Before the New Year, Riptide reported that Miami-Dade Commissioner Sally Heyman had by far the worst meeting attendance record of any of her colleagues, missing 26 percent of the county’s 65 legislative sessions. Miami Shores resident Richard Mason writes in to defend his commish:…
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen made history yesterday by making the first (semi-) authorized Tweet from the House Chamber of the U.S. Congress. The Republican congresswoman, whose Twitter is usually full of rooting for local football teams, live Tweeted a picture of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi handing over the gavel to new…
This morning was the first morning in four years when Floridians woke up to someone other than Charlie Crist as our governor. Florida’s favorite flip-flopper passed up what would likely be an easy re-election for his doomed independent senate bid, and now he’s out of a job, out of a…
Natacha Seijas, perhaps Miami-Dade’s most infamous and reviled sitting commissioner, has filed a lawsuit in a desperate attempt to try and derail her recall election. Attorneys for Seijas claim they are challenging flaws in the signed petition sent to the Clerk of Courts, but Seijas is also likely trying to…
After a week of kind eulogies for Carlos Andres Perez — including our own arguing the world would be a better place if he could have just held off the coup-crazy Hugo Chavez — the post-death story of the ex-Venezuelan president is suddenly getting very messy.A Miami judge has ordered…
Rick Scott hasn’t even taken office yet, but perhaps one of his first orders of business should be to get people to like him. Despite winning the election, not very many people actually like Scott. Only a third of Floridians view him favorably while a plurality views him unfavorably. In…
Today the Miami-Dade County Commission was supposed to meet to set a date for the election to recall Mayor Carlos Alvarez. Problem was only six commissioners showed up, because Commissioners apparently find it OK to act like school skipping children. Which means the commission fell one short of a quorum,…
Well, the holidays survived yet another “war on Christmas” and no lives seemed to be lost or adversely effected by people saying “happy holidays” or other secular greetings instead of “Merry Christmas,” but up in Tallahassee the fight may carry on. In a last minute volley, state Senator Gary Siplin,…
Cracking down on pill mills was supposed to be one of the state government’s biggest triumphs of the year. New legislation taking aim at regulating “pain management” clinics that wantonly prescribe addictive pain medications went into effect in October, but the government has blown several deadlines for putting in place…
If the Miami-Dade County Commission was a third grade classroom — and in terms of maturity it often resembles one — Dennis Moss would get a gold star sticker on his sweater. Sally Heyman would flunk. This year, Heyman, who oversees the sprawling northeast corner of Miami-Dade, had by far…
Florida just elected two far-right politicians as its next Governor and Senator, and now Republicans have veto-proof majorities in both houses of the state legislature. So, Barack Obama can kiss his chances of repeating his 2008 Florida win in 2012 goodbye, right? Well, not according to a new survey by…
Miami voters are one big step closer to a vote on whether to strip County Mayor Carlos Alvarez of his office, as Clerk Harvin Ruvin officially certified billionaire car dealer Norman Braman’s recall effort this afternoon.Braman managed to collect more than 95,000 valid signatures in favor of the recall, Ruvin…
Inaugural parades are a time-honored American tradition, a treasured moment when fat corporate cats and scummy developers can make millions of dollars rain on a newly elected governor, all so he can throw a masturbatory party celebrating what a swell guy he is. So why is South Florida getting shut…
Even though they lost last night to the Mavs, the LeBron-ified Miami Heat are finally playing like juggernauts. And the team is profiting like one, too, from ticket and paraphernalia sales. In fact, the Micky Arison-owned wunderkinds expect to make more money this season than ever before. Do you think…
Last time around, presidential hopefuls of both parties came down to the University of Miami to participate in the nation’s first primary debates broadcast in Spanish. In 2012, the Republicans will return to Florida for a primary debate, but this one is being sponsored by a group called the “Tea…
Floridians sure didn’t let silly things like “ethics” get in their way of voting this year. Just ask Governor-elect Medicare Fraud. Despite evidence that David Rivera claimed employment for years as a state legislator from an organization that said they’d never employed him, he was easily elected to the U.S…
A federal judge today began hearing arguments in outgoing Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum’s lawsuit against the Federal Government, which alleges that forcing citizens to buy health insurance is unconstitutional. The trial is expected to be an in-depth, mature and scholarly proceeding… oh, wait, never mind. The judge is already…
In one of his last votes of his 18-year congressional career, retiring congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart was just one of 15 Republicans in the House to vote to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. He was joined in voting for the repeal by fellow Miami Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, perhaps…
While Frederica Wilson is up in D.C. preparing to be sworn into the U.S. Congress, her seat in the Florida Senate sits empty. Yesterday, outgoing Governor Charlie Crist announced that the primary election to replace Wilson will take place on February 8, while the general election will be March 1st,…
There’s already at least one online moment hoping to draft Marco Rubio to run for President in 2012. Those supporters might not be completely insane. An analysis by former ABC News journalist and media professional Brad Phillips rates Rubio the best communicator of all potential Republican candidates. He got an…
Former Arkansas Governor turned Fox News host (and now Florida resident) Mike Huckabee says he won’t run for President in 2012. Well, he won’t if former Florida Governor Jeb Bush decides to run. Huckebee came out of national obscurity to place second in the 2008 Republican Primary, and is widely…
Marco Rubio may now be DC’s newest studly senator, but back when he was a freshman at Miami Senior High School he was an “acne ridden boy with braces and knobby knees” who turned his stalking-like courting habits into a relationship with a nice young girl. Well, Rubio’s ex-sweetheart is…
