Email Author Michael E. Miller

2011 Stories by Michael E. Miller

• Miami-Dade cop Fernando Villa had problems long before his DUI

  published December 29, 2011

  Miami-Dade cop Fernando Villa had problems long before his DUI More >>

• Fernando Villa, DUI Cop, Was Involved in Two Fatal Shootings and Beating a Man with Down Syndrome

  published Dec 26, 2011

  On December 6, a Miami-Dade cop named Fernando Villa made national headlines by passing out drunk behind the wheel of his squad car, naked but for a pair of cargo shorts, with only his drunken foot pr... More >>

• Virginia Key landfill remains a hellish hazard while bureaucrats bicker

  published December 22, 2011

  Virginia Key landfill remains a hellish hazard while bureaucrats bicker More >>

• Man Attacks Minimart Cashier With Chemical Spray and Hammer, Flees with Cigarettes

  published Dec 19, 2011

  On Saturday, disgruntled New York City handyman Jerome Isaac allegedly set an old woman on fire over $2,000 in unpaid work.Not to be outdone in the category of "horrific and senseless crimes," one Mia... More >>

• Virginia Key Landfill Fix Delayed By Politics: Blood, Sewage, and Chemicals Still Leach into Bay

  published Dec 19, 2011

  Twisted metal. Bags of blood. Broken needles. Human excrement. Mysterious orange drums full of God-knows-what.Like a giant shit-filled anniversary cake, the Virginia Key landfill has been stuffed full... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Fly Like Paper Planes: Artist Julia Veli Turns New Times Cover Into Sexy Dress

  published Dec 16, 2011

  Thousands of people read last week's feature on the deadly thrills and spills of home-built airplanes. Countless fans followed our instructions and made paper planes out of our innovative cover. But o... More >>

• Manuel Orosa Named New Miami Police Chief

  published Dec 15, 2011

  Manuel Orosa has been named the new Chief of Miami Police.Orosa now officially inherits a department currently under investigation by the Department of Justice for seven fatal police-involved shooting... More >>

• Lavont Flanders, Ex-Cop Convicted of Making Rape Porn, Requests A New Trial

  published Dec 14, 2011

  Former Miami Beach cop Lavont Flanders was one of two men convicted last week of drugging seven women and raping them on camera to make porno flicks. But his lawyer says that, despite his client's pub... More >>

• Miami Art Museum name game

  published December 15, 2011

  Miami Art Museum Jorge Perez name game More >>

• Forget Jorge Perez, Here Are Five Better Sponsors for the Miami Art Museum

  published Dec 12, 2011

  When the Miami Art Museum announced it was renaming itself for real estate mogul Jorge Perez, people lost their minds. It wasn't just that the new acronym, PAMM, sounds more like a cooking spray than ... More >>

• Fernando Villa, Half-Dressed Drunken Cop, Blamed His DUI on Old Baseball Injury

  published Dec 09, 2011

  Cops hear the stupidest excuses from people trying to get off the hook. Which is why it's surprising that Fernando Villa, the Miami-Dade police officer arrested Tuesday for allegedly falling asleep dr... More >>

• Fernando Villa, Miami-Dade Cop, Arrested After Passing Out Drunk in Squad Car

  published Dec 09, 2011

  Update: According to his arrest report, Villa blamed his sluggish responses on a concussion he suffered at least 13 years ago while playing high school baseball.It's hard to believe after ATV crashe... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Key West Resident Sues Delta Airlines Over "Illegal" and "Outrageous" Lost Luggage Policy

  published Dec 08, 2011

  Susan Miller is mad as hell and she ain't going to take it any more.The Key West resident has filed a class-action lawsuit against Delta for its "illegal" and "outrageous" lost luggage policy, claimin... More >>

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  COVER STORY

  Home-built aircraft thrill and kill

  published December 8, 2011

  Home-built aircraft thrill and kill Make your own... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Port of Miami's 2035 Master Plan Includes Manatee-Displacing Mega-Yacht Marina, Hotels

  published Dec 06, 2011

  If you thought the Port of Miami's deep dredging project was controversial, get a load of this.Riptide has obtained a copy of the port's 2035 Master Plan. It calls for adding three new cruise ship ber... More >>

• Miami-Dade Police Testing Same Shady Gunshot Detection System That Broward Just Scrapped

  published Dec 02, 2011

  Samuel Beckett once said: "Fail again. Fail better."Waiting for Godot must be a best seller among county cops. Just a week after the Broward Sheriffs announced that they were scrapping a much-touted $... More >>

• Horse Slaughter Legal Once Again in U.S., Maybe Even in Florida

  published Dec 01, 2011

  Woah, Nelly. Horse slaughter is once again legal thanks to Congress.Florida currently has some of the toughest laws against horse slaughter in the nation, but activists disagree over whether the pract... More >>

• Clubber Crime: Five Types

  published December 1, 2011

  September's fatal shooting at Nocturnal got us wondering: What really goes on behind the velvet ropes in Miami's most chichi clubs? Our sickly... More >>

• Miami's Federal Detention Center Barely Paralegal

  published December 1, 2011

  Stripteases, sexual favors, booze, porn mags, and fat stacks of cash would be run-of-the-mill in many Miami strip clubs. But at downtown's... More >>

• Miami's Federal Jail Overrun With Strippers Posing As Paralegals, Lawyers Say

  published Nov 29, 2011

  Stripteases, sexual favors, booze, porn mags, and fat stacks of cash would be run-of-the-mill in many Miami strip clubs. But at downtown's maximum security Federal Detention CenterrMultiple attorneys ... More >>

• Environmentalists Sue to Stop Port of Miami Deep Dredge Project

  published Nov 29, 2011

  Faced with up to two years of underwater blasting that they say will forever scar Biscayne Bay, local environmentalists played their last card yesterday to stop the Port of Miami "Deep Dredge" project... More >>

• Basel Artist Charged With Smuggling Exotic Animal Carcasses to Make Bizarre Sculptures

  published Nov 28, 2011

  Enrique Gomez de Molina's sculptures are to die for. Literally.The Miami-based artist was charged today with illegally smuggling exotic animal parts -- including birds of paradise and the world's cute... More >>

• Cocaine, Pick-Pocketing, and Pissing Into Trashcans: What Really Goes on Inside Clubs

  published Nov 28, 2011

  September's fatal shooting at Nocturnal got us wondering: What really goes on behind the velvet ropes in Miami's most chichi clubsr Our sickly journalist physique hardly qualified us to infiltrate the... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  "Weed Bombing" Transforms Downtown's Urban Blight into Psychedelic Bling

  published Nov 25, 2011

  rIf you've been out drinking downtown lately and stumbled upon a street corner bursting with neon-colored weeds, don't worry: It's not an acid trip gone wrong.It's weed bombing."We're tired of living ... More >>

• Téa Obreht Turns Serbian Folk Tales Into Fiction Gold

  published November 17, 2011

  ​It would be easier to begrudge Téa Obreht's extraordinary success at such a young age if her writing weren't so damn... More >>