Miss Vero's Beach House

WHAT D'Y'ALL SAY? IT'S 2011? REALLY? MUSTA DOZED OFF...

2011-01-02T23:41:00.006-05:00

... Oh Hunnies, Miss Vero has so much to tell y'all! Just give us a moment to wipe the snow outa our eyes and find that dang dog...

2010-11-02T23:09:00.001-04:00

*image via gawker

"If you're going to tell people the truth, you better make them laugh; otherwise they'll kill you."

MEET MICHAEL ARTH...

2010-10-08T12:20:00.001-04:00

He's running for Gubna and we're votin' for him!

Bet y'all would never hear about Mr. Arth in good ole red Indian River County. Let's fix that, shall we?

MICHAEL ARTH FOR FLORIDA GOVERNOR

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

WILSON!

2010-10-04T12:16:00.002-04:00

Just when y'all think that ole Charlie Wilson has floated away...

"It's official. We are on the air starting Monday 5 to 6pm on WAXE 1370am.

The Indian River Report is live and up to the minute. A full hour of news from Indian River and North St. Lucie Counties. News every 7 minutes for your drive home plus interviews with todays newsmakers. Find out what happened while you were at work.

The Indian River Report will be hosted by a number of different people and will be immediately popular because of its content not its personalities. The first host will be Charlie Wilson. Stay tuned for a roster of hosts and co-hosts to be announced."

Here's a pic of Mr. Wilson congratulating Mr. Flescher on primary night in the county commish race. We recently met with Charlie and he told Miss Vero that even though he's staying out of politics, he will still be in the public eye - or ear! We wish Charlie all the best in his new endeavor!

Don't have a radio? Who does? y'all can listen online! WAXE1370AM

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

MORE MAGIC FROM MARK!

2010-09-20T03:15:00.019-04:00

Ahhhhhh....... what could be better than to spend an afternoon at Mark's at the Pointe? Especially after dealin' with a few irksome issues that have been popin' up around town. So, Miss Vero decided to pay our favorite hair guy Mark Rodolico a visit, y'all may remember our incredible transformation from Frodo to fabulous feet on our last outing? Well hunnies, we just love the attention to detail at this local establishment. Everything from monogrammed towels, to massages while you wait, to wonderful refreshments and libations! Oh and, speaking of which, y'all need to enter to win a free cocktail party at Mark's.

Let me say that again, A FREE COCKTAIL PARTY AT MARK'S AT THE POINTE!

So we scheduled an appointment and Mark agreed to clear the place out for us because we knew this was gonna take some time. We suppose that after they had to use the Black and Decker heavy duty sander for our pedicure that hedge clippers and hazmat chemicals would have to be employed to fix our mane. Well, we walked right in and apparently, from Mark's expression, we were a tad overdue...

Our coif was as frazzled as our nerves and needed to be documented...

But hunnies, the results just speak for themselves...

Our favorite hair guy preforms his magic once again!

So what are y'all waitin' for? Call 772-492-8200, after all, if he can help ole Miss Vero, he really is magic!

Just a little side note: Mark is embarkin' on a new weight loss program and we wish him luck, although Miss Vero has absolutely no advice to give in this regard. Well, sugah there is a first time for everything.

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

TCPALM! WHY ARE YOU BACKPEDDLIN'?

2010-09-18T14:37:00.003-04:00

According to the September 17th, Florida State Agency for workforce press release, Indian River county does indeed have the third highest unemployment rate...

http://www.labormarketinfo.com/library/press/release.pdf

Check out this map...

http://www.labormarketinfo.com/library/maps/laus/unemp_labforce.pdf

Is any one a bit perturbed yet?

Is it any wonder Miss Vero needs a good stiff martini right about now?

VERY INTERESTING...

2010-09-18T11:48:00.002-04:00

No, there is not a mistake in the TCPALM link in the following article. After we posted this yesterday, the article was removed as were the comments. We heard some one referenced Miss Vero and "POOF" the original article magically disappeared! Thanks to a wonderful secret admirer for pointing this out.

MWAH!

WE GOT YOUR STIMULUS, RIGHT HERE!

2010-09-17T16:01:00.004-04:00

Hey y'all guess what? TCPalm has a big story today about Indian River County having the third highest unemploymen t in the state and it's such a big story that they had two (yes two!) reporters contribute to this amazing piece of investigative journalism.

With such stellar coverage y'all would think that a little more info would be provided like, hey! Why is our little ole county in such a mess? What about all that dang stimulus money, wasn't that supposed to help, how much did we get? Where'd it all go?

Well hunnies, Miss Vero is feeling particularly generous today and we know that those folks over at the PJ/Palm are so overwhelmed, we thought we'd take two measly minutes out of our day to help 'em out a bit, here goes....

Marine Bank and Trust received 3 MILLION of your tax dollars under the TARP program. Now, before y'all get riled, those nice Wisconsin Farmers did manage to return $235,713 of it.
Oh and huh, they are the only bank in Indian River County to receive funds.
bailout.propublica.org/entities/303-marine-bank-trust-company

The city of Vero Beach received $2,186,651.00 for....
projects.propublica.org/recovery/entity/056970478

or over 9 million dollars according to another source.
stimuluswatch.org/2.0/performance_places/city/FL/32960/vero-beach

Indian River County received $87,352,878.oo, yes, 87 MILLION!!! in grants and loans!

What's really interesting is to see the recipients of the loans. Where was Miss Vero the day that offer came out - "hey y'all, we got your stimulus money come on in for a small business loan!" Nope, don't remember hearin' that.
projects.propublica.org/recovery/locale/florida/indian-river

Ok, so now y'all have some ammunition. What y'all do with it is your choice.

MWAH!
missvero@live.com

WAIT!

2010-09-12T14:44:00.002-04:00

Forgive Miss Vero's gin soaked memory, we forgot to tell y'all that there is a moving SALE! going on at "Footprints" . Awright, proceed....

SANDAL SCANDAL!...

2010-09-09T18:27:00.019-04:00

...or, yes we have some Bonannos!

Y'all may remember these wonderful images of Miss Vero in Las Vegas, Hollywood and Savannah, wearin' our favorite sandals of all time, which we have purchased right here in Vero Beach.

Well hunnies, after getting properly pedicured at Mark's at the Pointe, we decided to stop in and visit with Miss Cathy over at "Footprints" formally known as Stephen Bonanno's Sandals and Resort Wear. It seems that Miss Cathy has gotten involved in some legal squabble over the sandals and folks just don't know what to believe when they hear rumors or read minimal coverage of situations in the anemic daily newspaper, so natch, we had to get it straight from the source.

This is what Miss Vero has been able to understand - There was a huge investment on the part of Miss Cathy and her adorable husband Rob to take over a lease of a store in Stuart, open another one in Vero and all manner of what it takes in this economy to run a business.

Everyone knows that customers in Vero can be demanding, especially when your husband thinks you're payin' $100 or more for a pair of dang flip flops. (Rob told us about some women who don't want the box or bag and just slip them in their purse so that so their spouse is none the wiser!).

Howevah, let's remember that these are no ordinary toe thongs but the coolest, most comfortable resort sandal y'all could possibly wear. So of course there is a high demand. Cathy and Rob know that customer service is the key and when custom orders were taking more than three or four months, they knew they had to remedy the situation. So they resourced their product from the other Bonanno sandal factory, so that they could deliver their orders as promised.

Now, of course there is a lawsuit involved and to be quite honest, Miss Vero tends to shy away from all the legal mumbo jumbo and prefers to see everyone involved have their day in court, not to mention we are not privy to all the exact details. So it would be unwise for us to comment, except that this sandal scandal seems to have a life of it's own. Let's just start with the other factory.

The other factory? Well yes hunnies, guess what? Stephen Bonanno is not the only Bonanno in the biz, there's also his ex wife Monica. Now when Mister and Misses B got dee-vorced back in 2008, Miss Monica got the original factory and continued to produce the sandals that she and her husband had previously and mutually manufactured in West Palm Beach, calling her creations "Original Bonanno Sandals".

And after the parties parted, Mr. Bonanno set up shop in Stuart with his parents and sister, also manufacturing the sandals, calling his "Stephen Bonanno Sandals". He and his family claim that they have the original and had a hand in the creation of the famous Palm Beach style that was favored by none other than Mrs. Jackie Kennedy. In fact they have a photo of her on their website with a caption, so it must be true!

But wait...

There's that famous photo again...

This time it's on the Jack Rogers website. Who is Jack Rogers? Oh, just someone else layin' claim to the famous style, only they call theirs the "navajo" and they're pretty popular too. Most fashion historians (yep, there is such a thing!) claim that Mrs. Kennedy did wear Jack Rogers.

In fact, we have nevah seen so much debate over a simple sandal. Would y'all believe there's even a third player in this pedi protest? Another person, Stephen Salario says that he is the rightful heir to the duplicated design!

Oh my, y'all could spend hours researchin' just who has the best, the most comfortable and the original and Lawd have mercy, we did just that. Interested in this hot debate? Check out some of the outrageous back and forth on this shameful shoe subject. Honestly, some of the accusations in the comment sections are scandalous!:

"Biscuits are Never Boring"

"Jen Fitch Style - Who made Jackie's Sandals?"

"Pink Preppy Party girl - Jack Rogers, Stephen Salario and Stephen Bonanno... Oh my!"

"Glamour Fashion Blogs"

Our favorite comment was on the blog "Millie Deel - all For a Picture of Jackie O"

"The sandals were originally made by my grandmother's brother, Luigi Pucillo. He used to display them in his brother, Gus Pucillo's famous Worth Ave., Palm Beach restaurant, The Petit Marmite. The Kennedy family frequented this restaurant and that is how Jackie O got to wearing them."

Because it seems, the only one thing that anyone can agree on is, that Mr. Luigi Pucillo was indeed the original maker of the sandal. Now, who else has legitimate claim to being a co-cobbler, we'll never know.

All we do know is that we love our sandals and we are happy to get them locally from Miss Cathy which brings us right back to where we started hunnies and that is Vero Beach.

Cathy and Rob Riggs will be opening "Footprints" at their new location on Ocean Drive, in just a few weeks and when they do, Miss Vero will be there to take some pictures of the new store and tell y'all about it.

The most important thing to remember is this - we are all about Vero and supporting local business. We understand how many folks are strugglin' with keepin' their small storefronts up and running and we're glad to have them, whether on the beach, downtown or in between!

Oh...and we could always use another pair of sandals, after all, it is Florida hunnies!

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

ONE RECENT AFTERNOON..

2010-09-01T16:23:00.014-04:00

...Miss Vero was pampered...really, really pampered.

And so we got to thinkin', should we share the secret of our special pamperin' place with y'all? Well yes, we think we should!

We have finally discovered the best place in Vero to have a pedicure - Mark's at the Pointe!

In a quiet corner, tucked in the back, is a delightful little place to have our -nevah in closed shoes toes- polished up just right...

It was so relaxin'to sit a spell and look out over the water, a libation in hand, while a big ole manatee lazily swam by...

And Miss Melanie is one of the nicest people who is willing to perform this arduous task...

...because honey our puppys were lookin' like we had just come from hobbit land...

And now they look and feel like angel feet!

We sure don't know how Mr. Mark did it, but he has created one of the hottest salons in Vero. Not on the beach and not in town, but a perfect location in just the right spot - Royal Palm Pointe. We can't wait to go back again next week for a major makeover in the hair department. Would y'all like to see some before and after photos? Of course y'all would!

We'll work on that, but in the mean time what don't y'all check out the contest on their web site, it's a deal right after our own heart -

Enter to WIN your very own
Mark's At The Pointe
"Cocktail Party"
Tell us about your group!
You could win
a girls night out!

There's no doubt in our mind that we will be spending a lot of time at Mark's, for one thing we need it - Bad. For another, it's fabulous hunnies and Miss Vero encourages y'all to find out for yourselves. Why do we like it so much? Well, we have been like the Goldy-locks of salons and spas around town, trying to find the perfect place. Some are just too uppity for our liking and then some are just too much of a revolvin' door, with folks coming and going. And the last place we had our coif cured, just one day was out of business! So, now we have Mark's and guess what? It's just right!

MWAH!
missvero@live.com

IT'S A SMALL TOWN, AFTER ALL...

2010-08-24T02:23:00.002-04:00

...and of course y'all, it is the summer. So what has Miss Vero been up to lately? Oh, not much hunnies, just hanging out with the poodle as always.

We do plan on returning to a more timely schedule of bloggin. Why, y'all may ask? (we certainly had to ask) Well, so many of you have expressed a sincere disappointment in the lack of entertainin' local material. Looks like we're gonna have to oblige...

But until our fabulous return (and we promise it'll be soon, with new and exciting ideas!), please check out our wonderful sponsors and especially this site!

We miss y'all!

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

SORRY HUNNIES BUT SOME FOLKS JUST PLAIN AIN'T NO GOOD...

2010-07-31T00:44:00.001-04:00

DO NOT CLICK ON "missvero.com" YOU MAY RECEIVE A COMPUTER VIRUS!

We all had a good laugh about someone posting Mr. Lemmon's face and other lame excuses for humor, howevah, we spoke to a friend tonight that said her computer froze and had to be rebooted three times. So now we know that the slimy troll is not only a troublemaker but an evil one to boot!

Thanks for y'all bein' so supportive and understanding.

email us if y'all overly curious.

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

YUCK!! TROLLS AND HACKERS ARE CRAWLING ALL OVER THE BEACH HOUSE!!!!

2010-07-19T16:40:00.004-04:00

Our official website url is missverosbeachhouse.com

FACE BOOK RANT!

2010-07-19T01:01:00.003-04:00

Thanks so much to DJ Silvio, Lee, Wade and our little Liam for taking us from funk to funky this weekend. The party's at STAX after 10pm (of course) on Saturday nights, in case y'all were wondering. And a special MWAH! to our dear friend, Mr. Muse of the World, for a fabulous late night din-din!

Miss Vero

And since y'all missed us so much, we just have to ask- What kind of no good sassinfrassin, carpetbagging, monkey drool, unimaginative people STEAL from poor lil' ole bloggers like us? Hmmmmm? Well kids, we can tell y'all this, there's a few of their kind slitherin' 'round town and we don't cotton to it. Oh! and not just Miss Vero, but our dear friend Max Newport has been violated as well! Indeed! The nerve!

DO NOT CLICK ON "maxnewport.com" YOU MAY RECEIVE A COMPUTER VIRUS!

“I'm afraid of nothing except being bored” *

2010-04-20T03:36:00.004-04:00

* Greta Garbo

Was it any wonder that Miss Vero instantly fell in love with the gorgeous print on the wall in STAX? What's that? Just what exactly is STAX? Well, we did tell y'all that Miss Kitty Wagner sold the Epicenter of Cool- Undertow and it is now officially reopened and renamed "STAX".

As fond as our memories will be, the new restaurant has seamlessly blended the best of Undertow with a complete makeover and fascinatin' new menu. First of all, the old girl has gotten a new dress, thanks to the magic of Eco Colour. The interior is fabulous and the restrooms are chic and Veroesque - another great addition to the downtown scene.

Miss Vero was kindly invited to the soft opening last Wednesday night with many family and friends of the new owners Jim and Jane, who are long part time (and now full time!) residents of Summer Place.

Chef Josh Niebels turned out some new favorites like cheese crisps with cream-cheese pepper jelly (a Southern staple, sugah) and a lick-the-plate asparagus and fruit salad with a yummy Asian dressing. Nothing on the menu over $18 and that includes a melt in your mouth, buttery filet mignon.

In fact, Miss Jane has the menu "stacked" so that chicken, salmon, mahi, tuna or the buttery filet can be added to any small plate or salad and most of the chefs presentations are "stacked" as well. Our particular favorite is the corn pudding base that is "stacked" with a green salsa, red Mexican BBQ sauce and pulled pork.

So now y'all get the name right?

We also like the idea of having continuous service from noon through dinner, so that if y'all would like to go in for cocktails and appetizers it's a treat to be able to enjoy some Smack fish spread with your favorite libation, indeed it still remains a full liquor bar. Y'all do know about Smack, right? Oh, hunnies it is the absolute best fish spread EVAH!

Miss Jane also suggested coming in late in the evening for a sweet fix and the New Orleans bread pudding is to die for, so save room for this one kids.

So there y'all have it - Official Grand Opening, Sunday May 16th. Miss Vero suggests that y'all get in a little sooner before the word gets out. Who will be able to resist great food, wonderful hosts and reasonable prices? Y'all will see some familiar faces and a few reminders of the Undertow but hunnies, this is definitely not the same old place and we doubt there will be any dancing on the bar anytime soon. Looks like Miss Vero will just have to calm down a bit!

Check out the STAX facebook page for all the details and check out Miss Vero's facebook page for a few pics.

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

ARE ANY OF Y'ALL PAYIN' ATTENTION?

2010-04-01T14:37:00.000-04:00

MORE BLUE SKIES...

2010-03-25T17:32:00.004-04:00

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY OPENS A DEMOCRATIC HEADQUARTERS, LOCAL MEDIA RESPONDS "MEH"

Do y'all think that it would be news worthy to interview the Democratic candidate opposing birth-certificate-obsessed Congressman Bill Posey? Nah, not here in good ole Red Indian River County, hunnies.

But Miss Shannon Roberts was there to meet, greet and collect the necessary signatures to get her on the ballot and guess what SHE'S A ROCKET SCIENTIST!!!!

No, not really. We were just takin' a tip out of the Congressman Posey alarmist playbook.

But she did work for NASA and has some real qualifications like a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science, with a minor in International Relations from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; a Master of Public Administration Degree from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and a Doctor of Public Administration Degree with a focus on government and business effectiveness from the University of Southern California.

So there.

It is Miss Vero's pleasure to introduce to y'all - Miss Shannon Roberts! Who will, if anyone who has a brain votes, be our next United States Congresswoman.

Now if y'all think we're being a little unfair to our Republican Realtor incumbent, Mr. Posey, we'll just provide y'all with the information to make an informed decision all by your selves:

Miss Shannon Roberts for District 15

Mr Bill Posey currently representin' District 15

And quite frankly kids, we're just about as tired of him as he is of his cushy leather seat.

Oh yeah, we're done trash talkin', so let Miss Vero tell y'all about the coolest thing at the Democratic headquarters party last Sunday - THE BAND! They were the cutest bunch of kids we've evah seen in town, rocking with songs we actually knew the words to! Adorable! If there's one thing that Miss Vero loves, it's children that are useful. We can't stand spoiled little whiners "But I can't get a job, I'm only twelve!" excuses, excuses.

Anyhoo, they call themselves "Urban Warfare". They have a facebook page (doesn't everybody) that is in severe need of updating, hopefully our little blurb will prompt them to get up to speed. We hear that they'll be playing at the 2010 Hibiscus festival with another teen band called "Mercury", so we'll look forward to seeing lead singer Scott Tavlin and his crew. Y'all can click on the link for the very detailed info.

Our Democratic Mayor, Mr. Kevin Sawnick was in attendance and at this point we pretty much see him every where we go, so yes, he's out and about doin' his mayorly job. We don't think y'all need to see another picture of Mayor Sawnick from Miss Vero, so we decided to post a picture of some one who just looks like a politician.

Who is this gorgeous couple? It's Miss Vero's friends, Mr. Jorge Colon and his beautiful wife Mayra! Both talent attorneys here in Vero and we are honored to be of their acquaintance. A big MWAH! to our mutual friend, who made the introduction of Miss Vero to the Colons. Why are we so enamored? Well, in spite of the fact that every one would love to see Mr. Colon run for public office, he is busy with his work at Harvest Food Outreach, which deserves a post all it's own...

