Moron of the Week: Self-Destructive Ponzi Baller Sean Healy

Forget Flagler, Tuttle, and Brickell. We need to start naming streets and bridges after a historical figure whose legacy is honored every day here in South Florida: Charles Ponzi. With heavyweight scammers Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford basing their operations here, we’ve become the nation’s undisputed champion of the classic…

Listen Up Florida Marine Patrol: This Boat is Still There!

Since at least July, an abandoned and once pricey yacht has been beached on the trash-strewn and molester-patrolled shores of the Julia Tuttle Causeway. It’s been stripped of precious materials, spray-painted by some municipal entity, and slapped with stickers that say it’s not allowed here. It has also gained a…

Whoops: Shore Club Behind on Its Mortgage

If you’re behind on your bills, you might not be able to shell out for a night at the swanky Shore Club. Though it seems the posh outpost is having trouble keeping up on its own mortgage. Philip and Michael Pilevsky, owners of the South Beach hotel that’s home to Nobu,…

Florida Vehicle-Deer Collisions Up 38 Percent in Past Five Years

Just about every interesting statistic in the news these days somehow relates to the economy — or at least the talking heads try to relate it to the economy. Fewer Cubans migrating to America? It’s because of the recession. Lower divorce rate? The recession. People trying their hand at prostitution?…

Is Charlie Crist Indoctrinating Our Children With Bland Moderatism?

Normally politicians’ Twitters are horrendously boring things. Dan Gelber’s is no exception, except for about a minute ago when the state senator from Miami Beach and attorney general candidate roasted Charlie Crist, and in effect, RPOF chair Jim Greer.​​Crist visited Toussaint L’ouverture Elementary School today for a hurricane preparedness visit…

Miami, Again, Among 20 Worst Economically Performing Metro Areas

Florida dominates the list of 20 metropolitan areas still struggling to make an economic turnaround. Eight Florida areas make up the bottom rung of worst-performing cities in Brooking’s latest MetroMonitor Report. In addition to Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/Pompono Beach, Bradenton, Cape Coral, Jacksonville, Lakeland, Orlando, Palm Bay, and Tampa are also included in bottom…

Miami Is the 13th Best Place to Retire

Don’t get us wrong — Miami still attracts the olds by the tour bus full, but we’ve come a long way in distancing ourselves from our ’70s reputation as America’s retirement home. Then along comes Money magazine to list us as the 13th best place to retire in the nation. The problem…

Andre Balazs Exits Miami with Sale of the Raleigh

First the models began leaving South Beach, and now, almost predictably, so is painfully hip hotelier Andre Balazs. According to the Miami Herald, Balazs is set to sell the Raleigh, which the newspaper describes as “a favorite stop for celebrities and local hipsters.” The sale will take Balazs almost completely out of…

Miami Home Sales Continue to Surge in July as Prices Drop

Sales for single-family homes soared 64 percent in July in the Miami metropolitan area compared to the same numbers for July 2008. Meanwhile, sales for existing condos rose 48 percent over last year. The numbers continue a trend of home sales rising in each of the past 12 months, according…

July Unemployment Rate Stays Stable

Florida’s unemployment numbers for July are in, and things have stayed pretty much stable since June.  The state’s jobless rate is still at 10.7%, which represents 987,000 out of work Floridians. That’s still 4.4% higher than one year ago, and 1.3% higher than the national level.  Meanwhile Miami-Dade’s jobless rate also…

South Florida Is the 10th Richest Area in the Nation

The recession might have you feeling poor, but the Miami/Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area is still the 10th richest in the nation in terms of combined personal income. Buffalo Business First analyzed personal income for the top 72 markets in America based on salary, interest payments, dividends, rental income, and government checks, and South Florida…

Fun with Foreclosures: How to Get Screwed by Your Landlord

Something was funny about the landlord. A little too eager, maybe, but — for a pocketful of extra cash — aren’t we all these days? Renter Sandy Sanchez, a straight-talking 54-year-old, didn’t think much of it. She stood inside a spacious two-bedroom duplex on NE 112th Street last week and…

Miami Soars in Global Ranking of Most Expensive Cities

The annual Mercer’s cost of living survey “measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household good,s and entertainment,” according to its website. Your wallet will be happy to know that of the 143 cities measured, Miami barely cracks the top 50. Coming…

Creditors to Take Over Troubled Biscayne Landing Project

An email alert from North Miami Councilman Scott Galvin bears more bad news for a troubled residential and commercial development in his city.Galvin informs North Miami residents not to bother showing up for a town hall meeting scheduled for tonight to discuss what the heck is gonna happen with Biscayne…