Wynwood co-working center funded by Knight Foundation, angel investors

The LAB Miami announced Thursday it will open a 10,000-square-foot co-working center in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and local angel investors are investing $650,000.

As Miami’s startup community continues to grow, The LAB Miami said its “work-learn campus” will offer an in-house mentor network that will include investors and serial entrepreneurs, said Wifredo Fernandez, co-founder of The LAB Miami with Danny Lafuente and Elisa Rodriguez-Vila.

The LAB Miami, now in a 720-square-foot space in the same neighborhood, turned a Goldman building at 400 NW 26th Street into an artsy, modern space that can support 300 members, including tech startups, programmers, designers, investors, nonprofits, artists and academics.

In addition to offering space to work, the new co-working space plans to offer courses and workshops in business and technology — including a startup school and code school — as well as art, design and education, Fernandez said. It will be a welcoming space for traveling Latin Americans, too. “We want this to be a community center for entrepreneurs,” said Fernandez, explaining that the mix of activities and workshops will be structured by the needs of the LAB’s members.

While the Knight Foundation’s Miami office has sponsored many entrepreneurship events in the past four months, this is the foundation’s largest investment announced so far in its efforts to help accelerate entrepreneurship in Miami, said the Knight Foundation’s Miami program director, Matt Haggman. The Knight Foundation’s Miami office, which made accelerating entrepreneurship one of its key areas of focus this year, is investing $250,000 with the rest of the funding coming from a group of investors lead by Marco Giberti, Faquiry Diaz-Cala, Boris Hirmas Said and Daniel Echavarria.

“This is an important part of our strategy,” said Haggman. “Entrepreneurs need places to gather, connect and learn.”

The LAB Miami has already hosted several events, including HackDay and Wayra DemoDay earlier this week, and the co-working space plans to open for membership in January.

Co-working space will start at $200 a month to use the communal tables, and private offices that will accommodate up to six are also available. The LAB will also offer “Connect” memberships for $40 a month, which allows members who do not need co-working space to participate in events. In addition, there will be phone booths, classrooms, flexible meeting spaces, a lounge area, a kitchen, a “pop-up shop” for local fashion, art or technology products, a shower for those who bike to work and an outside garden with native landscaping.

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Top state and local elections officials meet in Broward to talk about improving voting process

If Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes had one word to summarize what she needs to reduce long voting lines in the future it would be “flexibility.”

That was the message Snipes delivered to Secretary of State Ken Detzner at a meeting on Wednesday morning. Several state legislators and election officials from Broward and the state as well as Broward Democratic chairman Mitch Ceasar attended the meeting held at the county’s Voting Equipment Center in Lauderhill.

The meeting was part of Detzner’s 5-county tour of counties that he said “underperformed” in the November election. Detzner visited Miami-Dade Tuesday — the other counties are Palm Beach, St. Lucie and Lee. He kicked off his tour in Hillsborough Monday as a benchmark county.

Broward used 17 early voting sites in November and “the space in all but three of those sites are inadequate...,” Snipes said. “We as supervisors of elections in large districts, knowing our districts, need to have the flexibility to make these adjustments.”

State law limits early voting sites to libraries and city halls, but not all such government facilities have enough space to accommodate thousands of voters and the necessary machines, Snipes told Detzner.

If Broward could choose some larger sites, than extra machines would help, she said.

Sites should be able to handle 400 to 500 voters per hour, but one site could only handle an average of about 153 an hour, her staff reported.

Noting the high volume, Detzner said: “You can’t process enough people per hour, if you can’t you are going to have long lines.”

Detzner said that he has heard a consistent message from counties that they want flexibility in terms of early voting sites.

“People talk about one size doesn’t fit all,” he said.

Detzner asked Snipes about the number of days and hours she would like to see for early voting. Snipes said that she preferred the 14 days allowed before the Legislature passed H.B. 1355 in 2011 that limited it to eight days.

“I like the 14 days, and I like Sunday before the election,” Snipes said. She mentioned that African-American churches in the past organized “Souls to the Polls” to encourage church-goers to go to early voting after church on the Sunday before election day. But that day of early voting was eliminated by the Legislature. She also said some voters prefer that day simply because they “wait until the last minute.”

“When you have something and take it away it creates issues,” Snipes said. “My preference would be to have 14 days.”

But Snipes said if she had the full two weeks and more flexibility in terms of sites, she could accommodate early voting in a 10 hour day rather than 12 hours. In reality, that still can mean longer than a 10-hour day because voters in line at closing time still get the opportunity to vote.

