Events showcase Miami’s growth as tech center

One by one, representatives from six startup companies walked onto the wooden stage and presented their products or services to a full house of about 200 investors, mentors, and other supporters Thursday at Incubate Miami’s DemoDay in the loft-like Grand Central in downtown Miami. With a large screen behind them projecting their graphs and charts, they set out to persuade the funders in the room to part with some of their green and support the tech community.

Just 24 hours later, from an elaborate “dojo stage,” a drummer warmed up the crowd of several hundred before a “Council of Elders” entered the ring to share wisdom as the all-day free event opened. Called TekFight, part education, part inspiration, and part entertainment, the tournament-style program challenged entrepreneurs to earn points to “belt up” throughout the day to meet with the “masters” of the tech community.

The two events, which kicked off Innovate MIA week, couldn’t be more different. But in their own ways, like a one-two punch, they exuded the spirit and energy growing in the startup community.

One of the goals of the TekFight event was to introduce young entrepreneurs and students to the tech community, because not everyone has found it yet and it’s hard to know where to start, said Saif Ishoof, the executive director of City Year Miami who co-founded TekFight as a personal project. And throughout the event, he and co-founder Jose Antonio Hernandez-Solaun, as well as Binsen J. Gonzalez and Jeff Goudie, wanted to find creative, engaging ways to offer participants access to some of the community’s most successful leaders.

That would include Alberto Dosal, chairman of CompuQuip Technologies; Albert Santalo, founder and CEO of CareCloud; Jorge Plasencia, chairman and CEO of Republica; Jaret Davis, co-managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig; and more than two dozen other business and community leaders who shared their war stories and offered advice. Throughout the day, the event was live-streamed on the Web, a TekFight app created by local entrepreneur and UM student Tyler McIntyre kept everyone involved in the tournament and tweets were flying — with #TekFight trending No. 1 in the Miami area for parts of the day. “Next time Art Basel will know not to try to compete with TekFight,” Ishoof quipped.

‘Miami is a hotbed’

After a pair of Chinese dragons danced through the audience, Andre J. Gudger, director for the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Small Business Programs, entered the ring. “I’ve never experienced an event like this,” Gudger remarked. “Miami is a hotbed for technology but nobody knew it.”

Gudger shared humorous stories and practical advice on ways to get technology ideas heard at the highest levels of the federal government. “Every federal agency has a director over small business — find out who they are,” he said. He has had plenty of experience in the private sector: Gudger, who wrote his first computer program on his neighbor’s computer at the age of 12, took one of his former companies from one to 1,300 employees.

There were several rounds that pitted an entrepreneur against an investor, such as Richard Grundy, of the tech startup Flomio, vs. Jonathan Kislak, of Antares Capital, who asked Grundy, “why should I give you money?”

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Preservation board to decide on Herald building

The city of Miami’s historic preservation office has compiled a lengthy, detailed report that substantially bolsters the case for designation of The Miami Herald’s “monumental’’ bayfront building as a protected landmark based on both its architectural merits and its historic significance.

Somewhat unusually, the 40-page report by city preservation officer Megan McLaughlin, which is supplemented by 30 pages of bibliography, plans and photographs, carries no explicit recommendation to the city’s preservation board, which is scheduled to decide the matter on Monday.

But her analysis gathers extensive evidence that the building’s history, the influential executives and editors associated with it, and its fusion of Mid-Century Modern and tropical Miami Modern (MiMo) design meet several of the legal criteria for designation set out in the city’s preservation ordinance and federal guidelines. A building has to meet just one of eight criteria to merit designation.

A spokeswoman for the city’s historic preservation office said there is no obligation to make a recommendation and the city’s preservation board didn’t ask for one.

Supporters of designation, including officials at Dade Heritage Trust, the preservation group that has received sometimes withering criticism from business and civic leaders for requesting designation, said they felt vindicated by the report, even as they concede that persuading a board majority to support it remains an uphill battle.

“It’s important that an objective expert is saying basically the same thing we’ve been saying, particularly in an environment where there is so much pressure,’’ said DHT chief executive Becky Roper Matkov. “It’s very hard to refute. When you look at the building’s architecture and history, it’s so blatantly historic, what else can you say?’’

The report also rebuts key pieces of criticism of the designation effort leveled by opponents of designation, including architects and a prominent local preservation historian hired by Genting, the Malaysian casino operator that purchased the Herald property last year for $236 million with plans to build a massive destination resort on its 10 acres. The newspaper remains in the building rent-free until April, when it will move to suburban Doral.

