What else do you expect from a state that isn’t sure if gay sex meets the legal definition of sex and let beastiality remain technically legal until 2011? It’s been technically illegal in Florida since the late 1800s for unrelated and unmarried man and woman to cohabitate. In fact, it’s…
Back in 2013, Jeffrey A. Benjamin came in second place to Tomas Regalado in Miami’s mayoral race with 10 percent of the vote. You may remember that as the year when Regalado’s only real competition, Francis Suarez, abruptly dropped out of the race, leaving Regalado practically unchallenged. Still, Benjamin was…
Want to pick up a bag of baby carrots, a carton of Hefty bags, and a fifth of vodka all in one quick trip? Well, lawmakers are currently debating whether to allow grocery and drug stores to sell hard liquor alongside other wares. See also: Beer Growlers May Finally Be…
Marco Rubio swept into the Senate with more hype than any politician since, well, Barack Obama. The then-Tea Party wunderkind promised he wouldn’t let the hype go to his head and would concentrate on the job he was elected to do. So much for that. Turns out, of every single…
Photo by Omar Vega / Courtesy of Lauren’s Kids As she climbed the hill leading to Florida’s State Capitol last spring, Lauren Book broke from a walk into a run. The 29-year-old blond with a pink ribbon wrapped around her ponytail raised both arms in triumph and flashed a huge…
Florida politics is a chain of dominoes right now as everyone waits to see whether Sen. Marco Rubio will go forward with a run at the White House. Well, Politico reports that some insiders are saying South Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chair of the Democratic National Committee, might run…
For years, Republicans in certain circles have been salivating over the possibility of a Jeb Bush presidential campaign, except for one notable exception: Jeb’s own mother, Barbara Bush. America’s favorite blunt Republican matriarch has spent the better part of the past two years saying there’s already been enough Bushes in…
In early 2014 all of Miami was horrified by the story of “D.J.”, a local 13-year-old runaway who was held against her will and forced into prostitution and exotic dancing at Club Madonna in South Beach. See also: Three Arrested in Miami-Dade for Forcing 13-Year-Old Into Prostitution, Stripping at Club…
Gov. Rick Scott’s first term honeymoon period was legendarily short before his approval ratings begin slipping to some of the worst in the nation, and it appears there’ll be no second honeymoon this time around. Despite reelecting him, a new poll finds that more Florida voters still disapprove of Scott’s…
A state Senate bill to legalize medical marijuana in Florida now has a companion in the House thanks to two Republican representatives. Reps. Greg Steube of Sarasota and John Wood of Winter Haven joined together to sponsor the legislation just a few weeks after Sen. Jeff Brandes, a St. Pete…
Raquel Regalado hasn’t actually declared she’s running for county mayor yet, but that hasn’t stopped her from funding a new poll that shows her chances of winning the job are “very, very positive,” the school board member tells New Times. The internal poll, commissioned by billionaire Regalado backer Norman Braman…
It’s no secret that County Commissioner Xavier Suarez is gearing up a campaign for mayor. Now, the former city mayor’s first real broadside at county hall is closer to heading to voters: a petition that would cap most county salaries at the same pay earned by Florida’s Supreme Court Justices,…
This year’s GOP primary is shaping up as a battle royal for Sunshine State conservatives’ two favorite sons. But that doesn’t mean Florida Republicans are evenly divided between Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio. In fact, Coral Gables’ favorite son trounces South Miami’s brightest political star in a new poll, with…
It’s 2015, and vaccination, a well-established medical practice for decades, is somehow the hot-button issue of the day. Though no prominent politician has come out as a hard-core anti-vaxxer, several Republicans, including Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, have had no problems pandering to that crowd…
For the past month, Gov. Rick Scott has weathered a growing firestorm over his removal of veteran FDLE chief Gerald Bailey. The scandal began with Bailey slamming the governor for claiming he’d left voluntarily, then deepened when Scott’s own cabinet members turned on the governor and demanded an independent investigation…
Despite winding up on different ends of the hip-hop spectrum, the lives of Jay Z and Pitbull have some major similarities. Both grew up in major cities and were raised by single mothers after their drug-addicted fathers abandoned their families. Both have admitted to selling drugs in their youth, and…
Update: The commission has unanimously passed the resolution. As David Beckham and his partners quietly line up their next site for a Major League Soccer stadium in Miami, the county commission is likely to throw its support today behind a temporary home field: Florida International University. The commission will vote…
Some South Florida massage therapists are dealing with a headache that no back rub will fix. That’s thanks to a new state law mandating that, by January 31, all licensed massage therapists in Florida submit to a criminal background check if they want to continue practicing. The law was designed…
The Miss Universe pageant may have given international exposure to the city of Doral (despite technically not being held there), but the back-and-forth between the city government and Donald Trump has certainly given local exposure to how odd local politics can be. Just a few weeks after publicly declaring that…
After a 41-year hiatus, the federal government is moving back into the Freedom Tower. At least on a part-time basis. The U.S. Department of State has reached an agreement with Miami Dade College, current owner of the iconic building in downtown Miami, to use portions of the tower as its…
Rick Scott unveiled his proposed budget today, and it contains $673 million in tax cuts at a time when the state is sitting on a $1 billion surplus. Interestingly, those cuts would most likely save the middle class some dough by lowering taxes on their cell phone and cable bills,…
The Spanish-language radio station La Poderosa (670 AM) broadcasts from a large, square concrete-and-glass building on SW 27th Avenue in Little Havana. The building’s cafeteria, Bocadito Express, is a poorly lit, one-room blue-collar spot on the ground floor where area workers drop in for cafecitos and medianoche sandwiches. Raquel Regalado…
