Local Heroes Honored
At Margate’s Second Annual Street Festival along Margate Boulevard last week, local politicians and business leaders presented gift baskets and plaques to local military troops committed to American efforts in the global war on terror.
Remembered at the festival were the more than 1,000 American soldiers reported killed in wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Yemen, and the more than 4,000 American troops who have sacrified their lives fighting for democracy in Iraq.
Click here for list of those awarded.
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Margate Resident Saves Gull
As car after car passed a struggling seagull with a leg injury in commuter traffic on Rock Island Road, one concerned Margate resident pulled over to help the bird. After stopping traffic and shuffling the bird into a cage, the resident, who requested to remain anonymous, called the Wildlife Care Center in Fort Lauderdale for help.
Click here to read more.
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Recycle Wrapping Paper
Every year tons of discarded holiday wrapping paper and trees needlessly make it to county landfills. Much of it can either be reused or recycled, saving Mother Nature countless ‘hundreds of years’ trying to break this stuff down. Let’s work together to reduce this year’s holiday carbon footprint.
Click here to read more.
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Red Light Cameras Approved for Margate
Margate City Commissioners selected a Red Light Camera vendor last Wednesday to install the devices at numerous intersections in Margate. Wasting no time, crews have already hit the road and have begun putting the cameras atop poles across the city.
Click here for tips on how to avoid a ticket.
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Margate upholds Separation of Church and State...or not
Separation of Church and State around the holidays typically comes in the form of arguments regarding the placement of religious symbols on city-owned land. This year in Margate, it’s about whether to allow the Hebrew Academy on State Road 7 to portray the City of Margate as a sponsor in marketing materials for an upcoming event.
Click here to read more.
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Margate perfect for first time homebuyers
In so many respects Margate is ideal for first time homebuyers and young professionals in search of a good place to settle down. As Broward County’s first city west, Margate’s housing stock is old and primarily cement block – so you know your house can weather the storm. To sweeten the deal, 2/2s are selling anywhere from $75K and up.
Click here to read more.
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There is still time to appeal your property tax
Although the official deadline for appealing your property tax has passed, a local company continues to bring appeals before the county tax office with a 100% success rate. For a nominal one-time fee, Pat Kennedy of CORE Associates can help homeowners reduce the tax-assessed value of their homes, even if they’ve already paid this year’s tax.
Click here to read more.
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The Human Cannonball and Daredevil Globe of Death
Cole Bros. Circus of the Stars, The World's Largest Circus Under the Big Top, guarantees to delight children and adults of all ages with a two-hour show filled with thrilling human performers and amazing animals on the year of the legendary Circus’ 125th Anniversary.
It’s all happening at the Old Swap Shop grounds at Margate Blvd and State Road 7 on November 12-15. The event is presented by the Margate Chamber of Commerce and hosted by the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency.
Click here to read more.
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Vicious Dog Owner Caught on Tape at Margate City Hall
Luis Rivera of Margate recently failed in an attempt to appeal a ruling that determined his Pit Bull was dangerous. The dog got loose one day, got away from Rivera and attacked a neighbor walking his dog.
Representing himself before a Margate Magistrate last week, Rivera makes a solid case for a profile recently established by the Journal of Forensic Sciences that points to a heightened level of psychopathy among vicious dog owners.
Check out this shocking YouTube video of Rivera’s testimony in Margate Chambers.
Click here to read more.
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Margate Born NASCAR Bound
Son of a Florida Highway Patrolman of 27 years, Margate-born, Brian Blum is off to the races next week as he joins the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Team for races in Tennessee, Virginia and Taladega Alabama.
Blending frozen concoctions over the summer, Blum, a Computer Networking graduate from Atlantic Technical Center in Margate, is paying his bills selling Ritter’s Frozen Custard for now, but has his eyes set on the NASCAR truck circuit and eventually winning a few bucks competing there.
Click here to read more.
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Margate’s First Parks & Recreation Director, George Mudd, Dies
George Mudd, 75, Margate’s original Parks & Recreation Director, later promoted to Deputy City Manager, passed away peacefully on July 29, 2009 surrounded by his family at Boca Raton Hospital.
