Email Author Kirk Semple

1994 Stories by Kirk Semple

• Belly Away From the Bar

  published December 29, 1994

  Perhaps more than any other Metro politician, County Commissioner James Burke could probably use the new year's restorative psychological boost.... More >>

• Running on Empty

  published October 20, 1994

  Everything is dirty, or at least feels dirty. Metro-Dade buses, once bright white with blue and lime-green stripes, are now various shades of... More >>

• Smile When You Spray That!

  published September 28, 1994

  It wasn't exactly the stuff of a John le Carre novel, but it was espionage nonetheless. Cloak and dagger, public utility-style, you might say. On... More >>

• Burke Besieged

  published September 14, 1994

  Nobody is having more fun at the Commissioner James Burke Labor Day Family Picnic than Commissioner James Burke himself. "Welcome!" he says to... More >>

• One-stop Cop Shop

  published September 7, 1994

  In the pantheon of great American empire-builders Nelson Long's name may not immediately spring to mind. Rockefeller had oil. Vanderbilt was... More >>

• The Compassionate Omission

  published August 16, 1994

  On Monday, August 1, a man broke into the Coral Gables home of an 80-year-old woman -- the wife of a federal judge -- and raped and robbed... More >>

• Burke's Law

  published August 10, 1994

  These are not the kinds of days James Burke probably dreamed of when he won election to the Dade County Commission in 1992. Since late last month... More >>

• Rubber Sold

  published August 3, 1994

  I am so convincing I scare myself. I'm standing in a small dingy room, staring into the lens of a video camera and demonstrating why I should be... More >>

• Mexican Standoff

  published August 3, 1994

  Wanna see how nasty this business is?" asks chef Cindy Rothman, riffling through her Filofax and a stack of documents. "Take a look at this." She... More >>

• From Sassy to Tallahassee

  published July 20, 1994

  The news filtered through South Florida's environmental community like polluted runoff into the Biscayne Aquifer. Mary Williams, the top... More >>

• Wicked Itch

  published July 13, 1994

  On February 12, 1968, hometown fans at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica, upset with an umpire's call in a sporting match between the West Indies... More >>

• All's Fair

  published July 13, 1994

  To the untrained eye, cricket looks like a lot of standing around. Which it is. But it's more. It's a lot of standing around with a... More >>

• Pray Tell

  published June 22, 1994

  Even in this age of ultrahigh finance, it's churchgoers' blind faith that their contributions to the collection plate will be well spent by... More >>

• As Sweetwater Turns

  published June 15, 1994

  South Floridians who are even vaguely familiar with the brief life and eventful times of the City of Sweetwater probably weren't surprised to see... More >>

• Throw Away This Newspaper

  published May 25, 1994

  Like the rest of the industrial world, Dade County is smothering itself with trash: three million tons of solid waste per year. In the late... More >>

• They Saw Red

  published May 18, 1994

  Twice each year the Dade County Grand Jury releases its report in much the same way as a sailor would cast overboard a message in a bottle, albeit... More >>

• Guilty with an Explanation

  published May 11, 1994

  Does South Beach have a parking problem? Dade County Court Judge Raphael Steinhardt would probably say so. According to an incident report... More >>

• The Owe Zone

  published May 4, 1994

  Every year Dade County is required by law to publish the names of all business-and land-owners who haven't paid their county property taxes on... More >>

• Greener Runaways

  published April 27, 1994

  Two weeks ago today, County Commission Chairman Art Teele and Commissioner Pedro Reboredo convoyed north to the West Palm Beach headquarters of... More >>

• What's Next A Secession?

  published April 20, 1994

  Key Biscayners failed this past week in their effort to snare a parcel of Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Recreation Area, but it wasn't for lack of... More >>

• Hot Properties

  published April 6, 1994

  I knew it was going to be a good day when I arrived at 7:30 in the morning to find several hundred people already waiting in line, and the... More >>

• Fore!

  published March 30, 1994

  Bob Knight is apologizing for getting all worked up, which for him means talking even faster than usual and raising his voice a little, but not in... More >>

• Beacon of Hope

  published February 23, 1994

  A man of his age and girth probably shouldn't be doing this, but Irv Liss has something to prove. All 66 years and 250-plus pounds of him. He's... More >>

• On-the-Job Training

  published February 23, 1994

  A quick quiz: Of the following prospective tenants, which might a landlord be most likely to select? 1. A gang of unemployed teenage... More >>

• I Am Not a Meddler

  published January 26, 1994

  Poor Dean Grandin. He was simply trying to do his job. As the City of Miami Beach's planning and zoning director, he has one of those unglamorous,... More >>