Opinion & Commentary

Letters from the issue of May 26, 2011

Hey, it sucks to lose, but Luther Campbell has nothing to be ashamed of. With only 45 days to court voters with a $12,000 campaign war chest, the former 2 Live Crew front man and current New Times columnist convinced 20,000 Miami-Dade voters he was the right man for the…

12:00 p.m.: Just arrived at Norland Methodist Church in Miami Gardens wearing my Luther Campbell for Mayor tee. Holding my yard sign I start stumping for votes as a pair of elderly African American ladies get out of their car. “Punch 17! Don’t let Julio Robaina’s $1.2 million buy the…

The Minnesota Bard is seven decades old today. He is my hero. He is crazy. He owns — or owned – a big yacht. His mom knew my grandma in the North Country, where I was born. He was Jewish, Christian, and turned the Beatles on to LSD….Yackity, yackity. You…

Today is the day Miami-Dade voters who did not cast their ballots via absentee or during early voting days get their turn. With that said, we can’t have y’all voting for former county Commissioner Carlos Gimenez, who is playing spoiler to Luther Campbell’s chances to make the run-off against Hialeah…

Uncle Luke, the man whose booty-shaking madness once made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. This week, with the election still hanging in the balance, Luke reflects on the mayoral campaign he made serious.A few…

It pays to be Julio Robaina’s lackey. Just ask Julio Ponce, the Hialeah mayor’s former business partner who recently received a sweetheart deal to run the Hialeah Housing Authority. Despite only having a high school diploma and no experience in public housing, Ponce was approved for a $125,000 annual salary…

2 million: Dogs and cats abused and killed by the international fur industry each year that was made from domesticated dogs. Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). (A previous version of this blog item erroneously reported that Burlington Coat Factory was involved in this activity. The reference arose from…

Al Crespo continues to unearth some pretty galling shady shit going on at the city of Miami. Today, Crespo reports on Bert Gonzalez, the $102,000 a year assistant director for the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency, coaching a restaurant owner on how to win approval on a $150,000 grant. “Remember I…

Only in Miami-Dade County can a politician like Julio Robaina be considered a front-runner for the top elected post. With one day left for early voting before election day on May 24, we’ve compiled five reasons Robaina does not deserve becoming our next county mayor — not counting his side…

So I was waiting when good ole Rick from South Florida Daily Blog would chime in with his sanctimonious self-righteous blather about our Luther Campbell campaign coverage. Today he finally came through. As someone who lives in Pembroke Pines and who is too scared to use his real name, Rick…

So after a brief flirtation with returning to Miami Beach for season four, the Jersey Shore-ites instead packed their bags and headed to Florence, Italy. It seemed that this time around, no Floridians would be harmed during filming. Actually, though, the University of Florida has a study abroad program in…

Imagine this: You grew up in a household where the only lettuce served was some mix of wild field greens; it was grown in abundance and very inexpensive. Salads would be inevitably be composed of these greens — sometimes together, sometimes individually, as in arugula salad — tossed with garnishes…

​Which team will win the Eastern Conference Finals won’t come down to how great the Miami Heat’s big three perform or how wonderfully efficient the Chicago Bulls’ bench mob execute their tenacious defensive and rebounding skills. No this contest is going to come down to which team has the most…

Letters from the issue of May 19, 2011

So multi-billionaire car dealer Norman Braman is all about reforming county government and curtailing the influence of lobbyists. Then why the heck is Braman’s mug on a flyer endorsing Xavier Suarez for county commissioner? Voters in district 7 received the campaign literature last week with a quote from the auto…

Gas prices are so high these days, many of us feel like beating up the pump when it’s done tallying up our tabs. But we can’t do much damage to those LCD screens with flappy, impotent little biceps and the pep of salted slugs.Wanna pack a punch the bored gas…

Uncle Luke, the man whose booty-shaking madness once made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. In this special edition, Luke — who is a candidate for Miami-Dade mayor — explains how running a music record…