Richard W. Martin II, a self-described real estate entrepreneur who ran for Coral Gables City Commission and lost twice, was arrested Monday on an outstanding warrant from New Jersey. Martin turned himself in Monday morning and is sitting in the Miami-Dade jail right now awaiting extradition, according to Miami-Dade County Corrections. But it gets way […]
You would think that in somewhere like Hialeah, where Cubans have flocked after fleeing the repressive regime on their island, the elected officials would be careful not to step on someone’s freedom of speech. But Mayor Carlos “Castro” Hernandez has proved yet again that he deserves his nickname by acting like the dictator despot that […]
Two weeks after Nov. 6 and the Republican bloodletting, legislators in the 305 chose new leaders for the Miami-Dade Delegation this week — and the cards continue to fall from the divisive election. State Rep. Eddy Gonzalez (R-Hialeah) and State Rep. Jose Felix “One More Pepe” Diaz (R-Kendall) defeated State Sen. Oscar Braynon II (D-Miami Gardens) and […]
Got the shakes yet? The sweaty palms? Yes, Ladra knows what election withdrawal is all about. I’ve got it bad. Now that we have been weaned off with the lingering Palmetto Bay and Doral run-offs, what is there left for campaign junkies like me? Well, while we may have to wait two years for county […]
As expected, Doral Councilman Luigi Boria was promoted to mayor Tuesday in a less-than-heated runoff race against former School Board Member Frank Bolaños — a letdown campaign in which the former spent more than half a million dollars (four fifths of it his own) for a $50,000-a-year job. Is Ladra the only one who wonders […]
The second mayor in the city of Doral will be elected today. And the race, decided in an off election rather than a high turnout presidential ballot, is turning out to be a choice between two supporting male roles. Neither Councilman Luigi Boria nor former School Board Member Frank Bolaños have the charisma nor apparent […]
Well, as expected, the votes for the new commission chair and vice chair were basically split down racial and ethnic lines giving the Hispanic majority — now that a Colombian is on the commission and it ain’t a Cuban thing anymore — an edge. Ladra says “basically” because of Commissioners Bruno Barreiro — the breakout […]
There were a whopping eight people sworn in during the Miami-Dade Mayor and Commission installation Tuesday. But, while everyone graciously thanked their staff and friends, and their families and supporters, only two speakers really shone: Commissioner Dennis Moss and freshman Commissioner and former State Rep. Juan C. Zapata. The longest serving commissioner and the shortest […]
Ladra should have seen it coming. I was right about Commissioner Rebeca Sosa being elected chairman of the Miami-Dade County Commission today but hadn’t even given thought to the vice chair position, which went to none other than Commissioner Lynda Bell, one of Sosa’s biggest allies on the dais. This marks the first time that […]
Well, I was mostly right, anyway. It was a woman, and it was Miami-Dade County Commissioner Rebeca Sosa who was elected by her peers as the new board chairman of former Chairman Joe Martinez, who lost a challenge to the mayor in the August primary. But she was tossed up against Commissioner Barbara Jordan, and […]