Subject: Alex Izaguirre

• Last Night: Fito Paez at Knight Concert Hall

  September 20, 2008

• Peel the Vote '09: Not That Carollo, But Still a Carollo

  Alex Izaguirre In the crowded race to for the city commission seat being vacated by Joe Sanchez, perennial candidate Frank Carollo has amassed $95,275 in campaign . The guy's run before.Vitals: A 39-year-old certified public accountant with a perfectly symmetrical pompadour. Qualifications: Ran three times for the state House of Representatives -- and lost every time. Influence Meter: Apparently, even though he is on an O-fer-election streak, Carollo knows how to impress some pretty import

  June 3, 2009

• If It’s for Free, It’s for Me

  Bands on the rise show what they’ve got at White Room.

  May 29, 2008

• Attack of the Apes

  January 15, 2004

• The Big Donors in Miami Mayor's Race

  Illustration by Alex Izaguirre In this week's print edition of Riptide, I wrote that none of the candidates in the Miami mayoral race will crack the $1 million benchmarks set by Manny Diaz in 2001 and 2005. Nevertheless, City Commissioners Tomas Regalado and Joe Sanchez are shoring up support with some of the city's more illustrious citizens. In Regalado's corner: auto magnate Norman Braman has contributed $7,000 (through his wife and various corporations) to help the Spanish language radio host

  May 15, 2009

• Soniko Celebrates its CD Release, Tomorrow Night at Transit Lounge

  After their widely touted debut Kombustion, locally groomed rock group Soniko prepares to capitalize on the buzz they first generated five years ago with their long awaited sophomore release, Antidoto Parcial. On Kombustion the foursome received heavy acclaim for their churning brand of alt-rock. A vamp on 1990s grunge with overtures of Britpop and an undeniable foundation in Latin Rock, their raw edge has lent them an unmistakable voice in SoFla's underground music scene. (Disclaimer: frontman/

  May 20, 2009

• Black Vs. White - Miami Remains The Same

  Alex Izaguirre Just got back from the Spence-Jones Vindication Show in Overtown. The thunderstorms had just subsided outside the Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church at 301 NW 9th Street. But inside Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones' angry voice boomed throughout the cavernous assembly hall. She was flanked by 30 to 40 supporters."It's been almost two years of headaches and heartaches for me and my family," Spence-Jones intoned, "all based on innuendos and false allegations to divert attention fr

  May 27, 2009

• Peel the Vote '09: Luis Morse For Miami Commish

  Alex Izaguirre Today Banana Republican begins a weekly series assessing candidates running for various municipal elected offices this year. Let's turn our attention to the district three city commission race in Miami where we have seven contenders vying to replace Joe Sanchez, who is running for mayor. The district includes the affluent Roads neighborhood and the predominantly blue collar Cuban stronghold of Little Havana. Here we have Luis Morse, who so far has raised about $17,300 in campa

  May 28, 2009

• Natacha Loves the Environment, Really She Does

  Alex Izaguirre So I just had a Scooby Doo WTF? moment. This past June 10, at its annual Orchids & Onions Awards Presentation, the Urban Environment League recognized Miami-Dade County Commissioner Natacha Seijas for her efforts to make sure foreclosed houses don't get trashed. Earlier this year, Seijas sponsored legislation that requires lenders to maintain their vacant properties, including mowing the lawn and picking up any junk. In addition, lenders are now required to disclose to potenti

  June 19, 2009

• South Dade Gangsters Thump All Day, Every Day

  Alex Izaguirre Cigarette and Black-N-Mild smoke wafted throughout the already stifling hot warehouse at 19100 SW 106 Ave. in unincorporated Miami-Dade. It was shortly after 9 p.m. this past June 20 when more than 100 relatives, friends, and members of the street gang Latin Syndicate filed into Bad Dog Fight Club, aka The Kennel, to witness some of their boys duke it out inside a chainlink-enclosed fighting ring.Most of them paid the $20 cover to get in, while some plunked down $50 each for a fro

