Opa-locka may give businesses four years to eliminate pole signs

Opa-locka businesses may soon have to replace giant pole signs with discreet, ground-hugging “monument” signs if the city passes a new law as part of an effort to make the community look better.

According to Howard Brown, the city’s community development director, the ordinance would mainly affect pole signs, wall signs and window signs.

“We’re trying to bring about a uniform standard that takes into consideration the aesthetics of it all,” Brown said.

Commissioner Dottie Johnson has been exploring the option for two years and was able to bring it before the commission and community at a town hall meeting last week.

“I believe that citizen input is crucial, especially the businesses because this is going to have a big impact on them,” Johnson said.

As a result of the meeting, the draft ordinance is going into further review before it is presented to the community again. So far however, Opa-locka is proposing to give local businesses two years to submit a plan for their new signs and four years to comply with the new rules. Additionally, businesses will have the option to choose a selected vendor in order to create the new signs. Businesses said at the meeting that they want to have a choice of vendors. Owners are also concerned about the cost.

“I want to know if there’s been any type of evaluation as it relates to the total cost for the businesses,” said Marc Caputo, vice president of operations for Instant Storage.

According to the initial draft, the ordinance is designed to “promote the public health, safety, comfort, good order, appearance, morals and general welfare.” Under Florida law, cities can pass regulations purely to make the community look more attractive.

Following other cities such as Miami Gardens and North Miami Beach, Commissioner Johnson’s idea is that regulating signs will change the city’s image.

“Our image is important because we want to attract more businesses and make the area more appealing, a place where your kids want to come back home to, a safe, clean community,” said Johnson.

Although originally set to go for a vote in December, Johnson has postponed voting on the ordinance pending further review and another town hall meeting.

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Hitchcock Exclusive Featurette

More than 30 years after his passing, Alfred Hitchcock is once the rage, once again.

VIDEO - Tippi Hedren's Notorious Birds Screentest

2012 has already seen the premiere of one biopic, HBO's The Girl, and November brings a second as Hitchcock hits the silver screen.

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Starring a dazzling cast of A-list talent (Sir Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Toni Collette, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jessica Biel), Hitchcock tells the story of the late director's relationship with his wife, Alma Reville (played by Mirren), and the struggles they faced in the autumn of their marriage.

RELATED- ScarJo Recreates Psycho's Shower Scene

"His whole persona was based on an enigma, the idea of approaching someone who really didn't give any emotions out and do an emotional film about him to me was fascinating," director Sacha Gervasi says in ETonline's exclusive featurette that takes you behind the scenes of Hitchcock!

Hitchcock opens November 27.

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MTA launches new rail service for stranded Far Rockaway residents

There’s a new subway line in town – the H.

The MTA today announced it's running a free rail service for residents of the Rockaways stranded without a subway since Sandy struck on Oct. 30.

The new line — a throwback of the old Rockaway shuttle, which was dubbed the “H” train — opens tomorrow at 4 am.

The trains will operate every 15 minutes between the Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue station and the Beach 90-Holland station, making all intermediate stops.

Stations west of Beach 90-Holland suffered extensive damage to signal systems and cannot accommodate passenger trains.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin

From the Far Rockaway stop, riders can switch to the MTA’s free shuttle bus to Howard Beach, where they can connect to the A train.

“The A train tracks from Howard Beach to the Rockaways were almost completely destroyed by the storm, and replacing them is a tremendous undertaking,” Governor Cuomo said.

“While that work continues, this new shuttle service will help improve travel for people in the Rockaways who are still recovering from Sandy’s effects.”

The H train will close at night for repairs at 1 am for three hours.

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Growing middle class feeds spirits business in Latin America

Diageo executive Randy Millian is proud of the fact that eight out of every 12 times someone pours a standard or premium whiskey in the Latin American and Caribbean region, they’re drinking one of his company’s brands.

That kind of dominance is why the spirits giant is bullish on its future in Latin America, which recently has been the fastest growing region for Diageo worldwide. In 2012, the Latin America and Caribbean region represented 12 percent of Diageo’s net worldwide sales and 11 percent of the company’s operating profit. Diageo hopes Brazil will become one of its top three markets by 2017, behind the U.S. and the United Kingdom.

