Miami-Dade County has never been better positioned. That was the message sent by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava at her fourth (and, perhaps, final) State of the County address Wednesday. “The state of the county is strong,” Levine Cava said to a packed house at Zoo Miami after the district Commissioner Kionne McGhee and Commission Chair […]
A steam cleaner, a lint roller, pots and pans, three sets of silverware, Celsius fitness drinks. These are just some of the possibly questionable expenses that Coral Gables taxpayers are on the hook for when the city pays the bills on the purchase cards for a number of employees. And nobody would be the wiser […]
The city of Coral Gables could join other municipalities in a lawsuit against the state to overturn legislation passed last year that requires municipal electeds to submit a more detailed financial disclosure document known as Form 6. It’s a war against transparency. Currently, city commissioners have to file Form 1, which has far less information […]
Seems that former Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla doesn’t have enough to worry about with the felony charges against him for money laundering, bribery, unlawful compensation and criminal conspiracy. He’s also trying to get his childhood house back from the bank. The five-bedroom Little Havana house where Diaz de la Portilla and his […]
First to burn: City Attorney Tricky Vicky Mendez Ladra is still reeling from the last Miami City Commission meeting. So much torture and pleasure at the same time. So much happened in a span of eight and a half hours. Forgive the tardiness, but we’re still shellshocked over here. And there’s already another promising meeting […]
For weeks, maybe months, Miami City Attorney Victoria Mendez has boasted that she has the three votes she needs to keep her job. But that may have changed recently. A source at City Hall says Tricky Vicky can read the writing on the wall and will likely announce her retirement, effective in April, at the […]
Rumors of Manolo Reyes’ impending death are vastly exaggerated. The Miami commissioner was diagnosed with leukemia last year, but has apparently responded well to treatment and is on the mend. And – after what he’s seen the city go through in the last couple of months — he’s also on a transparency and accountability tear. […]
The Citizens Independent Transportation Trust will have a special meeting Thursday afternoon to consider giving $125 million in additional funds from the county transportation surtax funds and People’s Transportation Plan bond program to Miami-Dade’s Department of Transit and Public Works for ongoing architectural and engineering projects. But there are few details. Several questions asked by […]
Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago does not like to be challenged or criticized. He has recently taken to calling his critics — which include award-winning documentary filmmaker Billy Corben, award-winning journalist Roberto Rodriguez Tejera and yours truly — mercenaries paid to smear him. That’s old news. He’s again copying his idol, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, […]
Everybody is waiting for the other shoe to drop. By other shoe, Ladra means the tired, old, stinky loafer that is Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago, who would follow his BFF, mentor and role model, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, anywhere. Maybe even to jail. Last month’s exposé of Suarez’s private life and public service conflicts […]