  June 22, 2009

• New North Miami Beach Mayor in Trouble

  Alex Izaguirre This past April, I wrote about ethics complaints filed against Myron Rosner, who was recently elected North Miami Beach mayor. Two female NMB residents accused Rosner of abusing his official position to get away with making renovations to his house without obtaining necessary approvals from the city council. They filed complaints with the state and county ethics commissions.Today, the Miami-Dade ethics commission found probable cause that Rosner violated the county's conflict

  June 23, 2009

• Take a Motorboat Ride and Save Some Breasts

  Alex Izaguirre In my nocturnal travels, I've come across some very cool, easygoing, wonderful fellow Banana Republicans -- you know, us locals who can lay claim to being raised in Dade and are proud of it.  One of these chums is Maria Teresa Goobs, a gregarious local porn magazine editor who is a household name at the weekly Shake party at the Vagabond.  At a recent stormy soiree, as we smoked outside on the Vag's back patio, rain pelting us, Goobs relayed a tale that many women fe

  June 24, 2009

• South Miami Sleaze

  Alex IzaguirreLaz Parking is a local firm that contracts with the City of South Miami to issue parking tickets and operate meters. That means nobody likes 'em. And if you believe a recently canned meter maid (meter butler? meter macho?) named Michael Perdomo, that contempt is deserved. The 27-year-old former Laz employee claims the firm has deprived the city of thousands of dollars in ticket revenue by regularly voiding tickets, charging the city for man hours when no meter maid was on duty,

  June 29, 2009

• Meet Antonio Junior, But Don't Call Him a Bagman

  Alex IzaguirreWell, at least Antonio Junior can take solace in knowing he made a killing as a minority partner in several deals involving Miami-Dade taxpayer money. And even though he ratted out his political godmother -- ex-county Commissioner Barbara Carey-Shuler -- and some of his other politically connected buddies (according to a recently released report by the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office), Junior can also take comfort in knowing he squealed on them long after the statute of lim

  June 30, 2009

• More from the Antonio Junior File

  Alex Izaguirre Antonio Junior, a local businessman who last year admitted to accepting and giving bribes, was full of information the day he debriefed anti-public-corruption law enforcers about his involvement in ripping-off Miami-Dade taxpayers. In addition to dropping a dime on his pal and ex-county Commissioner Barbara Carey-Shuler, Junior revealed his connection to a prominent local builder whose name regularly popped up in the affordable housing scandal that won the Miami Herald a P

  July 2, 2009

• Message to Pols: Give Taxpayers Back that Dirty Money

  Alex Izaguirre Because I penned two posts on corrupt businessman Antonio Junior earlier this week, former New Times scribe Kirk Nielsen turned me on to an opinion piece he wrote for Poder magazine last year. My sometime wingman suggested that tainted political campaign contributions be returned to taxpayers. And when I say "tainted," I'm talking about donations made by individuals who fleece the public - people like disgraced banker and developer Raul Masvidal, who in 2004 used the pr

  July 3, 2009

• Peel the Vote '09: Shock Jock for Commish

  Alex Izaguirre He didn't win the mayor's seat in 2005, but Spanish-language radio host Enrique Santos is considering a second run at public office.The popular shock jock, who mans the morning show for La Kalle 98.3, is looking to join the already crowded race to take over Miami City Commissioner Joe Sanchez's seat. It has been a major topic of discussion on his show for the past four days, and he's set up a Facebook page seeking supporters. The 34-year-old former North Miami cop became a ho

  July 8, 2009

• Hey George! Who's On First?

  Alex Izaguirre In case you missed it, during the early hours of July 1, the Miami-Dade County Commission approved a revision to the financing plan for the Marlins baseball stadium that is going to end up costing us $2.4 billion - a number that somehow eluded the intellectual prowess of financial guru and County Manager George Burgess.It was one of those classic moments in county government that makes political wonks like me giggle with cynicism. Here was our six-figure salaried top governme

  July 14, 2009

• The Avenging Angel of North Bay Village is Back

  Alex Izaguirre Early on in my ongoing tour of duty for New Times, I had the pleasure of telling the story of Fane Lozman, a Miami native who made a small fortune as a Chicago software engineer before coming home in 2003. That year Lozman settled into a nondescript houseboat off the waters of North Bay Village, a three-island city with an infamous history as a haven for the Mob and other Ne'er-do-wells.It wasn't long before the former Marine aviator became the village's vigilant watchdog. A

