Sign up for Feb. 21 Miami Herald Small Business Forum

Prepare your best pitch for the Miami Herald’s Small Business Forum, Feb. 21 at the south campus of our sponsor, Florida International University.

In addition to how-to panels and inspirational stories from successful entrepreneurs, our annual small business forum will include interactive opportunities with experts to learn about financing options and polish your personal and business brands.

During our finance panel, audience volunteers will be invited to explain their financing needs to the group. During our box-lunch session, they will be invited to pitch their business or personal brand to our coaches.

Those who prefer just to listen will be treated to a keynote address by Alberto Perlman, co-founder of the global fitness craze Zumba. Panels include success stories from the local entrepreneurs who founded Sedano’s, Jennifer’s Homemade and ReStockIt.com; finance tips from experts in small business loans, venture capital, angel investments and traditional bank loans; and insiders in the burgeoning South Florida tech start-up scene.

Plus, it’s a real bargain. $25 includes the half-day seminar, continental breakfast and a box lunch.

Register here.

Program

8 a.m.

Registration and continental breakfast, provided by Bill Hansen Catering

8:30 a.m. Welcome

Host: David Suarez, president and CEO, Interactive Training Solutions, LLC

•  Jerry Haar, PhD, associate dean & director, FIU Eugenio Pino and Family Global

Entrepreneurship Center

•  Alice Horn, executive director, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE South Florida)

•  Jane Wooldridge, Business editor, The Miami Herald

Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge Overview:

•  Nancy Dahlberg, Business Plan Challenge coordinator, The Miami Herald

8:45 a.m. Session I – Success Stories

Moderator: Jerry Haar, PhD, associate dean & director, FIU Eugenio Pino and Family Global

Entrepreneurship Center

Speakers:

•  Jennifer Behar, founder, Jennifer’s Homemade

•  Matt Kuttler, co-president of ReStockIt.com

•  Javier Herrán, chief marketing officer, Sedano’s Supermarkets

10 a.m. Session II – All about Tech

Moderator: Jane Wooldridge, Business editor, The Miami Herald

Speakers

•  Susan Amat, founder, Launch Pad Tech

•  Nancy Borkowski, executive director, Health Management Programs, Chapman Graduate School of

Business, Florida International University

•  Chris Fleck, vice president of mobility solutions at Citrix and a director of the South Florida Tech Alliance

•  Charles Irizarry, co-founder and director of product architecture, Rokk3r Labs

11:15 a.m. Keynote

Speaker: Alberto Perlman, CEO and co-founder of Zumba® Fitness

Introduction: Jane Wooldridge, business editor, The Miami Herald

11:45 a.m. Session III – Show me the money: Financing your small business

An interactive session featuring audience volunteers who will be invited to make a short investment pitch before a panel, including experts in microlending, SBA loans, traditional bank loans, venture capital and angel investing. Audience volunteers should come prepared with a two-minute presentation that includes details about current backing, how much money they are seeking and a brief synosis of ow that money would be used.

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Pinecrest police chief starts burglary, traffic units

Pinecrest experienced an “alarming” sharp increase in burglaries and sex offenses in 2012, the village’s police chief said in his report Tuesday. Pinecrest also saw a slight increase in robberies and nonviolent thefts.

The village hasn’t had a homicide since 2006. But domestic violence calls went up 100 percent, narcotics violations went up 81 percent, and battery and assault incidents went up 20 percent last year, the chief said in his annual report.

Pinecrest Chief Samuel Ceballos Jr. also had good news. He said that after officers arrested “two groups of career criminals in the last quarter of 2012” there was a 50 percent decrease in burglaries this year. In general, however, crime statistics can fluctuate a great deal from year to year, especially in smaller communities with relatively small numbers.

“The emotional and psychological harm associated with victimization is not something that we take lightly,” Ceballos said at Tuesday’s Village Council meeting. “Our hearts go out to those who have fallen prey to criminals.”

