Add another son to Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s lobbying clan

Add another son to Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s lobbying clan

The Gimenez clan grip on Miami-Dade tightens. A second son of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez has registered to lobby the county: Julio Gimenez — better known as the bad boy arrested in 2006 for drug possession and 2009 for disorderly intoxication after a bar brawl — registered this summer to lobby for Miami-Dade Steel, LLC, which wants […]

Ladra’s guide to state amendments

Ladra’s guide to state amendments

This mid-term ballot we’re getting for the Nov. 6 election is so long it almost feels like an SAT test. Seven pages or more will ask us not only to choose between federal, state and local candidates for office but also to set structure and policy for the state and county and cities like Miami […]

Kendall forum features candidates from three state House races

Kendall forum features candidates from three state House races

The Kendall Federation of Homeowners Associations has yet another candidate forum, the second of three this month, Wednesday night. This one features the head-to-head contests in three House districts. In House District 105, Democrat Javier Estevez is going up against Doral Councilwoman Ana Maria Rodriguez for the seat vacated by State Rep. turned Ambassador Carlos […]

Joe Carollo pays Carlos Gimenez clan more than $175K in total

Joe Carollo pays Carlos Gimenez clan more than $175K in total

A mailer landed in Miami mailboxes this week from Joe Carollo‘s electioneering communications organization, Miami First, telling voters that Mayor Francis Suarez is being dishonest about the strong mayor referendum and asking them to say no and punch 383. Ladra wasn’t surprised that it broke election law. ECOs, similar to a political action committees but with different rules, […]

Joe Carollo sued for violating free speech of Little Havana businesses

Joe Carollo sued for violating free speech of Little Havana businesses

Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo is likened to Cuba’s Castro brothers and Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro in a lawsuit filed Thursday that claims he uses his office to exact revenge on his political enemies and seeks at least $2.5 million in punitive damages. Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla, who own the very popular Ball & Chain lounge […]

Miami taxpayers could be on hook for Joe Carollo’s frivolous lawsuit

Miami taxpayers could be on hook for Joe Carollo’s frivolous lawsuit

Miami taxpayers could be on the hook for City Commissioner Joe Carollo‘s frivolous and ridiculous lawsuit against the mayor, city clerk and others to take the strong mayor referendum off the ballot. They could be billed for his political stunt. The lawsuit was dismissed — practically laughed out of court — in an 18-page ruling Saturday […]

Coral Gables may purchase Old Cutler home at $4 mil for new fire station

Coral Gables may purchase Old Cutler home at $4 mil for new fire station

The purchase of a home on Old Cutler Road, to convert it into a fire station outpost, and regulations for motorized scooters are among the agenda items at the Coral Gables commission meeting Tuesday, the first since City Manager Peter Iglesias was given the permanent job. Some people are unhappy about the way that Iglesias […]

KFHA candidate forum features Kendall Senate and two state races

KFHA candidate forum features Kendall Senate and two state races

If you live in Senate District 40, where incumbent Sen. Annette Taddeo is facing a challenge from Republican superwoman Marili Cancio, then you also probably live in either House District 115 or House District 118. This Wednesday, you have a chance to see the candidates in both your senate and house race at the first […]

Judge calls Joe Carollo sore loser, rips apart strong mayor lawsuit

Judge calls Joe Carollo sore loser, rips apart strong mayor lawsuit

A Miami-Dade judge on Saturday ripped apart, er, ruled against a lawsuit filed by Miami Commissioner Crazy Joe Carollo in an 18-page spanking, uh, decision that basically calls him a sore loser who ran to the court after he failed to get his way on the commission. Carollo is against the strong mayor referendum that […]

Property appraisers: Vote yes on Amendment 2, or rents, prices rise

Property appraisers: Vote yes on Amendment 2, or rents, prices rise

The elected property appraisers in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties came together this week to write an op-ed piece about Amendment 2, urging voters to vote yes to keep an annual 10 percent cap on the increase in non-homestead property values — and make it permanent. This includes apartment buildings and duplexes where owners […]