Criminal charges have been filed against John Goodman, 46, the owner of the International Polo Club Palm Beach.  He is being charged with DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide.  If convicted, he can face up to 30 years for each charge.  Goodman posted the $100,000 bail and turned over his passport to authorities to negotiate his release for the time being.

The Wilson family has filed a civil suit against Mr. Goodman.  Goodman’s lawyer, Roy Black, had filed a motion to halt the suit until such time as the criminal proceedings had come to a conclusion.  A judge ruled, denying the motion; the civil suit will be moving forward, concurrent with the criminal trial.

John Goodman was in a crash on February 12th, around 1 a.m., with recently graduated 23-year old Scott Wilson.  Scott was heading home from the University of Central Florida in Orlando when Mr. Goodman drove through a stop sign, broadsiding and sending Scott’s car into a canal.  Scott Wilson was pronounced dead on the scene.

For the full story, follow link here.

John B Goodman - Not Charged with Murder

Feb. 12, 2010.   At the corner of Lake Worth Road and 120th Avenue South a Bentley went through a stop sign and crashed into the Hyundai vehicle of Scott Patrick Wilson, age 23, declared dead at the scene.  The Bentley (a $250,000 vehicle) that crashed into their son’s car is owned, and was driven by, John Goodman.  John Goodman, according to many, is responsible for founding and owning the International Polo Club of Palm Beach.

Now here is where the opinion part comes in.  I’m thinking that perhaps when police officers, or later detectives and prosecuting attorney’s got involved, they realized there was a ‘Bentley’ on the scene.  And what does a ‘Bentley’ imply?  MONEY.  Not just any kind of money, but BIG money.  Do they really want to upset someone with multi-million dollar stature, a person who probably knows a lot of people who know a lot more people?  Let’s face it:  if John Smith had been involved in this kind of incident, they would have been arrested on the scene for driving under the influence, with a possible vehicular manslaughter to follow.  (See the police report here:  http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/palmbeachpost/news/PBSO_LogReport.pdf )

If it had been myself, or you – the reader – we would have been spending at least the night in jail.  But not Goodman!  Oh, no – he is way above the like’s of us.  Drinking and driving?  No big deal.  Running a stop sign and hitting – killing – another driver?  That’s okay.  Fleeing the scene to get to a phone (because we are so stupid we believe that multi-millionares with Bentley’s don’t have a car phone or cell phone?)?  Absolutely okay!

BULL$#@#!!!!!  This is just one more instance of people with money getting away with something that the average American does not.  And should the average American get away with it?  No!  You got drunk, drove a car, ran through a road sign, and killed another person – all against the law.  No one should get away with this.  But John Goodman has something the average American doesn’t – MONEY!  So he now has the same lawyer, Roy Black, that represented both Rush Limbaugh and William Kennedy Smith, among others.  John Goodman was never arrested, not even the night of the fatality, even though police reports (see the link to the pdf file) show substance/alcohol abuse.  At the scene, Assistant State Attorney Ellen Roberts was to have said, “law enforcement agencies usually arrest a DUI-fatality suspect right away only if they have reason to believe the person may try to flee. Otherwise they typically let the investigation be completed before any arrests are made”  (Jason Schultz, Palm Beach Post).

Hello?  Since when do drunken driver’s get to leave the scene of a crash, let alone a fatal crash, when testing positive for drugs/alcohol/substance abuse?  According to Florida Statute:

Manslaughter and Vehicular Homicide-s. 316.193 (3), F.S.

• DUI/Manslaughter: Second Degree Felony (not more than $10,000 fine and/or 15 years imprisonment).
• DUI Manslaughter/Leaving the Scene: A driver convicted of DUI Manslaughter who knew/should have known accident occurred; and failed to give information or render aid is guilty of a First Degree Felony (not more than $10,000 fine and/or 30 years imprisonment).
• Vehicular Homicide: Second Degree Felony (not more than $10,000 fine and/or 15 years imprisonment).
• Vehicular Homicide/Leaving the Scene: A driver convicted of vehicular homicide who left the scene of an accident is guilty of a First Degree Felony (nor more than $10,000 fine and/or 30 years imprisonment).

