Email Author Francisco Alvarado

Awards

• 2011 - The Green Eyeshade Excellence in Journalism Awards/Atlanta SPJ, published July 8, 2010

  "Death Row"

• 2010 - Better Weekly Newspaper Awards/Florida Press Association, published September 3, 2009

  "On the Level"

• 2010 - Better Weekly Newspaper Awards/Florida Press Association, published October 15, 2009

  "Work It, Jerry!"

• 2010 - Better Weekly Newspaper Awards/Florida Press Association, published September 17, 2009

  "Baby Got Fatback!"

• 2010 - Sunshine State Awards/South Florida Society of Professional Journalists, published September 3, 2009

  "On the Level"

• 2009 - Education Reporting Awards/National Education Writers Association, published May 1, 2008

  "F-School Bomb"

• 2009 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published October 30, 2008

  "Voter Fraud Ahead"

• 2009 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published May 22, 2008

  "Burn, Baby, Burn"

• 2009 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published May 8, 2008

  "Killers in the Can"

• 2009 - The Green Eyeshade Excellence in Journalism Awards/Atlanta SPJ, published January 10, 2008

  "Wet Foot, Dusty Foot"

• 2009 - The Green Eyeshade Excellence in Journalism Awards/Atlanta SPJ, published October 23, 2008

  "Dead Weight"

• 2009 - The Green Eyeshade Excellence in Journalism Awards/Atlanta SPJ, published May 1, 2008

  "The F-School Bomb"

• 2009 - Better Weekly Newspaper Awards/Florida Press Association, published May 1, 2008

  "The F-School Bomb"

• 2009 - Sunshine State Awards/South Florida Society of Professional Journalists, published September 11, 2008

  "Missing Peace"

• 2009 - Sunshine State Awards/South Florida Society of Professional Journalists, published December 11, 2008

  "No Fear"

• 2008 - Better Weekly Newspaper Awards/Florida Press Association, published August 2, 2007

  "Bad Apple"

• 2006 - The Green Eyeshade Excellence in Journalism Awards/Atlanta SPJ, published January 27, 2005

  "Crack Kills"

More

2008 Stories by Francisco Alvarado

• Esto solo pasa en Meeyami

  published Dec 31, 2008

  Today, the last day of 2008, Banana Republican highlights his ten favorite news stories of the year, the tales that truly capture life in a sun-drenched, third-world dimension. 10. Marc Sarnoff's Mem... More >>

• Holiday Shopping for Big Shots

  published December 25, 2008

  With holiday parties in full swing, Riptide is pondering gifts to send to some of our favorite Miamians. We begin with Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos... More >>

• A Strip Club and a Mayor Rumble in Sunny Isles

  published December 18, 2008

  On the surface, Norman Edelcup's desire to relocate a Sunny Isles strip club seems like something any sensible small-town mayor would want. But... More >>

• MiMo M.Y.O.B.

  published Dec 12, 2008

  At yesterday's Miami City Commission meeting, a small group of neighborhood preservationists came prepared to do in Eric Silverman, owner of the Vagabond Motel on Biscayne Boulevard in the Upper Easts... More >>

• Dennis the Moderate

  published Dec 11, 2008

  ... More >>

• Environmental Dunces

  published Dec 10, 2008

  Soon-to-be-displaced County Commission Chairman Bruno Barreiro is no friend of the environment. The former state representative led the charge to allow developers to build beyond the county's imaginar... More >>

• 

  COVER STORY

  Can a Kimbo Slice Protégé Become a Ghetto Superstar?

  published December 11, 2008

  It's a sunny, arid afternoon in Perrine, a suburb in southwest Miami-Dade. At the corner of 179th Street and 104th Avenue, a crowd of... More >>

• The Perrine Spartan

  published Dec 09, 2008

  Down south, between Pinecrest and Homestead, lies a place where boys don't run, don't cower, and certainly don't cry when it comes time to stand their ground. They call this poverty-stricken, bleak co... More >>

