Miami

Genius of Despair: Absentee ballot inspector

Bill Cooke: Media magnet

Alan Farago: Eye on the Everglades

Elaine de Valle: Hialeah hero

Carlos Miller: Freedom for photographers

Mike Hatami: Prosecutors' enemy

Rattle Sundays at Mamushka's January 22 and every Sunday

Miami's best blogs: From the Crespogram Report to Political Cortadito

Miami Hit Harder By Recession Than Almost Any Other City On Earth

​Next time someone tells you, "Eh, this recession hasn't sucked that much in Miami," whip out this interactive economic graphic report that the Brookings Institute just published. The think tank's conclusions are stunning: Of 200 global cities they analyzed, Miami's economy was harder hit by the r ... More >>

"You'll Have to Leave Miami to Make It" and More Wisdom From Florida Music Get Together

Photo by teajayphotoChurchill's Pub owner and local music legend Dave Daniels.​It's not easy being a musician in Vice City. The geographical challenge alone is enough to make any band go crazy. Miami may never be called a musical epicenter. But when Radioboxer's Jota Dazza put out the call for fe ... More >>

Downtown Miami Wine and Food Festival: Keeping it Local

Drink wine until the sun goes down at the Downtown Miami Wine and Food Festival.​The first annual Downtown Miami Wine and Food Festival is this Sunday, January 22nd, and event promoters are keeping it as local as they can.The festival starts at 1 p.m. at Brickell's Central Park Miami. VIP ticket h ... More >>

Ten Best Music-Related Things to Do This Weekend Under $10

​Whoa, this week totally flew by. Granted, it was a four-day workweek. But shit, where'd the time go? It seems like only yesterday we were bashing Nickelback, pushing Armand Van Helden's January 27 gig at Arkadia and getting down with Travis Barker's pee-pee. But that's old news. It's Friday, y ... More >>

Grand Central Park Opens Today, But Is It A Waste Of Taxpayers' $200,000?

Grand Central Park​When Tiffany Dallas, a master's student at Florida International University, started researching her thesis on redeveloping Overtown, she was fascinated by Grand Central owner Brad Knoefler's plan to turn a blighted patch of land opposite his club -- once the home of the Miami A ... More >>

Liz Tracy Quits Crossfade, Gets a Tattoo, and Scores the Music Editor Gig With New Times Broward-Palm Beach

Sure, Liz says she loves us. But she's still leaving.​Read ex-Crossfade contributor and new music editor Liz Tracy's love letter to New Times Broward-Palm Beach readers on countygrind.com. I love Miami. I've been writing about it and living it for years. But last Friday, I told Miami New Times ... More >>

Miami is America's Third Most Stressful City

Sea breezes and sunshine apparently aren't stress busters, as five Florida cities have found themselves in CNBC.com's top ten list of America's most stressful cities. Miami came in third thanks in part to crime, crappy traffic and high unemployment. 

Miami-Dade's Pit Bull Ban May Finally End With Bills in Florida Senate and House

photo by Dante Alighieri via WIkimedia Commons​When the Miami Marlins splashed $58 million last month to land ace Mark Buehrle, diehard Fish fans weren't the only ones celebrating. Pit bull advocates in the Florida's only county that bans the breed also did cartwheels, because Buehrle -- who ... More >>

Downtown Miami Wine and Food Festival in Pictures

All photos by Laine DossPeople enjoying some music and wine at the Downtown Miami Wine and Food Festival.​The clouds overhead threatened rain for a while, but drops never materialized as thousands of people ate, drank, and danced at the first annual Downtown Miami Wine and Food Festival, held yest ... More >>

Hundreds of Bats Fly Out of Miami Home's Roof (Video)

​Normally Riptide doesn't cover the local roof repair beat, but normally roof repair news does not include scenes right out of a horror movie. You see, a local contractor was hired to do repairs on an old roof and started hacking away at tile shingles. What they found underneath was hundreds and h ... More >>

Food Trucks Compete in Tobacco Road Breakfast Cook-Off Challenge February 4

​Everyone knows that food trucks meet at Tobacco Road every first Saturday of the month, but February 4 is different because they are meeting to celebrate National Hot Breakfast month.It's good to see that some people are taking unofficial national food holidays seriously.Twelve trucks will compet ... More >>

Michelle Bernstein Leaving The Omphoy: "The Drive Was Really Nice"

The couple can concentrate more on Miami now.​We have but a pithy press release that states the following:"As of February 1, 2012 Chef Michelle Bernstein will no longer be involved with The Omphoy Ocean Resort in Palm Beach, Florida. She and husband/partner David Martinez continue to own/operate S ... More >>

Mickey Mouse vs. Micky Arison: Disney Bringing Cruises to Port of Miami

​Micky Arison's Carnival Cruise Lines has another Mickey with a cruise empire about to encroach on its turf. Mickey Mouse that is. Disney Cruise Line has announced that beginning later this year, it will be sail ships out of the Port of Miami for the first time.

