The Gazette 10/28/21 V8iss21 by The Gazette

THE

GAZETTE VOLUME 8 • ISSUE 21 OCTOBER 28, 2021

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WILTON MANORS

A Wicked Good Time Beloved spooky festival returning to Wilton Drive

By John Hayden People strutting down Wilton Drive in eyecatching outfits, while throwing a little shade, is an everyday occurrence. But this Sunday, Halloween, it explodes into a spectacle that will feel like Sunday Funday on steroids. Wicked Manors is returning as South Florida’s premier Halloween Party. This year’s theme, Turn Back Time, invokes not only Cher’s classic song, but also reminds us we’ve lost a year or more of our lives, staying socially distant from our friends and family. This event is a chance to reconnect with family and friends during an iconic event. While last-minute logistics are still being worked out, SFGN has obtained the main plans for Wicked Manors 2021. Wilton Drive will close to motor traffic at noon and reopen at 4 a.m. The party officially starts at 6 p.m. and ends at 11 p.m. While the street cleanup will begin at 11 p.m., some bars and restaurants may stay open. Three stages will dominate the Drive. South Florida’s radio superstar Kimmy will emcee the main stage, located at Sixth Avenue. The Manor is hosting the dance stage, and the Easy 93.1 stage will be by Rosie’s Bar & Grill and Hamburger Mary’s. The Pride Center at Equality Park throws the

event, along with AHF and Hunters Nightclub. As in past years, Wilton Drive will close from around the Dairy Queen down to near Five Points. In between will be raging music, creative costumes, and enough food and drink to make you burst out of your perfectly sized costume. After a year away due to COVID, Pride Center CEO, Robert Boo, said the buzz is louder than ever. “We have gotten such an overwhelming response from the community to our plans for Wicked Manors, and people are more excited than ever before to safely gather with their friends at the biggest street festival on Halloween night in the Southeast! The final preparations are underway here at The Pride Center, and Roger Roa, director of development and our entire Center staff and crew of volunteers have been working tirelessly to ensure that this Wicked Manors will be the spookiest, most amazing one yet.” There is a $5 per person cover to attend, and there will be nine entrances. There will be four costume contests with the Kids Costume Contest starting around 6 p.m. Kids can also come at 5 p.m. and do trick or treating.

This event is a chance to reconnect with family and friends during an iconic event.

Last year’s Wicked Manors. Photo credit: J.R. Davis.

“You’ll be able to look forward to the most creative costumes you’ve ever seen that we know have been in the works for two years,” Boo said. “World-class entertainment, and a safe environment to spend a great night with friends, both old and new.” While Wicked Manors is the main event, there is a full Wicked Weekend of events. Friday night, Hagen Park will host a double feature. At 7 p.m. is the Bette Midler classic “Hocus Pocus” and at 9 p.m. is the campy classic “Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Bring a lawn chair or a blanket.

The next day is Saturday Splash at Tru by Hilton in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Tickets start at $35. Boo is ready for people to come, see the costumes, reconnect with friends and just have fun. “We are so excited to organize Wicked Manors as a fundraiser that supports the ongoing vital programs, services and community efforts of The Pride Center at Equality Park, and we look forward to a safe, festive, inclusive, memorable evening.”

For last minute updates visit WickedManor.org.

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10 . 28 . 20 21 •

WILTON MANORS

Trick or Treat

OPINION

New funds in Wilton Manors bring the tricksters forth

By Sal Torre Hopefully residents have been busy getting their jack o’ lanterns carved, costumes picked out, and are now ready for the spooktacular festivities this coming Halloween weekend here in the Island City. Step out on The Drive this Sunday night to catch a glimpse of ghost, goblins, and who knows what else to be witnessed as the night comes alive on All Hallow’s Eve. Costume-wearing children running door to door are not the only ones trick or treating this year. Many involved with local governments are salivating, already running around with their goodie bags held open looking for treats to be handed out by municipalities flush with cash from the American Relief Plan Act. The City of Wilton Manors will be receiving just over $6 million. Much of those funds will have to be used for infrastructure and broadband improvements, along with water and sewer projects throughout or city. There are no shortage of projects needing attention in those areas. Thankfully the federal government recognized the needs of cities across the nation and passed a lifeline to many communities through the appropriations known as the ARPA funds. Tricksters will be out and about looking to get hold of some of these goodies over the next few months as cities look to allocate the first round of ARPA funding. Trick or treat, be careful, you might just get tricked. Residents must stay informed and aware, so that these funds are used to make a difference in our community, to benefit residents, and to strengthen our city. With so many spirits, ghosts and wandering souls swirling around gathering strength as Halloween approaches, there is a sense of strangeness in the air. Weird things begin to happen around every corner. So was the case at the city commission meeting this past Tuesday night. On the agenda were items proposed by the Charter Review Board for placement on the ballot in the next election. The main item was that of term limits. In a three-to-two vote, the city commission voted not to put a proposal of term limits on the ballot as recommended

