Appeals court again upholds power of Miami’s Civilian Investigative Panel

An appeals court has struck down a police officer’s challenge to the validity of Miami’s Civilian Investigative Panel — the second time the panel has withstood a legal challenge from police officers in the past five years.

Police Lt. Freddy D’Agastino and the Fraternal Order of Police filed a lawsuit arguing that the civilian panel, which reviews citizen complaints against officers and makes recommendations to the police chief, had no legal authority to investigate officers.

But in a ruling on Wednesday, the Third District Court of Appeal found that the panel neither conflicts with state or local law, nor intrudes on the police department’s power to discipline its officers. The CIP does not have the authority to discipline officers, though it does have the power to subpoena records and witnesses in its own investigations.

The appeals court also upheld the panel’s authority in 2008, when then-Police Chief John Timoney sought to prevent the panel from investigating him.

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Burt Reynolds Hospitalized with Flu

Burt Reynolds is recuperating in a Florida intensive care unit after being hospitalized for dehydration and severe symptoms relating to the flu.

A representative for the 76-year-old actor tells CNN that, as of Friday afternoon, Reynolds is "doing better" after being admitted to the ICU.

Related: Burt Reynolds Undergoes Open Heart Surgery

"We expect, as soon as he gets more fluids, he will be back in a regular room," says rep Erik Kritzer.

When asked, Kritzer declined to say which hospital facility Reynolds is currently recovering in.

The actor has suffered other bouts of ill health in recent years. In 2010, Reynolds underwent a quintuple heart bypass one year after entering rehab to end a reliance on prescription drug habit acquired after back surgery.

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Women in combat spells trouble

Linda Chavez

With little discussion or fanfare, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta lifted the ban on women in combat that has been in effect for as long as there has been a US military.

Feminists and some women serving in the military are applauding the move as a victory for equal rights. They claim that justice requires nothing short of opening all positions to females, regardless of the consequences to combat effectiveness, unit cohesion or military readiness — factors whose importance they minimize in any event.

Panetta’s action reverses the combat-exclusion policy that was last reviewed thoroughly during the Clinton years — and which even Democrats embraced.

A number of women might make good combat soldiers, provided they pass the same physical, endurance and strength tests with the same acceptable scores that current combat troops achieve. But whether a handful of exceptional women might succeed — or opt into infantry units for that matter — isn’t the relevant standard. The question is, would women’s presence in combat situations enhance military effectiveness or compromise it?

One study of a brigade operating in Iraq in 2007 showed that women sustained more casualties than their male counterparts and suffered more illnesses. Female soldiers experienced three times the evacuation rate of male soldiers. And of those evacuated for medical reasons, a shocking 74 percent were for pregnancy-related issues.

The high rate of pregnancy among female soldiers is one of the best-kept secrets in the military. The various military branches are loath to publicize the figures regarding female soldiers becoming pregnant while deployed. But a study released just this week shows that military women have a higher rate of unplanned pregnancy than the comparable general population — some 50 percent higher. And the unplanned pregnancy rate for deployed women was as high as for those serving stateside.

And, of course, many of the pregnancies among deployed females involved sexual activity between soldiers in the field — which brings up one of the chief objections to women serving in combat roles.

Feminist ideologues have pooh-poohed the notion that sexual attraction is a major problem when you put young men and women together in close quarters for long periods of time under the stress of combat situations. They act as if both males and females will resist temptation — and there’ll be no significant consequences if they don’t.

Funny, those same feminists seem to believe quite differently when it comes to putting other young men and women together under similar, if less life-threatening situations.

Most college campuses these days take it for granted that students will have sex during their years on campus. Many schools provide condoms in the dorms, access to other forms of birth control, lectures on sexual activity. It’s just assumed, you put young people together and sex naturally follows.

But the consequences for love affairs gone wrong, rivalry among suitors or even the distraction that sex can provide from other duties are very different in a college setting than they are in the middle of battle. Unit cohesion is a major factor in the success of any military objective. Inject sexual rivalry and tension into a small group of soldiers whose decisions mean life and death, and you are likely to get more of the latter.

Yes, men and women can bond in non-sexual ways, but sexual attraction is one of the most powerful human emotions. To ignore it and pretend that it can be overcome without great effort is foolhardy.

