Yet, this is my last Page2Live entry.

On Tuesday, I became executive editor of Radar Online, one of the country’s biggest celebrity websites.

The sandbox I get to play in now is a lot larger, and the gig often will take me to Los Angeles and Las Vegas and New York City.

But I leave The Palm Beach Post and the readers who supported me with news tips, kudos and criticism for the past seven years with a heavy heart.

I love Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast, and not just because it’s my home. There are few places in this country as quirky as Palm Beach, Stuart, Boca and Wellington. News people who work here know they’re lucky because, indeed, there never is a dull moment.

For more, look below or click

My first story was a profile of the controversial Welly developer Glenn Straub, a West Virginia who conducts business the way miners in his native state attack coal veins.

The 2004 piece opened with an anecdote about how Straub was so reviled that polo fans cheered when he injured himself in a potentially fatal fall during a Palm Beach Polo Club game. Straub complained about the coverage a little, but I believe he secretly loved the attention.

I’ll confess to a rough beginning in Palm Beach society a couple months later.

To some, including the recently deceased Dame Celia Lipton Farris, a great philanthropist, I just didn’t dress right.

After checking me out from head to toe at a party where I might have appeared without a tie and a shave, she told me: “Palm Beach had a dress code, young man!”

I never got around to buying a blue blazer with gold buttons or loafers adorned with some crest.

Publicly, Palm Beach society didn’t acknowledge Page2Live. But secretly, I believe it loved the attention.

Some public officials, meanwhile, will welcome the news of my departure.

Weeks ago, a high-ranking official at the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office half-kiddingly promised me lunch at the Palm Beach Yacht Club if I left the Post.
I guess stories about on-duty sex, violence, incompetence and corruption at PBSO was grating on the administration’s nerves.

I’m told former West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel, now a U.S. Congress hopeful, made a round of gleeful calls when she heard about Page2Live’s demise.

She could still be traumatized after my story last year about how she ignored a citation for a blown red-light stop caught on the very cameras she had installed throughout the city.

I believe that secretly, however, even Frankel loved the attention.

What do I miss the most while now working alongside a dedicated staff of 11 to dig up more stuff on  Tiger Woods, Angelina Jolie and Lindsay Lohan?

You, the reader, the driving force behind Page2Live!

The site catered to a tough crowd, one as unforgiving of spelling and grammar mistakes as the flaws of the characters I wrote about.

You took the time to write more than 40,000 comments. Many were on the money and well crafted. Many were plain stupid or wrong. And some were obviously written by individuals guilty of BWI, blogging while impaired.

None, however, was dull. And every single one kept me on my toes.

There would have been very little content on this site without tipsters. You know who you are, even if many of you remained anonymous!

Rarely did a day go by without one of you calling me or text messaging me with stories.

And for that, I couldn’t thank you enough.

Because if there’s one thing that a website editor fears the most, it’s having no fun.

Privacy

Woods

A Woods camp insider is telling me the golfer originally offered the 155-foot Christensen ship to ex-wife Elin Nordegren as his wedding present in 2004.

But Nordegren turned down the yacht during divorce-settlement talks with philandering Woods last summer.

“She didn’t want it because the upkeep is incredibly expensive,” the source said.

With a permanent crew of 13, Privacy costs more than $2 million a year to maintain.

– Click here to see where Tiger lives when he’s on land

Woods had the vessel sailed south to Fort Lauderdale in the fall. It was dry-docked in a yard for two months to paint the hull and re-surface the deck.

Privacy is now back at its home-port in North Palm Beach’s Old Port Cove, and Woods is shopping for a broker to list it for $25 million.

For more, look below or click

Privacy, at Old Port Cove

While Woods bought the ship for $20 million, he believes it appreciated in value because it’s been well taken care of.

But Palm Beach Gardens mega-yacht builder John Staluppi doubts the former world’s best player will get the asking price.

