Subject: Economic Crisis

• We’re Dreaming of a Fly Christmas

  December 18, 2008

• As Unemployment Rises, Economists Say We May Be In A Recession

  June 6, 2008

• News Roundup

  September 15, 2008

• The Bailout, Never Forget

  September 29, 2008

• We'd Kiss Birdman For a Milli Too

  October 8, 2008

• Latest Sign of the Apocalypse: $4 beers at Zeke's

  October 27, 2008

• Latest Sign of the Apocalypse: $4 Beers at Zeke's

  October 28, 2008

• Last Night: The Wizard of Oz at the Arsht Center

  October 29, 2008

• Under the Sea and Free

  April 2, 2009

• Can we build a wall to keep these damn Mexicans in?

  Remember when America was so prosperous that we were debating ways of keeping our neighbors from breaking into our country to steal our crumbs? So much so that we were building a big fence- sort of like the Berlin Wall because that worked out so well for Germany?That was August- the good old days, when we had nothing better to worry about. Now, as the Herald reports this morning, Mexicans and other immigrants are fleeing the United States like it's a house party with a kicked keg. You might wann

  December 1, 2008

• Dance to the Depression

  April 2, 2009

• Damien Hirst's Worth Found Dead, Preserved in Formaldehyde

  Sad is the day when no one wants to pay millions and millions of dollars for dissected animals in formaldehyde cubes or diamond encrusted skulls. Portfolio is citing Art Basel Miami Beach as the proof that infamous British artists Damien Hirst's bubble has burst. The man's work used to go for astounding prices for a living artists. He sold a cow, no seriously a dead, encased cow with golden horns, for $18 million, a similar dead shark for $12 million, an elaborate pill cabinet for $22.8 million,

  December 18, 2008

• Program Notes

  December 4, 1991

• Turlington Still Turning Heads on Miami Beach

  Supermodel Christy Turlington just celebrated her 40th birthday and is still booking gigs. She recently spent some time poolside in Miami Beach with famed lens man Mario Sorrenti, shooting the spring/summer ads for Swiss luxe leather maker Bally. Good to know the recession hasn't forced major supermodel layoffs or put much of a dent in Miami Beach's reputation as one of the premier fashion-shoot destinations. [via British Vogue]

  January 16, 2009

• South Florida Actually a Good Place to Start a Small Business

  You never would have guessed it, considering we're more or less ground zero for the foreclosure crisis, but the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area is actually the 12th best place to start a small business, according to Biz Journals. The rankings cited South Florida's strong population and job growth. Between 2003 and 2008, we've actually seen 9 percent growth in jobs. However, we've fallen a bit from grace. The last rankings in 2007 had us at number three, while the 2006 rankings put as at numero uno.

  February 9, 2009

• This Is your Real Estate Brain. This Is Your Real Estate Brain After the Recession

  via TLCHere's the basic rundown on financially ruined Miami mega-realtor Carlos Justos, from an ABC News Profile.This is Justo before the recession: $7 million waterfront home. Star of the Bravo series Million Dollar Agents. Clientele including big shots such as the Estefans. $20 million net worth. Admittedly driven by greed and ego. Regularly chartered helicopters and Rolls Royces.This is Justo after the recession: Soon to be repossessed Brickell condo. Long since replaced on Bravo with that pr

  February 17, 2009

• Florida Lawmakers Argue over Novelty Lighters Ban

  via NY Dept of StateIn case you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of some serious stuff right now, politically speaking. Oh, you know, greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression, underfunded schools, a failing health-care system -- that kind of stuff. Which is why we're just so glad the Florida House spent a lot of time debating the ever-pressing topic of novelty lighters. Yes, little lighters that resemble toys.  Rep. Scott Plakon (R-Longwood) wants to ban them, but Rep. J.C. P

  February 17, 2009

• Irene Marie Models Sashays Off The Runway For Good

  Irene Marie Models, one of the first modeling agencies to call South Beach home has shut its doors and may file for bankruptcy. While we'd like to blame that dismal reality show 8th & Ocean for ruining its credibility, The Herald has the official reason. Spoiler alert: it's the recession. We're hearing some of the agency's models are frustrated with the way the agency handled the closing. Though, they'll be allowed to pick up any materials, portfolios and such we imagine, during a two hour s

