Return to sender: Christmas card didn’t come from Governor’s Mansion

TALLAHASSEE --
It is definitely not the Governor’s Mansion. There are no stately white columns on the modest house 3 miles east of the state Capitol.

But that’s the return address on envelopes containing a Christmas card and a $25 historical Christmas ornament sent to several thousand of Gov. Rick Scott’s supporters.

The mail is from Let’s Get to Work, the political committee raising money for Scott’s 2014 campaign, but the name of the committee appears on the envelopes as “Let’s Go to Work.’’

Scott’s committee has raised about $5 million toward 2014. Scott spent more than $70 million to win the job in 2010 but has indicated he will not spend as much of his own money to win re-election.

Steve Andrews, a Tallahassee lawyer embroiled in a bitter lawsuit against the governor, says his wife received one of the packages.

“It’s a typical intimidation tactic,’’ Andrews told the Tampa Bay Times. He says his wife has not donated to the governor’s campaign or his political committee and should not be on his list to receive anything.

Andrews went to the return address listed and discovered young tenants who were steadily tossing out all of the packages postal authorities were returning as undeliverable. Andrews collected a dozen of them and left them with a Tampa Bay Times reporter.

John French, the lawyer who manages Scott’s political committee, says it was all a mistake made by the printer. The return address should have been his home just down the street, the official address of the committee.

Andrews filed suit against the governor earlier this year in an attempt to keep the state from taking over his office building near the Governor’s Mansion. Andrews had a contract to buy the building from the estate of former Gov. LeRoy Collins when Scott pushed to acquire it so he could expand access to the mansion.

French said no one was attempting to intimidate Andrews or his wife.

“I’m sorry if Mr. Andrews felt intimidated,” French said. “No one was attempting to do anything but recognize that his wife had been a contributor to Republicans in the past. Her name will be removed from the list.”

French added: “If the governor sent me a pretty ornament, I’d put it on my Christmas tree.”

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'Django ' Ugliness Required for Hero's Journey

While it's a thoroughly entertaining movie, Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained doesn't pull any punches in its depiction of the horrors of slavery, and the film's stars tell ET that by facing the ugly truth of our shared history, we can grow to understand it and learn not to repeat it.

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"Those things are supposed to create dialogue," says Jamie Foxx. "It puts it in historical context. If we hadn't done it this honestly, there's no need to do the film. If you sugarcoated it, it would have been absolutely … terrible."

"I also think what's great about the film is it's a story of a hero, and in every fairytale, in order to have a hero, you have to have some dragons to slay," says Kerry Washington. "So there had to be the ugliness of slavery in the film so that you understand that Django's rise into his own heroic story [is] coming from somewhere -- that he's up against some really ugly demons. And yet in that context, in this ugly world of slavery, love allows him to conquer all of that. We had to be willing to show the ugly stuff so that the hero's journey meant something."

In theaters Christmas Day, Tarantino's action-packed "Southern" tracks a former slave-turned-bounty hunter (Foxx) who sets out to rescue his wife (Washington) from a ruthless plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio) with the help of his mentor, German-born bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz).

Video: Tarantino's 'Genius' Revered at 'Django' Premiere

"I'm fully aware that [the story] is fiction – that doesn't mean that I doubt in any way any of the horrific details of history," says Waltz. "If we all of sudden claim we understand [slavery] by making a movie, I think we would sort of sidestep a little bit the responsibility of dealing with the real thing."

Don Johnson, Bruce Dern, Walton Goggins, James Remar, Franco Nero, RZA and Samuel L. Jackson round out the cast of Django Unchained.

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Nelson takes top editor slot at Time Inc.

Time Inc. named Martha Nelson as editor-in-chief, marking the first time in the publishing company’s 90-year history that a woman has held the top editorial spot.

CEO Laura Lang broke the news to staffers in an internal memo, although the move had been widely anticipated.

“Over the past year, I have come to appreciate Martha’s intellect, creativity, sense of humor and her directness,” Lang wrote in the memo. “Her insights have been very valuable to me as we chart our course for the future.”

