That was fast. It took just about 24 hours for Gov. Ron DeSantis to suspend Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, after his arrest this week on charges of money laundering, bribery, criminal conspiracy and other public corruption and campaign finance violations. In contrast, it took three weeks for DeSantis to suspend former Miami-Dade […]
The land-use attorney and lobbyist arrested Thursday on money laundering, criminal conspiracy and political corruption charges also has business ties with Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago. William “Bill” Riley Jr. was one of the four real estate agents registered along with Lago at the brokerage owned by former Hialeah Councilman Oscar de la Rosa, who […]
Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla was arrested Thursday on money laundering and political corruption charges — including unlawful compensation, bribery and criminal conspiracy — after a yearlong investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Broward State Attorney’s office. These charges do not stem from the shakedown of the Rickenbacker Marina […]
Nobody knows where it came from. Nobody remembers any discussion about it. It wasn’t on any of the slides in the presentation of the Coral Gables 2023-2024 operating budget at Wednesday’s first public hearing. It wasn’t in the draft budget presented to city commissioners and the public in July. But tucked into the $258 million […]
Coral Gables Mayor Vince “Sore Loser” Lago is still upset about having both his commission candidates trounced in the April elections. So he keeps cutting newly-elected Commissioners Melissa Castro and Ariel Fernandez — who was once a Lago ally — out of photographs he posts on social media. And he keeps ignoring them at public […]
Three commissioners opposed him on firefighters and tax rate, too Did ya feel it? The Earth shifted in Coral Gables Wednesday when Mayor Vince Lago lost his grip on power and the majority vote. Lago lost on his proposed charter amendment to move the city’s election from April to November. He lost his fight with […]
The residents of Little Gables, an enclave of unincorporated Miami-Dade nestled in North Gables, are voting right now on whether or not they want to be part of the City Beautiful, paying taxes into Coral Gables and getting services — most importantly police and fire — from Coral Gables. It came as a surprise to […]
Critics worry that special interest influence will grow UPDATED: The Coral Gables commission this Wednesday may change the date of city elections from April to November, forever altering the way electeds are elected in the City Beautiful. It’s not just about a date. This change will make it harder for grass roots candidates with little […]
Board votes 5-3 against resolution along partisan lines The Miami-Dade School Board meeting Wednesday was painful. It was ugly. And so sad. Traumatizing might be an apt description for many people there. It was eight hours or so worth of a debate over a proclamation of October as LGBTQ History Month, a debate that never […]
The whole ugly episode last week with the public removal of Claudia Miro from the Coral Gables planning and zoning advisory board because of some bogus attendance issue could really be about stacking the citizen committee with yes men or developer-friendly members. That could be why Mayor Vince Lago sent Miro a series of angry […]