One of the odder recent sagas in local politics has come to an end. Michael Pizzi is now back in as the official Mayor of Miami Lakes after more than a year and a half absence. Wayne Slaton, the man who held the seat during Pizzi’s legal hiatus, announced today…
In the weeks since announcing his presidential run, Marco Rubio has seemingly been softening his stance on gay marriage. He told Face the Nation last week that he doesn’t believe being gay is a choice for most people and earlier told Fusion’s Jorge Ramos that yeah, he’d attend a gay…
Michael Pizzi is now one step closer to regaining his position as mayor Miami Lakes. A three judge panel of the The 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled today that Pizzi should legally be restored to the office. The town of Miami Lakes now has five days to appeal the decision…
For months, Miami Beach developer Michael Simkins has been buying up properties around Overtown, tearing down apartment buildings and — in some cases — sparking resident’s fury to the point that his construction equipment was set on fire earlier this year. But Simkins’ exact plans for those sites hasn’t been…
Early last week, Mayor Philip Levine dropped a bombshell on the city commission. “We all know what’s going on on Ocean Drive,” he said. “It’s turning into a Bourbon Street. It’s turning into a terrible place that’s become a blight, a cancer that spreads to our entire city.” Luckily, Levine…
Apparently Hillary Clinton won’t be able to count on the same support in Miami she had in 2008. Back then sitting Mayor of Miami Manny Diaz emerged as one of Clinton’s stronger supporters and local surrogates. He appeared with Hillary at numerous primary campaign stops across Florida. Clinton may seem…
Marco Rubio has apparently caught up to science, psychology and common sense this weekend, and bravely affirmed his belief that he doesn’t think someone’s sexual orientation is a choice. “Sexual preferences are a choice for the vast and enormous majority of people. In fact, the bottom line is, I believe…
Hillary Clinton was doing pretty good in Florida before she actually officially announced her race. Most polls showed her ahead of local boys and possible Republican opponents Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush, but in the week since Clinton announced her candidacy a day before Rubio’s her momentum hasn’t exactly swelled…
Ocean Drive could be about to see last call. At yesterday’s Miami Beach city commission meeting, mayor Philip Levine proposed banning outdoor alcohol sales throughout the city after 2 a.m — meaning no more late night $40 margarita bowls and $19 mixed drinks at bustling sidewalk restaurants or outdoor bars…
The staccato synths and back beat thundered through the Freedom Tower just after Marco Rubio wrapped up his big speech on Monday announcing that he’s joining the race for the White House. Staffers and supporters cheered and danced as the familiar lyrics blasted out: “We belong to something, we belong…
Senator Marco Rubio is running for President in 2016. He can not run for reelection to senate at the same time. Ergo that means that the Florida GOP has to find someone else to run for Senate. This should not be a problem. Politicians love to run for offices better…
For the past three years the Florida legislature have been grappling with the issue of beer growlers, 64 oz jugs commonly used to sell craft beer that are completely legal in 47 states but banned in Florida thanks to laws that date all the way back to the prohibition era…
It couldn’t have been much closer in Miami Shores. At yesterday’s village council election — which was tinged with county-wide significance because of the village’s recent high-profile spat over gay marriage rights — the top vote getter only beat the bottom by 143 votes: According to unofficial results, Alice Burch won…
Laura Collins didn’t used to have to worry so much about making ends meet. With a factory job at pencil maker Atlas Pen & Pencil Co., the $11.75 per hour she brought in was enough to cover basic essentials, like healthcare and car insurance payments. When Atlas’ Hollywood, Florida, facility…
Barack Obama announced today that he’s removing Cuba from the State Department’s official list of state sponsors of terrorism; an action that will go into effect in 45 days barring any congressional action. The move is seen a key step to fully restoring relations between Washington and Havana, with Cuba…
Outside Miami’s Freedom Tower on Monday, it was hard to hear Marco Rubio announce his aspirations to become president of the United States. In an overflow site where a Jumbotron was set up for those who didn’t make it inside the tower, a feisty group of pro-immigration activists upset by…
Marco Rubio is scheduled to speak at the Freedom Tower today, and news that he’s told donors he will run for President is already out of the bag. Comparisons to the current president have followed Rubio since he burst on to the national scene in 2010. He’s been dubbed “The…
From the moment he rode a Tea Party wave to topple the then-mighty Charlie Crist in a 2010 GOP Senate primary, Marco Rubio has always been the next big thing in waiting for conservatives. A campaign credit card scandal couldn’t slow him down. Neither could his ex-best buddy David Rivera’s…
George Zimmerman. Michael Dunn. Marissa Alexander. Curtis Reeves. To most Floridians, those names bring one thing to mind: our state’s troubled “Stand Your Ground” law, which has brought more legal headaches, bad press and miscarriages of justice to the Sunshine State than even Gov. Rick Scott could dream up. To…
Until five years ago Florida has the most draconian anti-gay adoption laws in the entire country. Even a single, celibate gay person was banned from adopting in the state. That law was struck down in 2010, but the Florida House is intent and brining back some homophobia to the state’s…
He was finally sent back. Yesterday Carlos Vides, the former Salvadoran general, war crimes perpetrator, and central Florida resident was deported to El Salvador after being held for weeks at an immigration detention center in Louisiana. For Vides’ thousands of Salvadoran victims, and for the lawyers and activists in the…
For more than three decades, Cuba has joined such nefarious characters as Iran, Sudan and Syria on the U.S. State Department’s list of countries that support terrorism abroad. Even as Havana has become a well-traveled international tourism hub sharing little in common with Tehran or Damascus, the designation has remained,…