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

HARVEST FOOD & OUT REACH CENTER

2010-03-25T16:56:00.000-04:00

www.harvestfoodoutreach.org

facebook.com/Harvest-Food-and-Outreach-Center

On Wednesday, Miss Vero was a guest at a luncheon that introduced us to a remarkable organization that is helping our community. In a packed banquet facility, we noticed a few big politicians (that would be Gary Wheeler and Wesley Davis) in a room of around 300. All joking aside (sorry we couldn't help our self), we were pleased to see the County Commissioners among the supporters for this incredibly important cause.

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

If y'all agree with this Chinese Proverb (Yes, Chinese!) then we believe you would agree with the programs of Harvest Food & Outreach Center.

We Sincerely encourage y'all to check out the website and facebook page and to consider volunteering or donating to this organization. It is not very often that Miss Vero becomes serious and asks for y'all to do somethin' rather than party, so please hunnies take the time to do this.

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

BLUE SKYS OVER VERO

2010-03-25T14:03:00.013-04:00

Y'ALL ARE ENTITLED TO OUR OPINION

Miss Vero can hardly keep up with our self these days and what have we been up to y'all may ask? Good things kids, good things. Now, if y'all have been paying attention - and we sure as sugah hope that's the case, y'all will remember that Miss Vero is neither a Republican nor a Democrat but an Independent who likes to think for themselves. That being said, we have indeed attended many a Republican function, because honestly y'all can't swing a cat without running into one. So imagine our joy when we get to even out the score card with a few, shall we say, more enlightened soirees.

One in particular that we are supportive and most fond of is Planned Parenthood. And those of y'all that think this is all about killin' babies need to get your ignorant heads out from behind your hateful signs and listen up. Perhaps if we can prevent a tragic, unwanted pregnancy from ever happening through education and birth control, the need for the thing that y'all hate so much, just might not be needed after all! Besides, y'all can't legislate morality any more than y'all can legislate stupidity. In other words kids, making somethin' illegal doesn't make it disappear, it only makes it accessible to those who can afford it. Rich women will still get abortions, only it'll be known as a "procedure" and poor women will have unwanted children or worse, die. Well that's the way it was before Roe V. Wade and that's the way it'll be if we ever go back in time. Period. Off our soapbox now, thank y'all very much.

What? Simmer down, we hear ya. Y'all don't want your tax dollars goin' to certain things. Yup, Miss Vero agrees whole heartedly. We don't want our tax dollars going to kill babies neither! Only the babies we're talking about are those that are some one's son or daughter in a foreign land. Bring those babies home NOW. Hey, Do y'all think if we stand in front of the recruiters office with a graphic sign, it'll end the "war"? See? It's a stupid idea.

Ayright, enough deep thinkin', let's talk about the party.

Miss Vero was so delighted when our high society friend, Miss Mary Schenkel, called and invited us to the Cocktails with a Twist party for Planned Parenthood, Tuesday night. Actually, all we heard was "cocktails...blah, blah, blah..." and we were out the door. When we arrived at the Vero Beach Country Club, not only were we surprised at the number of attendees but also at the wonderful evening planned. There were cocktails (of course), food, auctions, awards and incredible dancing. It was like a private show of Dancing with Vero's Stars. Miss Pam Director was not only a gracious hostess but dazzled the guests with her dancing talent!

Dr. Harold Schulman and his wife Rosie, who we knew many years ago, were feted and thanked for their tireless work with Planned Parenthood. Y'all can read Miss Mary's account (and see some really great pictures!) of the evening right here:

Veronews.com/plannedparenthood

And while Miss Mary was working, we did manage to snap a picture of her! Y'all know she's gonna hate us for this, but oh well...if y'all go out with Miss Vero, be prepared to have fun!

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

HOME GROWN

2010-03-25T13:15:00.001-04:00

Are they not just they most adorable girls you've evah seen? It's the Natalie's Orchid Island Juice girls! We love their commercial in the grove, we love their juice and we think they're doing an especially good job. How refreshin' to bring out some Orchid Island Juice to Polo on Sunday. Just goes to show, y'all nevah know who you'll meet at the polo field!

www.orchidislandjuice.com

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

THE LONG WEEKEND...hic

2010-03-13T13:04:00.033-05:00

We do declare, it all started so innocently....

On an other wise rainy and what could have been a boring Thursday afternoon, Miss Vero was introduced to the most amazing new product that we think will be a part of our regular repertoire. It just so happens that we have made the acquaintance of a wonderful gentleman, Mr. Christian Castren, who is the Vice President of Sales for this product. What is it y'all may ask? Well, it's Vodka distilled from Oranges! Florida Oranges! Could anything be more perfect for Miss Vero?

We are invitin' y'all to check out their website:
4orangevodka.com

We certainly hope that it will be available in our area and perhaps some savvy barkeep or resort will be smart enough to offer it soon because it is exceptional. We can image Miss Vero with a chilled glass of 4oranges in our hand at all times and no, we have not been paid to say that, but we can dream!

VEGAS CAME TO VERO!

But it got bored quickly and left.

Ayright, for any of y'all that missed out on seeing Jambalaya, well hunnies, y'all most certainly did miss the most spectacular event that we have witnessed on a stage in this town. Evah!

We can't even tell y'all how long the show was, because we were slack-jaw and perpetually amazed - as was the rest of the audience from start to finish. It was truly astonishing and hunnies, that is quite a lot to say since Miss Vero has seen just about everythin'.

Combine Cirque du Soleil, a Broadway Musical, Las Vegas showgirls and Carnival in Rio with a Caribbean flavor, mix in a few of y'all's favorite songs and that would be just the tip of the iceberg. The first number sung by the incredibly talented Hunter Gerard ( who everyone fell in love with instantly) was "The Rhythm is Gonna Get Ya". Boy, did it and how appropriate given that the after party was held at Costa D'Este.

Fabulous Producers and great friends of Miss Vero - Mr. Chris Foster and Mr. Mark Wygonik (along with Miss Tanya Burka - Amazing Aerialist Performer) have a hit on their hands!

Y'all would think that after a grueling show that the dancers would be a bit tired but these professionals danced it into the ground at Costa. Now we have nevah claimed to be a great photographer but Miss Vero did have to jump up to take this shot when the crowd gathered round Miss Cici Kelley as she danced to Beyonce's "Single Ladies". No big deal for Miss Cici, since she also happened to appear with Beyonce at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards performing the exact same routine. Yes Ma'am, that's a sample of the talent of this show.

Of course our little Liam and party girl Annie were having a splendid time!

Spanish Gutarist Kenny Nieves poses with principle singer and Motown recording artist Miss Regi Brown.

So many talented dancers and incredible singers Fredericka Meek and Travis Lathareo Clark were all on hand mingling with home grown Vero kids who have obviously done well for themselves as members of this exceptional show.

LUSH-CIOUS LIAM'S BIRTHDAY BASH!

It was quite a strange, eclectic but obviously party oriented little gathering. Y'all know there's so much we simply cannot show or tell, so here's the G-rated version kids:

Magnificent Megan strikes her best 1940's pin up pose - adorable!

Have y'all met Shorty? Well look out because this very tall drink of trouble is in town and brought his DJ skills to Dukes bar at the Surf Club Hotel for Liam's Soiree. Shorty's motto is "I spill more than most people drink". Oh, my. Miss Vero is betting that Shorty Vest will become quite the popular boy. Did we mention he's a model?

And here's Miss Claudia, Miss Caroline and that rascal Mr. Billy Collins sharin' the love. Poor Miss Claudia couldn't move a muscle because of a serious health issue, so we all made sure to keep her comfortable. Bless her heart for having the courage to come out on crutches, we all wish her a speedy and full recovery.

Fab Fun Freddy! Our dear friend, "Muse of the World" introduced us a while back and Miss Vero just loves Freddy, he's always so positive and high-larious-ly Fuuunnnneeeey. MWAH!

Dukes Bar at The Surf Club hotel -Sorry bar staff if we had y'all runnin' but thanks for being such great hosts! And one more pic we just love...

Shorty Vest and our Birthday Boy Liam. Liam started of the evening in cool white slacks with a blue paisley shirt and gorgeous white hat with retro stripes and later changed into his Lady Gaga inspired black cowboy ensemble. Quite a party indeed.

SUNDAY FUNDAY! ...BUT BOO HOO AND BYE BYE TO UNDERTOW!

It 's sad but true kids, Undertow, the "Epicenter of Cool" has been sold and the new owners are there as we speak transitioning smoothly with Miss Kitty Wagner. What are the details? Well, we suppose we'll all find out soon enough.

We're just so happy for Miss Kitty on her life changing year, the sale of Undertow and her engagement to handsome French Canadian, Mr. Pierre Doyle. Miss Vero and Miss Kitty have become quite close over the years and as much as we're gonna miss our favorite hang out, we are none the less, overjoyed for our friend's happiness.

What a turn out! Deb Daley and friends held a successful and fun- fundraiser for Relay for Life Sunday afternoon, with some fabulous raffle prizes and the greatest band to come out of Vero - The Land Sharks!

www.landsharksband.com

Perhaps our old pal, Mr. Max Newport can verify this but we somehow remember the Land Sharks playin' at Marvin Gardens back in the day. Y'all would have to be here more than twenty minutes to know that (translation - that's more then twenty years in Vero time).

Up to actual good this time -There's our Darling Miss Charlotte and Miss "BB" enjoying the fabulous weather on the patio of Undertow.

Miss Kitty enjoying the last days of her Kingdom.

LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST - THE CITRUS GRILL HOUSE...

The scene - an elbow to elbow packed veranda and dining room. Now, we could have taken a few pictures but to be honest, y'all would not have been able to recognize a soul. It was a Sea of Blue Blazers - the Island of John uniform and haute beach couture. Why, Miss Vero even noticed a perfectly coiffed matriarch in what was believed to be a classic pale yellow channel suit. Indeed.

Try as they might, the usual flock of well to do Veroites adored one another, yet the real belle of the ball was the food, the decor, the service and the perfect ocean views that is the Citrus Grill House.

We did have a little chuckle to see Mr. John Jetson (not attired in the obligatory blue blazer but just as fetchin') brush past us. Miss Vero had heard through the grapevine that he'd been askin' about us and well, there we were!

General Manager and gracious host Mr. Bob Moulder greeted us, as well as Chef/Owner Scott Varricchio. The attention to detail, from the tobacco barn wood floors in the dining room, to the delectable appetizers served meticulously by well trained and pleasant staff, will guarantee that the newest addition to Vero's dining scene will be an instant success.
citrusgrillhouse.com

Miss Vero recommends y'all make reservations.

And now, we must rest up for who knows what adventure is just around the corner, hope to see y'all soon...

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

2010-03-07T22:22:00.004-05:00

SURF’S UP, Y’ALL!

Miss Vero is surprised that not more has been said in the local media regarding the newest boutique hotel on the beach, The Surf Club. The old Vero Inn has been remodeled and updated in refreshing beach chic. A unique spot, that reminds us pleasantly, of old Florida. We can just picture folks in their best pink and lime green outfits, on a lazy Sunday afternoon lolling about, enjoying cocktails and conversation.

Dukes bar, with it's retro surf decor, promises to be open seven days a week -which of course, we love. From our sampling of food at the opening party, a few weeks back, we are certain to find things we like on the menu. At the Sea Grill, which is located near the pool, Miss Vero will be taking advantage of the fresh air before those dreaded, swelterin’ summer months get back, which is just around the corner, hunnies!

At the VIP event last month, we had a chance to chat with host, Mr. Gary Hughes and later with Mr. Anil Dang, who was kind enough to send us a few pictures. We also took a few our self, did y’all notice the publications available in each room?

Pictured - Designer Robin Bell, a guests at the party (we apologize Mr. Dang did not send the names). Mr. James U. Clarke - a gracious gentlemen whom we’ve seen previously in the press, partying with The Historical Society of Palm Beach County is one of the managing partners of the Surf Club Hotel and was instrumental in preserving the old Bradley Park Hotel in Palm Beach.

The Surf Club Hotel also has some fabulous pictures on their facebook page, while their website is simple and gorgeous. Miss Vero encourages everyone to check it out, perhaps we’ll see y’all there? We hear that some great parties are just around the corner...

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vero-Beach-FL/SURF-CLUB-HOTEL

http://www.surfclubverobeach.com/

Yes, another fabulous place in Vero Beach to spend some, relax and offer to our out of town friends. Oh! Did we mention our pampered pooches are welcome too?

Miss Vero is so pleased when folks invest in our community, while maintaining its charm. Thank you Surf Club and…

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

YOU'RE SO VAIN, YOU PROBABLY THINK THIS BLOG IS ABOUT YOU...

2010-03-04T18:41:00.012-05:00

...don'cha, don'cha?

Well no hunnies, it's about MissVero isn't it?

Good, now that we have that cleared up, let's talk about folks that cooperate and don't pull each other apart. Last week Ben Prestage performed at Undertow and we were so pleased when we got this e mail from Miss Lynn at Bodega Blue;

"I get asked at least once a day "when is Ben playing at Bodega again?"...well, we don't have another date yet but Ben assures me he will once he gets his schedule together for the summer. So in the meantime, let's take a BODEGA BLUE FIELD TRIP down the street to our good friend Kitty's place...THE UNDERTOW tonight, Saturday Feb. 27th at 8PM to see BEN PRESTAGE!!! See you there!"

And that hunnies, is how to behave with class.

Miss Vero, as always, has been busy, busy, busy!

We've been attending some incredible "House Concerts", the latest show at the home of a wonderful couple, (we'll call them "The Avalons") hosting the talented Mr. John Flynn, presented by the magnanamous T-Shirt Cathy (a nickname given to her by Arlo G.) and attended by the Count and Countess du Roseland. Wow. But just check out Mr. Flynn's site to get up to speed.

Here is a photo of Mr. Flynn, Mr. Nelson and Mr. Guthrie, at one time but not that particular time...

Mr. Flynn was also given the guest house during his stay at the home of our dear friend Fashionista Frannie, who is rummaging through Miss Vero's closet as we speak, for cowboy attire and a fabulous easy-rider-esque fringe jacket to wear to this year's Citrus Gala and Cattle Barons' Ball, happenin' this Saturday night. Hard to believe it's the tenth year of this event, especially when Miss Vero remembers gettin' our picture taken for the saucy-glossy-just launched, Vero Beach Magazine at the first ball!

Miss Vero cannot attend this year's event due to a previous engagement and let's be honest hunnies, we are pacin' ourselves for what will be the most TREMENDOUS OSCAR PARTY IN VERO HISTORY!

At the home of the most fabulous entrepreneurial couple in town, we would spill all the details but let's just say, the last time we attended a soiree at their palatial estate, it took us months to recover. Yes, kids some things are better left to fuzzy memory. One lesson learned - y'all cannot go for a dip in the pool with an iphone and save your cocktail in the process. Well, drink and learn, that's our motto!

And on a sad note, One of Vero's first ladies - Miss Lucy Auxier passed away last week. Miss Vero is proud to say that we remember Miss Lucy fondly. With her passing, yet another part of what was Vero, has gone too. Please children, Miss Vero begs y'all, please learn your Vero history:
http://www.steds.net/Treasure/Auxier.htm

Veronews.com has a lovely memorial post and we whole heartedly encourage y'all to read it and remember a woman who did some many great and wonderful things for our community.

Bless you Miss Lucy...

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

AS PROMISED...

2010-03-02T13:24:00.001-05:00

...Sunday did "Pick-Up"! Check out our morning with Mayor Kevin Sawnick!

SUNDAY SHOULD PICK UP...

2010-02-27T16:01:00.004-05:00

That's right kids, the weather should be sunny and it'll be a great day to help Mayor Kevin Sawnick clean up the beach. Also, a little after party at Mulligan's sounds like fun!

check out the event page and let them know y'all are attending:

facebook/mulligans

"Join Vero Beach's Mayor, Kevin Sawnick and the community for the 2nd Mayor's Beach Clean up. The event will start at Mulligan's Beach House. Meet at 11am, clean the beach for about an hr. and meet back at Mulligan's for food, refreshments, and a mingle with the Mayor.
The last one was allot of fun and we cleaned about 175 lbs of trash off the beach!"

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

YAPPY HOUR!

2010-02-20T02:10:00.004-05:00

Hey y'all, can you help a doggie out? Click on this pictures to get all the details. We all need to be at Ti Amo Sempre Sunday afternoon to help our good friend (and groomer to the stars), Mr. Martin Lavender of Blue Ribbon Boarding and Grooming.

Now here's the important part - Miss Vero has last minute tickets for the unbelievable raffle for sale! That's right, here's y'all's chance to win a fabulous weekend getaway at Vero Beach Hotel and Spa with dinner at Cobalt or the Epic Hotel in Miami, courtesy of Kimpton Hotels. $10 for 1, $20 for 3 and $50 for 10! Just e mail us and Miss Vero will deliver them personally. That's right hunnies,we will bring the tickets to you!

We just love the Vero Beach hotel and Spa and so did our little Pup-pup, y'all may have seen his post "Dog Days..."

So please e mail us immediately! Do it now! Doggies need vests!

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

MISSIN' PERSON!

2010-02-18T21:52:00.001-05:00

Hey!

Any of y'all notice that Mr. Kenric Ward is missin'? Where do y'all think the kanoodlin' Mr. Ward will be found?

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

BEYOND THE BEACH HOUSE...

2010-02-15T11:15:00.002-05:00

...at VeroNews.com

* cartoon source - Jeff Stahler

Well hard to believe hunnies, but little ole Miss Vero has been hangin’ around the cyberspace cocktail party for almost two years now. Y’all may have noticed that our blog, missverosbeachhouse.com, has some changes and additions in the form of youtube videos, facebook badges, myspace updates and a whole bunch of other such stuff and not too much actual bloggin’.

And y’all would be justified in askin’ “Miss Vero, just what in the H. E. double toothpicks is goin’ on?” and we’d have to remind y’all just how fast our world is changin’. Now some folks are really good at adaptin’ to change and others, well… not so much. Let’s just say that Miss Vero is always ready for the next big party.

Just remember when Miss Vero started there wasn’t much competition in terms of challenging the daily newspaper and its opinion columnist that claimed to represent Indian River County. Just how a local newspaper could appoint one of their insiders to speak for us, who had no idea who we were, ruffled our feathers a little too much and that started the whole blog ball rollin’.

Way back then in May of 2008, there weren’t no 32963 newspaper showin’ up in y’all’s mailboxes. There weren’t no Veronews.com to check out every morning and there weren’t no facebook with folks beggin’ for fans and attention. There was just little ole Miss Vero with some clever photos and our take on local politics, gossip, restaurants and parties. Now it seems everybody’s got a blog, a facebook page, or a half baked agenda.

We are actually thankful that Miss Lisa Zahner has taken over the political muckrakin’, that Keith Carson instantly posts videos on Veronews, that we run into Miss Mary Schenkel at almost every fun event and that it’s easy for new businesses to promote themselves with facebook. Even our once guest blogger Max Newport has his own forum. Shoot, we have to get in line to be snarky to some folks these days, but kids, we don’t mind one bit. In fact, now that the party’s in full swing, it’s time to start another party!

We would never want to be a passenger on a media Titanic and that’s where daily newspapers and radio are headed. Now we know some of y’all will argue, that there are those that still tune into there favorite radio show or like to get ink stains on their hands, but we bet that these are the same folks that still have “I like Ike” buttons in their sock drawer and when they’re gone…Well, let’s just say we don’t expect any children (anyone under forty these days) to fill up the gaps in the audience.