  July 16, 2009

• John Timoney Says, "In Your Face!" to FOP President

  Alex IzaguirreFor once, Miami Police Chief John Timoney can brush off his haters. The city's top law enforcer hosted a press conference today to announce that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has cleared the Miami PD of "cooking the books."A year and a half ago, Fraternal Order of Police President Armando Aguilar went to the FDLE with claims that Timoney and his command staff were intentionally downgrading crimes to make it appear that Miami's streets were safer. According to the recent

  July 20, 2009

• When Joe Arriola Speaks, We Listen...Then Cackle With Incredulity

  Alex Izaguirre ​ Ah how I miss Joe Arriola. The boisterous ex-city manager was always good for a laugh. So it was nice to see Arriola, who appears to have shed a few pounds, as a guest on WBPT's community talk show Issues this past July 24. During a 14-minute plus interview with host Helen Ferre, Arriola provided insights into the city's financial outlook and predicted Miami will once again be under state oversight to avoid going broke. He blamed the city's pension payments and took

  July 28, 2009

• Sean Casey Responds To New Times Article

  Alex Izaguirre​Last week, I reported about Sean Casey, a 35-year-old Boston native who is currently serving a 12-and-a-half year prison term for allegedly running down and killing an elderly woman on Harding Avenue in Miami Beach, and then fleeing the scene, back in 2001.While awaiting trial, Casey fled the country in 2004 to Chile. He was deported back to Miami in 2006 and he agreed to a plea deal that gave him his current sentence.Casey maintains innocence and has accused his former defense

  August 4, 2009

• Most County Executives Safe from Budget Cuts

  Alex Izaguirre​UPDATE: Earlier this week, Miami-Dade County spokeswoman Vicki Mallette responded to my earlier report regarding executive salaries. I apologize to my readers for not posting her response sooner.She insisted that Alvarez is proposing in the budget a ten percent reduction to the county executive offices, which is not reflected in this post."Your recent column seems to suggest all of the cuts have been identified," she says. "This is not the case. Rest assured, more cuts are comin

  August 14, 2009

• Sean Casey Gets a Hand from a Top Gun

  Alex Izaguirre​High-powered Miami media attorney Thomas Julin is helping Sean Casey's bid to expose another high-powered Miami lawyer. And Julin, a partner at Hunton & Williams, is representing the 35-year-old free of charge. Casey is serving a 12-year prison term for running down and killing an elderly woman in Miami Beach, leaving the scene, and then fleeing the country to avoid prosecution. He has an August 13 court hearing before Judge John Thornton t

  August 12, 2009

• Anonymous Blogger Targets County Cop

  Alex Izaguirre​What did Jorge Baluja do to elicit so much hatred? An anonymous blogger named the Straw Buyer has been dedicating a serious amount of bandwidth to bash and ridicule the Miami-Dade Police detective.Apparently, the Straw Buyer became fascinated with Baluja this past October, when the 11-year county cop arrested Coral Gables lawyer Delaila Estefano, John Romney, and Michael Martinez for stealing someone's identity to commit mortgage fraud. We're guessing th

  August 12, 2009

• Sean Casey's Ex-Therapist Used Dubious Techniques

  Alex Izaguirre​ Today at 2 p.m., Sean Casey will make his case before Judge John Thornton not to seal secretly recorded conversations the 35-year-old Bostonian had with his former lawyer Milton Hirsch and ex-therapist Michael Rappaport. Casey claims the conversations prove Hirsch and Rappaport lied on the stand when they denied advising him to leave the country. In 2004, after Chile deported him to the States, Casey pleaded guilty in the hit-and-run death of an elderly woman, Marie Montgomery.

