Bill to ban smoking on some public land advances

Cities and counties could bar smokers from beaches, parks, and other publicly owned outdoor areas under a proposal that passed an early Florida Senate test Thursday, despite concerns from restaurateurs.

By unanimous vote, the Senate Regulated Industries Committee approved the measure (SB 258), which expands the state’s clear indoor air restrictions to more outdoor venues.

Voters approved the Florida Indoor Clean Air Act a decade ago.

The proposal would allow local governments to create smoke-free areas on publicly owned land as long as smoking sections are also available.

A similar bill stalled last year after concerns over smoking on sidewalks.

The current version of the bill prohibits smoking only on sidewalks in public parks, on public beaches, or in recreations areas while continuing to allow smoking on regular street-side sidewalks.

The bill would also allow cities and counties to extend smoke-free zones from public buildings to 75 feet from the entrance, or the same distance from a ventilation system or windows.

Law-enforcement officials would be required to first alert violators of the no-smoking restrictions and ask them to leave before they can issue a citation.

“Nobody wants to put anyone in jail for doing these things but it does send a signal,” said Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine.

“This state wants to be smoke free, eventually. . . . This is just one incremental step toward getting there.”

Rep. Bill Hager, R-Delray Beach, filed a House version of the bill this week.

In December, Sarasota County Judge Maryann Boehm ruled that Sarasota’s ordinance banning smoking in public parks was unenforceable, arguing that regulating smoking was a task left to the Legislature.

Thursday’s vote came after representatives of the state’s restaurant industry expressed concerns about the potential of unintended consequences but said they hoped to work with the sponsors to work out problems as the bills progress.

“When the smoking ban was passed, many businesses spent hundreds of millions of dollars to reconfigure their properties to accommodate both the new law and our customers,” said Richard Turner, of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association.

“At the moment, we are concerned that some of these ordinances could impact the investments that have been made.”

Some panelists also expressed concerns, saying they want assurances that beaches and public parks will not be totally off limits to smokers.

“The beach belongs to everybody,” said Rep Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville. “And people are different.”

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2013 Oscar Preps

The Academy Awards are just three days away, and we're behind the scenes with celebrity Chef Wolfgang Puck and other taste makers to see just how the pros are preparing for Hollywood's biggest night, from the delicious food to the Green Room "oasis," décor and more. Roll out the Oscar red carpet!

Pics: 2013 Oscar Presenters

CLICK HERE to see this year's Official Governors Ball Menu.

In addition to Sunday's Oscar preps, lots of people are talking about their Oscar faves on social media. According to Facebook, mentions of "Oscars" are more than three times higher than last year. Could that be because Seth MacFarlane is hosting this year, appealing to a younger demographic? Or perhaps the Best Picture nominees category is more interesting this year, as Facebook says that talk related to those movies is 20 times higher than last year.

In terms of fan base, Les Misérables is tops with 1.2 million "likes," while Django Unchained has 723 thousand likes and Life of Pi places third with 531 thousand likes. When it comes to general chatter, however, Django is getting the most mentions on Facebook even though Les Mis is the most-liked, and Argo and Lincoln are also much talked-about Oscar movies.

Video: Tops & Flops: The Best & Worst of the Oscars

Stay tuned to ET for complete coverage of the 85th Annual Academy Awards, held this Sunday, February 24 in Hollywood, live on ABC.

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Closing in on catsup culprits

The Securities and Exchange Commission was informed that a trader who conducted allegedly suspicious transactions of Heinz was a “private wealth client” of Goldman Sachs, according to court documents.

Goldman Sachs informed the SEC that it does not have “direct access” to information about the owner of the account, which is based in Zurich, according to filings.

SEC Senior Counsel Megan Bergstrom said that “the account holder is a private wealth client of Zurich.” She went on: “Goldman informed me that it does not have direct access to information about the beneficial owner of owners behind any particular transaction or position in the GS account.”

