Ever wondered why some Miami city commissioners seem unusually polished — press releases at the ready, social media humming, messaging tighter than a campaign ad? Well, the taxpayers are paying for it. Public records show that Miami Commissioner Miguel Gabela has spent nearly $249,000 in taxpayer funds over the past several months on an outside […]
If there is one group absolutely thrilled with newly-appointed Miami-Dade County Commissioner Vicki Lopez these days, it’s the people who sell the product. The Miami Association of Realtors has named Lopez, a state rep for District 113 until November, its 2025 Housing Advocate of the Year, praising her for championing condominium reform, pushing accessory dwelling […]
At what point does a political disagreement stop being governance and start looking like, well, fixation? Because Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago just dragged his long-running feud with Commissioner Melissa Castro all the way to Tallahassee — and in doing so, may have revealed far more about his own political instincts and ethics than hers. […]
At this point, it’s no longer fair to say Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago is “unbothered” by Miami New Times. He’s just lying — again. The man is fully, publicly, enthusiastically bothered. Ladra might even say obsessed. Lago is so bothered, in fact, that after spending half an hour at a commission meeting ranting about […]
Florida ranks 47th in the country for affordable healthcare. And the group behind the long-simmering effort to put Medicaid expansion on the ballot is relaunching statewide signature collection this month — this time aiming for the 2028 ballot, after the Legislature moved the goalposts mid-game with a little thing called HB 1205. You remember HB […]
In a discussion thick with irony, Miami-Dade commissioners on Monday advanced legislation that would reshape the hiring rules for their own watchdog — while investigations touching the dais continue in the background. Commissioner Oliver Gilbert’s proposal to rewrite the hiring rules for the county’s inspector general — the very office tasked with probing corruption and […]
Haitians in the United States under Temporary Protected Status — including 90,000 to 100,000 right here in South Florida, the largest population of Haitians in the country — got an 11th hour reprieve late Monday when a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from canceling their TPS with just over 24 hours to spare. It’s […]
Protected wetlands are too important, she says Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava dropped a veto this week on the Kelly Tractor project — the same wetlands-eating, UDB-jumping development our esteemed county commissioners approved 9-2 just weeks ago, despite complaints from staff and advocates. Bold? Sure. Effective? Almost certainly not. Political? Now that’s the question. The […]
It’s a shady move for suspicious reasons There are few things Miami-Dade electeds love more than declaring their undying commitment to “transparency” — except, perhaps, quietly tinkering with the rules governing the people paid to investigate them. Case in point: County Commissioner Oliver Gilbert, who on Monday is bringing to the Policy Council a resolution […]
Miami didn’t need a State of the City address at the end of the month. Not technically. Not politically. Not theatrically. Outgoing Mayor Francis Suarez had already taken his victory lap — his last SOTC address — on January 15, neatly buttoned up, ribbon tied, legacy laminated. Under the city charter, this annual report must […]