  August 13, 2009

• Xavier Suarez's Son Rolling in Campaign Dough

  Alex Izaguirre​ In this year's City of Miami elections, the theme is "Taking It Back to the Old School," considering Frank Carollo, brother of mercurial ex-Mayor Joe Carollo, is running for Joe Sanchez's seat. And then there is Francis Xavier Suarez, who  wants to replace Tomas Regalado on the commission dais. Francis is the son of Miami's original mayor loco, Xavier Suarez. He's the guy who showed up at a constituent's house in a bathrobe in the early wee hours because he didn't like wha

  August 19, 2009

• Carlos Alvarez Won't You Please Be My Facebook Pal?

  Alex Izaguirre​ Kudos to Miami Herald reporters Matt Haggman and Scott Dolan who today whacked Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez really good. Turns out our dear alcalde fuerte was doling out raises to his favored employees while he takes the axe to the rest of the county budget. Of course, don't forget yours truly was the first to expose the largesse in the mayor's and county manager's offices. Anyway, the Herald's report has Alvarez's flak Vicki Mallette defending her 54 percent pay raise over

  August 23, 2009

• A Reformed Brawler Shoots for MMA Glory

  Alex Izaguirre​ More than two decades ago, Rene Martinez satisfied his lust for violence by engaging in some serious gangbanging. Throughout his teenage and young adult years, the former leader of the Latin Syndicate racked up more than 21 arrests for, among other things, rumbling on the streets of Miami Beach, smashing the car windows of motorists who cut him off, running from the cops, and getting into shootouts with rival thugs. On more than one occasion, he narrowly escaped death. An

  September 1, 2009

• The Hialeah Champ and the Cuban Assassin Get It Done

  Alex Izaguirre​ A steady downpour did not dampen the mood of the bloodthirsty crowd that came out to Dhafir Harris's back yard in Perrine this past Saturday. About 100 spectators saw ten bare-knuckles brawlers put on a gruesome show -- which even featured a main event cage rematch between Whiteboy -- a fair-skinned Hialeah pugilist -- and Billy, a former member of South Dade gang Latin Syndicate, whose ex-leader Rene Martinez I profiled in this week's Miami New Times cover story.&nbs

  September 8, 2009

• The Return of Loco Joe

  Alex Izaguirre​ The tepid race to replace Miami Mayor Manny Diaz could soon get a shot of Sazon if the chatter emanating from city hall is true. A handful of political consultants said earlier today that former Mayor Joe Carollo is seriously considering jumping into the contest. As of now, it looked like Commissioner Tomas Regalado was going to run over colleague Joe Sanchez.Florida International University political science professor and local election prognosticator Dario Moreno says th

  September 11, 2009

• Where in the World Does Katharine Cue Live?

  Alex Izaguirre​Hialeah has long been known for voting shenanigans.First, in 1993, a judge ordered a new election after determining camps for both Mayor Raul Martinez and challenger Nilo Juri had participated in absentee ballot tampering. Twelve years later, federal HUD officials investigated then-Hialeah Housing Authority director Alex Morales for forcing housing employees to campaign during working hours and instructing building managers to hand-deliver ballots with instructions on whom to vo

  September 15, 2009

• Protect Your Neck at Miami-Dade Public Schools

  Alex Izaguirre​It still amazes me how parents lull themselves into thinking that their children will be okay inside the Miami-Dade public school system, even at supposedly "safe havens" like Coral Gables Senior High, where one student stabbed a classmate to death earlier this morning.We live in a nihilistic age, and Miami-Dade County is definitely not a safe place for kids, even children growing up in affluent neighborhoods. Miami New Times has done a pretty good job of documenting the perils

  September 15, 2009

• New Details on Coral Gables High Stabbing

  Alex Izaguirre​A public schools source working at Coral Gables Senior High informs New Times that the 17-year-old student killed on campus today had been messing around with his assailant's girlfriend.The source, whose identity we are not revealing, says the stabber confronted Juan Carlos Rivera about it as students moved between first and second periods. Police have not released the name of the attacker.The argument escalated into a fight. Rivera was stabbed three times with a box cutter, inc

  September 15, 2009

• A Rogue Ex-Hialeah Cop Wants Katharine Cue's Seat

  Alex Izaguirre​ Apparently Daniel Bolaños hopes Hialeah voters have a short memory or don't care about his checkered past. How else can one explain why the disgraced former cop is running for a seat on the city council? He is challenging Councilwoman Katharine Cue, who was appointed to the council late last year despite documentation indicating she was not a Hialeah resident at the time she was selected. In 1998, a Hialeah man accused Bolaños and his brother Rolando Jr. of taking him to a pa

