On his first day returning to his “hard-worker roots,” Gov. Rick Scott got served. Yesterday, Florida’s leader was behind the counter of Nicola’s Donut Shop in Tampa taking and handing out orders as part of his image rehabilitation campaign to connect with regular folk ravaged by unemployment and his Tea…
Miami’s Ayda Young accused of scamming real estate investors
In this week’s issue of New Times, you’ll read about a company called Miami-Dade County Short Sales that allegedly ripped off $2.4 million from out-of-state real estate investors last year. Two of the women suspected of being involved in the scheme have admitted to prior scams over the past 20…
The police union president who helped Tomas Regalado become Miami mayor in 2009 is now calling on his brothers and sisters in blue to oust the city’s embattled leader. Taking his cue from our recent cover story about the mayor’s failures, Armando Aguilar — President of the Miami Chapter of…
Opa-Locka could use some good news. Unfortunately, it’s not forthcoming. This past July 26, the city’s mayor Myra Taylor agreed to pay a $1,500 fine and receive a public reprimand from the Miami-Dade Ethics Commission.An investigation revealed that in 2009 and 2010, when Taylor was vice-mayor, she engaged in voting…
Two years ago, U.S. Century Bank earned the distinction as the bank with more insider deals than any other banking institution in Florida. Several U.S. Century board members and executives accounted for $110 million in insider loans at a bank with deposits of $1.5 billion in 2009.One of those insiders…
While covering Miami-Dade’s back-yard brawl, we come across some real pretenders, dudes who really just can’t cut it when they step into the ring. Either they’re out of shape or simply don’t have a grasp on the basics of fisticuffs. You see a lot of dudes taking wild swings or…
As cities around south Florida are ditching controversial red light camera programs, Miami’s elected officials are about to extend its contract with the company that provides the company that operates the video recorders. Ass backwards, you say? Well, it is the Magic City.At today’s city commission meeting, commissioners will vote…
Miami-Dade Commissioner Lynda Bell made a promise she hasn’t kept
Child welfare officials for Florida’s Department of Children & Families failed to stop Jorge and Carmen Barahona from victimizing their adopted children Victor and Nubia, because state investigators don’t treat foster parents with the same level of scrutiny applied to biological parents suspected of abusing their kids, according to the…
When Lynda Bell narrowly won her county commission seat last November, the Homestead politician promised she would reform the way Miami-Dade County government operates. “I want to bring the public sector to reality, face-to-face with what the private sector deals with,” she said. Nine months later, we’re still waiting.In fact,…
A Miami-Dade Water & Sewer employee who purchased more than $1,700 in tools on the taxpayer’s dime and then took the instruments to his house has cut a deal with prosecutors to avoid any jail time.Last July, after the Miami-Dade Inspector General’s Office found the tools at Donald Richard’s residence,…
An ex-con man who two years ago wreaked havoc on the price stock of a Miami-based national builder is going back to prison after pleading guilty to one count of securities fraud.During a hearing yesterday morning, Miami federal Judge Patricia Seitz handed Barry Minkow a five-year prison term and also…
Even though she has no plans to run against Carlos Gimenez in 2012, county Commissioner Barbara Jordan is definitely cementing her place as the Miami-Dade mayor’s number one adversary. We already know Jordan is peeved Gimenez wants to lay-off 395 county employees that work for the county’s Head Start program…
Will “Da Real One” Bell’s murder left many questions
Dead Poet’s Society
Will “Da Real One” Bell’s murder left many questions and a tight-knit group ready to keep preaching the word
A rumored Democratic challenger to scandal plagued U.S. Congressman David Rivera is expected to make it official at a press conference this morning. State Rep. Luis Garcia has invited the local media to join him at Tamiami Park at 10 a.m. for “an important announcement.” We’re betting Garcia, a former…
County Commissioner Barbara Jordan must be feeling really lonely these days. She’s not getting any attention from her fellow commissioners, so she’s resorting to sending them messages via prepared statements to the media.Jordan is upset with a component of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s proposed budget that calls for laying off…
How the heck special interest groups and corporate conglomerates keep counting on Miami-Dade County Commissioner Bruno Barreiro is beyond belief. It’s no secret Bruno the Dim is one of their tools, but the man can’t pass legislation to save his life.His latest failure was his inability to get one of…
North Bay Village Mayor Corina Esquijarosa might get the boot
Interim Florida Education Commissioner John L. Wynn’s controversial plan to screw over the students at Miami Edison Senior High and Miami Central Senior High has to be stopped. The state’s top education man is proposing that the schools be closed for a year, converted into charter schools, or turned over…
The Miami Police Department’s crackdown on illegal gambling machines continued today with the arrest of Luis Boris Estrada. Cops busted the 42-year-old Cuban for operating six “maquinitas” at the Rapido Discount he manages at 2742 SW Eighth Street, finding $1,000 in one of the machines. Miami Police Chief Miguel Exposito…
Carlos Gimenez is turning to a trusted face to help him run Miami-Dade County government. Banana Republican has confirmed Gimenez is bringing back Genaro “Chip” Iglesias, whom we predicted last week would be part of the new mayor’s team. Iglesias will start in 60 days as chief-of-staff/deputy-mayor at an annual…
