Alex DLP keeps bunching bundles of special interest campaign money

Alex DLP keeps bunching bundles of special interest campaign money

Former State Sen. and current Miami city commission candidate Alex Diaz de la Portilla had another stellar month for fundraising in February, more than doubling his total to almost $86,000. But at least half of the $45,380 raised in February, according to the campaign financial reports filed last week, was through bundles, which generally indicate […]

Pinecrest voters to decide if they’ll pay extra taxes to get county water

Pinecrest voters to decide if they’ll pay extra taxes to get county water

Voters in Pinecrest have been asked to decide by next week whether the village should issue $15 million in bonds — the largest in the village’s short history — to provide access to the last 739 properties that do not have Miami-Dade drinking water and add fire hydrants. If the referendum passes — it’s a mail-in ballots […]

Florida House tries to thwart the voters’ decision on Amendment 4

Florida House tries to thwart the voters’ decision on Amendment 4

A subcommittee in the Florida House will hear the first bill Tuesday to legislate the process for felons to get their voting rights restored, which voters approved last year with the passage of Amendment 4 by 64% of Florida voters. But in the typical bait and switch style of our Republican-controlled legislature, it seems the […]

Gables candidate Jorge Fors has history of traffic tickets, arrests

Gables candidate Jorge Fors has history of traffic tickets, arrests

Maybe nobody had heard of him in Coral Gables before Jorge Fors, Jr., decided to run for city commission. But they may have heard of him at the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The city commission candidate has gotten 31 traffic tickets in 18 years. He was also arrested three times in his indiscriminate […]

Amid Miami Beach chaos, mayor Dan Gelber raises funds for race

Amid Miami Beach chaos, mayor Dan Gelber raises funds for race

The videos circulating on social media are shocking: Groups of men pummel people to the ground; women brawl on the street, ripping the weaves from each other’s heads; a man punches a woman in the face and knocks her out; people drink openly in vehicles and, despite closing Ocean Drive — or maybe because of […]

Coral Gables candidate Jorge Fors stirs annexation fears for votes

Coral Gables candidate Jorge Fors stirs annexation fears for votes

In a desperate attempt to get votes in North Gables, commission candidate Jorge Fors is stirring up annexation fears. Fors — who is running for the seat vacated by Commissioner Frank Quesada — walked North Gables streets last week, passing out petitions to stop the annexation of Little Gables, an unincorporated Miami-Dade enclave just south […]

Beach manager Jimmy Morales gets 4-year contract, more money

Beach manager Jimmy Morales gets 4-year contract, more money

Miami Beach City Manager Jimmy Morales will likely get a four-year contract extension at Wednesday’s meeting and a salary increase to $305,736. In a move that is largely a rubber stamp vote, Morales — who was hired in 2013 for $255,000 a year — will also get an increase in retirement contribution, from $7,000 to what […]

One thumbs up, one thumbs down after Coral Gables candidate forum

One thumbs up, one thumbs down after Coral Gables candidate forum

There were completely polar opposite reactions to the performance of two commission candidates after the first Coral Gables candidate forum last week. Former commissioner Ralph Cabrera, who spoke with authority and experience, got the endorsement of the Coral Gables Police union. Former interim city manager Carmen Olazabal lost a key supporter. “I walked out and […]