The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 158

THE MIAMI HER AID Thursday July 3 1 9S0 2-B Disco Fever Among Black Youths Worries Police he has had reports that 13- and 14-year-olds are showing up with guns at the discos "This is becoming a status he said He said that Metro police soon will propose that the Metro Commission adopt an ordinance requiring permits for street discos To get a permit the dances would have to be supervised Disco dances without permits Hughes said would be shut down immediately "If they stop the disco hell is going to break said Bernice Chatmon a resident of the Annie Coleman Gardens hous ing project "If they have the discos be breaking into houses" a woman who lives near another public housing project added not talking about stopping discos talking about having it in certain places Commissioner Bill Oliver said JOHN GIBSON of the Community Relations Board agreed the kids have something scheduled instead of spontaneous We'll have an outpouring of energy and by the time 10 or 11 rolls around at night those kids will be too tired to van- dalize and will go to sleep" But Georgia Ayers an outspoken com- munity worker with Metro suggested that finding volunteer chaperones will be difficult "There are too many weapons out there I might get shot I won't be one of those who supervise" she said The group took no action but it was agreed that a force" of public housing project managers and representatives of several county agencies should form to cope with problems of violence vandalism and discos at public housing projects and the potential for trouble during the holiday weekend Soon the discussion turned to dangers posed by the spontaneous street dances dubbed "outlaw The dances commonly take place near public housing projects and attract hundreds of black youths Last year they were banned from the housing projects themselves but street have plugged their equipment into generators placed in nearby vacant lots HUGHES who is in charge of the Public Safety Department's Central District said i By BILL LAZARUS I Herald Staff Writer In the movies they called it disco fever In Miami's black community police say the fever is about to erupt into violence very clear that the disco will become the next place for a confrontation between the community and the Metro Police Capt Douglas Hughes told a group of about 50 black community leaders Dade officials and citizens Wednesday The group met at the Annie Coleman Community Center 5200 NW 22nd Ave to discuss the problems of vandalism at Brownsville Junior High School violence 1 Bird Road Rapist Sentenced to Life 't A Ml 'At s- 9 vV I MmV 4 ln -4 i i '4 r- -v A S- A Ar' -VXVjfcv Jft TIM CHAPMAN Miami Htrbld S'' meantime the car was a conversation and traffic stopper during evening rush hour as It lay alongside the Biscayne Boulevard ramp to the MacArthur Causeway Olnrl 1 1T144 i Toyota discovered Miami police said that 1 lIlIIC when Maria DeDowling 25 lost control of her car it hit the curb and flipped over City streets were skid-slick Wednesday DeDowling wasn't hurt but police as the driver of this Miami Beach-bound charged her with careless driving In the Rights Unit: Police Ranks Too White 13 Times by Judge By AL MESSERSCHMIDT Durant "I ffrmly believe my client Mtnid wriur js jnn0cent My client is not guilty" Bird Road Rapist Luis Diaz Speaking in Spanish through an learned Wednesday that he will interpreter Diaz also told the judge serve at least 24 years in prison that he was innocent As his family without a chance for parole watched from the front row of Circuit Judge Joseph Durant spectator seats in the small court-Jr sentenced Diaz to 13 terms of room Diaz addressed the judge for life in prison for the rapes plus 55 about five minutes before the sen- years the total of 11 five-year tences were announced terms for the other counts is very unjust for an innocent "I have never seen a case where I person to be charged with what he have been more convinced of a said Diaz "This which guilt" Durant said is happening and you can be com- Diaz 41 was convicted May 9 pletely sure this is a after a nine-day jury trial on 24 breakin Diaz told the judge: "1 have morals 3 1 of Sei'rra 1 have W'- We SiSe Samouut to 1 flrst-degfee aid Durant DIAZ SA1D thoujM was aftef the sentencing The penalty going to walk when the jury for that is 25 years in prison This is turned with its verdict "but they as close as I could come to that started saying guilty guil-He 11 be 64 when he gets out and ty 6 6 hopefully be a threat to any- a $175a-week cook in Cuban restaurant who mowed All the predawn attacks occurred