And jealousy is nearly as powerful an emotion as love. What happens when a couple in a unit breaks up but must still work side-by-side, facing an enemy whose sole purpose is to kill them?

And when pregnancies occur — as they inevitably will — what happens then? Do you allow a physically fit pregnant solider to risk not only her life but that of her unborn child, too?

It is unfortunate that the Obama administration acted unilaterally without putting this issue up for open and honest debate before Congress and the public. By acting unilaterally — no accident I’m sure, right after the president’s re-inauguration — the administration has done a disservice to the American people and the finest military in the world.

Have a comment on this PostOpinion column? Send it in to LETTERS@NYPOST.COM!

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Economist: Euro crisis could erupt again this year

DAVOS, Switzerland --
Is the euro crisis over? A leading U.S. economist says not by a long shot.

Even as the head of the European Central Bank talked Friday of “positive contagion” in the markets and predicted an economic recovery for the recession-hit eurozone later this year, economist Barry Eichengreen warned that the debt crisis that has shaken Europe to its core could easily erupt again this year unless European leaders move faster to solve their problems.

While European governments and markets have been breathing easier in recent months after years of turmoil, it’s no time for complacency, said Eichengreen, a professor at the University of California - Berkeley who has chronicled the Great Depression and explored the consequences of a breakup of the euro currency.

“Nothing has been resolved in the eurozone, where markets have swung from undue pessimism to undue optimism,” Eichengreen told The Associated Press in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, an annual gathering of corporate and government leaders. “They said all the right things last year … and they’ve been backtracking ever since.”

He urged eurozone leaders follow up on its proposals to steady its banking system and keep failed banks from adding to government debt through expensive bailouts.

European leaders in Davos this week are seeking to reassure investors and corporate leaders that the continent is on the mend after its punishing debt crises.

European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi on Friday forecast a recovery in the eurozone economy in the second half of the year, and spoke of “a new restored sense of relative tranquility” and “positive contagion on the financial markets.”

But he acknowledged “we don’t see this being transmitted into the real economy yet.”

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Florida Legislature now rethinking mental health spending

In light of the tragic shootings in Connecticut and Colorado, Florida legislators are taking a hard look at the state’s mental health system, which ranks 49th among states and the District of Columbia when it comes to funding.

“That’s $39 per person per year,” said Bob Sharpe, president and CEO of the Florida Council for Community Mental Health, one of 10 panelists addressing the House Healthy Families Subcommittee Thursday as an “ongoing conversation” to address the system’s woes. That figure, experts said, was lower than per capita funding for mental health in the 1950s.

The violence at Sandy Hook Elementary School is just one reason for action, said the subcommittee’s chair, state Rep. Gayle Harrell, R.-Stuart. “Any time you have a tragedy it certainly focuses public attention on an issue,” Harrell said. “We want to make sure that we don’t just do this however when there’s a tragedy.”

Legislators need to look at the continuum of care “from prevention to identification to intervention to treatment,” Harrell said, if any improvements can occur in a system where issues range from school safety to finding places for mentally impaired nursing home patients.

The lack of funding for prevention in the community, particularly in schools, has been a key issue both at Thursday’s subcommittee meeting and at a Senate meeting Wednesday chaired by Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood.

That’s because the bulk of the state’s $723 million mental health budget is used for treatment, said Rob Siedlecki, assistant secretary for Mental Health and Substance Abuse.

Harrell’s committee asked each panelist to come up with policy rather than funding solutions for mental health issues in the state.

“If we can set up a system in place and look at our system and really change it so that it is much more responsive to prevention, to the needs of the community then you can avoid some of those tragedies perhaps,” Harrell said. “When a tragedy fades and the memory of it fades, you don’t want to let this issue fade. “

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Samsung puts lid on capex for first time since financial crisis

SEOUL (Reuters) – Samsung Electronics Co turned cautious on spending for the first time since the global financial crisis, keeping its annual investment plan unchanged at 2012 levels, as demand for computer chips wanes and the smartphone market slows.

Samsung, one of the industry’s most aggressive spenders, has ramped up capital expenditure every year since 2004 except 2009 to meet soaring demand for its array of consumer electronics and mobile devices. It sold a record 700,000 smartphones a day in the last quarter.

