Miami Gardens battles county for control of Sun Life Stadium

Miami Gardens battles county for control of Sun Life Stadium

We all got a close up and rare look at  the contentious battle between Miami Gardens and Miami-Dade County for control of Sun Life Stadium Tuesday in a joint meeting of both municipal governing bodies over the city’s lawsuit against the county for regulatory oversight.  And it got a little testy. “How much more time […]

Shades of shady Miami Beach PAC in county disclosure law

Shades of shady Miami Beach PAC in county disclosure law

Miami-Dade County commissioners gave preliminary approval Tuesday to an ordinance that would force elected officials and any candidates for elected office to disclose when they were soliciting funds for any political action committee. Hmmm. Doesn’t that sound familiar? Am I the only one having de ja vu? Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava, who sponsored the measure, said […]

Stalling on red light cameras drives Sally Heyman mad

Stalling on red light cameras drives Sally Heyman mad

Miami-Dade county commissioners on Tuesday will hear another litany of sob stories from the mayor’s office about why the county can’t go out to bid again on red light cameras. And Commissioner Sally Heyman is tired of the excuses. “I’m not happy about it,” Heyman said of a status report that basically doesn’t move the […]

Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s Uber draft ‘not ready for primetime’

Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s Uber draft ‘not ready for primetime’

The much ballyhooed ghost legislation that Mayor Carlos Gimenez had his staff write to legalize Uber and Lyft is not going anywhere. Not anytime soon, anyway. But it’s not because Commission Chairman Jean Monestime has been stalling, like Gimenez and his people have been saying on TV and radio shows for the past couple of […]

Easy come, easy go? Opa-Locka commission fires Steve Shiver

Easy come, easy go? Opa-Locka commission fires Steve Shiver

On the second try, Opa-Locka Commissioner Luis Santiago was successful Tuesday in firing City Manager Steve Shiver, who was hired less than three months ago to deal with the city’s financial mess. Santiago had tried to fire Shiver in October — for another reason, an alleged bribe he made to a vendor — but was […]

Political Cortaditos: This, that and the other thing — en breve

Political Cortaditos: This, that and the other thing — en breve

Sometimes, there’s not enough to report for a full blown story, but the info is too good not to pass on. So, to get you these tiny gems of political intrigue, Ladra introduces you to a new sometimes feature: Political Cortaditos — a collection of briefs, updates and small developments. Fatima Perez dumps Beach for […]

Carlos Gimenez moves to legalize Uber, pardon penalties

Carlos Gimenez moves to legalize Uber, pardon penalties

Christmas could come early for the operators of so-called “ride sharing” services like Uber and Lyft — if Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez gets his way. As part of a plan to institute some regulations that will make them legal, Carlos “Mr. Giveaway” Gimenez wants to forgive $1.4 million in fines that the companies have amassed since […]

Michael Pizzi wins Round 1 vs Miami Lakes for legal costs

Michael Pizzi wins Round 1 vs Miami Lakes for legal costs

Miami Lakes Mayor Michael Pizzi is having a tremendous run of luck in the courts. First, he was acquitted of federal bribery charges after being caught in an FBI sting applying for grants he allegedly knew were bogus. Then he got the court to agree with him on having Gov. Rick Scott lift his suspension […]

Miami Beach mayor lets AB aide go after election

Miami Beach mayor lets AB aide go after election

Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine used to call Leonor Hernandez the mother of Miami Beach. Today, we can all call her a clerk in the building department after Hernandez (seen in this photo standing next to Levine with a sign in North Beach) was fired from the mayor’s office last week and Commissioner Jonah Wolfson […]

It’s that time of year again: Turkeys handing out turkeys

It’s that time of year again: Turkeys handing out turkeys

Next week is Thanksgiving and that means that you can throw a rock in almost any direction and hit a politician giving away free turkeys. No, not the giveaway contracts and projects promised to friends, campaign contributors and family. These are real frozen turkeys to roast or fry or otherwise cook and put on a […]