Wayne Smith is no friend of the Cuban American National Foundation. For many years — at least since he left the foreign service after serving as chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana from 1979 to 1982 — he has been an outspoken critic of the U.S. economic embargo…
Less Dead Than You Think Too often Miami and Dade County’s worst enemy is the unfounded negative perception. Predominantly fueled by a steady stream of sensational journalism, even long-time residents succumb to the media malaise and struggle to find the positives in our community. When national network news shows open…
Lead Stories *Two Fremont, California, men obtained a patent recently for a golf club that will fire a ball up to 250 yards by detonation of an explosive charge in the club head. *Two men who broke out of jail in Rutland, Vermont, in May were captured a week later,…
Stupid Name Tricks Sean Rowe’s article “Name Droppers” (July 11) could have had some redeeming qualities when he examined why people decide to change their names. In particular, the section that sought out people named Fidel Castro living in Miami was fair commentary on Miami politics. However, any journalistic value…
Lead Stories *In March a Washington physicians’ agency filed charges of unprofessional conduct against county coroner Dexter Amend of Spokane, citing among other things his preoccupation with sex. (For example, he allegedly asked the mother of a sixteen-year-old girl shot to death whether the girl had ever been sodomized by…
On June 27, Sen. John Chafee, a Republican from Rhode Island and chairman of the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee, signed a letter asking the head of the General Accounting Office (GAO) to launch an immediate investigation into the environmental impact of Dade County’s plan to transfer Homestead Air…
DeFede: Tomorrow’s Rich and Powerful Corporate Pig? God Bless My .357 Magnum Jim DeFede seems to be like an ostrich with his head in the ground regarding Micky Arison (“Why’s Everybody Always Pickin’ on Me?” July 4). First, why pick on Micky Arison and Carnival Cruise Lines? We’ve sailed on…
Poor, poor Micky Arison. You gotta feel for him. How misunderstood he is. How wrong the public has been to judge him so harshly, to question the propriety of taxpayers spending more than $130 million to build this gazillionaire a new basketball arena. At least that’s the impression South Floridians…
The mean season is upon us. The Dade mayor’s race is in full swing, a half-dozen county commission seats are up for grabs, and after months of wrangling over fractious issues such as building a new arena, repealing the county’s gasoline tax, and leasing portions of Homestead Air Force Base…
If no one will do it for you, you have to do it yourself. That’s the thinking behind Peep Diss Videos, a weekly cable-TV program whipped up by the marketing heads at Street Street Music, a rap and hip-hop label based in Boca Raton. Mark St. Juste, CEO and sales…
Evelyn and the Magic Bus I would like to thank Kirk Semple for clarifying the public transit situation for us, the users (“Token Ridership,” June 20). I ride the bus on a daily basis — to and from work, to doctors’ appointments, on shopping trips. I also take the bus…
Jose Tillan and Ruben Leyva already have their hands in the South Florida music business. Tillan, former bassist for Forget the Name, is managing Latin rocker Nil Lara. Leyva, erstwhile manager for local groups Erotic Exotic, Penguin, and Forget the Name, among others, is director of marketing for ANS Records,…
If You Write It, They Will Carp As a journalism major, I have long appreciated New Times as a means of expressing alternative points of view and reading stories not published elsewhere. However, Sean Rowe’s article “If You Sink It, They Will Come” (June 6) doesn’t appear to have a…
Playing Politics at the Expense of the Poor Robert Andrew Powell’s article “From Knight Manor to Nightmare” in last week’s issue touched a strong chord in me; I am an affordable-housing advocate. I commend nonprofits like Tacolcy that build safe, decent, and affordable housing for the working poor. Tacolcy’s Garden…
Despite the nature of my chosen profession, I sometimes have a hard time with words — both writing them and making them out clearly when I hear them in songs. Maybe that’s why I like instrumentals so much. There’s certainly no misinterpreting the raunchy sax blowing of Big Jay McNeely…
Reefer Badness Regarding Sean Rowe’s article “If You Sink It, They Will Come” (June 6): After diving the natural and artificial reefs of South Florida for twelve years, I can attest to the fact that all reefs attract marine life. They provide a habitat for every juvenile marine organism seeking…
In the coming months, the federal government will relocate the headquarters of Radio Marti and Television Marti from their current home in Washington, D.C., to Miami. The move from the capital of the United States to the capital of Cuban exile politics represents more than a 1200-mile trek down Interstate…
In its continuing (and mostly successful) efforts to shed its image as an old fart’s version of MTV, VH1 is introducing a so-called hip, fast-moving, road-trekking show called Route 96, which for eleven consecutive days will focus on eleven different American cities, including Boston, Chicago, and Las Vegas. The 96…
By all accounts the fundraiser held a few weeks ago at the Biltmore Hotel for President Bill Clinton was a huge success, as the $1500-a-plate affair raised $3.4 million for the president’s campaign coffers. It also raised the profile of disgraced former county commissioner Larry Hawkins, who was dumped by…
Put That on Your Agenda After reading Robert Andrew Powell’s article “A CANF-Do Attitude” (May 23), I wonder how Miami City Manager Cesar Odio can find the money to pay for police protection for Jorge Mas Canosa and other officials of the Cuban American National Foundation. At budget time this…
Jesus Alemany Cubanismo! (Hannibal/Rykodisc) Various Artists The Montuno Sessions — Live from Studio “A” (Mr. Bongo) There is little in life that can top the excitement and exhilaration of hearing a group of musicians taking off on an impassioned flight of inspired innovation, soaring atop wandering chord progressions, navigating solos…
Mas Canosa: Commie Target? Journalism reaches its greatest heights when sensational is not associated with sensationalism. Elise Ackerman’s article “Love and Cuba” (May 23) was an example — and a real whodunit, a who-can-you-trust primer for the public to decide privately. Is “Beatrice Puig” a bitter, power-hungry, money-mad monster? Is…