Our good friend Dr. John (who, we have a sneakin’ suspicion is over 40) asked us once, “Who in their right mind would pay for radio?” referring to the new subscription radio stations. Of course Dr. John and I can remember listening to radio programs, watching just five TV channels and getting up off the couch to change those channels. The answer is that cable TV changed all that and you’ll find it hard to find anyone who’s not paying’ for something that we all used to get for free. So yeah, paying for radio is not a strange idea for anyone that doesn’t remember those days.

By offering young folks exactly what they want in news, radio, TV (tivo and hulu!) and especially WHEN they want it on the internet, why should anyone waste their precious multitaskin’, textin’ time on any old media content? Can y’all image anyone cozyin’ up to the radio to listen to “The Shadow Knows” or waiting patiently in front of the TV for “Lassie” to return after a word from our sponsor? Nope, neither can we, those days are long gone, hunnie.

As much as we fondly remember old Florida, the smell of citrus groves, night bloomin’ jasmine comin in through the open jalousies, cool terrazzo floors, train travel, white gloved cocktail parties and Miss Lucy and Miss Alma Lee’s store - those things are behind us on our journey but certainly not forgotten. Someday kids will look back and remember the turn of the 21st century, the days before computers, when cars ran on gasoline that only cost $3 a gallon and those will be their “good ole days”.

The other night at a party, Miss Vero offered to write down some information and asked for a pen. “I never carry a pen anymore” Our acquaintance announced as his thumbs quickly typed our email info into his blackberry.

“What’s that thing called, y’all know what we mean, I’ma have to look that up.” A second later our assistant had googled on his Iphone and provided Miss Vero the answer to the question. If my phone chirps it’s a text and when it rings it’s an old friend. These days it’s doin’ a heck of a lot of chirpin’.

Well, this is now and we love livin’ in the now. Maybe we’re not the fastest to adapt but we sure are willin’ and that’s what’s important. So look for some changes and some “new media” at the Beach House. Let's just say we like to look at things from a different perspective. Miss Vero won’t mind one bit when the kids take over, it’s their world after all and the best we can do is offer some wisdom and a cocktail! We’re not sure they’ll take the advice but the cocktails nevah go to waste!

See y’all? Some things never change.

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

LOOKING FOR SUMTHIN TO DO TONIGHT HUNNIES?

2010-02-12T11:07:00.005-05:00

Well then look no further than Downtown for a perfect trifecta of an evening:

BODEGA BLUE - Our favorite Blues Boy, Ben Prestage, will be preforming tonight at 8pm. Ben always commands a standing room only house and it's a miracle to us how the staff at Bodega greets everyone and makes sure that the drinks keep a comin' without missin' a beat!

CAFE MOJO - Rock star Karaoke and Drink Specials! Caroline and Billy guarantee fun every Friday night, so why aren't you there, sugah?

And of course y'all can always find some action at the Epicenter of Cool- Undertow. New boy on the block, Justin Gillespie, will be playing. It's his first Friday night gig there and he's a little shy so be gentle with him, kids!

Have Fun y'all and...

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

BLOG MUCH?

2010-02-09T15:58:00.007-05:00

We suppose we have some 'splainin' to do...

2010-02-09T10:58:00.001-05:00

Well looky at those pretty pictures that Miss Vero posted yesterday with absolutely no explanation at all! What has happened to our gin soaked brain, have we finally hit our limit? Well, let's just say we are busy beyond our wildest imagination and hit the "publish" button instead of the "save" button and there y'all have it.

So let's get started catchin up...

The first picture was taken from a recent trip to the gorgeous city of Savannah, Georgia, where we were visitin' with some kin but always make a point to do touristy things. Since Savannah's liberal alkeehaul policy requires that y'all follow the local open container law strictly - meaning that you must have an open container with you at all times while wakin' around, we consider Savannah and New Orleans the only two great Southern cities outside of Florida (in our little ole humble opinion, which requires a good time be had). We'll get to some N'awlins pickins in a little bit but for now, back to Savannah.

As y'all can plainly see we are indeed wearing yet another pair of gorgeous and always fashionable, Bonanno Sandals! Since we missed our favorite show at Club One with the famous and fabulous Lady Chablis, we thought we'd take a touristy picture outside of Mr. Jim Williams' Mercer House. Now iffin any of y'all don't know the story of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" by now, for pity's sake get yourself down to the library or order it up on netflix, there's just no dang excuse!

After having the most delicious lunch at The Pink House (a tourist destination that should not be classified as such and because Miss Wilkes wasn't open), we stopped into yet another hot touristy spot, The Pirate House. Sitting at the bar and visiting with folks and who do y'all think we run into? Some kids from Vero, that's who! They were doing the incognito touristy thing too. Vero's own cutey pie, Miss Katie McKenna is second from the left!

We finished the evening in one of the greatest dive and hole in the wall bars of all time -Pinkey Masters! A whole lotta history just oozes out of the walls along with the nicotine and whiskey.
"The Pinkie’s clientele is also varied, hosting an assortment of incognito powerbrokers, drunken partiers, roughnecks, gays, SCAD students and professors, lots of news reporters, and an occasional off-course tourist." Our kind of place.

We 've written about Savannah before, so if y'all are thinkin' about makin' a trip - the links that we've just mentioned plus our previous post (just click on "Savannah, GA at the left on the "List") should provide all the info one would need for fabulous food and a rip roarin' good time.

When we got back in town, Miss Vero got a call from our good friend, best blogger, facebook conqueror and favorite real estate Queen, Miss Barbara Martino-Sliva, who invited us to the opening of the new Surf Club last Thursday night. Miss Barbara said this event was right up Miss Vero's alley and boyee, was she right! Yet another fabulous boutique hotel has opened up on our beach and the party was heavily attended. Spotted among the myriad of realtors and go-getters were County Commish, Big Ole Gary Wheeler with an entourage including the first-to-leave-'causes-he's gotta-get-up-early, Mr. Rhett Palmer. Another political dynamo in attendance (insert appropriate sarcastic tone), ex- Mayor and office squatter, Mr. Sabe Abell.

Open bar and fantastic food! We especially loved the bacon wrapped filets, enormous sliders and turkey coquettes. Our friends, The Ryan Larson group (perhaps you've seen them in this video?) provided the perfect music. Miss Vero can't wait to get back, we adore the decor of Dukes bar and the extraordinary rehab and magic that owner, Mr. James Clarke, the gracious Mr. Gary Hughes and their partners have performed to bring this property back to life. Check out their amazing website!
surfclubverobeach.com

We had a lovely tour of the resort and we spotted two publications prominently featured in the rooms (hence our unexplained photos). Y'all might recognize the ultimate source for local news verobeach32963!

Speaking of vb32963, we have a little more to say about news and bloggin and will deliver that post to our friends at Veronews.com as quick as we can.

But for now, let Miss Vero fulfill at least one promise and give y'all a little bit of WHO DAT! from a good friend of ours in N'Orleans. As y'all probably know by now, we detest the sport of football, but even our ole vinegar veined self could not help but watch The Saints win the Superbowl. Miss Vero knows many folks in NOLA and sure does love that town. It is takin all our strength not to get in the convertible and drive to that party right now! But alas, hunnies, there is plenty goin' on right here in our own little town and while we get our vodka bottles in a row, straighten out our mixers and get down to takin' care of some serious business, we will leave y'all with this fabulous video done by our good friend Mr. Carlo Nuccio to help celebrate their victory and the indomitable spirit of the deserving City of New Orleans!

MWAH!
missvero@live.com

TIM TONIGHT!

2010-02-01T12:26:00.005-05:00

In case y'all are wonderin' what to do with yourselves this evening...

Miss Vero suggests y'all make it to see Tim tonight. That's Tim Dorsey kids, Miss Vero's favorite Florida author. Mr. Dorsey will be at the Vero Beach Book Center to tell y'all about his new book, we love us some "Serge" so y'all know we'll be there!

Click HERE for details!

Or catch up with SERGE!

And if for some reason y'all can't make it, there's an Amazon book thingy on the right and y'all can go ahead and buy a book with that. Convenient, huh?

Now Hunnies, Miss Vero just got back from yet another trip, so let us unpack and we'll be back a little later to tell y'all about it.

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

MISS VERO LOVES...

2010-01-27T10:42:00.003-05:00

Vero Beach Polo!

Check out their website or come out on Sunday...

MWAH!

PRINCE PIERRE VON YORQUEE REQUEST YOUR ATTENTION MILLIONS IN FOREIGN BANK BUT BUY US NOW DRINK PLEASE!

2010-01-19T14:23:00.026-05:00

So it’s ten o’clock at night and I would normally just be getting ready to go out for the evening but after a hectic day starting with a phone call from Miss Vero (having a meltdown over using a Blow torch to de-ice the windshield on her new Bentley this morning) and having two mimosa’s for breakfast, meeting the hunnies for martinis for lunch - I’ll tell you I was stuffed, since I ordered six olives instead of my normal four!

Miss Vero wanted to interrupt my pre happy hour nap to do some shopping. She found the best, absolute unbelievable little shop in town called “HAUTE MESS”! It is the cutest, funkiest little boutique that has ever hit town and leave it to Miss Vero to get the word out. First of all, it is a little piece of heaven in it’s décor and merchandise. New and Vintage mixed like a perfect martini and too cute for words. Style and sophistication that made us feel like we were transported to a big city, if only just for a fabulous moment. I bought the most stunning studded blazer which I have been wearing non stop and well, you’re just going to have to find out for yourselves. Go visit Amber and Nicci at 1916 14^th Ave nest to the French Quarter or check out their website:

HauteMess.com

It is very difficult to keep up with Miss Vero and most mere mortals cannot. So, I decided to take my uh-um “sinus” medication and we hit the Cobalt room for the best happy hour and I proceeded not to eat my olives, I figured hey, I had a big lunch. Then, after driving around town in Miss Vero’s newly windshield-less Bentley, yelling four! out the window at everyone playing golf around town and explaining to the cops that the open container law does not apply to a chauffeured vehicle and anyway by the time he came up to the window I had already chugged the rest of the champers in site. Since I wasn’t driving, I very matter-o-factly told him that I can’t be bothered with this little indecent exposure problem that he was trying to arrest Miss Vero for and I explained at this point, we were very late for an evening of fine libations and exquisite (and by exquisite I mean extremely drunken and bad) dancing at what the “Word on the Rue is” the hippest new place (well only new place) in town, Joey’s.

So we arrive to the door to what seems to be a gaggle of bouncers checking I.D.’s, everyone’s I.D., including the oldest lady in existence Miss Vero, which I find comforting since I don’t like to go to jail R. Kelly style. We entered into a wonderful play land of debauchery at its finest. Now the first thing that I noticed, after I got my martini of course and my eyes started to adjust to the ever pulsating lights from the dance floor, was that wait a sec people in Vero Beach do know how to dress. What, have my prayers been answered? I mean really, not one boat show is sight? I think maybe three shirts total didn’t have collar and only five of the collared shirts were polos. It was the twilight zone of Vero fashion, a parallel universe one might say. Has this little Fashionista finally found a place in this town where he doesn’t stand out like a sore thumb as the best dressed person in Vero? I am not saying I wasn’t the best dressed because I was, I am saying that wow there are people in this town who know and care about what they look like. This got me thinking. I have lived here almost all of my entire live, except while attending fashion design school, and I only know a third of these people. Everyone and I mean 99.8% of everyone here doesn’t just dress well but is extremely attractive. I don’t mean extremely attractive in the way that I forgot to eat dinner but am now of my fourth dessert. Come on people, I have been doing the martini diet since I could eat, but actually attractive and all appear to be of somewhat affluent descent or professionally upward mobile on their own.

But regardless of trust fund status or not as the remixed Lady GaGa come over the speakers. Our good friend (and distant relative) Miss Vivian Von Voot, FINALLY shows up, so much more than “fashionably late” and we can no longer control our self running out to the dance floor. In true Viv style she finds the cutest boys in room, gay, straight and otherwise to dance with us… God I love her! So after having a little work out Miss Vero and I go out back to warm up and throw another cigarette on the fire and have very intellectual conversations about politics where everyone didn’t have the overly “conservative” point of view and would actually listen to what other people had to say.

Miss Vero, in her true Royal way, holds court and counsels. There were young real estate agents, pre med students, pilots, and all around people who were actually going to accomplish something other than becoming a good old boy like their fathers or having five babies before twenty, like most of the people do in these parts.

After much needed and refreshing conversation and the best networking done in one place imaginable, I suggest to Miss Vero that we head off our traditional toxic hell run, since we don’t need to be wasting gas and driver might just get mad and quit if he has to clean volcano sauce off the leather upholstery again, that we should try one of their pizzas that seem to be always available out of the wood burning brick oven. Which I have to say my motto of “nothing tastes as good as thin”, felt terribly wrong that evening after having that delicious slice.

As I drank my bloody mary the next morning (mom always said have 8 servings of veggies a day), I sat, ala Carrie Bradshaw, in wonderment whether or not Vero finally accomplished what has seemed to be the un-accomplishable by making a night club that might actually be a refreshingly chic place for the younger hip upwardly mobile of Vero who don’t wear boat shoes and talk about well nothing but themselves doomed to turn into the same old Vero.

Haute Shopping? Fashionable Nightclubs? Just what kind of world has Miss Vero pulled the curtain back on? I don’t care, I’m so glad she’s here.

Stop it! Love it! MWAH!

HAS IT BEEN THIS LONG?

2010-01-15T11:53:00.021-05:00

Oh hunnies! Has it really been this long since Miss Vero visited with y'all? A whole, entire month since we posted at VeroNews.com? What in tarnation has our gin soaked brain been up to? Well, y'all might say we've been in hibernation mode or y'all might say we've been in hyper-nation mode depending on how y'all look at these things.

Yes, Miss Vero has been out and about around town but we've also been busy on a top secret project out of town - a little sumthin we like to call "refillin' the coffers" if y'all know what we mean...

So let's back track a little bit and just as excitin' as watchin' your neighbors vacation video, let us tell y'all what we did during the Great Winter of Vero 2009 ('cause today it's back in the 70's and the Great winter of Vero is officially over).

Let's see... where did we leave off? Oh yes, Vegas. What happens in Vegas usually stays in Vegas but we did manage to bring back a photo of our Bonanno sandals in front of the Fabulous Las Vegas sign. Y'all know that Miss Vero is not as limber as we once were so getting our ole leg up that high was quite a accomplishment! While we did hobnob with celebrity friends and attend some rockin' parties, our biggest thrill was meeting the "Old Man" from the History channel show "Pawn Stars". We just walked right into the Famous Gold and Silver Pawn shop and there they were, all three generations, just like on TV! What can we say? It's the peculiar things in life that make us happy hunnies.

But back in Vero there were a quite few Christmas parties that needed attending and our favorite soiree was at the lovely home of Miss Michelle Genz, who, by the way, is a fabulous hostess with an exceptional local to entertain. We bumped into our pal Jose Lambiet, Gossip God at the Palm Beach Post and caught up with all the celebrity goin's on. Then, a few rowdy Miss Vero fans literally dragged us to an after party at Miss Fran Love's Clubhouse, where there just happened to be a Drag Show and other such debauchery. All we can say is that a certain Miss Claudia is an instigator who will get y'all in trouble every time. HA! Just kidding kids, y'all know the truth is that Miss Vero enjoys every minute of fun and is truly the spark that ignites that troublemakin' fire! A big ole MWAH! to Miss Claudia for being so much fun and to Miss Fran for givin' us so much Love!

On Christmas eve we were back in town (somewhat unusual for us) and went out looking for a party. It felt like Vero had become the Island of Misfit Toys, stragglers wandering around like olives without martinis, just looking for a leader and so we found our niche and prepared to fill it. Joey's had a quiet grand opening party that night and we enjoyed the hospitality of Mr. John Bono and his fabulous brick oven pizzas. We met up with Mr. Bob Moulder from the new Citrus Grillhouse as he was enjoying the quiet time before his grand opening next month. By now the word is out and last weekend when we got to Joey's again the place was PACKED!!! It is by far the hottest thing that has hit Vero since....well, since us! we don't have to wish them luck, only offer congratulations because they've hit it big hunnies. Mr. Bono promises that they will be open each and every night, kitchen open till 12:30 and bar open till 1am. Finally... a real night club in Vero.

And then it was out of town again, feeling like a pinball bouncin' around and the one thing we regret is missing Miss JJ's New Year's Day party. Howevah, we were so pleased to see Miss JJ honored on the front page of verobeach32963's January 7th edition with a wonderful story that y'all MUST read. Y'all might remember back last spring, (March 3rd, to be exact) we did a little post about a party we did attend at Miss JJ's home where she greeted everyone with a huge silver bowl full of mint juleps! Now y'all can understand why we are so sorry we missed the New Years Day party!

The saga of Good Ole Charlie Wilson and Mr. Ken Daige. Hmmm, what to say about that? Those were our choices for City Council back when the election was on. Funny how things work out. We wish Mr. Daige the very best and are genuinely happy for his appointment. We know how much this means to him and how hard he is willing to work for his community and as we have said before, we also know that his hiatus has given him a new perspective and we expect him to not be the same Ken Daige this time around. As for Charlie...somehow we think he'll be all right. He's weathered this storm and everything serves a purpose. Given his short time in office and the excellent coverage by Lisa Zahner on local politics, perhaps the citizens of Vero Beach will now demand better representation and more transparency of their elected officials. One thing we love, the look of utter frustration and impending heartburn on Tom White's face every time Vero Beach City Councilman Brian Heady (Ha!) begins a sentence. Every. Single. Time.

As always the fun continues downtown, emanating out from the Epicenter of Cool - Undertow and rippling over Cafe Mojo and Bodega Blue. Last Friday night was a trifecta of fun with all three hotspots offering live music to cool and curious crowds. One of Miss Vero's favorite blues boys, Ben Prestage, gave a standing room only performance at Bodega. We also ran into our favorite Mayor Kevin Sawnick (who has his own website!) and we just love to see out and about. This weekend should be no slacker and expect to see these three establishment hummin along once again. and the best thing is y'all can find a central place to park downtown and WALK to all three.

Times up! Y'all don't have the attention span for more of our bablin' do you? Didn't think so, but hunnies there is so much more...Please click on all the highlighted fabulous links and oh, we almost forgot - THE SHOW! Yes, some of the children who house sit for us thought it would be fun to turn on a camera and record their antics in Miss Vero's absence. Well we expected them to raid the alkeehaul of course, but who knew they could be entertaining to boot? Who know what may come of it? Yes, indeed.

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

THE CHAMPAGNE IS ALREADY FLOWIN AT THE BEACH HOUSE...

2009-12-23T22:00:00.002-05:00

ENJOY!

BACK TO VERO!

2009-12-13T23:26:00.003-05:00

Now if y'all think it was easy to get our ole leg this high up in the air, think again hunnies! Let's just say that Miss Vero is not as limber as we used to be. Of course, y'all will notice that we are wearing a pair of Bonanno Sandals even though it was snowing in Vegas! Yes, snowing! Honestly we didn't mind cooling off a bit and getting to see some of our famous friends in FABULOUS Las Vegas. Y'all know that any town that describes itself as "fabulous" is our kinda place.

So we've had a couple days to get adjusted to the other "V" town- Vero and we can tell y'all that there's nothing like leaving here to put all the pettiness of local politics in perspective. As y'all can probably guess, Miss Vero has a little somethin' to say about these matters and well, just click on over to Veronews.com to see for yourselves, it should be up shortly if it isn't already.

