There may not be two groups of people more diametrically opposed to one another than the residents of Reykjavik, Iceland and Miami, Florida. The former group lives a socially-responsible existence in one of the cleanest, greenest, and least crime-ridden areas of the world. The other mainlines cocaine every weekend on…
Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Grieco doesn’t remember exactly what the signs said, but he says the message was basically, “No bicycles, no fun, no breathing.” When someone sent him a picture of the new signage, which was being installed at Lummus Park, he was furious. Hours later, the signs were…
As protests swept through the NFL during Sept. 11th ceremonies, four Miami Dolphins players kneeled during the national anthem before last night’s game in Seattle to protest inequality and police brutality against African-Americans. Even more remarkably in a league where top officials have all but called for riot police to…
Less than 48 hours ago, nine Miami-Dade County Commissioners hemmed and hawed over a citizen-backed initiative that would have cut campaign donations to just $250 per person and banned people who get huge checks from the county from donating. Those same commissioners decided Wednesday afternoon to prevent voters from getting…
Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, the American Legion Harvey W. Seeds Post 29 on 64th and Biscayne — known informally as “the Legion” — was one of the few places in Miami where punks, oddballs, hippies, and veterans mingled regularly. Though there was a bar in the back…
Dear Stoner: Does marijuana help with depression? Searching Dear Searching: Unfortunately, the answer is not a simple yes or no. There’s such a wide range of studies on the subject that trying to wrap your head around it can make your hair fall out — or leave you more depressed…
As early as 1998, the American Psychiatric Association issued a warning about conversion therapy, saying that the anti-gay counselor combined with an already prejudiced society “may reinforce self-hatred already experienced by the patient.” A host of other academic and medical organizations have since agreed, citing research showing conversion therapy can…
Just a few short months ago, only a few anti-mosquito wonks had ever heard of a pesticide called naled. But now, thanks to the onslaught of the Zika virus, the mosquito-killing compound has become the touchiest issue in Dade County since LeBron James’ defection back to his hometown. As activists…
Miami Beach residents’ protest against the controversial anti-Zika pesticide naled is quickly morphing from a spirited public debate into an all-out ground war. In protest threads on social media, some protest organizers yesterday suggested that flying drones could intercept the county’s pesticide-spraying airplanes. Michael DeFilippi, the anti-naled organizer who raised…
Miami Beach has based its economy on the fact that strangers love to visit and get drunk there. But it wants residents to know that offering those strangers a place to stay through websites like AirBnB is not an option. In the majority of residential Miami Beach, it’s illegal to…
Sometimes, it does get tiring living in a subtropical paradise. Once the summer wall of humidity hits Miami in May, pretty much nobody enjoys being outdoors here. Breathing starts to feel like gasping for air through a wet washcloth. Thankfully, Miamians will be able to get far out of town for…
If you’re living in Miami Beach right now, you’re probably wondering whether to freak out about Zika. That’s certainly understandable, and if an emergency Zika meeting yesterday proved anything, it’s that even the public officials we look to for guidance don’t have all the answers. Meant to be informational, Wednesday’s…
More than 127,000 people signed petitions demanding that Miami-Dade reform its campaign finance laws to keep big money out of local politics. So why did the commission vote 9-4 last night to effectively kill the measure? Mostly because the group that collected the petitions, Accountable Miami-Dade, used its own big…
It’s no secret that Florida International University has struggled to fill its stands for home football games. The Panthers dipped below the NCAA-mandated average attendance of 15,000 in both 2012 and 2014, putting its Football Bowl Subdivision status at risk. So this year, FIU is offering rewards to students who go…
In the dim light of South Florida’s most famous gay hangout, two dozen men curl around the center bar to down two-for-one drinks on a Monday evening. Some are balding with graying hair. More rugged gents sport baseball caps. A few clean-shaven yuppies in suits scroll through social media feeds…
A rowdy crowd gathered today in Miami Beach to discuss the Zika epidemic and whether the city should spray controversial pesticides from planes to fight it. But there was an odd undercurrent to that talk: Many in the crowd insisted that the whole Zika phenomenon is overblown and that the…
Hey there, little guys and gals, are you excited for another Miami Dolphins football season? That’s right! Your mom and dad could learn something from your positivity! I bet your parents have told you about how exciting and dramatic things used to be around this time of year. No? Oh,…
When the Zika virus hit Miami Beach last month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it wasn’t even possible to spray pesticides over Miami Beach, since the buildings were too tall. But — at Gov. Rick Scott’s request — the county has changed course. Planes will start spraying…
“Got ’em on!” Mark “the Shark” Quartiano roars while his first mate stabs a shark with a gaff and hauls it out of the placid Atlantic Ocean. “In the boat, get him in the boat! Yeah, got ’em on!” Thwacking its tail and flipping over so the white of its…
Let’s be honest: Miami is a place people visit in order to have sex. Our citizens remain locked in a constant fight to expose as much skin as possible without getting arrested. All types of lifestyles canoodle in public here without reproach, young tourists wantonly stare each other down along…
Last month, an environmental supervisor at Palm Beach County mosquito control told New Times that Miami-Dade County’s 5 a.m. spraying missions for Zika mosquitoes were simply “psychological,” wouldn’t actually kill Aedes aegypti bugs, and may have just been for show. And when the Zika virus hit Miami Beach, the U.S. Centers for Disease…
As Zika has swept through Miami, residents have raged almost as much at Gov. Rick Scott as at the hated aedes aegypti mosquito. And with good reason. Scott slashed mosquito control budgets statewide then tried to blame Obama for the outbreak. And to top it off, his wife owned undisclosed…