But getting there hasn’t been easy. During periods of economic and political unrest in the region over the last decade, there were times when it would have been more profitable for Diageo to pull back, said Millian, president of Diageo Latin America and the Caribbean. Yet, the company focused on growing its scotch business across the region and it paid off. Over the last eight years, Diageo has increased sales more than two and a half times and almost tripled its operating profit.

“I believed it would get good,” said Millian, who supervises more than 3,000 employees across the region and 119 in Miami. “But I’m not sure I realized it would get this good.”

Millian has been running the region out of Diageo’s Miami office for more than a decade. But he’s also no stranger to this part of the world. He first lived in Argentina as a child and during his career has done stints in Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico and Costa Rica.

The Miami Herald sat down with Millian during a media day, which was part of a Diageo investor conference in Miami spotlighting the success in the Latin American and Caribbean region. Here is some of what Millian had to say:

Q. Has your growth over the last decade been comparable to Diageo’s growth around the world?

We would definitely be in the top positions in the league within Diageo. That’s one of the reasons they’re focusing on us. Like many corporations, the emerging markets have a huge potential for growth. I’m including Asia-Pacific, Africa and Latin America. We are seeing higher growth rates than we are seeing in the developed world, especially Europe. Although the U.S. is starting to come back, the growth rates in the emerging markets are significantly higher.

Q. What is driving the growth Diageo is experiencing in Latin America?

The improved demographics. You now have over 50 percent of the population who is middle class. You have had an increase in spending. Not only are there more people in the middle class, but you have more people in the (upper) class. We expect over the next year to have 60 million more people in the (upper) class. They’re also learning to spend money in different ways.

Q. In what countries do you see the most growth or most opportunities for future growth? Is Brazil the main focus?

There has been broad growth in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Chile and Peru. We have seen it all over, but those would be the ones we’re focusing on. It’s not just Brazil, it’s throughout the region.

Q. Why did you remain committed to this region over years when there was not a lot of growth and there was a lot of political and economic unrest in some countries?

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Kim Kardashian and sisters to be honored by city of North Miami on Monday

The Kardashian sisters — Kim, Khloe and Kourtney — will receive keys to the city of North Miami at a special presentation on Monday led by Mayor Andre Pierre.

The sisters are living in North Miami during the filming of their new E! reality TV show Kim and Kourtney Take Miami. The move came after Miami Beach rolled-up the welcome carport to the idea of another reality show within its city limits.

The presentation to the sisters will be at 11:30 a.m. in the council chambers of North Miami City Hall, 776 NE 125 St.

Pierre will present a key to the Kardashians and give the reality stars an official welcome to North Miami.

The media has been advised the sisters will pose for photos, but will not give interviews at the event.

A lunch reception will follow the presentation.

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You Named Your Kid What?! Strange Baby Names

Sarah Michelle Gellar & Freddie Prinze, Jr.

Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze, Jr. named their newborn son Rocky James, Us magazine reports! Rocky is the name of the famous Sly Stallone movie character, while James is Prinze's dad's middle name. This Hollywood couple isn't the first to chose a peculiar name for their child. Click the pics to see what celebrities are calling their kids. 

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Bloomberg extends NYC gas rationing through Friday

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is extending the gas rationing system in New York City through the Thanksgiving holiday.

He announced Sunday that the odd-even license plate system would be in effect through Friday.

Bloomberg said that with 30 percent of stations still closed and a major travel week coming up, the extension would make sure there aren't the long lines that brought about the system in the first place.

Motorists can get gas on alternate days based on whether their license plate ends with odd or even numbers.

Rationing went into effect in the city on Nov. 9 in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. Damage to gas stations and distribution networks had led to hours-long lines.

Paul Martinka

Drivers fill up their cars at a gas station in Brooklyn.

Gas rationing has ended in New Jersey and on Long Island.

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Miami’s book fair ‘Evening With…’ series ends on easy note

A bit of fiction and a bit of philosophy, both seasoned with a touch of the historical, rounded out the final night of Miami Book Fair International’s “Evenings With…” programs Friday.

Emma Donoghue read from her Astray, new book of short stories inspired by old newspaper accounts, and historian Alan Ryan talked about his weighty new two-volume work On Politics: A History of Political Thought: From Herodotus to the Present (told you it was weighty).

