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Investor pays $28-million for fading Miami Arena

MIAMI - A Palm Beach County investor has bought the struggling Miami Arena for about $28-million, promising to keep the facility open as a "niche" venue.

Glenn Straub of Boca Raton agreed at a Tuesday auction to buy the downtown arena, the former home of the NBA's Miami Heat and the NHL's Florida Panthers.

Straub said the 14,696-seat venue could draw a profit from large events that are too modest for the nearby AmericanAirlines Arena. "We feel there's a niche between large arena conventions and boat shows and things of that nature," he said.

The purchase still needs approval from a city authority.

The arena was built for $52-million and opened in 1988 as the home of the Heat. It became the venue for the Panthers in 1993, but soon both teams complained it did not offer revenue-generating suites.

The Panthers moved to Office Depot Center in Sunrise in 1998 and the Heat moved to AmericanAirlines Arena in 2000.

MIAMI - The Miami Herald pulled its daily features magazine from Tuesday's editions because it contained what could be perceived as racially insensitive content, the newspaper said Wednesday.

A notice on the Herald's front page Tuesday told readers the Tropical Life section would not run that day and its content could be found elsewhere in the paper, but gave no further details.

The concern was over a headline that ran over an illustration for a story on Olympic athletes and doping. The headline was "How they will cheat" and the illustration was of a bulked-up athlete with a dark complexion.

The juxtaposition "could have been perceived by readers as being racially insensitive," said Tom Fiedler, Herald executive editor.

Fiedler said the editor who wrote the headline and the illustrator were not working side-by-side on the cover, and the decision to pull the magazine was made only after it was printed and the words and art were seen together.

ORLANDO - A man is being hailed as a hero for saving two children from an apartment fire early Wednesday.

David Stringer broke a first-floor bedroom window so he could rescue the boys, ages 4 and 6.

A crew from Orange County Fire Rescue Department also saved a 2-year-old boy from a back bedroom. Felix Garcia showed no vital signs, but was revived with CPR. He was listed in critical condition in the pediatric intensive care unit at Florida Hospital.

The other boys, Junior and Jose, also were hospitalized for observation.

Stringer said he was in the parking lot at Millennium Palms Apartments about 1:45 a.m. when he smelled smoke. The fire was in the apartment where Aria Garcia, 28, lived with her three sons.

Stringer tried the front door, but the fire drove him back. "I crawled down and called out the names. I could hear noises coming from the back," Stringer said.

He found a window and saw the boys. He smashed the class, suffering cuts to his hands and face, and pulled them to safety.

ORLANDO - Walt Disney Entertainment has been fined $6,300 by a federal agency for the death of a worker dressed as Pluto who was run over and killed by a float as it entered a Magic Kingdom parade, officials said Wednesday.

The right foot of Javier Cruz, 38, became caught between sections of a three-part float as it was about to enter the parade route from a backstage area for the parade last February, and he fell.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the citation. Disney has until Aug. 20 to show it has made changes to prevent a similar accident.