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 […]
Miami’s first official Build-and-Flood™ pilot program is on. Last week, the Miami City Commission gave final approval to an ordinance that will establish a “resiliency infrastructure” slush fund and allow for double allowable density in Edgewater — from 150 to 300 units per acre. Same deal, same sponsor, same developer perfume lingering in the air. […]
New Mayor Eileen Higgins suggests taking a year away Like a bad ordinance in a file drawer, waiting for a new haircut and a better excuse, Miami Commissioners are once again pulling out the proposal to change the election calendar — the same idea that was laughed out of court when commissioners tried to give themselves […]
Turns out City Hall didn’t have the votes tied up with a bow Thursday for that $29 million Watson Island liquidation sale after all. So instead of losing outright, the Miami Commission did what Miami politicians do best: They punted. They punted so hard the can may have landed in Biscayne Bay. The highly-hyped vote to […]
Builders get a BOGO special and Miami gets… flooded Miami commissioners are set to vote Thursday on yet another Damian Pardo special. The Miami commissioners has proposed a shiny new ordinance that would let developers double the allowable density in some of the most flood-prone, overdeveloped corners of the city — as long as they […]
Miami City Hall is at it again, mismanaging public land like it’s a clearance rack at Ross. The city commission on Thursday will consider what looks like a fire sale on the south side of Watson Island, and the only ones getting a bargain are — surprise! — the developers. On the agenda for the […]
Commissioner Damian Pardo visits residents at home On a Sunday evening in Morningside —a quiet, tree-lined neighborhood of old Miami where decades-old live oaks and gumbo-limbo trees cast dappled shade and the hum of Biscayne Bay lingers on the breeze — a flyer showed up in mailboxes and on front doors, featuring what one letter […]
Old CRA director gets nearly $200K in exit package It must be nice to have friends in high places. Or maybe just the right commissioner on your side. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s chief of staff, Carlos I. Suarez — no relation, but definitely part of the mayor’s extended orbit — is about to float gently […]
Cancelled: The special Miami commission meeting Friday to put two questions on the November ballot — one to change the municipal election year and another to approve a new and improved Marine Stadium deal. Also cancelled: The November referendums on both those things. There was no quorum at the meeting Friday, said City Manager Art […]
After months of legal wrangling, appeals, and behind-the-scenes maneuvering, the City of Miami is finally giving up its harebrained scheme to cancel this year’s election. It only took the governor, the state’s attorney general, a district court judge, three appellate judges, twice, and a general distaste in the public for them to get the point. […]