This is the first in a series of posts on the Bike Blog’s Bike Fears – those niggling questions that we try to avoid every time we mount that two-wheeler and ride into battle (or traffic). We start with this one: Do Helmets Make People Want to Kill You? They’re…
Tobacco Load Filed under: News Last Thursday night, the honchos of more than a dozen local premium cigar makers were gathered in a single smoky room for the first time ever. Nick Perdomo, proprietor of Tabacalera Perdomo, a handmade-cigar shop in Doral, hosted the industry barons, among them the owners…
The National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica, was packed to capacity as Grady Ponder stepped into the ring to face local favorite Bunny Grant. Five years earlier, in 1962, only three days after Jamaica gained independence from Great Britain, the immensely popular Grant had fought British Commonwealth Lightweight Champion Dave Charnley…
Dr. G Spot (Filed under: Flotsam) “Call Dr. G Spot!” the announcer cries out on FM radio station Y-100, in an ad sandwiched between up-tempo songs extolling the various virtues of bumping, winding, and grinding. Tamarac gynecologist Dr. Michael Benjamin says he can add immeasurably to the bumps and grinds…
The Go-to Guy for the Gun-Shy Filed under: Flotsam The bulletproof window near the entrance of the Opa-locka Police station features what looks like a poster for a shitty rap concert: Ten hundred-dollar bills fan out to form a backdrop for a thousand-dollar bill, Grover Cleveland’s green mug obscured behind…
Souto Steamed Over Suit Support Filed under: News In their battle to stop Jorge Perez’s luxury condo project on land owned by Mercy Hospital, supporters of Vizcaya have drawn the ire of Miami-Dade County Commissioner Javier Souto. Last week Souto introduced legislation ordering the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens Trust to…
T. Willard Fair is both provocative and irresistibly charming. The 68-year-old’s handsome, fresh features might be those of a man 20 years younger. He dresses exquisitely; today he’s wearing a fine black-and-white silk shirt, white pants, and matching black-and-white loafers, which — even at the end of the day, as…
It’s 10:00 on a Saturday night, and Yaron Yemini is live on the air with Ashraf, in Cairo, Egypt. The guy has been almost shouting for twenty minutes now, his Arabic accelerating to such a furious pace that it seems impossible the host will let him continue. But Yemini just…
Juan Penton stands amid the debris of his ruined shop, seething with anger. Hunks of ceiling are strewn about the floor, deck chairs lie turned on end, and piles of furniture rot in the corners. The air reeks of mold, and the dust has grown so thick that Penton’s feet…
In the Kids’ Corner Filed Under: News There’s been no shortage of press coverage of the 101 Haitian “migrants” who arrived by sailboat on the shores of Hallandale Beach in March, and who now face potential deportation. But little has been written about the fate of the fourteen children among…
The Plucky Mr. Clucky Filed Under: Bike Blog Local carpenter, handyman, and radical activist Mark Buckley is known for his seven-wheeled creation, dubbed “Frankenbike,” which he built out of used frames and chainlink fencing to use as a kind of mascot for local biking group Critical Mass. But Frankenbike isn’t…
The Homestead-Miami Speedway sits on 600 acres of land, rising like a medieval fortress from the expanse of muck and concrete that surrounds it for miles. Helicopters bound for the track’s private heliport drone overhead like monstrous dragonflies. Rickety white Ford pickups, with shoddy assemblages of aluminum that function as…
The two private Learjets landed at Key West International Airport. Inside, the passengers — ten journalists and three PR execs, packed tightly together — burst into applause, which soon gave way to oohs and aahs. Through the jet windows we could see a line of Volkswagen Eos hard-top convertible coupes,…
Take Us to the Bridge Filed Under: News Following revelations by New Times that a parking lot under the State Road 836 bridge was being used by probation officers as a dumping ground for homeless sex offenders — and that the lot was located within 2500 feet of eight schools,…
It’s 5:45 a.m. and still completely dark when a car pulls off NW Twelfth Avenue and makes its way silently through the complex of streets just south of the county criminal court. The car turns into the jury parking lot, otherwise completely empty. It creeps past the massive concrete pillars…
Payfront Park Filed Under: Culture First-run movies every night on a 60-foot-high screen in a beautiful grassy spot by the water? Excellent idea. Fencing off about 40,000 square feet of prime downtown Miami green space 24 hours a day, seven days a week? Maybe not so excellent. Since it set…
His Satanic Majesty’s Request Filed Under: Flotsam Sixty-year-old José Luis de Jesús Miranda has called himself the reincarnation of the apostle Paul; “the Other,” a spiritual super-being who would pave the way for Jesus Christ’s second coming; and, eventually, God’s son incarnate. “My purpose,” he explained to New Times last…
The Seminole Sun Sets on Anna Nicole Filed Under: Scene The day Anna Nicole Smith’s corpse was wheeled from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, tribe members were setting up for their annual powwow. The 36th gathering, which began last Thursday, is a celebration of Seminole culture that includes…
It’s Sunday evening, and Scorpico gaming center at Sunset Place in South Miami is quiet. Six or seven lanky preteen boys sit huddled in a corner, swearing, deeply involved in a PC fantasy game. Dianne Bonfiglio walks in late for practice. The pretty thirtysomething settles at an Xbox 360 in…
Hey, Super Bowl tourists. The only topic the sports pages, TV, and Internet want to discuss before the February 4 Super Bowl is Peyton and Rex. The unstoppable offense versus the brick wall defense. Chi-Town versus that other pueblo next door. But forget about that stuff. Down here we have…
Eddie “E.F.” Angel and Luis Diaz are 23 and 29 years old, respectively, but they still play with toys. Both are avid collectors: Superman, Transformers, Ninja Turtles, “and a lot of Freddy Krueger stuff,” Diaz adds, indicating a snarling, foot-and-a-half-tall Freddy atop his refrigerator. You can distinguish Diaz’s small fourth-floor…
