Call it an American life lesson: The bigger you win, the more people want in on the action. At least that’s how Jeremy Alters says he’s been feeling lately. In the past two years, Alters has become Miami’s class-action-lawsuit king, raking in more than a billion dollars in settlements from…
Decades after his education by Havana Jesuits, is Fidel Castro starting to feel kinda bad about the whole renouncing religion and being a hated dictator stuff? According to his Miami-based daughter Alina, the Marxist in fact has “come closer to religion” as he edges stubbornly toward death. Vatican officials confirm…
A suspected car thief fleeing a traffic stop was shot and killed last night in Liberty City by a Miami Beach cop working on a county anti-robbery team.Details are still sparse — with a Miami-Dade police spokeswoman this morning declining to name the cop or the victim to Riptide –…
Police across Florida are looking for a 19-year-old accused of killing his own grandma as brutally as possible: By stabbing her more than 100 times, beating her in the face with a wrench and even shooting her in the head with a crossbow.Jason Aristotle Smiddie has been on the run…
When Alan Reynolds learned Mitt Romney would be holding a rally in Hialeah last week, the local conservative was ecstatic: Not only could he see his favorite GOP contender in person, he could unleash the perfect sign. “My wife is Cuban-American, he’s holding a rally at a Hialeah lunch spot,…
Imagine you’re the teller working the front window at a quiet bank in the Keys, when 43-year-old Eli Escalera walks up and hands you a note: “Give me what are 20s and 50s.””Is this a robbery?” you wonder, staring at the bizarrely worded demand. “And why the hell is this…
Since Riptide broke the news in October that an Ohio-based developer wants to build a massive new Walmart in booming Midtown Miami, the firm has kept quiet about the plans. That doesn’t mean they’ve backed down after residents angrily flooded our story and others with anti-Sam Walton comments. This week,…
It’s easy to forget now, but Miami Beach was once the nexus of the world boxing scene thanks mostly to Angelo Dundee, the Hall of Fame trainer who opened the legendary 5th Street Gym with his brother Chris. Dundee trained dozens of elite fighters at the SoBe gym — most…
Newt Gingrich isn’t the only portly revolutionary stirring up trouble while running for president. Hugo Chavez, the Fidel-worshiping steward of Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution, has his own tough re-election fight on his hands at the moment.Instead of annoying robocalls, Hugo’s supporters took a different tact to inspire the base earlier this…
In news that will shock no one who eats out on South Beach, parks in Brickell or tries to buy some influence with the Miami-Dade County Commission (those lobbying fees ain’t cheap!), Miami has been honored this morning as one of the most overpriced towns in the nation.High unemployment, skyrocketing…
Earlier today, Riptide’s resident Tea Party trouble-maker Gus Garcia-Roberts took a strong stand against Libertarian hero Ron Paul — as well as his allegedly “sandpapery man hands” — while demanding that Paul “cease to exist (in politics.)”To say that Paul’s supporters were angry at Garcia-Roberts column would be to say that…
After a fantastic performance over the past few years — from backing a grotesquely bad Marlins stadium deal to voting for a billion-dollar tunnel to nowhere to faithfully rewarding their corporate backers — Miami-Dade County commissioners sure seemed due for a hefty pay raise. Right?Nah, Dade voters aren’t that dumb…
Two days after Oakland police arrested hundreds of protesters in violent clashes, Occupy Miami activists are facing their own impending deadline: Miami-Dade County has ordered them to leave their campsite outside the Stephen P. Clark Government Center by sundown tonight or face arrest for trespassing.Organizers say they expect some Miami…
At last, an explanation for why Rick Santorum has been acting so unhinged in the Sunshine State, from inviting an ex-Yahweh ben Yahweh member to open his campaign rally last weekend to making truly bizarre proclamations about rape: Turns out he’s really tired!Santorum, who will speak at the Miami Downtown…
The small Panhandle town of Crestview is evidently home to the most despicable bunch of parents and guardians in all of Florida. Yesterday, a woman from the burg of 20,000 was booked for trying to run over her ex-husband while screaming that her daughters were going to grow up to…
Weirdest Crime Capital: Florida vs. Texas
Miami-Dade’s pit bull ban might finally be killed for good
The two leading lights of the Republican primary are stumping for votes all over the Magic City today, leading to the obvious question: When is someone from the Florida gay rights movement going to glitter-bomb these guys?We’re not saying it’s the right thing to do, throwing glitter all over Newt…
Whenever the world reads a bizarre headline, the first question is always: “Did it happen in Florida or Texas?” Scientists, after all, have proven that 98.7 percent of truly messed up crimes originate the two Southern states. But that begs the question: Which is truly the most WTF state in…
Mitt Romney released his tax filings late last night as he desperately tries to run down Newt Gingrich’s ballooning lead in Florida, telling a Tampa audience: “I’m proud of the fact that I pay a lot of taxes.”But in the harsh light of morning, it’s hard to see how Floridians…
After stinging losses in New Hampshire and South Carolina, Rick Santorum came to Florida this weekend hoping to reboot his push toward the White House. But the ex-senator may want to vette his opening acts a bit better: At a Coral Springs rally yesterday, he invited local conservative Michael the…
When the Miami Marlins splashed $58 million last month to land ace Mark Buehrle, diehard Fish fans weren’t the only ones celebrating. Pit bull advocates in the Florida’s only county that bans the breed also did cartwheels, because Buehrle — who owns a pit bull named Slater and lamented publicly…
