Gulf Coast

Florida City Officials Resign After Getting Caught Having Sex in a Car at a Park

Until last month, 36-year-old Chad Minor was director of community development for Venice, Florida, a Gulf Coast town of just more than 20,000 people. Kellie Bricker, who is 41, worked for the same city as a planning coordinator, but both were forced to resign after they got caught getting it on in ... More >>

South Beach Drag Legend Wanda Shot Dead in Streets of Tampa

Standing an imposing 6'6" (and even taller in heels), the legendary drag icon Wanda had been stomping through South Beach like it was her personal runway since its '90s heyday. She was at one point perhaps the most polarizing and controversial figure in South Beach nightlife. A master at throwing s ... More >>

The Flora-Bama Bar: Mullet-Tossing, Bushwhackers and Bikini Contests

Unlike the rest of America, in Florida, you have go north to go south. More redneck than refined, the rest of the Sunshine State is full of pick-up trucks, Southern twangs and country music. Head north just a few hundred miles, and it's hard to imagine there's a place called Miami. And despite any ... More >>

The Federal Presents Crawdaddy Tuesday and Chicken Fry Wednesday

In many ways, Miami feels as if it has seceded from the South, but the Federal's new Crawdaddy Tuesday and Chicken Fry Wednesday might make us feel a bit down-home again. Crawdaddy Tuesday began last week, and Chicken Fry Wednesday premieres tomorrow, April 3. Both promotions will last through spri ... More >>

Obama: "Florida Is the Center of Basketball"

President Barack Obama was in Miami today to talk up one his favorite subjects: spending on infrastructure. Nothing particularly groundbreaking there.Though, you can bet the Chicago Bulls fan certainly had something to say about his team snapping the Heat's epic win streak.

Guess Which Joke Everyone Made on Twitter About the Hurricanes Beating Pacific

Today the No. 2 seed Miami Hurricanes rolled through the first round of the NCAA tournament by beating the 15th seed Pacific Tigers 78-49. The Hurricanes take their team name from a severe weather system that develops in the ocean. The University of the Pacific is named after an ocean. Can you ... More >>

Miami's Best Fish Markets

Miami's Best Fish Markets

It was a warm Sunday afternoon, and Brickell's high-rises loomed on the hazy horizon beyond the nearby Miami River. Quaint fishing boats bobbed on the water's rippling surface, and rays of sunlight glimmered upon the soft waves. But a few steps from these quiet waters, dozens of shoppers elbowed ea ... More >>

Miami Subs Grill Expands to the Middle East, South Beach

Looks like the Middle East is going to have to get used to saying "Dale" because Miami Subs, renamed the New Miami Subs Grill, is planning on a mega expansion into the part of the Middle East known as the Gulf Coast Countries.The south Florida fast food chain has inked a deal with Saudi Arabian c ... More >>

Haves&Thirds' Todd Lynne Talks INC 2013 and History of Tampa Noise: "We Were Total Hermits"

Todd Lynne is a man who speaks softly, and carries a big stick. Only instead of a two-by-four or tree branch, Lynne wields a huge bag of noisy tricks. For more than a decade, he has been a devoted, prolific participant in and leader of Central and Gulf Coast Florida's respective noise music scenes. ... More >>

Hurricanes Basketball Upsets #13 Michigan State 67-59

We know that the Hurricanes' football season was kind of a bust. And we know that despite some stronger than normal preseason hype, Hurricanes basketball already dropped a game to Florida Gulf Coast this month. We know some of you might not be ready to place your trust in the orange and green again, ... More >>

Hibernus Mortis's Ralf Varela Talks Florida Death Metal and His Band's Legacy of Brutality

Hibernus Mortis may be South Florida's greatest death metal band of all time. And a big part of that has to do with a long tenure as South Florida's only death metal band. While the Sunshine State's Gulf Coast can tout a robust history of Cookie Monster deathcries and bangover-inducing head-whips, ... More >>

Journey at Cruzan Amphitheatre October 13

Three Lessons Democrats Can Learn From the RNC

Crackers Casual Dining in Miami Springs: Tiger Prawns, Brisket and Fried Green Tomatoes

Crackers Casual Dining in Miami Springs opened up a little over two weeks ago, replacing the Riverside Grille. It's the newest restaurant to open up in the suburban city near the airport and it labels itself as a Southern-style eatery.The term "Southern" is a broad category in regard to regional cui ... More >>