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National Hotel nears end of long renovation

A panel of frosted glass puts everything in perspective for Delphine Dray as she oversees a years-long, multi-million dollar renovation project at the National Hotel on Miami Beach.

“Chez Claude and Simone,” says the piece of glass stationed between the lobby and restaurant, a reference to Dray’s parents, who bought the hotel in 2007.

“Every time I am exhausted and I pass that glass, I remember why,” said Delphine Dray, who joined her father — a billionaire hotel developer and well-known art collector in France — to restore the hotel after the purchase.

After working with him for years, she is finishing the project alone. Claude Dray, 76, was killed in his Paris home in October of 2011, a shooting that remains under investigation.

In a recent interview and tour of the hotel’s renovations, which are nearly finished, Dray did not discuss her father’s death, which drew extensive media coverage in Europe. But she spoke about the evolution of the father-daughter working relationship, the family’s Art Deco obsession and the inspiration for the hotel’s new old-fashioned touches.

The National is hosting a cocktail party Friday night to give attendees a peek at the progress.

Dray grew up in a home surrounded by Art Deco detail; her parents constantly brought home finds from the flea market. By 2006, they had amassed a fortune in art and furniture, which they sold for $75 million at a Paris auction in 2006.

That sale funded the purchase of the National Hotel at 1677 Collins Ave., which the Drays discovered during a visit to Miami Beach.

After having lunch at the Delano next door, Dray said, “My dad came inside the hotel and fell in love.” The owner was not interested in selling, but Claude Dray persisted, closing the deal in early 2007. Her family also owns the Hôtel de Paris in Saint-Tropez, which reopened Thursday after a complete overhaul overseen by Dray’s mother and older sister.

Delphine Dray said she thought it would be exciting to work on the 1939 hotel with her father, so she moved with her family to South Florida. She quickly discovered challenges, including stringent historic preservation rules and frequent disagreements with her father.

“We did not have at all the same vision,” she said.

For example, she said: “I was preparing mojitos for the Winter Music Conference.” Her father, on the other hand, famously once unplugged a speaker during a party at the hotel because the loud music was disturbing his work.

“We were fighting because that is the way it is supposed to be,” she said. “Now, I understand that he was totally right.”

She described a vision, now her own, of a classic, cozy property that brings guests back to the 1940s.

Joined by her 10-year-old twin girls, Pearl and Swan, and 13-year-old son Chad, Dray pointed out a new telephone meant to look antique mounted on the wall near the elevators on a guest floor. She showed off the entertainment units she designed to resemble furniture that her parents collected. And she highlighted Art Deco flourishes around doorknobs and handles.

“It’s very important for us to have the details,” she said.

With those priorities in mind, she is overseeing the final phase of the renovation, an investment that general manager Jacques Roy said will top $10 million. In addition to the small details, the renovation includes heavier, less obvious work: new drywall in guest rooms, for example, and new windows to replace leaky ones.

Painting of the building’s exterior should be finished in the next two to three weeks, Roy said. Dray compared its earlier unfinished state to resembling “a horror movie — the family Addams.”

And the final couple of guest room floors, as well as the restoration of the original Martini Room, should be done by the end of April.

“At the end, I will be very proud,” Dray said.

The National’s renovation wraps up as nearby properties such as the SLS Hotel South Beach and Gale South Beach & Regent Hotel have been given new life. Jeff Lehman, general manager of The Betsy Hotel and chair of the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority, said the National has always been true to its roots. He managed the hotel for 10 years, including for a few months after Dray bought the property.

“I think historic preservation and the restoration of the hotels as they were built 70, 80 years ago is such a huge piece of our DNA,” he said. “It’s a lot of what sets us apart from any other destination on the planet.”

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Sleek pizza cafe brightens tech park

Thea Goldman, no stranger to culinary pioneering, has put down roots in a neighborhood on the edge of Overtown dubbed the Health District thanks to an ambitious building project around the University of Miami’s Life Science & Technology Park.

