While Miami-Dade County residents paid higher property taxes last year, Hialeah Mayor and Miami-Dade County mayoral candidate Julio Robaina did not pay property taxes on a shopping center he owns in his city. In fact, it appears Robaina has avoided paying taxes on the building since 2006, when he and…
The Jacuzzi Boys have definitely made it big. You know why we know this? Not because they have a live album out on Jack White’s Third Man Records. And not because they just got back from a monthlong American tour. But because they’ve got a performance featured on WFMU. Gabriel Alcala…
Maybe Ron Book is losing his touch. On Monday, Miami-Dade County commissioners denied Book’s request to lobby on behalf of a private client pushing a state bill the county is against. The ultra influential lobbyist represents Miami-Dade before the Florida Legislature. But he also works for the Florida Apartment Association,…
Julio Robaina’s slush fund can buy lap dances and stone crab claws
Letters from the issue of April 7, 2011
Drug Czars On Venus (Fruit Bat Entertainment) myspace.com/drugczars Last time we looked at the Drug Czars, we drew little lines separating the old from the new and identified these guys as potential line-blurrers. And keeping in the tradition of skipping around in artist’s catalogues, we’ll be looking at their last…
An assistant principal’s mistake led Miami Northwestern High to get graded a D instead of a C last year. But the state’s education commissioner won’t grant Miami-Dade Public Schools’ request to give Northwestern the higher grade. As a result, the students at the storied African-American school are being punished for…
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, Luke – who is a candidate to replace more-boring-than-bread-pudding ex-Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez – has a few things…
Update: Ron Book tells Banana Republican that it was unfair to characterize his representation of municipal governments and private clients with competing interests as something bad. “I didn’t do anything nefarious or unethical,” he says. “Your story implies I did, and that is wrong.”Just call superlobbyist Ron Book the Waiver…
A muscular, scowling man sits at a dining room table. As he fiddles with a folding knife and puts bullets into a magazine clip, we hear his ominous voice: “Narcotics run Miami. Everyone bossing up trying to be the man and shit. But you know what they say: Don’t hate…
Load Lumberjack Death Luge(Ballad of Son of Crusher) Seven-Inch (House O’Pain Records) I have purposely left Load out of the rotation for a bit now since I started these Blasts From the Past slightly over a year ago. Call it professional payback for Bobby Load never remembering meeting me back in…
The basic aim of a sumo wrestler is to push or throw your opponent out of the ring. The bigger you are, the easier it is to push your opponent — hence the large size of the sumo. How do sumo grow so large, and are they athletes or just…
I didn’t want to have to respond to the Route 9 brouhaha, but so many untruths are out there that I really have no choice. I made four factual errors in one review — it’s pretty hard to imagine making more, and something like that obviously should never happen. I…
WMC and Ultra Week have come and gone. There were mind-blowingly awesome DJ lineups and there were majorly overrated ones. Sure, March has never disappointed. But there’s no denying how bloated and commercial certain chunks of the EDM industry have become. You’d think the likes of Swedish House Mafia and…
Every Friday, Riptide brings you the most eye-catching mugshots taken the previous week in Miami-Dade County. Yes, there is some mockery of bad neck tattoos, but also adulation directed at perps who just plain look more badass than we ever will. This is the italicized intro to that series…
We don’t have to tell you. There’s nothing we dig here at Crossfade more than seeing local bands do their thing. And do it big. One such band: Radioboxer. The bipolar power poppers’ precocious debut album Radio Drama made some serious noise around town. And the set-to-drop follow-up Magic City…
As Julio Robaina courts voters in his quest to become Miami-Dade County mayor, he’s promising to do away with the county commission’s discretionary funds: a chest of taxpayer money the 13 members may dole out to whomever and for whatever they want. How noble of Hialeah’s mayor — and hypocritical.During…
The Crumbs I Fell in Love With An Alien Girl 7″ (Recess Records) recessrecords.com Admittedly, I had some grandiose ideas for this Blast From the Past. But now that I am thick in the drink and have spent the better part of the last hour grinding my needle into the…
Mayor Luther Campbell would tax strippers for the public good
Letters from the issue of March 31, 2011
D.T. Martyrs Narcotics in the Carport (Jeterboy Records & Tapes) D.T. Martyrs website To avoid confusion, you should now that the delirium tremens ceased at some point and the D.T. Martyrs simply became the Martyrs. And while the shortening of the name was the band’s call, forgive me if I…
Looks like Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina wants to rewrite history when it comes to his support for the Marlins’ stadium sweetheart deal. At last week’s Latin Builders Association sponsored mayoral debate, Robaina claimed the stadium didn’t get built in Hialeah because “it wasn’t a good deal for this community and…
