“I think this will be the most important vote people will make in a long time. You only get one vote, folks. There are no latitudes for mistakes.” A Joe Gersten, 1/14/93, Government Cut Political Club Next week a revolution will take place. A political system is being opened to…
A year ago, standing on a football practice field in South Dade, Ernie Cambo put his life in perspective. “I’m kind of limited,” he explained. “My knees are giving out, so I take things as they come. I just want to give it my best effort and never say, ‘What…
Saundra Keyes, newly appointed managing editor of the Miami Herald, was introduced to the public last week. In an article prominently displayed on page A-3 of her new paper, Herald staff writer Tom Dubocq hailed the 47-year-old Keyes’s accomplishments during her two years as executive editor of the Long Beach…
If Thomas Kramer has flaunted anything in his tenure as South Beach’s latest eccentric rich boy, it is a talent for well-publicized charity. While he extinguished his Ocean Drive nightclub, Hell, two weeks ago, and his grandiose plans to convert South Pointe into a faux Italian village remain drawing-board fantasies,…
It began peacefully enough on that late-November day in 1991. Miami Beach residents were exercising their Constitutional right to vote, as candidates for mayor and city commission stood by shaking hands and kissing babies in a final attempt to curry electoral favor. That’s what most of the candidates were doing,…
Miami has simply gone mad for Thomas Kramer, that debonair German millionaire who’s gobbled up South Pointe like so much brautwurst during Octoberfest. Everyone’s talking about the man. And since the New Times cover story, “Tycoon Thomas,” appeared on December 16, callers have swamped the paper’s office with Kramer sightings…
What first caught Roberto Sobrado’s attention was the Mercedes — that now-legendary blue sedan. But quickly Sobrado’s eyes fell to the driver, a plump man with a round face. “I took a look and I realized it was him,” Sobrado recalls. “I’ve seen his picture in the paper.” County Commissioner…
“Miami’s WSCV-Channel 51 is riding high these days, with the biggest scoop in the Spanish-language station’s seven-year history being picked up by the New York Times, the Miami Herald, the Associated Press, and the major TV networks.” So began a November 12 Miami Herald article about the bizarre saga of…
Click. Hey, isn’t that Walter Shaw on Sally Jessy Raphael’s show? Click. And there he is with Montel Williams. Click. And Maury Povich click and Jerry Springer click and Jenny Jones. Click. My God, what is Walter doing with Whoopi? Walter Shaw, the long-time South Florida burglar who may have…
If there was one single issue all the candidates for the North Bay Village Commission agreed on, it was that the way to a person’s vote was through his stomach. As highlighted two weeks ago in the New Times story “Village People,” the 1992 race for votes in North Bay…
When Hurricane Andrew roared through South Florida, it forever changed the way we think about natural disasters and how we expect officials to deal with them. More than six weeks after the storm, those winds of change are threatening to tear apart the Metro-Dade Fire and Rescue department with allegations…
There is something cruel, and yet almost comical, about the case of Tommie Sikes, an ex-stunt man and cocaine deal maker. From his prison cell, Sikes is suing his former attorney, Alvin Entin, alleging that through a “typographical error,” Entin failed to secure for his client a comprehensive immunity agreement…
Joan Green’s story of woe in the wake of Hurricane Andrew is, in many ways, sadly typical of many thousands of South Dade residents and business people. Her tropical fruit groves southwest of Florida City were ravaged. Looters then tried to steal what was left. A few miles away, the…
The calls first started coming in about a year ago, taking a confused Dayle Jacobs by surprise. “People would call us and say, `I’d like to make a comment,'” says Jacobs, a manager at Miami’s Sylvan Nursery Farms. “And I’d say, `Go ahead,’ figuring they were calling about our business…
Bjorn DiMaio is sixteen years old, Anthony Vincent is seventeen. Next Monday, in accordance with Florida law, the two boys will begin serving second-degree murder sentences for the killing of their best friend, Andrew Morello. According to the official version of events, the sixteen-year-old Morello was shot and killed on…
Years ago, when Dean Powell moved to Broward, he swore off Miami for good. In the eyes of the Sixties hippie turned computer-programming yuppie, the Magic City had lost its luster, yet another soulless metropolis with neither direction nor purpose, bloating in the sun. Yet something called him back for…
For the past two weeks South Beach sun worshippers have had to enjoy the surf and sand the way the early settlers did — without colorfully striped umbrellas or cushions for the ubiquitous wooden lounge chairs on the sand. Comfort and shade turned to sodden ashes June 18, when a…
Imagine Grandma, up bright and early to bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies for little Timmy. She uses big, tasty semisweet chocolate chips and just a touch of cinnamon, because she knows that’s the way her grandson likes them. Still warm from the oven, the cookies are carefully wrapped…
At first blush, Kelly Vitolo would seem to be the perfect choice to model for Mary Kay Cosmetics. So when the stunning face that has graced several bridal magazine covers turned up on fliers advertising Mary Kay makeovers for young brides, it should have come as no surprise. Except for…
Sixteen-year-old Bjorn DiMaio and seventeen-year-old Anthony Vincent have not killed anyone, but this Monday, June 15, they are scheduled to stand trial on second-degree murder charges. If convicted, the teen-agers could face seven to twelve years in prison. Their unusual predicament is only one aspect of the controversy that continues…
Frank Decker walks through the small cottage behind his house, shaking his head. Everywhere he turns, there’s more disappointment – a busted fan, a dented refrigerator, broken windows. The bars to the wrought-iron gate on the back door have been pried apart. The floor inside is littered with garbage and…
Let’s be honest about this. Ladies, have you ever gone to a nightclub with the notion of sashaying into some man’s life and persuading him to buy you drinks? And you, gentlemen, how many times have you gone to a bar without a cent, hoping to mooch a beer? Shoot…