“The market on big yachts has gone down,” said Staluppi, who’s currently building a 200-footer. “Banks aren’t financing and the economy is off. It’s a buyer’s market.

“Unless he sells to someone who wants to brag that he’s got Tiger’s yacht, he’ll get about $20 million.”

So, why’s the golfer unloading his toy?

For one thing, he still has a brand-new 62-foot yacht, Solitude.

And he’s got only four years left to make good on his deal to pay Nordegren $100 million!

Gigliotti with Bock

Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller Sharon Bock’s divorce got uglier.

Bock, 58, is alleging that her neighborhood activist husband of 14 years, Tony Gigliotti, broke into their marital home and stole furniture, jewelry, stemware and china, according to court papers.

Bock was out of town after changing the locks on the doors of the couple’s Palm Beach Shores home. When she returned, she called police although there was no arrest.

“Like every divorce in Palm Beach County, this is a very emotional divorce, and the parties are working through the emotions,” said James Green, Gigliotti’s lawyer. “He removed property he felt was his before the marriage.”

And in another recent filing, Bock also alleged that Gigliotti, the chairman of the politically powerful Singer Island Civic Association, tried to shield his ownership of a farm in North Florida. He claimed that his two adult children from a previous marriage are the rightful owners although Bock disputed that.

The silver lining: The popular, twice elected county clerk will do just fine financially without Gigliotti.

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According to her financial filing Bock, who ran a law practice before she was elected in 2004, lists about $4.4 million in real estate and investments, including: the $850,000-marital home on Singer Island, a $1.4 million-motel and the 162-acre hay farm in Suwannee County that Gigliotti claims is his.

And Gigliotti, according to the divorce file, wants a bigger share of the marital pie because he claims to have brought more money into the marriage than Bock.

Still Bock’s attorney, Melinda Gamot, says she is hopeful to be able to hammer out an agreement soon.

“I believe we can close the gaps between both of them fairly soon,” Gamot said.

Zegeye

The former Benjamin School student who pleaded guilty to being drunk when he drove into another car stopped at a red light  in Palm Beach Gardens two and a half years ago, killing the driver, has found a new home.

Beruch Zegeye is expected to celebrate his 20th birthday this summer at the minimum-security Lancaster Correctional Institution near Gainesville.

He’s scheduled to be released in January 2017 although he could receive credit for good behavior.

Lancaster is listed as a medium- to low-security camp for young criminals, and that isn’t sitting well with his victim’s family.

According to the Florida Department of Corrections’ website, the camp houses about 570 offenders between 19 and 24 years old in dorms.

Lancaster is mandated to provide its residents with 12 hours of a day of activities and classes like graphic and culinary arts, sports, weight training and wellness.

Oh, yes: There’s a stress management program, too.

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“Our understanding is that he was going to prison,” said Barb Kady, victim Paul Krommendyk’s sister. “A prison with bars. He wasn’t remorseful. He needs to pay for what he did, and he won’t.”

Zegeye was 17 when, after a day of partying with fellow high school students that included pills and booze, he drove the Porsche of his brain-surgeon dad into Krommendyk’s economy car. Krommendyk was on his way to deliver pizzas.

Said West Palm Beach attorney James Eisenberg, who represented Zegeye during the sentencing in February: “He should be in a minimum security camp. He has no prior arrest and there was no intentional violence in his crime.”

Zegeye, by the way, is appealing his sentence.

For more on this story:

– Teen partied on Jack Nicklaus’ yacht before deadly crash

– A year later, alleged killer is in college as victims asks why?

– Judge allows high-profile DUI suspect to travel to Haiti then changes her mind

(Click on the photo for more)

Norman and wife Kutner

Get a room already!

Links Leviathan Greg Norman, aka The Great White Shark, has been hanging at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne with his new pilot fish, wife Kirsten Kutner (above).