Thea’s Pizzeria and Café is modeled on Joey’s Café, the business she and now ex-husband Joey Goldman opened in Wynwood in 2008. Their bold move spurred a cascade of interest and investment in an area that five years later is a hipster haven.

Here, the willowy, British-accented dynamo has taken a similar approach to an area with few eating options. That is part of the plan, says Goldman who opened in the fall for breakfast and lunch and is testing the dinner waters with Friday night openings.

Though only 15 minutes from South Beach, this tiny and stunning eatery, situated almost under I-95, is worlds away. It’s surrounded by office buildings, warehouses, car repair shops, a technical school and, most importantly, plans for a large hotel and retail space.

Dressed causally in black jeans and T-shirts and hailing from as far away as Naples, Italy, and as close as the surrounding Allapattah neighborhood, wait staff takes its cue from the upbeat boss with sunny smiles and quick service.

A dramatic, 30-foot-wide mural of peonies, roses, daffodils and daisies shimmers with 210,000 pieces of Italian glass pieced together by designer Carlo dal Bianco of Bisazza Mosaico. It’s set against a black backdrop with simple wooden tables set with vases of white hydrangea. Buffed, eggshell-colored concrete floors and soaring ceilings lend an industrial edge, while golden globes of light cast an elegant sheen.

The food is equal parts rustic and refined. Simple starters include pristine salads of baby arugula, mint, escarole and nicely roasted beets and a tiny greenhouse arrangement, all farmed locally.

A nice array of pizzas is cooked in a gas-fueled stone oven. The crust could be a bit saltier and chewier, but it makes a fine vehicle for generous and deftly handle toppings such as sausage-ricotta and anchovy-caper. My favorite is artichoke hearts with arugula, or maybe Gorgonzola with toasty walnuts and truffle oil.

A slightly stiff and too-thin focaccia loaded with shredded pecorino cheese and black pepper could use more loft.

Daily fish specials such as a silken cod fillet over mashed potatoes and a puree of briny black olives are always a good bet, as is the perfectly grilled salmon with lemony caper sauce over white bean and red onion salad. Chicken paillard, pounded thin and served with roasted potatoes and green beans, is simple and satisfying.

Like the menu, the wine list is modest but well done. Most of the two dozen or so labels are available by the glass, including a robust sangiovese from Emiglia Romana coincidentally named Thea.

With the exception of imported ravioli, pastas are of the boxed variety but well handled. We sampled the indulgent rigatoni with nicely browned coins of sausage and Italian ricotta.

Desserts are as simple and elegant as the place itself. Icy frozen espresso, granita topped with whipped cream and salted caramel ice cream are fine choices, as is a light but deeply flavored chocolate cake with a simple dusting of powdered sugar and a handful of plump raspberries.

Thea’s is a bustling hive of activity at breakfast and lunch, and dinner is growing more popular. Like a bright patch in a weed-strewn lot, this burgeoning eatery is full of promise.

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Inside Robin Roberts First Day Back at Good Morning America

After 174 days away for treatment of a rare blood and marrow disorder, Robin Roberts made her triumphant return to Good Morning America on Wednesday, and only ET was invited behind the scenes of the emotional taping.

ET cameras rolled as Roberts took her first steps back inside GMA's Times Square studio where, after a successful morning back, Rob Marciano sat down for a chat with the recovering host.

Related: Robin Roberts Returns to 'Good Morning America'

Roberts, who hit the air sporting a nearly bald head (due to chemo treatments undergone in previous months), revealed that she almost wore a wig Wednesday, but ultimately decided against it fearing inevitable comparisons to a certain other public figure.

"[It makes me look] like Mrs. Obama," laughed Roberts of the retired hairpiece she insists was purchased long before the First Lady debuted her fringe. "I didn't want people thinking that I was copying her...I had mine first!"

Despite a few perceived blips, Roberts was overall proud of her first live spot in six months.

