Aggravation. That’s Marty Tritt’s problem — too much aggravation. His body is in bad shape: He has hearing aids in both ears, and a disease of the spine has rendered his legs almost useless. His feet are ulcerous and swollen. Sometimes he can’t feel them. “I don’t know why not,”…
Randy Chapman, gun for hire Fifty one-year-old Randy Chapman might have made headlines last weekend as the homeless Miami man set to go from rags to riches — by way of a $50,000 inheritance he never knew he had. But as details of his bizarre tale emerged, Chapman’s story sparked…
Asked about Oscar Corral, the reporter accused of soliciting a prostitute this past Friday, Miami Herald editor Anders Gyllenhaal had only a few words: “It’s an unfortunate situation. Oscar says this stems from a misunderstanding and the paper backs him up on this.” Asked by Riptide whether Corral was, um,…
Jacqueline Carini Oscar Corral has written reams on Fidel Castro, Miami’s exiles, and the many controversies that roil South Florida’s most powerful immigrant community. A handsome 32-year-old Miami Herald reporter who married eight years ago and bought a half million dollar home in posh Coral Gables before age 30, he…
Perhaps you’ve read recent announcements concerning Paula Deen’s Poker Party, Emeril’s Sugar Shack Dessert Party, and other attractions that have been scheduled for this season’s Southern Wine and Spirits and FIU’s 2008 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival. New Times has uncovered some other, as yet unconfirmed events…
When Cubans leave their island in search of a better life, where do they go? Conventional wisdom says Miami. But a recent article in the International Herald Tribune claims that lately, Cubans are choosing to live in Madrid for a myriad of reasons — some of them political. “In Cuba…
Flava Works, the company behind the notorious CocoDorm, a live-action gay porn site featuring black and Latin men in North Miami, has been shaken by internal tragedy this month. The company’s home page has become a memorial after the death of its vice-president in his early 30s. “With a heavy…
In explaining his reason for giving Rudolph “Rudy” Crew a $41,000 bonus, Miami-Dade School Board Member Robert Ingram compared Superintendent Rudolph Crew to Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest professional basketball player in modern history. I beg to differ. Producing 26 F schools doesn’t come close to winning six world championships…
caption A strange call came to Riptide on Wednesday about the making of a rap video Monday night in good ‘ol Opa-locka. British Mitchell (AKA “Brisco: the Opa-locka Goon”) set up camp in the notorious Triangle. Brisco (a preeminent local talent in his genre) had come to shoot a video…
Let’s begin with an easy question: A triangular-shaped sheath of pink-tinted plexiglas arrives in the mail. It is an invitation bearing engraved party details that trumpet an extravagant opening night party honoring the arrival of the latest, greatest restaurant: Cocktail reception at 7:30 p.m. (spirits provided by the latest, greatest…
Too Hot to Care Filed under: News Apart from four sweaty journalists, a homeless man, and a retired Puerto Rican judge concerned about his grandchildren, no one much listened to John Parker’s warnings on a recent Tuesday afternoon on South Beach. Maybe it was the unlikely setting for Parker’s global…
It’s July 13, and in an effort to evade the brutal midafternoon sun, Cesar Ramirez cools off in the shade of a tree near the entrance of Allapattah Middle School. The wiry Puerto Rican waits for his daughter Amanda to emerge through the turquoise-color doors. From 8:00 to 4:00 Monday…
For the past two years, two months, and ten days, out on the western fringes of Miami-Dade County, Lionel Tate has been sitting inside a prison cell at the Everglades Correctional Institute for a crime he almost certainly didn’t commit. In fact two South Florida private investigators allege DNA evidence…
Crossing the Lehman Causeway into Sunny Isles Beach, you might wonder if you’ve been sucked into an interstate wormhole in the space-time continuum and landed in downtown Miami. Construction cranes perch atop a skyline that, though dominated by high-rises, still strains upward. The whine and hum of heavy machinery and…
A few weeks ago, after much speculation, Alonzo Mourning announced that he would return to the court for one last season with the Heat. “I want to redeem myself and try to help this team redeem ourselves as an organization and try to get back on track,” Mourning said. “That…
This afternoon, Miami City Commissioners decided not to give a slice of Liberty City land to a group of housing activists – even though the commission supported the idea “in principle” last week…
Yours for a song Looking to scoop up some prime Miami Beach real estate? This could be your year. Nine properties valued at a million dollars or more have gone into foreclosure on the Beach since the beginning of 2007. According to research compiled by Condo Vultures, these include a…
Last week, Riptide reported the unveiling of two new bus “shelters” (think benches with roofs) outside the Miami U.S. Veterans Medical Center at 12th Avenue and 16th Street. Mayor Diaz himself cut the ribbon, with three city commissioners, one city manager, and a small flock of corporate flacks from Fuel,…
Stuck on the Palmetto took a real estate article in this morning’s Herald as an opportunity to call out stupid home buyers who signed adjustable rate mortgages without fully understanding the consequences: Call me heartless, but I feel the same type of sympathy for these people as I do Spirit…
Miami Vision Blogarama posted an item this morning in support of using prisoners to fill jobs that would be vacated if illegal immigrants were deported en masse: Yes, we know these are not revolutionary ideas and that it’s been done before (and suspect it disappeared over time because of political…
Looks good. What are the other customers going to eat? Dear Krispy Kreme, When we first met, I was still so young. My metabolism posed no threat to our hot and steamy trysts. Everything was all so fresh and new. I admit, I got a little obsessed. Not in a…
Lately I’ve been checking out every 7-11 I’ve stumbled upon. Not because they have unbelievable gas prices or that I’m hopelessly addicted to scratch-off cards and day-old (Mmm) doughnuts, but because I’m on a quest. Not the most noble of quests, but a quest nonetheless. A few months back I…
