The DOH’s internal brawl, with its allegations of substandard care, political infighting, and a brain drain of talented recruits, has taken place mostly out of public view. During the past two years, however, the Miami-Dade DOH has taken very public criticism over its attempts to shut down a single clinic:…

Info:Correction Date: 12/17/1998 The Doctor is Out Beset by internecine battles, troubled leadership, and funding cuts, the local office of the Florida Department of Health is in need of intensive care. By Ted B. Kissell Dr. Kunjana Mavunda sits, arms folded, behind her desk in the small, gray office of…

The deck seemed stacked against Ira Paul. The Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School math teacher had spent the better part of three years proving school administrators broke a promise about the number of hours he was required to work. And he did it all by his lonesome. A nervy, overweight…

Things were looking grim in the war room. It was June 3, 1997, the day Miami Beach citizens were to vote on the so-called Save Miami Beach amendment. Inside the Fifth Street storefront office that housed Miami Beach Citizens Against Higher Taxes, the atmosphere was apprehensive. Veteran campaigners, all gray…

Every autumn those plumed, pink-pated carpetbaggers known as turkey vultures dutifully return to the steely ziggurat atop the Miami-Dade County Courthouse in downtown Miami. And every year the Miami Herald dutifully announces their return, usually in flourishes of florid prose. But this year the vultures came and the Herald didn’t…

All those in favor of A-4 say ‘Aye,'” drawled Miami-Dade County School Board Chairman Solomon Stinson. “Aye,” chorused six of the seven board members present at the April 15 school board meeting. “Those who oppose have the same right,” Stinson said. “Aye,” piped up Betsy Kaplan. “A-4 is passed,” Stinson…

When a proposal to erect a memorial to the late Cuban exile leader Jorge Mas Canosa surfaced late last year, the Miami Beach City Commission collectively winced. The powerful former head of the Cuban American National Foundation, who died last November, was both beloved and reviled. If the commission voted…

The swath of grass is some 50 feet across, about the width NE 88th Street would be if it continued right up to the water’s edge along Biscayne Bay. Walk the 130 or so feet from the pavement to the sea wall and take in the sweeping vista: the Intracoastal,…

Like many other property owners in South Beach, ArtCenter/South Florida has a problem with people parking illegally in its lot. For years ArtCenter had used Beach Towing, Inc., one of two towing companies operating in Miami Beach, to tow away offending vehicles from behind the artists’ exhibition and work spaces…

Good thing all that vote-fraud nonsense is behind us, right? Now we can look forward to an election in which everybody votes legitimately and no candidates recruit voters from out of town, out of state, or even the Great Beyond. Given recent results of voting shenanigans — Xavier Suarez was…

For six months South Beach’s ElectroWave shuttle service has been a hit. Its seven brightly painted, 22-seat electric buses have moved about 750,000 riders up and down the neighborhood’s streets without spewing carbon monoxide or charging a fare. Yet the system has not been flawless. It’s pricey, costing $3.5 million…

It’s 9:30 a.m. on a recent Friday. Sunlight slants across Ocean Drive. Jason DiBiaso, his partner John, and another friend are shirtless and eating breakfast. Heaps of eggs, toast, bagels, and bacon will fuel Jason’s and John’s daily late-morning weightlifting session. All three men are, to use the vernacular, ripped…

Miami-Dade County’s only public detoxification unit, slated for closure July 1, got a 90-day reprieve last week thanks to a last-minute effort led by County Commissioner Barbara Carey. The extension, approved unanimously by commissioners July 7, followed publication of a New Times story on the detox unit (“A Quick Fix,”…

Miami Northwestern Senior High School principal William E. Clarke III is facing two federal sexual harassment lawsuits from female school employees under his supervision. In addition, sexual harassment complaints against Clarke have been filed with the school district by two other female Northwestern employees. The four cases have overlapped and…

As the sun set on Sunset Island No. 2, the back yard of developer Craig Robins teemed with political luminaries. Dress ranged from severe gray suits to more casual ensembles. But all the big names were in photo-op uniform. Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas. State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. Miami Beach…

If you’re a heroin addict or an alcoholic and you want to kick the habit, don’t ask Miami-Dade County for help. The only public detoxification center in the area was scheduled to stop accepting patients on July 1. “We will no longer offer that service,” says Dean Taylor, director of…

If you believe that Joe Blake is marked for death — as Joe Blake himself ardently believes — then his killers should have it pretty easy. Blake is, after all, 83 years old. He is five feet six but looks shorter because of a slight stoop. And he gets out…

What did the bright red Coca-Cola sign over the front door of Miami Killian Senior High School mean? To a local bottler, it meant payback for donations. To the principal, it meant a nod to Coke’s support for education. And to some parents, it meant a sellout of their children…

Neils and Renata Teichfuhs had many reasons to move from Germany. High taxes squeezed them. Neils, a chef, had suffered a heart attack and doctors told him a warm climate might improve his health. Their 22-year-old daughter Maren dreamed of joining the U.S. Navy. So in late 1995, when Neils…

The story of Eduardo Padron is one of the best-known local-boy-makes-good yarns in town. After emigrating from Cuba in 1961, Padron enrolled at Miami-Dade Community College and went on to earn a doctorate in economics from the University of Florida. He then worked his way through the ranks at his…

In mid-1995 publicist Ric Katz made a phone call to the offices of the SunPost, Miami Beach’s flimsy free weekly. Although Katz often handles election campaigns on the Beach, he wasn’t calling on behalf of a particular candidate. He was just checking in to see, you know, how much it…