy is now a millionaire. As Jim Treacher wrote at the Daily Caller: “So far he’s made over $ 8 million from the song, about $ 3 million of it from the people he once wanted to kill.” Brad Schaeffer at Big Hollywood noted his own father fought for South Korea’s independence in the Korean War: “Had it not been for ‘f——-g Yankees’ like my Dad, this now-wealthy South Korean wouldn’t be ‘Oppan Gangnam Style’ so much as ‘Starving Pyongyang Style.’” (Gangnam is a posh district in the South Korean capital of Seoul.)

Despite the controversy, neither the Obama White House nor the TNT brass felt it was necessary to send Psy packing before the Dec. 9 taping. On Saturday, ABC reporter Muhammad Lila merely repeated, “the White House says the concert will go on and that President Obama will attend, saying that they have no control over who performs at that concert.”

What moral cowardice. On Monday morning, another pliant publicist, NBC correspondent Peter Alexander, calmly relayed that the White House did take control on the Psy front — on its own “We The People” website, where the people may post petitions to the president for their fellow citizens to sign. A petition asking Obama to dump Psy from the Christmas concert was itself dumped. Alexander explained: “But that petition was removed because the rules say the petitions only apply to federal actions. And, of course, the President had no say over who the private charity chose to invite.”

This is double baloney. The White House hasn’t removed silly “federal action” petitions like the one asking to “Nationalize the Twinkie Industry,” or one to “Secure resources and funding, and begin construction of a Death Star by 2016.” They removed one that they didn’t want people to sign.

As for Obama having “no say over” who appeared on the TNT show, the president could easily declare he wasn’t going to share a stage with this America-hater. Or he could have obviously placed one phone call to Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes (an Obama donor), and expressed the dismay of the President of the United States.

Instead, the Obamas came and honored Psy. Yes, the president honored a man who despised America enough to want its citizens slaughtered.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting and Cable magazine observed, “At the end of the taping, when the First Family customarily shakes hands and talks briefly with the performers, the First Lady gave Psy a hug, followed by a handshake from the President, who engaged Psy in a short, animated discussion — at one point Psy appeared to rock back with laughter — and patted the singer on the shoulder.”

I never thought I’d ever view a Christmas special featuring a hideous hater of America celebrated by the President of the United States.

L. Brent Bozell III is the president of the Media Research Center. To find out more about Brent Bozell III, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2012 CREATORS.COM

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Kristen Stewart I Apologize To Everyone For Making Them So Angry

Getting noticed in Hollywood is the toughest task facing every fledgling actor and every A-lister will tell you countless stories about the times they almost quit the business. Kristen Stewart did just that during a new interview with Newsweek, recounting the make or break audition that ultimately put her on the path to stardom.

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After being discovered during a school play, Stewart and her mother (Jules Mann-Stewart) drove from audition to audition with no luck. "I decided a year after not getting any commercials, 'F*ck it. I won't make my mom drive around Los Angeles anymore,'" Stewart says.

"I also got so nervous for every single audition. I was just dying. I had one appointment left and my mom said, 'Have a little integrity and go to your last one.' And it was The Safety of Objects. If I hadn't gotten that, I would have been done."

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One wonders if Stewart wished her cinematic journey ended all those years ago, as her high profile status led to one of the most memorable celebrity scandals of 2012. "It's not a terrible thing if you're either loved or hated," she says now, 5-months removed from the situation. "But honestly, I don't care 'cause it doesn't keep me from doing my sh*t. And I apologize to everyone for making them so angry. It was not my intention."

In the end, Stewart says she learned a lot from that experience -- particularly not to let the public dictate decisions made in her personal life. "It's a little annoying having to be so compartmentalized," she says. "I go from box to box to box. But I'm going out a lot more now. I was starting to get closed off and self-conscious, and I'm trudging forth into the world more often."

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With Bella Swan and all those heartbreak headlines behind her, Stewart is endlessly excited about what the future holds. "The only relief when it comes to Twilight is that the story is done. I start every project to finish the motherfu*ker, and to extend that [mentality] over a five-year period adapting all of these treasured moments over four books, it was constantly worrying. But as long as people's perspective of me doesn't keep me from doing what I want to do, it doesn't matter."

