In early 2014 all of Miami was horrified by the story of “D.J.”, a local 13-year-old runaway who was held against her will and forced into prostitution and exotic dancing at Club Madonna in South Beach. See also: Three Arrested in Miami-Dade for Forcing 13-Year-Old Into Prostitution, Stripping at Club…
Gov. Rick Scott’s first term honeymoon period was legendarily short before his approval ratings begin slipping to some of the worst in the nation, and it appears there’ll be no second honeymoon this time around. Despite reelecting him, a new poll finds that more Florida voters still disapprove of Scott’s…
A state Senate bill to legalize medical marijuana in Florida now has a companion in the House thanks to two Republican representatives. Reps. Greg Steube of Sarasota and John Wood of Winter Haven joined together to sponsor the legislation just a few weeks after Sen. Jeff Brandes, a St. Pete…
Raquel Regalado hasn’t actually declared she’s running for county mayor yet, but that hasn’t stopped her from funding a new poll that shows her chances of winning the job are “very, very positive,” the school board member tells New Times. The internal poll, commissioned by billionaire Regalado backer Norman Braman…
It’s no secret that County Commissioner Xavier Suarez is gearing up a campaign for mayor. Now, the former city mayor’s first real broadside at county hall is closer to heading to voters: a petition that would cap most county salaries at the same pay earned by Florida’s Supreme Court Justices,…
This year’s GOP primary is shaping up as a battle royal for Sunshine State conservatives’ two favorite sons. But that doesn’t mean Florida Republicans are evenly divided between Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio. In fact, Coral Gables’ favorite son trounces South Miami’s brightest political star in a new poll, with…
It’s 2015, and vaccination, a well-established medical practice for decades, is somehow the hot-button issue of the day. Though no prominent politician has come out as a hard-core anti-vaxxer, several Republicans, including Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, have had no problems pandering to that crowd…
For the past month, Gov. Rick Scott has weathered a growing firestorm over his removal of veteran FDLE chief Gerald Bailey. The scandal began with Bailey slamming the governor for claiming he’d left voluntarily, then deepened when Scott’s own cabinet members turned on the governor and demanded an independent investigation…
Despite winding up on different ends of the hip-hop spectrum, the lives of Jay Z and Pitbull have some major similarities. Both grew up in major cities and were raised by single mothers after their drug-addicted fathers abandoned their families. Both have admitted to selling drugs in their youth, and…
Update: The commission has unanimously passed the resolution. As David Beckham and his partners quietly line up their next site for a Major League Soccer stadium in Miami, the county commission is likely to throw its support today behind a temporary home field: Florida International University. The commission will vote…
Some South Florida massage therapists are dealing with a headache that no back rub will fix. That’s thanks to a new state law mandating that, by January 31, all licensed massage therapists in Florida submit to a criminal background check if they want to continue practicing. The law was designed…
The Miss Universe pageant may have given international exposure to the city of Doral (despite technically not being held there), but the back-and-forth between the city government and Donald Trump has certainly given local exposure to how odd local politics can be. Just a few weeks after publicly declaring that…
After a 41-year hiatus, the federal government is moving back into the Freedom Tower. At least on a part-time basis. The U.S. Department of State has reached an agreement with Miami Dade College, current owner of the iconic building in downtown Miami, to use portions of the tower as its…
Rick Scott unveiled his proposed budget today, and it contains $673 million in tax cuts at a time when the state is sitting on a $1 billion surplus. Interestingly, those cuts would most likely save the middle class some dough by lowering taxes on their cell phone and cable bills,…
The Spanish-language radio station La Poderosa (670 AM) broadcasts from a large, square concrete-and-glass building on SW 27th Avenue in Little Havana. The building’s cafeteria, Bocadito Express, is a poorly lit, one-room blue-collar spot on the ground floor where area workers drop in for cafecitos and medianoche sandwiches. Raquel Regalado…
Marco Rubio and around 300 of his biggest supporters and confidants entered the swanky Delano Hotel on South Beach today. By the time they leave tomorrow, they may have a better idea of whether Rubio will run for president. In fact, according to the Miami Herald, Rubio has already told…
The last time a hit-and-run driver killed a cyclist on the Rickenbacker Causeway, it sparked a new law in Tallahassee: the Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act, which toughened penalties against drivers who flee fatal accident scenes. This week, yet another cyclist is dead and another is seriously injured after an…
Rick Scott knows a thing or two about emergency damage control. This is the same executive, after all, who survived his company getting hit with the biggest Medicare fraud fine in history, escaping with a golden parachute and a path into politics. Last night, Scott showed his finest scandal-ducking form…
Another police controversy, another case of cop unaccountability. North Miami Beach officials apologized Tuesday for city police using mug shots of black men for target practice. In what seems to be a national trend, however, no cops were held accountable for the incident. “It’s real sad,” said Lisa Kelly, the…
Watching freshman Miami Rep. Carlos Curbelo deliver the Republican Spanish-language rebuttal to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, one could only wonder: Where the heck was Sen. Marco Rubio to hand his homeboy a tall drink of water? You might recall Rubio took a break from his response…
As Jeb Bush’s all-but-certain run to the White House ignites for liftoff, one of the biggest lingering questions is whether he’ll hit any serious turbulence over his decades of sometimes questionable financial dealings since leaving Tallahassee. Well, it didn’t take long for Bush’s first financially tied mini-scandal. Last week, Jeb…
The Miami-Dade Charter’s Citizens’ Bill of Rights prohibits local politicians from lying to the public under the “Trust in Government” clause. Yet the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust has never actually targeted an official for breaking that trust in government. Well, until now. Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez has…
