Tallahassee 2014: ‘New rule’ on residency — all politics, no bite

Tallahassee 2014: ‘New rule’ on residency — all politics, no bite

The residency rule passed by both the Florida House and Senate Tuesday has been touted as both a way to tighten loopholes that allow legislators to live outside their district and a measure that was not politically motivated. It is neither. State lawmakers may have been all high fives and back slaps after they passed the […]

Tallahassee 2014: Rep. Jose Felix Diaz selfie tops Day 1

Tallahassee 2014: Rep. Jose Felix Diaz selfie tops Day 1

State Rep. Jose Felix “One More Pepe” Diaz was already quite the connoisseur and promoter of the selfie genre — posting photo pics of himself on instagram and twitter on a regular basis. He almost always lands some image on Political Cortadito’s Pics of the Weeks. But Diaz hit the big time on Tuesday when […]

Political pics of the week — the Guv and Marco Rubio trump

Political pics of the week — the Guv and Marco Rubio trump

The highlight of last week’s pols in pics has to be Gov. Rick Scott and Sen. Marco Rubio, who were in town Friday to attend a Doral rally in support of protesters in Venezuela and demand sanctions from the U.S. government, which some called a publicity stunt and others said was a much needed public […]

Tallahassee 2014: Packed session could be a sleeper

Tallahassee 2014: Packed session could be a sleeper

It looks like this year’s legislative session in Tallahassee, which opens Tuesday, is going to be a little smoother than last year’s. While there seem to be some arguably controversial bills in the pipeline — we have gaming, medicaid, sports stadiums, red lighht cameras, a sales tax for higher education — not many seem to […]

SOS Venezuela: A trendy 2014 Florida campaign theme

SOS Venezuela: A trendy 2014 Florida campaign theme

Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Lieutenant Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera joined the bevy of local electeds to blast the Venezuelan government’s crackdown on protesters Friday — more than two weeks after the first two of at least 16 anti-government protesters killed and about a month after the clashes started. They joined Sen. Marco Rubio, who gave […]

Carlos Gimenez gets a ‘C’ on State of the County speech

Carlos Gimenez gets a ‘C’ on State of the County speech

He was on. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez was at the top of his game Wednesday, as he delivered the State of the County address to a packed auditorium at Hialeah’s Milander Park. Okay, so yeah, he was totally in his element, a very friendly and almost adoring crowd. But he softened up his jowl and […]

Is Carlos Gimenez recruiting a new property appraiser?

Is Carlos Gimenez recruiting a new property appraiser?

Spotted at a Coral Gables eatery the other day: Carlos “CJ” Gimenez, the county mayor’s son, and Hialeah Council Vice President Luis Gonzalez, who is considering a run at the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser’s Office. While, he wouldn’t tell me what they discussed, Gonzalez confirmed to Ladra Wednesday that the two had met for “not […]

Suggestions for Carlos Gimenez to address at address

Suggestions for Carlos Gimenez to address at address

It’s that time of year again when the top county official will tell his constituency and the leaders of his realm how the municipality that is Miami-Dade is standing, what great things he’s done this past year and where he’s going if they’ll let him. Expect a lot of the same words and tired phrases […]

Dade’s newest Dem, Ana Rivas Logan, hails First Lady

Dade’s newest Dem, Ana Rivas Logan, hails First Lady

There was the typical crowd at Gwen Cherry Park where First Lady Michelle Obama visited this afternoon to promote her healthy eating initiatives for children. But one atypical attendee stood out: The recently blue former red State Rep. Ana Rivas Logan, who very ceremoniously changed parties two weeks ago. Old time blue-hards like Miami-Dade Democratic […]