Well, apparently Mr. John Goodman, the officers on the scene, and the detectives and prosecuting attorneys following up feel that this statute (state law, really) does not apply to people who can afford to drive Bentley’s.

The following are quoted from various news sources related to the accident/death of one Scott Patrick Wilson (For further information, please look to the bottom of the article for various links and sites.):

“Initial sheriff’s reports said Goodman ran a stop sign at 1:05 a.m. Friday before his black Bentley convertible crashed into the side of Wilson’s Hyundai Sonata. The reports also said investigators suspect alcohol or drugs played a role.

Even so, major decisions on the case may not happen anytime soon, law enforcement officers, prosecutors and defense attorneys said Tuesday. They said investigations of suspected drunken-driving wrecks typically take weeks if not months, unless authorities have reason to consider the driver a flight risk….Law enforcement found Goodman at a trailer on a dirt road about a quarter-mile south of the crash, which occurred about 1 a.m. at Lake Worth Road and 120th Avenue South, officials with the State Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.

Goodman, the 46-year-old owner and founder of the International Polo Club Palm Beach, had gone to the trailer to use the phone to call for help, according to the State Attorney’s Office. The area south of the crash scene is mostly dirt roads and horse farms with few homes.” Jason Schultz, The Palm Beach Post

“Goodman, 46, survived. He was treated and released from Wellington Regional Medical Center hours after the crash.

Details of the crash are scant. Detectives say Goodman was driving south on 120th Avenue when he ran the stop sign and struck Scott Wilson’s car, which was westbound on Lake Worth Road. The Hyundai sank into the canal and Goodman’s $200,000 Bentley came to a stop on a nearby sidewalk, according to a dispatch log.

A 911 caller reported the crash, seeing the smashed-up Bentley, metal, glass and signs that a car may have gone into the canal.

Deputies and paramedics arrived around 1 a.m. Neither the Sheriff’s Office nor Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue confirmed early media reports that Goodman may have fled the scene.

Scott Wilson died at the scene. ” Brian Haas and Missy Diaz, Sun Sentinel

“Investigators suspect John B. Goodman was drinking when he ran a stop sign and plowed into Scott Wilson’s car.

At the accident scene Scott Wilson’s friend have created a memorial in his honor. Meanwhile, many are asking why the suspected drunk driver,  John B. Goodman, founder of the International Polo Club Palm Beach,  hasn’t been charged with anything at this point.

News Channel 5 Legal Analyst Michelle Suskauer says the investigation will take some time.

‘They are waiting on toxicology reports right now to determine if he was under the influence and what he was under the influence of,’ explains Suskauer.”  Kristyn Caddell, wptv.com

http://www.flhsmv.gov/ddl/duilaws.html

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/investigation-into-wellington-polo-owners-crash-may-take-245131.html

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-03-09/news/fl-goodman-wellington-polo-death-20100309_1_fatal-crash-polo-club-owner-crash-scene

http://www.wptv.com/content/news/centralpbc/wellington/story/Questions-surrounding-Wellington-fatal-car-acciden/n1xoT6VzW0aBy39tbYJycg.cspx

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-02-13/news/fl-wellington-fatal-crash-20100212_1_mr-goodman-crash-lake-worth-road

To this date Mr. Goodman has not been charged for anything. It has been over a month now and there are no legal charges and even though the police reports shows drunk driving Mr. Goodman has never seen a night in jail. How many of us have ever enjoyed that kind of treatment? Not me.

Small Business Unemployment on the Rise

With unemployment at a 26 year high at 10.2%, its no wonder that DC movers and shakers are starting to focus more attention on small business owners.

Statistics supplied by ADP (and reported by CNN) show that small businesses (businesses with less than 50 employees) cut 68,000 jobs in the last quarter of 2oo9. A huge portion of the total 5.3 million jobs lost this year alone was due to the 2 million jobs lost in small business.

