In this week’s New Times, I report on an internal investigation of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Lt. Lisa Hart, who wasn’t showing up for work yet still getting paid. The investigation is based on an anonymous complaint filed with the Miami-Dade Police public corruption unit. Here you will find a copy…
Best or No? In response to “Best of Miami” 2008 (May 15): I’ve noticed a trend in your yearly “Best Of” editions, especially when it comes to the restaurant listings. Whatever the “hot” restaurant or “restaurant-of-the-moment” is in a given category at the time of publication, it appears that particular…
LaShunda Flowers, a.k.a. Shunda K, is simultaneously black, gay, devoutly Christian, and the writer of songs such as “Kryptonite Pussy” (refrain: “Yo’ punanny better make that moneyyyyy!”). And the founder of the Tampa-based electro-rap outfit Yo Majesty is totally, comfortably outspoken about all of these things. If punk was originally…
While by no means is this in any shape or form graffiti, this mural easily is one of the most identifiable symbols of Miami’s Design District. It has been there for what seems like forever, draped across the posterior of the building which is occupied by retail spaces selling expensive…
How do you follow up a story on a Duran Duran concert? By hitting folks with a video to one of their most popular songs of all times–that’s how. When they first dropped this Indiana Jones like vid back in the early 80’s, it didn’t seem nearly as weird then…
So, who doesn’t want to gently easy into their Monday afternoon with a good 20 minutes of time-wasting bad Internet videos? The smartest YouTube searchers know that the site’s treasures are often found simply by typing “worst” whatever in the search box, or, for a grab bag, just “worst” itself,…
The Language of Madness Carlos Suarez De Jesus’s article about outsider art, “Madness and Art” (May 8), was often beautifully written. But on these occasions, it was not: “The mentally ill”: I am not an advocate of this form, whether expressed as “the” Jews, “the” Blacks, or as a stereotype…
Dale Spitler folds his arms across a fitted gold vest that’s complimented by a matching bowtie. Then the tall, stern-looking man with close-cropped blond hair leads me through a silicone valley of leggy girls with thongs stretched deep into their ass cracks. We end up in his workplace of the…
Jose D. Duran I promise this is the final Wynwood mural in the series I’ve been doing lately. Who could blame me though? The entire area surrounding NW 2nd Avenue and NW 23 Street is covered in murals. This is one I actually saw getting painted a few months ago…
We hear at the New Times camp are die fans of all things old school. So as I came across this stellar footage of Teddy P doing his thing (while still walking I might add) from 1979, it seemed appropriate to share it with the blogosphere. He’s undeniably looking good…
While we’re on the subject of old dance jams, here’s another classic: “Security” by the Beat Club, which dropped around ’87 or ’88. This classic record had both that tinkle-tinkle that linked it both to freestyle and electro in these parts and the emerging early rave sound in England –…
Miami-Dade’s top public corruption prosecutor doesn’t have to worry about the Florida Bar coming after him anymore. Bar counsel Arne Vanstrum has dismissed a complaint against Joseph Centorino, the assistant state attorney who heads the public corruption unit, alleging he acted unethically by not prosecuting high-ranking officials in the Miami-Dade…
In case you missed this on Deco Drive or Idolator, things went haywire on the set of Rick Ross’ recent video shoot for his upcoming single, “Here I Am,” featuring Nelly. A tiger hired to add some menace or flair or whatever to the set apparently wasn’t a fan of…
You can always count on Miami Today Publisher Michael Lewis to do what the Miami Herald editorial board won’t do. This week, Lewis takes Miami-Dade County Schools Superintendent Rudolph “Rudy” Crew and School Board Chairman Agustin Barrera to the wood shed and whups them real good. Here’s an excerpt: For…
Today, for the 54th time since July 2007, Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Rudolph “Rudy” Crew did not show up for work. This time, he took a vacation day. Meanwhile, the school district continues to fall apart. — Francisco Alvarado…
A near-police state has sadly taken hold at many venues. It’s normal to get frisked and surrender prohibited items such as drinks from other bars or flash cameras. Since I’ve given up my younger and broker ways of sneaking in vodka masquerading as bottled water, I’m all right with that…
Same Old School I went to Allapattah Middle School (“The F-School Bomb,” by Francisco Alvarado, May 1) from 1983 to 1984. During that time, one of the math teachers provided the answers to a standardized test. I was dumbfounded. This corruption of 12- and 13-year-old children was obviously endemic in…
The South Florida Business Journal recently published a story detailing a slimy deal between media executive and former Miami-Dade mayoral candidate Jose Cancela and the Jackson Memorial Foundation, the fund raising arm for the Public Health Trust, which runs Jackson Memorial Hospital. According to reporters Brian Bandell and Oscar Musibay,…
Jose D. Duran Last week, when I stumbled upon all the quirky art on the utility poles, I also came across a mural done by artist Mariano Molina back in November. Actually, I was told that right before Art Basel comes into town, artists go around the area asking tenants…
Several high-level, well-paid Miami-Dade County executives are investing in a little job security. At least 24 department directors, assistant county managers, and executive assistants contributed money to Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez’s re-election campaign. Even the folks who handle the mayor’s image and field calls from the press gave cash to…
The video with Latarian Milton, the 7-year-old badass/hood rat enthusiasts that stole his mother’s SUV in Palm Beach Gardens is definitely making the rounds of the blogosphere right now. So there’s no surprise that a remix of the footage has surfaced on YouTube set to music. Initially, that sounds cool…
Lately Florida marijuana growers are providing drug agents with a lot of job security. Yesterday, the Drug Enforcement Agency led raids on 150 indoor pot grow houses across the state, with one-third shut down in the 305. Television news stations WPLG and WFOR reported that law enforcers arrested 135 people…
