South Florida Sun Sentinel from Fort Lauderdale, Florida • Page 41

TfTT1 BUSINESS PAGE 11B Sun-Sentinel, Friday, November 28, 1997 Section Lawsuit foriegs neighborhood together Homeowners unite to fight construction problems Malinski said many of the homeowners do not have serious problems or have had problems unrelated to the flaws cited in the lawsuit. He predicted they would drop out of the suit before it goes to trial. Several have already done that. "For some reason, most of the homes that had serious problems were two-story homes. I have a ranch-style, one-story home," said Howard Meltzer, who lives on Northwest 201st Way.

Those homeowners who are suing said they have a solid case. In pretrial testimony in 1996, Henry PLEASE SEE SUIT 4B By JOHN MAINES Staff Writer PEMBROKE PINES On a sunny Fourth of July six years ago, residents of a new subdivision called the Preserve gathered for a meet-your-neighbor barbecue. They talked about the neighborhood. The children. Where they had lived before.

What they did for a living. The flaws in their new homes. "It seemed like everyone had problems. Some had leaks or floods. Some had peeling paint or cracked stucco," said John Carter, an electrical contractor who bought his $180,000 home in the and passed all inspections.

Malinski had tried to block the homeowners from being certified as a class-action group. He argued there are at least 20 different models of homes and said they should not be lumped together in the same class. He also argued that 100 homeowners are not enough to be considered a class. "We believe it's just not permissible," Malinski said. But the Broward Circuit Court and the state's 4th District Court of Appeal sided with the homeowners.

is that there are so many of them, with the same problems, in the same neighborhood," said their attorney, Nicholas Manzini. Each homeowner is seeking between $10,000 and $12,000. Together, the claim is for between $1 million and $1.2 million. The developers of the Preserve are a partnership of three companies DSB Development, JLF Enterprises and Chapel Trail Eagle Run Ltd. Their attorney, Norman Malinski, said building records will prove the homes were properly built Chapel Trail development in May 1991.

Carter and his neighbors, fed up with problems and unhappy with the developers, filed suit in 1993, demanding they be reimbursed for the cost of repairs. Four years and many pretrial motions later, the case is set for trial in February. The Broward Circuit Court has certified the lawsuit as a class action, which means homeowners can sue as a group rather than individually. About 100 owners of 135 homes are ready for trial. "What makes this complaint unusual WHO KILLED ANGELA SAVAGE? Historian tries to keep memories of pilots alive Last of Naval Air Station to be demolished soon jr ffi.

i i r7 (I if IF sir i 4 ri By KEN KAYE Staff Writer A half-century ago, it was home to young naval aviators learning to fly torpedo bombers and preparing to go to war. Today, the Junior Bachelor Officers Quarters, one of the last remnants of the Fort Lauderdale Naval Air Sta- 'Lost Patrol' to be remembered. 6B tion, is dilapidated, with much of its interior ripped apart after asbestos was removed. The structure sits on the west side of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, waiting to be demolished to make room for aviation businesses. Broward County purchased it from the Navy about a year ago.

But until it comes down, perhaps in a year, Naval historian Allan McEl-hiney has moved in and set up shop. With the county's permission, McEl-hiney has cleaned up select rooms, such as one that houses a 27-by-7-foot mural of the Lost Patrol, the legendary squadron of five bombers and 14 men who took off from Fort Lauderdale on Dec. 5, 1945, never to return. In a few of the other 106 rooms, McElhiney has placed displays, memorabilia, books, model planes and boats and a ship's bell. McElhiney, a Navy machinist's mate on the USS Asheville during the war, considers it his duty to take care of the place, right down to flying the American flag on its front pole every day.

"I'm going to keep that building looking nice on the inside until it PLEASE SEE BUILDING 6B (- 1 Staff photoCARL SEIBERT Angela Savage's children Stacy Savage, left, and Dween Mitchell, and her mother, Josephine Adams, hold a picture of the woman murdered in 1986. The case remains unsolved. Eleven years after woman's murder, her unsolved death still haunts her family and police, who are no closer to finding the truth. VH0 MURDERED ANGELA SAVAGE If II I Eh MhtninnbRUCHON MARCH 181986 "Somebody knows. This person could be looking at us in our face every day." Darrel Adams Lauderdale's fire chief tackles new challenges THE BStf COLD CASE SQUAD' HER FAMILY I3EDO LHEB-P CALL CRIME STOPPERS Zlt-TIPS I By LISA J.

