Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos “Cry Wolf” Gimenez will present his budget today for the first time publicly — his proposal to run the $6.2 billion business that is county government and, more specifically, the $4.45 billion that is the general operating budget (the other $1.6 mil is for capital improvements). Oh, that doesn’t mean we aren’t […]
Special offering from The News Service of Florida By JIM SAUNDERS THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, July 7, 2014 — Pointing to a new managed-care system, the state is seeking to scuttle a long-running lawsuit that challenges the adequacy of care provided to children in Florida’s Medicaid program. A federal judge will […]
Say it ain’t so, mayor: Please tell Ladra and everyone who lives in the county and pays property taxes that you are not proposing to fire 255 police officers while, with the other hand, you give the Pérez Art Museum Miami $1.5 million more for $4 million in total. How many cops’ jobs can those […]
Forgive Ladra and her friends if we have lost all faith in Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos “Cry Wolf” Gimenez and the county bean counters. First, there was a $208 million shortfall in the Miami-Dade budget. Then it was $200 million. Then, if I recall correctly, it fell to $160 million. Then it was $90 million. Then it […]
Now that they’ve been re-elected automatically, drawing no opposition — for the second term in a row — Miami-Dade Commission Chairwoman Rebeca Sosa and Commissioner Sally Heyman, who were also the only two incumbents to have no challenge in 2010, have almost half a million between them to distribute. And they have 90 days from […]
Miami-Dade Commission Vice Chair Lynda Bell, in the race for her political life, raked in nearly $84,000 in campaign contributions in June — the most she’s gotten in a single 30-day period since February, the biggest month in her re-election bid, when she collected $133,000. In total, Bell now has $533,780 from her own campaign […]
In what can only be seen as another backpedal moment, at best, and another bait and switch, at worst, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos “Cry Wolf” Gimenez dropped his demand for 10 percent wage cut across the board for county employees, saying that he can balance the budget instead by reducing the workers’ healthcare benefits. There are still […]
By JIM TURNER of THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDATHE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, July 2, 2014 — Richard Martinez, whose 20-year-old son was killed in a shooting rampage near the University of California, Santa Barbara in late May, acknowledges that calling for tougher gun-control laws in Florida isn’t easy.But as Martinez travels the country crusading for political discussion on “sensible” […]
By DARA KAM of THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, July 2, 2014 — Winners of Florida’s five, highly sought-after medical marijuana licenses could be selected through lotteries, according to a draft rule released late Wednesday by the Department of Health.The 16-page document comes in advance of an agency workshop Monday in Tallahassee that is drawing heavy attention.The draft rule, […]
State Rep. David Richardson (D-Miami Beach) has nothing to worry about. The Republican candidate that had filed to run against him a week before the deadline June 20, apparently did not have enough funds in her campaign account to cover the $1,781.82 qualifying fee, according to the Florida Division of Elections. Que pena! “CELEBRATION TIME,” […]