We weren’t all that familiar with U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns — a gray-haired motel magnate from Ocala — until Tuesday, when he tried to revive the long-exploded birther movement by questioning President Obama’s birth certificate at a town hall meeting. Well, that must have been one hell of a town…
The family that pays fines together, binds together, we guess.Both Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado and his daughter Raquel Regalado, a Miami-Dade School Board member, have been fined for sloppy bookkeeping during his 2009 campaign for office…
Did Obama coast to victory just because he had a deeper voice than John McCain? Did Alex Sink lose to Rick Scott in the Florida governor’s race because of her high-pitched southern twang? New research by a University of Miami political science professor suggests it may be part of the…
Remember when actual elected Republicans were all jumping aboard the birther train and openly questioning whether President Barack Obama was actually a natural-born U.S. citizen? Then the president presented his long-form birth certificate and that seemed to put an end to it? Well, apparently not for one Florida Republican congressman. …
Tonight, North Miami commissioners will vote on the future of the city’s most important asset — 193-acres of waterfront land that have been in limbo since the real estate bust killed the last development and a more recent idea — to let a business partner of Mayor Andre Pierre build…
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has a habit of reminding everyone just how very, very rich he is, and lately, just how very, very rich and powerful all of his friends are.About a month ago while discussing NASCAR, he mentioned how he was friends with several team owners. This morning,…
In an epic political fail for Senate Republicans, the Florida Supreme Court ruled this morning that recent redistricting efforts amount to illegal gerrymandering.”We conclude that the challengers have demonstrated that the Senate plan… violates the constitutional requirements,” Justice Barbara Pariente wrote in a 5-2 majority opinion. She argued that politicians…
Today is one of our least favorite times of the year: the final day of the Florida legislative session. It’s like the dying moments of a drunken high school party, when everyone makes hasty, poor decisions that they will come to regret. So, how have our duly elected representatives spent…
One would think that Democrats would have the advantage when it comes to correctly quoting Jay-Z lyrics. Apparently that’s not the case up in Tallahassee. Dean Cannon, the Republican Speaker of the House, corrected Democratic Rep. Alan B. Williams for misquoting a Jay-Z song today on the House floor…
Fresh off their devastatingly progressive move to legalize rabbit-dyeing, the Florida House passed another landmark law for human rights by banning, at last, state prisons from handcuffing pregnant women during live birth. Next on the agenda: Outlawing forced marathons for disabled veterans in jail and prohibiting wardens from pouring salt…
So, state Rep. Luis Garcia was the Democrat who was supposed to take on scandal plagued Rep. David Rivera in November. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, buzz emerged that former Miami-Dade mayor Alex Penelas, also a Dem, was mulling entering the race (he’s talking publicly about it now, but has…
Think about all those times you were set to dye your pet rabbits pink and blue because it would be hilarious and great, only to look up the Florida state statutes and realize, “No! Dyeing bunnies is illegal in Florida, dammit!” Those dark days, thank God, may soon be over.The…
Scandal-plagued freshman Rep. David Rivera is considered one of the most vulnerable Republican congressmen in the nation. Former Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas was once an ambitious politician who seemed to have a bright future, but was marred by his controversial role in the 2000 presidential election recount and a failed attempt…
A new poll, commissioned by Fox News Latino, suggests that whichever Republican candidate emerges as the presidential nominee has very little hope of capturing the Hispanic vote. Seventy-three percent of Latino voters say they approve of Obama’s job performance, and in head-to-head match ups, none of the GOP contenders gets more…
Republican State Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff represents Fort Lauderdale, but during this year’s legislative session she seems to be really intent on introducing bills that could forever alter Miami-Dade County. First she was behind the now-failed bid to legalize destination casinos in South Florida, and now she’s introduced an amendment to…
North Miami’s embattled mayor, Andre Pierre, has already survived enough scandals to knock five or six normal politicos off their perch — from the wacky (driving a luxury car gifted from a mysterious “friend”) to the sinister (accusations of wiretapping his enemies offices, corruption probes by prosecutors). So what’s another…
A new bill is working its way through the Florida senate which would slash the minimum hourly wage guaranteed to restaurant workers from $4.65 an hour to only $2.13 an hour. True, restaurants would still have to guarantee their workers at least $9.98 an hour with tips included, but several…
A bill that is meant to allow student-led prayers in school, a proposed law that could potentially lead to costly legal battles, is heading to Governor Rick Scott’s desk after being passed by the Florida legislature today. Though, the bill itself doesn’t mention the word “prayer,” and instead allows for “inspiration…
Rep. Richard Steinberg, a Democrat who represented Miami Beach in the state House, quickly resigned this week after it came to light that he was under investigation for anonymously texting a female assistant U.S. Attorney messages like, “Sexxxy mama?” That means his seat is now open, and its possible that…
Despite being one of the richest men in Florida, Governor Rick Scott pays just $360 a year for tax payer subsidized health insurance. That’s the same special rate paid by state legislators to cover their entire family. Legislators who only cover themselves pay just $180. Meanwhile, rank and file state workers…
A full month before the season kicks off, Mark Buehrle is close to taking his first loss in Miami. The new Marlins ace is celebrity spokesman number one for pit bulls and the activists trying to overturn Miami-Dade’s two-decade ban on the dog breed. Along with his wife, he’s vocally…
We’re not sure that you can get more embarrassing than the current state of the GOP primary, and we’re not the only ones who seem to think so. Even a still-anonymous top Republican senator seems to hope that a new candidate jumps in and take the nomination in a contested…
