What hypocrite Joe Garcia didn’t tell Cuban dissident he met

What hypocrite Joe Garcia didn’t tell Cuban dissident he met

Que cara mas dura tiene Congressman Joe Garcia. Loosely translated, it means he is two-faced. But I like the Cuban version of “hard face” better. Because Garcia’s has to be made of stone to face a true Cuban dissident, the wife of a man who was held in Cuban prisons for 20 years, and pretend to […]

More absentee ballots on their way to voters today

More absentee ballots on their way to voters today

More than 187,000 absentee ballots were mailed to Miami-Dade voters Tuesday morning. They should arrive in mailboxes by the end of the week. It’s  more than 190,000 if you count the overseas absentees sent earlier this month. That’s up from the 165,000 or so ABs that went out in the 2012 primary, which was more […]

More on Ultra bad judicial candidate Veronica Diaz

More on Ultra bad judicial candidate Veronica Diaz

More details were released after we first broke the story on Assistant Miami City Attorney Veronica “Little Miss Ultra” Diaz, the party girl and subject of two ethical investigations who has taken a leave of absence while she runs for judge. And, from what Ladra hears, more is yet to come. The Miami-Dade Commission on […]

Miami Beach mayor Phillip Levine plays politics on video

Miami Beach mayor Phillip Levine plays politics on video

When Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Grieco dared to defy Mayor Phillip “Fix It Phil” Levine, the latter lashed out in the media and on an email calling the sole dissenting vote on the 84% stormwater rate increase “playing politics.” But it wasn’t enough. Like the jilted half of any bad break-up, Levine needs to vent […]

Poll indicates support is high for Florida medical marijuana

Poll indicates support is high for Florida medical marijuana

By DARA KAMTHE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDATHE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE — Floridians really, really support the legalization of medical marijuana, according to a poll released Monday morning.The poll found that 88 percent of Florida voters approve of medical marijuana, including 83 percent of voters age 65 and older and 95 percent of those between 18 and 29.The support also crosses party […]

Miami GOP mini convention a pep rally for Rick Scott

Miami GOP mini convention a pep rally for Rick Scott

What do you call it when you put all the local Republican club members, political candidates, party loyalsists, activists, campaign workers and volunteers together in one room with a DJ, a slideshow, a stage, a guy dressed as Abraham Lincoln serving beverages and lots of balloons in red, white and blue? The GOP organizers called […]

Election 2014: More debates this week on August races

Election 2014: More debates this week on August races

There will be at least three more forums or debates for candidates this week. Ladra is going to have to find a way to be in two places at one time Monday when Miami-Dade Commissioner Lynda Bell faces off with challenger Daniella Levine Cava a second time. The debate sponsored by the Rotary Club of […]

Carlos Curbelo keeps mum re 2010 attack on Marco Rubio

Carlos Curbelo keeps mum re 2010 attack on Marco Rubio

One might assume that Sen. Marco Rubio and Miami-Dade School Board Member Carlos Curbelo were thick as thieves.  But they were once enemies. A negative attack on Curbelo financed by the campaign of Cutler Bay Mayor Ed “Mac” MacDougall reminds voters that the one-time political consultant used to work for former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist […]

Net worth up for most lawmakers; Michael Bileca tops House

Net worth up for most lawmakers; Michael Bileca tops House

By JIM TURNER  / THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDATHE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, July 24, 2014 — For most state lawmakers, 2013 was another good year financially, regardless of party. Still, those with an “R” affixed to their names are doing better, in general, when it comes to the bottom line thanks mostly to stronger housing and stock markets.Updated financial-disclosure reports for 2013 were due July 1. […]