But with the personal computer market shrinking for the first time in 11 years, the global smartphone market growing more slowly, and Apple Inc moving to buy fewer of Samsung‘s microprocessors used in the iPhone and iPad, the South Korean IT giant is now forced to keep a lid on spending.

“Overall its earnings momentum remains intact, and smartphone shipments will continue to grow even in the traditionally weak first quarter, as Samsung’s got a broader product line-up and Apple appears to be struggling in pushing iPhone volumes aggressively,” said Lee Se-chul, a Seoul-based analyst at Meritz Securities.

Samsung, which reported a record quarterly and annual profit on Friday, said it would keep 2013 capital expenditure unchanged from 2012.

“The key word for us in investment in 2013 is flexibility. We’ll decide as the market demand dictates,” Robert Yi, head of Samsung’s investor relations, told analysts.

Data from the company shows Samsung started to slow down planned investment in the last quarter.

Samsung said it spent 4.4 trillion won in October-December, pushing its 2012 investment to a record 23 trillion won ($ 21.5 billion). But the company said in October that it was on course to spend 25 trillion won in 2012.

Analysts had expected a 4-20 percent cut in Samsung’s 2013 capital spending.

By contrast, Taiwanese rival TSMC is planning to raise its capital expenditure to $ 9 billion this year, aimed in part at winning Apple orders away from Samsung.

Shares in Samsung fell 2.1 percent as of 0250 GMT, lagging a 1.1 percent decline in the wider market.

RECORD EARNINGS

Samsung had poured money into factories to boost production of chips and panels used in Apple products and its Galaxy range devices, pushing its operating profit to 8.84 trillion won in the last quarter. The 89 percent increase from a year earlier was in line with its earlier estimate.

Profit at its mobile devices division, which makes phones, tablets and cameras, more than doubled to 5.44 trillion won in the quarter from a year earlier, lifted by a broader offering of smartphones – from the very cheap to the very expensive.

The division accounted for 62 percent of Samsung’s overall fourth-quarter profit, up from 55 percent a year earlier.

Samsung is also seeing strong sales of its Note phablet, which analysts expect to help Samsung get through any seasonal weakness better than rivals.

Samsung, which doesn’t provide a breakdown of smartphone sales, is estimated to have sold around 63 million smartphones in the last quarter, including 15 million Galaxy S IIIs and 7 million Note IIs.

The company also said 2012 operating profit rose 86 percent to an all-time high of 29 trillion won.

SAMSUNG VS APPLE

Samsung sold 213 million smartphones last year and enlarged its share of the global market to 30.4 percent from around 20 percent in 2011, a report by market research firm Strategy Analytics showed on Friday. The sharp increase reflects Samsung’s aggressive marketing of its wide product range.

Apple’s share of the market shrank slightly to 19.4 percent from 19.0 percent in 2011, according to the report.

Globally, sales of smartphones surged 42.7 percent last year to 700 million, Strategy Analytics said.

Samsung said on Friday it expects the global smartphone segment to shrink in January-March from the seasonally strong fourth quarter, and that growth of the overall handset market will slow to the mid single-digits this year.

The forecast is in line with industry estimates, with signs of a slowdown having already emerged.

Apple shipped 47.8 million iPhones in the three months ended December, a record that nonetheless disappointed many analysts accustomed to years of outperformance. The Cupertino, California-based company also missed Wall Street’s revenue forecast for a third straight quarter as iPhone sales lagged expectations.

Apple shares have dropped by more than a third since mid-September as investors fret that its days of hyper growth are over and its devices are no longer as ‘must-have’ as they were.

By contrast, shares in Samsung have risen 12 percent in the same period as the company once seen as quick to copy the ideas of others now sets the pace in innovation.

At the world’s biggest electronics show in Las Vegas this month, Samsung unveiled a prototype phone with a flexible display that can be folded almost like paper, and a microchip with eight processing cores, creating a buzz that these may be used in the next Galaxy range.

“It’s very probable to us that the Exynos 5 Octa (processor) will find its way into the Galaxy S4,” UBS analyst Nicolas Gaudois wrote in a recent note.