jawns t0 earn extra money apolo- between J977 and July 1979 The gjze(j t0 judge for his lack of ed-assaults happened along the Bird uCatj0n Road and Cowl Way thoroughfares The words in English know in southwest Dade where Prosecu- very few of them Good morning eP TJriieker ergued Diaz Good njght How are flashed his automobile lights to stop Djaz He came t0 the States young female motorists from Havana nearly 14 years ago Diaz was convicted on24 differ- During the trialt two Metro de- ent counts tectives testified that Diaz spoke Because Diaz used a handgun to jn pain Engish" after his arrest threaten the victims eight of the iastAug 22 life sentences involve a mandatory Diaz stood before -the judge He three-year prison sentence Durant talked politely without anger and ordered that Diaz serve the manda- showed no emotion when Durant tory three-year sentences consecu- ordered the lengthy jaj sentPnce tively This would amount to 24 years Black called eight witnesses in cluding wife son brother sentence closely fol- and sisters-in-law to testify about lowed a request by Drucker for a character series of consecutive mandatory have confidence in prison terms without parole said wife Caridad is' Drucker told the judge that Diaz hu- perfectly normal I have never seen miliated his victims and reminded him in things that are immoral If Durant that the Bird Road Rapist my hiisband were that kind of per- nicknamed for the vicinity of the son I would be the first one to ac-attacks had used a weapon cuse him Before being a wife I am "These offenses were common a woman and a mother I have a unto Drucker said daughter and it would not right for Since Diaz's arrest "not one similar me to help my husband if he were has been reported in the that kind of Bird Road area wife told Durant that the attorney Roy Black told family will appeal the conviction Donations Slill Coining I Want To Help the fund drive to pay young Miami blacks a $310- Miwred Reynoi is so an-hour minimum wage while ihuler '''Iso studying in six-week job-training cii Lur enw "'ism courses in Dade public schools a oar sharp 'lio drew another $99530 in donations orce united presbyters owes ism Wednesday Although the drive of- rHlce Muer i's5m ficially ended Monday the latest Anonymous ism contributions boosted the grand total to $14794467 Late donations Tnetm Mitcneti ism will continue to go directly to the EAsodNcTjoe rrso school system for the student Emwo smciM- 310 wages More than 350 are enrolled rSuksig Ae'iabethB Hughes The latest list of donors follows: k0" Caroline Ratcliff t5 50 Childer 15 50 Ai Grace Socarra 1550 Amo Beniamm 7500 Anne Roth 310 Anonymous 465 00 Roberto Darlene Cruz jjso TOTAL 9VJ0 Caleb Consumer Office to Open The Public Service Commission day- The Caieb center- at 5400 NW will set up a complaint office in the 22nd Ave- is near the areas disrupt-Joseph Caleb Community Center to ed b-v three da's of racial riots in help consumers in riot-torn Liberty May- commission is concerned City and Brownsville that persons in the Liberty City- Brownsviile area do not have access Commissioner John Marks to or are aware of the said the new office will be open Consumer Affairs Department" three days a week beginning Tues- Marks said By AMY LINN Htrald Writar Four years ago the US Commission on Civil Rights took a hard look at the Dade County law enforcement community and concluded that it was too male and too white Wednesday the Florida Advisory Committee decided that things haven't changed much The time has come for another hard look committee members agreed amazing how much meat is left on that said Louis Nunez committee staff director "Obviously many of our recommendations were not followed" Then the commission had strongly recommended increased hiring of minorities But Dade Public Safety Department records Nunez said reflect a lower representation of black officers on the street today than five years ago IN 1975 63 per cent of the force was black view by their The lack of action on Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaints and the skirting of federal laws on affirmative action THE COMMISSION also announced that it intends to make a national policy recommendation concerning "fleeing felon sometime this summer introduced a bill against fleeing-felon laws this year and it was blocked 100 per said State Rep Arnett Girardeau (D Jacksonville) a commission member this law says that a person suspected of being a felon which could be someone bounced a check over $50 could be shot And happening all across this state What they police are saying is they want a license to kill" Ted Nichols committee