Central Florida

GOP Finally Attacks Nan Rich, Only Democrat Actually Running for Governor Right Now

The actual gubernatorial election is more than a year and a half away, but Republicans have already dug in their heels by attacking Rick Scott's presumptive Democratic challenger. Mostly that's involved throwing barbs at former Republican Charlie Crist, who may or may not actually run, and who may o ... More >>

Florida Highway Patrol Busts Soup Bandit Who Nabbed $75,000 Worth of Broth

Eusebio Diaz Acosta made it all the way to Tamarac with his stolen tractor-trailer full of soup, but that is where his dream of soup-filled days would end -- until soup day in jail, that is. In the most un-Goodfellas heist ever, Acosta is charged with stealing a tractor-trailer full of $7 ... More >>

Florida Woman Claims Goldfish Cracker Is a Sign From God

A full 2,013 years after he apparently sent us his only son, God has decided to send his pet goldfish to Central Florida.Patti Burke, a Brevard County resident, believes that an odd imprint she found on a Goldfish cracker is actually a sign from the almighty himself.

Rick Scott Unveils First Campaign Ad of 2014

Whether you like it or not, the 2014 campaign cycle is officially here. Gov. Rick Scott has unveiled the first ad in his reelection campaign, and while it might be incredibly early, you can't blame the guy for wanting to get a head start in boosting his poll numbers.The 107-second web ad premieres w ... More >>

Dream Water's Promises of Deep Sleep Aren't True, Lawsuit in Miami Claims

Dream Water Sued by Florida Woman Who Says It Didn't Help Her Sleep

Since 2009, millions of Americans who have had trouble counting sheep but didn't want to turn to brain-frying pills or the ol' liquor cabinet have looked instead to a company started by four Miamians to put them to sleep. Dream Water, an all-natural beverage carried at thousands of Walmarts and ... More >>

Spiegelau's Matt Rutkowski: Labels Lie, German Beers Mostly the Same

As the craft-brew scene explodes across South Florida, how exactly do you learn about beer?(Besides drinking it in massive quantities.) Learn from the experts. Duh.We spoke with Matt Rutkowski, U.S. vice president of Spiegelau (the guru of beer glasses), about the biggest myths circulating ... More >>

Heat Pull Out 11th Straight, Beat Cavs 109-105

No Oscars were awarded for Dwyane Wade's fourth-quarter performance Sunday night. Just another Miami Heat win, that's all. With his team down seven with just under four minutes to go, the man they once called "Flash" played the role of superhero, scoring 11 of his 24 in the game's final five minutes ... More >>

George Zimmerman Is Now Selling Autographs To Fund His Defense In Trayvon Martin Case

Ever wanted to own the autograph of a man who gunned down an unarmed teenager guilty of nothing more than being black in his own neighborhood? If you agree with that sentiment, probably not. But the legion who think George Zimmerman is a Second Amendment hero who bravely killed a violent intruder to ... More >>

Carl Hiaasen: Bard of Corruption

Marco Rubio's Daughter Released from Hospital Following Golf Cart Crash

Marco Rubio was campaigning with Mitt Romney in Central Florida on Saturday when he got the call that every parent fears: his 12-year-old daughter Amanda had been airlifted to Miami Children's Hospital after being involved in a golf cart accident.Luckily, Amanda has now been released from the hospit ... More >>

Race at Gablestage Offers Great Performances in an Underwhelming Script

Miami Marlins Are Only Floridians' Third Favorite Baseball Team

The Miami Marlins are only the third favorite baseball team of Floridians according to a new Quinnipiac poll. Which is quite odd once you remember Florida is only home to two major league baseball teams. In fact, Florida's favorite team doesn't even play in Florida. Yes, the New York Yankees actuall ... More >>

Florida Doctor Arrested for DUI, Spits Blood on Trooper, Goes Insane on Video

Dr. Zachary Bird, 41, was driving along a Central Florida road early Sunday morning, likely under the influence, when his car nearly sideswiped a Florida Highway Patrol captain's car. That's horrible enough, but it was Bird's outrageous actions caught on videotape after his arrest that are making ne ... More >>

After Trayvon Martin, Neo-Nazis Say They're Armed and Patrolling Sanford

Neo-Nazis Send Photos of Two Unarmed Members in Sanford, Insist They Really Do Exist

Attacked from across the political spectrum for exaggerating their "armed patrols" in Sanford, neo-Nazis have fired back -- with pictures of two people holding a Nazi flag in the central Florida town.No guns. Virtually no proof to back up their claims there are "ten to 20 people" in the area. "We're ... More >>