If politics isn't y'all's thing, perhaps a little shoppin' might be better. The day before we left on our little vacay, we spent some time with the lovely Miss Cathy at Bonanno Sandals. We were so happy to come back and find out that y'all can still get a custom pair in time for Christmas. Here's the details:

Order by December 21st for a Christmas Eve store delivery! Call 772-219-8008 or visit VeroBonannoSandals.com to place your order!

Of course Miss Vero would love another pair, but why don't y'all get some for yourselves? You have been good this year, right?

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

SOMETIMES WE JUST HAVE TO...

2009-12-06T01:43:00.002-05:00

...go to a little ole place called "Sin City", where Miss Vero's behavior is considered quite normal.

But don't worry hunnies, we'll be back real soon. Let us know how it goes for poor ole Charlie Wilson, we can't bear to watch the courtroom theatrics, contemplate the Chihuahua conspiracies or hear about Mr. Tom White's "heartburn" any longer. We thought Las Vegas would be a better place to get a dose of reality.

MWAH!

WINE SO FINE, FOOD DEVINE!

2009-12-04T00:44:00.011-05:00

Wednesday evening's wine dinner at Undertow was the most fabulous dinner Miss Vero has had in all of this year. Honestly hunneys, it was fabulous! It doesn't hurt one little bit that the wine pairing was perfect, the service was paced accordingly, the setting was an intimate dinner party, the music created the perfect mood, the company was fun, interesting and fabulous, oh and the food - kids the food was the best we have ever seen in Vero. True, all true.

The Seller to Cellar guys - Bob and Bob from TV10 taped their show before the appetizers arrived. Miss Vero has to say that they are just the sweetest, most wonderful local TV stars that we've evah met!

Our good friend and Designer, Miss Holly Brennan was seated at Miss Vero's table. Her amazing husband, the internationally famous artist, is away doing a commission for the Kingdom of Qatar...

Funny and charming, our favorite architect Mr. Peter Jones was also in the mix...

Wine consultant Kelly Brown, Citrus Grillhouse GM Bob Moulder (enjoying some fine dining before he hits the ground runnin'!) and Howard Imber of the C. Donatiello Winery...

And our fabulous host... Miss Kitty Wagner! Thank you so much Miss Kitty for a wonderful, unforgettable evening! MWAH!!!! Miss Vero adores you.

MISS VERO WELCOMES THE HOLIDAYS

2009-11-28T18:05:00.001-05:00

...at Veronews.com

FINE WINE AND DINE, NOT TO BE MISSED!

2009-11-25T16:42:00.005-05:00

And...

Bob Roth is going to shoot a
Cellar to Sellar episode during dinner!

This is it Hunnies, the wine event of the year! Intimate, exciting and not to be missed, if y'all have never been to one of Miss Kitty Wagner's wine dinners, y'all haven't lived. It's at Undertow, of course, the Epicenter of Cool! Miss Kitty has a serious following when it comes to these dinners and they fill up fast, so please call now, y'all do not want to miss this event.

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 at 6:00pm

Undertow restaurant and bar...

Welcomes you to a special Dinner featuring Rare and Limited Production Wines

Presented by Howard Ember of

C. Donatiello Winery

Pleased to Meet You

Passed Hors D’ouevres

C. Donatiello Heldsburg Ranches Chardonnay

Go Fish

Herb – Seared Wild King Salmon

Spinach and Shiitake Mushroom Sauté, Roasted Butternut Squash

Rhubarb Gastrique

C. Donatiello Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2006

2750 cases

Duck Season

Crispy Chinese Five Spiced Duck Leg Confit

Spicy Chevre Polenta Cake, Baby Arugula Salad

Michigan Sour Cherry Coulis

Bradford Mountain Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel 2005

1950 cases

Where’s the Beef?

Classic Boef Borguignon

Roasted Root Vegetables, Classic Potato Gratin

Red Wine Jus

Bradford Mountain Grist Vineyard Syrah Dry Creek Valley 2005

500 cases

Just Desserts

Champagne Laced Lemon Thyme Sorbet

Fresh berries, Hazelnut Shortbread Cookie

Chocolate Truffles

Dessert Wine form the Chef’s Collection

$ 65 per person excluding tax and gratuity

Reservations Required please call 770 – 0977

Limit of 50 guests please

If y'all have any questions or trouble, Miss Vero will be happy to help y'all out, just send us an e mail and we will personally see to it that your reservation is guaranteed !

See y'all there!

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

THE CLOCK IS TICKING...

2009-11-25T13:55:00.002-05:00

What evah is Miss Vero up to? Well hunnies, y'all will just have to be patient because our next adventure is comin' soon...

... ooohhh and it's a big one kids!

Just like Christmas, y'all better watch out, cause we are makin' our naughty and nice list, so now's the time to start askin' yourselves - which list are y'all on?

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

WHAT GOOD IS SITTING ALONE IN YOUR ROOM?

2009-11-18T11:50:00.004-05:00

Miss Vero is here hunnies! And not with any namby-pamby, can't spell an actors name correctly review, no! Miss Vero is here with 10 very good reasons why y'all should see The Vero Beach Theatre Guild's production of Cabaret.

#10. So we should never forget.
The history lesson of the time period, leading up to the Nazi reign in Germany and the human emotions - pride, fear, indifference, is a lesson that unfortunately needs to be reinforced and remembered. In a short interview with actor Greg Harris, he recounted how an elderly woman came up to him after the show sobbing, with her memories of that time resurrected. Yes, this production is that powerful.

#9. The lighting team of Cabaret.
Perfectly guides and shadows the actors, through gut emotions, nightclub hilarity and frequent venue changes in a seamless and vibrant way.

#8. Choreography and Costumes.
Broadway worthy, sharp, professional dance routines. Honestly, they are that good.
Costumes that make the dancers look comfortable through some difficult moves. Not to mention the integrity of the historical pieces and essential details.

#7. Miss Caitlin Harris.
Remarkable presentation when she belts out the highly emotional "Tomorrow Belongs to Me", first as an innocent Edelweiss Fraulein and later as a corrupted Third Reich recruit, the transformation is amazing.

#6. Mr. Greg Harris.
For his eleventh hour, save the day, step into the lead role of character Cliff Bradshaw without missing a beat. As Mr. Harris so humbly put it, "The show must go on".

#5. Mr. Robert Johnston.
Adorable and naughty, just the way we like 'em. Now we can't imagine any one else in the role as the Emcee. Joel Who? One day, when he is very famous and we tell folks that we saw him in a little ole play in Vero Beach, no one will believe us. We are sorry we didn't get his autograph, because this boy is going places.

#4. Miss Danielle Ferretti.
Lucky for Vero Beach that Miss Ferretti's marriage moved her here. Otherwise hunnies, you'd have to go to New York or Las Vegas to see her incredible talent. Lucky for us indeed. When she sang the title song we got a little teary eyed and swore she was channeling Miss Liza, until we recognized her own voice in the number. She brings a welcomed freshness to a familiar character.

#3. The Meet and Greet.
One of our favorite things about a Vero Beach Theatre Guild presentation is that on your way out, y'all get to meet and greet the entire cast and thank them for their hard work! This is what reminded us that it's community theater, because the quality of the production made us forget.

#2. Mr. Mark Wygonik.
For bringing an adult play to this timid little town, must we elaborate? Really, must we?

And the #1 reason to go see Cabaret? Because it will be performed during Thanksgiving weekend and if y'all need a great place to take the visitin' kin (or escape from them) this is the must do event of the week.

Tickets are still available, but hurry, call them now! 772-562-8300 or visit their website,
www.verobeachtheatreguild.com because after the 29th, y'all will be kickin' yourselves for missin' it.

"I used to have a girlfriend
known as Elsie

With whom I shared
Four sordid rooms in Chelsea

She wasn't what you'd call
A blushing flower...
As a matter of fact
She rented by the hour.

The day she died the neighbors
came to snicker:
"Well, thats what comes
from to much pills and liquor."

But when I saw her laid out like a Queen
She was the happiest...corpse...
I'd ever seen.

I think of Elsie to this very day.
I'd remember how'd she turn to me and say:
"What good is sitting alone in your room?
Come hear the music play.
Life is a Cabaret, old chum,
Come to the Cabaret.

And as for me,
I made up my mind back in Chelsea,
When I go, I'm going like Elsie."

The Tao of Miss Vero, wouldn't y'all say?

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

SATURDAY SNAPSHOTS

2009-11-16T14:28:00.001-05:00

Check in with Miss Vero's facebook and myspace pages to see our snapshots from Saturday!

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

THE GREEN PARTY TAKES OVER VERO

2009-11-13T10:54:00.019-05:00

Well at least at the new GreenHouse Cafe. The crowd was estimated at over 500 folks and with an open bar and free fabulous food, y'all know Miss Vero was in attendance! One of the more interesting things on the American menu was the mashed potato pizza, a savory combination with onion and rosemary. We did manage to get a copy of the new menu and prices and we think y'all will be pleasantly pleased. Appetizers from $3.95 -Deep Fried Pickles! to $11.95 for Lobster Mac and Cheese. Entrees start out at $12.95 for old Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie to $28.95 for a 16oz. Angus Rib eye. Looks good kids, plenty of open space, wonderful staff, full bar ( y'all know we like that) and beautiful courtyard. Oh, and gracious hosts and owners who obviously know how to throw a party. Congratulations Olske Forbes and partners, on a wonderful addition to downtown!

Miss Bea Gardner had the best quip of the evening when she observed that it would be nice to get this many people out to vote in local elections. Local politicians on the scene included the ever present County Commissioner and Mrs. Peter O'Bryan (who we now believe can give Miss Vero a run for the money in party attendance) and Mayor Kevin Sawnick. Y'all know Kevin Sawnick, right?

He's the mayor of Vero Beach. Perhaps we should call Mr. Sabe Abell and remind him of that fact. Here's his phone number - 772-978-4700 office, or 772-231-2258 at home. Miss Vero wants everyone to read "The Political Junkie" and then call Sabe Abell. Call Now, he would love to hear from y'all, call and tell him that Mr. Kevin Sawnick is the mayor because apparently he didn't get the memo and it's always good to help our elected officials, especially when they forget who they work for. Oh wait, who does he work for?

MR CHARLIE WILSON HAS BEEN SERVED WITH A FRIVOLOUS LAWSUIT

Newly elected City Councilman Wilson has been served with a time and money wasting, court cloggin', somebody got a burr in their britches, lawsuit. Why? Because good Ole Charlie Wilson has the potential to uncover some dirty deeds at City Hall and a few folks are just not havin' that. Notice how the City of Vero Beach (covb.org) has NOT updated their website with a new picture of the city council? Apparently the photos they took on swearin' in day were for posterity. Mr. Tom White and Mr. Sabe Abell need to stop their childish behavior now! This is about a transfer of power all right and not the power plant. And just so y'all know, Mr. Ken Daige has informed Miss Vero that he is in no way a part of this suit. Let's face it folks, the status quo has got to go!

POLITICS, POLITICS AND MORE POLITICS! THE STAN MAYFIELD MEMORIAL HIGHWAY AND CHINESE DRYWALL DILEMMA

The big guns were out and about Wednesday when State Road 60 was dedicated and renamed "The Stan Mayfield Memorial Highway". Y'all couldn't swing a cat and not hit a major Florida politician. Noticeably absent, Mr. Gary Wheeler, the lone dissenting vote on the proposal to rename the highway. Funniest faux pas? When big ole Bob Solari sat in Mrs. Mayfield's front row reserved seat. Musta been the glare of that mouth metal, blinded his sight for a minute. Are those braces or a jaw wirin' to lose weight? Just wonderin'. These are the thoughts that pass through our gin soaked brain, should we say them out loud? Let's face it hunnies, y'all wouldn't be here if we didn't.

In all seriousness, Mrs Mayfield was very dignified and lovely and it was heart wrenching to learn that it was her late husbands birthday that day. We can't tell y'all how much we actually do appreciate that road, every time we are driving to the turnpike, over to Tampa and especially comin' in to town late at night from one of our many road trips. Learning that the project came in five years ahead of schedule and the genuine emotions displayed at that ceremony melted Miss Vero's heart and we have cottoned to this issue, so let's give credit where credit is due and appreciate Mr. Mayfield for a job well done.

Did y'all see the video on Veronews.com and read the article of our Congressman, Mr. Bill Posey touring homes in Vero with Chinese Drywall?

"Rep. Posey said that not much has been done on the various government levels since complaints started pouring in regarding the material..."There's so much unknown," the congressman said....Rep. Posey said that President Barack Obama would be traveling to China soon and is expected to discuss the drywall issue with officials there.... What might come out of that discussion remains to be..."It leaves us with a lot of balls up in the air," the congressman said."

Let's just say if Miss Vero lived in a house with Chinese Drywall and Mr. Posey came a callin' and had so little to say about how to remedy this situation... Hunnies, y'all know we would have lured him into a closet with the promise of an Obama Kenyan birth certificate and kept him captive until he could come up with a decent answer. Pussyfootin' around award to you Mr. Posey, now get to work on a real issue and give these folks some peace of mind.

Who can turn a restaurant review into a political rant and make you laugh along the way? Only Miss Vero kids. Remember keep your arms inside the vehicle at all times and enjoy the ride!

MWAH!
missvero@ live.com

CHECKIN IN ON VETERAN'S DAY

2009-11-11T11:26:00.005-05:00

Miss Vero has had a special request to give y'all an update on what's happening this week. So, if y'all are ready to keep up here's the rundown:

Tonight, Wednesday November 11th, an opening party for a new downtown restaurant, The Green House Cafe. Just across the street from the main post office, from 5:30 - 7:30. Check out this website IndianRiverCulture.com for more details. Actually just check out this website anyway, it's very clean and cool and we like that.

Thursday, November 12th, again from 5:30 - 7:30 at Ti Amo Sempre 1517 S. Ocean Drive,Vero Venture Networking (formerly Martini Network), bar-hopping with a purpose, no cover, no membership, no fees...Just Networking. We hear that last month's meeting was a success and we think this group may be fun, after all, we have to love an organization that gives a purpose to "bar-hopping".

Friday, November, 13th (FRIDAY THE 13TH!!??), oh well, not to be one who is superstitious, we are looking forward to the "Fest-of-Ale and Fine Cuisine" and the 6th annual Firefighter's Chili Cookoff, Saturday, November 14th, at Pointe West. Click here for all the details:

http://www.pointewestflorida.com/files/12167_ChiliCookoff_2009_FINAL.pdf

Also Saturday, November 14th, at Holman Stadium there's sumthin called the "Celebrity vs. Government" softball game. Details have been sketchy on this event, but it might be worth it to see a few ole boys, like Rhett Palmer and Mr. Joe Baird running around the bases or chasin' a foul ball. Here's what we know:http://everydreamhasaprice.com/

Now of course, y'all know Miss Vero saves the best for last. Saturday night, 7pm, if y'all would like to attend one of the most FABULOUS shows in all of Vero here's the scoop. There will be a special dinner and show with Miss Kelli Randell, Ruler of all Fabulocity and Drag Queen Extrodinare! And if y'all would like to get in on the fun, not to mention some amazing food, call this number, ask for Curt at Culinary Capers and tell him Miss Vero sent you. (772) 562-9194.

Go 'head call, we dare ya. Be real brave and ask to sit our table.

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

P. S. Hunnies, y'all know we got us a new camera. Comin' soon, pictures of all, some or maybe a few of the above events, depending on our alkeehaul intake and gin soaked brain remembering to bring along said camera.

BRIAN AND HIS MAGIC SHIRTS!

2009-11-04T09:36:00.011-05:00

At the City of Vero Beach 90th anniversary celebration, back in October, Miss Vero took a total of two pictures before our little camera conked out. The first photo, which y'all have already seen, was of a man and his possum. And the other photo? Well, take a look, it's Brian and his magic shirt!

We had all but forgotten about this picture until we saw Mr. Heady's smiling, winning photo in the VeroNews.com today and there he is, wearing another magic shirt! Those patriotic polos have apparently done wonders for his political career. Congratulations, Mr. Heady and don't change your wardrobe.

Now, Miss Vero has to ask - "Ya kin afford to buy her, but kin ya afford to keep her?" That was a question put to us by our uncle Bubba, when as a youngin, we saved up some money and purchased a pony that was destined for the glue factory. That was a very valuable lesson. Sometimes we can afford to buy something, but don't understand what the real cost is over time. So our question is - Did Mr. Heady work all his magic on gettin' elected and does he have enough magic left for the work ahead? I guess we'll find out.

Of course, y'all may have seen the first photo of City Councilman elect Mr. Charlie Wilson and his proud mama at What-A-Tavern last night. Mr. Wilson had a gathering of supporters, including County Commissioner, Mr. Wesley Davis and Vero paparazzi!

Mr. Wilson was genuinely concerned the entire evening, he never once felt that there was a sure outcome until the results were finally revealed (sarcasm alert!) by the magnificently efficient Kay Clem. As a testament to his good manners, Mr. Wilson's first comment to Miss Vero was "My heart goes out to Ken [Daige] right now". Indeed, that topic of conversation circled the room, as most of us had assumed that Mr. Daige would also be congratulated.

It is so unfortunate that the City of Vero Beach has not recognized the dedication and hard work that Mr. Daige would have brought to the city council. We know that Mr. Daige's time away from the council (and new perspective from the outside lookin' in, attending all those meetings as a concerned citizen) gave him a unique understanding that would have been quite a change from his previous position. We are convinced that Mr. Daige learned quite a lot in the past year and could have made the city the beneficiary of his learnin' had he been given the opportunity to serve again. We also know that we will continue to see the Daige's out and about and caring passionately about Vero Beach. Ken and Deborah Daige will continue to be involved in the issues of the city, Downtown, Osceola Park and the historic elements of the community, and for that, we thank them.

Now y'all will have to excuse us. Miss Vero must concentrate on more important issues, like beauty, fashion and liquid libations.

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

MISS VERO ON THE SCENE!

2009-11-03T23:01:00.004-05:00

Miss Vero publishes the first picture of newly elected City Council Candidate, Mr. Charlie Wilson, with his proud Mama!

Vero media paparazzi clamorin' for Mr. Wilson's attention!

Now y'all check back tomorrow, when our gin soaked brain has fully grasped the reality of Mr. Brian Heady comin' in second, but y'all told us that didn'tcha? Just take a look at our little poll, pretty accurate huh?

Gotta go find some aspirin and mater juice...

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

CATCHIN' UP WITH THE CANDIDATES

2009-11-02T07:43:00.006-05:00

Since tomorrow is our local election day, let's catch up with the candidates for Vero Beach City Council, shall we kids? Now y'all know that Miss Vero is just bein' generous with an opinion and in no way assumes to "Power Rank" those running for office. We like to think that with all the brouhaha about the utilities issues, that a certain blogger used the term "power" to be clever, but we've nevah seen any previous signs of cleverness to indicate that. Oh, and by the way, thank y'all very much, if that writer was not being clever, then who in the heck gave y'all the power to bestow on anyone, huh? So there, glad we've straightened that out.

Once again, Miss Vero will state the obvious, as our opinion hasn't changed since our post of September 25th, when we asked - Who will be "Vero's Hero's"?

Mr. Bill Fish and Miss Debra Fromang - Unfortunate incumbents that have had their opportunity to lead, follow, or get out of the way. Seems like they chose to follow and now, it's time to get out of the way. Sorry, but listening to both of them at many gatherings over the last few months, only reinforced our thinkin' that they were just coasting along on the Tom White/Jim Gabbard Circus Train.

Ya'll see that's the problem right? See Miss Vero has a hunch - a very unsubstantiated, we don't know nuthin from nuthin hunch, so let's be clear on that-that there's somebody drivin' the train and mostly the City Council goes along for the ride.

