While other states are legalizing medicinal marijuana and decriminalizing possession of small amounts of pot, Florida is going in the exact opposite direction. A bill that would ban the sale of pipes and bongs that could be used to smoke marijuana passed the state House yesterday with a lopsided 112-3…
Your mother is the person who is supposed to believe in you no matter what — the woman who says you can be anything you want to be. Of course, Barbara Bush has never been a woman who’s afraid to tell it like she sees it, and on Today this…
The only time you hear the word “Retard” anymore is on middle-school playgrounds, bro-centric Internet message boards and, apparently, if you overheard someone reading Florida’s state statutes. Phrases like “mental retardation,” “mental retard” and “retard” are used frequently in numerous state laws despite the fact the phrase is considered outdated…
It’s no secret that Miami Beach Commissioner Ed Tobin is tight with ex-Bal Harbour Police Chief Thomas Hunker. Tobin has known the cop since he was a kid, and in late 2011, the 50-year-old Tobin even enrolled in the Miami Beach Police Academy with Hunker’s encouragement.But did that relationship cross…
Here are a few things that are true about politics in Miami: People love to spread crazy rumors about their political opponents; some of our politicians do indeed have quite a few skeletons in their closest; some of them (though, thankfully not all) are incredibly good at covering things up.So,…
Sorry snow birds, the Florida Senate is mulling whether to pass a law that would directly target one of your worst driving habits. A part of a new bill would make driving slow in the left lane a ticketable offense, meaning going 50 in the left lane on the interstate…
The City of Miami has taken to federal court to undo a 15-year-old legal agreement that protected homeless people from undue arrest and harassment by the authorities. The city is concerned the homeless population is stunting downtown’s growth, and want the courts to alter a 1988 settlement that bars Miami…
Norman Braman told Miami politicians once they were making a mistake giving public money to a wealthy team owner, and now he’s speaking up again. Unlike his ultimately losing fight against the new Marlins Park, this time he’s pledging to kill any deal to renovate the Dolphins stadium with tax…
Yesterday, Riptide reported on Rick Falls, a Miami Beach code enforcement officer who claims he was retaliated against for wearing a wire for the F.B.I. One thing that remains unclear, however, is how Falls’s supervisors became aware of his involvement in the first place.The FBI was brought in to help…
As the county commission meets today to consider a proposed deal to renovate Sun Life Stadium, news comes that the NFL has decided to chip in $150 million of the estimated $480 million it would cost to Flip This House, leaving the county and the Dolphins with $350 million to cover…
Breaking news: People want Jeffrey Loria to sell the Marlins. So much so, in fact, that someone has started an official White House petition to pass legislation that would force Loria to sell the team and allow him to get right back to selling artwork full time…
Ever think about uploading that sex tape you made with your ex to the Internet? Well, you might want to think twice about it if you live in Florida, because victims of “revenge porn” soon may not have to take it, uh, lying down anymore. There’s a bill working its way…
North Miami mayoral candidate Anna Pierre needs your prayers because someone has opened a can of voodoo on her ass. On Easter Sunday, Pierre says, she discovered what appeared to be your typical “Voodoo Starter Kit” in front of her campaign headquarters’ doors. Over the past few months, this twisted…
Florida Senator Bill Nelson finally got around to supporting gay marriage last night by penning a brief, sort-of-uncomfortable editorial for The Tampa Bay Times. Don’t expect him to talk much more about it, though, because today he’s gone back to talking about one of his favorite subjects: space shit!Today he…
Forgive Bill Nelson for taking his time. After all, the issue of gay marriage had nothing to do with his preferred issues of space and snakes.Ever a moderate, Nelson had stuck to a low-key position supporting civil unions. Apparently the 70-year-old senator finally realized he was just one of seven…
Hope you like a long, drawn-out campaign, GOP faithful! Because three years out from choosing a nominee to run in the 2016 presidential race, Republican voters aren’t showing any inclination toward picking a favorite yet.Marco Rubio narrowly leads the field in a new Quinnipiac poll out this morning, but garners…
Lane Rees is a current Republican state committeeman, a former Walton County commissioner, the 2011 Walton County man of the year, a Jeb Bush appointee and a former board chair for the Foundation for Evangelism. He’s also now a suspected child pornographer. Rees, who is 61, was arrested yesterday on charges…
A bill that would create a statewide domestic partnership registry open to same-sex couples passed its first committee in the Florida Senate yesterday. Though the bill still has a long way to go, the vote was the first in the Florida Legislature that recognized rights for same-sex couples…
President Barack Obama was in Miami today to talk up one his favorite subjects: spending on infrastructure. Nothing particularly groundbreaking there.Though, you can bet the Chicago Bulls fan certainly had something to say about his team snapping the Heat’s epic win streak…
Perhaps the definitive moment of Rick Scott’s governorship was his decision to axe a federally funded high speed rail line in Florida, but that doesn’t mean he’s totally opposed to asking for federal handouts. In advance of Obama’s visit to the Port of Miami today, Scott blasted the administration and…
Ever wonder why over the past decade Florida’s elected officials seem to have become increasingly partisan? It might just be a general change in mood of politics across the nation. It might be gerrymandering that renders so many state legislative districts uncompetitive. Or it might be partly because, as former senators Bob…
The Miami-Dade Police Department is one of the few local law enforcement agencies in the nation that owns a drone. Though the department has never actually used the thing, legislation is making its way through the Florida Legislature that would limit its use…