On Tuesday, Detzner met with Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Elections Supervisor Penelope Townsley. They asked Detzner to relay three requests to Tallahassee to try to fix last month’s elections woes:

Extend the number of early-voting days. Allow early-voting sites to open at locations other than public libraries and city halls. And cap the number of words in state constitutional amendments on the ballot.

They told him those changes to state law could help prevent some of the embarrassing problems that plagued the Nov. 6 presidential election, in which some Miami-Dade voters waited in line for seven hours and wrangled with a 10- to 12-page ballot.

“We can’t have any more ‘one-size-fits-all’ elections,” Gimenez said.

Separately, Gimenez has convened a local advisory group to make its own recommendations to the county and the state. The group, which is still awaiting the elections department’s after-action report, meets for the second time Friday.

Detzner, who praised Gimenez’s advisory committee, would not commit to any recommendations.

“We’re not here to find blame,” Detzner said. “We’re here to find solutions.”

He called giving counties flexibility on early-voting sites and hours a “universal theme,” and also recounted that other counties, in addition to Miami-Dade, reported problems with the post office delivering absentee ballots late.

And he agreed with Miami-Dade officials that fixes that might work for South Florida may not work elsewhere.

“The challenges in a large urban area like this are very different,” he said.

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Facebook revises privacy controls in effort to make them more accessible, comprehensible

SAN FRANCISCO – Facebook is trying to make its privacy controls easier to find and understand in an effort to turn the world’s largest social network into a more discreet place.

The fine-tuning announced Wednesday will include several revisions that will start rolling out to Facebook Inc.‘s more than 1 billion users in the next few weeks.

The biggest change will be a new “privacy shortcuts” section that will appear as a tiny lock on the right-hand side at the top of people’s news feeds. This feature offers a drop-down box where users will be able to get answers to common questions such as “Who can see my stuff?”

Other updates will include a tool that will enable individuals to review all the publicly available pictures identifying them on Facebook.

Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Vampire Diaries O Come All Ye Faithful Exclusive Photo

With only one episode to go in 2012, The Vampire Diaries pulls out all the stops with Thursday's mid-season finale, O Come All Ye Faithful.

And while the show has given fans countless reasons to be joyous this year (Elena as a vampire, the return of Caroline & Stefan's friendship, a beefed up role for Matt), the citizens of Mystic Falls have continued to face death, destruction and diddling sired vampires. OK, that last one is also a reason for fan celebration.

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This ETonline exclusive behind-the-scenes photo from Thursday's episode shows Elena and Professor Shane facing off with an ax-wielding Damon on the dock of her parent's lake house. Along with Bonnie, the three have traveled there to try and help Jeremy conquer some dangerous inner demons. Like those pesky Hunter spirits that make him want to kill his sister.

But that plan gets thrown for a loop when Professor Shane reveals a piece of ancient history that leaves them all speechless.

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Jaws will also be dropping once Klaus learns some shocking information that leads to chaos and violence on the streets of Mystic Falls, coating their Winter Wonderland-themed party with blood. Although why that town continues to throw events is beyond me since every single one ends with someone dying.

Check out a sneak peek of O Come All Ye Faithful below and tune in to The Vampire Diaries mid-season finale Thursday at 8 p.m. on The CW.

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B'klyn cops probing stolen Jesus statue as hate crime

A religious statue was snatched from a Brooklyn church -- and cops are investigating it as a hate crime, police said.

A thief ripped a statue of the sacred heart of Jesus in Williamsburg at the Saints Peter and Paul church on South 3rd Street near Berry Street about 4:10 a.m. Wednesday, according to the rectory and cops.

The Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the heist, poring over surveillance video from the church.

The statue shows Jesus pointing at his heart, the church said. It has been a part of the rectory for twelve years.

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The first wave of Windows 8 PCs

We’ve been benchmarking and field-testing new Windows 8 systems, including all-in-one desktops, traditional clamshell laptops and convertible laptops with displays that flip or twist around to form tabletlike devices.

Dell XPS One 27

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)

The good: Boasts the highest-display resolution among Windows 8 all-in-ones, and at an aggressive price.

The bad: A new adjustable display support arm is welcome, but stops short of reclining a full 90 degrees.

The cost: $1,999.99 to $2,099

The bottom line: Updated with a touch screen, a new stand and up-to-date components, the Dell XPS One 27 leads the inaugural class of Windows 8 PCs.

HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (Very good)

The good: An attractive ultrabook with a respectable mix of components for its price, a responsive touch screen and a backlit keyboard.

The bad: It isn’t very configurable, so you can’t make it too much more powerful than it already is. It’s on the heavy side for an “ultrabook” (if you consider 4.5 pounds heavy). Its touch pad is jumpy at default settings.

The cost: $799.99 to $974.98

The bottom line: The HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4 is a good gateway to the Windows 8 experience with a responsive touch screen in a traditional laptop body.