With challenges such as small business loans drying up, SBA subsidies running out, and other small business financial institutions going bankrupt, it will be harder to recover those lost jobs. In fact, large banks have axed close to $10 billion dollars in small business lending.

I guess it takes staggering numbers like those to attract the attention of the powers at be. President Obama has finally addressed the issue in a statement implying that “If you are a big corporation right now, the credit market is really working for you and the low interest rate can help you retain jobs.” However if your name is “Small Business USA” you have to do a lot better to get a loan. It is nothing short of writing off your first born in order to get a business loan from most major banks, and a miracle at least if you deal with small local banks – my choice anyhow for what is worth it.

I tend to believe that the banks of America as well as the well dressed crowd on Capitol Hill need to be reminded again that the backbone of this country is still the Small Businesses. Their growth is the growth of our economy as we together hire more than any of the fortune 500 companies, pay more taxes than they do and create a much bigger demand than they do. Without growth in this sector the burden of employment gets put solely on the large corporation which as is are inefficient, poor managed and too large to handle quick economic downturns.

Assume that the Small Business sector is flourishing and that each business hires in average 20-30 people. A company this size can swiftly adapt to market conditions, demand and supply shifts, taxation and legislation. So it makes all the sense in the world that to control unemployment is to nourish the small entrepreneur – which in most cases has a more humane work schedule and compensation package.

Even Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has acknowledged that without credit for small businesses, they simply can not grow. CNN quotes him as saying, “No jobs without growth. No growth without credit.”

So here’s another wake up call Mr. Washington DC, stop messing with bills of minimal importance – such as the newly approved airport in some 3000 people town of Tennessee costing us 1.3 billion dollars and bringing 10 jobs – and address the real elephant in the room! The state of our Small Businesses.

Every night just before dinner the request for snacks begin.  My daughter is teeny tiny and just does not have an appetite.  What she likes one day she will not the next, I have had a hard time deciding on how to handle this.

There is always the old wives tale – they will eat when they get hungry.

Or you could go to the extreme, I remember as a child not being to get up from the table until my plate was cleared.  The stubborn child I was, I spent many nights sitting there until it was time to go to bed.

My tummy says its not hungry !

How do you keep dinner time a fun, sharing family time when stressed about nutrition?  I decided to do some research and found many different approaches.  Below are some of the ones that I felt would work best in our home. 

1. Change the environment – “picnics” are always fun inside & out, move to the dinning room for fancy dinner.  We have done this and had great outcomes.

2. Change the utnesil or plate – big girl fork or spoon & fun paper plates.

3. Get them involved with cooking & setting the table.

4. Get them active treasure hunt or a fun game of follow the leader.  This will get their appetite going.

5. TV can work some of the time and sometimes it can be a distraction.  The key is mix it up.

6. Try a variety of foods & offer new ones.

7. This actually is the one suggestion I found on many sites – do not make meal time a battlefield.  Provide encouragement, offer alternatives, & encourage them to enjoy family time.  They may just begin eating once the control issue is gone. This is the one that I have not done but will change immediately.

8. Make it pretty – decorate with a smiley face or make into a flower.  Use fresh fruit, veggies or anything you are having dinner to create a fun environment.

9. Take them to the farmers market, food shopping, or picking fresh fruit or veggies.  My oldest loves helping Nana & Papa in the garden.

10. Try not to give drinks prior to mealtime.  I think this is why I have such a hard time with breakfast – my daughter does not eat well so I still give her a bottle in the morning when she wakes up & before bed – whole milk, scoop of enfamil next step, & chocolate syrup upon request.

Well I am interested in trying some of my newly acquired tips & tricks.  Hopefully some of this will inspire you to make it fun and make it count!

Toyota Had Prior Knowlede of Diffects

At this point is a trivial fact that Toyota Motor Company is in deep troubles over their repeat recalls in recent month. What people did not know is the previous knowledge of the issues by high ranking Toyota officials.

Did Toyota know about the issue and chose to continue with the production of their vehicles or were they as surprised as we all were? Documents handed over to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee are painting a very scary picture of the company that many Americans have come to regard as one of the most trustworthy car manufacturers on the market.

