Frequent Flyer

Every so often, Riptide daydreams of traveling the world with Miami-Dade County Commissioner Natacha Seijas, serenading her with the sweet sounds of the toot flute in Peru. We also fantasize about not spending a dime to visit Machu Picchu and the like. While services are being whacked, she charges luxury…

Miami Book Fair: Novelist Ben Greenman

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Let the John Timoney Boot Party Commence!

Well, that didn’t take long. WSVN and the Miami Herald report John Timoney is hanging up his Miami Police uniform. He’ll be gone by the beginning of the new year. Esquire once dubbed him “America’s Best Cop.” Miami New Times crowned him the nation’s worst cop. But rest assured, Timoney will…

The Timoney Boot Party Countdown, Day 2

The morning breeze whips John Timoney’s rosy cheeks as he settles into his rowboat moored at the Miami Beach Rowing Club. He pushes off the dock and begins paddling up Indian Creek, soaking in the dry, mild November weather, pondering where his next gig will be.Maybe he’ll roll through Tomas…

Countdown Till John Timoney’s Boot Party

When John Timoney swooped into the Magic City six years ago, watching him play up to the local media was like seeing Robert Duvall play Lt. Colonel Bill Kilgore in Apocalypse Now. The sight of Timoney on his police bike taking out demonstrators during the 2003 Free Trade Area of…

Faceless Blogger “Strawbuyer” Irks Prosecutor Kostrzewski

An anonymous Miami blogger dubbed the Strawbuyer has made an enemy out of a veteran state prosecutor.Since debuting on the web this past July, the author — who writes with the acidic juvenile prose of a celebrity blogger — has attacked the work of Bill Kostrzewski, a Miami-Dade assistant state attorney…

Inspector General Gets Busy Cracking Down on Small-Time Rackets

This past Friday, Miami-Dade inspector general Christopher Mazzella announced his office had busted ex-schools police Sgt. Patricia Hobby stealing $2,841 in overtime she didn’t work.To avoid jail time, Hobby agreed to resign from the schools police force, complete 150 hours of community service, and repay the money she didn’t earn.But…

Kendrick Meek Should Be Worried About Dennis Stackhouse

Congressman Kendrick Meek better keep a close eye on what happens to Dennis Stackhouse, the Boston developer who’s been criminally charged on multiple counts of grand theft and organized scheme to defraud. Local law enforcement officials accuse Stackhouse of stealing $942,000 set aside to build a biopharmacutical park and create…

Isiah Thomas Promises A Scrappy Team For FIU Fans

Shortly before 7:30 p.m. last night, a sparse crowd gathered outside the entrance to the freshly renovated $5 million U.S. Century Bank Arena at Florida International University’s south campus.A bald man with a goatee wearing a navy blue FIU t-shirt talking to three other Golden Panthers fans relayed the latest…

Feds Dole Out $26 Million to City of Miami For Affordable Housing

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development sent affordable housing developers in Miami-Dade County an early Christmas present. This past October 16, HUD secretary Shaun Donovan announced 18 south Florida cities will receive $69 million for community development grants, homeowner assistance programs, emergency shelter grants, and housing for people…

Katharine Cue’s Challenger Sues to Get Her Off the Ballot

Daniel Bolaños, an ex-Hialeah cop who resigned  amid allegations he abused his badge, is suing the city, clerk Ralph Granado and Councilwoman Katharine Cue to get her name off the ballot. The son of former longtime Hialeah Police chief Rolando Bolaños Sr. is running against Cue in the November 3…

Shocker: Cubans Are Growing Pot All Over the State

Yesterday the Orlando Sentinel published a report that Cuban immigrants who have recently arrived in the United States represent a vast majority of people getting busted for operating marijuana grow houses across the state.The article comes two years after my story on the same subject, proving that law enforcement is…

Miami Beach Candidate Oddy Segui Has a Check-Cashing Problem

There’s just something odd about Oduardo “Oddy” Segui, a 40-year-old Cuban-American running against Miami Beach Commissioner Jerry Libbin.Not much has been written about the political newcomer. In an October 4 Miami Herald article, Segui informs reporter David Smiley that he owned a hotel in the Bahamas and a transportation company…

Intelligent Miamians Answer UN Leader’s Call to Action

Just when I think all is lost in this chaotic, transient subtropical paradise I call home, some of my homies give me hope. They’ve demonstrated that Miami-Dade does have people who care about the world around them and are willing to raise awareness about making the world a better, safer…

Hialeah Hanky-Panky

Did something improper go on in Hialeah’s budget office? Did budget director Alex Vega and senior internal auditor Ana Maria Gomez do more than just crunch numbers on city time? Well, whatever they were up to, it didn’t sit well with Vega’s wife Tania. This past April 6 around 12:30…