Mayco Villafaña is a decent man who has been communications director for Miami-Dade County for the past two and a half years. “Mayco always personified integrity and honesty when he worked for me,” says former County Manager Merrett Stierheim, who also worked with Villafaña for years at the Greater Miami…
Miscreant Miami A few bad cops, many good cops: I had to write after hearing that officers at the Miami Police Department’s north district substation felt demoralized because of Tristram Korten’s article “Under Suspicion” (March 1). I also write as a former Miami Police Department lieutenant and as a sergeant…
Orixa, the rock-reggae-ska band from San Francisco (not to be confused with the hip-hop-son outfit Orisha from Paris), is coming to Miami, and nothing can stop them. That much is clear after the group’s appearance at last month’s SXSW music conference in Austin, Texas. With Orixa’s photo on the back…
It’s not exactly a page out of the Vidal Sassoon hair-care manual, but it works. “Elmer’s glue,” explains Karl Michaels when asked for the secret to maintaining his spiky ‘do, an array of bright blue foot-high pointy cones. “I leave it in for four or five days, and it holds…
If You See Her Comin’, Better Step AsideHeaven help the fool who crosses Estrella Rubio: Jacob Bernstein’s story about Cuban political activist Estrella Rubio (“The Autumn of the Matriarch,” March 22) shocked me, in part because I met her just two weeks ago at a radio station. I saw this…
The flights from Houston to Austin are delayed by bad weather, and the concourse is packed with weary musicians. Against one wall, four leather-clad Japanese with identical shag haircuts stand amid a pile of guitars. “We are C-o-c-o-o-n P-i-t,” spells out Xiro, the lead singer. Communicating mainly in sign language,…
As the new county manager, Steve Shiver already has two strikes against him. Strike one: The 34-year-old former mayor of Homestead has neither the qualifications nor the experience to manage a four-billion-dollar enterprise as diverse and complicated as Miami-Dade County. Only his arrogance deludes him into believing he’s worthy of…
A Life at the RacesTake in Hialeah Park while you can: I had to write and congratulate Gaspar González and photographer Steve Satterwhite for the exceptional article and photo essay on what is still the most glorious racetrack in America: Hialeah Park (“The Last Pony Show,” March 8). I became…
Earlier this month state Rep. Frank Arza performed a modest act of heroism by walking into the New World School of the Arts and addressing an assembly of several hundred students and faculty. Everyone in the auditorium that day knew the legislature was recommending cutting the state’s allocation to the…
Chris Korge has been called a lot of things over the years, but here’s a new one: radio magnate. Last month Korge became president of Radio Partners, a group that owns Radio Uno (WKAT-AM 1360), a Spanish-language station catering primarily to Colombians. Korge and his partners bought the station in…
Notice: Miami Police Department Job FairApplications available in the warden’s office: Regarding Tristram Korten’s story “Under Suspicion” (March 1), I’m convinced that local police departments recruit their officers from various prisons. Sadly cops tempted by easy money is a problem everywhere. And inconceivably, cops are supposed to police themselves. Almost…
Flush with the guilty pleasure of purchasing The Very Best of the Human League, publicist Josh Norek was standing on a sidewalk in New York City wondering what Ark21, the quirky record label run by Sting’s former manager, Miles Copeland, was up to. Back in 1998 the same year the…
What do you call a Republican who is pro-choice, supports the National Rifle Association and gay rights, and believes in treatment over incarceration for juveniles but is considered to have one of the worst voting records in the state on environmental issues? In Miami we call him Gus. State Rep…
Baseball: It Won’t Fix DowntownWhich, by the way, used to be a very cool place: In response to Jim Mullin’s article “Out of the Park” (March 1), I want to point out that Biscayne Boulevard has stood its ground for what seems like forever. Any attempt to move it –…
He who holds the camera controls history, leaving viewers to peek around the corners, wondering what’s been left out and why. Fernando Trueba’s loving testament to Latin jazz, Calle 54, touches ground in Havana, New York, San Juan, Cádiz, and even Stockholm, mapping the travels of the masters of the…
Chances are good that downtown Miami will soon have a new baseball stadium. Don’t believe it? The only obstacle I can see is a reluctant state legislature, whose approval is required for crucial parts of the complex funding package put together by Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas and Marlins owner John…
When Bob Marley spoke of gathering the mythical Twelve Tribes of Israel for a final assault on Babylon, it’s doubtful he envisioned the 10,000-strong crowd that turned out February 17 for the eighth annual Bob Marley Caribbean Festival. Who’d a thunk so many of the Children of Jah would be,…
Marta: AYou’ll cover for me, right? I must commend Rebecca Wakefield for her poignant and succinct story about Marta Perez’s struggle to reform the Miami-Dade County Public School Board (“Rebel with a Cause,” February 15). Allow me to reinforce Wakefield’s report on Mrs. Perez’s commitment to students’ needs in this…
When emaciated guitarist Stuka nearly kicked over the sound system at Señor Frog’s the Monday before last and rescue vehicles arrived to break up a brawl, Miami Beach 2001 started to look a lot like Buenos Aires 1981. At the debut show of Argentine punks Los Violadores in the midst…
“You should start at the beginning …. Kierkegaard said, “Every duty is essentially duty to God.'” “Nigga be a leader, not a follower.” “What?” “Master P said that.” “You still listen to rap?” “Why?” “It’s just all about marketing now.” — Matt “Big Pussy, Jr.,” Bompensiero to Anthony Soprano, Jr.,…
I’m Just a Wisconsin CheeseheadWhat the heck would I know about Cuba? I need to start this letter with an apology. I’ve been meaning to write to you ever since I moved here last September. To say thank you. I appreciate what you do, and I’m happy you’re around, although…
Within political circles the buzz is almost deafening: “What’s wrong with Penelas?” “Has Miami-Dade’s boy-king lost his mind?” “Is the mayor off his medication or what?” All around town people are asking the same questions following a month in which every decision Alex Penelas made left even the most sophisticated…
