Advocates for Gay Marriage Rake in the Money

The battle over Florida’s constitutional gay marriage ban is a lot like a drawn-out arm wrestling match. Both sides are sweating, but the crowd seems to have lost interest in the show. Right-wing loonies proposed the measure months ago and gathered thousands of signatures to put it on the ballot…

Clifton Childree’s Craziness

Since learning he won the Hilger Artist Project Award last December, Clifton Childree has been hoarding discarded wood, ornate headboards, piles of fabric, and sundry cast-off junk from the curbs that line the homes on the outskirts of Miami’s Design District. “I live a few blocks from Churchill’s,” he says,…

Miami Beach to Be Ground Zero in Cold War 2.0?

Image from Archie McPhee via Buuuuurrrrning Hot The Cold War may have ended in the early ’90s, but the relationship between Washington and Moscow remains strained. Russia’s recent invasion of Georgia only made things worse. It’s not quite another Cold War, but — fittingly — acolytes of Richard Nixon have…

Donna Shalala Won’t Be Your Drinking Buddy

Hip university presidents piss me off. They walk down sorority row and share their hope that Chuck and Blair get back together on Gossip Girl. They drop by the student radio stations and after a few listens, are totally into that new XXXChange remix of Gang Gang Dance. They’re so…

NFL Player Says Liberty City Can Beat Phelps

(image via flickr) There are many reasons an outsider might not want to be caught in Liberty City in nothing but a speedo. But an impromptu 100-meter butterfly challenge would seem to be the least of one’s worries. According to Cincinnati Bangles wide receiver Chad Johnson, Liberty City is one…

Tropical Storm Fay + Kite-surfing = Hospital (And Youtube Fame)

UPDATE — Youtube has pulled Miami’s favorite gnarly kite-surfing accident, presumably at the behest of CBS4, which filmed the whole sordid affair. Fortunately, you can still indulge your need for extreme kite-surfing footage at the CBS4 website. Enjoy! When Tropical Storm Fay started whipping 40 to 50 mile-per-hour winds through…

Fay a Mild Annoyance on Monday Night

Jose D. Duran A soaked Monday night along North Miami Avenue. As the outer bands of Tropical Storm Fay went over South Florida, local stations were having a field day. It had been some time since the area was threaten by storm. WSVN reporter Rene Marsh stood along the shore…

Bike Blog – Coral Way Gets Some Love

All that dreaming longingly about someday seeing bike lanes along Coral Way has finally paid off. Mike Lydon of Transit Miami wrote last week: “expect to see new bicycle lanes from SW 12th Avenue to SW 15th Road in the not-too-distant-future.” The lanes will span about 16 blocks. From there,…

Tropical Storm Fay: Rain-Soaking Little Punk or Coolest Storm Ever?

Wilma she ain’t, but with Fay barreling toward the mainland and Floridians reacting with their usual mix of apathy and rage toward meteorologists, the storm has at least captured the attention of schoolkids everywhere in South Florida. In fifth grade classrooms up and down the coast, Fay has been declared…

All-Night Clubs Get More Cops

On Northeast 11th Street in Park West – where an island of soulless mega clubs stand amid a stretch of slum – party kids will start seeing more cops. In a move that went almost completely unreported last spring, the Southeast Overtown Park West CRA approved $343,000 in grant money…

Pretty in the City – Get Plucked at the Brow Bar

I’ve been on a mission to find the place to get my brow situation dealt with on a regular basis. I don’t ask for much – it has to be affordable, the place has to be clean and conveniently located, and they have to do a great job on the…

Dwyane Wade: International Purveyor of Awesomeness

Coming into these Olympic games, it seemed as if Dwyane Wade was only known for being the pitchman for a Chinese sex pill (without his permission). Oh, and a guy who once won an NBA title or something. Now, the Chinese are chanting his name when he walks by: “Wade-a!…

Cocodorm Continues to Face Possible Closure

Last year, Riptide touched on the plight of Cocodorm.com, er, which despite the use of “dorm” in its name it isn’t collegiate housing. It’s a site where Internet users can peer into the lives of men of color who live together in a house in Edgewater at NE 27th Street…

Retire Now, Luis Gonzalez!

The Marlins shoulda creamed the St Louis Cardinals last night. They didn’t. The reason: Luis Gonzalez sucks. The Marlins 31-year-old left fielder came up three times with runs in scoring position ..and made three outs. The bases were loaded. There were two guys on base. He’s supposed to be the…

Magic City Kitty – Suck Suck Shortage

Hello, Kitty My boyfriend seems to think that I don’t give him enough blow jobs. After living together for 3 years, I admit that the frequency has slowed down to around twice a week but damn – I work full-time, have a two-year-old son, and plus it makes my jaw…

Ex-Con Raps for McDonald’s

Former Miami stickup kid Tamien Bain served more than a decade in prison for attempting to rob a local McDonald’s. Once he got out, he did the only logical thing: created a jingle that nearly won a marketing contest for that same fast-food chain. It doesn’t get much more American…

Blogger Rumpole Ruffles the Courts

Miami’s criminal courthouse is abuzz with talk of a mysterious, irreverent blogger called Rumpole, an anonymous watchdog — and also a public defender — who keeps tabs on the justice system from the inside. His blog Justice Building (www.justicebuilding.blogspot.com) chronicles everything from the broken courthouse escalator to poor decision-making on…