Last week, photos posted to Tumblr claiming to show that Miami Sunset High has a filth problem — showing spoiled juice, a moldy shower, and a cockroach allegedly inside the building — went viral on social media, prompting an official probe from public school officials. But some Sunset alumni say…
The fight over an endangered patch of native pine rocklands has sparked a planned rally at the site of the two highly controversial development projects — a proposed Walmart and the theme park Miami Wilds. “We’ll do two for the price of one,” says Matthew Schwartz, executive director of the…
After Buzzfeed published a post reporting that an apparent Miami Sunset High student had taken pictures of filthy conditions at the school, including disgustingly spoiled juice, a moldy shower, and a cockroach problem, a Miami-Dade County Public Schools spokesman says some of the claims might have been doctored by a…
Lazaro Cancela was eating at a Cuban restaurant in Sweetwater when the meal was rudely interrupted: Gerard Brito, who was formerly married to Cancela’s mom, became enraged at the sight of his former step-son and decided to take action, according to a recent complaint reported on by Courthouse News. Cancela’s…
In October, New Times published an investigation chronicling a rash of passenger injuries on Miami-Dade County’s public bus system — and worse, the county’s habit of retaining bad drivers. Through the first eight months of 2014, we found, county buses hit pedestrians and bicyclists seven times in “preventable” accidents; 97…
On a cloudy afternoon in late October, South Florida’s most recognizable fast-food magnate approaches a chainlink gate outside a waterfront property on ultra-exclusive North Bay Road in Miami Beach. Christian de Berdouare scrolls his finger and thumb along a large padlock. After several seconds, the lock drops with a clank,…
No one has died more times than Fidel Castro. But yesterday, rumors began flying anew in the Cuban-American community — and, of course, on Twitter — that the Cuban leader has finally bitten the dust and that a possible news conference today will announce his demise. Could the speculation finally…
In his day job, Eli Nazario owns a Miami demolition company that grossed almost $1 million in 2014. But Nazario, a Brooklyn native who transplanted to South Florida around ten years ago, also has another longstanding occupation — extraterrestrial fanatic. And now he has self-published a book, Pillars of Fire,…
Update: Miami Beach mayor Philip Levine announced Atlantic Broadband will issue service credit. See bottom for more. New Year’s is a big day for cable and internet — you know, football games, holiday Facebook photos, Google searches on hangover cures. But thousands of Atlantic Broadband customers in Miami Beach were…
It’s January 1, 2015 — which means it’s the perfect time to ramp up speculation about the presidential race that’s now only 677 days away! In Florida, of course, that means we’re talking primarily about two Republican heavyweights, the former governor and conservative family dynasty torchbearer Jeb Bush and his…
Happy Boxing Day, Miamians. Here’s a chance to work off some of that holiday gluttony: Critical Mass, the monthly group bicycle ride, is back, with a 15-mile route tonight. This evening the group ride begins downtown and heads west through Little Havana, then winds its way south to Coral Gables…
TV Martí was supposed to be made for days like Wednesday, December 17. After all, the U.S. government has spent more than a half-billion dollars on Martí over the years, all to beam American news into the heart of Cuba. Yet when the biggest Cuban-American story in a half-century broke…
Across the country, strong resistance has cropped up against the oil extraction process known as fracking, or hydraulic fracturing. Even a single fracking job requires a staggering amount of water, as well as an abundance of toxic chemicals. Some evidence suggests the “fracking fluid” that has to be injected deep…
Yesterday’s joint announcement from President Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raúl Castro that they intend to normalize relations between the two long-divided countries was undoubtedly the most momentous day in U.S.-Cuba relations in more than a half-century. It was business as usual at Yoyito Café. As cameras mobbed a tiny…
As President Obama preps for a noon announcement about a new era of U.S. and Cuba relations, TV crews from around the nation did the predictable: They descended on Versailles Restaurant, long the hotbed of anti-Castro protests in Miami. So far, at least, they haven’t had much to broadcast home…
Hours after Delbert Rodriguez, a 21-year-old street artist known as “Demz,” died last night, the Miami Police Department reiterated its version of what happened: An undercover cop chased Rodriguez after spotting him tagging a building in Wynwood early Friday morning. When the cop turned a corner, police say, Rodriguez was…
There aren’t many buildings in Miami Beach more iconic than the Blue Diamond Condominium and its sister, the Green Diamond, the tallest structures in town. With a 16,000-square-foot clubhouse, 24-hour valet service, and private tennis courts, the condo is also among the Beach’s most exclusive residences — capped by a…
Joseph Gagliardo, a longtime South Beach resident, returned home last week from a long trip. As he had for years, he cycled from his home on the Venetian Causeway over to Lincoln Road. For a block or so he slowly pedaled east down the virtually empty mall, only to be…
Popular late-night South Beach spot Purdy Lounge has a new interior design — one that not even the bar’s owner knew was coming. Last night a troublemaking artist hid in a bathroom until the lounge closed at 5 a.m. and then spent several hours painting enormous murals that now cover…
The developers aren’t giving up yet. Earlier this week, Ram Realty Services, the West Palm Beach-based developer behind the proposed Coral Reef Commons project — highly controversial because it would develop critically endangered pine rockland habitat — met with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) officials and agreed to submit…
Happy Thanksgiving, Miamians. And here’s something to legitimately be thankful for: No more Pay By Phone parking service fees. Seriously. Beginning at 12:01 a.m. Monday, the Miami Parking Authority (MPA) announced this week, the authority will absorb the $.35 fee that accompanies each Pay By Phone transaction. “As a measure…
In this week’s Miami New Times, we profile 30 of the most interesting characters in town, with portraits of each from photographer Stian Roenning. See the entire Miami New Times People Issue here. These days it’s entirely fair to call Nathalie Zarate a belly-dance superstar. She runs the popular Dreams…
