Silence in Liberty City We’re better than this: Thank you, Mr. Elfrink, for reminding the black community of the plague that has rooted itself in our once-proud neighborhood. However, I am responding to your article with the hope that blacks who were once enslaved by antisocial behavior and enjoy freedom…
“Don’t fight it, we gona feel it tonight, ya understand.” And with these words Sam Cooke launched into “Feel It” on what would become his “Live At The Harlem Square Club, 1963” album, though it wasn’t released until 1985, well after his death. Jerry Wexler, the man who coined the term “Rhythm and…
Bro, everyone is trying to be cool. And act all tough. And act like they don’t know me. How did this happen? When did people stop smiling? People have told me that the transition between childhood and adulthood is rough, harsh and loaded with disillusionment. Not the case for me,…
We alluded to the bubble in this column yesterday. Here is a list of many, maybe most, but certainly not all of the mid-to-high end restaurants that have opened over the past 6 months (actually, the majority are fairly expensive). We’re leaving out lower end ethnic joints, pizza places, and…
This past April 30, I wrote about North Miami mayoral candidate Frank Wolland calling out opponent Andre Pierre for supposedly refusing to answer questions about his 4.9 percent ownership interest in North Miami Housing Ltd. The partnership was established by the developers of Biscayne Landing, a controversial 193-acre residential and…
A few months ago, New Times editor Chuck Strouse admired Buk Fifty’s work above I-95. However, some people didn’t think it wasn’t as cool as Strouse made it out to seem. Personally, I take more a middle-of-the-road approach. Though defacing signs on I-95 ends up costing the taxpayers money to…
You Can Change The Spelling, But…The Z Ocean Hotel, formerly known as The Regent and home to Table 8 Restaurant, has opened Zushi Flirt — formerly Flirt Sushi, which went out of business rather quickly after opening at Washington Avenue and 12th Street three years ago. Owner Marko Radisic still…
What a roller coaster this swine flu, excuse me, H1N1 is: First someone jumped the gun on reporting the first case in Florida, a lady traveled through Miami carrying the virus, then 20 suspected cases in Miami-Dade were sent for testing. None of those came back positive, but two others…
The Miami Herald Death Page, also known as the Nutrition section, this past week paid homage to chemical-packed butter blends, pork rinds, and other foods that will just make you feel naturally good all over. The Supermarket Sleuth compared the relative deliciousness and nutrition of Smart Balance, Country Crock, and…
This week: Food and family.The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found. ~Calvin TrillinAs a child my family’s menu consisted of two choices: Take it or leave it. ~Buddy HackettYou can say…
This week, North Miami mayoral candidate Frank Wolland went on the offensive for the city’s upcoming May 12 municipal election by having a volunteer dress up in a chicken suit and tail opponent Andre Pierre at this past Tuesday’s city council meeting and at yesterday’s mayoral candidate forum.Wolland is calling…
He Didn’t Jump He was a mensch: Francisco Alvarado’s April 17 story, “The Dead Among Us,” got it wrong. Anyone who knew Brandon Ledford, the 20-year-old who “jumped” off the balcony, knows he loved life and would never have done this. Julianne Deland She Was One of Many Others deaths…
Local campaign strategist Michael Caputo likes to employ some fowl play in his election day tactics. In the mid-1990s, Caputo busted out his patent-pending tactic of using a man-in-a-chicken-suit-to-tail-opponents when he worked for Russian President Boris Yeltsin’s campaign. Back when he was spokesman for ex-School Board Member Frank Bolanos’ failed campaign…
Ah, thank Google Alerts for bringing this gem of South Florida music past to our inbox. The Sunset Strip story is one that has been told, but what of bands elsewhere in the country who were plying the same sound? One of these, it seems, was a band called Poser…
Florida International University got a new president this weekend: Chancellor Mark Rosenberg. And guess what? He’ll make a lot more than the last guy, Mitch Maidique. At $680,000 per year, he’ll garner in excess of what you or President Obama or the heads of many multinational corporations and foreign lands…
Remember a few weeks back when Flo Rida gave out his cell number during a CNN interview? His number is 305-528-2786. You’d have to be NASA to crack the code from this number to mine — or you’d have to be two adolescent fans of the head-spinning MC. Unknown texter (8:15 p.m.): Hey is…
The Fontainebleau has been back open for a few months, but some of us still haven’t been there. Well for those who doubt the venue’s historic legacy, watch this video. Elvis and Sinatra, same stage, Miami, Fontainebleau. Anybody reading this who’s been there lately, did you see anything this cool?…
On its corporate website, Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod boasts that its land use and zoning lawyers have “literally helped to reshape the skyline of our community.” No doubt the influential downtown Miami law firm knows how to persuade local government officials to allow developers to build, build, and build…
I’ve been driving around town listening to one song. Non-stop. And, if you know me, that’s pretty normal; usually the one song is one of my songs. This time the song is “Booty Shorts” by Basside. I swear, if anyone ever asks me what my favorite band is, the answer…
You can spot her at dawn — a rumpled remnant of a woman making the long, teetering trek down Michigan or Meridian or Collins. She sports raccoon eyes, lacks an earring, and walks in stilettos as if they were six-foot stilts. She emits an unidentifiable stench. Maybe it’s Doritos, cigarettes,…
To read past installments of Miami According to Brooklyn, click here. What I would like to talk about this week is the new anti-tethering law that passed Miami-Dade County in March. Here’s the ordinance exactly how it’s stated: it “bans tethering or chaining of a dog unless the owner is…
Religion in a courthouse? Sounds like the Taliban, right? Or maybe the Inquisition? Hell no, it’s just Miami — a part of America where we don’t seem to separate church and state. A new group, the Miami Catholic Lawyers Guild, is inviting the public to a mass Thursday by Miami…