Florida Man Molested Boys in Party Van Full of Video Games

Leonard Filipkowski drove what police describe as "a predator's paradise" -- a giant, colorfully painted van with darkened windows and a sophisticated system of flat screen TVs and video games installed in the back. Filipkowski has now been charged with 20 counts of counts lewd and lascivious acts i ... More >>

Schnebly's: Miami's First Proper Brewery

​Schnebly's Redland Winery and Brewery has a fine reputation for making tropical fruit-flavored wines and beers, but now the owners are building  on-site brewing equipment. Having garnered a distribution license, the place is set to become Miami's first real brewery in one month, says Joe Rey ... More >>

Cocktober and Aphrodisiac Ice Cream: Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Week in Florida

By Carlos AcostaAndrew Zimmern at Cobaya Azul​I have to thank Bizarre Food's Andrew Zimmern for making it to Miami. I'd originally dropped a grapevine hint that he'd soon be in town only because I recently noticed his Twitter conversation with Chef Geoffrey Zakarian about visiting Tudor House.But ... More >>

Marvin Dunn: Overtown's Farmer

Andre Berto: Right Hooks for Haiti

Wounded Warriors in Action Foundation uses hunting trips to heal vets

Chris Dorworth, Future Florida Speaker, Mysteriously Went From Nearly Broke to Rich in a Year

​In a little over two years, Chris Dorworth will be the second-most powerful man in Tallahassee. Barring some sort of momentous Democratic take over, the Republican has already been elected to serve as Speaker of the House from 2014 to 2016. Funny thing is, back in 2009, Dorworth was nearly broke. ... More >>

Republican State Senator: Some Hispanics "Really Have No Business Voting Anyhow"

Rep. Alan Hays​Florida will add two new congressional districts in 2012, and the Senate Reapportionment Committee is meeting to determine where to place those districts. One of the leading plans includes carving out a new district in Orange, Osceola and Polk counties that would create a strongly H ... More >>

Poll: Slightly Fewer People Hate Rate Scott Now

​Gov. Rick Scott's popularity is climbing ever so slightly out of the toilet. Now 35 percent of Floridians approve of the way he's handling his job. That's up from only 29 percent in May. That makes Rick Scott probably the only politician in America right now who's happy with a 35 percent appr ... More >>

Sports Poll: Only 22 Percent of Floridians Like LeBron, Gators Are Favorite Team

Finally a political polling firm has decided to poll on something other than politics. Public Policy Polling surveyed Floridians on another contentious topic: sports. The poll shows LeBron James isn't exactly that popular in his new state, while Florida's favorite pro team is the Tampa Bay Bucc ... More >>

Those Dirty LeBron James and Rashard Lewis Rumors

​You might remember that last year, Fox Sports Radio personality Stephen A. Smith was the first guy to report that LeBron James indeed would be joining Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade with the Miami Heat. People laughed at him when he first Tweeted the assertion, but he looked pretty prescient after it ... More >>

Rick Scott, the Veto King: Record-Setting $615 Million in Vetoes (Many to Miami Programs)

​Gov. Rick Scott coronated himself as Florida's veto king today by announcing a record $615.3 million in additional cuts to the already-reduced state budget. Scott made the announcement in the Republican-heavy Central Florida old-folks homes known as the Villages, and repeated his weird flip-flopp ... More >>

Teenager Seath Jackson Brutally Murdered By Five Others Near Ocala

15-year-old Seath Jackson was brutally murdered in Central Florida​Seath Jackson, 15, of Belleview, Florida, was seeing Amber Wright, also 15, of nearby Summerfield, though something went wrong and Wright began seeing 18-year-old Michael Bargo. Jackson took to his Facebook page to accuse Wright of ... More >>

UM Alum Brandon Meriweather Investigated In Shooting Of Two Men In Apopka

via New England Patriots​Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather -- a University of Miami star drafted in the first round in 2007 -- is under investigation in the shooting of two men at a house party in central Florida last week, according to a lawyer representing the victims.Meriweather allegedly pul ... More >>

Rick Scott Pledges $77M to Dredge Port of Miami

​Florida's high-speed rail plan is official dead -- done in at the hands of Rick Scott. But the governor giveth as he taketh away. Scott says the state will pick up the tab on funding a project to dredge the Port of Miami, allowing it to handle larger ships. Scott says the project will create 30,0 ... More >>

Ten Supereclectic Acts Not to Miss at the International Noise Conference

Tampa's Neon Blud is the INC's rock spoiler.​See the full, three-day International Noise Conference 2011 lineup. People have the internet and it's hard to shock them. Once threatening musical aesthetics like punk and hip-hop have long been neutered and incorporated into the popular culture canon. ... More >>