Before becoming Pinecrest’s third police chief in July, Ceballos spent about 12 years with the village and 22 years with Hialeah police. He replaced former chief John Hohensee, who retired in April after 13 years of service.

On Tuesday, council members expressed satisfaction with Ceballos and his department. Dissatisfaction with Miami-Dade police was one of the reasons Pinecrest incorporated in 1996.

“We have heard and read in this report how our police department is growing and is getting more professional,” said Councilman James E. McDonald, a former FBI agent.

Ceballos’ new efforts include setting up a new police unit to focus on burglaries. The unit, he said, “has one main mission. That is detecting, deterring and arresting burglars.”

Ceballos also set up a new traffic unit in November, with four police officers and two fully equipped Harley Davidson motorcycles that cost the city $42,670. This means two officers are looking for traffic violators in the village during the morning and afternoon.

While, Hohensee was not supportive of having an officer working with a multi-agency federal task force, Ceballos is. The financial investment, McDonald said, would eventually pay off when the federal government solves a crime and the value of the seized property related to this crime would be divided among the departments involved.

“It’s time for us to do this,” McDonald said.

After about two years of training, the program would bring in a deputized federal officer to the village. Councilman Bob Ross has firmly opposed this effort, because it would cost the village at least $100,000 a year. The crimes that this officer would be focusing on are not in the village, Ross said, and there is no guarantee that there would eventually be a financial reward that would benefit the village.

The council voted 4-1 to allow the police to participate in the federal task force program.

“Crime doesn’t know boundaries,” Ceballos said. He added that the department has budgeted to hire the new deputized federal officer, and he will promote an officer from within the department, Ceballos said.

Mayor Cindy Lerner supports Ceballos’ effort, and praised him for his efforts to engage the community of about 18,000 in crime watch groups. She also said Ceballos’ use of technology allows residents to get immediate crime reports via a mobile phone application. The department also has a social media component.

“There are just so many ways that you are trying to make the contact and reach into the community and we are doing a better job,” Lerner said.

According to the chief’s report, his department, which employs 50 officers and 20 support staff, had three incidents of “serious misconduct” and five incidents of “misconduct” in the past year. Details of the incidents were not immediately available. But the report said there were five "citizen complaints" and two "internal affairs complaints" that resulted in "corrective action."

“We have to start looking at crime as something more global … crime whether it be drug trafficking, human trafficking … affects all of us,” Ceballos said. “These crimes affect our way of life and the federal government is telling us ‘without your help we are not going to be successful’ … We owe it to our country to help the federal agency.”

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Malibu Country Star Sara Rue Gives Birth to Daughter Talulah

Sara Rue is a new mom!

The Malibu Country star tweeted the happy news on Friday, announcing that she'd given birth to her first child a few days earlier.

Pics: Star Sightings

"Had the best Valentines day w/my husband & our new baby daughter Talulah," posted Rue. "She was born a few days ago & we couldn't be more in love w/her."

The star, 33, announced her pregnancy with husband Kevin Price last September. The couple tied the knot in May 2011.

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Congressman reveals he was tweeting secret daughter - not mistress - during State of the Union

Tennessee Congressman Steven Cohen yesterday revealed he’s the father of a 24-year-old love child, after what appeared to be a flirtatious Twitter exchange with a pretty Texas bikini model during the State of the Union.

“There has been much written and said about my tweeting a very beautiful 24-year-old woman during the State of the Union address,” Cohen, 63 and a lifelong bachelor, told reporters.

“I haven’t been able to say this until now, and I found out three years ago…the young lady is my daughter.”

The bombshell revelation from the Democrat lawmaker came after Brink, a Texas college student, tweeted Cohen during the President’s speech, gushing, “I just saw you on TV!”

© WMCTV

Congressman Steve Cohen tweets a message to his daughter during the State of the Union address.

“Pleased u r watching. Ilu.” Cohen responded, using the popular social media shorthand for “I love you.”

The next day, Cohen tweeted, “happy valentines, beautiful girl. Ilu.”

Both tweets were quickly deleted by Cohen when he realized the messages were public, but it was too late.

