Speaking News

Feds hunt for 3 LI sex offenders gone missing after Hurricane Sandy

Label: Health

US Marshals are searching for several Suffolk County sex offenders who disappeared after Hurricane Sandy.

The federal law-enforcement agency launched Operation Shore Restore in December to track down offenders who were displaced during the superstorm, authorities said.

“These local agencies during the Hurricane were pretty taxed,” said Charlie Dunne, the US Marshal for the Eastern District of New York. “So marshals want to come in and help other law-enforcement get a handle on where these sex offenders are.”

There are about 1000 individuals on Suffolk County, and marshals focused on 500 offenders in the operation.

Authorities found 450 of the offenders living in their registered homes, while forty had relocated because of the storm. They were found living with family members, in hotels, or even in homeless shelters because their residences were damaged in the storm.

“There were ten we felt had absconded as a result of the hurricane, and left,” said Dunne.

Seven so far have been located and arrested, but three have not been found yet.

It was not immediately released how serious the crimes were that the offenders had been convicted of before they were released.

Don’t get too personal on LinkedIn

Label: Business

Have you ever received a request to connect on LinkedIn from someone you didn’t know or couldn’t remember?

A few weeks ago, Josh Turner encountered this situation. The online request to connect came from a businessman on the opposite coast of the United States. It came with a short introduction that ended with “Let’s go Blues!” a reference to Turner’s favorite hockey team in St. Louis that he had mentioned in his profile. “It was a personal connection … that’s building rapport.”

LinkedIn is known for being the professional social network where members expect you to keep buttoned-down behavior and network online like you would at a business event. With more than 200 million registered users, the site facilitates interaction as a way to boost your stature, gain a potential customer or rub elbows with a future boss.

But unlike most other social networking sites, LinkedIn is all about business — and you need to take special care that you act accordingly. As in any workplace, the right amount of personal information sharing could be the foot in the door, say experts. The wrong amount could slam it closed.

“Anyone in business needs a professional online presence,’’ says Vanessa McGovern, the VP of Business Development for the Global Institute for Travel Entrepreneurs and a consultant to business owners on how to use LinkedIn. But they should also heed LinkedIn etiquette or risk sending the wrong messages.

One of the biggest mistakes, McGovern says is getting too personal — or not personal enough.

Sending a request to connect blindly equates to cold calling and likely will lead nowhere. Instead, it should come with a personal note, an explanation of who you are, where you met, or how the connection can benefit both parties, McGovern explains.

Your profile should get a little personal, too, she says. “Talk about yourself in the first person and add a personal flair — your goals, your passion … make yourself seem human.”

Beyond that, keep your LinkedIn posts, invitations, comments and photos professional, McGovern says.

If you had a hard day at the office or your child just won an award, you may want to share it with your personal network elsewhere — but not on LinkedIn.

“This is not Facebook. Only share what you would share at a professional networking event,” she says.

Another etiquette pitfall on LinkedIn is the hit and run — making a connection and not following up.

At least once a week, Ari Rollnick, a principal in kabookaboo, an integrated marketing agency in Coral Gables, gets a request to connect with someone on LinkedIn that he has never met or heard of before. The person will have no connections in common and share no information about why they want to build a rapport.

“I won’t accept. That’s a lost opportunity for them,” Rollnick says.

He approaches it differently. When Rollnick graduated from Emory with an MBA in 2001, he had a good idea that his classmates would excel in the business world. Now, Rollnick wanted to find out just where they went and reestablish a connection.

With a few clicks, he tracked down dozens of them on LinkedIn, requested a connection, and was back on their radar. Then came the follow-up — letting them know through emails, phone calls and posts that he was creating a two-way street for business exchange. “Rather than make that connection and disappearing , I let them know I wanted to open the door to conversation.”

Broward government executive drops outs of Miami Beach city manager race

Label: World

Monica Cepero has dropped out of Miami Beach’s search for a city manager.

Currently an assistant to the Broward County administrator, Cepero was one of three finalists being considered for the job.

In a letter emailed to city commissioners at about 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Cepero wrote: “The nature of this process has made it clear to me that this position is not the right one for me, at this time.”

Miami Beach has been without a city manager since July 2012, when former City Manager Jorge Gonzalez was forced to resign amid corruption scandals — though he was never implicated in any, and actually reported some of the shenanigans himself to law enforcement.

The city conducted a nationwide search for a new top administrator, which is when Cepero applied for the position. But commissioners were unhappy with the candidates brought forward by a headhunter, and added their own to the mix.

“She may be questioning the commission’s seriousness in finalizing this process,” Vice Mayor Michael Góngora said.

Cepero called the search for a new city manager “protracted” and noted in her letter that she was the only finalist who had been involved in the search from the beginning. The other two finalists — former Miami-Dade County commissioner and current Doral City Attorney Jimmy Morales, and longtime City of Miami administrator Frank Rollason — were handpicked by commissioners to be considered for the position.

