News

Scarface in Miami

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She was compelled to have words with one of her son's collaborators. "I told Rick Ross: 'First of all, I don't know you that well. But just keep it nice.' He said, 'I will, Mom; I will, Mom. We got love for Ace; we got love for Ace.' He's got such a deep voice. They've all been extremely good to Antoine, they really have. They love him like a brother."

But, she says, "I told Antoine: 'Just because Rick Ross uses the language that he does, doesn't mean that it's okay for you to use it, or that I'll accept it.' I mean, Rick Ross is all curse. Thank God they play the clean one on the radio station."

Sports

Kicking It

WMC spinners take time out for soccer.

BY TAMARA LUSH

Winter Music Conference events are supposed to take place in clubs. But not this one. It happened at an indoor soccer field nestled in a shabby strip of warehouses in Miami's Fashion District.

Last Thursday at 6 p.m., a couple dozen DJs made their way to Midtown Indoor Soccer on NW 24th Street. The owner, a Frenchman named Michael Athea — a.k.a. DJ OM — had organized a soccer match between European and Iranian DJs. The Europeans — among them international beatmasters Sander Kleinenberg, Cedric Gervais, and Nic Fanciulli — tossed on blue shirts. The Iranians, comprising Sharam Tayebi of Deep Dish, DJ Behrouz, and others, donned white tees.

As the new CD from Club Space (mixed by Gervais) pulsed over the stadium's sound system, the competitors took to the artificial turf and played with surprising speed and force.

A minute and a half into the game, the Iranian team scored the first goal. These guys clearly had spent some time with a soccer ball; indeed most said they had been avid players as boys. Ten minutes into the match, Iran had a commanding 4-2 lead, until the teams tied at the 20-minute mark. By halftime — 30 minutes in — Europe pulled ahead 11-5.

The European team ended up winning 24-15, but it was an impressive showing for DJs on both sides of the arena — especially for a bunch of nocturnal types who spend most of their time in dark clubs.

Physical exertion during WMC wasn't the easiest thing, admitted Fanciulli: "Especially when you've been out drinking the night before."

The Changing Tide

Patrick Williams, the language arts teacher accused of harassing his boss ("Good Teacher, Bad Principal," November 8, 2007), has been exonerated, but he'll remain exiled.

This past October 19, Williams was removed from his teaching position at William H. Turner Technical Arts High School after Principal Valmarie Rhoden filed an administrative complaint against him, claiming the multilingual Jamaican was harassing her and creating a physically threatening environment at the school. The Miami-Dade School Board's Civilian Investigative Unit, which looked into Rhoden's claims, cleared Williams this past March 17.

"All along, her accusations were false and damaging," Williams says. "My students lost out on a good teacher."

Williams says Rhoden — who earns a six-figure salary and recently purchased a new Mercedes-Benz S500 — falsely accused him because he publicly questioned her about Turner's share of a $5-million grant set aside to help ninth- and tenth-graders pass the FCAT. Before his removal from the vocational high school, Williams had discovered the grant monies were in the red. According to a recent state audit of the Miami-Dade School Board, the school district wasted the funds.

The victory is bittersweet for Williams, because he won't be returning to Turner, where he taught AP Spanish for two years. The school district transferred him to Westland Hialeah Senior High School. "I don't feel vindicated," Williams says. "I've been put through hell and she has yet to be reprimanded." Francisco Alvarado

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