That is why Mr. Charlie Wilson has been challenged. He would be a very pesky thorn in Mr. White's and Mr. Gabbard's side. He has the dangerous combination of competency and tenacity to change the direction of the council and confront the powers that be.

As for Mr. Ken Daige, he brings a tremendous amount of sincerity to the job. He's focused on the historic value and small business concerns of the community. Say whatever y'all want about Mr. Daige, but we do know this - Mr. Daige and his family genuinely love Vero Beach and his commitment should never be in question. We admire the way he has taken the time to answer every comment and criticism. With his military background, Mr. Daige would be the perfect army of one to back up an forceful leader and lovable loudmouth like Wilson.

As for Mr. Shupe and Miss Viviano, we don't like to repeat ourselves, but we must. The issues facing the city are too severe and historic to allow for time to catch up. They both seem like real nice folks, bless their hearts, but we do not have the luxury of more time to study things or form committees for review. And to be real honest, we think Miss Viviano is too sweet and will be chewed up and spit out faster than y'all can say "Good Ole Boys".

And finally Mr. Brian Heady. What can we say?, we really like Mr. Heady. It's unfortunate that he isn't able to affect the change he desires. Perhaps City Council is not the place for Mr. Heady, perhaps Mr. Heady would be better off forming some sort of citizens concern group and challenge City Hall that way. Mr. Heady can form the "sandbag party" or sumthin, Lawd knows he has his own group of followers. Heck, it works for Mr. Toby Hill and those teabag folks, it can work for Mr. Heady.

Miss Vero endorses Mr. Wilson and Mr. Daige for Vero Beach City Council. Now y'all go make up your own mind and vote, cause that's the important thing really, we all have a choice.

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

SELLING -OUT- THE SUNSHINE STATE

2009-10-27T22:37:00.013-04:00

This is a book.

A real honest to goodness book you can buy on Amazon, In fact y'all can just click over on the right side of the Beach House here and there's a little box to make it all easier. Now why would Miss Vero advertise a book? Well, if y'all know anything about us at all, y'all know we love our Florida collectible what-nots and dew-hickeys and touristy pre-disney memorabilia. We love to remember Florida in the days of old and this book cover just caught our eye. Just look at those happy folks frolickin' on the pristine beach!

Now, we know that Florida will never be the same as it was in that time and things sure do have to change and progress and keep up, but one thing that has NEVAH changed is that somebody's always willin' to do sumthin STOOPID just to make a little money. Only, maybe these days it's not a just a little money, maybe it's a whole pile o'money.

With that in mind, let's play a little game we like to call "Connect the internet dots"!

For those of y'all that don't want to play, just skip to the summary at the end, but seriously, unless y'all have a party goin' on, what's more important than gettin' a little education?

Now, why are we havin' to read about Florida things in the Chicago Tribune? They posted this story about potential oil drilling offa Florida's coasts:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-us-offshore-drilling-florida,0,364955.story

And why is our little munchkin, happy-birthday-post-card-sendin', State Senator Mike Harridopoulus (District 26, that's west of the barrier island, so some of y'all can go head and stop reading now) wanting to support this drillin' business?:
http://www.allbusiness.com/government/elections-politics-politics-political-parties/12816048-1.html

Even that-guy-who-used-to-be-funny-but-lost-his-fool-mind-when-he-started-playin-golf-at-Quail-Valley noticed:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/columnists/carl-hiaasen/story/1297866.html

But wait! Let's not let those of us on the barrier island be forgotten. Please congratulate our new State Senator, Joe Negon, he got his first assignment!:

"Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, will take King's place leading the communications, energy and public utilities committee. His wife Claudia Diaz de la Portilla lobbies for many clients including the telecommunications industry and Florida Energy Associates, the group pushing for oil drilling. Negron, who won the seat formerly held by Ken Pruitt, also will serve on the energy committee."
http://m.scoopfla.com/roundup/5555/full/%3Bjsessionid=05047727D7DE2F71E6C4784AC6E0DE46.scoopflwap2

Ah yes, Florida Energy Associates, who they y'all ask?:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/water/article1037146.ece

And why didn't we hear more about the reason President Obama was in, of all places, Arcadia, Florida this week?:
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/article1047396.ece

"Florida Power & Light, the state's largest electric utility, won a $200 million grant and will install 2.6 million smart meters in homes across the state. The units enable homeowners to monitor their electricity use online by the hour, day, week or month."

"The [Obama] administration's announcement of 100 projects across the country that won federal money to help modernize the power grid comes at a pivotal time for Florida. The state's 11 percent unemployment rate is the highest since 1975, and it has lost nearly 170,000 jobs since February."

"This is what the stimulus money was intended to do: Create jobs and improve the nation's infrastructure."

"As the nation focuses on renewable energy, an army of lobbyists and consultants hired by a secretive oil-drilling group are joining with incoming legislative leaders to push for lifting the ban on drilling in state waters in the gulf."

Read the full article from "The Best Newspaper in Florida" and we tend to agree:

http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/article1047396.ece

And Gubna Charlie didn't have a clue?
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/64987-crist-obama-who

Y'all know this is the Sunshine State right? So, why oh Lawd, why are we even talkin' about drillin' for oil off the Florida Coast? Who's puttin' money in who's pockets, hunnies?

And don't that just get y'all to start thinkin' about our local energy sit-che-ation? Honestly kids, why hasn't anyone asked the big question in our own back yard? If a big contract was made quickly with a utilities provider, that would not be in the best interest of the City of Vero Beach, who do y'all think benefited the most?

Would it be ?

A. The City Manager who presented the deal
B. The Ex-Mayor currently on City Council who OK'd the deal
C. Or...?

Cause y'all know this deal like any other energy/politician deal has one thing in common - somebody benefits, and it ain't us kids.

Miss Vero has been interested in this issue and we decide to take a look at the redacted (that means parts that they don't want y'all to read are blacked out) contract. We find it interesting that there's a part that says that a committee should be formed with the OUC at a later date and that perhaps someone like, oh, we don't know, a person involved in the contract negotiation could get a position on that committee, for a yet to be determined sum. A pile o'money sum that might be a whole heck of lot more than a City Council or City Managers salary.

Now, of course, Miss Vero don't know nuthin from nuthin and is pure speculating before our morning bloody mary, which can be dangerous. Perhaps we are some sort of alkehaul savant and can see things picture perfect before the first round, y'all decide, OK?

As we promised - THE SUMMARY:

Florida is the Sunshine State, we should harvest our obvious sunshine and not our perhaps oil underwater.

Gubna Charlie hugged Mr. Obama when he received his "Stimulus Package" but was no where to be found when Mr. Obama came around for a second date.

Politicians take y'all's money when ya ain't lookin (and anybody else that'll give 'em any).

The City of Vero Beach City Council, or maybe just a few specific individuals, are up to some serious shenanigans

Vote the incumbents out of office and start askin' questions.

Fix a martini and order a book to soothe our nerves, been thinkin' too much lately.

OK, that last suggestion was for us.

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

VERO'S 90! POSSUM APPEARS AT PARTY - SUMMER OFFICIALLY OVER!

2009-10-18T11:07:00.005-04:00

Leave it to Miss Vero to get one picture before the camera breaks. A fella with his pet possum! Yup, that's about right. To see more fabulous photos of folks and read all about the festivities, check out our big time society friend Miss Mary Schenkel's article at Veronews.com.

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

P.S. Charlie hunney, yes, we stole y'all's joke, but since we made it better, it's ours now!

ZOMBIES, CAPITALISM, HEAT WAVE AND POLITICS...

2009-10-15T16:18:00.001-04:00

...just another day in Vero.

It's official, the heat has melted our brain and no amount of any cool libation is makin' us any happier. Miss Vero did beat the heat at the fabulous Majestic theater this week. What did we see? Zombieland with Woody Harrelson and Mr. Michael Moore's, Capitalism, a Love Story. One made us laugh hysterically and the other one scared the beejeebees out of us!
Now here's what we want all of y'all nayayers to do. Before we hear one word of criticism concerning Mr. Moore's movie, please have the gumption to actually see it first before you make any snide remarks. Miss Vero promises, that if you pay attention, you will come out of that film a little wiser.

Now on to local politics, yesterday was the big day for City Council candidates. Miss Vero has already told y'all what we think about these folks in our "Vero's Hero's" blog (Sept. 25th). The only thing that's changed is that Brian Heady is actually picking up some steam in the race. No matter, we stick to our original prediction and wonder, how anyone can think that Mrs. Fromang should be reelected. Especially anyone who comes in late and leaves early, as some other bloggers do. Does that mean he only gets half the story?

And speaking of coming in late and leaving early, doesn't this election deserve the attention of our County Commissioners and the seated City Council members? Musta been an all y'all can eat early bird special, cause ole Wesley Davis headed out the door with an hour to go. Mr. Gary Wheeler attended the taxpayers luncheon, but also headed out early and Mr. Flescher was not seen at either event. Perhaps he attended, we just didn't see him. Anybody catch a glimpse of Vice Mayor Tom White? Mr. Solari and Mr. O'Bryan get a check mark for attendance. We don't know about y'all, but we like our elected officials to be present at these type of events, takin' notes and at least pretendin' to be interested. Call us crazy, but we think it's their job.

Funny, but with all the local media hype about stormin' City Hall over utilities, we thought there would be a heck of a lot more folks at both events. Have we all turned into political zombies? Yesirree, Mr. Moore's movie makes a whole lot a sense.

Perhaps the weather will cool off just a little bit for the 90th anniversary festivities tomorrow. We'll be looking for y'all downtown, there's a new place ironically named "Snowballs" where we plan to try out some Cajun food (and perhaps a snowball, if they have martini flavored).

The party starts tomorrow evening at 5:30, click HERE for all the details.

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

TAXPAYERS AND TEABAGGERS ! IT'S Y'ALL'S DAY!

2009-10-14T00:57:00.006-04:00

Citizens of Vero Beach! Step away from the hypnotic air coolin' device that has y'all ransomed and come listen to your City Council candidates. Two, yes two opportunities to meet all the candidates. But hurry, this offer is for one day only at the following locations -

The Taxpayers Association of Indian River County
Wednesday October 14 at the THE CLUBHOUSE BAR & GRILL - 4000 Atlantic Blvd., Vero Beach. Speaker: City of Vero Beach Council Candidates
No Reservations - Open to Public.MENU:Your choice of a hot or cold lunch. COST: - $10 - Members; $15 Non-Members / Guests

And in the evening -

The Indian River Tea Party, in conjunction with the Vero Beach High School Government classes, will be hosting a Vero Beach City Council Candidate Forum on Wednesday, October 14 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the VBHS Performing Arts Center, 1707 16^th Street, Vero Beach.

Seating capacity in the auditorium is 1000, so there will be plenty of seats for everyone and reservations are not required.

All seven of the City Council candidates have accepted invitations to participate in the forum, which will be moderated by a representative of the Indian River Tea Party.

After introductions, the moderator will ask the same question of each candidate. Each candidate will then have an opportunity to ask another candidate a question.

Only three short weeks till election day!

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

OUR DANCE CARD IS FILLIN' UP!

2009-10-08T09:46:00.004-04:00

Lot's startin' to happen these days, even though the unbearable October heatwave won't quit. With three events in one night, it almost looks like season!

Tonight -

Join Richard Coulter owner of

Eco-Colour

1865 14^th Avenue in Downtown Vero Beach

Thursday October 8^th

6:00 pm-8:00 pm

Bring your questions to the candidate

Refreshments will be served

KEN DAIGE

FOR

VERO BEACH CITY COUNCIL

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

And also at the Pearl -

It's all about connection, and FUN!.
On the 2nd Thursday of each month, join us at one of our wonderful Vero Beach "hot-spots.

This month: PEARL
Featured Martini, well drinks, house wine and draft beers 2-for-1.
Chef's choice appetizers.
No Cover, No fee, No Membership...Just Networking!

Bring a door prize and make an impact.
50-50 drawing.

October 8 event only:
Raffle for 2 tickets(value, $300) to the upcoming March of Dimes Signature Chef Auction. $25 per chance

And of course, there's the wine tasting at the Vero Beach Museum of Art, click here for details.

Perhaps Miss Vero will see y'all around tonight!

MWAH!

missvero @live.com

Oh, wait! FOUR events tonight -

Announcing the return of Splash!

When: Thursday October 8^th 2009 5:00 PM - 9:00PM

Splash Description: Remember when you and your loved one, wanted to enjoy an early evening out! Ladies wanted a night out and something fun to enjoy! Dinning was an experience all its own! WOW! The Sight, Taste, Smell & Sound of SPLASH! The awakening of romance and old world charm! Join us for SPLASH @ Costa d’ Este...........You will have a Ball! Fashion show by BEDAZZLED!

HAPPY HOTOBERFEST!

2009-10-06T13:46:00.001-04:00

Hey hunnies! Check out Miss Vero's new post at VERONEWS.COM

SOMEBODY GET ME A FAN!

2009-10-05T13:50:00.000-04:00

Plenty o'staycation pics over at Miss Vero's Facebook. Just remember, we've never claimed to be a photographer...

DOG DAYS AT THE VERO BEACH HOTEL AND SPA

2009-10-04T12:08:00.021-04:00

Miss Vero is swelterin' hunnies, it's 85 degrees with a heat index that makes it feel 91. Forecast for this week - highs of 93 degrees and an extra dose of humidity. Oh, and by the way y'all, it's October. So here we are in the "dog days" of Autumn, not wanting to celebrate Hot-oberfest, a little "staycation" might just be the remedy. After all, it's not quite season, rates are low and the beach area is at it's slowest. Vero Hotel and Spa would just be the answer to our problem and guess who got invited to go along for the ride?

"RIDE???!!!" Who said ride???!!! I heard RIDE!!!!!!!

Pardon my rude outburst, my instincts seem to get the better of me. An introduction is in order, my name is Pupmander Maximillion Moet Pomadour, or, as I am know to my intimate acquaintances, Pup-Pup. Miss Vero has been kind enough to let me have the use of her computer in order to tell my story to her loyal readers. However, I must admit, this has been an arduous labor, taking days to snout out the keyboard, for alas, I am not in possession of opposable thumbs.

A few years ago, I found myself unfortunately incarcerated for what I believed to be youthful indiscretions and a series of unfortunate misunderstandings. Not being able to secure the legal council of one, Mr. Robert Guttridge Esquire, (my financial resources being somewhat unavailable at the time, as my trust fund was far from the point of liquidity) I found myself at the mercy of a local, well, shall we say, "holding pen" with other canine individuals of regrettable circumstance.

It was there that the lovely Miss Vero saw my predicament and secured the necessary funding and documentation for my liberation. Her timing was impeccable, as the atmosphere of the institution had adverse effects on my personality. I had begun to call my self "Taylor" and screamed "Get your hands offa me, you damn dirty human!" each time I was forcibly escorted into the "yard". I was beginning to rally my fellow guarded brethren and had planned an escape, to be executed in two days time, having procured a tunnel and cleverly camouflaging it with a Beverly Hills Chihuahua poster.

Indeed, Miss Vero's fateful interception and subsequent treatment brought me back to my senses and returned me to the manner of living in which I had been accustomed. Over the past few years, we have traveled extensively together and Miss Vero has been adamant in providing me luxury accouterments of my own. Appreciative as I am, it has somewhat puzzled me, as to her insistence of not being able to share the furniture. I have come to accept this practice, as I believe she is somewhat territorial. Previously recognizing this characteristic in others, I find the best way to solve the issue is to let one "have their space".

On hearing that we would be traveling lightly, just a few blocks away in our neighborhood, I was overjoyed with the idea of fresh scents and new opportunities for sharing my distinguished marking patterns. I whole heartily jumped in our classic convertible and off we went!

We arrived in the late afternoon at the Vero Beach Hotel and Spa and after valeting our vehicle, were immediately greeted in the lobby by a lovely woman, Robin Miller, who directed us to easily accessible bowls of fresh spring water and treats. First impressions do count and how enchanting it was to be welcomed as if the American Express had a paw print instead of a signature!

Escorted to our suite on the 4th floor, I was again overwhelmed by the forethought and hospitality extended, as a bed my size and a gift basket of treats were waiting when we entered the well appointed and luxurious accommodations. I was left alone briefly in the evening, while Miss Vero attended a ritual I believe known as "Yappy Hour". I perused through my gift basket glancing over a welcome card that read - ""First things first, relax and let us take care of you. Second, Little Pup-Pup, jump on the bed and sit on the balcony and take in the fresh salt air! Enjoy!" - it was signed, Joanna Bayley, Director of Sales and Marketing.

Although tempted, my impeccable reputation as a good dog, left me unable to partake in the jumping ritual, but indeed, the balcony proved to be an endless source of entertainment and distraction.
Miss Vero found herself very comfortable with her own sumptuous bedding and the massive marbled room provided for business purposes seemed to hold many delights for her. My own business needs were satisfied on the long walk we enjoyed together that evening. Along Ocean Drive, we stopped to take a touristy photo by the Hotel entrance, she insists on these things and I humor her.

By morning, well refreshed and ready to bid Adieu to our hosts, I requested an audience with the pet Ambassador of the Vero Beach Hotel and Spa, a chap named Oliver. I recognized him immediately from across the lobby. He had the air of a well born individual, familiar with the taste of misfortune that I myself, had as well, experienced.
We conversed briefly knowing the pain of incarceration and the unspeakable humility of our shared past, finally commiserating and then rejoicing in our good fortune as the privileged pets we were destined to be. We spoke of politics, spirituality and Dogmanity. If only all the deserving, who are virtuous and unconditionally loving, could realize the existence we have! If only more humans could find it in their hearts and homes to adopt us...

We said our farewells and vowed to meet again...

I was reluctant to leave my new friend, until Miss Vero uttered the unspeakable....TREAT!
Yes, I buckled under her influence of the word! The mere suggestion reduced me to a slobbering beast! Off we went to an establishment called "Cravings", where, once again my base instincts overwhelmed my sense of reason and I caved upon the doggie delight presented to me!

My short term memory loss will be my undoing. Yet, I am truly content, indeed!

Well anyhoo y'all, as we were sayin, it was sweltering and we took our little dog to Vero Beach Hotel and Spa for a little rest and relaxation, but haven't had a chance to post much. Ever since we've been back, the darn dog has been yappin' and a whinin' for a coupla days now. Can't understand what he's yelpin' about, maybe he needs to go to the vet or somethin'. We'll check it out and let y'all know.

We did mention the Vero Beach Hotel and Spa, didn't we? They have the most fabulous happy hour from 4:30 - 6:30 with $3 appetizers and $5 martinis! Tom is the most wonderful bartender there. Oh!, and they are totally pet friendly and have great specials right now before season, just check out their facebook page for great local deals, right here.

MWAH!

Miss Vero

VERO'S HEROS!

2009-09-25T00:27:00.001-04:00

Who will be Vero's Heros? Who will save us from the villains of high electric, water and sewer rates? Who will rescue us from the threat of losing our beloved Royal Palm Pointe fountain? Who will dare mention the astronomical unemployment rate and the incredible increase in food stamp requests? Who will leap to meetings, but more importantly listen to the people of Vero Beach? Who will do it? Who will it be???!!!!!

Well Hunnies, so glad y'all asked ' cause Miss Vero is about to tell y'all.

For those that aren't payin' attention, let us be the first to remind y'all that there is a little ole city council election goin' be happening real soon. Now we know, y'all haven't had much time to get well acquainted with the candidates, so we're here to give y'all the run down.

There are two seats on the city council that seven people are hoping to get themselves situated in. We have a few words to say about that.