  February 18, 2009

• UM Addresses The Impact of Econ Crisis

  Nothing is immune to the economic crisis, not even the palm tree'd oasis in Coral Gables known as the University of Miami. After many alumnus expressed their concern, president Donna Shalala sent out a letter to all alum today addressing the impact on UM. Here's the highlights: UM has made a lot of aggressive investments in the past few years. They're confidant they'll play out in the long run, but in the meantime are slowing growth and narrowing focus. That means the previously reported hiring

  March 5, 2009

• Housing Prices Have Dropped 32% In The Last Year

  Integrated Asset Services released their latest IAS360 House Price Index, and as you might expect, the news isn't good. Between January of this year and January 2008 housing prices have dropped a total of 28.4% in South Florida. That's 29.1% in Broward, 18.8% in Palm Beach, and a whopping 32.3% in Miami-Dade. Miami-Dade dropped 5.9% between December and January, plummeted a total of 37.3% since the national housing price peak in January 2006, and dropped 20.5% since the economic crisis effective

  March 10, 2009

• Florida: Swindled and Beaten Bloody

  Just in case yesterday's news of a bounce on the stock market gave you a glimmer of hope, Riptide is here to remind you that your future is bleak and depressing. The CBC recently compared Florida to "a terrified cardiac patient," lying awake at night, praying the angina will pass. "The confidence games here were ruinous," writes Neil Macdonald. "The housing fraud was industrial scale. The economic shortsightedness bordered on lunacy." Macdonald hops from Lehigh Acres ("Some of these homes--past

  March 19, 2009

• Glenn Straub's Latest Last-Minute Pitch for an Overtown Marlins Stadium Makes Far Too Much Sense

  With the Miami Dade Commission set to vote this afternoon on whether to blow hundreds of millions of your tax dollars during the worst recession in a generation on a new Marlins Stadium (not that we've got a stance on this thing or anything), downtown developer Glenn Straub sent a new memo to commissioners today further detailing his far too logical counter-proposal.Courtesy Wikimedia CommonsWhy not another stadium where this one used to sit?Straub owns the former downtown site of the Miami Are

  March 23, 2009

• Carnival Cruises Staying Afloat Fine During Recession

  I imagine being stuck on a boat with a bunch of cruise ship people is bad enough, but recently returning to Miami I was stuck on a plane full of cruise ship people. Pure airline hell: horrendously behaved toddlers, people eating strange smelling food, and quite a few folks who maybe should have asked for two seats. So while I'm no a big fan of cruise ships and their ilk, I do applaud locally based business getting those dolla' dolla' bills. The good news is that the cruise industry seems to be w

  March 24, 2009

• WMC 2009: La India to Make an Appearance the Shelborne This Afternoon

  For the Latin music lovers out there, WMC hasn't forgotten about you. Our sources at the Shelborne say salsa princess La India is slated to make a cameo some time this afternoon, er, which is basically now. The hotel is hosting DJ Magazine's Recession Sessions so this ought to be interesting. We're stuck going to the Bacardi B-Live event at Blade, but let us know if you hear of what went down.

  March 26, 2009

• Nannies: The Latest Victims of the Recession

  What was she to do, where was she to go? She was out on her fanny. Recession stories are getting pretty standard, and boring. One formula goes like this: find some nice industry and find out how the recession is hitting it. CNN just filed one, about nannies, focusing mainly on Miami. Amanda Mezyk is a 20 year-old professional nanny who just got laid off. As part of her job she not only got a salary (the average in Miami is $700 a week), but free room and bored in a fancy pad, an insured car, and

  March 30, 2009

• Before You Get Fired...

  June 4, 2009

• Developer Tibor Hollo Helped Build Miami

  January 29, 2009

• Crooked Lawyers Get Caught

  Hey, they were just trying to make a buck during this recession.

  November 20, 2008

• Something Old, Something Borrowed, Something You

  November 13, 2008

• Retail Therapy

  Shop till you drop at Jungle Island, of all places.

