A little over two years ago, Douglas Park, a ten-acre green area just north of Coral Gables closed after city officials found elevated levels of arsenic, lead, barium, and other hazardous materials in the soil. And then, nothing happened. Month after month, the park sat dormant and overgrown. A cadre of…
Exactly one year ago today, Ruben Sebastian was driving across the Rickenbacker Causeway with a trunk full of groceries in his Chevy HHR station wagon. Sebastian, who at that time was an armed security guard for Miami-Dade County, had been earning some extra cash by delivering groceries and was in…
Rayne Burse was walking her dog, Mojito, near a canal in her new neighborhood Sunday evening when an older woman first approached and shook a finger in her face. “You’re part of South Miami,” said the stranger, later identified by police as Maria Dorrbecker, who had come out of a…
Black people make up one-fifth of Miami-Dade County’s population. It doesn’t exactly take a Nobel Laureate to see the county hasn’t always treated its majority-black neighborhoods with a ton of respect. (See: Beckham, David.) There’s no one reason for the routine neglect of African-American areas, but a study released today…
Miami Beach Police issued a dire warning to residents last week: Stay off the beach when the sun goes down. The warning came after a string of high-profile robberies culminated in a Texas woman getting sexually assaulted by a trio of men on the beach after dark. They also robbed…
The Kevin Durant sweepstake is over, and the Miami Heat did not win. Dwyane Wade is flirting with joining the Cleveland Cavaliers. Chris Bosh is playing guitar with singer-songwriter Miguel on a yacht, but we don’t know if he will be playing basketball any time soon. Luol Deng, Joe Johnson, and…
If you’re living in South Florida, by now you’ve probably come around to the idea of climate change and realized that, like it or not, sea levels are rising. But solutions to the problem are pricey, and there’s no clear consensus for how we’re all going to pay for the…
“Ninth Street and A1A Boulevard.” Richard Whitecloud relays his oceanfront location to the emergency dispatcher. “The fatalities just keep racking up in this intersection,” he mutters. “Dammit, man. Intersection of death!” Whitecloud, six feet one with long, curly hair kept back in a ponytail, bends down to inspect a corpse:…
Rapper/mogul/respect-loving person Bryan “Birdman” Williams lives by his own code. He does not seem to travel anywhere without duffel-bags full of cash nearby at all times. On ESPN’s “Highly Questionable” last month, he claimed to literally sleep on a bed made of $1 million. Considering how many people claim Birdman owes them millions…
When the Miami Herald recently asked for public records from Miami Beach about the city’s water quality, City Hall responded with a whopping $72,793.53 bill for the documents. That lead to loud protests from First Amendment groups, with one leader calling the bill “crazy” and filmmaker Billy Corben penning a memorable demand letter…
As part of an “aggressive hiring plan,” the Miami-Dade Police Department wants to beef up its stockpiles of weapons, armor, and ammo. And they’re asking county commissioners for millions in new body armor, “ballistic shields,” and night-vision rifles — as well as a controversial license-plate reading system. The request, which…
Miami, we talked about this yesterday. Firing your gun in the air to celebrate Fourth of July is a very bad idea. Falling celebratory bullets have seriously injured multiple people in recent years, including two kids in separate instances. But you didn’t listen. In fact, you even found a new…
Earlier this year, a Delray Beach-based Bitcoin exchange company called Cryptsy abruptly shut down, locking hundreds of thousands of users out of the system and leaving them no way to withdrawal their digital currencies. In January, Broward County attorney David Silver filed a class-action lawsuit against Cryptsy and its owner,…
With Election Day rapidly approaching, Desmond Meade’s calendar has been jam-packed with political rallies and fundraising galas. In the past few months, the Miami native has been a part of a handful of panel discussions about reforming the criminal justice system, appeared as a guest on MSNBC, and headed to…
Anaid Romero was chilling outside the Biltmore Hotel in 2012, watching fireworks light up the Coral Gables sky when she noticed a weird sensation. “I just felt something wet on me and I looked down and I had blood everywhere,” Romero told NBC6 at the time. Romero soon found the source: A…
Things you should never ask your co-workers: If they believe in a Righteous Christian God; if they want to Make America Great Again; if they “have a Brazilian wax.” The last one rings especially true if you happen to work as a cop. In a lawsuit filed last Friday, Miami-Dade…
Everyone agrees on this: Florida’s waterways are facing an unprecedented emergency. Toxic algae blooms have choked waterways across the state, closing beaches and rivers to tourists and residents. Gov. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency in two counties. There’s less agreement about who’s at fault. Scott’s blamed the…
Time took its toll on the Dorsey Memorial Library as it sat vacant in Overtown for more than 50 years. Over time, its walls were covered in graffiti. A fire burned through most of the interior. Termites have eaten their way through the rotting wood like a giant buffet. Last year,…
In an off-season filled with huge questions for the Miami Heat, Pat Riley has already delivered one undeniable answer. Hassan Whiteside is staying in the 305. In a post published this morning on the Player’s Tribune, the elite 7-foot talent announced that he’s staying with the Miami Heat. The AP’s…
After 52 years on a quiet Wynwood side street, King Automotive, a family-run repair shop owned by Leon Wegman, will close its doors today. Wegman recently sold his property in the booming arts neighborhood for more than 100 times what he paid for it decades ago. King Automotive was one…
There are over 20 million people in Florida. That’s a population larger than all but two other senate districts. Which means there are millions of Floridians who are technically eligible to run for senate. Theoretically, at least a few thousands of them could actually do a damn good job at…
You love the Everglades, right? Of course you do. We all live in Florida, and we all love the Everglades. It’s a river of grass. A unique ecosystem not duplicated anywhere else in the entire world. A true state treasure. Would you like to help the Everglades Nationa Park? Of…
