River Oaks Green Yard Sale

Green Flyer - click here

Moldy Berries Tip

The key to preventing moldy berries...

Berries are delicious, but they're also kind of delicate. Raspberries in particular seem like they can mold before you even get them home from the market. There's nothing more tragic than paying $4 for a pint of local raspberries, only to look in the fridge the next day and find that fuzzy mold growing on their insides.

Well, with fresh berries just starting to hit farmers markets, we can tell you that how to keep them fresh! Here’s a tip I’m sharing on how to prevent them from getting there in the first place:

Wash them with vinegar.

When you get your berries home, prepare a mixture of one part vinegar (white or apple cider probably work best) and ten parts water. Dump the berries into the mixture and swirl around. Drain, rinse if you want (though the mixture is so diluted you can't taste the vinegar,) and pop in the fridge. The vinegar kills any mold spores and other bacteria that might be on the surface of the fruit, and voila! Raspberries will last a week or more, and strawberries go almost two weeks without getting moldy and soft. So go forth
and stock up on those pricey little gems, knowing they'll stay fresh as long as it takes you to eat them.

You're so berry velcome!

Minutes Croissant Park meeting 1/31/12

Happy New Year, Neighbors

We kicked off our first Croissant Park Civic Association meeting of the year at the Community Center on Tuesday night with a Pot Luck Supper that featured tons of tasty dishes, from appetizers to desserts, and everything in between.

Before digging in to all the mouth-watering morsels, we welcomed our first speakers, Capt. London from the FLPD and the five officers who make up the new Neighborhood Action Team. They will be actively collaborating with our neighborhood in a community partnership effort by attending our civic association meetings to report their findings, to listen to our concerns, and to step up their presence on our streets. Some suggestions they offer to help fight crime are 1) when you buy a TV, computer, or any big ticket item, don't put the cardboard box it came in out on the street for all to see. Instead, flatten it and discard it in your recycle bin, or the green dumpster in the northwest corner of the parking lot at Croissant Park Elem. School. 2) Keep your blinds closed when you are not at home so that would-be burglars cannot see into your home. 3) Don't be shy about reporting suspicious behavior to the FLPD non-emergency number (954) 828-5700. They would rather show up for a false alarm then not be called when a crime actually occurs. And of course, call 911 in an emergency.

After everyone had a plateful or two of food, we introduced Romney Rogers, our District IV Commissioner. He informed us that $18 million has been trimmed from the budget and yet there will still be public improvements made at Hall of Fame Swimming Pool, new streetscapes in some areas, among other improvements. He mentioned that Fort Lauderdale has the second lowest taxes in the state of Florida! Who knew?And an interesting statistic he shared: 6% of the population commit 60% of the crime here. Romney is running for re-election in the upcoming election. We also heard from Jacquelyn Scott who is running for the same commissioner seat. If you would like to learn more about these two candidates, there will be a Candidates' Forum on March 7th at 7pm at the Embassy Suites.

Our final speaker was Diana Alarcon, Transportation and Mobility Director for the City. Diana described the proposed plan for a Greenway on the east side of 4th Avenue. The Greenway will be a 12 foot wide paved path for pedestrians and cyclists. Between the path and the roadway there will be a 4 foot landscaped buffer, reducing the width of the automobile lane next to it to 11 feet. There is also a move afoot to reduce the speed limit on 4th Avenue. The project will be done is phases, probably over a period of 3 years at a cost of $2.8 million, hopefully funded by grants.

Diana informed us that FDOT will have an open house on February 2nd from 5:30 to 7:30pm at the Renaissance Hotel. The pre-construction project for 17th Street will be discussed and you are welcome to attend and voice your concerns.

The 50/50 raffle was a big success with lots of T-shirt winners. The cash prize went to Joe Shover. Congrats, Joe!

We had a great turnout tonight...Thanks to all who attended and to those who contributed to the Pot Luck. See you at the next meeting on February 28th.

Virginia Russell--Secretary

Pot Luck Dinner

The annual neighborhood pot luck dinner will be this Tuesday, January 31st. We will be set up by 7:00 pm in the Croissant Park Community Center. Bring your favorite dish, or just come on over to share a bite to eat. This is a nice opportunity to meet your neighbors.

We will also have a representative to update us on the 4th Avenue Greenway that is planned for the East side of 4th Avenue through our neighborhood.

We have also invited our neighborhood police officers to update us on crime in the past few months and answer any questions you may have.

Should be fun and we hope you can make it. Everyone is invited.

The Croissant Park Civic Association

Early Voting

If you are voting for the Presidential Primary, there is early voting. January 21 - 28 10am - 6pm.

Here are the locations < Click Here >

The closest location to Croissant Park is the Main Library Downtown.

Voters are required by law to present a photo and signature ID, such as a driver's license, military ID or U.S. passport.

All registered Republicans are eligible to vote.

To make voting go faster, bring a photo identification that includes a signature. A drivers license or Florida state ID works best. Also allowed: passports, military, student, public assistance or neighborhood association IDs, and debit or credit cards. If the picture ID does not contain a signature, an additional piece of identification can be provided to match up with the signature.

Absentee voters: You can now track the status of your request using the new Free Access System. Simply supply the requested information on the Division of Elections website here: http://registration.election.myflorida.com

You will be able to see exactly when your ballot was mailed, and when it is received by the office once you have returned it

Croissant Park Crime

0.41 miles

DECAL STOLEN 3XX SW 20TH ST, Dec 11, 2011 at 11:56 am

0.44 miles

BURGLARY AUTO 20XX SW 4TH AVE, Dec 11, 2011 at 9:54 am

Are You Registered to Vote 2012?

Yes, its that time. Many Elections are coming ahead for us in good ole Croissant Park, our local Fort Lauderdale Election in March, Republican Primary in January, Our Congressional Seat and Presidential Office in November.

You know the old adage, "you can't complain if you don't VOTE !! "

Here are some links for you to get more information and register now.

• Voter Registration - Florida Division of Elections
• Voter Registration Lookup- Florida Division of Elections
  
• Absentee/Vote at Home Requests- Broward County- Supervisor of Elections - if you received absentee ballots in the past- you will NOT in the future. You must request them again.