By MARGIE MENZELTHE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDATHE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, July 16, 2014 — Carlos Lopez-Cantera is the first Hispanic lieutenant governor of Florida. Gov. Rick Scott tapped him for the post in January, 10 months after the resignation of former Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, and Lopez-Cantera was sworn in Feb. 3. Lopez-Cantera represented part of Miami-Dade County in the […]
While the regular Joe P. Taxpayer citizens of Miami-Dade County were begging county commissioners to restore the library budget to what is needed to go back to the right level of services and not to fire police officers and not to increase the bus fair and prices for special transportation for the elderly and the […]
By JIM TURNER / THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, July 15, 2014 — Republican legislative leaders said Tuesday they do not plan to appeal a judge’s ruling that struck down Florida’s congressional map but want lawmakers to be able to redraw the disputed districts after this fall’s elections. House Speaker Will Weatherford […]
Nobody left happy from the Miami-Dade Commission meeting Tuesday where our electeds dealt with the county’s $6.2 billion budget for the first time as a whole. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez can’t be happy that all three of his recommended tax rates — for the general fund, the fire department and the libraries — were not rubber […]
Miami-Dade Commissioners have a choice today: They can allow Mayor Carlos “Cry Wolf” Gimenez to establish his legacy as the man who decimated our police department, libraries and public services while doling out millions in corporate giveaways. Or they can show what true leadership looks like and actually set a tentative increase in the property tax […]
While the Miami-Dade Commission considers firing 700 workers and slashing services and making employees sacrifice their benefits, the county spent close to $1 million this year on fancy new pavers for the parking lots at three county facilities. No, not libraries or neighborhood service agencies or cultural centers where hundreds of constituents come and go. These octagonal, terracotta-colored […]
At first blush, it may seem like a difficult decision. But it’s really a no brainer. Because the the circuit court race that pits former School Board Member and State Rep. Renier Diaz de la Portilla against Assistant City of Miami Attorney Veronica Xiques Diaz is really a choice between a promise and a puppet. Sure, Baby DLP can be […]
By BRANDON LARRABEE/THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDATHE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, July 11, 2014 — Members of Congress, candidates and political observers are grappling with the fallout of a judge’s Thursday ruling that two of the state’s congressional districts were illegally drawn for partisan reasons.Lawyers on Friday were preparing to ask Leon County Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis to move quickly to prescribe a remedy for the flawed map. Meanwhile, Democratic Congresswoman Corrine Brown […]
Former Congressman David “King Nine Lives” Rivera announced Friday that he would “suspend campaigning” that in the congressional primary for his old seat in District 26, and “launch” instead a campaign for a state House seat in 2016. But, while he was mincing words, Rivera told Ladra in a short telephone interview that he had […]
If (read: when) former Congressman David “King Nine Lives” Rivera drops out of the race for Congressional District 26 and runs, instead, for state House race in 2016, it may not be in District 105 where he lives, which is the seat now held by State Rep. Carlos Trujillo (R-Doral). Rivera could move to District 118, […]