Now that absentee ballots are dropping next week, we’re going to start seeing more activity in one of the dogfights Ladra had in this year’s midterm elections: The battle between attorney and young GOP climber, Daniel Diaz Leyva, and Democrat freshman State Rep. Jose Javier “J-Rod” Rodriguez. So far, it had really been a yawner […]
You could see it coming: As Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos “Cry Wolf” Gimenez found money here for this, money there for that, signing five union contracts and balancing the budget without cutting jobs or closing libraries, the anger that drove a petty recall effort launched emotionally by a father in mourning is pretty much out of […]
Cuter Bay Mayor Ed “Mac” MacDougall has no hard feelings after losing the Republican primary for the congressional district 26 race last month. Really. And considering he was the old gringo who was supposed to get single digit dust, he sorta made history by coming in second in a predominantly Hispanic district. But “Big Mac […]
Sólo dile que no — a la enmienda. With Florida poised to become the 24th state to legalize medical marijuana, opponents hope Hispanic voters can help them defeat Amendment 2 on the Nov. 4 ballot. And some think that the Cuban vote in Miami can be the buzz kill they need. “Absolutely,” said Javier Correoso, a […]
Former Miami Lakes Michael “Muscles” Pizzi may like to say he’s half Cuban and may sound like the name of an Italian mafia enforcer, but he’s got the luck of the Irish. Suspended last year after he was arrested in an FBI bribery string, Pizzi let off last month by a jury that was simply […]
When former Coral Gables City Manager Pat Salerno resigned abruptly in April, city commissioners apparently did not have enough confidence in Acting City Manager Carmen Olazabal to leave her alone on the job as the city’s top administrator — even though she got a 20 percent raise to rise to the occasion. So they hired […]
After a five-month process that included a trolley tour of the historic City Beautiful and the wining and dining of five finalists, Coral Gables made history by naming its first black city manager. Whoops. Nevermind. Some people are calling it the curse of Pat Salerno. After a long and excruciatingly public process bungled by a bad background […]
Finally, there have been some dates released for the much anticipated debates between Democrat incumbent Congressman Joe Garcia and Miami-Dade School Board Member Carlos “Crybaby” Curbelo, the Republican nominee who wants to unseat him. But not one of the public English-language debates scheduled are in Miami-Dade. And Ladra doesn’t really feel like driving two hours […]
Looks like for the first time since the county budget process began months ago with threats of a 10% pay cut and reduced library hours and the threatened layoff of somewhere around 700 employees, from police officers to park workers, we are quite possibly looking at a really best case scenario where there won’t be […]
Even if Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos “Cry Wolf” Gimenez comes to terms with all ten of the workers’ unions by giving them back some of the sacrifices they made five years ago — like holiday pay and furloughs — there are some employees who are left out of such negotiated agreements. Across the county, 2,000 to […]