Kevin Burns Bounces Check, Attacks Rival (Updated)

Former North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns abandoned his campaign for U.S. Senate to run for state Senate, but maybe he should concentrate on getting his financial house in order first. This past June 28, Florida’s division of elections notified Burns via letter that his bank did not honor a $1,781 check…

Miami-Dade Republicans Name Drop Ronald Reagan

Last night’s monthly meeting of Miami-Dade Republicans was an entertaining respite from the LeBronomania enveloping the county. As promised, congressional candidate Paul Crespo demanded that David Rivera, the Republican frontrunner in the U.S. congressional race to replace Mario Diaz-Balart, resign as the local GOP’s chairman. Contender Marili Cancio also demanded…

Banana Republican Fails at Cop School

Banana Republican is watching a projection screen inside a chilly classroom with no desks.On the screen, a police officer in a tan uniform talks to a middle-aged man in farmer duds on the side of a rural road. It looks like a scene from the TV show Cops, except Banana Republican is…

Ten Years After Elian, Alex Penelas Is Back at County Hall

Ten years ago this past June 28, Elián González was returned to his father in Cuba, and Alex Penelas’s rising political star imploded. Miami-Dade’s then-county mayor dug his own grave in 2000. Sure he won a second term as mayor, but he double-crossed Al Gore during the presidential election and…

Thomas Cypress Pleads Guilty to DUI Manslaughter

The 55-year-old brother of former Miccosukee Indian Chairman Billy Cypress is pleading guilty to two counts of DUI manslaughter. On February 19 of last year, Thomas Cypress was behind the wheel of his truck on Tamiami Trail when he swerved into oncoming traffic and had a head-on collision with a…

Those Diaz de la Portilla Boys Are at It Again

Banana Republican has a sneaking suspicion that Jenny Nillo is a ringer in an important state Senate race. Nillo is a former legislative aide to state Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla, who can’t run again because of term limits. Since last year, Alex’s brother Miguel has been locked in…

They Might Be Tiny, But These Lucky Dogs Sure Made It Big

When we saw that the Wall Street Journal whipped up a stipple portrait of Conchita, the Ginger-wig-wearing Chihuahua that belonged to the late Miami socialite Gail Posner, Banana Republican got to thinking what a grand life these little bug-eyed rat-dogs lead. So we compiled a list of the five most…

Rakontur Wants to Declare 420 on Miami Beach

The makers of Cocaine Cowboys and The U are teaming up with a leading pro-marijuana activist to get Miami Beach Police to issue tickets to people caught with a small amount of marijuana in lieu of sending them to jail. During an interview at the documentary company’s new HQ off…

2010 World Cup’s Top Ten Rogue Nations

With the 2010 World Cup underway, Banana Republican is always scrambling for a ​bandwagon to jump on. Nicaragua’s pathetic soccer team has never qualified for tournament play. Based on an entirely subjective, purely unscientific method of rooting for the most scandalous, the most immoral, and the most corrupt republics, here are my…

UPDATE: Backyard Fights in Perrine Canceled

UPDATE:Earlier tonight, we received a text from Dhafir Harris that tomorrow’s backyard brawl is off. Government interference, apparently. Via text, Harris explains: “Do 2 The Rapid Growth of BkYrd Fights DADA ran n 2 legal issues wit the local Authority’s.”Kimbo Slice’s short lived career in the Ultimate Fighting Champhionship notwithstanding,…

Two Renegades in Skiffs Prowl the Bay

As waves slap the shoreline, littered with empty beer cans, Fane Lozman points to a pair of derelict sailboats anchored in the water near Pelican Harbor Marina on the 79th Street Causeway. The former Marine turned civic agitator fixes his gaze on a hairy man reading a book on the…

Hialeah Chusmeria Goes Digital

Ah, Hialeah, Hialeah. You truly are the city of progress. One of my new friends on Facebook is Hialeah Cares, an unknown identity in the vast cyberverse of anonymity who has riled up Mayor Julio Robaina’s most vociferous critics. The back and forth has been quite entertaining. The wall post…