Regarding incumbent Debra Fromang and incumbent Bill Fish;
With the education and qualifications they both have, we expected some results. Lot's of "let's study this and Let's talk about that" and not enough action. Well, party's over, time's up, had a turn, can't recall a dang thing good y'all did, NEXT!

Regarding newcomer Jack Schupe and newcomer Susan Viviano;
Y'all seem like real nice folks, bless your hearts and we're sure you mean well and all, but politics in this town and especially in this county, will eat you alive! Run away now, while y'all still have a chance. The current issues in town are too urgent to provide y'all a learning curve.

To 14 times a charm, Brian Heady;
Run Brian, run! Again. And Again. Jack and Susan take note.

To good ole Charlie Wilson;
They keep knockin' him down and he still keeps getting up. Charlie's good for this town, good attitude, cares about the city and has the political chops to get things done. We just love it when he riles up the county commissioners, especial big ole Gary Wheeler - who happens to scare the beejeebees out of us. We can just imagine the steam coming out of Mr. Wheeler's head as he's talking to Charlie. It can only mean that Charlies hitting a nerve and getting to close to Mr. Wheeler's comfort zone. We also like the way Charlie deals with adversity, like pesky dinosaur newspaper men that write slanted opinions and folks who are just plain irritated with Charlie and call the State's Attorney to find out where he lives. Charlie's the kind of guy who likes a good challenge and the City of Vero Beach is exactly that.

To the perfectly qualified Ken Daige;
Y'all just have to respect a man that lost his seat at the city council, but remains loyal to the process and business of the city. Mr. Daige has attended every city council meeting and has paid close attention. As a former military man, we can see that he may have lost a battle but he is not willing to lose this war. He deeply cares about his home, Vero Beach. Ken and Deborah Daige are exemplary citizens of this community, have a wonderful family and are both dedicated to the local process of government. If there's any thing we can complain about, it's that he cares too much. No joking around here.

Oh, but don't take Miss Vero's word for any of this. Just sit through the wonderful videos provided by Veronews.com and we're sure y'all will come to the same conclusions. We'd love to hear what y'all think.

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

HERE'S TO THE LADIES WHO LUNCH!

2009-09-15T15:30:00.016-04:00

*with apologies to Stephen Sondheim and especially Elaine Stritch.

Have y'all heard? The Economy has recovered so says our Federal Reserve Chairman, Mr. Bernanke. Oh really? Asks Miss Vero, well, oh well and nevahmind, we were planning on doing some shopping and lunching anyhow. Now Hunnies go on and mix yourselves a nice cool libation and get all sitch-e-ated 'cause Miss Vero has a whole heap of goodies for y'all today. Go on, we'll wait.

Y'all back yet? Good, now pay attention there's a whole heap of good info here today.

Aw'right now, for starters we've decided to name names and give up some propers to all of our lady friends who we love to lunch with. If y'all may have thought that you've seen Miss Vero out and about these days y'all may be right, because instead of lollin' about feeling bad about our lack of current cabbage, we have decided that the best thing to do is to stay connected with our friends and get out even more!

Y'all may have seen us sipping bloody marys at the Patio Restaurant with our society pal and Veronews contributor, Miss Mary Schenkel. Also in attendance the evah stylish and young Vero royal, Miss Charlotte Tripson. As we ordered another round, Chef Chuck Lamm stopped by our table and told us about the new Patio Express. Located directly next door, the flash in the pan gift shop reopened last Friday as a brand spakin' new 30 seat cafe. They are specializing in flatbread pizzas and sandwiches, take out and delivery -wow, we love havin' things brought to us!

Or perhaps y'all may have caught a glimpse of Miss Vero having a happy hour cocktail at Riverside with the hottest realtor in town. Whom may that be, y'all ask? Well, Miss Vero is pleased as punch to say we know talent when we see it and way back in May of last year we predicted that Miss Barbara Martino-Sliva was destined for big things and well, hunnies, we are right! Just google her or friend her facebook page and treat yourselves to the most fabulous inside Vero info. Nobody works harder or blogs better than Miss Barbara! Nobody, not even Miss Vero. Miss Barbara's Blogs are mighty significant, mark our words, just wait and see...

Have y'all been to Vero Beach Hotel and Spa recently? We have. Nevahmind their enormous facebook fan campaign with over 4,000 fans -and what is it with all these facebook obsessions, anyway? The big news is that since Kimpton has taken over they have made a point of getting all of us, who were not too enamored with the Indigo Room and the sporadic service, back in the fold. Well, we must say that their devious plot to win our heart has worked! We lunched recently with our good friend Miss Kitty Wagner, owner and Chef of Undertow and our recently returned from Paris pal, "Muse of the World". Service, food and cocktails were perfect and a little table side chat with Chef Matthew Dewey put our mind to rest that COBALT will be right on target for season. And we are so pleased to report that they may even have the best happy hour in town! $3 appetizers and $5 martinis - Get Out! Miss Vero loves, loves, loves that!

We've also had some out of town guests that we have sequestered there and they were very pleased with the accommodations. Now, not havin' personally spent the night we can't say too much about it, but hearin' that they will accommodate our little pet pup-pup, Miss Vero is strongly feelin the urge of a Staycation comin' on. We'll let y'all know.

Our ole pal, Muse, loves to shop and always points us in the direction of fabulous finds. After our lunch, we found ourselves in the cutest little cupcake shop on Cardinal called Frosting. Honestly, we contracted Diabetes on the spot. It was so sugary sweet, but in oh, such a a good way. Muse bought us the most scrumptious delish red velvet cupcake and it was put in a special box with a pink ribbon and we all could have died, 'cause we all felt like kids in a candy store. The selection of gifts and retro candy was so fun and fabulous, the only thing missing was Anthony Newly singing Candyman and showering us with Wonka Bars. No foolin' it's a magically little happy place and (of course) they have a facebook page with almost 600 fans! Ohhh...and Krispy Kreeme doughnuts too!!!!

Did we mention they make specialty cakes too? For weddings and such. And speaking of Weddings and such, how nice is it that Miss Deb Daley decided to celebrate her wedding this weekend with a singles sale at Decorative Arts? All single lamps, prints, pillows, chairs, garden stools and side tables will be 40% off! Thanks Deb, Congratulations and big MWAH! to you Hunney.

And finally in our shopaholic roundup, what could be better than a sale on handmade in Florida, never go out of style shoes? We're talkin' Bonanno's Sandals, of course and Miss Cathy Riggs, proprietor of said fabulous sandals, has just sent us an e-mail that the sale will be extended one more week. $20 off any instock or custom shoe. Miss Vero stopped in and bought 3 pairs!!! We just couldn't resist.

We have saved the most fun for last. Our dear friend Miss Karen Mechling of Pointe West, is competing in the Co-Host Idol contest on WGYL93.7 The Breeze. She sounds fabulous and we all need to send her our votes on the WGYL website, so y'all just stop reading now and vote for Karen.

Well that's it for today y'all and we think that's quite a bit. We are feeling extra generous this week so since today was a "Ladies day" perhaps next time we'll talk about some men folk. There's an local election and some gossip floatin' around and well, we'll see y'all soon.

Did we mention we have a facebook page?

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

IDIOCRACY ?!

2009-09-06T12:46:00.009-04:00

Let's agree to disagree, but first let's listen to what y'all have to say.

Do y'all know what we're talkin' about today? If y'all are reading this on the internet- and we know you are, you must be familiar with the film "Idiocracy". Well hunnies if y'all need to get up to speed, click here, to read a pretty good summin' up of this movie.

It takes place in the distant future, where we have all been systematically dumb downed by our own willingness not to think for ourselves. Problem is, this has already happened.

Miss Vero is heartbroken to think that there are so many folks calling themselves parents, who do not have enough faith in their so called parenting abilities to let their children hear and see things they might not agree with.

Time was, when Miss Vero had some children, (oh Lawd, yes, there was a time), we encouraged them to listen to every religious view, every political view and every personal view of folks they met. Then our little spawn, would came home to discuss these topics and we shared our own beliefs and had enough faith in our raising up abilities to let them make informed choices about what kind of people they would grow up to be. Now, because they are mere mortals, they made mistakes along the way, but in the end, they became fine people and were smart enough to get the h-e-double toothpicks away from here. The end.

Howevah, this whole business of the Indian River PUBLIC school system not sharing the Presidents back to school speech is a prime example of fear and ignorance. Since fear and ignorance are so much part of the Republican party (Hunnies, they have used this strategy for years) and the Republican party is so so much of Indian River County, well, there y'all are.

In fact, if any one knows anything about Florida politics, y'all would know that the Great State of Florida was, historically, a Democratic state and that included Indian River County for many years. We once heard a story about the Sheriff at the time, who came around to all the deputies and registered them to vote. They were also told to register Republican. "Ain't we Democrats?" one asked. "Nope, we's Republicans now" and that's the way it went.

Now before y'all get your panties in a bunch, Miss Vero is not saying that being a Democrat is the way to go, we actually like to refer to them as the lesser of the two evils. What we are saying is that just maybe we should listen to folks before we judge them and this would include, oh we don't know, maybe the President of the United States?

Ok, we know this is a big step for some of y'all. Especially our two conservative friends, Max Newport and Rhett Palmer. So let us just start with Max - There are many things that filter through Max's head that he feels compelled to post on the comments of Russ Lemmon's column. Y'all would think, now that Max has his own blog on Veronews, that he would have a good enough outlet, but no, he continues to dive into that snakepit week after week. While we don't often agree with Max and, Lawd knows he's a cheap date, we love him none the less and consider him a great friend. Y'all know the old sayin' a good friend bails you out of jail, while a great friend is the one sittin' next to you, wonderin' who the heck is gonna bail you both out? That could be Max.

Rhett Palmer, on the other hand, is just plain crazy. Like a fox. Don't believe Miss Vero? Then ask yourselves, who can make a decent living out of no market, AM radio show, the best part of which are the promo jingles? He's an entertainer, plain and simple. And guess what? We certainly don't agree with anything Rhett has to say either!

But here's the thing, on any given night y'all might find Miss Vero swigin' back a few with any number of our Republican friends, who we don't necessarily agree with. And here's the other thing, you will never find Miss Vero having coffee in Area 51 of Bob Evans with Russ Lemmon, with who we do agree with today! Yes, mark y'all's calendars, because we are in Mr. Lemmon's corner on this issue.

So, y'all don't have to necessarily like those you agree with and y'all don't necessarily have to agree with those you like, but being civil to one another sure would be nice.

Our point, and yes, thanks for paying attention, we do have one- is something we learned a million years ago back in civics class -
I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it*

*Though these words are regularly attributed to Voltaire, they were first used by Evelyn Beatrice Hall, writing under the pseudonym of Stephen G Tallentyre in "The Friends of Voltaire" (1906), as a summation of Voltaire's beliefs on freedom of thought and expression.

A woman, writing under a pseudonym? How clever.

And so much better than "Welcome to Costco, I love you." Don't y'all think?

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

Oh and a huge PS to the TCPalm comment censor - Deleting LDouglas' comment for providing a link to Miss Vero's Beach House? Fear and ignorance indeed.

WHO INVENTED JELLO SHOTS?

2009-08-27T02:06:00.006-04:00

...and why do we think we can do them on a Tuesday night?

Miss Vero will answer that in a minute y'all, just give us one second here, while we put Bobby Guttridge's phone number in our speed dial.....

Aw right, as we were sayin'...Out and about on a Tuesday night and well, y'all never saw so many dang local celebrities in one place. We're talkin' about What-A-Tavern and good ole Charlie Wilson was having his regular Tuesday night Karaoke party. On Stage, Charlie and Rhett Palmer singing "I dunno where I'ma gonna go when the volcano blows!". It was scary. Must be something in the water over at WAXE 1370AM.

Charlie recently updated his blog to show that he is exercising his freedom of speech and printin' his opinion, rather than appear as some sort of journalist. We don't know if y'all have been listening to Rhett Palmer's show on Mondays, but the tension between Charlie and big ole Gary Wheeler is getting stick marsh thick. Commissioner Wheeler seems to be getting pretty agitated by Charlie, which means that Charlie must be onto something.

Rhett, on the other hand, is crazier than ever. Mid life crisis? Recent breakup? Hmmm...

Lisa and Leo Desmond have the new afternoon show from 5 to 6 pm and have asked Miss Vero to be a guest. We are still considering this invitation and perhaps if y'all listen in Thursday afternoon, we will have made up our mind by then. Why are we cautious? Well, Mr. Desmond, an attorney, spent the last several days sitting next to a certain Bob Evans fan during Mr. Joe Baird's trial. Y'all know by now that Miss Vero does not like to share the fabulocity with just anyone.

And speakin' of fabulocity - and this is where those Jello shots came in, we left those fools singin' their Karaoke to get on over to Cosmic Charlies just in time for the 11 o'clock Drag show! Miss Kelli Randell was performing and if y'all have never seen her, go 'head kick yourself. She is the hottest Drag Queen in the sunshine state!

We ran into one of our new best friends Mr. Curt from Culinary Capers, where we had dinner not too long ago. Now if y'all were payin' attention, we had mentioned that we were looking forward to another dinner there soon and guess what? Not only are we going to have a fabulous dinner but we will also be treated to a special show, with none other than Miss Kelli Randell!! We are just so excited. If y'all are interested, call Culinary Capers right away for all the details 772-562-9191. We believe it will be September 19th, a Saturday night.

Let's see what else, oh yes...if y'all are wondering why we don't have any pictures this week, it's because we dropped our camera in excitement (or drunkenness, we really don't recall) while we were backstage at the B-52's concert last week in Fort Pierce! There is however, a picture of Miss Vero talking to Miss Kate Pierson at the aftershow party and y'all can see it on our Facebook page. So become our fan and give it a look. There, shameless self promotion accomplished.

And while we are on the subject of shameless self promotion (it's not necessarily a bad thing), there's a video that we want y'all to see - what a hoot! One of our fans from the Vero Chickys sent us a clip that she made for the Conan O'Brian show. Want to see it? It's on our Facebook page. Go 'head over there y'all. There, at least we can offer something other than the mindless and endless comments concerning Mr. Joe Baird's legal quagmire.

Your welcome.

MWAH!
missvero@live.com

MISS VERO CORNERS JOE BAIRD! GUESS WHO WAS DRINKING?

2009-08-16T15:04:00.009-04:00

It was Miss Vero Of course! But y'all knew that right? See what happens when we jump to conclusions? Let that be a lesson to y'all. So yes, indeed we did run into Mr. Baird Friday night, but let's start at the beginning...

Gorgeous art in every gallery and fabulous gifts in the stores, but show us a smilin' monkey and we'll take a picture! What can we say, we're a sucker for a smilin' monkey (boy, skippy, that sure does explain an awful lot). Anyhoo, like our fabulous society friend, Miss Mary Schenkel, we also attended the Dine & Design Stroll around Downtown on Friday night. But yet, somehow, our experience was a little different...

While Miss Mary did take quite a few photos -did y'all read her article in Veronews.com "Downtown Dine & Design"? Go ahead, we'll wait.

She didn't get one of Miss Corey at the Decorative Arts festivities. Miss Corey sure did seem to be havin' a good time visitin' with folks on this side of the tracks. Y'all know Miss Corey right? She has that little ole pharmacy on the beach? Only been here about fifty years or so...

From the looks of all the crowds at each business, a hot August night turned into a hit party. Deb Daly at Decorative Arts had music, food and drinks and was doin' some fund raising for ELC to boot.

And if Undertow is the "Epicenter of Cool" then Cafe Mojo has quickly become the "Tsunami of Soul"! Another fabulous Friday night and a great jazz sound in a packed house!

Y'all never know who's going to get up at open mic night. Miss Nancy Richards, former Indian River County Democratic President was belting out "Summertime" and then took a few requests that she hadn't prepared for. No, she's not giving a speech, just brushin' up on the lyrics!

We did have to turn around and look when Mr. Joe Baird entered! So what happened next? Well, kids, one thing about Miss Vero, we are not shy. We walked right up to him and started a conversation and guess what? He was just about as nice as could be and as sweet as pie! He was just out havin' a good time with friends, which is no crime and we say - good for him not hiding out! Mr. Baird was also a perfect gentleman to Miss Vero. Then again, we didn't run after him pitchin' sour hard candy or nothin' like that, if y'all know what we mean...

Needless to say we did make it over to Undertow, "Epicenter of Cool" and home of all the YVR's- that's Young Vero Royalty y'all! Who was there this week? The adorable Miss Kaley Roberson and Mr. Robby Stone.

Party kids, Samatha of SpectorSoft and Matt of Flight Safety in Miss Klein's beyond groovey retro ride!

Oh to be young and fabulous! (Instead of Just fabulous!)

Hey guess what? Miss Vero has a facebook page and we want y'all to stay off it! We mean it, go away! Don't post anything funny or distasteful! Don't come with a sense of humor or an new idea. And by all means, if y'all make up some quirky internet name and don't have current ID, you're banned! But most important y'all must worship us and agree with everthing we say. Hey! Just kidding that's not OUR facebook page, we would never beg y'all to do anything like that...

MWAH!
missvero@live.com

MISS VERO'S BACK IN TOWN!

2009-08-04T14:38:00.018-04:00

Well hunnies we are back! And just in time for the humidity festival y'all are havin'! Seriously, could it get any hotter? It is just miserable and we are swelterin' somethin' fierce. As we wandered around Corey's drugstore, trying to remember what in the heck we came for, we noticed the terrazzo floor under our feet and remembered our ole Grandmammies house with her terrazzo floors, jalousie windows and NO DANG AIR CONDITIONING! How did we ever manage kids? Somehow growin up in Florida was cooler then, don't ask us how.

We dragged ourselves out this past weekend to catch up on what y'all have been up to and we started out at Downtown Friday. Sure it was fun, but the heat and lack of martinis made us move toward another Downtown establishment with AC that has us so spoiled. We did manage to say hello to Commissioner and Mrs. Peter O'Bryan. As y'all know by now, Miss Vero just loves to see our elected officials, mingling with the constituents and out and about in town. We don't give a flying rat what y'all's net worth is, just get to know the folks y'all represent. In fact, why doesn't the city council set up a booth for everyone to visit with on these occasions? I'm sure a lot of folks would be happy to give a nice "howdy and here's how we think you're doin" to the politicians they elected.

Commissioner and Mrs. Peter O'Bryan

It was just too hot, so we ambled over to Cafe Mojo, where an even hotter jazz improv was happening at the open mic night. There's Billy Collins on the right, pretending to jump in and perform. He's quite a character. Billy and Caroline have really put together impressive crowds on Friday nights. They've created the perfect coffee house scene.

Of course the crowd at Undertow was just as hot and rockin and the beauty of that little downtown area is that y'all can buy art, have dinner, drinks and music, just by walkin' around the block!

Did we mention it was hot? This could be the reason - Jesse and Dolf Kahle were hanging out. Honestly, could those boys be any cuter? We don't what their Mama put in their milk, but it sure did work! Miss Vero needs to get these two on a calendar, perhaps we can convince Vero Polo to let us head the committee for fund raising next year and choose some calendar photos, there's an assignment we wouldn't mind at all!

Y'all would think that by midnight it would of cooled down just a bit, but no hunnies, it got hotter still! The kids started dancin' on the bar and the drinks were flowin', just a typical Friday night at the "Epicenter of Cool" - Undertow!

