Email Author Robert Andrew Powell

1996 Stories by Robert Andrew Powell

• Miami Trite

  published December 19, 1996

  iami is in the national spotlight again. As usual, the news is lousy. Our magic metropolis hosts millions of tourists every year, but all... More >>

• Ghost Town

  published December 12, 1996

  The rays of the setting sun filter through a skylight in the tin roof of the Caribbean Marketplace, down an atrium past the flags of thirteen... More >>

• Sergeant Up in Arms

  published December 5, 1996

  A slim, handsome man with slicked-back brown hair and roving eyes scans the Miami City Commission chambers. Glancing from one side of the hall to... More >>

• The Grim Keeper

  published November 28, 1996

  Of all the stories the Miami City Cemetery can tell, very few involve ghosts. Yes, it's the final resting place of some of Miami's most fabled... More >>

• From Knight Manor to Nightmare, Part 2

  published November 7, 1996

  Thirty days. That's what City of Miami officials gave the developers of Northwestern Estates. Thirty days to move all the people from a... More >>

• The Stierheim Report

  published October 31, 1996

  On August 30, a career bureaucrat named Manohar Surana abruptly retired as finance director of the City of Miami. Two weeks later some of his... More >>

• A Race About Race

  published October 31, 1996

  It's Wednesday, October 23, and Humberto Hernandez is in his element at Robert King High Towers. The Cuban-American lawyer receives a rousing... More >>

• Cesar's Piggy Bank Redux

  published October 10, 1996

  Miami Mayor Joe Carollo was surprised enough by the results of his first request. Acting on a tip that then-city manager Cesar Odio was abusing... More >>

• Black or Blue

  published September 26, 1996

  Assistant City Clerk Maria Argudin handed a slip of scratch paper to the four City of Miami elected officials who weren't facing federal... More >>

• Rapist with a Badge?

  published August 29, 1996

  The 911 call was answered this past August 7 at 4:44 a.m. According to a tape recording of the call provided by the Metro-Dade Police Department,... More >>

• Petty Cash

  published August 22, 1996

  Like many people looking for money, Maria Elena Duran turned to the City of Miami. She headed a parents' support group at Shenandoah Middle School... More >>

• Rough Diamond

  published August 15, 1996

  At the corner of NW 10th Avenue and 23rd Street in Allapattah, chips of orange- and cream-color paint litter the base of America's Finest Baseball... More >>

• Happy Birthday to the Blacks, the Hispanics, and the Anglos.

  published July 11, 1996

  The Boston Market people can't decide which booth they want," says Ann Sterling as she surveys a large blueprint of Miami's Bayfront Park. Dozens... More >>

• Roads Choler

  published June 20, 1996

  Like most residents of the Roads neighborhood in Miami, northwest of Brickell Avenue and the Rickenbacker Causeway, Lorraine Albury didn't take to... More >>

• Raising Pain

  published June 20, 1996

  Now that a special election has been announced to fill the Miami mayor's seat, a searchlight scans the terrain for leaders who are able and... More >>

• From Knight Manor to Nightmare

  published June 13, 1996

  Lorenzo Simmons can be forgiven the confidence with which he strode into the Miami City Commission chambers on July 26, 1994. The president of the... More >>

• Wait'll Next Year!

  published June 13, 1996

  Uwe Krupp's slap shot slid between the pads of goalie John Vanbiesbrouck early Tuesday morning, putting an end to an extraordinary triple-overtime... More >>

• A CANF-Do Attitude

  published May 23, 1996

  Hypothetical situation: You live in Opa-locka. On a cool Sunday evening, your neighbor drops by to return the hacksaw he borrowed a week ago.... More >>

• The Buzz About Riverside Center

  published May 16, 1996

  The City of Miami's purchase of the Riverside Center office building was, by all accounts, a heckuva deal. Florida Power & Light surrendered the... More >>

• Wasted Space

  published March 14, 1996

  The hugs were a good sign. So were the back slaps and handshakes that followed Michael Goldstein's presentation to the Miami City Commission last... More >>

• Your Tax Dollars at Work (Hiccup!)

  published March 14, 1996

  Cries of "Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay!" bellowed from tuxedoed revelers crammed inside a replica of Henry Flagler's luxurious Royal Palm Hotel. Jazz... More >>

• Cesar's Choice

  published February 29, 1996

  American presidential candidates have it easy. When Bob Dole and Bill Clinton want to raise cash, they never need to leave the country. A growing... More >>

• Young and the Restless

  published February 22, 1996

  The denizens of a vacant lot in Overtown, as is their style, pulled up an old couch and a few milk crates, popped open some cold ones, and warmed... More >>

• The Graduate

  published January 18, 1996

  It's good to manage the City of Miami. The pay, for one thing, is topnotch at $117,000 per year. The benefits are also stellar, including a... More >>

• A Chicken in Every Pot, a Boob on Every Tube

  published January 18, 1996

  Ooooh yes. Oh yes. Yes. Yes," moaned a voice deep inside Miami City Hall. No, it wasn't Mayor Steve Clark having his back scratched (or scratching... More >>