Citing federal rules, McLaughlin concluded that the building dates to its construction in 1960 and 1961, and not to its formal dedication in 1963. That’s significant because it makes the building legally older than 50 years. Buildings newer than that must be “exceptionally significant’’ to merit designation under city regulations. Opponents of designation have claimed the building does not qualify because it’s several months short of 50 years if dated from its ’63 opening.

The property also has a “minimal’’ baywalk at the rear but there is room to expand it, the report indicates. The building is considerably set back from the edge of Biscayne Bay, between 68 feet at the widest point and 23 feet at its narrowest, the report says. That’s comparable to what many new buildings provide, thanks in part to variances granted by the city, and could blunt criticism that the Herald building “blocks’’ public access to the bay.

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Buzzmakers: A Royal Pregnancy & Demi's Wild Night

What had ET readers buzzing this week?

1. Prince William & Kate Middleton Expecting a Baby

After much speculation and anticipation over the past year, the royal palace has confirmed that Prince William and Kate Middleton are expecting their first child.

An official statement issued Monday announcing the news reads: "The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry and members of both families are delighted with the news."

The statement added that Kate was admitted to a London hospital on Monday to be treated for hyperemesis gravidarum, a more severe form of the nausea and vomiting that normally accompanies the early stages of pregnancy. The Palace said that William traveled with Kate to the hospital in a private car, not by ambulance, and he was spending time at his wife's side.

The statement adds: "Her Royal Highness is expected to stay in hospital for several days and will require a period of rest thereafter."

The couple's first child will be third in line to the British throne.

2. Gisele Bunchen, Tom Brady Welcome Baby

Gisele Bundchen and husband Tom Brady received a special gift this holiday season, a baby daughter!

The Brazilian supermodel, 32, confirmed on her Facebook page that she and the New England Patriots player, 35, welcomed their second child together, Vivian Lake, on Wednesday night.

"We feel so lucky to have been able to experience the miracle of birth once again and are forever grateful for the opportunity to be the parents of another little angel," she said of her newborn daughter.

Included in the post was an adorable photo of Gisele tenderly holding little Vivian's hand in her own. This is the third child for Brady, who has a 2-year-old son, Benjamin, with Gisele, and a 5-year-old son, John, with actress Bridget Moynahan. Ben turns three on Saturday.

3. Demi Moore's Bizarre, Star-Studded Night Out

Demi Moore may have been enjoying herself too much on Wednesday night as some peculiar party pics have surfaced of the 50-year-old actress.

Joined by Lenny Kravitz and George Clooney's gal Stacy Keibler in a VIP section, Moore showed up to the Chanel Beachside Barbecue held at Soho Beach House in Miami, FL wearing a little gray jumper and looking to have a good time.

Photos of her cuddling up to Kravitz, 48, while using her hair to cover up her face (or is she eating her hair?) are making the rounds as well as shots of her dancing recklessly. Though the pics are sure to have many questioning her state of mind at the party, the actress was only seen with the energy drink Red Bull.

4. 2013 Grammy Nominations: fun. Scores Big

The countdown to music's biggest night has begun!

Live from Nashville, Tennessee LL Cool J and Taylor Swift emceed the Grammy Nominations concert featuring performances by fun., Hunter Hayes, Maroon 5, Luke Bryan, Ne-Yo and LL Cool J, Janelle Monae, and Dierks Bentley.

Click here for the list of announced nominees!

5. Angelina Jolie to Quit Acting

Does this mean the end of the Tomb Raider franchise? Angelina Jolie revealed on Monday that she plans to bid adieu to acting.

"I have enjoyed being an actress," Jolie, 37, told Britain's Channel 4 News. "I am so grateful to the job and I have had great experiences and I have even be able to tell stories and be a part of stories that mattered and I have done things for fun, but..."

The mother-of-six gave her reasons for quitting her trade, adding, "I will do some films and I am so fortunate to have the job, it's a really lucky profession to be a part of and I enjoy it. But if it went away tomorrow I would be very happy to be home with the children. I wake up in the morning as a mum and I turn on the news like everybody else and I see what's happening and I want to be part of the world in a positive way."

Jolie is currently an ambassador for the U.N. and has been visiting and working with refugees for years now.

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Two teens who fell into East River saved by cops

Cops courageously rescued two teens yesterday after they fell into the East River in East Harlem, authorities said.

The 17-year-old pals were hanging out with friends who may have been drinking at the edge of the river near East 111th Street about 12:45 p.m., cops said.

