Courthouse clean bill of health begs questions, investigation

Courthouse clean bill of health begs questions, investigation

Well, well, well. It appears that there is no huge, life-endangering emergency at the downtown Miami-Dade Civil Courthouse after all. You know… the health and safety hazards like mold and crumbling columns that lawyers and judges told us were killing them slowly day by day or quickly any day now. They lied. The county’s assessment […]

Mayor’s morning café with former aviation chief Jose Abreu

Mayor’s morning café with former aviation chief Jose Abreu

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez was spotted meeting with former Miami-Dade Aviation Director Jose Abreu and chauffuer-turned-lobbyist Rafael Garcia Toledo at Greenstreet in Coconut Grove Friday morning. At least that is how several people in the know, including the new aviation director, identified the folks in the photo. What was that coffee chat about? Inquiring minds […]

County budget director gets love, forgiveness for blunder

County budget director gets love, forgiveness for blunder

While she may have borne the wrath of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos “Cry Wolf” Gimenez, county Budget Director Jennifer Glazer Moon got a lot of love, understanding and forgiveness from the commission when they voted Thursday to approve the do-over budget. And she also got the fine imposed by the mayor lifted. County commissioners were forced […]

Pot calls kettle black in Tri-Rail bid protest by MCM’s Munilla

Pot calls kettle black in Tri-Rail bid protest by MCM’s Munilla

In a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black, Pedro Munilla of MCM has complained that another building company got the recommendation for a government contract because of an inside deal and political palanca — in other words, because of who they know. Yes, this is the same Munilla who is related, by […]

Teachers to sue Carlos Gimenez over lost, delayed tax dollars

Teachers to sue Carlos Gimenez over lost, delayed tax dollars

A group of teachers represented by United Teachers of Dade, which represents more than 35,000 educators and school employees in the fourth largest school district in the country, say that Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos “Cry Wolf” Gimenez has violated the state constitution and shortchanged students at Miami-Dade Public Schools. They plan to file a lawsuit Friday […]

Body cameras are swell — but put one on the mayor, too

Body cameras are swell — but put one on the mayor, too

The violence that erupted in Ferguson — as well as the police shooting that started it — has refueled the debate about body cameras on police officers, including in Miami-Dade, where the mayor and commission have set $1 million aside in this year’s tight budget to equip 500 county cops with video recorders worn on […]

Employee fines at Miami-Dade — a new revenue stream?

Employee fines at Miami-Dade — a new revenue stream?

Nobody thinks that the single, unimportant mathematical error made by the county when advertising the budget hearings on page 6B of the Miami Herald is that big a deal. To err is human. And while nobody expects that we should just immediately forgive and forget, either, the punishment should fit the crime for those who […]

Miami-Dade budget blunder could cost Carlos Gimenez

Miami-Dade budget blunder could cost Carlos Gimenez

Oooops. Ladra doesn’t know if it was the worst case scenario budget or the best case scenario budget, but the annual budget passed by the Miami-Dade Commission in September and under which the county has been operating for almost two months since Oct. 1 is invalid. So says the Florida Department of Revenue, which is […]

Yet another useless holiday message from Mayor Gimenez

Yet another useless holiday message from Mayor Gimenez

It happened again. Every time there is any kind of legal or recognized holiday, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos “Cry Wolf” Gimenez and most of the commissioners send out mass produced greetings and well wishes to the employees who have email. And it’s getting on their nerves. “One thing would be if it were authentic. But it’s […]

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