Governor Rick Scott came into office with the goal of making unemployment benefits harder to get than ever before, and he has achieved that goal in stunning fashion. Just 12 percent of unemployed Floridians are receiving benefits from the state’s Unemployment Insurance program, tied with South Carolina as the lowest…
Miami Beach really, really, really like’s rich people, we can assure you of that. The city is basically a playground for them, but existing residents are just a bit tired of super-rich people coming in, buying up historic homes, knocking them down, and then building giant mega-mansions that are out…
Plans to build the largest mall in America in the western reaches of Miami-Dade are moving on full speed ahead with little impediment, and today we’ve got out look at what exactly the layout of the mall will look like. South Florida Business Journal reporter Brian Bendall got a hold…
It started, as only a romance between two multi-millionaire retail developers can, with a lawsuit over a private jet. It ended up in marriage. Craig Robins, the man responsible for turning the Design District into a luxury shopping mecca, married Jackie Soffer, who, amongst other things, oversees the Aventura Mall,…
He started out as Mr. 305, then morphed into Mr. Worldwide, but for the next year Pitbull will be Mr. Florida. Visit Florida has struck a deal with the Miami rapper to official serve as Florida’s tourism ambassador for the next year. Yes, the state’s official private/public tourism wing hopes that…
The Fairholme Capital headquarters and art museum is a bizarre thing. First of all, it looks like some sort of fortress from a dystopian sci-fi movie. Secondly, it will be part open-to-the-public art museum and part equity fund management offices (which unintentionally says a lot about the state of the commodification…
A team of residents has been working to keep the billion-dollar retail chain out of their neighborhood and over a year of legal hurdles hasn’t dissuaded Walmart from opening one of its superstores in Midtown. The company won an appeal last week, and now it looks like Walmart is coming…
Earlier this year, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced $200 million plans to raze and redevelop Miami’s oldest housing project, Liberty Square Houses, also known as Pork ‘n’ Beans. Built in 1936, the buildings are in need of an upgrade — most residents complaining of the lack of air conditioning, along…
North Miami’s most politically-connected restaurant is also be failing to pay its staff — at least according to a former chef at Moca Cafe and Lounge, who says he’s been waiting for a check since May. That’s despite the fact that Moca has gotten thousands from city taxpayers over the…
Randolph Williams, a stocky African-American accountant, stood outside the rusted gates of Lincoln Memorial Cemetery on an afternoon in 2001, mentally fishing around for memories from nearly five decades back. Try as he might, his past recollections couldn’t sync with what he saw. In front of him, the 20-acre Lincoln…
Miami may not have the television production reputation of Los Angeles or New York, but television shows are being produced here everyday that are being seen by millions of people across the globe. Some of the most popular telenovelas, and, in fact, Telemundo says its been operating over capacity for…
During rush hour, the 18-mile commute from FIU to Miami Beach can easily take 45 minutes by car. On public transportation, that same trip now requires at least three buses and some two hours to complete. But a group of FIU students has a plan to make the trip far…
It was the Monday after Christmas, 2014. Night had fallen, and the air was crisp. In front of the Hollywood Beach Theatre — a pale-yellow concrete bandshell located where Johnson Street meets the ocean — a crowd of a few hundred people danced to a cover of Duke Ellington’s 1940s…
Malaysian tourism and gambling conglomerate Genting Group took Miami by storm back in 2011 by buying up the old Miami Herald building and a bunch of surrounding properties with plans to build a major destination resort and casino. Those plans were scrapped after lawmakers refused to rewrite gambling laws, and…
A new push for higher minimum wages is sweeping across America, with New York City on the path toward joining Seattle and San Francisco with a $15 per hour standard. Last month, dozens of workers in Miami marched to demand that South Florida do the same. But even among…
Bud Cornell slumps into a chair under a thatched chickee roof at the Sunset Cove Beach Resort in Key Largo. Taking a break from wrestling with his motel’s plumbing, he wipes sweat from his flushed cheeks and rattles off a list of what needs upkeep on the old property, from…
Construction is almost done at 250 Wynwood, the modern, six-storied, 11-unit residential building going up on 24th Street. In a neighborhood that seems to have it all — world-class street art, craft beer, artisanal coffee, creative office spaces — there aren’t many options for people to actually sleep there at night. And that’s mostly…
So long San Jose. According to the latest startup rankings from the Annual Kauffman Foundation Report, Miami has overtaken the California City in startup activity. San Francisco fell from number one in 2014 to number three this year. Formerly the bronze medalist, Miami moves up to second place while Austin, Texas…
Thinking about leasing a new car, getting a new card, or racking up a few fancy meals during Miami Spice …well maybe think twice before putting it on your credit card. Two new analysis suggest that Miamians are drowning in credit card debt, and that in fact we lead the…
It’s one of the last oceanfront development holdouts on Miami Beach. The historic “Ocean Terrace” sector of North Beach, between 75th and 73rd streets, is known for its laid-back neighborhood vibe and low-rise buildings. But that could soon change, if the proposed development of a luxury condo tower passes muster…
By now it’s pretty common knowledge that Miami’s rent prices are outrageously out of whack with what Miamians actually make, but, hey, here’s another turd feather to tick in our city’s hat of shameful inequality and developer greed. Turns out Miami is the worst city in the entire United State…
When you think about Miami’s real estate market you can’t help but think of condos. New towers are popping up every day, but the single family home market is doing quite well for itself too, thank you very much. In fact, more single family homes were sold in Miami this…