“It also looked as if the curved display is close enough to finished product. We came away even more convinced that displays will provide significant differentiation to Samsung devices, and application processors will materially grow over time,” Gaudois said. ($ 1 = 1066.2000 Korean won)

(Reporting by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Ryan Woo)

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Amanda Seyfried Calls Mean Girls Her Best Work

Despite being fresh off an Oscar-nominated film (Les Miserables), Amanda Seyfried apparently holds a soft spot for her breakout film Mean Girls, calling it her "best work" to date.

"I was so innocent. I was so green," reflects Seyfried in an interview with Indiewire. "I still look back at Mean Girls as my best work."

Pics: Amanda Seyfried as Porn Star Lovelace

The 27-year-old star stole the show playing the lovably ditzy Karen Smith in the 2004 comedy. Interestingly enough, Seyfried had little confidence in her on-screen work at the time.

"I look back and I’m like, 'Really, I thought I was doing a terrible job.' But it was written so well and so wonderfully directed," says the actress. "Mark Waters (the director) made me look good; he made me funny. And Tina Fey wrote the coolest script of all time."

Now, quite a bit more assured in her abilities, Seyfried is gearing up to show off her chops (and much more) as '70s porn star Linda Lovelace in the new biopic Lovelace. When asked about her reservations in taking on such a risque role, the star says she felt surprisingly comfortable disrobing and simulating sexual acts on film.

Video: SJP Talks About Replacing Demi Moore in 'Lovelace'

"I don't know why I’m comfortable. Nudity: whatever! Sex: we all do it," Seyfried explains to Indiewire. "There's a time and a place to be naked. There's no part in this movie that makes me think, 'Oh, wow, she's naked.' She's a porn star! We simulated some scenes but there's no graphic content in this movie, at all. I mean the graphic stuff is when he's raping me on my wedding night. You see my skirt go up over my head when I’m being gang raped, but it's like, so perfectly done."

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Brewing profits at S’bux

Starbucks profit jumped 13 percent on a spike in US coffee consumption during the winter holiday season.

The world’s biggest coffee chain reported net earnings of $432.2 million, or 57 cents per share, for the first quarter that ended Dec. 30, matching the average analyst estimate.

That was up from $382.1 million, or 50 cents per share, a year earlier.

Overall revenue jumped almost 11 percent, to $3.8 billion, during the quarter, which is Starbucks’ biggest for sales.

Global sales at stores open at least 13 months were up 6 percent — topping the 5.5 percent rise analysts polled by Consensus Metrix had expected. Those sales were helped by a 4 percent increase in traffic and a 2 percent increase in average spending per visit.

Shares rose 3 percent, to $56.20, in after-hours trading.

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Lennar design accommodates multigenerational families

In some cases, it may be Grandma moving in with the family. Other times, it may be a recent college graduate returning to the nest.

For all sorts of reasons — financial, medical, personal — a rising number of Americans are moving into extended family households.

Spotting a niche in the growing trend, Lennar Corp. has launched a new concept tailor-made for multigenerational family living.

It’s basically a house within a house: a smaller living unit next to the main home designed to provide independence but also access to the rest of the family household.

“People are really loving the whole concept,” said Carlos Gonzalez, president of the southeast Florida division of Lennar, a Miami-based home-building giant. “We adapted to the market from a design standpoint.”

In Miami-Dade County, Lennar is selling various versions of multigenerational homes in three new developments in Doral, Kendall and Homestead.

Louis Moreno of Kendall and his wife, Danilza Velez, signed a contract for a large NextGen home in The Vineyards development in Homestead last October — even before the models had been built.

“We loved it,” said Moreno, a 45-year-old engineer.

Moreno said his mother-in-law will be able to use the new suite when she visits, as will his family members who frequently come to town from Puerto Rico. “This will provide them with more comfortable space and more privacy,” he said. He also plans to use it as a game room and entertainment area.

The two-story Zinfandel home Moreno picked has three bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms in the main home with a family room and two-car garage. In addition, it has an ample 789-square-foot suite with two bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchenette. The suite has its own garage, a separate front entrance and an internal door connecting to the main home.

The Zinfandel, which has 2,249 square feet of air-conditioned space in the main house, starts at $283,990 in the Homestead community at 128 SE 28th Ter., but a similar home in Kendall would run about $100,000 more, primarily because of higher land costs, Fernandez said. (In Doral, there is a NextGen home priced at $677,990.)

