Miami’s book fair ‘Evening With…’ series ends on easy note

A bit of fiction and a bit of philosophy, both seasoned with a touch of the historical, rounded out the final night of Miami Book Fair International’s “Evenings With…” programs Friday.Emma Donoghue read from her Astray, new book of short stories inspired by old newspaper accounts, and historian Alan Ryan talked about his weighty new two-volume work On Politics: A History...

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NBCU pink slips land at biz network

NBCUniversal’s flurry of year-end pink slips hit business network CNBC. The network yesterday cut a handful of staffers as part of NBCU’s call for 450 layoffs company-wide. A CNBC spokesman declined to comment. The changes come as Patricia Fili-Krushel, the new chairman of NBCUniversal News Group, makes her mark in the news division. Earlier this week,...

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Jolly holiday shopping season already underway

Lilian Stoppa and Renata Rosa stepped out of Target in Midtown Miami with a cart piled high with holiday gifts.Landing in Miami on Thursday morning for a five-day shopping spree, they already had spent $800 by mid-afternoon on presents for family members: toys for Rosa’s daughter, beauty items for Stoppa’s mother, plus lots of other stuff.“This is just the start,” giggled...

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Former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz pens book about reinventing the city

Former Miami mayors don’t usually write books anyone would want to publish, much less read.Then there’s Manny Diaz. Whether you admire him like many in Miami and across the country do, or excoriate him as some at home did, Diaz was hardly shy about embracing big plans and notions. And few would disagree that the city was a far different place when he exited City Hall in 2009...

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Watchdog groups question tourism agency’s CEO pick

TALLAHASSEE -- The day after the CEO of the state’s top tourism agency announced he was stepping down, board members quickly handpicked his replacement. There was only one problem. Picking Visit Florida’s chief marketing officer Will Seccombe to head the agency without doing a national search could upset the agency’s main funders — state legislators and Gov. Rick Scott.Visit...

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Concert tells tale of a ‘Tough Turkey’

Orchestra Miami will present a series of free family concerts, designed to introduce young children to classical music. At 7 p.m. Friday , the orchestra will perform "Tough Turkey in the Big City: A Thanksgiving Odyssey," by Bruce Adolphe and Louise Gikow at Miami Shores Presbyterian Church at 602 NE 96th St.At 1:30 p.m. Saturday the orchestra will bring the concert to the...

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RIM CEO sees new BlackBerry powering growth

WATERLOO, Ontario (Reuters) – A new line of BlackBerry 10 devices will provide Research In Motion with a framework for growth over the next decade, offering long-term value for unhappy shareholders, Chief Executive Thorsten Heins said on Wednesday.In an interview with Reuters, Heins said RIM had identified $ 800 million of the $ 1 billion of savings...

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Ellen Throws Keira Knightley a Bridal Tea Party

In light of Keira Knightley's engagement to Klaxons keyboardist James Righton, Ellen DeGeneres has a refined surprise for British actress on her next show.PIC: Knightley 'Doesn't Mind' Going ToplessThe TV host throws Knightley a bridal tea party as a celebration of her upcoming wedding, which the Anna Karenina star admits she hasn't put much thought into."The problem is ever since [our engagement]...

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Base boot for general busybody

The social-climbing military groupie at the center of the David Petraeus sex scandal has been banned from MacDill Air Force Base.Jill Kelley — who played unofficial hospitality hostess to Gen. Petraeus, Gen. John R. Allen and a stream of top military brass at the powerful Tampa, Fla., Central Command base — lost her unfettered base access after her claims...

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Steve Wozniak, Chris Hughes share tales with Coconut Grove audience

Co-founders from two of Silicon Valley’s most innovative companies gave a South Florida audience a glimpse into the early days of developing the technology that would reshape the world.Steve Wozniak, of Apple, and Chris Hughes, of Facebook, were back-to-back speakers for the three-day Americas Business Council’s Continuity Forum that wrapped up Wednesday at the Ritz-Carlton...

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