Most of us are taught, from a young age, that bullying is mean and unacceptable behavior. We are told, as a society, that bullying is not to be tolerated. So, why is the Tamarac Recreation Center not only tolerating bullying, but rewarding it?
By: Patti Lynn A hearing was held today, at 2:00 PM before Broward County Circuit Court Judge Michael Gates. The hearing was a request for a Temporary Injunction, filed by Stuart Michelson, representing embattled Tamarac Commissioner Patte Atkins-Grad. Michelson alleged that his client, Atkins-Grad, would be irreparably harmed if the recall petition was permitted to […]
By: Barbara Tarnove
As a founding member of the Tamarac Historical Society, I have always been interested in history. Our organization has often been asked, “Why does Tamarac have a Historical Society?”
There is one simple reason: That the past causes both the present and the future.
If you live in a Homeowners Association in Tamarac, or anywhere else in Broward County, new laws have been enacted which will affect you, your association, your financial records, and your property manager. The bills have not been sent to the Governor yet, so there is time for you to act.
By Richard N. Robbins – Recently the Tamarac City Commission moved to send the application from the Woodmont Country Club along to the Broward County Commission for their consideration. This is the second step of a long process of consideration for the redevelopment of The Pines Golf Course at Woodmont.
A land change? The chutzpah! The unmitigated gall!
There should never have been such a request, not with the covenant that exists.
Vice Mayor Harry Dressler stated that because there is no covenant he’s proposing a new covenant to protect the 27 holes of golf for 99 years. However, with a dismissive wave of his hand, his answer was that the covenant hadn’t been decided yet.
Just who are they siding with?
By Dick Brown: Unbelievable. What could they possibly of been thinking? Looked to me like 99 percent of the people spoke against the plan, but yet the commission voted unanimously to go ahead. The homeowners in Tamarac just don’t seem to matter. 90-95 percent of The Pines at Woodmont III are against building. Woodmont Country Club owner Mark Schmidt has failed both in running the golf courses and club.
Woodmont resident Dick Brown discusses what really went on behind the scenes at the recent Tamarac Planning Board meeting to change a golf course into single family homes.
How many times have we heard about the former Vice-Mayor, Ed Portner, tearing his toupee off of his head, and throwing it at the Mayor, Joe Schreiber? How about the numerous times the sexual harassment complaints against two commission members were revisited?
Spano’s Big Radio Show continued bringing the best new rock to South Florida with another show at Archie’s West in Tamarac.
The show, which took place on January 5, featured Shatterglass, Hiatus Road and YourDesign. It drew a sizable, though more subdued, crowd. This made for some excellent people watching while enjoying a drink at the bar.
Resident and local Criminal Defense Attorney says there is no place in Tamarac for the stink of corruption in Tamarac and asks for Commissioner Patricia Atkins-Grad’s resignation.
Archie’s West is located along a blink-and-one-misses-it stretch of West Commercial Boulevard. However, for those who like live, local music, dart tournaments, inexpensive drinks and good chicken wings, Archie’s is a hidden gem. Patrons, even first time patrons, feel as though they have been welcomed into a community. This community setting was exemplified by the large crowd that showed up for Theory of Disorder’s reunion show. The large crowd led radio personality John Spano to declare that “the local scene [had been] resurrected.”
Due to being found “Not Guilty,” by a jury, another set of dominoes has been set in motion. When, and if, Governor Rick Scott reinstates Atkins-Grad to her District Two Commission seat, then the people of the City of Tamarac should be concerned about their municipal government.
……Chaits were aggressive when dealing with her and her department. They yelled a lot; they didn’t want to comply with the code compliance issues that the Magistrate had ordered. The picture that she painted of Shawn Chait, was one of a bully; an entitled individual, one to whom people seldom said “No.”
Today, while sitting in court, I reminisced about the 2nd day of jury selection. That’s when a couple of jurors were excused, because they believed that they couldn’t be fair when dealing with elderly people.
Patte Atkins-Grad is no longer the redhead that she was when she was a Tamarac city commissioner. She stopped coloring her hair, and now her hair is mostly gray with some dark colors underneath.
Today’s first witness was Tamarac City Commissioner Diane Glasser. To excuse some of her, “I don’t remember,” or “It was a long time ago,” Glasser advised the court that she was 84 years old and had had some medical problems. The problems included a small stroke which seems to have affected her long term memory. She said, when she is reminded, she sometimes remembers. She was asked about serving as a City of Tamarac Commissioner with her medical and memory loss problems.
The opening motions, prior to the jury being brought in, seemed innocuous. The now deceased Norman Abramowitz, former Mayor of Tamarac played a part. It appears that he met with Bruce Chait and Patte Atkins-Grad, in order to assure that a majority of three commissioners in the City of Tamarac, would approve the project.
The final day of jury selection in the case of Florida vs Patricia Atkins-Grad was delayed by more than 30 minutes today as the morning court schedule ran late. The remaining 25 jurors were not brought into the courtroom until after 2:00 PM.
Defendant Atkins-Grad had more support today. In addition to her husband David, her brother in-law and sister-in-law, Norman and Sharon Grad, also attended. Once again, I was the only member of the public in attendance. Substituting for Sun Sentinel reporter Paula McMahon was another Sun Sentinel reporter, Lisa Huriash. Huriash regularly covers the City of Tamarac.
This begins the first in a series of reports from Patti Lynn who is covering the trial of Patte Atkins Grad, the suspended Tamarac City Commissioner who is charged with eight felony charges for allegedly taking cash or gifts from father and son developers Bruce and Shawn Chait.
Atkins-Grad was arrested as a Commissioner back in 2010 because she failed to disclose payments for a $2,300 BMW lease and $4,000 for her victory party back in 2006 for her election as state law requires.
Many years ago when I first moved to Florida from Long Island, I used to take my since departed grandmother out to dinner every Wednesday. Throughout our travels we stopped one day to try Ferro Pizza in Tamarac.
