In the People's Republic of Hallandale Beach, Juice Is Banned

Flickr: murky

Michelangelo's David. (Stay tuned to see if this image sets off the censor alarms in Hallandale City Hall.)

​If you're reading this right now from a computer in Hallandale Beach, watch your ass. The mayor and city manager believe Juice's political coverage is unpatriotic, maybe treasonous. But definitely "pornographic." That's the reason they've blocked this website from computers in City Hall.

This report comes from Commissioner Keith London, that rabble-rousing leader of the insurgency who in the past has dared to question whether City Manager Mike Good should enjoy a nearly half-million-dollar gross salary and whether it's appropriate to make a half-million-dollar land deal with a real estate agent who's also paid by the city as a consultant. London also had concerns about the city's loaning $125,000 to a businessman with a background in pornography.

On April 13, Juice published this post about that latter subject, and you can see that we illustrated it with a photo of porn star Jenna Jameson. After all, she was the other business venture of a man who is now doing business with Hallandale Beach.

Apparently, that photo shocked the delicate eyes of the city manager.

Flickr

The Jenna Jameson image that scandalized Hallandale.

​London sends out weekly emails with the commission agenda, often with his own commentary on what he believes are issues of interest to residents. Lately, he's been sending emails to inform local folks about Juice articles dealing with Hallandale Beach, and on April 13 he sent the people on his list -- including some city staffers -- a copy of the Juice post containing the Jenna Jameson photo.

One of those who received it was the city manager, Good. His e-mail to London began thus:

On Friday, I was forwarded a number of e-mails that you sent to over 165 city employees. When I first opened up your e-mail, I was shocked that you would send such an explicit picture of a nearly naked woman.

Shocked! It's a wonder that Good can drive safely down the freeway, which is strewn with billboards that are just as pornographic. Back to his note:

We do not allow for pictures such as the one you sent through the internet (of a female pornographic star in an erotic position, scantily clothed on a couch) to be placed anywhere in the City. In fact, if any of my employees was to send a picture like that throughout the Internet, or for that matter even review sites of that nature, he/she would be disciplined, as we respect all of our employees and do not want them to feel uncomfortable in a professional work environment.

When sending out his usual email to interested residents, London copies his own city email account, ensuring that a record of them is made and that he is in compliance with Florida public records law.

But this past week he found that the note sent from his personal email account was bouncing back from his Hallandale Beach email account, which has been blocked from all city email accounts, thanks to that one photo.

Was the (allegedly) racy photo really the reason that Good has blocked Juice and London's emails? Or was it the fact that Juice and those London emails both contain content that may not always paint the city manager in a flattering light?

Here's a hint: As far as we know, Mike Butler's Hallandale Beach blog, has never published any photos of scantily clad women. But Butler's blog, which is also critical of Good, is still banned from city computers.