Nelson was given a big ovation when she was introduced to the managing editors late Tuesday afternoon as the new EIC.

She succeeds John Huey, a 22-year Time Inc. veteran who earlier had announced his intention to retire at year-end. He is going to take a fellowship at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy.

Nelson had been the launch editor of InStyle and People StyleWatch, two titles that helped the company broaden its appeal beyond its male-centric readership to women.

Like all leaders of legacy media companies, Nelson will grapple with declining print revenue and positioning the company for a digital future.

“I believe in the power of print, but we have to move to greater integrate the print and editorial staffs,” Nelson said in an interview. “We’re far down the path, we have a huge digital reach, but we still have a long way to go, figuring out mobile. I don’t think we’ve cracked the code on what the next generation of tablets can be.”

Nelson is also bringing Dan Okrent, a respected Time Inc. veteran, out of retirement to be an interim corporate editor.

Earlier in his career, he was the managing editor of Life magazine and the boss of Pathfinder, Time Inc.’s first big foray into the digital world. More recently, he served as the New York Times’ first public editor.

Nelson declined to comment on the rumored cutbacks that are said to be looming at Time Inc. for early next year.

Nelson was Huey’s No. 2 as Time Inc.’s editorial director, overseeing 17 magazines and websites in the Style and Entertainment Group.

She is the ninth editor-in-chief of the company founded by Henry Luce in 1922, when he launched Time.

kkelly@nypost.com

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Another record year for Heico Corp.

Heico Corp., a niche technology company with headquarters in Miami and Hollywood, reported record numbers for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year Tuesday.

Net sales jumped 16 percent for the quarter that ended Oct. 31 to more than $242 million; net sales for the full fiscal year increased 17 percent to more than $897 million, a record amount

Profits increased 29 percent to $23.8 million for the fourth quarter. For the full fiscal year, profits jumped 17 percent to $85.1 million, another record.

That far exceeded the company’s December 2011 projections for the fiscal year. Heico had estimated that year-over-year net income growth would be 10-12 percent.

For fiscal 2013, the aerospace, defense and electronics manufacturer is projecting 5-7 percent growth in net sales and net income.

“As we look ahead to fiscal 2013, the general overall uncertainty surrounding the domestic ‘fiscal cliff’ and the euro zone recession may moderate growth in our principal markets,” the company said in a press release. “We remain optimistic in our ability to execute a disciplined and flexible growth strategy while navigating these challenging macro environment circumstances.”

Heico makes components for the space, defense, communications, medical and computer industries as well as replacement parts for airplanes.

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Narcy Novack gets life in prison for killing her hotel heir husband

An epic family murder saga ended Monday when Narcy Novack, wife of Fontainebleau hotel heir Ben Novack Jr., was sentenced to life in prison.

Three years after she and her brother, Cristobal Veliz, planned and helped execute Ben Novack and his mother Bernice, the convicted killers, who had remained loyal to each other throughout the trial, made it clear their family ties would not extend to prison. Cristobal also was sentenced to life in prison Monday.

Each blamed the other for masterminding the murders, and their lawyers each asked the judge for leniency, claiming they were less culpable because the other sibling was pulling the strings.

But U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas, was not swayed, calling the crimes “vile.” The former Hialeah stripper, 56, did not attend the sentencing, a move that Karas called “a final act of cowardice,’’ according to those in the courtroom.

Novack, who ordered the hitmen to cut out her husband’s eyes, will now see little more than the inside of a federal prison. She will spend her days in a yellow jumpsuit and sneakers and sleep on a jail cot. Known as a late riser, Novack will be forced up at the crack of dawn each day to do chores, like washing floors and peeling potatoes.

Her new life will be far cry from her jet-setting days drinking champagne and having servants to do her cooking and cleaning.

With her conviction, Narcy Novack loses all rights to the bounty she hoped to claim after the murders. While she was designated as the sole beneficiary of his estimated $10 million estate, under Florida’s Slayer Statute, she now forfeits all rights to his fortune and Karas also ordered that any of her own personal assets be seized.

