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Of course, this is also a major gay nightlife center, and you'll find plenty of great gay bars and clubs in Fort Lauderdale and Wilton Manors as well. Given Fort Lauderdale's abundance of relaxing clothing-optional gay resorts and hip hotels, it can be tempting simply to check in to your accommodation and relax by the pool all day, but there are actually quite a few enjoyable diversions in the area, from lively neighborhoods for strolling to one of Florida's most popular gay beaches to just enough in the way of museums and performing arts venues to keep culture vultures happy. Not surprisingly, quite a few LGBT visitors have become so taken with this friendly and progressive community that they've moved here full-time. This largest city in Broward County, just a 45-minute drive north of Miami and the same distance south of Palm Beach, has steadily evolved from a relatively lesser-known gay getaway in the early 1990s into a favorite place among gays and lesbians for both quick winter getaways and longer seasonal stays. Staff researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.With a sunny and stunning location in South Florida fringed by sandy beaches, Fort Lauderdale and the adjacent inland community of Wilton Manors rank among the world's most desirable tropical gay vacation destinations.
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He was scheduled to return to court Friday for another bond hearing.
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Meyer said the restaurant also asked Wilton Manors police to issue a trespass warning to Edwards on Sunday.Īt his first appearance in Broward bond court Thursday, Edwards did not appear to have any burns to his face, beard or hair. "We told him he was banned but he was not willing to leave, so we called the police and they got him out," he said. Investigators watched the surveillance video, as did restaurant employees.Įmployees identified Edwards in the video and told officers he was a patron who had been banned from the business about three weeks earlier for being "a little too outgoing" when he drank, Meyer said. Wilton Manors police and Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue were called in to investigate the fire. "We have a pretty nasty smell in from the fire," he said. Meyer said he was surprised the flames did not spread.
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It doesn't catch, so he tries again, this time igniting a large burst of flames that erupts in his face.Ībout three hours later, Meyer said, a manager who arrived to open for business discovered the damage. He tries to ignite the fence with a lighter. Next, he appears to intentionally pour the undetermined liquid on to a wood fence outside the restaurant and on to its back door. It shows a man, dressed all in white with dark suspenders, holding a large cup that appears to contain a flammable liquid. He was held without bond on charges that included arson, burglary of a business, and possession of marijuana, police said. Fortunately, the flames fizzled and did not spread.Įdwards, arrested Wednesday after police officers and restaurant employees watched the surveillance video, appeared in court Thursday. The restaurant, at 2000 Wilton Drive, was targeted Wednesday at about 5:10 a.m., police said, by Julio Edwards, 68. "It probably got rid of some of his eyebrows," said Alex Meyer, co-owner of the Tropics Piano Bar and Restaurant. One man's early morning attempt to set a restaurant on fire literally blew up in his face, and it was all captured by a surveillance camera.