  September 16, 2009

• Millions in Car Allowances and Other Perks Safe From Budget Cuts

  Alex Izaguirre​Tomorrow evening, Miami-Dade County Commissioners will finally set the budget for the upcoming year. We already know that Mayor Carlos Alvarez is proposing some seriously draconian cuts and will make good on his promise to lay of 1,700 employees, which does not bode well for south Florida, where the unemployment rate has soared past ten percent and where we are still seeing a record number of foreclosures take place.And to further close the gap on a $444 million shortfall, the m

  September 16, 2009

• Is Katharine Cue Really a Hialeah Girl? The Proof Is in the Documents

  Alex Izaguirre​Over the past 15 days, I have written several blog posts questioning the residency of Hialeah councilwoman Katharine Cue. I reported how her driver's license and city documents, including forms she filled out with her own handwriting, showed she actually resided at 19195 Mystic Pointe Dr. in Aventura when she was appointed to the city council last November 18. The city charter requires a person to live in the city for one year prior to their appointment or election. All an appoi

  October 1, 2009

• Hialeah Hanky-Panky

  Alex Izaguirre​Did something improper go on in Hialeah's budget office? Did budget director Alex Vega and senior internal auditor Ana Maria Gomez do more than just crunch numbers on city time? Well, whatever they were up to, it didn't sit well with Vega's wife Tania. This past April 6 around 12:30 p.m., Vega and Gomez were leaving the office to have lunch together. They walked out to the city hall parking lot and got in his car. But before Vega could back out, Tania pulled up. According to a

  October 6, 2009

• Intelligent Miamians Answer UN Leader's Call to Action

  Alex Izaguirre​Just when I think all is lost in this chaotic, transient subtropical paradise I call home, some of my homies give me hope. They've demonstrated that Miami-Dade does have people who care about the world around them and are willing to raise awareness about making the world a better, safer place for all of us. Hats off to Tim Ronan, Michael and Lucia Landsberg, Diana Patino, Amy Mendizabal, David Saint, Gavin McKenzie, Mark Diaz, Bamboo Barry, Alex Senf, David Muriel, Alicia Triana

  October 8, 2009

• Miami Beach Candidate Oddy Segui Has a Check-Cashing Problem

  Alex Izaguirre​There's just something odd about Oduardo "Oddy" Segui, a 40-year-old Cuban-American running against Miami Beach Commissioner Jerry Libbin.Not much has been written about the political newcomer. In an October 4 Miami Herald article, Segui informs reporter David Smiley that he owned a hotel in the Bahamas and a transportation company in Los Angeles, both of which he claims he sold to run for office. According to his campaign financial disclosure statement, he loaned himself

  October 16, 2009

• Here's a Shocker: Cubans Are Growing Pot All Over the State

  Alex Izaguirre​Yesterday the Orlando Sentinel published a report that Cuban immigrants who have recently arrived in the United States represent a vast majority of people getting busted for operating marijuana grow houses across the state.The article comes two years after my story on the same subject, proving that law enforcement is nowhere near erasing Florida's status as the nation's number one producer of high-grade chronic grown indoors. Government officials cite the lack of lengthy prison

  October 19, 2009

• Feds Dole Out $26 Million to City of Miami For Affordable Housing

  Alex Izaguirre​The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development sent affordable housing developers in Miami-Dade County an early Christmas present. This past October 16, HUD secretary Shaun Donovan announced 18 south Florida cities will receive $69 million for community development grants, homeowner assistance programs, emergency shelter grants, and housing for people with HIV/AIDS.The pot of money includes $26.2 million for Miami, $1.4 million for Miami Gardens, $3 million for Miami Beach

  October 22, 2009

• Friday Food Funnies: Girl Talk

  Thanks to Alex Izaguirre for the cool new Friday Food Funnies graphic​Great people talk about ideas, average people talk about things, and small people talk about wine. ~Fran LebowitzIs Elizabeth Taylor fat? Her favorite food is seconds. ~Joan RiversMost turkeys taste better the day after; my mother's tasted better the day before. ~Rita RudnerI come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage. ~Erma BombeckI like to have one martini, two at the very most... after three I'm under the tab

