The Republican National Committee reserved a room at a Cuban restaurant in Doral last week to present its chosen team to engage Hispanics across the Florida in state campaigns — and nobody really noticed. After all, we heard a lot of hoopla about their similar efforts in 2012 and look how well that turned out […]
This article, without additions from Monday’s meeting, was first published by Ciudad Doral. In the past year, the city of Doral has been whipped by scandal after scandal after scandal, turning it into the laughing stock of the 305. Not an easy feat in a year of three mayors’ arrests and multiple federal investigations elsewhere. […]
The two new city attorneys representing Doral after the surprise firing of former City Attorney John Herrin last week have registered to lobby at the city — just within the last three months. Gil Pastoriza and Dan Espino — who work for the Weiss Serrota Helfman etcetera law firm — registered in January and March, […]
With five months to go before the Republican primary in the Congressional race for district 26, former Miami-Dade Commission Chairman Joe Martinez was thrown for an early loop this weekend: A burglary at his campaign office and the theft of his computers. Martinez had just secured the space at 1401 SW 107 Avenue — which coincidentally is […]
Miami Assistant City Attorney Veronica Diaz is looking for a new gig: Miami-Dade County Court judge. Diaz filed to run Friday against incumbent Judge William “Bill” Altfield a career prosecutor who served for 24 years as an assistant state attorney in Miami-Dade who was appointed to the bench by Gov. Rick Scott in 2011. A member of […]
You gotta give it to Daniella Levine Cava, the Democratic Party darling running in the non-partisan county commission race against incumbent Lynda Bell: She knows a good campaign issue when she sees one. And she jumped on it quick. The last meeting of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos “Tarnished Boy” Gimenez‘s blue ribbon task force for the […]
Problems in the procurement process at Miami-Dade County are becoming a persistent plague. We’ve had bid protests over the pizza place at Miami International Airport, the water and sewer contract, the code enforcement court deferment services, where commissioners actually asked for what amounts to a “do-over.” Commissioner Audrey Edmonson said she expects an issue in the […]
The legislative session in Tallahassee opened almost two weeks ago and quickly became the center of universe. Several electeds from the 305 made the rounds with legislators, pressing their priorities and making their asks. Pinecrest Mayor Cindy Lerner stopped in Tallly, where she met with Sen. Dwight Bullard (D-South Dade). Along for the ride, lobbyist Jose […]
Aside from Miami-Dade County’s lay off of 21 employees in the last couple of months to help deal with what Mayor Carlos “Not So Golden Boy” Gimenez says is a bulging budget shortfall, the incoming crop of new police officers has been cut in half from four academy classes to two. But Gimenez assured commissioners in […]
Although the county has more than 500 vacant budgeted positions — salaries that are never collected though the expenditures are reflected in the 2014-2015 budget — Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez has laid off almost two dozen county employees so far this year. These are reportedly only the first “heads to roll” in an expected employee […]