Kiera Wilmot Is the New Trayvon Martin

In Bartow, Florida, public school and law enforcement officials are committing a horrible injustice against an exceptionally gifted African-American teenager. By all accounts, 16-year-old Kiera Wilmot is a model student. She has good grades and has a perfect behavior record. She’s not a kid who skips classes, fights her classmates…

Reader Mail: Kiera Wilmot Is a Victim of Racism

Sins of the Father Survivors: If the tale of Gloria Hampton and Bernisa Davis, the Miami sisters who survived years of abuse from their father after he killed their mother (“Memories of Murder,” Michael E. Miller, May 9), isn’t a survival story in it’s truest form, I don’t know what…

Six Best Moves to Win a Miami Bar Fight!

Bar fights: The result of way too much liquid courage combined with high levels of testosterone. Or, in some cases, cattiness. They usually happen near the end of the night when someone either gives you the “stank eye” or hits on your man (or woman) right in front of you…

Mugshots Friday: Stinko De Mayo

Every Friday, Riptide brings you the most eye-catching mugshots taken the previous week (or thereabouts) in Miami-Dade County. Yes, there is some mockery of bad neck tattoos, but also adulation directed at perps who just plain look more badass than we ever will. This is the italicized intro to that…

BET Bets Against Blacks

Last week, Cord Jefferson, a columnist for BET Network, wrote a response to my column “Free Condoms Now.” He claimed I was wasting time giving out prophylactics and educating black people about safe sex. “The fact of the matter is that African-American young people don’t necessarily need Uncle Luke to…

Reader Mail: Medicare Fraud Will Become America’s Biggest Scam

Fraud Central Canada is better: After reading your piece about Medicare fraud in the Sunshine State (“Thieves’ Bazaar,” Chris Parker, May 2), I have to say that Americans, especially in Florida, amaze those of us in Canada. I’m glad to see your problems with Cuban rip-off artists, because it’s the…

Which Loser Will Replace North Miami Mayor Andre Pierre?

It’s not gonna be easy to follow the dictatorial footsteps of North Miami Mayor Andre Pierre. Throughout his tenure as the city’s head cheese, Pierre had done just about everything to attract the kind of attention usually reserved for a small nation’s despot. His campaign manager was arrested for allegedly…

Martha Stewart on Match.com: Real Life = Great Comedy (Videos)

Martha Stewart has joined Match.com. The 71-year-old domestic diva is looking for love on the Internet dating site. While it’s great to think that Martha is actually looking for love, one has to wonder just how sincere the whole process is. While there really is a profile on Match.com (and…

Jeep Catches Fire at Miami-Dade Criminal Courthouse Lot

An otherwise mundane Monday afternoon at the Richard Gerstein Justice Building was interrupted by a fiery calamity. A maroon colored Jeep parked in the public lot underneath the State Road 836 overpass caught on fire, sending plumes of acrid black smoke onto the sidewalk and street facing the criminal court…

BET Columnist Cord Jefferson Can’t Hold Me Back

Uncle Luke, the man whose booty-shaking madness made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. Today, Luke responds to a BET columnist’s criticisms. Two days ago, Cord Jefferson, a young columnist for BET Networks looking to…

Mugshots Friday: The ’90s Called

Every Friday, Riptide brings you the most eye-catching mugshots taken the previous week (or thereabouts) in Miami-Dade County. Yes, there is some mockery of bad neck tattoos, but also adulation directed at perps who just plain look more badass than we ever will. This is the italicized intro to that…

EDM: Five More Annoying Buzzwords

Alright, ravers. Last time we here at Crossfade ran through our list of the five most annoying buzzwords, reactions were mixed. Some of you thought we were the most evil, hate-mongering, misinformed monsters to ever walk the Earth. Others gave us so many virtual high-fives that our e-hand is still…

Dena Marino’s Mercato Disappoints

The employee at Dena Marino’s Mercato was busy. He played on his iPhone, filled out his W-4 form, and stared diligently into open space. He did not want to be interrupted. So I left the Design District breakfast and lunch spot with a few unanswered questions. See also: – Dena…