October 28, 2021 • Volume 8 • Issue 21 2520 N. Dixie Highway • Wilton Manors, FL 33305 Phone: 954-530-4970 Fax: 954-530-7943

Publisher • Norm Kent norm.kent@sfgn.com Associate Publisher / Executive Editor • Jason Parsley jason.parsley@sfgn.com

Editorial

Art Director • Brendon Lies artwork@sfgn.com Oakland Park Editor • Christiana Lilly Wilton Manors Editor • John McDonald

Correspondents

Sal Torre • James Oaksun

Staff Photographers

J.R. Davis • Carina Mask • Steven Shires

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by the Charter Review Board. The weird thing here is that Mayor Scott Newton voted for the proposal while a member of the Charter Review Board but voted against it this week as mayor. Strange, but it’s that time of year. My own feeling on time limits is that we already have them, but they go by a different name: elections. Perhaps in a Congressional seat or a statewide office, we might need term limits to counteract the millions raised by incumbents and the entrenched power of office. However, on a local level, here in our Island City, a strong candidate involved in their community and with a proven track record can touch base with the few thousand voters needed to win. Term limits impose restrictions on smaller communities, limiting the choice on who the voters want to have represent their needs in local government. Perhaps our mayor and city commission should have voted for the ballot proposal and

let our residents decide. However, we elect our city officials to make tough decisions, to make the right decisions, even when those decisions might not be that popular. I guess this might be one of those cases. We have not heard the last of term limits here in our city, but for now we get to still do it the old-fashion way and vote to keep our good public servants in office for another term or to vote the bastards out come Election Day. Another good thing about Election Day is that it signals the approaching end of Pumpkin Spice Season. This mania hits a peak during the Halloween festivities, then thankfully seems to fade toward the approach of Thanksgiving, by which time most of us are so tired of pumpkin spice that we forgo the traditional slice of pumpkin pie for some other holiday treat. Too much of a good thing rings true when it comes to pumpkin spice lattes, butter, muffins, pop tarts, vodka, candles, lip gloss, and even pet food. This weekend is no time to worry about too much spice — go ahead, spice it up and enjoy the Halloween festivities up and down The Drive and throughout our great city. Ghosts, goblins, witches, trick or treaters, celebrating and spicing it up is what makes life just better here…

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GAZETTE

Webmaster • Kimberly Swan webmaster@sfgn.com

Tricksters will be out and about looking to get hold of some of these goodies over the next few months as cities look to allocate the first round of ARPA funding.

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OCTOBER 28, 2021

South Florida Gay News is published weekly. The opinions expressed in columns, stories, and letters to the editor do not represent the opinions of SFGN, or the Publisher. You should not presume the sexual orientation of individuals based on their names or pictorial representations. Furthermore the word “gay” in SFGN should be interpreted to be inclusive of the entire LGBT community. All of the material/columns that appears in print and online, including articles used in conjunction with the AP, is protected under federal copyright and intellectual property laws, and is jealously guarded by the newspaper. Nothing published may be reprinted in whole or part without getting written consent from the Publisher, at his law office, at Norm@NormKent.com. SFGN, as a private corporation, reserves the right to enforce its own standards regarding the suitability of advertising copy, illustrations and photographs. MEMBER

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The spirit of the season at Wicked Manors in 2019. Photo credit: J.R. Davis.

COMMUNITY

WILTON MANORS

COMMUNITY

New Neighborhood Association Forms In Eastside Wilton Manors By John McDonald

Wilton Manors. Photo credit: Carina Mask.