Related: Robin Roberts: I Felt I Was Dying

"The first quarter was a little rough there," reflected Roberts of the broadcast, telling Rob that she and co-anchor Josh Elliott devised a code to secretly communicate that her nerves were getting the best of her.

"[Elliot] said lets come up with a code word if it gets to be a little too intense," she revealed, divulging that "froggy slippers" became her safe words for the day.

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Secret’s out

Jennifer Gould Keil

GIMME SHELTER

Want to live like a Victoria’s Secret supermodel? It’s not as expensive as you might think.

Runway-strutting Angel Lindsay Ellingson, who’s also modeled for Chanel and Dolce & Gabbana, has put her one-bedroom co-op on the market for $589,000. The 650-square-foot unit is in Gramercy Park Towers at 205 Third Ave. and comes with a renovated chef’s kitchen and ample storage, perhaps for the Victoria’s Secret perfumes and bras that Ellingson is the face of.

The full-service building has a landscaped roof deck, garden and gym. Listing brokers Eyal Amir and Rachel Alexander (a former model herself), of the new brokerage firm I & I Real Estate, declined to comment.

Getty Images for SWAROVSKI ELEME

Victoria's Secret Angel Lindsay Ellingson

The Aldyn residences

Ellingson — who studied biology at UC San Diego before she was discovered on the street — has, we hear, bought an 1,100-plus-square-foot duplex loft on West 19th Street for $1.67 million.

Saget full house

Lara Saget, the artist daughter of actor-comedian Bob Saget, is hosting an art installation today to celebrate the Chinese New Year at the Aldyn condo development on Riverside Boulevard (pictured). Saget will display her work — along with art by her friend Jing Chen, a Corcoran Group broker who has sold multiple units in the building to Chinese buyers — in a $13.9 million, 17th-floor corner duplex designed by Roman and Williams. The 6,000-square-foot, six-bedroom, 7 1/2-bathroom home, which comes with a terrace, features double-height ceilings and dramatic Hudson River views.

The Aldyn, which includes 40,000 square feet of amenities like an indoor pool, basketball/squash court, climbing wall and bowling alley, is where Knicks guard Jason Kidd paid more than $4 million for a four-bedroom.

Zoom with a view

Celebrity photographer Mike Ruiz, who’s worked with Kim Kardashian, Kirsten Dunst and Nicki Minaj, his put his stylish condo on West 24th Street up for rent at $8,900 a month. “I’m moving to horse country in New Jersey. I’ll be on 4 acres in a four-bedroom home with lots of space to possibly give my dog, Oliver, a sibling,” Ruiz says.

The 1,127-square-foot two-bedroom unit he wants to rent out in the Chelsea Stratus features lots of B&B Italia furniture — including a suspended wall unit that hides the TV. The building features an indoor basketball court and a lounge. Brokers Ralph Modica and Vickey Barron of Core have the listing.

DeLooking

Celebrity chef-restaurateur John DeLucie, of the Lion, Crown and the new Bill’s in the old Bill’s Gay Nineties space, is on the prowl for a new home.

He recently checked out a four-story townhouse at 115 E. 35th St., which Nest Seekers International broker Ryan Serhant had on the market for $3.99 million before another buyer signed a contract for it.

While DeLucie wasn’t able to snag that 3,664-square-foot, four-bedroom townhouse, it looks like he got some TV time out of his home search. Serhant is on Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing New York,” and there were cameras present during DeLucie’s visit — filming for an episode that’s slated to air in May during the reality show’s second season.

We hear . . .