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)

The good: Looks as good as any 13-inch ultrabook, with the added attraction of a 360-degree screen and a laptop body that can fold into a tent, stand or slate.

The bad: Tablet mode leaves the keyboard exposed, and the Yoga 13 costs more than standard ultrabooks with similar components.

The cost: $1,099

The bottom line: The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 is a convertible touch-screen laptop/tablet that most importantly doesn’t compromise the traditional laptop experience.

Microsoft Surface RT

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (Very good)

The good: Interface is innovative, elegant, powerful, and versatile. The tablet feels strong and well-built, includes Office 2013 and offers rich video and music services. Its keyboard cover accessories are the best ways to type on a tablet, period.

The bad: The tablet has sluggish performance, its Windows Store is a ghost town, Metro requires some practice to get the hang of and the desktop interface feels clunky and useless.

The cost: $499 to $599

The bottom line: If you’re an early adopter willing to forget everything you know about navigating a computer, the Surface tablet could replace your laptop. Everyone else: wait for more apps.

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Captured on camera: Driver who hit Miami motorcycle officer lied about second driver

A driver who struck a Miami police motorcycle officer leading a funeral motorcade on Monday lied when he said he first swerved to miss another driver, who then fled.

How was the deception caught? Red-light camera footage of the accident, Miami police said on Tuesday.

The accident sent Officer Juancarlos Erigoyen to the hospital with an injured shoulder.

After the noon-time crash, Hector Ramirez, 49, of Miami, said he struck the officer with his pick-up avoiding a collision with another northbound vehicle at the intersection of West Flagler Street and 37th Avenue.

Ramirez told police the vehicle was driven by a elderly person in “a sky blue or light gray colored, four-door vehicle.”

Miami police began a search for the hit-and-run driver.

But the video showed the driver didn’t exist. Ramirez sideswiped the officer when he tried to make an illegal left turn onto Flagler Street. At the time, the officer was riding on the median ahead of the funeral procession, readying to stop traffic on Flagler.

“The footage captured the defendant’s vehicle, and others around him, stopped in traffic due to a red light...the defendant’s vehicle is seen crossing a double solid yellow line and into the path of Officer Erigoyen as he escorted the funeral procession,” police said in a news release.

Ramirez has been cited for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle.

He also faces criminal charges for providing false information in a crash report.

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James Van Der Beek on 'Dancing with the Stars' on 'Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23'

James Van Der Beek has yet to take on Dancing with the Stars in real life but he gets an opportunity to do so while playing a caricature version of himself on Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23.

"The real me has never done 'Dancing with the Stars' but that doesn't mean the 'Apartment 23' me can't do it," Van Der Beek said of the upcoming episode. "The 'Apartment 23' version of me a kind of an attention whore...He gets offered 'Dancing with the Stars' and immediately he takes it incredibly seriously."

VIDEO: James Van Der Beek Loves His BJ's

The former Dawson's Creek star revealed that it took him about two months to perfect the dance moves with a professional choreographer. As Van Der Beek displays in the clip shown in the video, he has some impressive dance moves, and while he doesn't have the time to compete on the real Dancing, he doesn't rule out the possibility of joining the show in the future.

"I'm pretty busy right now, but we'll see. It could be fun," the 35-year-old actor said. "I have been asked [before]; I've always been too busy working...I've talked to people who've done it [and] they said it's the craziest thing they've ever done, but it looks like it would be fun."

RELATED: James Van Der Beek Welcomes Baby Boy

Competing against Van Der Beek in the faux Dancing with the Stars is Dean Cain, who is paired with real-life Dancing professional Karina Smirnoff, whom Van Der Beek said he like to dance with if selected for the show.

"I think both James and Dean are doing amazing," Smirnoff said. "The cha-cha is a hard dance...James is doing a lot of hip action that I did not see on 'Dawson's Creek.'"

"James is so funny in this show and he's so good in his dance," Cain added. "When we're sitting here watching him and reacting like he's fantastic, he really is fantastic. It's something to see. I got to take my hat off [to him]."

VIDEO: Karina Smirnoff Rips Open William Levy's Shirt

Check out the video for a preview and watch the full Dancing with the Stars episode of Don' Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 tonight at 9:30 on ABC.

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Midtown killer seen moment before gunning down victim in broad daylight

DCPI

Victim Brandon Woodard, inset, is seen on his phone moments before his killer, on the left and pulling his gun from his pocket, shoots him in broad daylight.

He stepped out this car with murder on his mind.

The NYPD just released this chilling photo, showing a gunman about the execute a Midtown pedestrian.