In an internal document dating back to June 6 of 2009, a top executive boasted how by negotiating the recall to be an “equipment only” recall versus a much larger and costly “total vehicle recall” the company was able to save $100M plus. This recall was directly mentioning the problem [re: sudden acceleration].

The presentation was given by one of Toyota’s most respected executive,, head of Toyota’s North America division – Mr. Yoshi Inaba.

Following this presentation in 2009, a family of four died when their Lexus ES – yes included in the internal memo – crashed due to a malfunction with the gas pedal causing it to accelerate without control.

But this is not all that Toyota has been found to be guilty of, if one would study their trouble time line, many other inconsistencies will become obvious, all risking our lives. I am not going to go into too much detail about it but there were the Tundra brake issues, then the Camry acceleration problems, the Corolla and Camry and Lexus floor mats disaster, all more or less kept very well under cover.

The companies position even to this date remains the same – refusal to deal with U.S. government agencies. Before he changed his mind, the president of Toyota, Mr. Akio Toyoda , has refused on numerous occasions to testify before a senate or house committee. However that string of avoidance will end this coming Wednesday when he will have to address the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

I for one will not be purchasing a Toyota for many years not because I am scared but only because I condemn large corporations making a profit on my safety and that of my children. I personally don’t care if Mickey Mouse is endorsing the new Camry, the faith in their product is gone especially after it became transparent that they ignored all the tell tell signs and much more they plotted to hide safety concerns that I, as a consumer, should have been aware of.

Lives could have been saved if this document was released publicly, and if consumers, costumers and potential customers would have been made aware of the situation. I still believe that it is a moral obligation that one has to warn others of potential dangers even if that leads to loos of profit. But I guess in a world where investors no longer scrutinize the company’s way but rather only the bottom line, executives have to focus much less on safety concerns and much more on the balance sheet.

FDIC Rate Adjustment

Wall Street wants us to believe that the causes of the financial crash are too complicated for regular folks to understand. But fundamentally, it all came down to greed. Mortgage brokers sold unaffordable mortgages to collect their commissions. Stock brokers made huge, risky bets to get big bonuses. And now that taxpayers rescued Wall Street, greed is making a comeback.

But the FDIC—the agency that insures bank deposits—is trying to do something about it. The FDIC wants banks that hand out big bonuses for risky behavior to pay higher insurance premiums.  Just like a reckless driver pays more for auto insurance, these banks would pay more if they insist on rewarding recklessness.

The FDIC is taking public comments on the proposed new rule until this Thursday, February 18. But banks are pushing hard against it, and many of the comments so far are from bankers. The FDIC needs to hear from regular Americans who got stuck with the bill when these bankers wrecked the economy. If you are tired of  big banks playing risky games on your dime let the FDIC know by submitting a comment here.

The FDIC takes these public comments very seriously, but usually, only receives a handful from industry insiders. But this is a rule that would affect all of us. The FDIC needs to know that millions of regular folks are watching and that we want accountability for the risky behavior that cost taxpayers billions of dollars. Your comment will have the biggest impact if it’s respectful and in your own words. You can view the comments that have been submitted so far here.

These are some things you may want to mention in your comment:

• If Wall Street traders are allowed to gamble heedlessly with other people’s money, it won’t be long before we face another financial crisis. They cannot be allowed to keep the profits when their risky bets pay off, but get bailed out by taxpayers when they don’t.

• Despite the banks pleas to “trust us,” Wall Street has proven incapable of regulating itself. The fact that the biggest banks are giving out $145 billion in compensation this year—more than before the crash—is proof that they have not learned their lesson.

• The FDIC should not wait for Congress or the Federal Reserve to create new rules of the road for compensation practices—especially when there’s no guarantee either will act. The proposed rule is a common-sense change that should be implemented immediately and can be supplemented by further improvements.

Sending your comment to the FDIC is really easy. Just click this link below to open an email, write your comment, and submit it before the Thursday deadline.