The boys were horsing around and hanging onto the outside of the railing on the promenade along the river's edge when one boy lost his grip and fell into the freezing water, cops said.

His buddy tried to help, but wound up falling in after him, cops said.

The other kids called 911 for help.

Sgt. Joseph Hartnett

Officer Helder Santos

Sgt. Joseph Hartnett and Officer Helder Santos arrived to find Christopher Arriago and his friend Diego Perez clinging to wooden pylons, which were sticking out of the icy waters, police said.

They grabbed Arriaga from the river but had a harder time reaching Perez, who didn’t want to let go of the pylon at first and was suffering from hypothermia, police said.

So two other officers, Siddiqua Withers and Leonardo Munoz, held on to Hartnett and Santos by their belts and legs as they dangled over the river to reach Perez.

The daring move gave the two cops the extra reach they needed to pluck Perez from the fast-moving river waters, police said.

Both kids were taken to Harlem Hospital, where they were listed in stable condition.

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Events showcase Miami’s growth as tech center

One by one, representatives from six startup companies walked onto the wooden stage and presented their products or services to a full house of about 200 investors, mentors, and other supporters Thursday at Incubate Miami’s DemoDay in the loft-like Grand Central in downtown Miami. With a large screen behind them projecting their graphs and charts, they set out to persuade the funders in the room to part with some of their green and support the tech community.

Just 24 hours later, from an elaborate “dojo stage,” a drummer warmed up the crowd of several hundred before a “Council of Elders” entered the ring to share wisdom as the all-day free event opened. Called TekFight, part education, part inspiration, and part entertainment, the tournament-style program challenged entrepreneurs to earn points to “belt up” throughout the day to meet with the “masters” of the tech community.

The two events, which kicked off Innovate MIA week, couldn’t be more different. But in their own ways, like a one-two punch, they exuded the spirit and energy growing in the startup community.

One of the goals of the TekFight event was to introduce young entrepreneurs and students to the tech community, because not everyone has found it yet and it’s hard to know where to start, said Saif Ishoof, the executive director of City Year Miami who co-founded TekFight as a personal project. And throughout the event, he and co-founder Jose Antonio Hernandez-Solaun, as well as Binsen J. Gonzalez and Jeff Goudie, wanted to find creative, engaging ways to offer participants access to some of the community’s most successful leaders.

That would include Alberto Dosal, chairman of CompuQuip Technologies; Albert Santalo, founder and CEO of CareCloud; Jorge Plasencia, chairman and CEO of Republica; Jaret Davis, co-managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig; and more than two dozen other business and community leaders who shared their war stories and offered advice. Throughout the day, the event was live-streamed on the Web, a TekFight app created by local entrepreneur and UM student Tyler McIntyre kept everyone involved in the tournament and tweets were flying — with #TekFight trending No. 1 in the Miami area for parts of the day. “Next time Art Basel will know not to try to compete with TekFight,” Ishoof quipped.

‘Miami is a hotbed’

After a pair of Chinese dragons danced through the audience, Andre J. Gudger, director for the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Small Business Programs, entered the ring. “I’ve never experienced an event like this,” Gudger remarked. “Miami is a hotbed for technology but nobody knew it.”

Gudger shared humorous stories and practical advice on ways to get technology ideas heard at the highest levels of the federal government. “Every federal agency has a director over small business — find out who they are,” he said. He has had plenty of experience in the private sector: Gudger, who wrote his first computer program on his neighbor’s computer at the age of 12, took one of his former companies from one to 1,300 employees.

There were several rounds that pitted an entrepreneur against an investor, such as Richard Grundy, of the tech startup Flomio, vs. Jonathan Kislak, of Antares Capital, who asked Grundy, “why should I give you money?”

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Police search for man who exposed himself to young girls in Southwest Miami-Dade

Miami-Dade Police are looking for a man wanted for lewd and lascivious exposure, investigators said Thursday.

“We’re working a couple of cases in the area where a gentleman seen in the sketch is exposing himself to children,” one detective told a concerned parent.

Yanitza Delgado was driving in the area of Southwest 80th St. and 154th Ave. Thursday when police approached her car.

“I think it’s very disgusting,” Delgado said. “I have a 12-year-old daughter. and then I have a 7-year-old. And I really think this is disgusting.”

Cops handed out a sketch and description of the man they said has been exposing himself to young girls in the vicinity of Southwest 72nd and 80th Streets from Southwest 142nd to 154th Avenues.

A 16-year-old girl walking in the neighborhood where cops were handing out flyers said she was a victim.

