CALENDAR
B2
SEPTEMBER 13 – SEPTEMBER 19, 2013
S
Bondi reschedules Gore’s execution date; conflicts with campaign fundraiser
Lionel Richie
Lionel Richie is scheduled to perform Sept. 18 at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood.
BY JIM TURNER THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR Miami: A concert featuring the English-born Scottish recording artist and singer Emeli Sande is Oct. 11 at the Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater. Miami: J. Cole What Dreams May Come Tour makes a stop at the James L. Knight Center on Sept. 10. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Wale also is scheduled to perform. Hollywood: Lionel Richie is scheduled to perform Sept. 18 at Hard Rock Live. Fort Lauderdale: Live jazz, blues,
pop and everything in between along Hollywood’s signature 2.5 mile Boardwalk is every Friday of every month. More information: 954-9242980.
Miami Beach: Tickets are on sale for a concert with John Legend will be at the Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackson Gleason Theater in Miami Beach on Nov. 3.
Boca Raton: An open mic night for 18 and up featuring comedy, poetry and music is held every Monday at the Funky Biscuit in the back of Royal Palm Plaza, 303 SE Mizner Blvd. Sign up is at 8 p.m. The show begins at 8:30 p.m. More information: Richy Lala 561-512-8472.
Tampa: The Isley Brothers with Kem and Nephew Tommy will be at the University of South Florida Sun Dome on Oct. 5 at 8 p.m.
Miami: Miami-Dade County hosts a Downtown Harvest Market every Friday from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Residents and visitors have the opportunity to purchase seasonal produce directly from Miami-Dade growers at the Stephen P. Clark Center’s Courtyard, 111 NW 1st St. More information: www.earth-learning.org.
St. Petersburg: Tickets are on sale for a concert at the Mahaffey Theater with Maze featuring Frankie Beverly. The show has been changed to Sunday, Sept. 27. Daytona Beach: A Southern Soul Blues Concert featuring Mel Waiters, Sir Charles Jones and Bigg Robb is scheduled Oct. 5 at the Mary McLeod Bethune Performing Arts Center.
TALLAHASSEE – Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday she should not have requested an execution be rescheduled from the night of her “campaign kickoff” fundraiser. Bondi’s statement came after Gov. Rick Scott said he was unaware that the waterfront Tampa fundraiser, scheduled for Tuesday, was the reason she had requested the delay in the execution of convicted murderer Marshall Lee Gore. “As a prosecutor, there was nothing more important than seeing justice done, especially when it came to the unconscionable act of murder,” Bondi said in a release. “I personally put two people on death row and, as attorney general, have already participated in eight executions since I took office, a role I take very seriously.” “The planned execution of Marshall Lee Gore had already been stayed twice by the courts, and we should not have requested that the date of the execution be moved,” Bondi added. On Aug. 13, Scott had scheduled Gore’s execution for 6 p.m. Sept. 10. However, less than a week Pam later, Scott advised Florida State Prison Warden John Bondi Palmer that he was moving the execution to 6 p.m. Oct. 1 “at the request of the Attorney General.” Speaking to reporters Monday outside the Capitol, Scott said he was simply complying with a request from a state Cabinet member when he rescheduled the execution. “Her office contacted my office and asked for a postponement, and that’s what we did,” Scott said. “No, I did not know (the reason).” When the execution date was rescheduled, a spokeswoman for the attorney general said the event conflicted with another previously scheduled event. On Friday, a different spokeswoman for Bondi confirmed that the Tampa fundraiser is the event that had been scheduled before Gore’s execution was set for the same night. “We set the date, the attorney general’s office asked for a postponement, so we went along with that,” Scott responded when asked Monday if he thought the reason for the delay was proper. “We try to comply with when other cabinet members ask for something. We try to work with them.” Bondi has yet to receive a challenger to her 2014 re-election. Gore, whose sanity has been the focus of efforts to block the execution, was convicted of killing two women in 1988 in Miami-Dade and Columbia counties. Gore’s death warrant is for the murder of Robyn Novick, whose nude body was found in March 1988 in a rural area of Miami-Dade.
Leaving the city
Smoke pours from the Pentagon Building in Washington, D.C. minutes after a hijacked airliner crashed into the southwest corner of the building, during the 9/11 terrorists attacks.
9/11 from B1 polyester suit was melted to the back of her body. Pieces of melted clothing and burnt flesh were falling off her. The fireman collapsed in exhaustion. Then, about two dozen of his colleagues went running into the building in heavy gear. I had a real bad feeling that they were all in grave danger. I realized I needed to get back to Jeanne to assure her I was safe. So I start running north up Broadway. I kept trying the phones but nothing worked; all circuits were busy. I tried getting on the subway, but electrical power had failed and the subway system was on lockdown. So I ran to my Times Square hotel room, which took about 30 minutes.
clinic. Was he OK? Eventually, I did make contact with everyone, including colleagues at the Wall Street Journal. And we were all lucky. I was sad, angry, nervous, and happy to be alive, but humbled and completely overwhelmed by others’ deaths that day. I can’t stop seeing the visions of bodies falling. I still pray for their families. And then there is fate.
What would have happened if my wife decided to visit the World Trade Center’s observation tower that morning? For this, I have to believe there are guardian angels. They certainly had too much to cope with that day. New York City was a ghost town that afternoon. No whir of traffic, only the constant wail of sirens heading south to the horror downtown.
It took us two days to get out of Manhattan. Luckily, Jeanne’s college roommate lived in Montvale, N.J. Our journey home started with a long walk to Madison Square Garden with our luggage, then taking the PATH subway train to New Jersey. The train stopped abruptly just before the Newark stop, and we had to evacuate due to a bomb threat. We finally got picked up after a round of cellphone tag and arrived at our friend’s home, only to learn that four families on the block had family members missing. This humbled me quickly. The next day we drove back home to Sarasota, ironically the same place President George Bush was when he was notified of the attacks.
How 9/11 affected me I first thought this event would make me an angry, bitter person filled with hatred. But actually the opposite has occurred. I have a higher level of compassion for people, but with a resolve not to put up with nonsense or ever let my guard down. We live in a dangerous world, but we must live free. I have come to terms
paramedic cradling an elderly man who was bleeding from his head, comforting him. And most of all, I remember how compassionate people were in general, helping each other out despite the panic. I have always felt that people’s true colors come out in times of crisis. I am a witness. The people of New York City shined that day, and continue to do so. They are all my heroes, and my heart goes out to anyone who was a victim of that day.
Ed Hashey, a Sarasota resident, now teaches fifth grade at Wilkinson Elementary School in Sarasota.
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Reality hits When I arrived back at the room, Jeanne was in tears. I gave her a big hug, and she felt me trembling. Then we watched on the television in disbelief as the first tower collapsed. Two thoughts came to my mind: What happened to those firemen? Did they get all the people evacuated in time? I lay down on the bed and so many emotions flowed over me. I learned that Washington, D.C. was under attack. My brother worked as a Navy corpsman in the White House
with the reality that this will never leave my mind. Almost every day, something triggers a memory; the sound of a jet, anyone crying, movie trailers, etc. But I am more acutely aware of how precious everyone’s lives are, and will never take life for granted. Even in the midst of the evil that happened that day, I saw all much good. There were storeowners handing out flip-flops to women who abandoned high heels in panic. There were firemen and policemen who after several disruptions, kept regrouping and kept on trying. Many made the ultimate sacrifice. I remember an Asian
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