Now Saturday night we decided to check out the wine tasting and dinner party at Culinary Capers. That's right, something a little different. Miss Vero and gal pals found a little summer special that we'd wished we'd known about sooner. Along with Great Spirits, Culinary Capers puts on a little monthly special that is both affordable and delicious. For $32 each we had a four course meal paired with wines that were available for purchase - and they even had a case discount! Y'all know we loved that. The entrees were lamb chops and onion crusted grouper and we must say, our dinner was fabulous. We always love it when we are surprised by something in Vero that we should have known about. We checked out their website and it looks like they'll be having an Oktoberfest, but nothing scheduled for September. Perhaps with a few requests, we might persuade Curt, and his team at Culinary Capers, to let us come back.
Here's the links:
http://www.culinarycaperscatering.com/Wine-Dinners.html

http://www.greatspiritsflorida.com/

Now as much fun as we had at dinner, when we all piled into our luxury limo, we gasped when we realized it was only 9:45 and we had no plan for what was next. What was happening? What was still open? And most importantly, who would appreciate the fabulous ensembles we had painstakingly put together for our evening out? As always the answer is...DRAG QUEENS!

Yes, we would find Drag Queens and kids we are certain that by now y'all know (thanks to little ole Miss Vero) that this town is full of 'em! Our good pal, Fran Love was happy to see us walk into the Clubhouse Bar and Grill, just in time for the regular Saturday night Drag Show!

Isn't it amazing? the same mirrored disco ball above the taxpayers luncheon crowd, where Congressman Bill Posey spoke, does it's disco duty on Drag night! Texas holdem, sports bar, trivia, political luncheons and Drag Queens, all under one roof! Yee Haaa! All we can say is - THANKS FRAN!

Miss Alexi Leigh gives a girl a piece of her mind.

Y'all can check out all the goings on at the Clubhouse on their myspace page:
http://www.myspace.com/theclubhousebarandgrill

Don't forget on Tuesday night there's another show over at Cosmic Charlie's. Y'all know that "tavern" that 's being affected by the road construction, just south of McKee, in the plaza where y'all get a driver's license? Yeah, that place. Seems we read a little blurb somewhere about that. Funny, no mention of the "Cosmic Buns" party on Tuesday and certainly no mention of Kelli Randall, one of the most fabulous Drag Queens to ever appear in Vero. Hmmm. Now that's odd, that someone would go to all the trouble of writing something and not mentioning that, don't y'all think?

Speaking of directing traffic to a social networking site, a certain someone is sure obsessed about getting "fans" and countin' comments. Sure hope that certain someone didn't choose a tragic topic just to collect the coveted comment numbers. tsk, tsk.

Let's just say that Miss Vero enjoys social networking in a different way. If y'all want to be our "fan" go right ahead, we sure do love that, but we 'd prefer that y'all just let us know where the party is . Do y'all know about some fun that we're missing? "Fan" us, "friend" us, email us, just make sure we get the invite!

Well it sure is good to be back and doing what we do best, partyin' and poking at folks that need it. Lookin forward to hearin' from y'all soon, till then...

MWAH!
missvero@live.com

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. PRESIDENT!

2009-08-04T14:15:00.000-04:00

Need another reason to celebrate? Miss Vero's back in town! Check out our latest post at Veronews.com!

MISS VERO? NOT REALLY.

2009-07-27T15:37:00.008-04:00

Posted on Veronews.com July 20th

Here we are in our new Bonanno sandals riding around in the Hollywood Hills, looking for the home of one of our famous friends! We sure did have fun in the Hills of Beverly and Tinseltown. Suppose we'll have to send this picture to the folks at Bonanno's, they like to show their shoes on vacation.

Well, we know y'all have probably forgotten about Miss Vero by now and it's our own dang fault. We just haven't been around much this summer, but we told y'all that was gonna happen. Miss Vero is back now for a bit and trying to catch up on the goings on around town.

Let's see... There's ole Rhett Palmer sitting in a fountain with all his fool clothes on...Electric bills are high...anything else? Not really. Maybe y'all would be kind enough to send a few update emails our way. You know, help us get back into the ole swing o' things? We sure would appreciate it. A few party invites wouldn't hurt none. Hint, hint.

Now, it's not just Miss Vero who's been gone for the summer. Our good friend "Muse of the World" is off with a whole houseful of Veroites, livin' the high life in gay Paree! Paris, France, y'all. We've been updated regularly with emails and photos of their adventures, most of which we can't show y'all. But what we can share is a fashion preview for fall. Just remember, y'all heard it here first, so don't be shocked when y'all see it for real.

Somehow we think we'll see more Bonanno's walking down Ocean Drive than this little outfit. Just a guess.

MWAH!
missvero@live.com

IN BETWEEN AND ALL AROUND

2009-07-19T03:24:00.005-04:00

Miss Vero – Beyond the Beach House

Posted on Veronews.com July 10th

Well, we’ve only had about a week in town in between our summer travels and y’all know we haven’t been sittin’ still. Miss Vero has a dear friend Elton, also known as “Dr. Brown”, who has been kind enough to send us invitations to “Splash” for the past month and due to our travelin’, hangovers and pure forgetfulness, we’ve been unable to attend. We thought we should stop being such a horrible friend and find out what this “Splash” party was all about, so off we went on a rainy Thursday night to the Costa D’Este to check it out.

Miss Vero arrived fashionably late to what was billed as part Salsa lessons, fashion show and the music mixology of Dr. Brown. This worked our well for us, although we did miss out on the dancing, the rain had finally let up and the party was relocated to the pool area. We thought we’d grab a little dinner, it couldn’t possible be that busy, but we were pleasantly surprised by the full dining room. We did manage to get a table and chat with Chef David Rodriguez, who told us that Splash was quite a draw every Thursday. In fact, this week was even a little slower than usual, probably due to the rainy weather. Chef Rodriquez also let us in on the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday prix fixe menu deal, $70 dinner for two including a bottle of wine! Between that offer and the incredible Florida Resident hotel deals -$89 for a week night, sounds like “DUI insurance” for Miss Vero – and a great night out.

Did y’all know that the Costa D’Este has a blog? Well hunnies, we suppose just about everyone has one these days! Here’s the link for y’all, with details about the rates: http://www.costadesteblog.com

And it just might be a good idea to call for dining reservations – 772-410-0100

Proud Papa John, was taking pictures of his daughter Marlena Roman, one of the fabulous models walking the pool runway. The Romans own Aphrodite Style, which featured fashions for the show, with one store in Stuart (772-781-8190) and another in City Place, West Palm (561-659-9357).

The models finished with a group shot in front of the fountain and the Salsa music continued on the pool deck.

Did we mention that there were drink specials? Now anyone that knows Miss Vero well (and a few of y’all were there), knows that it’s probably not the best idea to let us mix al-kee-haul and a pool. Some how, we get to thinkin’ that it’d be real fun for everybody to just jump on in! Fortunately, we kept our wits about us and did not have anything to either brag about or regret the next day and the only “Splash” was the real thing. If y’all are lookin’ for something fun on a Thursday night, this would be the party.

Now y’all know we’d join in this week but we’re headed out of town again. So next time we check in it’ll be from the Hills of Beverly! Please let us know if we miss anything, while we’re gone and we’re always looking for new party invitations when we return.

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

LET'S TAKE A MINUTE OUT OF OUR BUSY SCHEDULE...

2009-07-05T15:09:00.001-04:00

...to tell y'all what's going on.

First of all, all of y'all are asking about Veronews.com and what exactly is happening with the launch. Honestly children, Miss Vero just does not know. Thank you, "SandCrab" for the additional link in the comment section. What we do know, is that it takes tremendous time and effort to start up any kind of new endeavor and so we are just being as patient as y'all. Miss Vero was asked to write a weekly contribution that will be called "BEYOND THE BEACH HOUSE" for Veronews.com and we did submit our article last week, but for whatever reason (and hunnies, we are dang sure they are good reasons), the launch did not go off as planned. Heck, even NASA has these problems. Not to worry, since our little contribution was a bit "time sensitive", we've decided to post an excerpt here for y'all. We'll send Veronews.com another article tomorrow and hope that the launch is soon.

Now y'all have probably noticed that Miss Vero hasn't been around much this summer, but hunnies we have been a travelin fool. Monday we have to go all the way out to Californy for a sad event - a dear friend passed away and we must attend a funeral. Perhaps you may have seen it in the news?

Anyhoo, as y'all probably know by now, we are not one to dwell on sad affairs and so before we skidaddle off to the Hills of Beverly, y'all need to know that as of September 1st, we will be back on a regular basis. Yessiree, the Beach House will be in full swing again, with special surprises and more fun! So keep that in mind and enjoy the summer!

Miss Vero – Beyond the Beach House! - A little Preview for y'all...

Miss Vero is so honored that we were asked by the lovely folks at Veronews.com to write a little something for y’all. Now we know that everyone thinks that nothing goes on here in the summer, but y’all just have to look in the right places.

On Friday evening (June 27th), we attended the grand opening party of the new Café Mojo, located in the sometimes seemingly vibrant downtown. Y’all would not have known it’s a slow summer judging by the standing room only party and the crowd directly next door at Undertow, otherwise known as “the epicenter of cool”. We didn’t know that the owner of Café Mojo, Caroline Collins, was a big fan of Miss Vero, so when we introduced ourselves she shrieked with recognition and delight! Caroline and her husband Billy have been open a few weeks but the party Friday night was so jammed packed, that the crowd was spilling into the street. We hear Friday night music and fun will be a regular thing, but y’all can give them a call for details -772-567-6900 (no web site just yet).

Caroline and Billy Collins
Cafe Mojo Proprietors

Miss Vero spotted good ole Charlie Wilson of The Indian River County Report (and Rhett Palmer show regular), with a very attractive date that he met at the recount of his run for school board. Charlie lost that election to Claudia Jimenez but things have apparently worked out to his liking, never the less. And speaking of political locals, Mr. Ken Daige and his lovely wife Deborah were also in attendance. Mr. Daige is very vigilant about the goings on at the City Council, even though he also lost his bid in the last election. However, we do expect Mr. Daige to make a come back. Also out and about, young Mr. Kevin Sawnick, freshman City Council member was spotted. We love to see our city council members actually out in the city! Everyone seemed to enjoy the festivities and we were all impressed by the talent of Jesse Kahle, singin’ and a strumming his six string. What!!??Another local boy, singing sensation like Jake Owens? Only time will tell…

Here's a a few snapshots of downtown fun and folks we expect big things from:

Vero's next Singin sensation, the adorable Jesse Kahle!

Fabulous, young and fun, she always makes us laugh - Miss Mallory Matesic!

Mr.Ken Daige and his lovely wife, Deborah.

The weekend went way too fast, like a single bowl of ambrosia at a church social. Before we knew it, it was Sunday afternoon and we decide to pass the time visiting folks and seeing what was going on in the daylight. We stopped by the Undertow to wish Miss Kitty Wagner a Bon Voyage, as she is closing the restaurant for six weeks and she is off to gay Paris to visit our good friend “Muse of the World”, who just happens to have a little summer apartment there. Are we jealous? Y’all can bet we are!

What better way to cure our summer time blues than with a little shopping. We had heard that the little shop next to the new Patio Restaurant had some cute and artsy things so we took ourselves over there only to find that it had closed! Closed for good last week and completely cleaned out and we heard a rumor that it will be turned into a barbershop! That didn’t brighten our mood any.

Could there possible be anything on the Beach on a Sunday afternoon? Well it seems that the retail gods smiled on us, because as we headed toward Ocean Drive we just happened to see that the Stephen Bonanno Sandal shop was open!

For those of y’all that read our blog, we had mentioned about a month ago that we were just dying to get some shoes. Not just any shoes, but these particular shoes. The original Stephen Bonanno Sandals. The last pair we had, we wore right into the ground. Hunnies, Miss Vero just loves, loves, loves, these shoes! These are the original hand crafted sandals that were made in Palm Beach for Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy.
http://www.bonannofactory.com/THE%20HISTORY.htm
While some of y’all may care about that sort of thing, Miss Vero just loves these shoes because they are the most comfortable things we’ve ever had on our feet and they last forever. Fore-ev-ahh. If y’all do happen to wear them into the ground, they can be repaired. When we found the store unexpectedly open, we got to meet the owner Rob. He said he was just plum bored out of his mind, sitting at home on a Sunday while his wife Cathy was up north, doing a trunk show, so he decide to open up. Lucky us.

Now y’all know we walked out of there pleased as punch with our sandal purchase and y’all can bet we’ll be going back real soon. If y’all need any more info check out their website: http://www.verobonannosandals.com - but go visit Rob, any man that’s willing to open up his shop on a Sunday and talk shoes, is our hero.

Here's a picture of Rob at the factory in Stuart, taken from Miss Vivian's Blog - http://bonannosandals.blogspot.com/

We suppose we’ve taken enough of y’all’s time by now. We’ll be checking back soon and of course we’d love to hear from everyone. Don’t forget to check out our myspace page for, umm, how shall we say it? …interesting and fun events! Miss Vero especially loves invitations to cocktail parties or any other form of fabulocity that y’all might have. Just let us know!

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

2009-06-30T18:22:00.003-04:00

Oh Lawdy it's almost time! Y'all didn't forget did ya? Veronews.com countdown! ....

http://www.veronews.com

THINKING OF Y'ALL AND WE'LL BE...

2009-06-21T12:16:00.005-04:00

The secret squirrel sent us a message that our friend, Mr. Ken Daige, needed some help. Since Miss Vero will always oblige our friends, we are posting a letter that the PJ could not (due to their deadlines or some such thing). Mr. Daige is always vigilant about the goings on in the city and this is the least we can do to help him. We appreciate his dedication to help folks in Vero.
So here it is:

Another Vero Beach City Council Special Call Meeting is being held Monday, June 22 at City Hall at 9:30 A.M. Even if it is posted in the newspaper, it is usually so small and uninformative that it does not attract the attention of the taxpayer. The City Website does not indicate what the meeting is about.

Previous newspaper notices from Sebastian and Fellsmere have larger more informative notices for the public.

Vero Beach City Council has held a series of meetings where public input has been severely restricted or not allowed.

Numerous resolutions have come across the Council dais that will financially strain the taxpayer.

More often than not the taxpayer does not know how much money is spent or specifically for what purpose. ‘One has to know the correct question.’

The taxpayer needs to ask why is 7 million dollars needed for the electric plant and 7 million for the water and sewer system.

And why is it needed now?

What immediate expenses does the City of Vero Beach expect to incur that necessitates advanced internal funds?

What revenue streams will be used to reimburse these funds?

What will cause the Mayor, City Manager, Finance Director, City Clerk
AND THEIR DESIGNEES to take action without conferring with Council
at the dais?

The Vero Beach City Charter affords equal duty and responsibility to all Council members.

With these two resolutions the City Council will relinquish its financial responsibility and without referendum the Vero Beach City Charter will be changed to a Strong Mayor, City Manager form of government.

The taxpayer has no time afforded to them to contact City Council before this meeting.

Ken Daige
Vero Beach

This is the first time Miss Vero has had access to the internet in a while, so we'll have to be brief. We should be able to catch up with y'all by the end of the week.

Try to stay cool,

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

GREETINGS FROM FARAWAY PLACES!

2009-06-15T22:38:00.008-04:00

We see y'all have have more than enough bitter Lemmon around town -
if Miss Vero could take it all away, we would!

When one travels to faraway places and occasionally checks in on the local news and we see the same story over and over and well, beat so far into the ground that it starts pokin China, isn't that enough? Just tell us when it's over OK?

We did happen to be in town momentarily to repack, readjust and regroup before takin off to our next locale and that was last Tuesday. We also happened to watch the County Commission meeting that day, where poor ole Wesley Davis wiped his worried brow and prayed to jumpin jee-ha-zus, that the folks who turned up to asked about Mr. Joe Baird's sitch-e-ation, would not turn into a pack of wild dogs fightin over a scrap of meat. Praise the Lawd, ole Wes kept the room cooler than the other side of your pillow on a humid, breezless Florida night!

If the folks who comment on TCPalm regarding this matter would have taken the time to listen to the meeting, UNDERSTAND IT and read the pretty darn accurate articles written by Mr. Henry Stephens and Mr. Elliott Jones, perhaps the issue would become clear for them. But someone named gubmintcheese already pointed that out in the Lemmon circus :

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/jun/15/one-year-drivers-license-suspension-for-indian/

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/jun/09/county-will-wait-until-court-rules-making-any-deci/

Maybe because everyone was so ready to play a Vero version of "The Lottery", they missed, what we feel was a more important event that day - the renaming of State Road 60. Only one Commissioner - Mr. Gary Wheeler had the ball... uh, courage to pipe up and ask "Why should we memorialize someone for doing their job?". We say yeah! Mr. Wheeler, because we will not be giving anyone directions by saying - "Oh, y'all just go west on the Stan Mayfield Memorial Highway about four miles, till y'all get to the dirt road... No! we are not doin that!

Another thing that we picked up Tuesday, was our mail and periodicals, one of which is The Hometown News. We like the Hometown News, it has a habit of not wasting our time. Oh yeah, and it's free.

Maybe y'all missed this interesting editorial from the publisher, Mr. Steve Erlanger, we are printin the whole dang thing just in case the link doesn't work and Miss Vero wants y'all to read it anyway:

http://www.myhometownnews.net/index.php?id=58503

By Steve Erlanger

Hello, friends. Imagine that you're working at the local corporate-owned, Cincinnati-headquartered daily. You have "stressed to the max" managers hammering you every day to do more. Sales are down, morale is even lower and the competition is driving you nuts. The bean-counters in Cincinnati are trying to tell you what to do from 1,200 miles away, your circulation is dropping every week, you have shipped a lot of your graphics jobs out to India, you've had layoffs, buyouts and cutbacks and freezes. What do you do?

Well, it appears that some genius over at the daily came up with the brainstorm of an idea to start spreading the rumor around Vero that their nemesis, the competition, Hometown News, is shutting down. What a great plan. They could go out and tell the businesspeople and anyone else who would listen that Hometown News is going to be closing in July. That would take the heat off of their own precarious situation. Maybe all of the readers of HTN would go back to the daily. Maybe the hundreds of readers, who are deciding weekly to save the money that they have been wasting on a subscription to the daily and get a free subscription to HTN instead, would come back to them.

That maybe the hundreds of local business owners, who have been pleased with, and doing business with Hometown News for years, would now go back to them.

Sorry, guys. The gig is up.

First of all, let me assure all of you that Hometown News is alive and well. We have actually been on a growth streak for all of 2009. We have no intention of closing, in July or anytime. The rumors that our "friends" over at the daily are spreading are just that: rumors.

Even after 28 years in this business, it never ceases to amaze me to what low levels our "friends" will sink. Now, this is not meant to disparage everyone over at the daily. There are some great folks who work there. Some I would even consider as my friends. I don't know if they would, but I do. But there is an element over there unlike any I have ever come across in my travels around the country during my career.

It started from the very first month, when they made copies of our sales pieces, along with a copy of an employment ad we had run with them, and they went around to the businesses and told them we were lying about our circulation, and that if (Hometown News) was so good, why did we have to run an employment ad with them?

(We never have since.)

It continued a couple of years ago, when they found out that a major appliance dealer on the Treasure Coast was going to run some ads with us and one of their head guys went over and told the owner that if they ran with us, then the daily might "have to revisit their rate structure," essentially telling appliance dealer that his rates would go up if he did business with us.

It continued with their attempts to strong-arm the area's nonprofit groups into giving them "exclusive rights" to the groups' events and fundraisers, thereby hurting the groups' efforts to raise much-needed funds. (Fortunately, most of the nonprofit groups have told them to go take a flying leap.)

And now this. Have they no shame? Have they no ethics?

