It’s not often you see Republican politicians filing bills to raise taxes, but that’s exactly what Rep. Fred Costello of Ormond Beach has done. He has introduced a bill that would add a 3 percent surtax to Florida’s sales tax. The bill also supports the idea of added taxes to…
After a thorough beatdown in the Iowa caucuses last night, Newt Gingrich turned this morning to Miami, announcing a new gala fundraiser at the Biltmore that he hopes will re-energize his presidential campaign. Too bad Newt can’t ring up legendary Miami arms merchant Sarkis Soghanalian, who died in October.Turns out Gingrich and…
If we showed up late or not at all for one of every three workdays, we’d be writing for the Winn-Dixie coupon book by next week. But Bruno Barreiro — one of the 13 Miami-Dade commissioners charged with keeping this rickety skiff of a county afloat — has somehow held…
2011 is over in 31 hours. It would be really nice, actually, if those last 31 hours weren’t your last on earth. (Remember, the world doesn’t end for another 12 months.) Of course, this is Miami, and New Year’s Eve can be quite dangerous. Frankly, Riptide really wants to make…
The story of the 2012 presidential primary seems to be one of surging candidates quickly falling down to earth, with one, Mitt Romney, remaining consistently stable. It’s beginning to look like Newt Gingrich might join Michelle Bachmann, Rick Perry, and Herman Cain as a discarded frontrunner. After taking an astronomic…
Lunch might be the favorite school subject of many children across the state, and a new bill filed by a Boca Raton Democrat would allow corporations to capitalize on that by letting them buy the naming rights to public school cafeterias…
Richard Nixon’s best friend was a sharp dressing and charming Cuban-American businessman named Bebe Rebozo. Rebozo lived alone for much of his life in a well-decorated Key Biscayne home (Nixon eventually moved next door), once worked as a flight attendant, enjoyed show tunes, and after an early marriage that was,…
Muckraking site OpenSecrets.org decided to throw some fire on the Occupy Movement this week by estimating the net worth of every single member of Congress, from mighty Darrell Issa with his $700 million to Florida pauper Alcee Hastings, who owes nearly $5 million in unpaid legal fees.Here in Miami, the…
About a month after the hazing-linked death of FAMU band member Robert Champion, Miami-area U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson has announced plans to introduce a bill that would clamp down on hazing on a federal level…
Earlier this year, the Republican-controlled Florida legislature passed an NRA-backed law that required all municipal governments to abolish their local gun control laws. Problem is, the state of Florida doesn’t exactly have that many gun control laws, so now licensed gun owners across the state are free to carry their…
The debate over whether Florida should allow destination casinos is certainly one of the biggest in the state. Yet Gov. Rick Scott has remained mostly silent on the issue. That’s not to say he doesn’t have some form of gambling of the mind. To fund a $1 billion increase in…
Thousands of Florida A&M students marched to the governor’s mansion last night after Rick Scott demanded the school suspend its president over a band member’s hazing death. Scott agreed to meet students out front and, oy, that might have been the wrong decision.The white guv bizarrely attempted to quell the…
So a St. Pete Times reporter decided to call up Sen. Jack Latvala, the Republican chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, and asked him about the possibility of the Florida legislature passing a ban on talking on cellphones while driving.”You know the NRA saying that if they want my gun…
There were a bit of murmurs earlier this month that certain powers that be within the Republican Party were so disenchanted with the current crop of presidential candidates they were throwing around the idea of persuading a big-name candidate to enter the race at the last minute. The biggest of…
If the American electorate was made up of straws, gold dealers, and that odd type of overly enthusiastic libertarian (who just happens to ignore the more socially progressive parts of being a true libertarian), Ron Paul would certainly be elected emperor for life. Of course, that’s not how American Democracy…
Out on the campaign trail, Republican presidential frontrunner Newt Gingrich hasn’t shown a ton of empathy toward the millions going through foreclosures. But maybe his new Florida campaign chief can change his tune with his own personal story of housing hell.Former Marco Rubio campaign chief Jose Mallea — who was…
All of us remember middle school gym class, some as the best part of the day, and some of us as a hellish daily ritual steeped in shame and failure. But now Republican state Rep. Larry Metz has introduced a bill that would no longer require all Florida middle school…
One of the perks in Congress is the right of “franking” — no, it has nothing to do with Barney Frank, tequila shots and a dark alley. It’s the ancient right to send constituents heaps of unwanted glossy fliers plastered with your grinning face at taxpayer expense. Franking is grossly…
Daily Show reporters aren’t that used to politicians outsmarting them, so kudos to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi for staying one step ahead of the political pranksters.After Daily Show correspondent Aasif Mandvi asked Gov. Rick Scott for a cup of his urine yesterday, Bondi must have been tipped off she’d be…
Rick Perry’s ridiculous anti-gay ad has started a political whirlwind that has resulted in the outing of Tony Fabrizio, a top Republican pollster who’s currently working for Perry, and in the past has worked for Gov. Rick Scott and, interestingly, gay rights groups.The revelation, or at least accusations, that Fabrizio…
The fight against the rise of destination casinos in South Florida just got two of its biggest supporters yet. Sitting Attorney General Pam Bondi and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, both elected Republican members of the cabinet, announced their support of the No Casino campaign today.The two join a bipartisan group…
So you’re in your friend’s passenger seat cruising down I4 when you spot some cows grazing on farmland. You ask your friend to pull over for a second so you can whip out your iPhone and take a quick snapshot of the majestic bovines. Seems innocent enough? Well, Republican state…