“I feel like I should say, ‘Hello, Miami!’ ” joked Donoghue when she took the stage. Earlier, the Canadian author expressed wonder at the fact she was swimming in the Biltmore pool on a November afternoon before her appearance. “I don’t usually stay in places like that,” she said, laughing.

But Donoghue, author of the novel Room, is no stranger to new experiences: She’s a two-time emigrant from Dublin, once from Ireland to England, then on to Ontario.

“The Irish are obsessed with immigration,” she told the audience. Even when the economy’s good there, she said, the Irish look to other countries. “It’s still a small island,” she joked. “A lot of us have felt the need to fly that particular coop.”

Fitting then, that Astray features characters on the verge of moving on or struggling in their new surroundings. Donoghue read the amusing story The Widow’s Cruse and fielded questions about Room, a harrowing novel about a little boy being raised in a tiny shed by his kidnapped mother. Disturbing to be sure. But in case you wonder, Donoghue has no pressing childhood traumas of her own to inspire her to such a dark premise.

“I grew up in Dublin in a bookish household,” she said. “I was allowed to read all the time. . . There’s something to be said for a happy childhood that leaves you feeling confident.”

Ryan, who was in conversation with Robert Weil, editor-in-chief of W.W. Norton’s Liveright & Co., talked about his comprehensive study of political philosophy. Or, as his daughter (a biology professor) describes his profession: “He does dead philosophers.”

Ryan did mention a few of those worthy gentleman — Plato, St. Augustine and John Stuart Mill, for example — but still managed to elicit a laugh when discussing Americans’ adoration of a Constitution they’ve never read and continually confuse with the Declaration of Independence.

“The Constitution is revered, and it is at least worth knowing,” he said.

The fair continues this weekend with a full schedule of authors Saturday and Sunday.

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Buzzmakers: Lindsay Lohan Comes Clean & Janeane Marries

What had ET readers buzzing this week?

1. Janeane Garofalo: I Didn't Know I was Married!

Sometimes what happens in Vegas actually does stay in Vegas -- at least for two decades. Funny girl Janeane Garofalo is claiming she's been married for 20 years, and didn't even know it!

The Reality Bites actress told the New York Post that she and Big Bang Theory producer Rob Cohen decided to wed at a Las Vegas drive-thru chapel but never thought it would stick. "Rob and I got married, for real, which we had to have a notary dissolve not 30 minutes before we got here tonight," Garofalo said at the New York Comedy Festival reunion for The Ben Stiller Show. "We were married for 20 years until this evening."

Garofalo, 48, further explained, "We got married drunk in Vegas. ... We dated for a year, and we got married at a drive-through chapel in a cab. [We thought], 'You have to go down to the courthouse and sign papers and stuff.' So, who knew? We were married, and apparently now that [Rob] is getting married for real, his lawyer dug up something." Cohen, 63, joked, "I'm gonna get all of that Reality Bites money!"

2. Miley Cyrus: My Dad Knows Nothing

In speaking with ET's Christina McLarty, Miley Cyrus cleared up rumors that she and fiance Liam Hemsworth were planning multiple weddings, started by her dad.

According to Miley, she hasn't even set one wedding date, let alone the three ceremonies that Billy Ray told Us Weekly were going to take place.

"My dad knows nothing," Miley says, pointblank. "I think he's getting cabin fever from [Superstorm Sandy]. He got stuck in his hotel and now he's making up crazy things." Billy Ray has been in NYC, performing in a Broadway production of Chicago.

The 19-year-old singer/actress goes on to admit that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

"He does what I do: When he's sitting in a press thing, he's like, 'Let's make this fun. Let's make some stuff up,'" Miley says.

Even with this recent flub, Miley does thank her parents for doing a good job of raising her, saying, "My parents have never been super strict, and people could think that's bad or good, but people that judge me or say that I'm, like, crazy -- they don't know half the stuff their kids are doing."

3. Stephanie Bongiovi Drug Charges Dropped

Stephanie Bongiovi, Jon Bon Jovi's 19-year-old daughter, will not be charged after reportedly overdosing on heroin in her dorm at Hamilton College in New York.

According to a statement from the Kirkland Town Police Department, a female [presumably Bongiovi] was found unresponsive by an ambulance crew sent to the college early Wednesday, after a report that a female had apparently overdosed in the school's largest dorm.