“I was walking, with my friend over here, and then he passes by, and he’s like ‘Oh, come here.’ And we’re like, ‘what?’ And he’s like, ‘you know where 152nd is?’ We’re like, ‘no.’ But we’re very distant. And when I look down, I see he has his pants down,” the girl said. She did not wish to be identified. “He just drove away laughing. We were very scared.”

Police provided two different sketched to the media, but only one sketch was used on the flyer.

Because they’re dealing with multiple victims, descriptions of the man vary, police said.

Police believe they’re looking for a Hispanic male between 20 and 30 years old.

They said he has short, black hair, brown eyes, and may or may not have a goatee.

It’s a vague description, but they’re hoping handing out fliers will generate some leads.

“I’m so worried,” parent Ana Escobar said. “You know, because, my two daughters they train in that tennis courts right there.”

Investigators said they started receiving reports of lewd and lascivious exposure back in March.

The victim who spoke to CBS 4 News said she saw the man last year but never reported it to cops.

Thursday, she told them her story. She said she hopes it leads to an arrest.

“I’m very glad ’cause at least we can get justice with this man,” the girl said.

Police said the man may be driving a Silver Toyota Corolla sedan or a similar vehicle.

If you think you recognize the suspect, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477) or visit  www.crimestoppers.com and select “Give a Tip.” You can also send a text message to 274637. Enter CSMD followed by the tip information and press send.

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Oscars Flashback: Amy Adams 2006

It's a benchmark in every actress' career to receive her first award nomination. Whether she loves or loathes awards show and what they represent, it's always a reassuring boost to know that the industry appreciates one's work. In 2006, Amy Adams reached that benchmark as she fittingly stood in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard.

In 2005, Adams appeared in the comedy-drama Junebug, which pulled in a modest $3 million at the box office and was generally unknown to the masses; however it was known to the critics, and well liked by them as well.

VIDEO: SAGs Flashback '98: Jolie Experiences the Reward

Adams was the recipient of most of the film's nominations for her supporting role as a woman who gives birth to a stillborn, whom she had planned to name "Junebug." On the red carpet for her first Oscars, Adams says she's stunned.

"I don't dream this big," she says, awed. "This is Technicolor, folks. This is crazy."

Her applauded performance would only receive a nomination that year and no tears of joy were patted with the tissues in Adams' clutch.

VIDEO: Oscars Flashback '94: Spielberg Wins His First

While her fate at the Oscars that year has proven replicated on each of her three succeeding nominations, the most recent of which was for The Fighter, an Oscar may be in line for her this year.

The 38-year-old actress had three movies premiere this year (Trouble with the Curve, On the Road, The Master) and recently received a Hollywood Film Festival Award for her work.

Those tissues may get some use this year.

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Utility workers who helped restore power after Sandy complain of pay delay

Mike Valaskatgis slept in his National Grid truck for two nights, and then on a cot two more nights before getting a bed in a hotel room during a 10-day visit to New York last month to help in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

The Gloucester, Mass., overhead lineman said he logged 18-hour days working in various Long Island neighborhoods to restore power. He opened his latest paycheck this week, and was disgusted to see that an estimated $7,000 in overtime has yet to be paid.

"It was frustrating up until today. Now I'm angry," he told The Associated Press Thursday in a telephone interview. "I'm going to get it eventually, but I shouldn't have to go looking for it."

AP

A National Grid crew from Fredonia, NY repair power lines that were brought down from the effects of Superstorm Sandy in Port Washington, NY.

Valaskatgis is one of thousands of National Grid utility workers complaining they have yet to be fully compensated. Some say they haven't received their overtime pay, others contend they have gotten paychecks with zeros, while still others say payroll deductions they arranged for mortgage, child support and alimony payments were not made, according to union officials.

The problems, according to a spokesman for energy company National Grid, stem from a conversion to a new payroll software system in the weeks preceding the Oct. 29 storm that knocked out power to millions in the Northeast.

National Grid spokesman Patrick Stella said the company is working swiftly to resolve the problems, but union officials say that just like customers who groused about being left in the dark for days or weeks longer than they expected, workers are growing increasingly impatient waiting for a resolution. Several lawsuits have been filed and complaints have been filed with state attorneys general, union officials said.

National Grid has approximately 17,000 employees in New York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. It contracts with the Long Island Power Authority to operate electric operations in the New York City suburb and parts of Queens, where more than 1 million customers lost power. Workers from all three states have complained about incorrect or overdue paychecks, union officials said.