Cepero did not return a phone call for comment.

Miami Beach Commissioner Jerry Libbin was reluctant to speculate about why Cepero has withdrawn her name from the process.

“I tend to take people at face value. There’s no reason for me to think there’s anything more or anything less,” than what’s included in her letter, Libbin said.

Góngora and Libbin are running for mayor in the November election.

Cepero also wrote that other municipalities have contacted her for city manager positions during the Miami Beach search, but that the other job offers didn’t affect her decision.

“My decision to withdraw is based on my evaluation of a mutual fit with the organization,” she wrote.

Follow @Cveiga on Twitter.

Nicole Kidman & Mia Wasikowska Talk 'Stoker'

Label: Lifestyle

Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska and Matthew Goode form an uncomfortable family trio in the new thriller Stoker, in theaters Friday, and they tell ET's Chris Jacobs that despite the creepy subject matter, making the film in Tennessee was a delight and proved to be a family bonding opportunity.

Pics: 13 Must-See Movies of 2013

The new film from Oldboy director Chan-wook Park, Stoker finds adolescent India (Wasikowska) emotionally adrift after the death of her father (Dermot Mulroney) and clashing with her unstable mother (Kidman). When her mysterious and charming Uncle Charlie (Goode) comes to live with them, she comes to suspect he has ulterior motives, yet becomes increasingly infatuated with him.

Related: See Kidman as Grace Kelly

Keep watching the video to see Nicole blush when asked about her racy lap dance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Veteran journalist Bob Woodward slams Obama's budget cut 'madness'

Label: Health

Journalist Bob Woodward on Wednesday criticized Barack Obama's handling of the automatic U.S. budget cuts set to take effect this week, calling the president's decision to hold back on military deployments "madness."

His comments continued what has become a running dispute between Woodward, perhaps the country's best-known print journalist, and the Democratic White House over who is responsible for the across-the-board cuts scheduled to begin on Friday.

Last week, Woodward published an opinion piece in the Washington Post - where he is an associate editor - saying the administration was "wrong" to blame the cuts on Republicans.

Former Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward.

That drew retorts from White House press secretary Jay Carney, who in posts on Twitter and later in comments to reporters blamed the budget stalemate on Republican opposition to including increased revenues in any deal to replace the cuts.

The $85 billion across-the-board budget cuts were mandated by Congress and the White House as part of the August 2011 deal to avoid a government default. The reductions are split between defense spending and domestic programs.

Woodward, who first gained fame in the 1970s from exposing the Watergate scandal during the administration of President Richard Nixon, wrote a detailed account in his 2012 book, "The Price of Politics," of the August 2011 deal that led to the cuts.

On Wednesday he attacked Obama for drawing national security into the budget debate.

"So we now have the president going out (saying) 'Because of this piece of paper and this agreement, I can't do what I need to do to protect the country.' That's a kind of madness that I haven't seen in a long time," Woodward told MSNBC on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Obama warned of threats to Navy readiness in a visit to the Newport News Shipbuilding shipyard in Virginia, where maintenance to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has been delayed by the budget crisis.

Earlier this month, the Pentagon said it was delaying deployment of another carrier, the USS Harry Truman, to the Middle East because of funding.

Obama's decision to drag the military into the budget fight likely would not have happened in previous administrations, Republican or Democratic, Woodward added on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program.

Drivers line up for $2.27 gas at the Finish Line in Sweetwater

Label: Business

Hundreds of cars were backed up for more than four blocks waiting for gas Wednesday at the Finish Line in Sweetwater.

Drawing the crowd: a special promotion at the gas station and convenience store on 109th Avenue and West Flagler Street.

Drivers started lining up at 5 a.m. to pay a cash price of $2.27 per gallon, close to a 50 percent savings.

The promotion was part of the “14 Days of Neighborly Love,” an event hosted by Miami-Dade Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz. It started on Valentine’s Day and ended Wednesday.

Miami-Dade residents were able to take advantage of other services and goods at a discount or for free, such as tax preparation, marriage counseling, car washes, and free SunPass transponders.

Finish Line owner Tony Cuevas and Roly Ramirez, owner of Doral Collision Center and Exclusive motoring, sponsored the $2.27 gas on the event’s opening and closing day.

“We’re very grateful for the success that we have,” Ramirez said. “I always give back in some way or another.”

Homestead, farmer look to settle lawsuit with Air Force

Label: World

The Homestead City Council met Monday night to discuss settling a lawsuit that the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed on behalf of Homestead Air Reserve Base against the city and a family farm near the base.

For decades, the city has struggled to find a balance between property owners’ rights and base officials’ safety concerns. The lawsuit, filed in 2011, alleged that the city had ignored safety restrictions after it allowed Alger Farms to develop residential units near the end of the base’s runway.