Market Values Climb In Wilton Manors By John McDonald Market values increased in Wilton Manors as the trend of newcomers continued even during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data provided by the Broward County Property Appraiser shows market value for all city properties in 2021 is $2,429,043,190. That’s an increase of 6.37% from the 2020 market value of $2,283,633,640. Taxable value rose by 5.04% in July 1, 2021 to $1,668,224,486 from $1,588,137,599 in 2020. The city’s millage rate stayed the same at 5.8360. “Even though there’s been a significant increase in value, even though the taxable value has increased more than 6% and even though there’s more money coming in the bulk of that money is not being paid for by your homestead property owners because their value couldn’t go up more than 1.14%,” said Broward County Property Appraiser Marty Kiar. “It’s really based on the fact that a lot of people are moving from other states and making Wilton Manors their home and that’s really what’s driving up those increases.” Kiar gave a presentation to the Wilton Manors city commission at its Oct. 12 meeting. The property appraiser’s office has three important functions, Kiar said: determining property value, providing exemptions and investigating fraud. The fraud division, Kiar said, is a very aggressive unit of investigators who have put

more than $27 million in value back on the tax roll in recent years in Wilton Manors. “They are all former law enforcement people,” Kiar said. “They love this stuff and you do not want to see them at your door.” Kiar said investigators look to see if addresses on utility bills match with those listed on an owner’s property records to determine if a homesteader is in compliance. Wilton Manors, Kiar said, has 2,999 homestead exempt properties. Of that number 149 have a senior exemption, 18 are long-term senior exemptions, 19 are fully exempted veterans, two receive a veteran’s discount and one is a tax exempt first responder. In 2021, 84 Wilton Manors residents were granted portability, a transfer of their exemption from one property to another, for a value of $6,934,940. A new program is scheduled to go into effect for next year that will provide an exemption for seniors who have lived in their homes for more than 25 years and have an income below $31,100. Commissioners must approve the program before Dec. 1. Overall, there are 4,656 residential properties in Wilton Manors. Of that number, 2,986 are single family and 1,670 are condominiums. The average market value for a single family home is $472,272 and the taxable value is $291,824. A condominium’s average market value is $187,615 with a $133,716 taxable value.

A clash over development has led to the creation of a new neighborhood association in Wilton Manors’ east side. A press release dated Oct. 11 announced the formation of Three Bridges Neighborhood Association. The nonprofit presents itself as an “inclusive” organization designed to empower and support residents and businesses in east Wilton Manors. “We are a group of dedicated residents who seek to effect positive change in our community by building bridges among our neighbors and businesses,” said Roger Cruttenden, founding president of Three Bridges Neighborhood Association, in a press release. Roger Cruttenden. Photo via Facebook. Three Bridges was founded by Cruttenden and eastside residents Bryon Bowlby, Karl Lentzer, Rudy Molinet and Anthony The East Neighborhood Association holds LoGrande. In an interview with journalist four meetings a year including a holiday Kareem Awadalla, Cruttenden said the men party. Dues are $25 annually. Membership want to bring forth discussions among in a neighborhood association offers many residents and create consensus. There is a benefits, Fiore said. better path, explained Cruttenden. “It keeps you involved and informed about “What we want to do is gather the opinions what is happening in your neighborhood and consensus from the neighborhood and and allows you to have a voice on matters follow their lead,” Cruttenden said. impacting you,” he said. The new group will have to navigate Fiore said membership is around 60 people alongside the East Neighborhood Association. and the association’s boundaries have receded Under the direction of former Wilton Manors to Northeast 14th Avenue from the railroad Mayor John Fiore, the East tracks along North Dixie Hwy. Neighborhood Association In his interview with has deployed tactics to slow Awadalla, Cruttenden said “WE ARE A GROUP the rate of development. the ENA is a top down model OF DEDICATED ENA led the opposition to with tunnel vision in regard increased density calculations RESIDENTS WHO SEEK to development. He said in the city’s land use code, there is enough space for two TO EFFECT POSITIVE which eventually settled on organized associations in east CHANGE IN OUR 60 units per square acre. Wilton Manors and applauded “We want to protect our the ENA’s efforts to clean up COMMUNITY BY neighborhood,” said Fiore, Northeast 26th Street and BUILDING BRIDGES who served as mayor from neighborhood waterways. AMONG OUR 2000 to 2002 and worked for Cruttenden said development 35 years as an urban planner should not be the only issue to NEIGHBORS AND for Broward County. gain traction. Infrastructure, BUSINESSES.” Fiore told the Gazette he said, is a major concern in his group is not antieast side neighborhoods due to - Roger Cruttenden development but does object king tides flooding. Crime and FOUNDING PRESIDENT OF THREE BRIDGES to six story mid-rises in the homelessness are other topics NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIO neighborhood. Overbuilding, that need to be addressed. Fiore said, threatens the “We don’t want to be one charm, cuteness and funkiness of the city. dimensional,” Cruttenden said. He is in favor of Wilton Manors acquiring Three Bridges will hold its first the Kiwanis Club, calling the property a membership/informational meeting Nov. “tremendous asset” that the city can afford 10 at 7 p.m. at Hagen Park Community and will bring in revenue. Center. The event coincides with Veteran’s “I’ve lived here for 53 years,” Fiore said. “I Day and refreshments will be served. love my city.”

