Opinion & Commentary

FAMU Robert Champion hazing death scandal is no Penn State

Forget Las Vegas; get married at McDonald’s! The world’s largest fast-food burger chain has a lot of, shall we say, interesting items on its menu, such as the McLobster and the McAfrica burger. But three McDonald’s restaurants in Hong Kong offer something altogether different: weddings and engagement parties.The basic “Warm…

​Luther Campbell, the man whose booty-shaking madness 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, Campbell comes to the defense of Florida’s largest historically African-American university, which has been caught up in a deadly…

‘Tis the season for thievery, according to Adweek’s list of most shoplifted items during the holiday season. Filet mignon and Jameson whiskey are numbers one and two on the list.Though that might conjure images of rich men stuffing meat and booze into their suits, most shoplifting is done by opportunists,…

Over the past six months, state Rep. Erik Fresen has established himself as the go-to-politician for the gambling industry tycoons who want to bring gargantuan casino resorts to the Magic City. The lawmaker from Coral Gables is the mastermind behind one of two proposed bills that would allow Malaysian-based Genting…

After urban warriors load up on free breakfast compliments of the nearest big-chain hotel, their stomachs will need more.What to do? Drop into the nearest Olive Garden for some free bread sticks, or try the free chips and salsa at Chevy’s of course! Managers at these restaurants say there’s not…

There’s been recent buzz over a buffet restaurant in the UK that tacked on a three pound fee because a woman’s baby stroller was taking up space. According to the London Evening Standard, another woman at the same restaurant was also charged a fee for her six month old. Media…

You can say Max Rameau is a social activist trendsetter. Long before the Occupy Wall Street movement was even an idea, Rameau was leading the charge for the disenfranchised 99 percent with his Take Back The Land organization. Five years ago, Rameau came up with the brilliant idea of organizing…

New Times Broward-Palm Beach editor Eric Barton this morning tells the story of a 23-year-old cub reporter who’s stuck in the middle of Miami Central High School recruiting allegations.This past November, South Florida Sun-Sentinel writer Dieter Kurtenback reported about the transfer of a star quarterback — whose family was apparently…

Our second annual Miami People issue, which profiled 30 of the Magic City’s most intriguing characters, drew a number of reactions from readers. Some of the highlights are below. Santería savior: It’s about time you embraced one of Miami’s own with your profile on Santería activist Ernesto Pichardo (“Spirit Guide,”…

A movement is growing in Tallahassee to reform the fraud and abuse-plagued McKay Scholarship program following a New Times exposé. Yesterday, state representative Rick Kriseman (D-St. Petersburg) took the boldest step yet, recommending specific and widespread changes that would address the program’s most serious flaws. In a letter to the…

Just 61 days removed from his 11-month stint in a federal prison and halfway house, T.I.’s already starting shit. In an interview with Vibe magazine, the Atlanta-based rapper, actor, and author is quoted as saying that some gays are “not American.” He’s also defended his statement on TMZ Live by…

Luther Campbell, the man whose booty-shaking madness 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, he highlights the absentee ballot scam on the electoral process.Rampant absentee ballot fraud is destroying democracy in Miami and…

‘Twas one Friday night in January last year when the owner of Miami’s longest-running holiday festival failed miserably in his attempt to mack on a woman at a limo company.Brian Shechtman, who along with his brother has operated Santa’s Enchanted Forest since 1984, had dialed Aventura Limousine to order a…

​If you’ve been out drinking downtown lately and stumbled upon a street corner bursting with neon-colored weeds, don’t worry: It’s not an acid trip gone wrong.It’s weed bombing.”We’re tired of living in a big dump overrun with weeds and trash,” says chief bombadier Brad Knoefler, owner of downtown club Grand…

Every Friday, Riptide brings you the most eye-catching mugshots taken the previous week (or thereabouts) 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…

​A recent Miami-Dade ethics commission probe concluded three women residing at an assisted living facility in North Miami Beach were victims of absentee ballot voter fraud. The commission’s executive director, Joe Centorino, notified officials at the Park Plaza Retirement Residence that while the investigation did not turn up enough evidence…