"We're very frustrated," said Dan Hurley, president of Braintree, Mass.-based Local 369 of the Utility Workers Union of America. "People are not getting paid." He said some workers have received paychecks for a standard 40-hour work week; others have been paid for less than 40 hours, despite working those hours plus many more in overtime. In other instances, workers have been paid at incorrect hourly rates.

"We had hundreds of workers who went down there," Hurley said of Massachusetts workers who went to New York for several weeks of repair work. "They answered the call, and they would do it again."

He said the trouble started when workers began getting calls from their wives and husbands that they went to the bank and found no direct deposit payments had been made. Others began getting calls that alimony and child support payments, which were supposed to be taken out of workers' paychecks, had not been sent out.

Don Daley, business manager of Long Island-based Local 1049 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, called the payroll problems an example of National Grid mismanagement. "I believe there was some serious negligence on the part of management," Daley said. "We're going into Week Six since this storm and things are still all screwed up."

In some instances, some workers are even being overpaid, said Mike Conigliaro, president of Brooklyn-based Local 101 of the Transport Workers Union. "We're still out there working, but things are not improving."

For some workers, child support payments have been deducted from their paychecks, but apparently have not been received by those expecting payment, Conigliaro said.

Stella, the National Grid spokesman, said staff is working "literally around the clock to fix these issues. This is a top priority in the company." He said the company started a year ago to upgrade its payroll computer system and the final conversion process had started Oct. 3, several weeks before the superstorm struck. "Any conversion would be expected to present some challenges. But then we had thousands of people working extended hours in different sites than they normally would and with significant overtime."

He said those factors "increased the potential for error. These were not normal work circumstances."

He said National Grid deals with more than 25 different unions in the three states, all of which present different work rules. "We're trying to work through all of that," Stella said. "Our goal is to make employees whole in terms of compensation."

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New equity options exchange owned by Miami company starts trading on Friday

MIAX Options Exchange, a new fully electronic, equity options trading exchange, said it will begin trading on Friday.

MIAX Options Exchange is based in Princeton, N.J., but its parent company is Miami International Holdings. While MIAX’s executive offices, technology development center and national operations center are based in Princeton, additional executive offices, and a multi-purpose training, meeting and conference center will be located in Miami, the company said.

MIAX Options Exchange’s trading platform has been developed in-house and designed for the functional and performance demands of derivatives trading, the company said.

INA PAIVA CORDLE

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State lawmakers cautious about projected $437 million budget surplus

TALLAHASSEE --
Initial, positive indications about Florida’s budget for the coming fiscal year could be overtaken by events if the Florida Supreme Court strikes down changes to state employees or the nation plunges over the fiscal cliff, the state’s top economist warned Wednesday.

Speaking to the first meeting of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Amy Baker — coordinator of the Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research — told lawmakers that the current projection of a $436.8 million budget surplus could still change.

"I think the message is that this is not a large cushion," Baker said. "It could evaporate on you if economic circumstances turn against us."

Lawmakers have long watched a decision in the case challenging a 2011 law that required employees to contribute 3 percent of their income to their retirement funds, along with other changes. It could cost the state around $2 billion if the Supreme Court strikes down the law.

A Leon County circuit court judge voided the changes for employees hired before July 1, 2011; justices seemed hesitant about upholding that ruling at oral arguments earlier this year.

But Baker said the so-called "fiscal cliff," a package of federal spending cuts and tax increases set to take effect on Jan. 1 unless Congress and President Barack Obama can reach agreement, also looms large.

If there is a long delay in reaching a deal — one that stretches past January and into March — it could cost the state as much as $375 million, Baker said, comparing it to the debt-ceiling fight in August 2011 that dragged down the state economy.

Even if there is an agreement, it is likely to include some measures that will reduce estimated state income by hundreds of millions of dollars, Baker said.

"There is no likelihood that Florida will escape from the final decision with no changes to our budget," Baker said.

The uncertainty has pushed lawmakers who are optimistic about the numbers to nonetheless urge caution. Senate Appropriations Chairman Joe Negron, R-Stuart, told the committee that he wanted to boost the budget stabilization fund, one of the state’s reserves, to $1.5 billion. That’s at least $500 million over where the fund is projected to be, Negron said.

After the meeting, Negron told reporters that might be as much as the Legislature can do.

"You can never have too much in a reserve, but realistically I think $1.5 billion is a reasonable target to shoot for," he said.

Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, said the situation should send a message to advocates for various state agencies in the audience.

"They need to be on notice that there is a lot of uncertainty out there and that this budget if these two things come to fruition is going to be very, very difficult to put together," Thrasher said. "And I think either one of them could devastating to us."

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