If you have troubles using the link in this post send your email to comments@fdic.gov and include “RIN 3064—AD56″ in the subject line.

Please keep in mind that whatever comment you are sending as well as your email address full name and all other information you are including will be published on the site and will be viewable by any other visitor. So if you do not want this information to be made public, make sure you do not include it in your comments.

Where's the Party At?

This has to be the shortest lived jobs bill to ever enter senate, and sooner than you can say “bi-partisan effort” the bill has been nixed by Senate Majority Leader Reid. Apparently the bill introduced on the 11th by senators Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) was little “too bi-partisan” for Mr. Reid’s taste. After been hashed out in the senate for weeks, the democrats opposing the bill (and that would be most of them) complained to Mr. Reid that the bill contains too many tax cuts for small and medium businesses and no unemployment benefits extension. In other words… the bill did not include enough government spending.

With unemployment benefits standing to end on February 28th, it seams that the bi-partisanship effort we have grown accustomed to in the last 8 years is well and thriving on Capitol Hill. I just love watching my elected officials at work, especially when by now I am quite amused by the hatred and poisonous debates that the health care reform had to go through and the job bill is falling victim to.

Small Business Administration

Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Mary L. Landrieu, D-La. today praised the Small Business Administration (SBA) components of President Obama’s budget proposal. For the second year in a row, the President has proposed increasing funding for the SBA and its programs, taking decisive steps to rebuild the SBA after eight years of cuts. The request proposes to increase funding to the agency by $170 million from last year’s enacted level, to $994 million. This, along with new small business job-creating proposals the President outlined in his State of the Union address last week, show the Obama Administration’s strong support for small businesses.

“By requesting more money to help our small businesses succeed, President Obama’s budget proposal emphasizes that small business remains a top priority for the Administration and is central to the President’s efforts to create jobs,” Sen. Landrieu said.

“As part of his budget, the President again showed his support for increasing the caps on small business loans as a way to provide small businesses with immediate capital to grow and hire workers. This is a proposal I, along with Ranking Member Olympia Snowe, introduced last year. It has since gained even more bipartisan support and passed the Committee. It is my hope the proposal will be included in any job-creating measure introduced in the Senate.

“While this budget request shows the President’s strong dedication to small businesses, I will work to increase funding for critical counseling programs and restore funding for the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program. The FAST program increases small business innovation opportunities and is vital for the growth of rural areas. The program received funding last year for the first time since 2004 and must not disappear.”

The President’s proposed budget:

Expands Access to Capital

• Supports the increase of the maximum 7(a) loan size from $2 million to $5 million, 504 from $1.5 million to $5.5 million and microloans from $35,000 to $50,000. Sen. Landrieu introduced, and the Committee passed, legislation that matches these increases. View information on the bill here;

• Supports more than $28 billion in small business financing, including $17.5 billion for the 7(a) loan guarantee program, $7.5 billion for the 504 loan guarantee program and $3 billion for the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program – which provides venture capital financing to small firms;

• Supports $25 million in microloans, allowing intermediaries to provide small loans to entrepreneurs and start-ups; and

• Provides $5.9 million for the SBA’s international trade and export promotion programs, allowing the Agency to support more than $1.1 billion in capital to small exporters and maintain their network of 18 export finance specialists.

Supports Counseling and Contracting Programs

• Provides $113 million to support about 900 Small Business Development Centers;

• Provides $14 million to support about 100 Women’s Business Centers;

• Provides $7 million to support about 370 chapters of SCORE, a mentoring program involving retired executives;

• Provides $2.2 million for the Historically Underutilized Business Zones program (HUBZones), which creates incentives for contracting with small firms to create jobs in underserved communities;

• Provides $3.4 million for the 7(j) technical assistance program, which provides small disadvantaged businesses with training in financing, business development, management, accounting and marketing;

• Provides $3 million to increase the reach of Emerging Leaders. Graduates of this program – often in distressed areas – have reported significant increases in revenues, government contracts, local hires, and access to financing; and

• Provides $11 million to support the job growth potential found in regional clusters of businesses. These clusters will involve public-private partnerships, which align federal resources with existing regional strengths and economic growth opportunities.