Merchandise Talks Hardcore, EDM, Shredding in Tampa, and Miami's 305 Fest

See 305 Fest's full lineup and set times -- plus Crossfade's interviews with Speedfreak Presents, Torche, and Dropdead. Tampa, Florida is home to a long tradition of phlegm-throated snarling and buzzsaw shredding. In the '80s and '90s, the Gulf Coast industrial metropolis was a petri dish of brutal ... More >>

Memorial Day 2012: Six Best Electronic Music Parties Around Miami

Memorial Day weekend is upon us. And "Urban Beach Week" has officially begun. From DJ Khaled's party at Cameo to Young Jeezy's bash at King of Diamonds, there're plenty of opportunities to rub elbows with hip-hop heavyweights, primetime strippers, and porn stars this weekend. But we get it, not e ... More >>

Coral Reefs Are Being Decimated, All for a Few Gaudy Trinkets

David Young, Ex-Green Beret and Politico, Accused Of Bilking $54 Million From Military

​Before he moved to Florida, David Young was an American hero: A Green Beret, a Gulf War vet and a Bronze Star recipient. The vet was once among the nation's youngest state legislators after winning a seat in his native New Hampshire's state House at the age of 21. Two years ago, when he relocated ... More >>

Pantsless Felon Jason Wayo Caught After Crime Spree, Shooting and Hiding In Woman's Closet

​What did you do this weekend? Unless you masterminded an international art theft caper or got into a fistfight with Mike Tyson over his love of Phil Collins, Jason Wayo can probably beat your story.The 34-year-old Sarasota County native was in court yesterday to answer charges that he went on an ... More >>

Buju Banton Received Ten Years in Prison Thanks to a Shady Snitch With Money Woes

Seven months after a judge sentenced Grammy-winning reggae artist Buju Banton to ten years in Miami's Federal Correctional Institution on drug charges, an appeal by Buju is raising concerns that the feds entrapped the iconic and controversial performer. In this week's New Times, an investigatio ... More >>

Weird Wives and Luma Junger Square Off Against Alligator Alley, Wise Wizards, and Gulf Coast Fauna (Plus Free Music!)

Fear, loathing, and boiled peanuts in Sarasota, Florida.​Alligator Alley, the artery connecting lower Southwest Florida with the Gulf Coast b/w The Everglades, is so flat, straight and strikingly unremarkable that it takes on the vertiginous qualities of the most hypnogogic labyrinths. That is to ... More >>

Down and Derby

Is Tampa the New Miami? Tampa TV Experts Say Yes

​Here in Miami, we like to think we have a monopoly on star personalities. But according to at least one reality TV casting director, Tampa's where you can really find the talent."Tampa is the new Miami," casting director Rose Rosen told the Tampa Bay Times this week, noting that a colleague of he ... More >>

What Makes Florida So Fun for Freaky Felons?

​It's almost like he did it on purpose. In the same week New Times published the results of a weird-crime-off between Florida and Texas (which Florida won, duh), police arrested Tyree Lincoln Smith. The official charge: murder. The freaky details: Dude allegedly killed a man in Connecticut, then a ... More >>

Florida Principal Reports Two Students Kissing As "Possible Sex Crime"

​This really is the only logical endpoint in a state so obsessed with sex crimes that we banished sex offenders to live under a bridge and unleashed prosecutors onto sexting teens: A teacher sees two 12-year-old students smooching in gym class and tells the school's principal, who then report ... More >>

Brandon Albanito Made A Million Selling Fake IDs To College Kids, Until the Feds Caught Up

via Lee County Sheriff's Office​Who knew churning out McLovin licenses for desperate college kids was a goldmine? For Brandon Albanito, a 25-year-old in Cape Coral, the fake ID biz was a million-dollar enterprise, with a 2010 Lexus, a Bentley and a 2003 Ferrari, a nearly $400,000 house and mountai ... More >>

Animal with Wild Hunger

Eliu Gonzalez, Florida City Sea Hustler, Pleads Guilty to Defrauding BP Out of Oil Spill Funds

We're betting this is what Gonzalez looks like.​BP was recently ripped off to the tune of six figures by an enterprising hustler named Eliu Gonzalez. The 37-year-old Florida City resident was indicted in April for forging documents to claim $110,116 in lost fishing income due to the Deep ... More >>

Strippers Edition: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Exotic Dancers

​Some things are so good, they should not be f*cked with: Starsky & Hutch, rum & coke, mugshots & Fridays.But rules are made to be broken, especially random-ass Riptide rules. So we present you with a special mid-week, Gulf Coast edition of Mugshots Friday Tuesday.Today's version is de ... More >>