Teen Robbers in Central Florida Threaten to Kill Man, Steal Beanie Babies and Make Off on Bikes

​Beanie Babies, Nintendo video games, souvenir baseball bats and bicycles: all part of a wholesome, suburban Central Florida childhood, right? Well two teenagers in St. Cloud, Florida managed to combine all of these things into a chilling yet almost comically inept home invasion. Ah, the youth of ... More >>

The Jameses and Jacuzzi Boys at Florida's Dying's Six-Year Anniversary Party

​Something to remember about roadtripping to Orlando: If you leave anywhere near dusk, you'll always hit shitty traffic leaving Miami. Crossfade braved the "four" hour drive to check out Florida's Dying's six-year anniversary at Will's Pub and experience what the fuck is going on up there and me ... More >>

Forget the Nostalgia, These Five '90s Songs Suck

Erica Marshall of muddyboots.orgCrappy '90s songs on cassette!​​It took the internet a full ten years to even begin looking back fondly upon the collective sonic experiences of the blissful Clintonian days. But '90s musical nostalgia swung into full gear in 2010 thanks to the Hole tour, Tavi t ... More >>

Will Muschamp Named Head Coach of Florida Gators

​Well, University of Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley works a heck of a lot faster than his counterpart at Miami. Will Muschamp, the defensive coordinator of the Texas Longhorns, has been named the new head honcho in Gainseville. Previously he had been guaranteed to be Mack Brown's successor ... More >>

2010 Election Results Live Blog

​Will Florida gets its first female Governor? Will the country's first female Speaker of the House be forced to turn in her gavel? Will Kendrick Meek somehow shock the world by winning? Did anyone bother to get to know enough about the CFO race to bother voting? Join us tonight as we live blog the ... More >>

American Therapeutic Corp. Charged with Fleecing Medicare out of $200m By Using Dementia Patients

Bad doctors, bad. ​Miami has long been the country's capitol for Medicare fraud schemes, and today federal authorities arrested four people associated with American Therapeutic Corporation and charged the Miami-based company with fleecing $200 million from Medicare. The company is accused of preyi ... More >>

Widespread Panic at the Fillmore Miami Beach, September 30

Photo by Colin Vereen 2010​​Widespread PanicThursday, September 30, 2010The Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason TheaterBetter Than: Anything else happening on the beach.Whether or not Jackie Gleason would approve of flowerchild revivalists and legitimate long hairs toking up in his parkin ... More >>

Alan Grayson's "Taliban Dan" Attack Ad: Does FactCheck.org Need to Check Their Own Facts?

​It's really no surprise that Florida's loud mouthed Rep. Alan Grayson has produced what's become the most talked about attack ad of the season. In a 30-second spot that began airing in Grayson's Orlando-area district last week, the first term Democrat compares Republican opponent Dan Webster to r ... More >>

Jacob Graham of the Drums Talks Leaving Florida, Americana, and Not Really Liking the Beach; Playing Grand Central with Surfer Blood on Saturday

​Brooklyn-based indie-poppers The Drums aren't what you think they are. Sure, they put out their Summertime! EP, filled with beach-themed tracks like "Let's Go Surfing," "Down by the Water," and "Submarine." But they actually mentioned to us recently that they probably wouldn't go to the beach if ... More >>

Efraim Diveroli Re-arrested for Arms Dealing

Courtesy of Miami-Dade CorrectionsEfraim Diveroli​Efraim Diveroli, the irrepressible 24-year-old arms trafficker and Miami Beach felon, was arrested Friday for attempting to sell large quantities of ammunition to undercover federal agents in central Florida. He's been detained without bond in Oran ... More >>

Dr. Captain America Will Not Go To Jail For Burrito Groping Incident... Or Something

​In yet another of our occasional reminders that Floridians outside of Miami-Dade are crazy, horrible people here's the lead from a newstory from Central Florida news station WFTV: "The Brevard County doctor who was arrested for groping a woman while dressed as Captain America with a burrito in hi ... More >>

Bill McCollum Was Against MLK Day Before He Was for It

Before those two failed Senate runs and his stint as attorney general, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum was a congressman for 20 years. During his freshman term in the House, a young McCollum had a dream. A dream that one day, there would never be a national holiday celebrating the l ... More >>

Norman Van Aken does a 180 in the Gables

Glades Invaders

It's too late to stop the pythons. The real question is, what's next?

Letters from the Issue of May 14, 2009

"I surely hope our entire community will show Barry this is intolerable behavior."

Obama's Florida Gamble

McCain was too late. The new prez spent heavily in Florida and eked out victory here.

Blues for the Fire Department

Add Willie Latimore's name to the Opa-locka Three