Miami Beach: David Wieder runs for mayor, integrity

Miami Beach: David Wieder runs for mayor, integrity

Three months ago, a run for public office was the furthest thing from attorney David Wieder‘s mind. But last month, after several people pressed him to run, Wieder announced he would challenge Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine. “I was approached by  members of the community who were essentially outraged at what’s going on at City […]

Mayor to meet with FIU and Youth Fair over standoff

Mayor to meet with FIU and Youth Fair over standoff

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez is scheduled to meet Thursday with representatives from Florida International University and the Miami-Dade County Youth Fair over their standoff on the school’s expansion plans into the fairgrounds. The Fair people don’t want to move — and they don’t have to. They have a locked-in lease through 2085. That’s 70 years […]

Women’s Club ‘ideologies’ cause conflict at Crave Restaurant

Women’s Club ‘ideologies’ cause conflict at Crave Restaurant

The Women’s Republican Club of Miami Federated is looking for a new home. The organization has been meeting monthly at Crave Restaurant in Coral Gables for about two years, with speakers like Attorney General Pam Bondi and Sen. Anitere Flores. But no more. Call it an ideological difference. After being asked to take their meetings […]

Beach Commissioner to candidate: ‘Hands off my charity’

Beach Commissioner to candidate: ‘Hands off my charity’

Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Grieco finally got involved in the city’s upcoming elections Tuesday — when he publicly chastised and denounced one of candidates for using Grieco’s Miami Beach Kids First non-profit in a paid campaign email blast. In it, Grieco basically calls Mark Samuelian an outsider who would “do anything to try and win […]

Two Miami Beach top finance officials resign abruptly

Two Miami Beach top finance officials resign abruptly

UPDATED: The finance director and assistant finance director at the city of Miami Beach both resigned abruptly Thursday just as the city finalizes its budget process and starts a financial audit. The city’s Chief Financial Officer Patricia Walker and the Assistant Finance Director Georgie Echert both resigned on Thursday — in such a rush that […]

Video: Miami Beach PAC’s demise = can’t be half pregnant

Video: Miami Beach PAC’s demise = can’t be half pregnant

Just because the Relentless for Progress PAC is quitting doesn’t mean we have to stop talking about how shady it was. The PAC’s chairman, Miami Beach Commissioner Jonah Wolfson, said last week that he was going to dissolve the shady political action committee, which raked in close to $1.5 million in contributions from lobbyists, contractors, […]

Ros-Lehtinen, Lopez-Cantera headline Women’s GOP event

Ros-Lehtinen, Lopez-Cantera headline Women’s GOP event

Redistricting and the upcoming legislative sessions are the topics listed for discussion when the Women’s Republican Club of Miami Federated has Lt. Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen speak at Monday’s meeting. But how much you wanna bet the Iran deal, which both are against, will be the main focus of the night?  The meeting […]

No surprises in Miami Beach November ballot, mayoral race

No surprises in Miami Beach November ballot, mayoral race

Qualifying ended Friday for the Nov. 3 Miami Beach elections and there were no surprise last minute hopefuls jumping into the ring. But we do have four full races with 12 candidates. There was high speculation that Mayor Philip Levine, who has become vulnerable in the last months of his first term, might draw a […]

Chief Ed Hudak made permanent top cop in Coral Gables

Chief Ed Hudak made permanent top cop in Coral Gables

Coral Gables has a police chief and it is Ed Hudak. All is well with the world. Or at least the micro world that is the City Beautiful. Hudak, who has been serving as interim chief since last Sept. 11 was made the permanent chief exactly a year later on Friday after City Manager Cathy […]

Ethics Commission’s finger waving plays important role

Ethics Commission’s finger waving plays important role

The Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust issued another couple of slaps on the wrists Wednesday, further convincing critics and watchdogs who wish it had more teeth that it is woefully incapable of handling the 305’s level of unethical behavior. Other than the occasional negligible fines that are worked into the “cost of doing […]