Pizza Fiore to Open in Former Village Cafe Location Next Week

Photo by Alex Rodriguez ​We recently passed by Miami Shores' Village Cafe, which seems as if it had been open for an eternity. It was closed. Peeking in to see what was going on behind the blacked out windows we found chairs on top of tables and a ghost-like restaurant space. Then we noticed th ... More >>

Don't Set Up a Growhouse Next Door to a School Like These Three Kendall Men

​If you're going to take the risk of setting up an illegal marijuana growhouse, it's best to take just the littlest bit of caution and make sure that growhouse isn't directly next door to a school where kids as young as kindergarteners study.Three Miami men weren't so smart and set up shop right a ... More >>

Bartenders Juggling Fire Is the Newest Miami Nightlife Trend!

Via TheBocaScott on YouTubeFired up​Any given night in Miami, hundreds of bottles of overpriced champagne and vodka are marched out to a perpetually revolving cast of douchebags, rich folks, once-a-year-spenders, depraved attention-starved nightlifers, sparkler fans, and the women who love to be s ... More >>

Hard Miami Returns as a Two-Day Party at Grand Central on March 21 and 22

Photo by Daniel De Las CasasDiplo getting Hard for Miami in March.​Hard, the long-running Los Angeles club night and electronic music festival, made its Miami debut during WMC 2010 with a pool party at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach. We called it out for being a lite version of Hard's notoriously h ... More >>

Miami-Dade's pit bull ban might finally be killed for good

Photo by Daniel De Las CasasDiplo getting Hard for Miami in March.​Hard, the long-running Los Angeles club night and electronic music festival, made its Miami debut during WMC 2010 with a pool party at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach. We called it out for being a lite version of Hard's notoriously h ... More >>

ING Miami Marathon and Half-Marathon: Carbo Load Specials For Runners

Active.comIf you're running on Sunday, you're gonna need some pasta on Saturday.​The ING Miami Marathon and Half-Marathon is this Sunday. Nearly 25,000 runners are expected to run the races, which start at the American Airlines Arena at 6:15 a.m.The event brings runners from all over the world to ... More >>

Someone Finally Made a "Shit Miami Girls Say" Video

​Click here to read Cultist's interview with "Shit Miami Girls Say" co-star Michelle Sicars.Miami may pride itself as a trendy city, but we sure do take a long, long time catching up on Internet trends. Finally, more than a month after the initial "Shit Girls Say" video dropped and then caused a r ... More >>

Deep Dredge Delayed: Port Officials Optimistic, Environmentalists Ready to Go the Distance

​The Port of Miami's much-debated "Deep Dredge" will be delayed for months -- possibly years -- as a Tallahassee judge hears arguments for and against the project this August.Port officials tell Riptide that they are optimistic the project will still be completed on time. But a lawyer represe ... More >>

ING Miami Marathon Post Race Eateries That You Don't Have To Shower For

ING Miami MarathonCongratulations! Let's go eat!​About 25,000 runners will take to the streets of Miami and Miami Beach this Sunday for the ING Miami Marathon and Half Marathon. The race starts and ends in downtown Miami and after running for hours, there are going to be some mighty hungry athlet ... More >>

Baby on Life Support After Being Beaten by Father in North Miami

​A four-month-old baby boy was on life support at Jackson Memorial Hospital this morning while his father appeared in court on charges of putting him there. Yosi Mahlab, 30 of North Miami, stands accused of beating his own son on January 21. The child lost brain activity as a result of the attack.

Seamless Arrives Soon in Miami to Battle GrubHub for Delivery Crown

​Miami is chugging along towards becoming an upper-tier food city, and now we've attracted another whale. No, it's not Thomas Keller or Ferran Adria. It's Seamless, the popular online delivery website that has eluded us thus far.Our best option up until now has been GrubHub, which recently purchas ... More >>

Free Tune by SomeJerk, Playing Down Monthly Bass Party at Purdy Lounge This Wednesday

SomeJerk and Dubporn are bass badasses.​Miami's not exactly behind the curve when it comes to bass music. After all, we invented booty bass. But we're no strangers to the UK's bass exports either. Local crews like BassHead were playing dubstep in Miami when Skrillex was still squeezing his pimpl ... More >>

King of Diamonds Strippers Tip Drill and Skrawberry Crashed MSNBC's Morning Joe Today

​Joe Scarborough's political news show came to South Beach this morning, and was crashed by two of Miami's most badass strippers and a presumed beef magnate. We're loyal fans of King of Diamonds' top dancer Tip Drill, who topped our prestigious list of the ten best strippers under forty. We' ... More >>

Occupy Miami Ordered To Leave Government Center By Sundown UPDATE

Two days after Oakland police arrested hundreds of protesters in violent clashes, Occupy Miami activists are facing their own impending deadline: Miami-Dade County has ordered them to leave their campsite outside the Stephen P. Clark Government Center by sundown tonight or face arrest for trespassin ... More >>