• New Times Gives Thanks to Rudy Crew and the Florida Marlins

  published November 27, 2008

  The end of 2008 feels like a kick in the balls for Riptide. Our car is about to get repossessed, our credit cards are maxed out, and we've... More >>

• Congressional Ballers

  published Nov 21, 2008

  South Florida congressional leaders Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Kendrick Meek sure know how to live the good life when they are on the campaign trail. According to campaign financial disclosure forms f... More >>

• Big Bucks on a Losing Cause

  published Nov 20, 2008

  Yesterday Banana Republican filled you in on the folks who made a buck ensuring Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart, as well as Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, held onto their congressional seats. Today we look at ... More >>

• Electorial Money Makers, Part I

  published Nov 19, 2008

  With the election season wrapped up, Banana Republican sifted through federal campaign financial reports, including those of Barack Obama and John McCain, to see who got paid. We begin with the com... More >>

• A Letter to Barack Obama

  published November 20, 2008

  From the desk of Joe Arriola ------- Barack Obama The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, D.C.... More >>

• Ego Trippin': Rakontur's Clubland Finally Hits the Web

  published Nov 18, 2008

  The brain-trust behind Cocaine Cowboys and its sequel are now exposing the nasty underbelly of the nightlife business. This week ... More >>

• Forgetting Sarah Palin

  published Nov 13, 2008

  The mainstream media is starting to go through Dubya-induced withdrawal. How else can anyone explain why Sarah Palin, the VP candidate on the losing team, is still making headline newsr Let's face ... More >>

• No Child Left To Die

  published Nov 12, 2008

  One of the daunting challenges facing President-elect Barack Obama is fixing the public school system where George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind Act has failed miserably, especially in Miami-Dade ... More >>

• Raul Martinez's Popularity Hits Bottom

  published November 13, 2008

  On Election Day, under a somber gray sky in Pembroke Pines, a line of voters snaked from the entrance of the Pembroke Shores Park gymnasium to... More >>

• Dreamin' in Palin

  published Nov 03, 2008

  Hey, politics doesn't have to be soooooo serious. In fact politics is a spectacle, according to local performance artist Natasha Tsakos. And I wholeheartedly agree. Tsakos has put together The Pali... More >>

• Cash Rules Everything Around Politics

  published Nov 03, 2008

  As the most important election in the 21st Century draws to a close, Banana Republican took a gander at the top campaign contributors in the congressional races pitting Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balar... More >>

• Democrat Luis Garcia Fights to Keep Seat in Florida House

  published October 30, 2008

  In a year certain to be dominated by Democrats, the party's Florida vice chairman is in trouble. Luis Garcia is battling influential county... More >>

• Presidential Election Could Spur Voter Fraud in Miami-Dade

  published October 30, 2008

  Bracing for an Election Day scandal in South Florida is like preparing for a hurricane. You know one is coming, but you can't predict the... More >>

• Jason Bourne Reporting for Duty

  published Oct 27, 2008

  Over the weekend, the New York Times published a fantastic piece analyzing how John McCain is letting Florida slip away while Barack Obama has blanketed the Sunshine State. The Gray Lady isn't the ... More >>

• Pelosi Power

  published Oct 24, 2008

  It's getting serious in Miami. With Democratic challengers Joe Garcia, Raul Martinez, and Annette Taddeo closing in on their Republican opponents, the Democratic Party sent out its biggest gun (nex... More >>

• 

  COVER STORY

  End of the Diaz-Balart Dynasty

  published October 23, 2008

  Circus music sounds as a camera cuts to a short clip of a well-known, fuming, bearded comandante. Standing at a podium, he wears a drab... More >>

• Annette Taddeo Wants Ileana Ros-Lehtinen's Job

  published October 16, 2008

  There is no way a non-Cuban Hispanic can unseat a Cuban-American congresswoman who has enjoyed the unflinching support of el exilio for... More >>