For more from Kristen Stewart's Newsweek interview, click here!

PHOTOS - Kristen Stewart and Other Stars' First Nude Scenes

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Paula Broadwell online stalking probe dropped

The Justice Department is dropping its investigation into whether David Petraeus' mistress, Paula Broadwell, stalked a romantic rival online.

Broadwell's lawyer, Robert Muse, gave The Associated Press a letter from U.S. Attorney Robert O'Neill that says no federal charges will be brought in Florida related to "alleged acts of cyberstalking."

A retired general, Petraeus resigned as CIA director in November after acknowledging the extramarital affair, which was exposed after Broadwell emailed Tampa socialite Jill Kelley, allegedly warning Kelley to stay away from Petraeus and Gen. John Allen, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan.

AP

Gen. Davis Petraeus, left, with mistress and co-author Paula Broadwell.

Kelley reported the emails to the FBI, triggering an investigation that led the FBI to Kelley's emails to the married Allen, who is now under investigation by the Pentagon's inspector general.

A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.

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Pipeline Brickell, a new co-working space, reaches 70% occupancy

Pipeline Brickell, the shared workspace at 1101 Brickell Avenue that opened last month, announced it has reached 70 percent occupancy and is now home to dozens of startups, established companies and professionals. Company founders Todd Oretsky and Philippe Houdard said members of the 14,000-square-foot high-design co-working center include The Founder’s Institute, the world's largest startup accelerator; Pininfarina, an Italian-based design firm with clients including Ferrari and Maserati; Virgin Unite, a non-profit foundation founded by Richard Branson for the venture capital conglomerate Virgin Group; LearnerNation, a provider of interactive learning tools; and GuestBooker, a New York-based firm that specializes in booking high-profile talent on national TV networks. Pipeline, one of a wave of co-working spaces already opened or planned for Miami, also offers its members classes, workshops and networking events and has been hosting programs for community organizations.

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Narcy Novack gets life in prison for killing her hotel heir husband

An epic family murder saga ended Monday when Narcy Novack, wife of Fontainebleau hotel heir Ben Novack Jr., was sentenced to life in prison.

Three years after she and her brother Cristobal planned and helped execute Ben Novack and his mother Bernice, the convicted killers, who had remained loyal to each other throughout the trial, made it clear their family ties would not extend to prison. Cristobal also was sentenced to life in prison Monday.

Each blamed the other for masterminding the murders, and their lawyers each asked the judge for leniency, claiming they were less culpable because the other sibling was pulling the strings.

The former Hialeah stripper, 56, will now spend her days in a yellow prison jumpsuit and sneakers and sleep on a cot in a small jail cell. Known as a late riser, Novack will now be forced up at the crack of dawn each day to do chores, like washing floors and peeling potatoes.

Her new life will be far cry from her jet-setting days drinking champagne and having servants to do her cooking and cleaning.

But even more devastating is that with her conviction, Narcy Novack loses all rights to the bounty she hoped to claim with his death. While she was designated as the sole beneficiary of his estimated $10 million estate, under Florida’s Slayer Statute, she now forfeits all rights to his fortune.

Novack, and her brother, both natives of Ecuador, were convicted in June of plotting the July 12, 2009, killing of her husband, son of the late Ben Novack Sr., who built Miami Beach’s storied Fontainebleau hotel. Narcy Novack believed that her husband was going to leave her for another woman and that she would be left with a fraction of what she felt she was entitled.

Under Ben Novack Jr.’s will, his mother, had she lived, would have been appointed as curator of his estate and received $200,000 in cash plus $2,500 per month. Though Narcy Novack would receive the balance of her husband’s property and money, as curator, Bernice Novack would have exercised great control over the purse strings, and likely would have made life difficult for her daughter-in-law, whom she had once accused of trying to poison her.