Provides Help for Those hit by a Disaster

• Supports $1.1 billion in direct disaster assistance loans, in line with the 10-year average;

• Includes a legislative proposal that would extend, from three to seven years, the maximum term for businesses that want an SBA disaster loan but have an existing line of credit with a bank or have enough cash on hand where they could get a conventional loan from non-SBA sources; and

• Requests $203 million to support for administrative expenses for the disaster program – an increase of $126 million from last year’s enacted level. These funds are critical in supporting SBA’s effort to efficiently and effectively service its $8.4 billion active loan portfolio.

Reduces Risk and Increases Oversight

• Provides $2 million to strengthen lender oversight and on-site reviews to ensure taxpayer dollars are going to those who need help the most;

• Provides $4 million to improve oversight of government contracting programs, including the HUBZone program, and to strengthen performance assessment and management of the Small Business Innovation Research program; and

• Provides $1.1 million to evaluate the SBA’s loan, counseling and other programs to optimize effectiveness.

Trying to get closer to the so controversial and publicized healthcare reform, President Obama signed much like waving a magic wand, another anti-obesity strategy. Off course just like First Ladies before her, Michele Obama has volunteered to spear of the fight against childhood obesity, and turn it into her prevailing cause – we do need a mission manager after all.

So how effective is this new strategy going to really be? How much of this is actually doable and how much is just another disappointment waiting to happen? Mrs. Obama expressed her desire to end childhood obesity in just ONE generation. That is a tall order even for the Obama clan.

But maybe she is on to something. Scientist and researches are noticing a decline in childhood obesity over the last years mostly due to the large attention the local and state governments are paying on what is being served in school cafeterias. Another reason is the measures that the food industry is self imposing to reduce food consumption by children. In her first interview on this matter, Mrs. Obama has mentioned that the reason for the childhood obesity starts at home. Families have a lot less time nowadays and most often a home cooked meal is out of the question. Healthy and fresh ingredients are also either too expensive or hard to come by in a stop and go family dynamic. And the experts agree. According to medical experts the three main solutions to childhood obesity are simple and close to home:

1. Eat dinner as a family
2. Make sure kids get at least 8 hours of sleep a day
3. Limit and reduce the amount of time kids watch TV

Unfortunately for the Obama administration and their plan, the urban communities where childhood obesity is rampant neither can or know how to enact any of the three steps above. As such the mission Mrs. Obama is embarking on is fated to say the least. The $400 million that is allocated to reduce access to nutritious foods in areas under served – small towns and other food deserts – is nowhere near what it is necessary. I am not an expert in building grocery stores but a quick Google search shows that a quality supermarket – Kroger, Publix, Schnooks – costs over 5 million dollars to be built and that does not include inventory.

However there is good things about the new strategy. The 90 day review of all government programs dealing with obesity – long overdue if you ask me. The introduction of better food labeling through the FDA. The $1 billion a year added to programs involved in providing lunch and breakfast to schools. The strengthening of regulations for school food providers such as Aramark and Sodexho to meet the Institute of Medicine recommendations. Large awareness campaign.

All in all the act is a stepping stone in the right direction but it also leaves room for a lot of questions. My biggest being – why isn’t the administration focusing on obesity as a whole not just childhood obesity? Are adults less important, less manageable, less “fixable”, was that too far of a reach? Curbing childhood obesity while not addressing adult obesity is like closing the windows in the winter but not putting a roof on the house!

This is probably one of the best I seen this year on SNL. There is a little commercial before the video starts and that is all due to NBC’s licensing deals but it is well worth the 10 seconds to see the video.

“You come after me on Facebook? What, are you — fourteen? Here’s a status update: Grow the [blank] up! Poke me again, and I will write [blank] on your wall so obscene your computer will cry. Go back to the tundra, you [blanking] gimmick!” Samberg said to Palin in the heavily edited-for-obscenity segment.