The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 145

2D The Miami Herald Wednesday April 17 1983 sister city Municipal match unites Lauderdale to America that he could not do back home Mayor Conti said something that sent the rest of his Italian entourage into fits of laughter The interpreter blushing declined to translate the remark Fort Lauderdale Mayor Robert Dressier looking at travel-poster pictures of the Italian seaside resort town proclaimed it and said it has some of the same characteristics of Fort Lauderdale The seven-member Italian delegation lunched with city officials on chicken Marsala and Key lime pie then took a quick walking tour of downtown Fort Lauderdale The 130000 people of Rimini (rhymes with Bimini) live on the northeast coast of Italy on the Adriatic Sea about 65 miles from Bologna Aerial photographs show a picturesque town of red-tiled roofs cradled by sloping green fields Travel brochures sing the praises of its beaches its climate its nightlife is not a problem in Rimini although clouds can upset the people who live only for the says a brochure There are nearby castles and Roman ruins to visit and the is a center for recreational boating Tourism is biggest industry the mayor said To help promote itself as a top resort Rimini wanted a sister city The idea is to develop friendly ties with another like-minded place and exchange ideas projects and officials hope tourist dollars obviously think a whole bunch of folks from Rimini are going to rush over here and fill our City Commissioner Bob Cox said a people-to-people thing a good thing for world peace a lot of The Italian delegation flew into town Monday night at the invitation of the Fort Lauderdale International Advisory Board The Italians paid their own airfare and accommodations are being provided by a beachfront hotel During their weeklong stay the group plans to tour Port Everglades take the Jungle Queen cruise and eat at a local steakhouse Fort Lauderdale now has three faraway siblings: it already claims Gold Coast Australia and Medillin Colombia as sister cities By LAURA MISCH Herald Staff Writer FORT LAUDERDALE The American mayor spoke no Italian The Italian mayor spoke no English They beamed at each other and shook hands and nodded and beamed and shook hands and nodded The interpreter standing between them beamed and shook hands and nodded It was an international merger made at the Tower Club In a ceremony high atop tallest building Tuesday Fort Lauderdale welcomed its newest sister city Rimini Italy Massimo Conti the dapper mustachioed 38-year-old mayor of Rimini surveyed flat landscape from the 28th floor and said through his interpreter that he the Asked what he hoped to do here on his first visit Malpractice bill biased group says By GEOFFREY TOMB Herald Staff Writer MIAMI Proposed changes in state malpractice laws are anti-consumer are biased in favor of physicians and should be defeated in the Legislature organizers of Florida Victims of Medical Malpractice said Tuesday President of the group is Jo Drysdale a Margate mother whose child was left brain damaged as a result of a nine-month misdiagnosis after an accident Drysdale joined by three other mothers at a Miami press conference objected to several aspects of the proposal sponsored by state Rep Art Simon D-West Kendall Under the Simon plan there would be a sliding scale limit on the amount of fees available to a lawyer who files a malpractice suit Most suits are taken on a contingency whereby the person who files does not pay anything until a verdict is reached If a reduction of legal fees is imposed lower- and middle-income people will be denied first-class legal representation Drysdale claimed She said this would the courthouse to most all but the wealthy The bill would require judges to review awards particularly those of more than $250000 That aspect would enable judges to disregard findings of a jury and bypass appeals courts she said The new law says it will liberally construed in favor of health-care creating a built-in bias she said In addition Drysdale attacked current law in Florida that prohibits the public from finding out about physicians who have been sued for malpractice One Dade physician has been the source of 30 malpractice cases she claimed A service called Physicians Alert tells doctors if patients have filed malpractice suits They can then decide not to treat an individual The public is prohibited from finding out about doctors Panels back plan to fund a symphony SYMPHONY from ID on existing orchestras not just a new one based in Dade County The executive committee later approved a similar resolution It will go to the chamber of board of governors for action May 1 The changes recommended in the legislation represent the start of a compromise within the cultural communi-' ty on how a major orchestra ought to be formed Members of an informal civic committee organized by Miami lawyer Dan Paul to find tax money to fund an orchestra were jubilant at the action restores my faith in said Judy Drucker who brings major symphonies dance companies and soloists to South Florida each season Drucker has said that the lack of a major local orchestra often embarrasses her as she books such artists and groups Two methods of developing an orchestra have been