Although Bongiovi and 21-year-old Ian Grant were charged with drug possession, the charges have now been dropped.

Citing section 220.78 titled "Witness or victim of drug or alcohol overdose" of New York State Penal Law -- which states that a person who seeks health care for someone who is experiencing a drug or alcohol overdose or other life threatening medical emergency, as well as the individual who has overdosed or who was experiencing such life threatening medical emergency, can't be prosecuted for the possession of heroin weighing less than 8 ounces or possession of any amount of marijuana -- police said that neither Bongiovi or Grant can be charged.

There has been no statement from Jon Bon Jovi at this time.

4. Dina Lohan Addresses Cocaine Accusation

Did Lindsay Lohan lie about her mother having an alleged cocaine problem? Dina Lohan sets the record straight for ET's Christina McLarty.

"Absolutely lied. We were having an argument, it escalated," explains Dina of their October altercation which was recorded by her father, Michael Lohan. "She just wanted to hurt me at that moment. You know, mothers [and] daughters, we fight."

Dina tells Christina that it pained her to see that private family moment "go public and viral." As for accusations that she uses cocaine, Dina replies, "I hate cocaine. I don't do cocaine."

After Lindsay proclaimed that she was not being truthful about her accusations against her mother about cocaine use, Dina says, "I'm so proud of her for telling the truth because it destroyed me. I mean, I cried for weeks. It just hurt me so bad and she knew how horrible that was, and she came clean and told the truth that she lied. I'm very proud of her for that, which is very difficult to have to do."

Dina adds, "There's so much more to the story than the public sees, and it takes its toll on my children and myself, and we're just trying to move forward." Watch ET for more with our exclusive Dina Lohan interview.

5. Big Bang Cast Leads Call Me Maybe Flash Mob

Fans of The Big Bang Theory might logically assume that the cast of the hit CBS comedy has as many laughs on-screen as off. But now there is concrete proof as Kaley Cuoco just revealed in this clip of cast and crew members surprising showrunners with a flash mob of Carly Rae Jepsen's viral hit Call Me Maybe!

Kaley explains on The Big Bang Theory's Facebook page that the idea was hers and that she recruited her sister Bri to choreograph the impromptu number, which occurred during a taping on October 23 in front of a live audience.

The clip shows how the prank was carried out with secrecy and precision, with the cast re-assembling on the set immediately after the flash mob to resume taping and to hear star Jim Parsons sum up the event with one of his character Sheldon Cooper's favorite words, "Bazinga!"

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White House says it did not heavily edit talking points on deadly Libya attack

The White House did not heavily alter talking points about the attacks on a US diplomatic mission in Libya, an official said on Saturday.

"If there were adjustments made to them within the intelligence community, that's common, and that's something they would have done themselves," Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser, told reporters. "The only edit ... made by the White House was the factual edit as to how to refer to the facility."

After a closed-door hearing with former CIA Director David Petraeus on Friday, Republican Representative Peter King said that unclassified talking points prepared by the CIA for use by lawmakers about the September 11 attack originally pointed specifically to al Qaeda involvement. King said they were edited before being cleared for use.

EPA

President Obama leaves the White House today

Rhodes said the White House, and also the State Department, changed references to a "conflict" at diplomatic facilities, "because the conflict in Benghazi was not formally a conflict. Other than that we worked off the points that were provided by the intelligence community, so I can't speak to any other edits that may have been made."

The assault on the U.S. mission and nearby CIA annex in Benghazi has turned into a flash point between Democratic President Barack Obama and Republicans.

Republicans accuse the White House and in particular the US ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, of misleading the public just after the attack by suggesting the assault was a spontaneous act instead of a planned terrorist operation. The Obama administration denies misleading anyone and says it discussed information about the Benghazi tragedy as it came in.

" What I can say is those points, and what Susan said, indicated that we believed extremists were involved in this attack," Rhodes said.

When asked on Fox News on Saturday who might have made the edits, King said he did not know.

"That's why it's important to find out why it was done. It could be anywhere in the Defense Department, the State Department, the Justice Department, the White House," King said. "(We need) to find out why it was done, what the purpose of it was."

He added: "I have my own beliefs, that for whatever reasons, the administration honestly believes that the war against al Qaeda is pretty much over and that's the message that they wanted to present. But on the other hand, they may have some valid reason. I think we have to look at it."

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