And obviously, Norman is so taken with the younger wife, his third, six months after their wedding that their public displays of affection have prevented the love birds from watching all of the action on the court.

– Click here for a look at Greg Norman’s Jupiter Island home

Jupiter Island resident Norman and the missus were at two-time champ Kim Clijster’s win over Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez Sunday and Spanish champ Rafael Nadal’s victory Monday over Feliciano Lopez.

– Click here for the Sony Ericsson Open photo gallery

Norman’s always had an affinity for tennis. Last year, Norman replaced his second wife, Boca Raton tennis legend Chris Evert, with Kutner.

Meanwhile, the Miami Heat are riding a five-game win streak and superstars Dwyane Wade and LeBron James enjoyed the attention they got Saturday night when the duo, plus Wade’s two sons, visited with Rafael Nadal (below).

(Click on the photo for more)

– Click here for the exclusive Page2Live Sony Ericsson gallery

Rough day for Lt. Swank (Special to the Palm Beach Post)

I’m told the snoring could be heard across the room!

To the right, fellow taxpayer, is Lt. Jeff Swank, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Internal Affairs executive officer!

And this cell-phone picture of Swank sound asleep obtained by Page2Live has been making the rounds among the chuckling rank and file.

How do I know he’s snoring?

Well, there’s a video, and the sound is quite clear.

I’ve been trying to get a hold of it, but I’m told by an insider that Internal Affairs head Capt. Larry Easton, to0, is hot on the trail of the footage.

Swank was among 70 local enforcement officials at a three-day class last week at the Hilton Palm Beach Airport.

The classroom training focused on the handling of police-involved shootings.

But Swank apparently got so bored he dozed off while fellow policemen, who must have been just as bored, snapped away with cell phones.

Swank’s I.A. squad, by the way, does investigate incidents in which deputies are “rude” during such training sessions.

Said PBSO Chief Deputy Mike Gauger: “Lt. Swank attends college after hours and he was called out twice the previous night.

“Things happen. I fall asleep at church sometimes!”

(Click on the photo for more)

Unlucky Dancing With the Stars standout and Moesha actress Brandy’s day at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne was busier than a tennis star’s. Brandy (above) sang the national anthem, helped with the coin toss before the contest between Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Uzbek Denis Istomin, then played an exhibition set against No. 6-rated Jelena Jankovic. American Alex Bogolomov, meanwhile, pulled a Beckham after his upset win against Brit Andy Murray and and went shirtless (below)! Click here for the exclusive Page2Live photo gallery of the Sony Ericsson, including supermodel Naomi Campbell

(Click on the photo for more)

(Click on the Mike Jachles photo for more)

Fox News star Bill O’Reilly (above) spent most of his keynote address at a Palm Beach fundraising gala Friday imagining a world where Donald Trump (above) would be president.

– Click here for the Mike Jachles photo gallery of the event

Trump, 64, who hosted Friday’s fiesta for the It Happened to Alexa Foundation at his Mar-a-Lago club, is weeks away from announcing whether he’ll run for the land’s highest office as a Republican.

“It’s gratifying to have the next president of the United States introduce me,” the host of The O’Reilly Factor said to thunderous applause from the 200-plus at the dinner.

Some of the guests paid $1,500 for a few seconds with the 61-year-old O’Reilly (below), a photo and an autographed copy of his latest tome, Pinheads and Patriots.

(Click on the Mike Jachles photo for more)

Tall head O’Reilly, for whom it was the second appearance at the victims’ advocate foundation’s gala, then dreamed out loud about a Trump White House. At time he seemed to joke. At others he appeared serious. Always, he seemed to take a Trump candidacy for granted.

For more, and the poll, look below or click

“He’d probably turn the White House into a golf club,” O’Reilly said. “There’d be nine holes on the ground of the White House then another nine across the street, by the Washington Monument.

“He’d probably run the country from right here (Mar-a-Lago). Of course, I’d expect to be secretary of state. Who’d be vice president? How about (New York Yankees slugger) Derek Jeter?