Friends, there is no denying that the past year and a half has been the toughest I have ever experienced, as it has been for everyone. I am not fortune-teller and I can't predict the future. But I can tell you this. Hometown News will continue to give you the most and best local news coverage. We will continue to fight through this trying time, with your help and support. We will come out of this stronger, smarter and better then we went into it. And, heaven forbid, but if anything bad was going to happen to our Hometown News family, I promise you, you will hear it from us first.

Steve Erlanger is publisher and chief operating officer of Hometown News. He can be reached at erlanger@hometownnewsol.com.

Well, that certainly was interesting.

It really makes a person sit down and wonder, just why this daily local newspaper of ours is so darn hateful and just why we continue to allow it.

Could it be that we are a harbor of hate? Our friend Jose Lambiet of the Palm Beach Post sent us this:

http://www.page2live.com/2009/06/11/the-cnn-express-takes-wrong-turnpike-exit/

Miss Vero just wanted to check in and let y'all know that we are still alive and kicking. We will be in and around town, off and on, if that isn't too vague.

We are absolutely looking forward to the launch of VeroNews.com!

And...we have many surprises for y'all this fall.

Did any of y'all happen to catch Miss Vero on The Rhett Palmer Show for an entire hour and a half on a Monday morning (June 1st)? Ole Rhett was off in Europe and Miss Vero sat in with Mr. Charlie Wilson. It was the most grueling experience ev-ahh! As y'all know, we are not a morning person and Charlie lured us in with promises of bloody marys and fun. We don't know what we were thinking.

Well, take care hunnies! We'll be seein y'all real soon...and a big thank y'all and shout out to our many blog followers, fans and friends on myspace and facebook!

The funniest comment on our myspace page? -"What a fun profile, for Vero! Is that really allowed there?"

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

THERE'S A NEW KID IN TOWN...

2009-05-29T10:53:00.007-04:00

... AND WE HEAR HE'S FIXIN TO
"KICK THE BUTT OF THE TIRED PRINT DAILY"!

Take a look kids:

"Competition is back! We're seeking hard-working editor-reporter(s) and tireless photographer(s) for a new online newspaper in a small Florida seaside city that plans to kick the butt of the tired print daily. These are NOT 40-hour a week jobs. If you are looking for a position that will let you spend evenings and weekends working on your golf, go apply to our competitor. We are looking for passionate journalists whose idea of an exciting Saturday night is breaking a story right under the nose of the competition. "
http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=1055140

What's this all about? Well, let Miss Vero be the first to tell y'all. There's going to be a new online news service in Vero and it's called VeroNews.com, being brought to us by the very capable Mr. Milton R. Benjamin, of VeroBeach32963 fame.

So please join Miss Vero in watching the countdown clock, we are so excited!:

http://www.veronews.com/launch/

See y'all there!

MWAH!

LET'S GET SOME SHOES!

2009-05-22T23:18:00.004-04:00

THESE ARE OUR NEW BEST FRIENDS...

...BUT THEY DON'T KNOW IT YET.

We have just found out that our favorite shoes EVER, are to be had right here in Vero Beach! How we didn't get the memo on this one, we'll never know. The last pair of these shoes that were in our possession, were worn right it to the ground, we cried the day we had to let them go. That was ten years ago and honestly, we are just now ready to adopt a new pair.
As the old saying goes -
"If we have to explain, y'all wouldn't understand"
Now, after all our extended weekend partyin is put up and a sufficient amount of aspirin and bloody marys have cured what ever trouble we've gotten ourselves into, Miss Vero is getting some new shoes!
Hunnies, we are so exicited!

http://bonannosandals.blogspot.com/

And one more thing...
Please promise Miss Vero kids, that you won't find yourselves on the end of a Po-Po breathalyzer this weekend, how many times must we beg y'all to take the necessary precautions?

MWAH!
missvero@live.com

THE LEMMON LYNCH MOB!

2009-05-19T12:29:00.004-04:00

Someone attacked our beloved Max Newport's very concise comment on that retched TCPalm.
Pearls before swine Max, pearls before swine.

We are so dang busy, we'll have to hire another houseboy (any volunteers?).

And it's raining and we can't get out for happy hour!

Don't mess with Miss Vero today kids, we are not in the mood.

Don't.

Just don't.

Of course, you know we still love y'all.

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

WE KNOW Y'ALL ARE MISSIN US...

2009-05-18T02:06:00.007-04:00

Miss Vero knows that y'all are just swelterin and cranky since we up and left, but just be patient hunnies, we promise that y'all will see the method to our madness soon enough.

So for now, let Miss Vero make it up to y'all by extendin a little party invitation -

Everyone has been calling, emailin and just absolutely buzzin, all about this particular get together, so we just had to let everyone else in on it.

Now, y'all can click on the picture below to see or, Miss Vero can just say that next Sunday night (Memorial Day weekend), at the HOV club, formerly known as Tonic, formerly known as Bombay Louie's, there is going to be a fabulous soiree with many surprises and perhaps a famous face or two. Doors open at 8pm, tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door and there is a VIP section that will certainly entice Miss Vero! Please email the gorgeous, Mr. Chris for all the juicy details and do it quick because we'd hate for y'all to miss out on the fun: fwent2009@hotmail.com
And yes, it's a gay sort of party, but what got our attention, was all of the straight folk who called us about it. There's going to be all manner of entertainment and people, but the bottom line is fabulous fun, so who can resist?

Also this weekend don't forget the Riverfront Music Festival in Sebastian at Earl's:

http://www.earlshideaway.com/index.html

Bikers and Boys for a patriotic weekend? Well, why not we say. Miss Vero is just as comfortable at Earl's as we are at a Drag show, as we are at a gathering of local politicians, conservatives or the aforementioned straight folk.

Yes, and speaking of "straight folk"...

Let Miss Vero be the first to extend our sympathy to Mr. Joe Baird.
First of all, we have never met this man, so let's just say that. And second...well, there but for the grace of the Po-Po go I, if y'all know what we mean. It doesn't take much for anyone to get into this unfortunate situation, that is why we are always careful to take the necessary precautions.

That being said, let's cut through all the hateful comments on the TCPalm site and ask the real question - "Who's the Big Bubba?"

Do y'all think that he was "randomly stopped"? We don't think so, call us suspicious, but we think he was set up. Just sayin...

And if we're right, then the big question remains, "Who's the Big Bubba?"

Hey! It's 3am, there's no way we're going to be awake when our friend Charlie Wilson sits around with Rhett Palmer tomorrow morning, on that crazy thing they call a radio show. We've decided that ole Charlie is fun to pal around with on occasion, we even helped him with his own blog:
THE INDIAN RIVER REPORT Click on this!
He posts every Sunday and since the page format is similar to ours, Charlie was recently accused of being Miss Vero. Well, we all did have quite a laugh about that. The fact is "blogger" only has so many formats and this particular one is popular, not that we need to explain, but we just did.

Take care of yourselves, we'll be seein y'all real soon,

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

MEANWHILE AFTER A FABULOUS PARTY...

2009-05-11T01:17:00.002-04:00

We're not exactly sure how to tell y'all, but we will say this... Miss Vero is not gone and certainly not forgotten like ole Russ Lemmon had hoped (this little fact was brought to our attention, when a dear friend alerted us to his May 4th droppings).

Perhaps we will be upright sooner than y'all think. Just where, how, why and in what particular manner is all yet to be seen, hunnies.

So for now, thanks ever so much and...

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

Write when y'all can!

DON'T STOP BELIEVIN...

2009-05-01T00:30:00.005-04:00

INT. UNDERTOW - AFTERNOON

The favorite haunt of Miss Vero and
cohorts. We see Miss Vero, Max Newport
and LDouglas seated at a table.
Miss Vero is seated facing the door.

MISS VERO
"Where's Viv, is she late again?"

MAX
"Well, she called and said
she was pulled over for having an
Amy Winehouse sticker obscuring her tag...

...but she'll be right in, you know
she has trouble parallel parking."

LDOUGLAS
"I hope you don't mind,
I ordered for the table -
organic onion rings, harvested by
documented workers and
prepared in oil without trans fat."

MAX
"Got any ideas for the blog, Miss V?"

MISS VERO
"Oh hunney, now that we have
bigger fish to fry,
we do have a little somethin in mind ...

Miss Vero stops mid sentence as
Viv enters, Miss Vero smiles...

MISS VERO
MWAH!

over the sound system we hear...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnT7nYbCSvM

missvero@live.com

MINT JULEP ANYONE?

2009-04-30T01:42:00.000-04:00

Undertow will be havin a fabulous Kentucky Derby party this Saturday, May 2nd at 5pm!
(call for details...772-770-0977)

It's just so hard to believe that's it's been a whole year since we
started this silly bloggin at the Beach House, so we have (a legitimate) reason to celebrate!

If y'all have been payin attention (and we hope y'all have)

MISS VERO WILL SEE Y'ALL AT UNDERTOW SATURDAY!

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

GREETINGS FROM GREEN ACRES!

2009-04-29T00:01:00.001-04:00

LDouglas Drops

It's Tuesday afternoon, figuratively and literally. This is the last week of Florida's Legislative Session- providing they passed a budget by the time you read this. Hard to believe 60 days have come and gone already. It's the first time I really tried to pay attention to what they were doing and I must say, it was no easy task.

The craziness of it kind of muddles the mind. Bills have to go to committees where amendments can be added. It has to be read three times before being put up for a vote, unless it gets attached to another bill. So you just never know what's going to happen until it does. It'll take a little time I suppose to sort things out.

(The Press Journal highlighted how fast things change there in their editorial today): http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/apr/28/election-bills-simply-03/

When I said we're facing hard times and politicians don't always tend to do what's right during hard times, I was hoping I would be wrong but alas, no such luck.

I've already gone over loosening growth and environmental regulations while we're swamped with homes for sale and face water shortages so won't go over that again.

But some other examples of the other madness I see is cutting funding by 15% for Florida Virtual School which means less classes can be offered while the demand for classes is on the rise. That one class being cut costing $510 online could be the difference of a kid keeping up or graduating or being held back for an extra year at a cost of $7,000.

Attaching funding for Florida Forever to the offshore drilling bill is another. The House passed the drilling bill (as close as a mile- which both Reps. Mayfield and Poppell voted yea) when tourism is such a big part of our economy and we'll be doing it when we won't even be getting a premium for it. (But at least as of now the Senate says they won't pass it. Do you think our Reps are sorry they voted yea now?)

Then there's the budget cuts to the criminal justice system which has them saying they'll have to release all sorts of prisoners early, yet they refused to hear the "Second Chance Act for Children in Prison". That would have given children 15 and under at the time of their crime, who received long adult sentences consideration for release after eight years, under strict conditions. Like if they were an accessory to a crime committed by an adult, rather than playing a major role, among other things.

I could go on but there's really no point.

Would you like a recession proof job? Become a lobbyist. Lobbying is a $200 million-a-year business and they outnumber Florida’s 160 legislators by 12-to-1. According to a Brevard County lobbyist, not one of his clients have scaled back due to the economy. And we wonder why our voices aren't heard.

Moving on.

"When it comes to dwindling resources, petroleum may get all the press, but many experts believe that water is the bigger story." A link to the rest of the article and a nice list of tips for conserving water:

http://www.seventhgeneration.com/learn/news/pour-water-conservation

An interesting article in Scientific American "Top 10 Myths about Sustainability". If you look at Myth #9 he talks about population and its importance, but unfortunately takes a defeatist attitude on it. I believe we can reverse the trend with education and the tools necessary for family planning without taking away a woman's right to plan her family size as she sees fit.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=top-10-myths-about-sustainability

Is there sustainability without a sustainable population?

"The biggest threat to global stability is the potential for food crises in poor countries to cause government collapse". Another more serious but very interesting article in Scientific American: "Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization?

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=civilization-food-shortages

Lester Brown, the writer of that article and author of several books is the president of the Earth Policy Institute which is "dedicated to building an environmentally sustainable economy- an eco-economy".

http://www.earthpolicy.org/index.htm

Can we have a sustainable economy without a sustainable population? Lester doesn't think so and neither do I.

Want to pass something valuable on to your children and grandchildren? Pass the knowledge of making compost, growing and preserving food. A basic knowledge of natural remedies IMO, would also be valuable.

For those who didn't like my immigration blogs, you may like my second favorite magazine: "Yes! Magazine, supporting you in creating a more just, sustainable and compassionate world"

http://www.yesmagazine.com/

Yes, I veer sharply from their immigration stance because there is no justice for those who don't have access to basic necessities- food and water. As there is no sustainability (for long) without a sustainable population, no matter how good we get at the three R’s or conservation. And compassion is one thing but it doesn't provide necessities. If the United States goes broke, there will be no room for compassion for others.

When are you gonna come down, When are you going to land?

....

You can't plant me in your penthouse, I'm going back to my plow,

Back to the howling old owl...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UmbFf51OGE

TTFN, LDouglas

THE CONTINUING SAGA OF VIVIENE VON VOOT AND THE VERO DATING SCENE!

2009-04-28T10:30:00.001-04:00

So there I was Saturday, seated at the singles table of my friend's wedding. I was the only one over nine years old. Miss Vero couldn't find me on Friday, because after the bachelorette party Thursday and the rehearsal dinner Friday night and the wedding on Saturday, the whole thing turned into one big blurry nightmare, with occasional bouts of reality.

My friend Darcy, of course, was the typical bridezilla and she's a Southern Belle, so that made her a bridezilla with an entourage. Thank Gawd I didn't have to wear one of those hideous dresses. You know the ridiculous bridemaid's dress everyone lies about, when they say you can wear it again? HA.

As I sat at the kids table, my head pounding from the 24 Goldschlagger shots the night before and the best man giving his stupid "I love this guy" speech, it hit me. Nope, not the hangover.

I'm done. Finished. Kaput. Yeah, that's right, Miss Vivienne Von Voot is through with the dating scene. It doesn't matter if I'm here in Vero, visit Cairo or move to Timbuktu, I'm done.

I mean, what's the point? Welcome to Vero Beach - great for the newly wed or nearly dead! I'm young and having a great time and this dating scene only leads to one thing...marriage!

Like my Uncle Reggie used to say, "marriage is an institution and who the heck wants to be in an institution?"

So I'm hanging it up and working on my career, heck, if Miss Vero can be a professional partyer, I might just hang around and learn out how to do that. So, until I figure it out, it's been real, it's been fun and I suppose you know the rest.

Love and hugs,
Viv

MWAH!
missvero@live.com

MAX ON MONDAY!

2009-04-27T09:46:00.000-04:00

MAKING LAW OUT OF NOTHING AT ALL

Max Newport

Last week, the United States Supreme Court, issued what appeared to be a landmark ruling regarding the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition of unreasonable search and seizure by police after a criminal traffic stop. Whenever the Supreme Court speaks, lesser courts throughout the nation must say “stop, hey, what’s that sound” and make sure that their ruling is applied as dictated by the highest court in the land. The Supreme Court in Arizona v. Gant ended a 28 year warrantless search exception, under certain circumstances, that will most likely be hailed as a great advancement for those who are arrested but don’t want their vehicle searched but in essence will have little, if any, effect.

A few weeks ago I wrote about my big run in with Johnny Law over my Florida Gator license plate frame that partially obscured my Florida Gator license plate. Obscuring a license plate is a second degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail or a $500 fine or both. I did immediately remove the Gator frame so that my Gator plate could be viewed by all in its intended unfettered “Gator Nation” glory. The officer gave me a verbal warning since the law was relatively new. If he had stopped me the next day, I suspect I would have been arrested if I had not removed the frame that was obscuring the tag. (On a side note, each day on my short commute to work, I see dozens of tags that are partially obscured due to similar frames and yes, I am concerned that I may become some kind of compulsive nut job who likes to count things.)

Based upon the prevailing search and seizure law a few weeks ago, I would have been cuffed and the officer could have searched my vehicle based upon New York v. Belton, which allowed the search of the passenger compartment and all containers within based upon the arrest of any occupant. So if I had been running shine from the hills of Caroline or illegal cigarettes from the Seminole Nation, I would be facing some serious additional charges. Gant does not overrule Belton, per se, but does limit such a search to evidence that would be relevant to the charge for which I was arrested. On my charge of having an obscured tag, which I admitted to putting on the frame that so obscured, there is nothing the officer would be able to find in my car that would make his case any stronger. So if my car was searched and the hooch and the cigs were found, they would not be admissible against me under the new Supreme Court decision.

Gant involved a person arrested for driving with a suspended license. During a search of the vehicle incident to the arrest, the officers found cocaine. At the time Mr. Rodney Gant was handcuffed and in the back seat of the patrol car so he posed no threat to the officers. The Court also stated that there would be nothing in the car that could be used as evidence on his suspended license charge. I have to disagree with the mighty Supremes on that issue based upon my own sordid past. During my college days, I accumulated enough parking tickets to have my license suspended (until I paid them off). If I had been stopped, the opened envelope advising me that my license was suspended until I paid off the tickets was in the visor just a foot or so above my steering wheel. This would certainly be valid evidence if I gave my usual response to such accusations made of me at that age which was “Huh?” On that point, I disagree with the Supreme Court, since a search of the vehicle after a suspended license arrest could reveal evidence pertaining to that charge.

As I wrote in an earlier post, many drug arrests are based upon a search incident to arrest based upon facts similar to those in Gant. Since the ruling will affect all cases that are now pending in courts throughout the country, it is likely that some evidence will be suppressed and some guilty folks will go free. Since the Belton ruling has been the law for 28 years, it is older than many of the officers out there patrolling the streets. The police will have to make some slight adjustments and use other exceptions to the search warrant requirement if they desire to search the interior of the vehicle.

They can always ask for consent to search from the person they just arrested. Since the standard for the validity of a consent search is a knowing and voluntary waiver that is not based on police coercion, this might be tough since the person being asked for consent is under arrest and in handcuffs, and more likely than not, in the back of a squad car.

Officers can always call out the drug sniffing dogs and if the dogs signal the presence of contraband, that is probable cause for a search (ask our old buddy Ron White). If the officers suspect drugs the canine sniff is an option. A sniff is not considered a search for Fourth Amendment purposes. Any vehicle in a place where the public has access can be subject to a sniff.

The third weakness in the Gant decision is one that is evident in almost every case involving an arrest and a vehicle. The vehicle can be towed for impound and the officers can procedurally do what is called an inventory search to document every item in the vehicle in case there is any later discrepancy. If drugs or any other type of contraband is found during this exception to the search warrant requirement, it is admissible in a criminal case. Usually the drugs were found at the scene of the arrest based upon the search of the vehicle incident to the arrest. This new decision simply postpones the inevitable.

I cannot totally disrespect the Supreme Court’s decision, because I can understand their desire to prevent an arrest on a traffic charge from turning into a full scale fishing expedition for illegal materials. On the other hand, how far will this case be expanded beyond the charge mentioned in Gant to other arrests where evidence of that crime would not be contained within the vehicle (a felony arrest warrant for a worthless check as an example). It will be confusing for awhile and I can almost guarantee you that virtually every vehicle involved in a traffic arrest will now be towed and impounded for a procedural inventory search other than given to a friend or relative to drive to the defendant’s home (after a clean search), which was often done by police on misdemeanor traffic charges.

Max seldom gives out financial advice, but now will be a good time to invest in towing.

If you are not totally bored out of your mind by now, here is the case to make sure that you are:

http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/08pdf/07-542.pdf

You would think that if the Supreme Court had something to say, they wouldn’t leave so many loopholes, but they are they as I am me as you are you and we are all together. Have a good week, and in spite of this case, keep the outlaw hooch and hookers out of your car.

MWAH!

missvero@live.com