  October 23, 2009

• UPDATED: Restaurant Owner Arrested in Los Angeles, Accused of Slaying His Unborn Child

  Alex Izaguirre​ Two days ago, Los Angeles Police homicide detectives arrested Joshua Woodward, who teamed up with celebrity chef Govind Armstrong to bring their West Coast food offerings to South Beach via Table 8. The cops charged Woodward with the murder of his unborn child.According to an LAPD press release, investigators on October 19 completed an injury report to "capture the suspicious circumstances of a miscarriage." The release notes the fetus was 13 weeks old when it died. The re

  October 28, 2009

• FPL Gets An Obama Stroke Job As Company Sets Out to Destroy National Park

  Alex Izaguirre​Could there have been a more ruthless, diabolical, state utility monopolizer to receive $200 million in federal stimulus money than Florida Power & Light? I'm not the only one questioning the federal government's decision either.President Barack Obama announced FPL's stimulus bounty this week during a tour of the company's new photovoltaic electricity facility in Arcadia. It's the largest of its kind in the world. The commander-in-chief gushed that the plant - where solar pa

  October 29, 2009

• Regalado, Bower, and Robaina: Vote Against Them With Your Toenails

  Alex Izaguirre​Tuesday is local Election Day. Turnout is sure to stink. Mayors in Miami, Miami Beach, and Hialeah are certain to be elected in landslides.This is odd, because the local economy is in its worst condition since 1989. Race relations are at a 20-year low. And government is cutting services like a butcher slices up a pig.Vote, folks. Vote against Julio Robaina and scare him. The trickery in Hialeah, as witnessed by the scandalette over Katharine Cue's residence and conflicts at the

  November 2, 2009

• Inspector General Gets Busy Cracking Down on Small-Time Rackets

  Alex Izaguirre​ This past Friday, Miami-Dade inspector general Christopher Mazzella announced his office had busted ex-schools police Sgt. Patricia Hobby stealing $2,841 in overtime she didn't work.To avoid jail time, Hobby agreed to resign from the schools police force, complete 150 hours of community service, and repay the money she didn't earn.But nothing happened to Campbell Drive Middle School principal Evonne Alvarez, who signed off on the false overtime for Hobby. According to the inspe

  November 2, 2009

• Faceless Blogger "Strawbuyer" Irks Prosecutor Koztrewski

  Alex Izaguirre​An anonymous Miami blogger dubbed the Strawbuyer has made an enemy out of a veteran state prosecutor.Since debuting on the web this past July, the author -- who writes with the acidic juvenile prose of a celebrity blogger -- has attacked the work of Bill Koztrewski, a Miami-Dade assistant state attorney who has specialized in economic crimes for more than ten years.And it appears Koztrewski doesn't have much of a sense of humor.In an email correspondence with Banana Republi

  November 3, 2009

• Countdown Till John Timoney's Boot Party

  Alex Izaguirre​When John Timoney swooped into the Magic City six years ago, watching him play up to the local media was like seeing Robert Duvall play Lt. Colonel Bill Kilgore in Apocalypse Now. The sight of Timoney on his police bike taking out demonstrators during the 2003 Free Trade Area of the Americas summit evoked visions of Kilgore catching waves and inhaling the sweet smell of Napalm off the Vietnamese coast.But Timoney always had the sharper tongue. So Banana Republican is a little sa

  November 10, 2009

• Another Teacher Who Cares About the Kids Gets Shafted

  Alex Izaguirre​UPDATE: Ceresta Smith has gotten a temporary reprieve. Miami-Dade Public Schools administrators will not be asking the school board to suspend her today. Spokesman John Schuster says the school district is reviewing the matter.Miami-Dade County Public Schools is railroading another good, outspoken teacher. Today the school board will consider suspending Ceresta Smith without pay for 30 days, illustrating how the nation's fourth largest district silences critics.Last year, the Mi

  November 17, 2009