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NEWS

OAKLAND PARK

Sunnyside Dispensary Opens Its Doors in Oakland Park By Christiana Lilly

Of late, it seems like dispensaries are everywhere — but not all stores carrying cannabis products are created equal. After Sunnyside dispensary opened up shop in Fort Lauderdale this summer, the business expanded to Oakland Park with its grand opening on Friday. Owned by Cresco Labs, the No. 1 wholesaler of cannabis products in the U.S., The Gazette chatted with Cris Rivera, the regional president for Cresco Labs and Sunnyside, about the new venture — and how it’s changing the landscape of health. A quarter of your business is in Florida, with this being the 39th store nationwide. Why is Broward County an ideal location? Fort Lauderdale is one of the premier population centers in the entire state and it currently only has around four dispensaries ... It’s not a lot of dispensaries serving a large area. We’re excited to expand access, which is what this is all about — expanding access to patients so they can easily get their medicine. We’re all about making shopping for cannabis simple because we view it like going to CVS or Walgreens. It should be that easy for any patient to get.

What about Oakland Park in particular? Oakland Park is the center of the Fort Lauderdale area in essence. Its population is growing, it’s a super diverse community, and it continues to see an increase in homes. The amount of growth that Oakland Park is seeing in the last four to five years is pretty impressive. Us being part of that journey of Oakland Park growing into its new self is really exciting for us.

What sets Sunnyside apart from other dispensaries around town? It starts with the quality of the product. You’ll be hard pressed to find as good a medicine as in some of the other dispensaries. We’re really quite proud of the products we make from the flower to our raw and concentrates, which are really unseen in the marketplace outside of our stores. Second is our staff. We’re all about making the customer

experience as delightful as possible. For some people they’re experts at cannabis, and for us, we’ll meet them at their expert level. And for others they’re new and they’re trying to find the right solution for their ailment and we want to make it easy to understand instead of complicated, which it can be for some people.

What are the benefits of using your products? There are a number of conditions that the state allows one to become a patient. They can run from, unfortunately, severe cases like terminal cancer and you need help with pain management all the way to anxiety, PTSD, and restlessness. Cannabis can actually from a medical perspective help alleviate excruciating pain from terminal conditions all the way to helping one find sleep and rest so they can start their day off as perfectly as possible.

What products can customers find at Sunnyside Dispensary? We’re known for our flower, so we have premium flower. We usually sell them in an eighth of an ounce or 3.5 grams of pure flower, and they tend to be really large buds that people break up and you can put into a bong, roll your own joint, however you prefer to enjoy your product. That makes up about 50% to 60% of the product coming out the store. The other kind of subcategory that exists would be vaping. We have great vape options, so the same number of strains you would find in flower you can find in vaping. What I love about vaping is the convenience and on-

The Sunnyside building. Courtesy of Cresco Labs. the-go nature of it all. If you’re looking for a discreet way to ingest your medicine, this is an easy way to take it. Tinctures are a great way to either take it sublingual, right under your tongue and it absorbs into your bloodstream pretty fast, or you can put it into your drink and like an edible over time you can enjoy the effects of your medicine.

What about edibles? We’re very excited about our edible business that will come in January 2022. Edibles are another way to easily dose your medicine, especially for people who don’t like to smoke. Some people have lung issues so they have to look to edibles, tinctures and capsules to ingest their medicine, so we want to make sure we always look out for them.

What’s a misconception that people have about using cannabis as medicine? That cannabis is only flower. It is predominantly what people choose in which to take their medicine, but ultimately, we sell

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How do we get rid of the stigma of using cannabis? I think the stigma is slowly changing. We see it each and every day. There are 600,000 patients in the state of Florida and the number continues to grow at 2 to 5% monthly. As people use the product, understand the benefits, and talk to their friends and family about how cannabis is changing their life, I think we’re slowly eroding that stigma. Everyone thinks cannabis is the dark side of life. We were told that for so many years, so our goal at Sunnyside is that using cannabis is actually the sunny side of life.