Novack, and her brother, both natives of Ecuador, were convicted in June of plotting the July 12, 2009, killing of her husband, 53, son of the late Ben Novack Sr., who built Miami Beach’s storied Fontainebleau hotel. Narcy Novack believed that her husband was going to leave her for another woman and that she would be left with a fraction of his wealth.

Under Ben Novack Jr.’s will, his mother, had she lived, would have been appointed as curator of his estate and received $200,000 in cash plus $2,500 per month. Though Narcy Novack would receive the balance of her husband’s property and money, as curator, Bernice Novack, 86, would have exercised great control over the purse strings, and likely would have made life difficult for her daughter-in-law, whom she had once accused of trying to poison her.

Novack’s attorney, Howard Tanner, argued that his client should be sentenced to 27 years, instead of life, arguing that her brother planned her mother-in-law’s murder. As he did during trial, Veliz claimed that Narcy’s daughter, May Abad, planned the killings, an allegation that prosecutors had dismissed years ago.

In sentencing the siblings, Karas spoke about a letter he received from one of Bernice Novack’s neighbors, Doug Reynolds. Reynolds pointed out that if Novack received just 27 years, as her lawyer suggested, she would conceivably see freedom in her mid-80s, or about the same age Bernice Novack was when her life was taken from her. Karas agreed that it would be an injustice if Bernice Novack’s killers would be able to live out their lives in freedom when Bernice wasn’t able to.

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Exclusive: Behind the Scenes of Tim McGraw's New Video

With the release of his highly anticipated album Two Lanes of Freedom about a month away, Tim McGraw gave ET exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the shoot for his new music video single One of Those Nights.

"This is how you shoot a video, you just hang around and sing songs," Tim said, as he coordinated with the director and crew while shooting in Nashville. "We play the song over and over and over again, and we'll do this all day," explains the Grammy Award winner/actor, who also gives us a tour of his makeshift dressing room.

RELATED: Country Stars Go Glam at CMA Awards

McGraw said the video for One of Those Nights -- which debuts tomorrow December 18 -- reflects a serious message that he thinks will appeal to all ages. "I think that's the great thing about this song, it's a place-in-time for everybody. It's one of those making-a-memory kind of songs, and when you hear it... whether you're 15 or 85, you've had those [memories] or you look forward to those."

Among the new album's 11 tracks are Number 37405; the lament of a singer-turned-convict, Book of John; an account of family members going through the journal left behind by previous patriarchs; and Highway Don't Care; a song featuring artists Taylor Swift and Keith Urban.

VIDEO: Paltrow and McGraw Stand Up to Cancer

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Family of slain 6-year-old Dylan Hockley releases statement

Dylan Hockley.

The family of Dylan Hockley, one of the 20 students slain in the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school last week, released a statement earlier today.

The full statement, obtained by NBC Connecticut, can be read below.

We want to give sincere thanks and appreciation to the emergency services and first responders who helped everyone on Friday, December 14. It was an impossible day for us, but even in our grief we cannot comprehend what other people may have experienced.

The support of our beautiful community and from family, friends and people around the world has been overwhelming and we are humbled. We feel the love and comfort that people are sending and this gives our family strength. We thank everyone for their support, which we will continue to need as we begin this long journey of healing.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the other families who have also been affected by this tragedy. We are forever bound together and hope we can support and find solace with each other. Sandy Hook and Newtown have warmly welcomed us since we moved here two years ago from England. We specifically chose Sandy Hook for the community and the elementary school. We do not and shall never regret this choice. Our boys have flourished here and our family’s happiness has been limitless.

We cannot speak highly enough of Dawn Hochsprung and Mary Sherlach, exceptional women who knew both our children and who specifically helped us navigate Dylan’s special education needs. Dylan’s teacher, Vicki Soto, was warm and funny and Dylan loved her dearly. We take great comfort in knowing that Dylan was not alone when he died, but was wrapped in the arms of his amazing aide, Anne Marie Murphy. Dylan loved Mrs. Murphy so much and pointed at her picture on our refrigerator every day. Though our hearts break for Dylan, they are also filled with love for these and the other beautiful women who all selflessly died trying to save our children.