Cohen’s camp, who apparently didn’t know the full story, initially said Brink was a family friend. Cohen later came clean.

He said he learned Brink was his daughter after searching the Internet for her mom, thrice-married Texas lawyer Cynthia White McMurrey Brink Sinatra, whose professional Web page lists Brink’s 1988 birthday. The math corresponded with a fling Cohen had with Sinatra, who has two other daughters from previous relationships.

With Post Wire Services

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Marshals seize Hollywood firm’s diet supplements

U.S. Marshals have seized tainted dietary supplements from Globe All Wellness, a Hollywood company, because Food and Drug Administration investigators found the materials contained a dangerous drug, the FDA said.

“Several of the seized products contain sibutramine hydrochloride, ... the active ingredient in the obesity drug Meridia,” the FDA said in a press release issued Thursday. “In December 2010, Meridia was withdrawn from the U.S. market after clinical data demonstrated that the drug increased the risk of heart attack and stroke.”

Globe All markets claims its products can lower blood pressure and cholesterol, the FDA release stated. Such drugs need FDA approval -- which the products didn’t have.

“Companies that distribute products containing undisclosed drugs are not only breaking the law, they are putting consumers at risk,” said Howard Sklamberg, director of the Office of Compliance in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research in a prepared statement. “With these kinds of hidden dangers, consumers cannot make informed decisions about the products they are taking.”

The FDA made inspections of the Hollywood company in October and February and concluded that the supplements “were not manufactured in accordance with the current good manufacturing practice requirements.”

The marshals seized lots of products with the names SlimXtreme, SlimXtreme Gold, SlimPlus, SlimLee, GelSlim, SlimDrops and Colonew, the release said.

In July 2011, the company issued a voluntary product recall of its product Via Xtreme Ultimate Sexual Enhancer Dietary Supplement for Men.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday afternoon.

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Crime Watch: Steer clear of these latest email scams

Today I want to share with you some interesting scam emails shared by readers. We truly need to be super-careful and not open or respond to any of them.

I personally got the one from Kabul and had to laugh because this was a new one for me. I am not showing the email address, but trust me it looked very official especially when I do have friends that are stationed in Kabul. Here is the email I got:

Subj: Greetings from Kabul.. ... .

Hello,

I am CPT. Greg Hooper an officer of the U.S Army presently serving with the 395th CSSB peace keeping forces in Afghanistan. You may not know me but i really need your help as i have some very important packages to ship to you for safekeeping until i return back home to the USA.

I will explain in details only if you meet my conditions. Thanks for your prayers & support as we hope to return in one piece!!

CPT. Greg Hooper.

The second email I want to share came from a read who had some very good suggestions and its really worth sharing, since he had a personal experience with the email. Here is what he had to say:

Dear Carmen:

Thank you for your article in The Miami Herald on Jan. 6, 2013, titled "Two email scams you shouldn’t fall for." I haven’t seen the second one you mentioned yet, but I’ve received the first one several times over the last two or three years. It’s amazing how many of my friends and acquaintances have been robbed overseas in the last few years!

I’m writing because I thought there was one element to the scam that I thought important to be emphasized, and, if you ever decide to re-publicize the information, I’d suggest including it. Sometimes, when I’ve received those e-mails, they are not only from someone I know, but the email address in the "FROM" line is identical to the email address of the friend who is supposedly writing to me. This instantly leads a person to trust that the email is legitimate. And, since a quick "reply to" will allow the recipient to verify that it’s true, it’s easy to fall for it.

However, when you hit "reply to", the e-mail address to which the message will be sent is NOT the same as the one from which it appeared to have been sent. The address changes — very, very subtly.

For example, I could receive a message from a friend at "FRIEND101@gmail.com", but, when I hit "reply to", the message will be sent to "FRIEMD101@gmail.com" (the "N" was subtly changed to a "M") or "FRlEND101@gmail.com" (the capital "I" has been changed to a lower-case "L"). So if I sent an email to the person using "reply to", asking "is this true?!?", I would likely receive a message back from the scammer verifying it’s fictitious validity.