The bloodshed began on April 5, 2009, when two hitmen hired by the siblings drove to Bernice Novack’s home, at 2737 NE 37th St. in Fort Lauderdale. One of the hitmen, Alejandro Garcia, said he hid next to Bernice Novack’s garage, near where her car was parked in the driveway. As it grew dark, Novack, clad in a nightgown, came out of her house and pulled her car into the garage. Garcia followed her inside, and as she began to step out of her vehicle he clubbed her on the head with a monkey wrench. As she screamed, he continued to beat her in the face.

“The plan was to hit her in the teeth and give her a good beating,” Garcia testified during trial.

Garcia then fled, leaving the Novack matriarch sprawled in the front seat of her car. She somehow managed to pull herself out of the vehicle and get inside her house where she tried to clean up the blood. But while trying to fix herself up, she collapsed and died in the laundry room. Her son found her body the next morning, drenched in blood. An autopsy showed that her teeth were broken, along with a finger, and that her skull was cracked. Both Fort Lauderdale police and the Broward Medical Examiner, however, ruled the death an accident, theorizing that she died from a fall.

Believing that they had gotten away with one murder, Narcy and her brother then focused on getting her husband out of the way. In addition to his $10 million estate, they intended to take control of his company, Convention Concepts Unlimited, which reportedly grossed $50 million a year.

On July 12, Garcia and another hired accomplice, Joel Gonzalez, were driven to Rye Brook, N.Y., a wealthy Manhattan suburb, where Ben Novack was organizing a business convention for his largest client, Amway International. That morning, after working most of the night, Ben Novack climbed into bed about 6:30 a.m. to get a few hours rest. Shortly before 7 a.m., Narcy Novack opened the door to their suite, and Garcia and Gonzalez entered. She

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Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan Expecting First Child

The Sexest Man Alive is now going to be a dad.

Channing Tatum and his wife, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, are expecting their first child together, ET confirms.

Related: Channing Tatum Crowned as 'Sexiest Man Alive'

The couple, who married in 2009 in Malibu, met on the set of their hit film Step Up.

In November, the recently crowned "Sexiest Man Alive" told People that he wanted at least three kids with his dancer/actress wife.

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"The first number that pops into my head is three, but I just want one to be healthy and then we'll see where we go after that," he said. "I'm ready; I think she's ready ...
It's really easy for us guys to say, 'I want like 15 kids.' Jenna will be like, 'Well you better get another wife!'"

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Fla. woman gets life in prison in family killings

A woman from Florida has been sentenced to life in prison in the killings of her millionaire husband and mother-in-law.

Narcy Novack of Fort Lauderdale was not in the White Plains courtroom to hear the sentence on Monday. She waived her right to appear, just as she did when the verdict was delivered in June.

Her brother and co-defendant, Cristobal Veliz of Brooklyn, was also sentenced to life in prison in federal court in White Plains.

They were convicted of hiring hit men to carry out the 2009 beating deaths of Ben Novack Jr. in New York and Bernice Novack in Florida. Ben Novack was the son of the man who built the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach.

AP

Narcy Novack

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Ryder CEO Greg Swienton retiring, COO getting promoted

Trucking giant Ryder will get a new CEO in two weeks, as the Miami-Dade company announces the retirement of Gregory Swienton and the promotion of current COO Robert Sanchez to the top job.

Ryder, which leases commercial trucks and manages supply operations for companies around the world, saw revenues and profits increase this year, but has also been cutting costs and selling part of its fleet to combat slowing sales. Swienton, 63, joined Ryder as president in 1999 and was promoted to CEO a year later. Sanchez, 47, will become the company’s fifth CEO since its founding in 1933 by a Miami Beach construction worker named Jim Ryder.

Sanchez becomes CEO on January 1, and Swienton will retain the title of chairman of the board until Ryder’s annual meeting in May, when that title will pass to Sanchez, too, the company said in a press release issued Monday morning.

A 19-year veteran at Ryder, Sanchez has served as head of the company’s largest division, global fleet management solutions, and as chief financial officer.

E. Follin Smith, an independent director on the board, said in a statement in the company press release: “We sincerely thank Greg Swienton for leading Ryder to an improved sustainable business model, significantly enhanced financial performance, and an organization-wide commitment to business integrity.”

Ryder stock dropped 1.5 percent Monday, to $48.81 a share.

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