chairman said the commission will meet in Washington next week to decide on a two-year national policy A major issue he said would be the equitable distribution of federal aid to minorities in need today 55 per cent is black Today there are no black police directors assistant directors majors district commanders or captains and only one black lieutenant There is one black police chief At the Miami Police Department today there is one black major and one black lieutenant And the over-all percentage of black police employes improved slightly from 97 per cent in 1975 to 1 01 per cent today The 25-member advisory group identified several problems it said could lead to more violence in Miami if not corrected: Inequities in the distribution of federal dollars among minority groups The refusal of the Carter administration to earmark special funds for Florida's school system which faces the burden of 18000 new students this fall as a result of the influx of Cuban refugees The injustices in jury selection processes which the group said "do not offer minorities re Mail-Motel to Rise on Skyline FROM PACE IB i i ft sharply in May the company began moving forward on plans for the second building on the Flagship site That will be called Nasher Plaza Nasher Plaza a 13-story office building with 300000 square feet of offices and stores goes before zoning board on July 21 Nasher will be seeking a variance from the waterfront charter amendments which require that all buildings be set back at least 50 feet frorji the bay Nasher wants permission to have his building between one and 12 feet from the bay behind the garage along the southern quarter of his site Most of the area behind the garage to be a landscaped park would meet the 50-foot setback nasher plaza I Monday when the developer plans to ask for variances for the parking garage and drive-in tellers Nasher a Dallas-based developer had originally planned to build an office complex called the Nasher Center along Brickell south of his existing Flagship Bank Building And he planned a second building on the 8 9-acre Flagship site But in April with interest rates on construction loans at record highs the financing fell through on the Nasher Center and plans were abandoned ALSO AS A result of the economic uncertainty Nasher said he was putting on hold the plans for a second building on the Flagship site After interest rates dropped mall with 50 stores a bank with drive-in tellers and a 264-room motel and conference center rising 14 stories into the air A PARKING garage would hold up to 550 cars And at some time in the future the group would add seven stories with another 154 rooms to the motel tower While several posh hotels are planned in central core planners said the Ramada Inn would be the first moderate-priced one Rooms will cost an average of $61 a night The Ramada Inn project will come before the zoning board IP -Mf- Ai CarkaDDa a jura yap ft 9 Site of Now Ilniltlings in ilountoun Miami Court Funds A Step Closer A joint committee of the US Senate and House of Representatives approved $63 million in additional funding for a new wing on Federal Courthouse with construction slated to begin as early as December US District Judge James Lawrence King said Wednesday The money was approved as part of the supplemental 1980 budget It will be in addition to $147 million already set aside for the building to rise west of the present courthouse at 300 NE First Avenue in downtown Miami If all goes well the bill should have been approved by the full House and Senate and be ready for President signature today King said Work on the foundation of the 11-story west wing of the courthouse began March 31 1978 but was suspended several months later because of cost overruns Since then there has been a gaping hole at the nearly one-square-blotk construction site The new wing originally scheduled for completion by October of this year will house nine courtrooms and judges' chambers "It will take about two years to complete By Christmas of 1982 the building will be ready to move If no unforeseen hitches arise King said fellow judges gave him the job of monitoring the courthouse project TT vv-'T -XLx Carlton Box- low est of a 100 1 ms? tar 01 mu nic Carlton lowest of aH brands liess than 001 mg tar 0002 mg nic -1 Warning- The Surgeon General Has Determined That Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous io Your Health iKiaaii How 1 lie Now Kumuda Inn Will Look lien (Innijtlclrtl Bo ls 13" Of 0 rq r-ii Bi t- -a-' pc 1 6 FC Tt-oo So1' I -g I re Cu'1 Pdk less IT 6 iai i i tr 3 HC ufc 'i3 mold uill rise 21 ntorir infiling to thslinr I.