Everyone who met Dylan fell in love with him. His beaming smile would light up any room and his laugh was the sweetest music. He loved to cuddle, play tag every morning at the bus stop with our neighbors, bounce on the trampoline, play computer games, watch movies, the color purple, seeing the moon and eating his favorite foods, especially chocolate. He was learning to read and was so proud when he read us a new book every day. He adored his big brother Jake, his best friend and role model.

There are no words that can express our feeling of loss. We will always be a family of four, as though Dylan is no longer physically with us, he is forever in our hearts and minds. We love you Mister D, our special gorgeous angel.

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Millions face higher taxes real soon without fix

While much of Washington is consumed by the debate over tax increases scheduled to take effect next year, big tax hikes have already gone into effect for millions of families and businesses this year.

More than 70 tax breaks enjoyed by individuals and businesses expired at the end of 2011. If Congress doesn’t extend them retroactively back to the beginning of this year, a typical middle-class family could face a $4,000 tax increase when it files its 2012 return in the spring, according to an analysis by H&R Block, the tax preparing giant.

At the same time, businesses could lose dozens of tax breaks they have enjoyed for years, including generous credits for investing in research and development, write-offs for restaurants and retail stores that expand or upgrade and tax breaks for financial companies with overseas subsidiaries.

Lawmakers in both political parties say they expect to address this year’s tax increases as part of a deal to avoid the “fiscal cliff” of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts scheduled to take effect next year. But as talks drag on, they are reluctant to deal with the 2012 tax increases separately because that would reduce pressure to reach a broader budget agreement.

Even if Congress does act, last-minute changes to federal tax laws could make it difficult for taxpayers to figure out their 2012 tax bills.

“We’re really expecting this upcoming tax season to be one of the more challenging ones on record,” said Kathy Pickering, executive director of The Tax Institute at H&R Block. “For your 2012 returns there’s so much confusion about what will be impacted.”

The biggest tax increase facing individuals for this year is the alternative minimum tax, or AMT. The tax was first enacted in 1969 to ensure that wealthy people can’t use tax breaks to avoid paying any federal taxes. The AMT, however, was never adjusted for inflation, so Congress routinely does that to keep it from imposing hefty tax increases on millions of middle-income families.

Congress last adjusted the AMT in 2010, and about 4 million taxpayers paid it in 2011. Without a new adjustment for the 2012 tax year, the AMT would reach an additional 28 million taxpayers, increasing their tax bill by an average of $3,700.

The tax would affect individuals making more than $33,750 and married couples making more than $45,000, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

The tax increases could vary greatly, depending on how much money a person makes and which deductions they qualify for. For example, a single man making $65,000 who paid $6,000 in college tuition and fees would get a tax increase of $837, mainly because he would lose a deduction for college expenses, according to the H&R Block analysis.

A married couple with two young children and a $100,000 income could face a tax increase of more than $6,600, if they live in a state that doesn’t have a state income tax. Most of that increase – about $4,015 – would come from the AMT. The AMT would also reduce their tax credits and they would lose a deduction for paying state and local sales taxes.

The AMT is expensive to fix. A two-year adjustment passed by the Senate Finance Committee last summer would save middle-income taxpayers a total of $132 billion in 2012 and 2013, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the official scorekeeper for Congress. The bill addressed many of the tax breaks that expired for 2012, and the committee passed it with bipartisan support. But the full Senate never considered it.

The AMT adjustment also includes a rule that affects the way tax credits are calculated for millions of taxpayers, even if they don’t have to pay the AMT, the IRS said. These taxpayers may not necessarily face a tax increase, but there could be delays in processing their returns.

Congress has always adjusted the AMT in the past, and the IRS is preparing as if lawmakers will do so again, acting IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller said in a recent letter to members of Congress. If lawmakers don’t address the AMT, about 60 million taxpayers, nearly half of all individual filers, would have to wait until late March – if not later – to file their returns while the IRS reworks its systems, Miller said.

“Essentially, IRS has said it will be chaos – chaos! – trying to make it work,” said Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, the ranking Democrat on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee.