Sunnyside, 499 E. Oakland Park Blvd. in Oakland Park; 877-395-1009; sunnyside.shop

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products from flower of course to tinctures, lotions and balms, edibles, soon to be coming to Sunnyside. So if you’re not a smoker, you can be a vaper. If you’re not a vaper, you can ingest. There’s an intake method for anyone’s preference. There’s also different dosing. Some products are really high in THC and others are really low. We’re here when you come in as a new customer to show you what we have in our portfolio.

NEWS

WILTON MANORS

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Wilton Manors Expected To Receive $6.3M in ARPA Funds

Elijah Manley. Photo via Facebook.

Queer Activist Sues DeSantis For Elections Delay By John McDonald If Gov. Ron DeSantis does not act soon, three South Florida legislative districts will have no representation when the 2022 regular session begins in January. Elijah Manley is trying to force the governor’s hand. “This comes at the expense of communities of color,” said Manley, a 22-year-old queer activist running for the house seat in District 94. On Oct. 15, Manley and the Harvard Law School Election Law Clinic sued DeSantis for delaying the election process in Florida house Districts 88 and 94 and Senate District 33. The current elected officials of these districts are campaigning for the vacant U.S. House seat in Congressional District 20. Filed in Leon County’s Second Judicial Circuit, the lawsuit states three majority Black districts have been vacant for more than 75 days. It’s a numbers game, and Manley said DeSantis is clearly trying to hurt Democrats, who are already a small minority in Tallahassee. “This level of extreme partisanship is not what America is supposed to be about, and is

a grotesque departure from political norms,” Manley tweeted. Manley said DeSantis has moved swiftly in filling other vacancies across the state and his predecessors never took this long to call for a special election. By punishing Black districts, DeSantis is demonstrating the new tactics of an increasingly hostile Republican party, Manley said. “It’s the era of Trump extremism and DeSantis is propping himself up for a presidential bid by throwing Black people under the bus,” Manley said. In its current design, house District 94 covers western portions of Fort Lauderdale and Wilton Manors, including all of Lazy Lake and parts of Oakland Park, Lauderdale Lakes and Plantation. Redistricting will likely change the district’s boundaries, however, and Manley expects more constituents from Wilton Manors and Oakland Park. SFGN reached out to DeSantis for comment. Email and phone requests were received by the governor’s press office, but no comment was provided.

Filed in Leon County’s Second Judicial Circuit, the lawsuit states three majority Black districts have been vacant for more than 75 days.

Photo via the City of Wilton Manors, At the Wilton Manor’s City Commission Facebook. meeting on Oct. 26, we shared with residents details about the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding our city is expected to receive and outlined the proposed spending plan. Our city is expected to receive $6,388,889 in funding. The ARPA funding has a limited scope of allowable uses. It is intended to help local and state government agencies respond to the COVID-19 public health crisis and deal with the negative economic impact within our communities. The funds can be spent directly for providing services related to COVID-19, providing financial support for governmental services that were impacted by lost revenues, provide pay for eligible workers who perform essential work, as well as make necessary investments in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure. We intend to spend most of the funding — approximately $5.6 of the $6.3 million — on infrastructure improvements that our city previously identified as critical upgrades. We are incredibly grateful for this funding which will ensure key projects are completed sooner and without tax payers having 3. COVID vaccination to cover the bill through an incentives of $500 per city increased mileage rate. employee. Any city employee We are The proposed uses for the who voluntarily gets (or has remaining funds include: incredibly grateful been) vaccinated and shows proof of vaccination will for this funding 1. Two hundred thousand receive the one-time payout. dollars to be allocated to Besides encouraging as high which will ensure Small Business Recovery a vaccination rate possible key projects are Assistance Grants that will for our staff, this exempts us be made available to Wilton from having to perform the completed sooner Manors Businesses who required costly weekly COVID and without tax qualify based on a criterion testing on each unvaccinated we will determine in the employee. payers having near future. to cover the In the coming months, we’ll 2. Providing premium provide more insight into bill through pay for much of our city’s exactly what infrastructure an increased workforce who continued projects will be funded to perform the city’s through ARPA as well as mileage rate. essential work during the details on the Small Business pandemic. This amounts Recovery Assistance Grants. As to approximately $1,000 always, if there is a particular - $2,000 in one-time pay for eligible infrastructure concern you have that you employees. Given that our city staff is wish to share with me, please email ccaputo@ already paid significantly less than the same wiltonmanors.com. job would pay at our neighboring cities, this premium pay is one way we can try to pay — Chris Caputo our staff closer to what they are worth. WILTON MANORS CITY COMMISSIONER