The head of Miami-Dade’s semi-public economic development arm is in tune with Miami’s raunchiest columnist. Beacon Council President Frank Nero told the Miami Herald today that he believes plans by companies from Malaysia and Las Vegas to build mega-casino resorts in downtown Miami “would serve as vacuum cleaners that suck…
A disgraced former Miami-Dade County commissioner and a Hialeah businessman once banned from getting county contracts are making big bucks off the red-light camera blitzkrieg in South Florida. Arizona-based American Traffic Solutions (ATS), which has installed red-light cameras in 22 cities in Miami-Dade and nearly 80 cities across the state,…
Homestead Mayor Steven Bateman gives preferential treatment to friends
A watchdog agency is accusing Charles Hankerson, once considered a no-nonsense principal, of instructing a subordinate to illegally forge the signatures of two teachers at Miami Northwestern Senior High. The forgeries were made on documents that changed the grades of a student-athlete. This allowed the teenager to meet academic eligibility requirements…
It’s great to have Homestead Mayor Steven Bateman as a pal when you don’t want to pay a city bill. Consider the case of Prime Home Builders, a company owned by a family of real estate developers that has donated more than five grand to Bateman’s re-election campaign. On November 16,…
Three Miami mayors block Genting casino
North Bay Village Mayor Corina Esquijarosa now has more time to fight the recall effort against her. She’s been laid off from her job as a project representative for the city of Miami Public Facilities Department. Esquijarosa’s position, which paid her an annual $97,000 salary and benefits package, was eliminated…
In this week’s Miami New Times, we take a peek at the brewing battle over the The Genting Group’s grandiose plan to redevelop the Miami Herald’s storied waterfront home into a gigantic casino resort, Leading the criticism is former Miami Mayor Joe Carollo, who warns the Malaysian gambling conglomerate is trying to…
A possible conflict has forced Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez to sit out the awarding of a $50 million contract to a local construction company that employs his son Julio and uses his other son Carlos Jr. as its lobbyist. Munilla Construction Management submitted the lowest bid out of seven firms…
The public corruption unit at the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office is getting quite a makeover. Longtime unit chief Joe Centorino will soon depart to take on a new gig as executive director of the Miami-Dade ethics commission. And assistant state attorney Richard Scruggs is now working the gang detail, Banana…
Uncle Luke is going after the convicted Ponzi schemer who proclaimed himself “Lil Luke.” Today, Luther Campbell followed through on his promise to sue Nevin Shapiro for defamation.In Yahoo! Sports’ investigative report on rampant booster violations he committed at the University of Miami, Shapiro claimed his lavishing student-athletes with prostitutes…
A Miami-Dade County Public Schools principal credited with turning around a storied inner-city high school’s academic performance is under investigation for illegally changing student grades. The allegation against Charles Hankerson is the latest black eye for Miami Northwestern High School, which earlier this year was almost shut down by state…
Golden Beach Police Officer Robert Ruggeiro proves eating too many doughnuts kills brain cells. A few days ago, during a traffic stop of a dude who was using a cellphone camera to video record him and another officer, Ruggeiro claimed it was a felony in Florida to film cops without…
Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff has a new tormentor. He is Reid Welch, a 57-year-old Coconut Grove resident who eradicates Sarnoff campaign signs from the neighborhood when he is not huffing noxious fumes.”I inhale propane gas to get high, but I am not the least bit nutty,” Welch insists. “I asked…
A Malaysian gambling conglomerate’s plans to convert the Miami Herald headquarters and surrounding properties into a luxury resort casino has prompted one county commissioner to seek more control over redevelopment of the Omni neighborhood.Under a proposal by Sally Heyman, one of the 13 county commissioners would become a member of…
Miami-Dade firefighter claims to be a victim of a hate crime
This past August 28, shortly after firefighter Miguel Rodriguez arrived for work at the Miami International Airport station, he found an unsigned note in his locker. In big, bold block type, it read, “Hey you fucking black Dominican monkey do not come back to C shift nigger lover like you…
Divorce lawyer Maurice Kutner was feeling vindicated when he dialed up Banana Republican last week. “She lied about everything concerning me,” Kutner said. “It was very distasteful to experience this. I run my practice by the book.”Two years ago, a former client claimed Kutner had duped her into rejecting a…
The Miami Dolphins screwed up when they decided to honor the 2008-2009 national champion Florida Gators football team during the October 23 home game against the Denver Broncos. Gator rivals, the UM Hurricanes, are both our home team and in trouble with the NCAA. This stupidity shouldn’t surprise Dolfans.The franchise hasn’t had…
North Bay Village’s possum problem blamed on cat food
When it comes to North Bay Village Mayor Corina Esquijarosa, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle should follow Monroe County’s lead. There should be no mercy for individuals who screw over their fellow taxpayers.On August 19, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent Vincent Weiner was arrested on misdemeanor charges of…
When Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez tapped one of his close confidantes to lead the county’s fire department, he ignored 29 other applicants to pick a guy who once booted African-Americans out of Miami’s fire union. No one was interviewed — not even Haitian-American Karls Paul-Noel, who was interim chief until…
