Ruling says it was part of his job Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mavel Ruiz on Thursday dismissed the civil lawsuit against former Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla — who faces 14 political corruption charges on an unrelated case — in the alleged shakedown of the Rickenbacker Marina owner in 2020. She said in her […]
Updated: The Miami-Dade Elections Department has rejected close to 13,000 petitions — or an overwhelming majority of signatures — collected by the Accountable Coral Gables group to put three questions on the November ballot. And something smells fishy. The political action committee, chaired by Mayor Vince Lago‘s ally and former candidate Alex Bucelo, turned in […]
Suspended elected is charged with healthcare fraud The Hialeah Council is poised to appoint someone to replace Councilwoman Angelica Pacheco, who was arrested last week on healthcare fraud charges and on Tuesday became the latest Miami-Dade elected to be suspended by Gov. Ron DeSantis. And wannabes are already jockeying for pole position. Mayor Esteban Bovo […]
Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar wants everyone to know what she’s doing in District 27. She says she is working to reduce the cost of living for families, support small business owners, create new jobs, make affordable housing more accessible and cut unnecessary government expenses. Well, not all unnecessary government expenses. Because the four mailers that […]
Did the money go to help the needy in District 1? About six months before Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla was arrested in September on public corruption charges — for giving away a public park in exchange for more than $245,000 in campaign contributions and thousands more in gifts, meals, drinks and accommodations […]
It should have been a no-brainer. Coral Gables Commissioners on Tuesday approved giving $42,000 to the Actor’s Playhouse, which leases the historic Miracle Theater from the city, for a new wheelchair ramp that will accommodate newer, bigger wheelchairs for patrons who need to get to the second floor. It was a divided 3-2 vote — […]
In what could seem like a hasty and behind-closed-doors decision, the Miami Lakes Council agreed to pay former Mayor Michael Pizzi — who was arrested in 2013 on federal bribery charges but acquitted a year later — for $1.7 million for the legal fees he incurred in his defense. Wasn’t this supposed to come back […]
The political war in Coral Gables has just gone nuclear. Mayor Vince Lago, who has been spiraling, having public meltdowns and is now under investigation for allegedly assaulting the city manager during a meeting earlier this week, sent his usual email newsletter Thursday — and used it to refute any wrongdoing and lash out at […]
Loses attempt to block Javier Baños from board What a openly obvious hypocrite Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago is. It’s the only thing he’s transparent about. Lago tried to block the appointment Tuesday of Javier Baños, a former commission candidate and the new publisher of Gables Insider — which he took over from Commissioner Ariel […]
Deposition: Mayor used his influence with permitting, parking For months, Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago has been hinting that Commissioner Melissa Castro — who Ladra swears he has a big crush on — was doing something wrong because she has a permit expediting business that does work in The City Beautiful. But on Wednesday, the […]