Los Angeles resident Brandon Lincoln Woodard had no idea he was about to be murdered by this man in the black hooded sweatshirt, walking behind him on 58th Street.

SEE A MAP OF HOW THE MURDER WENT DOWN

Cops also released security video of Woodard's killer arriving at the crime scene about 10 minutes earlier. The gunman could be seen exiting the passenger side door of his Lincoln sedan getaway car on 58th Street.

He then nonchalantly donned the hood of his black sweatshirt in preparation for the kill.

Woodard, 31, was blasted in he back of his dead, at close range, with one round from a silver semiautomatic, according to police.

Woodard's killer is believed to be bald and might have had a beard, when he carried out the seemingly planned hit on 58th between Seventh Avenue and Broadway at about 2 p.m. .

The shooter disappeared as if he were “a ghost,’’ one witness said.

After fleeing, the gunman coolly hopped into a waiting light-colored Lincoln sedan, with a getaway driver behind the wheel.

The car headed east but initially was caught in traffic and stopped at a red light at the intersection.

But both coldblooded riders didn’t panic and stayed inside the car — just feet from Woodard’s body — before turning down Seventh Avenue and disappearing.

“There was no rush,” NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said of Woodard’s killer. “He just walked up, shot him and walked away.”

A police source said the shooting was “definitely a hit, an assassination.”

Investigators are probing a possible connection to drug dealing.

Woodard was charged with cocaine possession in California last June and has prior arrests for robbery, petty theft and leaving the scene of an accident.

Police are also exploring to what extent Woodard — who once claimed he was roughed up by bodyguards working for R&B superstar Usher — had ties to the music industry, law-enforcement sources said.

Woodard, who was wearing a black suit, was dead on arrival at Roosevelt Hospital.

David Mirambeau, 29, a UPS worker delivering packages, said the sound of the gunshot reverberated down the street.

David McGlynn

Police investigate the scene where a man was executed on West 58th St.

“I just heard a gunshot. It was loud. There was blood all over his face,” he said of Woodard. “He was gasping for air. He was still alive.”

Mirambeau said several cellphones and an iPod lay near the man’s body.

Witnesses ran to a firehouse at 215 W. 58th St. to say a man had been shot.

“I ran over to the Fire Department, banged on the door, and they came out immediately,” said Benny Harris, 44.

“Within minutes, they were cutting the guy’s clothes off,” he said.

“We didn’t see the perp,” Harris added. “We all ran over there, and nobody was around. He must’ve been a ghost.”

A single shell casing was recovered, police said.

Relatives poured into the Woodard family home in LA to pay condolences, but declined to comment.

“Brandon was a wonderful man — kind heart, smart, good person,” said family friend Chrissy Roussel, who added that Woodard was attending Whittier Law School in California and was visiting friends in New York.

Woodward’s father, J. Lincoln Woodard, 72, said, “It was a shock.”

The victim worked at United International Mortgage, an LA firm founded by his mother, Sandra McBeth-Reynolds.

Additional reporting by Chuck Bennett, Matthew McNulty and Jamie Schram in New York and Genevieve Wong in Los Angeles

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Diageo moving office to Coral Gables

Diageo will move its Miami office to Coral Gables in the fall of 2013.

The world’s leading spirits company will move from its current office at Blue Lagoon when its lease ends and relocate to 396 Alhambra Circle in Coral Gables.

Diageo has 175 people based in its Miami office, the majority of whom work for the Latin American and Caribbean region that is headquartered in Miami. The company has signed a 10-year lease in Coral Gables at 296 Alhambra, which is owned by Agave Holdings. The 32,527 square foot office has received LEED Silver and Gold certification.

“The new office is an important hub for not only Diageo North America, but also serves as the gateway to Latin America and our successful – and growing – business there,” said Randy Millian, Diageo President, Latin America and Caribbean. “We are excited to join the Coral Gables community.”

With the completion of the Diageo lease, the 282,000-square-foot Coral Gables office building is now 65 percent lease just one year after its opening. Diageo will join a roster of existing tenants that includes HBO Latin America, Millicom International Services, law firm Richman Greer, Banco Pichincha and CitiBank

“The addition of Diageo strengthens 396 Alhambra’s standing as the Class A address of choice for major multinational users in the Coral Gables market,” said Danet Linares, executive vice president at Blanca Commercial Real Estate, which represented Agave in the transaction.

“Diageo’s decision to relocate to Coral Gables reaffirms that the area is a vibrant business center for the greater Miami area,” said Jose Antonio Perez Helguera, managing director for Agave Holdings.

Danet Linares and Andres del Corral of Blanca Commercial Real Estate represented 396 Alhambra in the transaction, while Joe Garvey of CLW Real Estate Group represented Diageo.

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