Timing is suspect; alleged violation was six months ago Last week, someone filed an ethics complaint against longtime Coral Gables activist Maria Cruz, alleging that she exploited her official position as a volunteer member of the city’s code enforcement board. The complainant: Rainmaker Brian Goldmeier, a fundraising consultant for many politicians — including Coral Gables […]
No, it’s not a resignation letter. A missive sent to Coral Gables residents by Mayor Vince Lago Thursday starts like he might be announcing his swan song. “Before anything else,” it starts, “I want to thank you for everything you do to make The City Beautiful the greatest place in America.” Tun, tun, tun! Lago […]
Deposition: Mayor used his influence with permitting, parking For months, Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago has been hinting that Commissioner Melissa Castro — who Ladra swears he has a big crush on — was doing something wrong because she has a permit expediting business that does work in The City Beautiful. But on Wednesday, the […]
In yet another effort to thwart a recall effort he likes to belittle, Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago has funded a phone bank to call voters and tell them not to sign the petition. One of those calls went to Commissioner Melissa Castro over the weekend. She was out of town, on an impromptu vacation […]
Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago may say he’s not worried about the recall effort mounted against him. He may say it’s just gadfly Maria Cruz and activist attorney David Winker with a grudge against him. But don’t believe him. He is sweating it. That’s why Lago has an anonymous, cowardly blogger trashing Cruz and Winker […]
After two cancellations, a town hall meeting to discuss potential changes to the Coral Gables city charter has been scheduled for Thursday evening. Created last September with legislation sponsored by Commissioner Ariel Fernandez, the charter review committee’s first meeting in December was cancelled due to a scheduling conflict with one of the board members, said […]
Warning that he was going to “drop a bomb,” David Centner did just that Thursday when the owner of The Centner Academy with wife Leila told Miami commissioners that, in light of the massive opposition, he was no longer interested in building a sports dome for his private school’s students on the public, taxpayer-owned Biscayne […]
Maria Cruz has had it. Coral Gables’ most active and famous gadfly is done with Mayor Vince Lago, who used to be her dear friend and ally. One would have thought she was crushing on him. Now, Cruz has formed a political action committee to push an effort to recall Lago. The first text message […]
Dime con quien andas y te dire quien eres. That’s an old Cuban saying my mom used to tell Ladra to get me to stay away from my more, um, troublemaker friends. “Tell me who you run with and I’ll tell you who you are.” It’s still true today. And nowhere is it more true […]
A new political action committee in Coral Gables has formed with the intention of getting three charter amendments on the ballot. According to it’s website, Accountable Coral Gables is promoting a change in the election date to November on even years — which there is already a petition being circulated for — the requirement of […]