proposed: One advocated by group focuses on a newly created Dade-based symphony and the other recommends a more regional approach based on an existing orchestra committee said we ought to go out now and get the money and set aside for now the issue of regionalization and quality said John Benbow a banker and chairman of the Cultural Action Committee The compromise language also allowed Robert Herman general manager of the Greater Miami Opera and one of the most influential cultural leaders to support the bills not trying to spoil it tax legislation for an orchestra only trying to see that it works I can support it in good faith I have confidence changes can be made in the Herman said He has advocated building a major symphony from an existing one During the 1984 Legislature his opposition helped kill a similar bill Several Cultural Action Committee members said the bill underscores the importance of the arts by linking money for an orchestra and money for economic development 2 surveyors die in 1-95 accident POMPANO BEACH An elderly man lost control of his car on Interstate 95 Tuesday morning and struck three veyors working on an overpass killing two of them the Florida Highway Patrol said One of the men who died Thomas Evans 37 of 6969 NW Ninth Ct Fort Lauderdale might have been saved had there been a trauma center nearby one of the paramedics who treated him said a trauma center been available a chance this guy could have Lt Harry Small of the Pompano Beach Fire Department said South Florida has no network of emergency rooms specially equipped to treat trauma victims Evans died of internal injuries shortly before 2 pm at Humana Hospital Cypress Alphonso Valentine 40 of 12 SW 19th Ave Margate was killed at the scene paramedics said A third man Rodgadaya Nash 40 of Fort Lauderdale was treated for minor injuries at the hospital and released The men were working on 1-95 at the Northwest 15th Street overpass just south of Copans Road when they were struck by a car driven by Wilbor Cavinee 74 of Lake Worth a Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman said Cavinee driving in the southbound lane apparently lost control of his 1981 Toyota when he hit his brakes the "spokeswoman said Cavinee crossed three lanes of traffic before running into the men After he hit them Cavinee swerved back across the highway and crashed into the left side of the bridge the spokeswoman said Cavinee was not injured in the accident No charges have been filed Spraying for medflies probably will resume There is a seedy side of medicine hidden behind closed Jo Drysdale Florida Victims of Medical Malpractice is a seedy side of medicine hidden behind closed Drysdale said She called for in the similar to state sunshine laws keeping public records open Under the Simon plan the public would be allowed to examine previously confidential records and hospitals would be required to impose more strict standards of review for those who practice on the staff Simon said from his Tallahassee office Linda Whaley a Davie mother whose child was born 2l2 months prematurely and suffered brain damage because of a 90-minute failure to be treated described Tuesday how it took her six years to get her malpractice case to trial A $65 million settlement was eventually reached fees took $500000 she said Under the new proposal she might never have gotten to court Florida Victims of Medical Malpractice also held a news conference in Tallahassee Tuesday Susan Moore who said her daughter suffered brain damage at the hands of a negligent doctor called malpractice human rights issue a doctor-patient issue It is not a doctor-lawyer Added Irwin Falk: are we going to stop talking about money and start talking about human life? would ask Mr Simon to take his bill back and put it in the garbage where it low-flying helicopter squirting a mixture of protein syrup bait and malathion fly-killer The helicopter will start over Northwest 27th Avenue and 103rd Street and fly in a north-south pattern working its way east to Northeast 16th Avenue Collins said it should be finished by noon if not interrupted or stopped by rain or strong wind Rain is an enemy of the medfly project whose timing coincided with the inevitable but ungovernable end to months of dry weather If rain washes away the bait and malathion less than two hours after it is applied medflies cannot be counted upon to consume fatal doses Collins said a quarter-inch to a halfinch of rain within an hour of a pesticide sprinkling makes it necessary to repeat the process are all synonymous in our she said officers call it child abuse When we use an extension cord a switch or a shoe and give a child a whack we call it Peterson said he hoped those who attended the workshop learned to see police officers as fellow human beings with a tough job Sister Camille of the St Joseph Haitian Catholic Center in Pompano Beach came away convinced Playing the role of a police officer assigned to break up a fight in a bar proved she said totally forgot that I was a nun I was very angry experience with police had been very limited This certainly broadened my the Mansell said say the street the The House Criminal Justice Committee approved H405 on Monday The legislation would eliminate all city and county laws that regulate the sale of guns