Some multigenerational models have suites as small as 489 square feet, but all have a separate entrance, a bedroom, a bathroom and some sort of kitchen space.

The idea takes various shapes. One option at the Kendall Square development at 16950 SW 90th St. is a Granny unit above a detached garage.

“Independence is the key word,” said Frank Fernandez, director of sales and marketing for the southeast Florida division.

Depending on local zoning rules, some homes can have full kitchens, others are restricted to kitchenettes with a microwave but no stove. Similarly, some municipalities permit the space to be used as a rental, others prohibit it.

The choice is proving popular. Fernandez said in The Vineyards development in Homestead, 10 of the 14 homes sold to date are NextGen. At Kendall Square, 35 of 107 sales are multigenerational, and at the Isles at Grand Bay development at 11301 NW 74th Street in Doral, five of 48 houses are.

Adapting homes for special needs, such as wheelchairs and safety railings, is done at cost, Fernandez said: “That is company policy.”

As one of the nation’s largest home builders, Lennar has been rebounding strongly from the housing crash. Last week, the builder, whose shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange, posted better than expected earnings for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Nov. 30, 2012.

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81-year-old reader is thankful for health, chance to serve

Dear Neighbors, thanks for your response to my "reasons to be thankful" request. I am amazed at how much we can find in our daily life to be thankful for.

The other day, I heard from Nancy Perez, and member of Palm Springs United Methodist Church in Hialeah. Over the years, Nancy has sent me information from her church that I use in this column. I always welcome her input.

Recently, though, she sent a beautiful card to me and in it she said she smiles "every Thursday when I pick up the Neighbors section and read your column. ...for all you do and always have done to keep us informed of what's going on in our religious community. [I] really enjoy your articles on the years past, old times in Dade County and your blessings."

But this is the part I liked best: "I count my blessings every day, for He's been so good to me. Born here 81 years ago — excellent health that keeps me active in my church and serving my Lord every day."

In a post script, Nancy said, "This is a special card for you — not necessarily for your column." And she added a smiley face.

Nancy, I just couldn't resist sharing this with our Neighbors in Religion friends. Thank you, so much.

‘My Happy Place’

This is from Zach Grossman, 24, who lives in Miami. Grossman, a budding young entrepreneur, wrote: "I just read your column on "Reasons to be thankful," and really enjoyed it. The first thing I thought of when I read it was how it tied into an iPhone app that I recently created. When you first open my app each day, it prompts you to say something that you are grateful for in order to open the app and use its other features. (You can turn this feature off if you'd like.)

"My app is called My Happy Place and it basically allows users to store anything that makes them happy all in one place (music, photos, quotes, videos, journal entries). The idea is that if you're having a rough or stressful day you can just go to your very own Happy Place to unwind and turn your mood around."

Grossman, who has a degree in entrepreneurship and marketing from Northeastern University in Boston, said his app costs 99 cents and that there is an Android version available, too. If you are interested in checking out Grossman's app, he said you can Google it or visit the iTunes Store.

‘Unsung Heroes’

Congratulations to Helen Viviand, a member of Unity on the Bay, and who was recognized recently as an "Unsung Hero" by Miami-Dade County Commission Vice Chairwoman Audrey M. Edmonson. Viviand was honored for her involvement in community service. Viviand has been a long-time volunteer at Unity on the Bay in Edgewater and is founder and leader of the organization "Angels Everywhere," which distributes toys and backpacks to needy children.

Also honored at the Dec. 18 meeting in the County Commission Chambers, 11 NW First St., were Susana Baker, founder of the Wynwood-Design District and Midtown Experience, for her efforts to promote businesses and artists in Wynwood, and Cuthbert Harewood, a resident and businessman who is helping to revitalize Northwest 18th Avenue in Liberty City, and feeds the homeless and senior citizens.

Musical for ‘Jewish Earth Day’

Bet Shira Congregation at 7500 SW 120th St., will celebrate its 22nd Annual Tu Bishevat (Jewish Earth Day) Musical event at 8 p.m. Saturday at the synagogue.

According to Cantor Mark H. Kula, the program is called, "Broadway Comes to Pinecrest," and will feature the music of Jewish Broadway composers.

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