Wednesday Walkup

Just got off the Jim DeFede Show on 940 AM regarding Charlie Crist. It was great because I got the time to tell most of the story and also answer DeFede's sometimes tough questions. His radio style is easy as a Sunday morning but never forget that DeFede is one of the hardest hitting -- and best -- journalists in the history of South Florida.

I emerged from the show to find a rather slow news day. Here's a quick walkup of the best stories:

-- The gated Savanna neighborhood in Weston posted a security guard outside the home of a registered sex offender on Halloween, according to Nicole T. Lesson and Joe Kollin in today's Sun-Sentinel. The thing is that the home is owned by the accused's mother and father, who are obviously suffering greatly because of the actions of their son, who they say is bipolar, nine years ago. ""We won't be here, and when we come home we won't

put the light on or open the door," she told the reporters. "My neighbors won't talk to me. And I don't blame them, they have children."

-- I knew better than to trust politicians, especially after the Masilotti indictment. But lobbyists, too? Say it ain't so (and then read the Palm Beach Post story by Jane Musgrave and Tom Dubocq about William Boose's sordid role in the Masilotti affair).

-- Nancy Othon tells of a husband sentenced to 120 years for having crack addicts kill his ex-wife. The jury called Ronald Samuels a "puppet master" of the addicts. Hmmm, an empire of crackheads ... I can see him sitting in the darkness of his home, slowly wiping the sweat from his brow, the horror, the horror ...

-- All units, be on the lookout for the ... Foot Fetish Fiend. I think this one is just made up by some Carl Hiaasen wannabe.

-- The Miami Herald's Gary Fineout and Beth Reinhard, who make a good reporting tandem, report on Mad Max. I don't think Linn is going to have a big impact on the governor's race, but he's made it a helluva lot more fun.

-- The world champion Miami Heat are back!!! And they suck! Seriously, it's not surprising at all that they got blown in their first regular season game. This is a team that only exerts itself when it has to. And that's one reason why I hope people stop calling Pat Riley a "master motivator." A great coach gets great performances from their teams all the time (Phil Jackson's great Bulls teams never let up -- but then again there's never been a competitor like Michael Jordan).