When fire department officials and police brass in Coral Gables first raised concerns about the new public safety building the city had designed without their input, they were told it was too late to make any significant changes. But there have been some minor interior adjustments made just recently after the forced resignation of embattled […]
After three tough and tumble years at the City Beautiful, Coral Gables Assistant City Manager Frank Fernandez is finally on his way out — four months from now. Fernandez will keep getting his $188,000 annual salary and keep reaping his benefits through April, getting paid to basically sit at home and look for a new job. It […]
It’s been two weeks since Cathy Swanson Rivenbark, officially and reluctantly resigned as city manager in Coral Gables in the light of major commission resistance to her battle with the police chief and insistence that her No. 2 keep his status as the highest ranking cop in the city. In an ironic twist, Assistant City […]
Coral Gables City Manager Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark is not totally in the clear, yet. Swanson has dodged a series of professional bullets as her administration has waged an unpopular war with the police chief, lied to commissioners, got caught spying on at least one citizen activist and more. But if Swanson thought she was going to […]
Nothing to see here, people. Move along now. This is what Coral Gabes City Manager Cathy Swanson Rivenbark was saying in her head at the last commission meeting when she rescinded her reprimand of the veteran, beloved police chief who was cleared of any wrongdoing when he stopped by an all female officer pool party last […]
Coral Gables Commissioners sided with the city manager instead of the police chief on Tuesday when they supported a “separation agreement” that allows a police major who spied on a resident at a public meeting last year to retire from the department with her full pension in November rather than be fired outright. And, in […]
Why would Coral Gables administrators go against their own police chief’s recommendation to terminate a major who spied on a resident during a commission meeting — taking a picture of the woman’s text messages and then arguing with her — and try to sweep the whole thing under the rug and let the officer retire […]
Controversial use of security guards under fire The election is over, but Coral Gables residents still got a scary, campaign-style flyer in their mailboxes this week that questions the city’s decision to hire security guards to fill the gap of police shortages in the City Beautiful. “Public safety alert! Your families safety is at stake,” is […]
The city of Coral Gables wants to silence a North Gables activist who asks too many questions, so it sent him a threatening “cease and desist” letter from an attorney who used to be a county judge. Oh, and it cost taxpayers $5,000. Ariel Fernandez, a vocal North Gables resident who ran for office two […]
Coral Gables City Manager Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark is about to announce a restructuring of the city’s police department in a move that makes her longtime confidant and brand new assistant city manager the top cop. Frank Fernandez, a retired Miami Police officer who Swanson tapped as her chief and public safety director in Hollywood, followed Swanson’s […]