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First Baptist of Fort Lauderdale splinters over money, power and concerns for church’s real estate riches
By Noreen Marcus
FloridaBulldog.org
Standing in the pulpit of First Baptist Church’s historic sanctuary, Lead Pastor James Welch praised this “beacon of hope in the heart of Fort Lauderdale.” It was May 2, the first Sunday after the church’s trustees expelled an estimated 200 members. The group, Concerned Members of First Baptist Church, had tried to exert the influence that church bylaws promise congregants, only to be blocked at every turn. -
Elderly South Florida mobster Thomas Farese at the top of $93 million healthcare fraud, feds say
By Dan Christensen
FloridaBulldog.org
Since the 1970s mobster Tommy Farese has been a recurring character on the pages of South Florida newspapers. So it was surprising when the reputed Colombo family consiglieri didn’t make the Sun-Sentinel last week for his latest alleged caper: a $93-million health care fraud scheme. -
As U.S. Sugar quietly expands north of Lake Okeechobee, environmentalists fear Everglades cleanup losing out to farming
By Joel Engelhardt
FloridaBulldog.org
For months environmentalists have whispered that the Legislature’s push toward water storage north of Lake Okeechobee was driven by sugar interests. Behind their fear is the belief that an underground water storage method that got $100 million in the two past legislative cycles and is in line for another $50 million this year would do more to help farming than it would to help the Everglades. -
First Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale implodes over challenge to pastor’s iron rule
By Noreen Marcus
FloridaBulldog.org
First Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale, a venerable downtown religious landmark, is in full-out civil war after a year of sporadic confrontations about financial accountability and transparency. -
Miami-Dade was oblivious to FDA warning when it signed giant COVID testing contract with Curative
By Daniel Ducassi
FloridaBulldog.org
When the administration of Miami Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava signed a multimillion dollar no-bid contract with a COVID-19 testing company in late January, the mayor’s spokeswoman says nobody there knew about a well-publicized FDA alert issued weeks earlier warning of the risk of false negative results with the company’s tests.
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