Alger Farms President John Alger said he had no intention of building the residential units or selling the property to developers. But Air Force officials were concerned the city was putting lives at risk since Alger Farms lies in the flight paths of F-16s, F-15s and other warplanes that pass 750 feet overhead while coming in for a landing.

“We have no immediate desire for development,” said Alger, a third-generation farmer. “But the development rights allow us to preserve a hypothetical value that can be used for collateral.”

City restrictions established in 2010 limit development in an area of Homestead that the Air Force calls “the accident potential crash zone.”

Councilman Stephen Shelley said this week he worked on a settlement agreement that respects the safety restrictions.

“The settlement will benefit all of the parties involved,” Shelley said. “The solution is so simple. I’m not sure why we didn’t think of it before.”

Shelley said the deal would allow Alger to transfer his development rights to another property he owns that is not in the danger zone.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed the lawsuit after the city allowed Alger Farms to build one residential unit per five acres. This translated into 48 housing units in Alger’s 240 acres. The new proposal would allow Alger to transfer the right to build those units to another tract he owns in the city.

The other site “is not the greatest place for homes, but I still have this value,” Alger said.

With the new deal, Alger would have the right to build 55.4 units on a 37-acre property, because he would have the 7.4 units inherent to the 37 acres and the 48 units transferred. Shelley said there would not be a density issue.

“We clustered the density into an area that is not compromising the safety and it’s much less dense than what’s adjacent to it,” Alger said.

Alger’s grandfather, Mason W. Alger, started farming the land in 1934, and in 1942 military planes started taking off and landing at the base nearby. Alger’s father, Richard Alger, and his grandfather purchased land from South Dade farms in the late 1950s. They now grow sweet corn, snap beans, and trees for landscaping.

The base is home to units of the Air Force Reserve Command, Florida Army National Guard, Florida Air National Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Coast Guard, and Special Operations Command South.

When Alger found out that the restrictions affected his land, he thought the U.S. Constitution and Florida’s Bert J. Harris Act, which passed in 1995, protected him. The act allows property owners to seek remedies against government regulations causing an "inordinate burden."

But the U.S. Attorney’s lawsuit questioned the existence of Alger’s development rights. Before the council granted Alger Farms the right to build the residential units, city staff and city attorneys said Alger Farms didn’t have any development rights in the first place, because it lost them after annexation into the city in 1996. Alger disagreed.

“It’s an asset,” Alger said. “The federal government was asking me to devalue an asset without compensation.”

Alger said he is in agreement with the settlement that Shelley is proposing. Now he hopes that military officials will be in agreement too.

The settlement the council discussed Monday night will come up for a final vote within the next month or so, Shelley said.

“My family is very anxious to get our name off that lawsuit,” said Alger. “Imagine that your government is suing you because you want to preserve your rights. So I can spend money paying my lawyers while my government uses my own money to pay for their lawyers.”

Carrie Fisher Briefly Hospitalized

Label: Lifestyle

ET confirms that Star Wars legend Carrie Fisher was hospitalized briefly in Los Angeles following a medical incident related to her bipolar disorder.

Pics: Actors Who Almost Got the Part

According to the 56-year-old star's rep, "There was a medical incident related to Carrie Fisher's bipolar disorder. She went to the hospital briefly to adjust her medication and is feeling much better now." Fisher is currently in Los Angeles.

The star was recently honored with the Utah Film Center's Kim Peek Award for Disability in Media for her forthright candor in dealing with her bipolar disorder and for raising awareness about the condition, saying that people suffering from bipolar disorder must choose between being a victim and "taking it on and flying in the face of it."

Related: Carrie Fisher Loses 50 Pounds!

The accomplished writer and performer has also been making headlines as of late with rampant speculation that the original Star Wars trilogy cast will appear in the in-development Star Wars VII, directed by J.J. Abrams.

Contractor at Sandy damaged school swiped iMacs

Label: Health

A contractor who was supposed to be doing emergency repairs at a Queens school damaged by Hurricane Sandy instead helped himself to two desktop computers, police officials said yesterday.

Iannelli Construction worker Kevin Smith, 43, was arrested today for the alleged November theft of two iMacs from a classroom at Scholar’s Academy in Rockaway Park.

He was charged with burglary, illegal entry of a dwelling and possession of stolen property, authorities said.

Department of Education officials said Smith was captured on surveillance cameras that were reviewed during a probe by the School Construction Authority’s Inspector General and the Queens District Attorney’s office.

Scholar’s Academy initially reported that 80 computer tablets were stolen during the clean-up after the superstorm — which DOE officials said yesterday caused at least $110 million in damage and personnel costs for the city’s public schools.

At least 10 other schools had reported missing or stolen equipment in the weeks after the storm hit.