Miami Beach Named One of America's Most "Lesbianish" Cities

​There's no shortage of lists purporting to rank America's gayest cities, but those often come from a gay male point of view. And those lists tend to leave both lesbians and Miami in the cold. For example, a recent Advocate list somehow concluded that Orlando is gayer than Miami.Thankfully, a new ... More >>

Occupy Miami Evicted By Hundreds of Cops, Though Few Are Arrested

photo via Occupy Miami's facebook​Hundreds of Miami and Miami-Dade police dressed in riot gear forcibly evicted the Occupy Miami campground last night outside the Stephen P. Clark Government Center, about 10 hours after the Occupiers had been served with an eviction notice. At least five people we ... More >>

Miami Among America's "Most Overpriced Cities"

​In news that will shock no one who eats out on South Beach, parks in Brickell or tries to buy some influence with the Miami-Dade County Commission (those lobbying fees ain't cheap!), Miami has been honored this morning as one of the most overpriced towns in the nation.High unemployment, skyrocket ... More >>

Short Order's Snackdown: Which Miami Neighborhood Has the Best Dining?

​We're going to take a shot in the dark and say Miami has one of the top dining scenes in the country. Don't agree? Okay, perhaps we're only on our way. In any case, you clearly have a neighborhood where you prefer to eat.Maybe it's the Gables, you rich bastard. Or Wynwood, you hipster. Is it Litt ... More >>

Here's a Pretty Rendering of a Bunch of Parks That Might Never Be Built Near the Arsht Center

​Miami's urban core skyrocketed with glistening glass high-rises during the real estate boom, but little was done to turn the area's neighborhoods into truly integrated, livable communities. Will the next step in the Magic City's perpetual urban makeover include more neighborhoods where parks, ret ... More >>

Construction on the Marlins' Horrifying Home Run Sculpture is Almost Finished

via Sun-Sentinel​Forget the new logo, uniforms, coach, roster or shady funding for the new stadium -- by fair the most despair-inducing feature of the Miami Marlin's recent makeover is what we originally termed the "insanely ugly animatronic home-run sculpture." The thing looks like a Mardi Gras f ... More >>

Ten Best Music-Related Things to Do in Miami This Weekend

Photo by Charis Kirchheimer with Markiss BelloHit Treehouse with Danny Daze for just 10 bucks.​If you get paid every other week or so, we're gambling seven days' worth of blog salary that there's a $10 bill burning a hole in your pocket. And boy do we have ways for you to spend it. On each and e ... More >>

Forbes Ranks Miami as America's Most Miserable City

​We're number one, and there's nothing to get excited about. Using criteria that included violent crime, political corruption, foreclosures, and unemployment, Forbes.com has ranked Miami as America's single most miserable city. We're up from second place last year.

Kardashians Looking to Expand Miami Beach DASH Boutique

​Oh, you thought Miami was done with the Kardashian plague ever since Kourtney and Khloe finished "taking" us? Not by a long shot. The klan's DASH boutique remains on Washington Avenue on South Beach, and apparently is doing so well the girls are looking to relocate it to a space twice the current ... More >>

Miami's Six Best All-You-Can-Drink Parties for Super Bowl 2012

​Football. In Egypt, people rush the field and die about it. In America, though, we celebrate our favorite sport with boatloads of liquor, oceans of beer, billions of chicken wings, and the robot who was once Madonna. And obviously, it's way better to enjoy these all-American footballin' festiv ... More >>

Casino Bill Dies in Florida House

​If you were a betting man, hopefully you were betting that a bill to bring three full-service, Las Vegas-style casinos to South Florida wouldn't pass this year. You'd be cashing in right now.The bill has died in the Florida House, after Rep. Erik Fresen, the Republican from Miami who is sponsorin ... More >>

Miami Super Bowl: Six Coolest Places to Watch the Big Game

Ritz-Carlton Key BiscayneCome on, isn't this better than a sports bar?​Watching the Super Bowl in Miami does not have to mean going to a sports bar and having your $700 Prada loafers stick to the floor. This is Miami, after all. The home of excess.Sure you want to pay attention to the game (you ma ... More >>

Kid Sister With Riff Raff at Grand Central in Miami, February 4

Photo by Lex Hernandez​Kid Sister With Riff Raff Grand Central, Miami Saturday, February 4, 2012 Better Than: Babysitting a real infant. The spunky, enigmatic, and clearly grown-up Kid Sister is still trying to break out of the underground. The real little sis of Flosstradamus's Joey Young, sh ... More >>

Miami Area Added 11th Most Private Sector Jobs in the Country in 2011

​Unemployment may be staggeringly high in Florida, but according to a new analysis by On Numbers, the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area added the 11th most private sector jobs of any metro area in 2011. That only added up to 21,600 new jobs, though. And, in terms of percentage growth, the area only ranked ... More >>