  September 18, 2008

• An Extravaganza of Excess

  Not on Sunday, Sunday, Sunday — it’s on Friday, Friday, Friday!

  August 14, 2008

• Tomorrow Never Dies

  December 4, 2003

• Get Monked Up

  April 11, 2002

• Yo Mama’s So Special

  May 7, 2009

• No Cash in the Coffers

  May 14, 2009

• 305 Photo of the Day: Depression Employment

  The Acme Employment Office on Miami Beach. Today's photo comes to us via the Library of Congress and the year 1939, two years before the Great Depression ended. If you thought getting a job now was tough...

  June 8, 2009

• Report: Floridians Hit Hard by Recession; Lost $1.2 Trillion in Household Wealth

  via Josie B's flickrIt's hard to illustrate these type stories, but this seems appropriately depressing. It's more of a mood pic. Well, your bank account may already know this, but a new Wachovia report says that Florida was hit the hardest by the recession. Here's your depressing factoids: Florida went into recession nine months ahead of the rest of the country.Excess real estate is more abundant then the rest of the country, duh. The Unemployment rate in Florida i

  June 12, 2009

• Straw turns to gold in the Gables.

  June 18, 2009

• Report: Shaq's House Sold With $19 Million Discount

  via Kevin TomlinsonThere once was a time, before the real estate crash, before the credit crunch, and before the global economic meltdown, when Shaquille O'Neal figured he could sell his Star Island mansion for between $32 and $35 million. That was 2005, and this is now. Joan Fleischman reported this morning that Shaq has finally sold the house after four long years, but didn't have a name of the buyer or a price. Now the South Beach Condos Blog is reporting that the deal went down for a me

  June 25, 2009

• Do Mark Ronson's Gucci Sneakers Mean the Recession Will be Over in Time for Art Basel?

  via Dazed DigitalMark Ronson for Gucci​The dark cloud of global financial collapse hung over last year's Art Basel Miami Beach. Complimentary caviar was a rare commodity. Gift bags filled with limited edition designer doo-hickees were in short supply. Party hosts had to opt for the economy sized gold-plated fondue fountain. And, oh, yeah, not as much art sold. But it's not about the art, it's about the fashion and the parties, and the commerce! Thankfully this yea

  August 5, 2009

• Tipster Tells Gawker Gen Art "Deserves to Die"

  via GenArt.orgAccording to a Gawker tipster, the winner of this year's Gen Art Film Festival hasn't been paid yet.​If anyone has obviously been hurt by the recession its been Gen Art. When things got tough, sponsors became more scarce, and as non-profit Gen Art depends on them. This is perhaps why we've seen a diminished presence in Miami from the organization. Its Miami office was closed earlier this year, with business now being run out of its New York office. In fact, at June's Shop Miami,

  August 20, 2009

• Crispin Porter: Is Boutique Advertising Dead?

  ​Crispin Porter Bogusky has long been an anchor of Miami business. Cool, Coconut Grove and booming. But now it's on the decline, and this smells bad for the South Florida economy. Indeed, as the recession cools off spending among high end consumers, the falling fortunes of this leader in boutique advertising world might have broader implications.  On Tuesday it was announced that the company lost its staple -- and coolest -- account with Volkswagen. The reason is unclear. VW, it seems,

  August 20, 2009

• Laugh Till It Stops Hurting

  September 3, 2009

• Miami, Again, Among 20 Worst Economically Performing Metro Areas

  No, this isn't a temperature chart. The 20 weakest metros are dotted in red. ​Florida dominates the list of 20 metropolitan areas still struggling to make an economic turnaround. Eight Florida areas make up the bottom rung of worst-performing cities in Brooking's latest MetroMonitor Report. In addition to Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/Pompono Beach, Bradenton, Cape Coral, Jacksonville, Lakeland, Orlando, Palm Bay, and Tampa are also included in bottom rung.  "Eight of the 20 metro areas

  September 15, 2009

• Capitalism: A Love Story sells the same old Michael Moore shtick

  October 8, 2009

• President Obama fails to go after those responsible for the financial meltdown

  October 29, 2009

• Pump Up the Jams

  November 19, 2009