and ammunition The bill faces a tough battle in the Senate issue whether it is right for people to carry County Commissioner Howard Forman said economic The gun dealers just want to be By ARNOLD MARKOWITZ Herald Staff Writer MIAMI The airborne pesticide sprinkling of 145 square miles in northeastern Dade County where Mediterranean fruit flies lurk will be resumed Saturday unless weather forbids the Florida Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday The rest of the spraying originally planned for the next three Mondays was rescheduled for Saturdays instead Rain partly spoiled opening battle and department spokesman Ernest Collins said that made it necessary to schedule the second of four attacks two days sooner than next Monday That change prompted revision of the rest of the schedule Sprinkling is to begin at 5:45 am on each of the next three Saturdays with a CHARLES TRAINOR JR Miami Herald Staff Spreading the words Students at Harbordale Elementary School in Fort Lauderdale paint the sky with message-carrying balloons Tuesday morning in the third annual American Library Association balloon launch part of the schools observance of National Library Week About 375 students cast their names to the wind along with the address The students hope whoever finds a balloon will take time to write a reply aitians blacks walk in police shoes By JENNIFER SCHENKER Herald Staff Writer DEERFIELD BEACH Sister Camille strapped on a gun belt and swaggered inside the makeshift bar intent on breaking up a fight too big I wish I knew the nun yelled as she wrestled with Bob Peterson a 230-pound Pompano Beach police sergeant a pretty tough cop you know that Peterson said Carrying guns is not her habit but Tuesday was an unusual day for her and about a dozen other representatives from the Haitian and black communities in northern Broward As part of a state-funded seminar they exchanged places with police officers during a role-playing session at Deerfield Pioneer Park The community relations workshop was sponsored by the Human Relations Division which recently conducted workshops on problems between police and Hispanic community and on police relations with the black community in Fort Lauderdale The workshops were funded with a $9000 state grant Participants were asked at the start of session to fill out papers and mark whether they were police officers or civilians Many of the nearly 15 officers who attended checked both come from another planet We understand their apprehensions and Peterson said still get frightened when I hear a siren behind Community members said they hoped police learned something about them during workshop Sister Camille and others said that the Deerfield Beach and Pompano Beach police departments do not employ anyone who speaks Creole even though a large number of Creole-speaking Haitians live in the area The black community also has difficulty communicating with local police said Katie Garrett a Pompano Beach resident difference in cultures is the Garrett said She said the differences often lead to misunderstandings in areas like child abuse one of the topics discussed at seminar and beating and whipping Some Lauderdale gun shops ignoring local law to make a profit he said Clint Van Der Pool owner of AA Lock Gun Shop 407 Andrews Ave Fort Lauderdale said he has lost $250000 in sales and three workers since the handgun crackdown began His customers are taking their business to Dade or Palm Beach counties where the waiting period is three days or to counties that have no period at all he said law only punishes the gun Van Der Pool said is a state with 67 Da Silva who may lose his license because of the sale is not alone in his confusion Some Broward gun dealers are not complying with the 13-month-old handgun law unaware that the law remains in force while the county appeals the ruling Most dealers say the law is crippling their business as they watch customers go to Dade and Palm Beach counties to buy their guns Both counties have shorter waiting periods than the 10 days mandated by ordinance But James Mansell who owns Firearms 1942 Sunrise Blvd Fort Lauderdale says he lost any customers has had no real effect on my Mansell said have a select Mansell said he waives the 10-day period for customers who are over 40 and who look trustworthy or for friends Mansell said he too thought the ordinance in effect I feel sure about the deal they say I can buy it on which also requires a thorough background check of any potential gun buyer The dealers say urging their legislators to vote for a bill now before the House that would wipe out all local gun ordinances The loss of his license would be the final blow to Da Lauderdale Gun and Tackle shop 3206 Davie Blvd Fort Lauderdale Da Silva said his sales have dropped 40 to 50 percent since the gun law was adopted Last year for the first time Da Silva failed By JONATHAN WEISMAN Herald Writer FORT LAUDERDALE Yolanda McBride have to wait 10 days to buy the 38-caliber revolver she used to kill herself Feb 7 Fort Lauderdale gun dealer Wayne Da Silva said he sold her the gun thinking a Fourth District Court of Appeal ruling had nullified controversial handgun law the fourth appellate court made its ruling I went back to the old way of doing Da Silva said knowingly break any I.