Coral Springs News

THE BOCA RATON PARENTS OF AN ARMY MAJOR JUST KILLED IN AN ATTACK ON THE U.S. PROTECTED GREEN ZONE IN BAGHDAD WILL CONTINUE THEIR VOLUNTEER WORK THAT HELPS OVERSEAS TROOPS MAKE PHONE CALLS HOME. via WBZT-AM West Palm Beach

The Department of Defense said two soldiers, including one from Florida, have died in Iraq of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit with indirect fire. via WTVJ Miami Channel 6

“This is not a yeshiva setting for everybody. This is for someone who sees there is a possible future of becoming a rabbi.”

The orthodox synagogue that opened Broward County 's first Jewish high school for girls in Tamarac last fall is poised to open a school for boys in September in Coral Springs .

But unlike that school, this one will not have courses in reading, writing or arithmetic - only Jewish studies. It will be geared to boys who are interested in becoming rabbis.

The new Mesivta of Coral Springs school will operate out of classrooms at the Chabad of Coral Springs synagogue, 3925 N. University Drive. Read more

“We are not giving it up. This is our project.”

Army Maj. Stuart Wolfer exercised in the military fitness center Sunday inside the U.S.-protected Green Zone in Baghdad. As the father of three worked out, he was killed by rockets launched into the heavily protected area. Wolfer, 36, a graduate of J.P. Taravella High School in Coral Springs , was deployed to Iraq on Dec. 19.

His parents, Esther and Len Wolfer, now live in Boca Raton and volunteer for a charity that helps troops overseas make phone calls home. They had last phoned their son about a month ago and received an e-mail from him a few days ago. 'He was religious, he was a good soul and a good human being,' his mother said Monday. Read more

“When I hear that I should look to buy something, I say, 'With what?'”

First-time home buyers just can't win.

Many were left out of the market during the housing boom of 2000 to 2005 because homes were too expensive. But now, even with sellers desperate and prices plummeting across South Florida, first-time buyers still can't realize the American Dream with property taxes remaining too big a burden and lenders tightening credit standards.

'It's tough, regardless of when they pull the trigger,' said Bob Tenace, head of Century 21 Tenace Realty in Coral Springs and Boynton Beach . Read more

Aggregates Decision Good, Now Let's Come Up With A Plan Town-Crier Staff Opinion 04.APR.08 Whether it was the doldrums of a weak housing market or a possible falling out with developer Lennar Homes, Palm Beach ... via The Town-Crier Newspaper

“We keep providing evidence of violation after violation after violation, and they've just done nothing.”

The state's financial- and insurance-regulation departments are accused in a lawsuit of violating consumer-protection laws and allowing insurance companies to underpay hurricane claims. via The Orlando Sentinel

“We have a lot of happy [customers].”

Miriam Seligson and her husband, Paul Ehrlich, said they were promised a 'complimentary' trip to Cancun, plus thousands of dollars in travel discounts, when they joined a travel club offered through Elite Getaways.

But the retired Delray Beach couple learned only their Cancun hotel room would be gratis after they agreed to the $2,000 membership, and even that benefit would cost them $100 to claim. When they tried to cancel their club contract within 72 hours - a back-out period required by law - they discovered a clause that said the Coral Springs -based company got to keep $495 as a 'processing' fee. Read more

“They bring the American values that are very important to us. You bring a democratic way of thinking, you understand you need to work to grow in life -- it's the Western way of life.”

Israel is far from Broward County, but Yosefa Huber said she'll still feel right at home. via Jewish Community Voice

“If we didn't have Esperanto, we would have never been able to hold a conversation. I never even thought about the fact that they were from other countries.”

It never caught on as an international language, but 2 million people around the world still speak it and are urging others to join them.

Esperanto has languished in relative obscurity since a Polish scholar named Ludwig Zamenhof created it in 1887 as a unifying force among people who speak different languages.

Today, a smattering of South Floridians are among a loose-knit group around the globe who continue to speak Esperanto, meeting at international conferences, giving lessons to novices and hosting foreign visitors through an international network. Read more

Investigators say a black van pulled from a South Florida canal was registered to an 18-year-old reported missing in 1977. via ABC Action News

Police have identified the owner of a van containing human remains that was dredged up from a Coral Springs canal yesterday.

The black 1977 Chevy van was registered to Jeffrey Walter Klee, who was 18 when he was reported missing 30 years ago, said Coral Springs police spokesman Sgt. Joe McHugh.

Several human bones were found inside the vehicle after the Broward Sheriff's Office pulled it out from the C-14 canal along Southgate Boulevard on Wednesday afternoon.

The remains are being analyzed by the Broward Medical Examiner's Office and it may take up to three months to identify the deceased, McHugh said. Read more

A van found submerged in a South Florida canal with human bones inside belonged to a young man reported missing in 1977, police said Thursday. via The Post Chronicle

Police say a van containing several bones that appear to be human was pulled out of a canal and is linked to a missing person case out of Coral Springs. via WSVN-TV Miami Beach

“If you pay insurance in Florida, you should be mad”

Several human bones were discovered inside a van that was pulled from a canal Wednesday morning and later linked to a decades-old missing person case in the city, authorities said. The discovery came during a major Broward Sheriff's Office-led search of the C-14 canal along Southgate Boulevard for abandoned cars that may be linked to insurance fraud.

Coral Springs police say the van was registered to the missing person, whose name has not been released. They declined to reveal specific details of the case, including the year the person went missing, until detectives can determine the circumstances of the person's death. 'We're not ruling out foul play at this point,' said Coral Springs police spokesman Sgt. Joe McHugh. Police have relaunched their investigation into the disappearance while partnering with the Broward Medical Examiner's Office to identify the remains, which could take several months. The dark-colored van, mangled and covered in brown muck, was pulled from the murky waterway, near the Nob Hill Road crossing just after 11 a.m. Read more

“These cars leak fuel, battery acid, and other chemicals into water that affects the drinking supply of several communities”

South Florida's canals are becoming an automotive junkyard. "We pulled out 70 cars from this canal alone this week," says Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti as he stands next to a Coral Springs canal near Nob Hill ... via Love 94 - WLVE - 93.9 FM

“If we pulled up and these were missing, or damaged, it would certainly compromise our ability to fight a fire.”

They've targeted public parks, fast-food restaurant bathrooms and cemeteries. Now, thieves of brass, copper and other precious metals are going after equipment that firefighters use to extinguish blazes, fire-rescue officials said Monday.

Heavy items used in the sprinkler and standpipe systems outside buildings are the new targets, they said. The devices have various uses, ranging from providing a quick hook-up for fire hoses, to pumping water into sprinkler systems.

Having parts stolen or damaged delays firefighters' responses and may require additional resources to extinguish or prevent a fire.'That's a life-safety issue,' said Battalion Chief Mark Steele, spokesman for Hollywood fire-rescue. 'It affects us big time. Without those connections, we wouldn't have the capability to fight the fires.' Read more

A Coral Springs firefighter continues recovering at Memorial Regional in Hollywood after being shot in the chest during a late night street fight. via WIOD-AM Miramar

A Coral Springs motorcyclist died after crashing into a pickup truck in Palm Springs, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said on Sunday. via South Florida Sun-Sentinel

“Many children have become verbal and mainstreamed into school.”

Daniel Barta knows his name and age. For most 4-year-olds, that's no big deal. But for the Pembroke Pines boy, who was diagnosed with autism last year, it has taken months of intensive behavioral and speech ... via South Florida Sun-Sentinel