Miami Commissioner Ken Russell lost the U.S. Senate race Thursday. No, the election didn’t come early. It’s still in November. And maybe he would have lost anyway. But Russell’s sudden and unjustifiable switch on the Miami Freedom Park lease agreement — even with amendments made on the fly — is going to haunt him in […]
West Miami’s new mayor is the youngest municipal mayor in the state of Florida, a chubby-cheeked, blue-eyed baby-face who looks more like a high school student than a politician. Eric Diaz-Padron, 27, could also be the next Marco Rubio, the U.S. senator and 2016 presidential hopeful who started his career as commissioner in this same […]
After very little public comment, a pep talk about trust and courage from the mayor, a long and fiery homeland-type sales pitch from the developer, hours of haggling by Miami city commissioners and what looked like near fisticuffs between two of the electeds, the owners of the InterMiami soccer team got the green light to […]
Company tied to hundreds of thousands in campaign contributions For at least five years, Miami-Dade County has been contracting out select bus routes and neighborhood circulators to a private company owned by prolific campaign contributors. Transportation America, which also goes by the names of Limousines of South Florida and Super Nice STS, has other contracts […]
Everybody wants something. While there may be a discussion Thursday, the Miami city commission vote on the Miami Freedom Park real estate giveaway is likely a ways off, as commissioners still have not had a chance yet to make their public asks (which are different from campaign contributions). And this will be the first public […]
Baby Brother is back at it. Renier Diaz de la Portilla, the youngest in the family’s political dynasty, is running for Miami-Dade County judge — again. RDLP filed paperwork Monday with the Miami-Dade Elections Department showing he opened a campaign account and designated himself as treasurer. He is currently challenging Fred Seraphin, the first Haitian-American […]
City takes over catering, event space May 2 DEVELOPING STORY: There’s no hearing this week. The city of Coral Gables apparently settled with Coral Grand, the operators of the Coral Gables Country Club, late Wednesday, on the eve of a three-hour evidentiary court hearing and a week after it moved to seize their property. The […]
After a short trip to Poland, where he visited with Ukrainian refugees and saw the relief efforts first-hand, Miami-Dade Commission Chairman Jose “Pepe” Diaz has created a process by which county employees can have a direct impact on the lives that have been uprooted by the war. It’s good to see electeds travel for a […]
Take if from former Miami Marlins President David Samson — because he knows a bad deal when he sees one. Samson is the narrator of a new mini documentary video about the Miami Freedom Park deal, a 99-year, no-bid lease of the city of Miami’s largest public park for a real estate complex of stores, […]
UPDATE: Someone stopped him. This was deferred indefinitely. Can you picture a Miami Dade Commission Museum? Wax versions of Commissioners Sally Heyman and Jose “Pepe” Diaz? Miami-Dade Commissioners on Tuesday could direct the mayor to come up with a plan to establish a museum about the 13-member single district commission and its history. A report […]