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Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stephenatap

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Doyle Conner, longtime Florida ag commissioner, dies at 83

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Doyle Conner, the youngest House speaker in Florida history who went on to spend 30 years as the state's agriculture commissioner, died Sunday. He was 83.

Conner, who had been in poor health in recent years, died Sunday morning at the Cross Landing Nursing Home in Monticello. The Bevis Funeral Home in Tallahassee said it had received his body and was handling funeral arrangements. Conner would have been 84 on Monday.

“Our state has lost a great Floridian with the passing of Doyle Conner,” said current agriculture commissioner Adam Putnam. “Doyle was a mentor to me and defined the role of Commissioner of Agriculture for all others to follow. My prayers are with his family and the thoughts of the entire department are on him at this time.”

Florida's agriculture sales increased from $900 million when Conner was elected commissioner in 1960 to $6.2 billion by the time he left the post. Hog cholera was eradicated during the same period and Florida developed a method for detecting the Mediterranean fruit fly that became the worldwide standard.

He also created the Office of Consumer Services, now an official part of the agency formally known as the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Born Dec. 17, 1928, in the north Florida town of Starke, Conner was elected to the Florida House in 1950 at the age of 21 during his sophomore year at the University of Florida after getting his start in politics as the state president of Future Farmers of America.

A Democrat at the time his party held a virtual stranglehold on Florida, Conner won re-election to subsequent terms and was selected speaker in 1957 at the age of 28.

After five terms in the House, he was elected agriculture commissioner shortly before his 32nd birthday. Conner handily won re-election until his retirement in January 1991.

“These past 30 years have been mostly exhilarating, sometimes disappointing, but never, ever dull,” Conner said upon leaving office.

The agency has widespread responsibilities, ranging from inspecting red meat, poultry and dairy products to testing the accuracy of fuel pumps at Florida's service stations and ensuring the safety of the state's citrus crop.

When Conner first took office, the department also supervised the state prisons system and managed public land matters – responsibilities reassigned after its reorganization in 1969.

Conner's management style engendered lifetime loyalties from former associates.

“In all the time I worked for him, he had a policy that anytime any employee wanted to come to visit him they could have a 15-minute appointment to talk about whatever they wanted,” said Lee Hinkle, now a vice president at Florida State University, who worked for Conner eight years. “He was principled, a gentleman and understood the true politics of the South: Respect for people of both parties and respect for the process.”

During his college days, Conner was president of UF's agriculture club and a member of Florida Blue Key. He was later president of the university's national alumni association.

Conner, who grew up raising livestock and farming on 400 acres, retired to country life near Lloyd in Jefferson County after leaving his Cabinet post.

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Art for Wealth’s Sake: Art Basel Paints a Picture of Miami’s Separate and Unequal Worlds

It’s 10 p.m. on a Friday night. A naked girl is splashing about in the swimming pool at the Standard Hotel Miami. She is from New York and runs a nonprofit for homeless teens. We’ll call her Liz: “You’re so boring!” she yells from the middle of the pool.

It was a common refrain here during Art Basel Miami Beach—now the world’s largest contemporary art fair—where many of earth’s most privileged humans gather for a week of champagne and gawking at art (and at each other) in the sun.

The poolside celebration was for Terry Richardson, a fashion photographer known for his sexually charged (or sexually abusive, depending on your source) shoots. A cell phone company, HTC, spent $ 100,000 to sponsor the party, a book release for Richardson. This is a typical event, one of hundreds that occur during what is commonly referred to as “Basel.”

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Basel is now 11 years old. It’s gone from a decent sized art fair to an international marketing and branding orgy with few parallels. Because all the big collectors fly down private, and scores of cool young New Yorkers file in on JetBlue, luxury brands rush in to hit both their “target demos” and “tastemakers” in one shot.

In terms of tourism dollars, Basel is Miami’s highest grossing week. Hotels on South Beach were demanding thousands per night for rooms. The fair’s main sponsor was the honorable UBS, the very same Swiss bank that just settled a billion dollar fraud case with international authorities. UBS not only robs the world and stashes terrorist/dictator cash, it sponsors art fairs too—cool guys.