HURIASH Staff Writer DEERFIELD BEACH She comes to him in his dreams with that smile, radiant and unforgettable. It is always a shock. "What are you doing here?" he demands. "You're supposed to be dead." "Well, I'm here," Angela Savage tells her brother. "Who killed you?" Darrel Adams asks in a panic.

Tell me who did this to you. She begins to respond, her mouth is forming words And then Adams wakes. Without an answer to the question that has haunted the family for 11 years. "Somebody knows," Adams said. "This person could be looking at us in our face every day." The brutal strangulation of Savage, 24, is Deerfield Beach's most infamous REWARDS! 1098 unsolved murder case.

It drew statewide attention because detectives used one unusual method: a taxpayer-funded roadside billboard that read "Who Murdered Angela Savage?" The case stumped police because there were few clues to lead them to a killer. For Mike Bole, the lead detective in the case, the unsolved murder is the biggest disappointment of his career. PLEASE SEE MURDER 4B Staff file photo Police put up this billboard on Dixie Highway, but received few tips, none of which helped. By ROBIN BENEDICK Staff Writer FORT LAUDERDALE Otis J. Latin Sr.

is used to being first. He is Fort Lauderdale's first African-American fire chief. He was Houston's first black assistant chief and its youngest battalion chief. He was the first fire chief in Washington, D.C., to be hired from outside the department. "I've found myself at the front a lot," said a soft-spoken Latin, 48, who took over the city's fire, building and code enforcement divisions in July.

Latin, portrayed as a quiet consensus builder, is a lifelong firefighter who worked his way up to second in command during his 20 years with the Houston Fire Department. He was the top fire administrator in the nation's capital the past years before coming to Fort Lauderdale. His biggest challenges the past four months have been dealing with serious code violations at a dozen city fire stations and completing a master plan for new stations. He also is working with Broward County to fix problems with fire dispatch and fine-tune the joint citycounty paramedic system. For the first time in his career, Latin has had to learn about areas that don't involve firefighting.

In the Building Department, he is trying to up- PLEASE SEE LATIN 5B Bringing social services to seniors INSIDE Lag in rescuers' response to fatal boat crash investigated. 3B Ex-Marlin Jeff Conine, family help at hospital on holiday. 3B Broward police officers, paramedics to be on lookout for signs of special needs tions and pass along the information, officials say it is a step forward in the quest to better serve seniors. Other Broward County agencies are lining up to join the program: The Broward Sheriffs Office will sign on Dec. 1 so deputies can better Here's how it works: Paramedics and law enforcement officers who respond to emergency calls by seniors might ask whether they need assistance performing tasks such as cooking, grocery shopping, bathing or cleaning their homes.

They then forward the information to Senior Connection, a branch of the Area Agency on Aging. Senior Connection contacts appropriate social service agencies, which provide help within three days. Although police officers and paramedics are not required to ask the ques Source Line BROWARD BOCA RATON- BOYNTON COUNTY DELRAY BEACH BEACH 954-623-5463 561-496-5463 561-625-6463 pffiAND ENTER A CATEGORY NUMBER assist seniors in the 94 square miles of By THOMAS MONNAY Staff Writer Paramedics and law enforcement officers in Broward County are getting involved in a referral program that helps needy senior citizens make better use of social services. The Hollywood and Pembroke Park fire departments already participate in the program, which is similar to one operating in Miami-Dade County since 1995. The program caters to people 60 and older.

unincorporated communities and cities patrolled by the law enforcement agency. The Broward County Fire-Rescue Movie Review 7272 Local Theater Update7278 CD Reviews 7136 Local Music Line 7550 Trivia Game 7820 Skywatcher's hotline 2595 PLEASE SEE SENIORS 7B 1.