The Cortadito Calendar for week of Jan. 23 — busy, busy

The Cortadito Calendar for week of Jan. 23 — busy, busy

It’s the last week of the first month of the new year — and there’s lots going on. From the megamall discussion at the Miami-Dade Commission to an upzone request in Doral to a town hall “brainstorming session” (read: campaign event) in Coral Gables — this is where and when we watch our government and […]

Commission term limits don’t really mean new faces

Commission term limits don’t really mean new faces

Municipal and state candidates wait in the wings If anyone ever made an argument for term limits, it was Miami-Dade Commissioner Esteban Bovo just last week when he was sworn in as the new chairman of the board and talked about actually making decisions in the next two years because, after all, this is his last term and […]

New Miami-Dade committee structure winners and losers

New Miami-Dade committee structure winners and losers

Miami-Dade Commission Chairman Esteban Bovo has named his new committee members, chairs and vice chairs and there are definitely signs that some of his colleagues are buds and some are, well, not. It’s natural to give chairmanships to those commissioners who voted for you as chairman of the board. That’s a longtime tradition and no […]

Carlos Gimenez, er, Stevie Bovo wins commission chair

Carlos Gimenez, er, Stevie Bovo wins commission chair

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez was elected the commission chairman Tuesday. Sure, the board chose Commissioner Esteban Bovo, Jr. over Xavier Suarez. But the victory belongs to the mayor, who now has a compliant chairman and control of the commission agenda. You could see the satisfaction on his face when the two embraced after the vote. […]

Tight race for commission chair: Xavier Suarez vs Stevie Bovo

Tight race for commission chair: Xavier Suarez vs Stevie Bovo

County Hall is abuzz with speculation about who will become the chair of the Miami-Dade Commission for the next two years. But the only thing that is certain right now is that it won’t be unanimous, like it was in 2014 when the commission showed a unified body behind today’s Chairman Jean Monestime. In a very […]

Busy county commission considers courthouse, cameras, gifts

Busy county commission considers courthouse, cameras, gifts

Ladra hopes Miami-Dade Commissioners packed a lunch and a snack for what looks like a marathon meeting Tuesday that brings back several controversial issues — including transgender rights, the $65 million consolation prize to Oderbrecht for taking away their Airport City hotel, body cameras for cops, the crumbling civil courthouse and millions of dollars in […]

Musical committee chairs is the power game at County Hall

Musical committee chairs is the power game at County Hall

The power at Miami-Dade County Hall is going to shift over the next few weeks as commissioners play musical chairs. Not only because they are expected on Monday to name the next chair, and all eyes are on Commissioner Jean Monestime for that. But also because in January, Monestime will dole out the committee leadership […]

Human rights transgender debate becomes bathroom joke

Human rights transgender debate becomes bathroom joke

Really? Really? Ladra’s jaw is still hurting from how hard it hit the floor when it dropped during Wednesday’s county committee consideration of an amendment to our human rights ordinance so that it includes transgendered people. You know, guys who like to look like girls and girls who like to look like guys. Not because […]

Daniella Levine Cava meets with commission mates

Daniella Levine Cava meets with commission mates

Freshly chosen Miami-Dade Commissioner-Elect Daniella Levine Cava seemingly can’t wait to get started. She’s not only been attending all the commission meetings since she was elected in a heated race against Vice Chair Lynda Bell Aug. 26, she has also been getting to know the district. On Tuesday, she went up into the sky in […]

Miami-Dade: ‘Trust us with $400 mil for new courthouse’

Miami-Dade: ‘Trust us with $400 mil for new courthouse’

Miami-Dade Commissioners on Wednesday approved a ballot question that would tax residents an additional $18 a year for a $200,000 home in order to build a new courthouse. Where? Don’t know. Who? Not a clue. How? No se sabe. There are absolutely zero details on any of the parameters of the new courthouse, except that […]