Most Miamians don’t care about Art Basel. The city is only 11 percent white (far and away the primary Basel target demographic), and most of the 40 percent Hispanic and 20 percent black populations live far from the South Beach glam, many in poverty. Miami has the second widest gap between rich and poor in America, after New York. Blacks make an average of $ 15,000 a year. Whites double that, at $ 37,000. But at $ 19,000, the city’s majority Hispanics aren’t doing so well either.

Disparity defines the art world too, with its hungry artists and rich collectors and patrons. So it’s fitting that the largest contemporary art fair in the world happens in Miami.

Few people are more detached from the short-end reality of income disparity than the global art tribe. These arbiters of the cultural elite fly around the world to various openings and fairs then retreat to galleries, museums and studios in their home cities before heading out again. Of course, there are exceptions. Some artists at Basel retain a socio-politico aesthetic. A good example is Barbara Krueger, whose text-orientated pieces mocking consumerism and political power were selling for $ 200,000 to $ 500,000 and became the talk of the fair.

Bearing many hallmarks of a third world city, Miami breaks down into two distinct populations. The rich live across Biscayne Bay on beautiful beaches and gated islands. The poor are stretched across downtown’s grid, where every block headed west from the bay is worse than the one before it. The city has few economically diverse neighborhoods.

The two Miamis can easily be visited on the same day. Last week. Alex “A-Rod” Rodriguez, the New York Yankee third baseman with the largest sports contract in history, was having a party in his $ 30 million modernist manse.

I skipped A Rod’s soiree, mainly because I hate the Yankees, to hang out with Dee, a 22-year-old drug dealer who lives on west 20th Street downtown. All he wanted was customers: “Man, who down here needs anything? I’m fucking broke. I live in the projects with my aunt. Gotta get out.”

Dee said he’d take any job—as in, “I’ll work at Chick-fil-A, man!” Saddled with a criminal record, he’s never been hired anywhere.

We cruised over to 75th Street, the main drag in Little Haiti, where public housing is painted lime green and similarly awesome pastel paint jobs cover buildings advertising W.I.C and Western Union.

“There are no banks here,” Dee tells me. “We don’t have enough money.”

UBS—where are you?

The South Beach Basel crowd hosted quite a few Hurricane Sandy benefits. But I didn’t find one art world benefit for Miami’s poor. There is a definite willful ignorance in plopping your billionaires down at dinners and six-figure parties in the name of “culture” while ignoring masses of people who are in dire need of said culture and are readily at hand: The impoverished residents of Miami.

Back in New York, I catch up with Liz, the naked pool gal. She’s in Tompkins Square Park, the epicenter of Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Stella is smiling. Her art world disdain has clearly dried off.

“I have no idea why I was in Miami,” she says. “Who were those people? Why are they so boring, and why did that one guy in the black suit keep saying Le Baron over and over again?”

Around the same time I get a text from Dee. “You know anyone still down here? Tryna get that $ .”

I inform Lee that Le Baron is a Parisian disco that does a chic party every night of Basel.

Lee receives this information as she’s handing out clean needles and Narcan to the local crust punk populace, all of whom she knows by name.

“Do these people really care?” she asks.

Sadly, Basel people do seem to express more concern about French discos and wearing aggressive outfits than they do about the inequality in America—maybe best seen in Miami’s two worlds.

I have an idea for Art Basel next year. In the process of exchanging all those millions for bought and sold visions, try and help some of the people from Miami.

Are wealthy visitors obligated to alleviate some of the local misery when they party in the midst of poverty? Take a position in COMMENTS.

These are solely the author’s opinions and do not represent those of TakePart, LLC or its affiliates.

Related Stories on TakePart:

• Dispatch From Morocco: ‘Excuse Me, Aren’t We About to Start a War Here?’

• America, Syria and the State of Child Soldiering 2012

• Census Shows Sharp Increase in U.S. Poor

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Ray LeMoine was born in Boston and lives in New York. He’s done humanitarian work in Iraq and Pakistan and has written for various media outlets, including the New York Times, New York Magazine and the Awl.

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