The City of Miami’s former archaeologist says she was fired for not being friendly enough to developers. “Citizens … should be aware of what they are trading in for this ‘new city,'” says Alison Elgart-Berry, Miami’s first (and so far only) city archaeologist. Elgart-Berry has a doctoral degree from Cornell…
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office has opened an investigation into a taped conversation between a successful real-estate developer, his lawyer, and a third party in which the three men discuss retaining the services of state Rep. Rafael “Ralph” Arza. The recording was the subject of last week’s cover story (“Caught…
Back in the Eighties and Nineties, everyone was a fan of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, thanks to singles such as “American Girl,” “Jammin’ Me,” and “Learning to Fly.” Though the group is years removed from its hit-making salad days, expect tickets to sell quickly well before the band lands…
Magic the bum races up Washington Avenue on his beat-up bicycle, screeching to a halt just outside a velvet-rope line. He boots the kickstand theatrically. “Valet!” he bellows. His timing, as always, is good. The beautiful people are just beginning to stream in to club B.E.D., and they turn, like…
In May of last year, Shoma paid $39 million for the former Ryder System headquarters in Doral. Masoud Shojaee, president of Shoma Development, had ambitious plans for the 45-acre property — a pedestrian-friendly town center that would combine 900 residential units with 200,000 square feet of retail space and 150,000…
When wealthy landowners like Lowell Dunn or major developers like Armando Codina need a zoning variance for a big project, they rely on the services of attorney Stanley Price, a name partner with the Miami firm Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod. A transplanted New Yorker who sharpened his skills…
Long before he established himself as a tenacious member of the Miami-Dade legislative delegation in Tallahassee, 45-year-old state Rep. Rafael “Ralph” Arza (R-Hialeah) was the king of Doral. In 1996, after losing a bid for the county school board, he was appointed to the Doral Community Council by former county…
Masoud Shojaee and his wife Maria, both 46 years old, incorporated Shoma Development Corporation in 1988. Today it is one of South Florida’s preeminent residential builders. Masoud is listed as the company’s president; his wife is Shoma’s secretary (she is the daughter of José Lamas, founder of Medley-based Aljoma Lumber)…
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office has opened an investigation into a taped conversation between a successful real-estate developer, his lawyer, and a third party in which the three men discuss retaining the services of state Rep. Rafael “Ralph” Arza. The recording was the subject of last week’s cover story (“Caught…
The Miami-Dade Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has recently increased the frequency and intensity of cellblock searches inside the five primary jails, and the results have surprised and dismayed jail officials, as an illicit marketplace for drugs, weapons, and even cell phones is slowly but steadily uprooted. The new routine…
Need to get your celebrity fix? Well, you can camp out on Collins Avenue and wait for one to stroll by, or you can get your money’s worth by seeing them perform at Y100.7s (WHYI-FM 100.7) Vera Cadillac Summer Splash. The all-hits roster includes radio favorites such as Ciara, Mario,…
ArtCenter/South Florida has, by most accounts, been blessed by visionary leadership, talented artists, and good luck. But there has also been turmoil — ArtCenter has burned through three executive directors in two years, and several board members have also abandoned ship. Some say chairman Richard Shack’s commanding nature is causing…
Leroy Griffith, owner of the naked-dancing-girl joint Club Madonna on South Beach’s Washington Avenue, says there’s nothing to accentuate the experience of seeing a nubile nymph in the buff like a good stiff … drink. Unfortunately the city of Miami Beach prohibits Club Madonna from serving alcohol, a constriction that…
Five years ago the issue of “racial profiling” was at the height of a furious national debate. The American Civil Liberties Union was waging a nationwide campaign to expose and ban the practice of police targeting minorities, African Americans in particular, for traffic stops or arrest based solely on their…
Judas Priest, the British band who defined Eighties heavy metal with blood-soaked anthems such as Living After Midnight, has returned from the dead with a new album, Angel of Retribution, and, more important, a new world tour simply titled Retribution. This time they’re bringing Operation: Mindcrime auteurs Queensrÿche along, which…
Tim Mosely, who goes by the performance name Timbaland, is one of the most innovative and influential record producers of the past decade, crafting major pop hits for artists such as Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, Jay-Z, Destiny’s Child, TLC, Eminem, Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, and Linkin Park. His remarkable success has…
Miami’s skyline is spiked with construction cranes. Drive down Biscayne Boulevard south from the Julia Tuttle Causeway and that’s what you see — that and small armies of orange-vested construction workers cutting across the roadway or stopping traffic so cement trucks can back into the busy boulevard. For the average…
When Miami-Dade County Police Ofcr. Chad Murphy was shot in the line of duty October 24, 2003, he relied on his sweetheart Elena Rosen and her family to tend to his physical and emotional wounds. “The shooting brought us closer together,” Rosen, 28, revealed during a recent phone interview. “But…
Last year, Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire paired up for a memorable tour into the heart of Seventies soul, both blue-eyed and funk-tinged. Now the Windy City ensemble and the Detroit legend are returning for a belated encore, with their considerable legacies in tow. Expect plenty of singalongs to…
During the day, the banyan-shaded streets of West Perrine, a South Miami-Dade neighborhood settled by black farmers and farmhands, offers a leafy contrast to the strip malls and auto dealerships lining U.S. 1 to the east and the stark landscape of new housing complexes along SW 107th Avenue to the…
To members of the media, the words “sardonic” and “Mickey Rourke” go together like the entwined lovers in Wild Orchid, the Rio de Janeiro flesh fest from 1990. To Miamians Rourke is a bad boy, but he’s our bad boy. To the film industry he’s a bad boy whose years…
There is more to come in the enormous criminal-corruption case at Miami International Airport’s fuel facility. That’s clear from the 12,000-word statement made by the state’s star witness, Richard Caride, who managed the operation (known as the “fuel farm”) for Aircraft Services International Group (ASIG). But first I must correct…