“But the main reason I’ll vote for Donald Trump,” O’Reilly added, “is that he’d probably deport (former co-host of TV’s  The View) Rosie O’Donnell to Tonga.”

Palm Beach waits for no one, except for Bill O'Reilly (Click on the Mike Jachles photo for more)

The campaign trail, O’Reilly warned, will lead Trump to places he’s never heard of before.

“Have you even been to Iowa,” O’Reilly asked from the grand ballroom’s podium. “Do you even know where Iowa is? I can’t wait to see him in New Hampshire in the middle of winter.”

O’Reilly also pointed out that Trump is considering a run because, like many, he perceives that America has lost its edge, its greatness.

But, O’Reilly added: American exceptionalism is alive and well, and singled out the It Happened to Alexa Foundation.

The non-profit was founded by Stacey and Tom Branchini after their daughter, Alexa, was raped in her college dorm in Boston. Through fundraisers like Friday’s, the group pays expenses for victims of rape who can’t afford to travel and appear at the trials of their attackers, which drastically increases the chances for a conviction.

“It costs a lot of money to be (at the fund-raiser),” O’Reilly said, addressing the audience, “and it’s exceptional for you to be here. We’ve got to get that spirit back (throughout the country).”

– Click here for the full photo gallery by Mike Jachles

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

For more on this story:

– Click here for last year’s event, and notice that O’Reilly is wearing exactly the same thing as this year

]]> http://www.page2live.com/2011/03/26/fox-news-bill-oreilly-donald-trump-factors-into-presidential-politics/feed/ http://www.page2live.com/2011/03/25/ericsson-open-here-come-the-hotties/ http://www.page2live.com/2011/03/25/ericsson-open-here-come-the-hotties/#comments Fri, 25 Mar 2011 18:47:44 +0000 Jose Lambiet http://www.page2live.com/?p=22776

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The Sony Ericsson Open tennis tournament kicks into high gear this weekend at the Crandon Park Tennis Center in Key Biscayne.

The ladies and the hunks have been in town for a couple weeks already for practice and promotional appearances. Above: Bethanie Mattek-Sands (left), Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, Brit Heather Watson, Germany’s Sabine Lisicki, Slovenia’s Dominika Cibulkova and France’s Alize Cornet.

– Click here for the photo gallery and click here for the celebrities at last year’s tournament

Among the men, Vero Beach’s Mardy Fish easily dispatched a Frenchman in his opener today while former Boca Raton resident Andy Roddick (below), last year’s Sony Ericsson winner, starts play Saturday against Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas.

(Click on the photo for more)

Mosher's booking mug (Click on the photo for more)

A well-known Palm Beach State College adjunct professor and freshly-retired Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputy was held overnight in the county slammer where he once worked after being arrested in a domestic violence incident.

Seventy-year-old Charlie Mosher, of Royal Palm Beach, was charged with aggravated stalking and aggravated assault after several alleged spats with his estranged wife, Norma Jean Hoefs, since last week. Hoefs, 57, declined comment but confirmed she was his victim.

– Click here for the Page2Live Hall of Shame

Mosher allegedly harassed the lady with incessant phone calls then tailed her in his car around their gated community.

At one point, Hoefs told investigators, she had to swerve off the road to avoid Mosher, who came right at her in his vehicle.

Mosher was released on $10,000-bond about noon today.

He was relieved of duty as a reserve deputy, a volunteer position. Mosher retired from PBSO in June after 22 years as corrections and training deputy.

The six criminal justice courses he taught at the college this term — including “interpersonal skills for corrections officers” and “defensive tactics” — have ended.

The school’s spokeswoman, Dr. Grace Truman, said Mosher has been an adjunct professor since 1992. His status at the school will be evaluated before next term, as is the status of every adjunct professor, she said.

– With Palm Beach Post researcher Niels Heimeriks