That real estate photographer Evan Joseph is signing copies of his latest book, “New York Then And Now” at 183 E. 73rd St., a stunning $22.8 million townhouse listed by Douglas Elliman broker Corinne Pulitzer. The five-story townhouse, built in 1866 and renovated by William Lawrence Bottomley in 1922, features a garden and brick patios. Currently a multifamily home, it is in prime shape to be “easily converted” into a single-family mansion, according to the listing . . . That the broker stars of two rival reality shows, Michele Kleier and daughters Samantha
Kleier-Forbes and Sabrina Kleier-Morgenstern of HGTV’s “Selling New York” and Fredrik Eklund and Ryan Serhant of Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing New York” were well behaved in front of one another at an Eleven Madison Park shindig to launch Douglas Elliman brokers’ Melanie Lazenby and Dina Lewis’ new project, the Whitman. Douglas Elliman’s Howard Lorber and Dottie Herman were also at the launch party for the new boutique building on East 26th Street, where full-floor condos start at $10 million and the penthouse duplex is $22.5 million. The landmarked 1924 building was originally the headquarters for a textile company, Clarence Whitman & Sons.

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Caribbean cell phone company asks South Florida relatives to buy minutes for family back home

An Irish billionaire’s telecommunications company, which has revolutionized cell phone usage in some of the world’s poorest countries, is bringing it’s latest marketing pitch to South Florida.

Digicel is tapping into South Florida’s close ties to Haiti and Jamaica in a campaign that asks families stateside to send minutes home.

Irish billionaire Denis O’Brien has staked a claim in the telecommunication industry by building his cell phone company in developing countries in the Caribbean and South America The South Florida Digicel campaign includes bus bench ads, billboards and television spots. The message is simple: “Send minutes home.”

Customers stateside can pay to send airtime minutes to family and friends’ pre-paid cell phones in the Caribbean. The concept is not new, but Digicel is seeking to broaden it’s reach.

It is a nod to South Florida’s ties to the Caribbean and the financial influence of the region’s diaspora. Families in Haiti and Jamaica rely heavily on remittances from abroad.

Haiti received $2.1 billion in remittances in 2011, which represents more than one quarter of the national income, according to the Inter-American Development Bank . In 2011, Jamaica received nearly $2 billion in remittances.

“We understand the value of the diaspora,” said Valerie Estimé, CEO of Digicel’s diaspora division. “They are our lifeline.”

Typically the company relies on ethnic media outlets like radio programs and niche publications for advertising, but there was a gap in reaching second- and third- generation Caribbean Americans, who are more plugged in to mainstream media, said Andreina Gonzalez, head of marketing in Digicel’s diaspora division.

“There was an opportunity to step up and go a little further,” Gonzalez said.

The campaign comes at a time when the company is facing some public relations backlash in Haiti and Jamaica. Customers from both islands have taken to social media to decry shoddy connections and poor customer service.

In Haiti, the problems were so acute that Digicel released an apology letter to its customers in December. When the company tried to integrate Voilà, a competitor Digicel acquired, into its network, the integration caused system failures.

“Quite simply, we did not deliver what we promised and we did not communicate effectively with customers through the problem times,” Damian Blackburn, Digicel’s Haiti CEO wrote in the apology.. “We apologize for letting our customers down and want to thank them for their patience and understanding.”

In South Florida, the marketing pitch is family-centered and draws on the diaspora’s need to stay connected. Digicel representatives say airtime minutes are as valuable as the cash remittances families send to the Caribbean.

The advertising features members of a culturally ambiguous animated family smiling and talking on cell phones.

The ads that appear in Little Haiti, North Miami and North Miami Beach are largely targeting the Haitian community. In South Broward, the focus shifts to the Jamaican population.

A similar campaign has also been launched in New York.

Prices range for $7 to $60 to add minutes to a relative’s Digicel account. Transactions can be made online or at participating stores in South Florida.

“You’re able to make a very big difference with a very small amount of your disposable income,” said Estimé. “We know how important it is to be able to get in touch with a mother, a sister or a brother.”

The company recognizes that some of its older customer base prefer the retail model, while younger and more savvy consumers would rather send pay for minutes directly from their computers or cell phones.

“It was really impressive to see Digicel online,” said Geralda Pierre, a Miami Gardens resident who sends minute to Haiti. “It’s so convenient to add minutes for my dad in Haiti who is sick. It makes it easier for me to get in touch with him.”

