Food voucher event canceled
A food voucher program for victims of Hurricane Irma — scheduled to be held through today at three Broward County parks — has been canceled after scuffles broke out, several people fainted under the heat, and traffic was backed up at Saturday’s event.
“I feel like I’m in a thirdworld country right now, not in America trying to get assistance,” said Beverly Moore, of North Lauderdale, who waited in line for eight hours Saturday only to be told at 3 p.m. that the event had closed for the day. “I mean, there are old people here who haven’t had water in hours.”
The Food for Florida program offers food vouchers to families who lost food after long power outages caused by Hurricane Irma. The vouchers are redeemable at supermarkets.
Today was to be the fifth and final day of the event in Broward County, but the Broward Sheriff’s Office announced it was being canceled because of “safety concerns and overwhelming response.”
The Department of Children and Families, which organized the event, said a make-up day may be rescheduled for later this month.
Big crowds turned out Saturday to get the vouchers at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach, the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, and C.B. Smith Park in Pembroke Pines.
Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Veda ColemanWright said some people at the event required medical attention because they were overcome by the heat. She said there were dozens of medical calls but no arrests.
The program opened Wednesday to big crowds. the city first asked developers to make proposals to develop 6.5 acres of cityowned land on the beach. That effort collapsed and didn’t resume until 2011.
Back in the 2000s, it was mostly just beach and parking lots, said Dawne Richards, who moved there in 2005.
“I used to go out walking at night and I’d be the only person,” she said. “That’s scary.”
Poised to transform area, the city:
Completed a $24 million garage festooned with sails and a giant fish in June last year.
Built amenities such as a splash park and a refurbished playground for the kids.
Beautified Atlantic Boulevard from Federal Highway to its eastern reach with nicer medians.
Put utility lines underground, narrowed Pompano Beach Boulevard and widened seaside sidewalks.
Added grass and other landscaping along a walkway along the beach.
Now, most every morning dawns with a parade of seaside walkers.
Pompano’s big investment along the beach convinced Aashish Patel to the Tim Hernandez, developer
build and operate the multimillion-dollar hotel, he said. He and his father run Naples-based Madhav Group, which opens and runs hotels and tourist attractions.
The Pompano property will combine Hilton concepts to entice two key groups: millennials in for a night or two, and families in for a longer stay, he said. One part of the hotel will feature suites, and another part will offer smaller rooms.
“A lot of exciting things have been coming out of the ground,” Patel said, predicting that the hotel will be breaking ground within the next year.
A hotel will mean that the beachside won’t become a ghost town during the time of year that many of Pompano’s condos are empty, Hernandez said. New businesses will draw customers year-round.
“It’s a synergy,” he said.
ageggis@sunsentinel.com or 561-243-6624
After Carnival Cruise Lines ship Glory docked at PortMiami Saturday morning, an 8-year-old passenger fell several floors, sustaining fatal injuries, according to Miami-Dade police.
The girl, whose identity has yet to be released, fell to the lower deck of the ship’s interior atrium.
Miami Fire Rescue Captain Ignatius Carroll said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue originally received the call after 8 a.m. and Miami Fire Rescue responded to help. Miami Fire Rescue took the girl to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where she died.