Public corruption watchdogs let the big fish swim free

Public corruption watchdogs let the big fish swim free

Sound the trumpets and break out the champagne! Our Miami-Dade State Attorney announced another public corruption arrest of someone stealing the taxpayers’ dollars, a public official on the take. But instead of looking into the lobbying connections at County Hall and kickbacks or the half a million in PAC money from Miami Beach vendors and […]

Miami Beach $500K+ PAC tied to vendors, city contracts

Miami Beach $500K+ PAC tied to vendors, city contracts

A new Miami Beach political action committee formed by Commissioner Jonah “Pottymouth” Wolfson, who is termed out in November, collected more than half a million dollars last month alone — some of it from vendors or entities doing business or wanting to do business with the city. And that has raised some eyebrows. Commissioner Deede […]

Wasserman Shultz to officiate county aide’s gay wedding

Wasserman Shultz to officiate county aide’s gay wedding

Alex Fernandez might be just a communications aide to Miami-Dade Commissioner Rebeca Sosa, but the longtime government worker bee — who landed there after former Commissioner Lynda Bell was beaten last November — has got some bigger political pals. Fernandez will wed his longtime partner Robert Wolfarth at a Washington, D.C., ceremony Monday (Congratulations!) to […]

Public gets view of $13 billion in South Dade water projects

Public gets view of $13 billion in South Dade water projects

During the next two decades or so, the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department will undergo and oversee the largest capital improvement program in the county’s history — with $13.5 billion in projects just in the southern part of the county. Members of the public will get a chance to hear about these projects — which […]

Toker vote play? Marijuana debate enters local election

Toker vote play? Marijuana debate enters local election

Legalized or medicinal marijuana may be a state issue, but it could play a small, supporting role in some municipal elections in the 305 after local police agencies have suggested fines instead of arrests for possession of a small, personal amount. Last week, the Miami-Dade Police and Miami Beach Police departments suggested fining people found […]

Miami-Dade’s Jean Monestime ‘Elected of the Year’

Miami-Dade’s Jean Monestime ‘Elected of the Year’

Just six months after being made chair of the Miami-Dade County Commission, Commissioner Jean Monestime has nabbed the “Elected Official of the Year Award” given out by the South Florida chapter of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA). He will get it Thursday at the group’s annual awards reception at Parrot Jungle Island. That’s […]

Joe Martinez hints at 2016 rematch with Carlos Gimenez

Joe Martinez hints at 2016 rematch with Carlos Gimenez

There might be another candidate declared soon for the Miami-Dade County race for mayor in 2016 — but we’re not talking about Commissioner Xavier Suarez, who says he is still considering the contest. Former Commissioner Joe Martinez, who lost against Gimenez in 2012, must smell the blood in the water and has strongly hinted that he […]

Daniella Levine Cava defends Everglades — and democracy

Daniella Levine Cava defends Everglades — and democracy

Maybe it’s because she’s new. But on Tuesday, freshman Miami-Dade County Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava showed that she does something other Miami-Dade Commissioners find it hard to do: She listens to the voters. Levine Cava sponsored an item to urge the legislature to set aside $500 million for land acquisition and Everglades restoration from somewhere, […]

Gimenez Vizcaya ‘privatization’ plan is part of a pattern

Gimenez Vizcaya ‘privatization’ plan is part of a pattern

The biggest problem about Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos “Mr. Giveaway” Gimenez‘s proposal to sort of privatize Vizcaya — putting operations in the hands of a non-profit board that can raise and spend monies without the cumbersome public, transparent processes of government — isn’t that it smells like another land grab or inside deal. It isn’t that it […]

Concerns force workshop on mayor’s Vizcaya ‘privatization’

Concerns force workshop on mayor’s Vizcaya ‘privatization’

Concerns about Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s reorganization and expansion plans for Vizcaya Museum have been mounting and will have to be publicly vetted at a commission workshop to be set in the near future. Gimenez, in one of his famous last minute Friday memos, requested a workshop “in light of the public comments and media […]

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