For now, Digicel says it will continue to mix the old and new. The Creole-language advertisements on Haitian radio and Island TV, a Creole language cable network, are here to stay.

“We are bringing first world convenience in some cases to third world countries,” Estimé said. “Digicel has in a way improved the lives of our loved ones back home.”

Follow @nadegegreen on Twitter

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Gartenfeld named to Miami MOCA curatorial post

The Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami has snared a trailblazing young New York critic and curator with a keen eye for fresh talent to fill a new curatorial job, cementing its growing prominence as a nurturer of significant artistic careers.

Alex Gartenfeld, 26, who rapidly established himself as a go-to exponent of cutting-edge art after graduating from Columbia University, will work under MOCA founding director and chief curator Bonnie Clearwater to organize exhibitions, prepare publications and oversee the museum’s public programs, which include lectures and art education for youths and adults.

The Tuesday announcement of his hiring was also hailed as confirmation of the maturation of Miami’s burgeoning art scene.

“When a rising young curator chooses Miami for his next major position, it says everything about the quality of the contemporary art world in our community, and everything about MOCA,’’said Miami art collector Dennis Scholl, vice president/arts at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which has supported the museum financially. “He is certainly right in the middle of the zeitgeist when it comes to contemporary art.’’

Gartenfeld, who will officially assume the job on May 10, has been referred to as a “wunderkind’’ by The New York Times and was included on Forbes magazine’s “30 Under 30” list of people to watch in the arts. He is senior editor for online at Interview and Art in America magazines, whose web presence he helped launch. He also co-founded an alternative exhibition space in his Manhattan apartment called West Street Gallery that showed work by up-and-coming artists and became a must-see art world destination.

As an independent curator, Gartenfeld has helped organize 25 exhibitions around the globe, including the forthcoming Empire State with curator Sir Norman Rosenthal at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome, which features site-specific work by established artists like Dan Graham and Joyce Pensato.

At MOCA, Gartenfeld will help with administrative duties and extend the museum’s reach by boosting its website and organizing traveling exhibitions from its permanent collection of about 700 works.

Clearwater said MOCA, which opened in 2006 and has a full-time staff of 18, has grown to the point where she needed a second permanent curator. She said she immediately thought of Gartenfeld, and was amazed when his name kept coming up as she solicited recommendations.

“He is the brightest of the young and the brightest,’’ Clearwater said. “He understands the history of making art, and also how to approach new work no one has written about and even the artist maybe can’t explain.”

That track record for meshing rigorous scholarship and new art from the established and the virtually unknown makes Gartenfeld a perfect match for MOCA, Clearwater and Scholl said.

“They both are looking for what’s next. Bonnie has succeeded at that for 15 years,” Scholl said. “If what he brings to MOCA is anything like the Rome show, he’s going to have a great run here.”

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Poupon’s ‘pardon,’ part deux

Grey Poupon’s famous “Pardon Me” TV commercial is returning for a moment of Oscar glory.

After a 16-year hiatus, the mustard that mocked its own stuffy image in one of TV’s most famous commercials will once again take to the airwaves during the Feb. 24 Academy Awards show.

The spot comes as Kraft Foods looks to boost sagging sales of the Dijon mustard, which is facing competition from a growing variety of high-end condiments on supermarket shelves.

The new ad begins in the same way as the original — an aristocratic English gentleman is being chauffeured in the countryside, when another car pulls up alongside them at a stop. The back window rolls down and a second man asks in an over-the-top snooty accent, “Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?”

MUSTARD COLONELS


Ad homage video still.

The first man courteously responds, “But of course” and hands him a jar out the window.

In the new version, however, the scene continues with the second car speeding off without returning the mustard.

Jokes aside, there’s a seed of truth to that higher-end image; Grey Poupon customers tend to be skewed toward household incomes of $70,000 or more.

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