Thanks for listening and for aiming to protect the public!

Jeff Rothkopf

Folks, like I always say the Internet is a wonderful form of communication, but it brings its dangers, therefore we all must be vigilant and astute when using it.

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Kaley Cuoco Reveals Her Valentine's Day Plans

ET caught up with The Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco at the Tommy Hilfiger Los Angeles Flagship Opening after party, where she shared that she definitely has more than one Valentine's Day date this year.

In fact, she has 27.

Pics: Pucker Up -- A-List Couples Kissing!

"Floor seats to the freaking Lakers. That's where I'll be with my sister, that's my Valentine's Day night!," Kaley replied when asked if she had any romantic plans for today.

"I have like 27 dates, can't wait ... with my eyes," she joked about checking out all the Laker players.

An all-white clad Jessica Alba shared that she'll be spending the day with her two daughters, Honor, 4, and Haven, 1.

"We're gonna be making heart-shaped cookie sandwiches. We made something called whoopies already," she revealed about her family plans. "And Honor did the sprinkles on the whoopies. We're gonna have a Valentine's with the kids tomorrow and then Friday, Cash and I are gonna have our little date night."

Video: Sneak Peek -- Valentine's Day on 'Big Bang Theory'

Fellow mom Alicia Keys was also excited to spend some "us time" with her man Swizz Beatz and their two-year-old son Egypt.

"I was thinking of doing something really sweet and special, and something at home," she said about their cozy plans. "I thought we could like, all cook together and make a beautiful meal, and spend just some us time. So good, I can't wait."

Check out the video to hear Neil Patrick Harris' very secretive Valentine's Day plans, and also Tommy Hilfiger himself on which celebrity he would most like to dress!

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Sen. Lautenberg not seeking re-election in NJ

New Jersey Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg has announced he will not seek re-election.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker, also a Democrat, previously announced his plans to seek Lautenberg’s seat instead of challenging Republican Gov. Chris Christie, as many Democrats hoped he would.

Broadcast newsman Geraldo Rivera has also said he’s contemplating a run for the US Senate in New Jersey in 2014.

“I figure, at my age, if I’m going to do it, I’ve got to do it. And there doesn’t seem to be any Republicans ready to work against or run against Cory Booker,” he said.

AP

Sen. Frank Lautenberg

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American Airlines, US Airways announce merger

After a nearly yearlong courtship, the union became official Thursday: American Airlines and US Airways have formally announced plans to merge.

An early morning announcement by the airlines confirmed reports widely circulated after boards of both companies approved the merger late Wednesday.

The move brings stability to one of Miami-Dade County’s largest private employers more than a year after the airline and its parent company filed for bankruptcy protection, leaving the fate of thousands of employees — and the largest carrier at Miami International Airport — in question.

According to the Thursday announcement, the deal was approved unanimously by the boards of both companies, creating the world’s biggest airline with implied market value of nearly $11 billion, based on the Wednesday closing price of US Airways stock. The airline will have close to 100,000 employees, 1,500 aircraft, $38.7 billion in combined revenue.

The deal must be approved by American’s bankruptcy judge and antitrust regulators, but no major hurdles are expected. The process is expected to take about six months, according to a letter sent to employees Thursday by American CEO Tom Horton.

Travelers won’t notice immediate changes. The new airline will be called American Airlines. It likely will be months before the frequent-flier programs are merged, and possibly years before the two airlines are fully combined. The new airline will be a member of the oneWorld airlines frequent flier alliance.

And for Miami travelers, it’s unlikely that much will change at any point. American and regional carrier American Eagle handled 68 percent of traffic at the airport last year, while US Airways accounted for just 2 percent. American boasts 328 flights to 114 destinations from Miami.

“We don’t expect any substantial changes at MIA if the merger occurs because our traffic is largely driven by the strength of the Miami market and not the airlines serving it,” said airport spokesman Greg Chin.