“He was a fantastic guy,” said Margate City Commissioner, David McLean, he got me involved in the city when I was a kid. He’s one of those guys that would do anything for you.”
Click here to read more.
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Margate Swim Team more than Competitive
After a five-year hiatus, the Margate Motion swim team is back. Led by Coach Eric Smith Norman and sister Kaitlin, Motion took home a trophy this year, competed in four meets and won 100 ribbons.
“I’m proud to bring it back,” said Norman. “It’s our first year and the team has done well.”
Click here to read more.
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City Commission Out of Order
South Florida is no stranger to poorly planned land deals and developments gone awry. It’s been the nature of our beast for years. Somebody always makes out like a bandit, but it’s never a city or its residents – if it were, we wouldn’t be buried in budget shortfalls, joblessness, crime and a governor who says we can’t effectively fund education without casino gambling.
Click here to read more.
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If a Hurricane Hits
In an effort to dispatch early responders to areas of the county hardest hit after a hurricane, Broward County encourages residents to call 311 and report damage to their home, or complete a brief home damage assessment online form as soon as it is safe to go outside and survey storm damage.
Click here to read more.
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Cut Margate Inner City Transit?
Margate City Commissioner, Pam Donovan, insisted that a proposed Margate Inner City Transit contract be put on the agenda for the next city commission meeting.
Switching to a new company, said the Commissioner, could save the city $250,000, preserve bus routes and keep jobs.
“If we can save the service, we should,” Donovan said at Wednesday's Margate City Commission meeting.
Donovan received little support from the dais Wednesday night, signaling resistance to preserving inner city transit routes for Margate residents who rely on the bus to get to work, school, shopping and the doctor.
“Just because it’s on the agenda doesn’t mean I agree with it,” Mayor Arthur Bross said.
Click here to read more.
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Margate News enjoys high search engine rankings!
Enter the search term “Margate News” into Yahoo, Google, AOL or MSM.com search engines from your home, office, Blackberry, wifi connection or auto Internet and you’ll find MargateNews.net on page one!
More locals, everyday, are turning to MargateNews.net to find out what’s going on in their city. We will continue to grow throughout 2009 and add features such as restaurant and bar listings, an events calendar, where to go for happy hour and more.
Click here to read more.
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Expect Pit Bull Attacks to Continue
Margate Resident, Alice (Michele) Balaska and her tiny Lhasa-Shitsu mix pet companion Molly were viciously attacked by two pit bulls when strolling along Royal Palm Boulevard last year just before Christmas.
Armed with a 9mm Glock, Balaska's neighbor, Wilson Evelandia, came running from his home and blasted two hollow point bullets into the swale to scare the dogs off Balaska. The plan worked, but not before Michele Balaska suffered 13 bites to the body and Molly was critically wounded.
Click here to read more.
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Who's Working on Your House?
In a down economy, some Margate homeowners may be foregoing the city’s permitting process to save a few bucks on home remodeling and repairs. Some homeowners even hire unlicensed contractors to do the work.
What happens if you get caught?
“We get a lot of calls from people who say their neighbors may be doing work without a permit,” said Margate Building Director, Jack Morell regarding complaints filed by residents with the city’s building department.
Click here to read more.
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More to Margate T-Mobile Cell Tower Lawsuit than Meets the Eye
Many of you have read in the local Forum that Margate is being sued by cell provider, T-Mobile, for denying the company cell towers in Margate on two occasions: first in Centennial Park and again on Oriole Golf Course. Both times, Margate City Attorney, Eugene Steinfeld, warned elected officials that denial could result in a federal lawsuit, as FCC regulations block cities from saying no to site approval.
Click here to read more.
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Resident at Large: Rich Popovic
Rich Popovic attends just about every Margate City Commission meeting. Each time, he takes advantage of the three minutes every resident is entitled to speak about how the City of Margate is run. He often addresses the commission in an unpleasant way, lambasting elected officials for what he refers to as their ineptness, poor oversight, haphazard policy making and overall lack of integrity in the political process.
Commissioners sometimes thrash back at Popovic and come just short of having him removed from city meetings.
Click here to read more.
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