Nevin Shapiro: Who Is This Ponzi Dirtbag Exploding Canes Football?

photo by Tim ElfrinkThe view from Shapiro's pool.​So Yahoo Sports dropped an ass-seeking clusterbomb all over The U last night with a mammoth expose on Nevin Shapiro's (allegedly) hooker-buying, yacht-lending, abortion-providing services for Hurricanes athletes. Their story doesn't spend much spac ... More >>

Buck Naked, Incredibly Drunk Driver Tasered By Florida Deputies

via Levy County Sheriff's OfficeKelly Michael Bachmeier​If the charges against Kelly Michael Bachmeier are true, Riptide salutes him for hitting for the cycle of Florida crimes: extreme drunkenness, a complete lack of pants, erratic driving and, of course, a good Tasering.Sheriff's deputies say th ... More >>

Guns online: No permit needed

Supper on the Porch

Six lies about the Marlins stadium

Nearly One in Five Florida Homes Are Empty

​Here's a staggering statistic from the continued fallout of Florida's real estate bust: 18 percent of homes in Florida, or nearly one in five, sit empty. That's a 62 percent increase in empty homes in the past ten years, and the surplus of inventory on the market ensures that home prices are ... More >>

Drugged Conscience is making Miami punk history

Local Record Label Drugged Conscience Is Making Miami Punk History

via druggedconscience.com​To the outside world, Miami isn't particularly known for its punk history. We weren't part of the first wave (New York City, Los Angeles, London), we didn't invent hardcore (Washington D.C.), and we burn through venues so fast that we've never managed to forge a long-te ... More >>

John Hancock on ANR's New Album, Recording With Justin Bieber, and the End of the World

​In addition to orchestrating alternative pop epics, Awesome New Republic also makes jokes, constantly reminding us that "we're humans, not furniture." And so, when we call ANR's John Hancock, he immediately starts riffing. "You're calling from Miami New Times? Miami's home for informati ... More >>

New Issue of Edible South Florida

​The fall issue of Edible South Florida debuts today (Monday), and sadly, there are no scantily clad men on the cover. Instead, some sexy claws take the spotlight for this month's cover story: stone crab season. The issue also contains stories of hunting wild persimmons, planting a garden, women ... More >>

Manny Diaz and Michael Bloomberg Team Up Against Gerrymandering

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is coming to bat for his homeboy, former Miami ​Mayor Manny Diaz, this Friday. The pair will lay out their reasons for supporting amendments 5 and 6 on the November ballot at an 11 a.m. press conference at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Miami.The pitch ... More >>

Woman Traveling Home From Miami Drug Trip Caught With Drug Straws in Vagina

​While state laws are trying to put a stop to South Florida's notorious pill mills, the area is still a popular destination for those looking to load up on illicit substances. Kelly Mowery and four others recently made a bit of an OxyContin shopping trip in Miami. While returning to Tennessee by v ... More >>

UM Student Kelly McConnell, Two Brothers, and Dad Killed by Drunk Driver

​Demetrius Jordan, 20, was drinking and smoking pot Saturday night before getting behind the wheel of his Chevy Impala and cruising the streets of St. Petersburg at 80 mph.Kelly McConnell, 19, on summer break from the University of Miami, was riding home from a movie with his father and two older ... More >>

President Obama Coming to Fontainebleau Next Month for Fundraiser With Alex Sink

​Democrats love partying at the Fontainebleau. Bill Clinton held a fundraiser at the hotel's club LIV earlier this summer, and President Obama, who's no stranger to the megaresort, will return to town August 18. He'll be on hand to raise funds for the Florida Democratic Party a ... More >>

Marco Rubio Calls for More Tax Cuts, But Could That Hurt The Economy More?

​It seems so simple that Republicans have taken it as fact: tax cuts will lead to greater economic strength. Lower taxes mean people have more money to spend, businesses have more payroll to add jobs, and hence our economy should get a jolt, right? It's no surprise that Marco Rubio has now come ou ... More >>

Photo: Hands Across the Sand South Beach Protest From the Sky

Photo by Alissa Christine​This past Saturday, about 1,500 people held hands on South Beach, spanning ten blocks, to protest offshore drilling. Partially a response to the BP oil spill devastating the Gulf Coast, the protesters also promoted a clean energy future. We just got this awesome aerial ph ... More >>

Glades Invaders

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

The Furball’s Fairy Godmother

Homeless animals have their day

Isle Be Loving You