American has said for more than a year that its long-term plan calls for increasing departures at key hubs, including Miami, by 20 percent. That pledge has already started to materialize; in recent months, the airline has added new service to Asuncion, Paraguay and Roatán, Honduras.

During its bankruptcy restructuring, about 400 American employees lost jobs, leaving American and its regional carrier, American Eagle, with 9,894 employees in Miami-Dade County and 43 in Fort Lauderdale. US Airways has few employees in the area.

“It really isn’t going to affect Miami in a very major way anytime soon,” said Michael Boyd, an aviation consultant in Evergreen, Colo. “Only because US Airways isn’t a big player in South Florida.”

At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, American and US Airways combined would still only be the fifth-largest airline after Southwest, Spirit, JetBlue and Delta, a spokesman said. The two airlines have little overlap in routes from Fort Lauderdale.

Despite the lack of major changes, Boyd said the merger would be a good development for Miami.

“It should be positive for the employees and it should be positive for the communities that the airlines serve,” he said.

Robert Herbst, an independent airline analyst and consultant, said US Airways will add a “significant amount” of destinations in the Northeast, including Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

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Mystery shrouds failure of Internet video link between Pakistani hotel, Miami terrorism trial

The mystery of who pulled the plug on the Internet connection linking witnesses testifying in Pakistan to a Miami terrorism trial remained unsolved Wednesday, stalling the high-profile proceeding until next Tuesday as the defense scrambles for an alternate solution.

A defense attorney for Miami imam Hafiz Khan, standing trial on charges of financially supporting the Pakistani Taliban, told a federal judge by phone that the Pakistan government’s foreign and interior ministries did not even know that the live video feed was cut off to Miami Tuesday morning.

A federal prosecutor said his office contacted an FBI legal attache in Islamabad, and the official checked in with several Pakistani government agencies and the staff at the hotel where the testimony was taken earlier this week. No one had a clue about the mysterious shutdown -- whether it was a technical glitch or the secret work of the Pakistan government.

Prosecutor John Shipley accused defense attorney Khurrum Wahid of trying to orchestrate the live testimony at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad “under the radar screen” of the Pakistan government -- an accusation strongly denied by Wahid.

U.S. District Judge Robert Scola, clearly exasperated by the high-tech failure 8,000 miles away, gave Wahid an ultimatum that must be met by Friday. Wahid could take the testimony of 10 remaining witnesses in a third country, such as a United Arab Emirate, as long as he could obtain travel visas for them and resume the depositions by next Tuesday. If not, the judge said, Wahid must abandon his alternate plan and return home over the holiday weekend to resume his defense in Miami.

“One way or the other, that’s the last accommodation I’m making,” Scola told Wahid by phone Wednesday morning.

A moment later, the judge told the 12 jurors: “We still don’t have any transmission from Pakistan. We are trying to make alternate arrangements.”

Perhaps the most befuddled in the bunch: Khan, 77, who is standing trial on charges of sending thousands of dollars to the Taliban terrorist organization, sworn enemies of the U.S. and Pakistan governments. Khan was the leader of the Flagler Mosque, 7350 NW Third St.

Despite safety concerns, the judge had allowed Khan’s defense attorney to travel to Pakistan to take live testimony from 11 witnesses so the defendant could receive a fair trial. Prosecutors opposed allowing the testimony, and refused to make the trip.

Everything seemed to be going well until about 11:20 a.m., or 9:20 p.m. Tuesday in Islamabad. The flat-screen televisions and video monitors in front of the judge, lawyers and jurors in Miami suddenly lost the signal and flashed “disconnected.”

Wahid explained to the judge by phone Tuesday that there was “absolutely no problem” until a prosecutor in Miami mentioned the name of the Serena Hotel, where the testimony was being taken, during cross-examination. He noted the hotel staff said “there were some intelligence operatives in the business center here, and they were taking pictures of us and our witnesses.”

Added Wahid: “I’ve been told by the hotel staff that it’s from outside the building and that ... the IP [Internet] address has been blacklisted by the Interior Ministry, I’m sorry, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority.”

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