Luther Campbell Makes His Case on Spanish-Language Radio

Yesterday, Luther Campbell went on Spanish-language radio to talk about his campaign for Miami-Dade County mayor. The Miami New Times columnist was a guest of Ricardo Brown and Lourdes Ubieta, who host the 12 to 3 p.m. slot on Actualidad 1020 AM.Campbell discussed his First Amendment tussle with former Broward…

Real Housewives’ Lea Black: Sarah Palin is a Circus Sideshow

You might not know it from the freak show that is Bravo’s Real Housewives of Miami, but star Lea Black is a pretty prominent figure in Florida’s Democratic party fund-raising machine. Along with her attorney husband Roy Black, she held the very first fund-raiser for then-candidate Barack Obama in Florida…

Amazing Grace’s Entities Is Gonna Give You a Good, Thrashy Jolt

Amazing Grace Entities (Self-released) myspace.com/amazinggraceofficial Amazing Grace is a band that I know more about through research and word-of-mouth than I do from personal interaction. Reputedly, these guys were the kings of South Florida’s punk rock scene in the sense that they pretty much nailed every groupie in town and…

What Will We Do Without Natacha Seijas?

Knowing that tomorrow will be Natacha Seijas’s last day as a county commissioner has us all queasy like a twelfth grader on the last day of school. It’s like Banana Republican is entering the unknown unknown, a surreal world without the poster lady for bad local government. Her departure had…

Michelle Spence-Jones Acquitted of Bribery Charge

UPDATE: Miami-Dade State Attorney Kath​erine Fernandez Rundle stands by her decision to prosecute Michelle Spence-Jones for bribery, claiming the judge presiding over the suspended Miami city commissioner’s trial screwed up the verdict’s outcome.”We disagree with the judge’s interpretation of bribery law,” Rundle said in a statement released shortly after a…

A Quick Guide to Betting on the 2011 Beatport Music Awards

Go ahead and call us degenerate gamblers. But we here at Crossfade are hardly alone in the belief that life is infinitely less boring when you’re betting on it. Whether the action is competitive vodka-guzzling, the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, or the arrival patterns of Miami-Dade County public transportation,…

Miami Dade College’s Police Academy Chief Has a Troubled History

In this week’s New Times, we profile Richard Moss, basic training director of Miami Dade College’s School of Justice, who has a troubled past. We investigate Moss, who was demoted from chief to commander when he was with the Broward Sherriff’s Office because of insubordination.The report also documents complaints filed against…

Miami Voice Celebrates the End of Natacha

Natacha Seijas was right to worry about her name appearing on the same recall ballot as Carlos Alvarez. She was swept up in the voter tsunami that also took out the now former county mayor. Many local political pundits didn’t give Miami Voice, the political action committee that sought Seijas’s…

Luther Campbell Calls for Special Election

Mayoral candidate and Miami New Times columnist Luther Campbell wants to get it on. At the ballot box. Not the champagne room. Now that voters have shown Carlos Alvarez the exit door, the onetime raunchiest man in hip-hop is calling on the county commission to set a date for another…

Michael Pizzi Gloats at Natacha Seijas’ Pending Demise

The Miami-Dade Elections Department is reporting that initial absentee ballots show an overwhelming majority of those voters want Carlos Alvarez and Natacha Seijas out of here. ​Early voting numbers and today’s election day results are still pending. Earlier this afternoon, like the rest of the precincts in Miami-Dade County, voting…

Why I Pay $14 for Rosa Mexicano’s Guacamole

When I was a student at New York University, my boyfriend and I used to eat cheap Mexican food practically every day. At Panchito’s on MacDougal Street, you could get a giant platter of nachos and guacamole for about $6. Plus the place served alcohol to minors without batting an…

Five Crap Pop Hits Worse Than Rebecca Black’s “Friday”

Six million of you have already endured it. Gawker asked if it was “the worst music video ever.” Meanwhile, foreign press like The Sydney Morning Herald wonders why it has overtaken the Japanese earthquake and tsunami devastation on Twitter.Of course, we’re talking about the gone-viral-for-all-the-wrong-reasons video of unknown Rebecca Black’s…

New Career Options For Carlos Alvarez and Natacha Seijas

Today is it for Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez and County Commissioner Natacha Seijas, who are on the verge of becoming the first county elected officials to get recalled since the ’70s. An official poll and our informal poll show the two politicians are going down for the count, victims of…

No Clemency For Felons Means Southern Racism Is Back

Uncle Luke, the man whose booty-shaking madness once made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. This week, Luke explains why Rick Scott is helping the criminal justice system keep African-Americans down. Last week, Florida Gov…

Ecstasy! Mace! And More! Crossfade’s Ultra Music Festival Survival Kit

There’s this shared fantasy among neo-hippies, blissed-out druggies, and naïve first-time festival-goers that three-day music extravaganzas like Ultra Music Festival are all about fun and friendship. But here’s the real deal: The music festival experience is an arduous and often dangerous 72-hour trip into a deep, dance-y heart of darkness…

Why Emeril’s Refuses to Serve New Orleans Cuisine

“This is a Miami restaurant,” Emeril’s Miami Beach’s new executive chef, Tim Doolittle, said to Clean Plate Charlie. It was by way of explaining why Emeril’s, named after New Orleans’ most recognized chef, doesn’t serve much in the way of food from that city. “It’s owned by a guy who became famous…

Mayoral Hopeful Uncle Luke Says Vote Yes To The Recall

Uncle Luke, the man whose booty-shaking madness once made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. In this special online edition, Luke encourages Miami-Dade residents to exercise your right to vote the bums out of office.People…