Even #GeorgeCarlin can relate to “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” 💣🎰🎤| Hear the full story in episode 1 with/ @billycorben out now! #bigyikespod #podcast #comedy #standup #billycorben #becausemiami #miami #comedians #brittanybrave #bombing #interview
“We cannot afford it”: Miami-Dade interim Solid Waste director demoted after calling out @MayorDLC and @CommishArod’s overpriced real estate scam to pay $205 million (plus $64 million in renovations) to buy a 50-year-old 75% vacant office building appraised at an “ACTUAL MARKET VALUE” of $110 million #BecauseMiami Last December, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Commissioner Anthony Rodriguez planned to force through a terrible proposal to open a West Dade Government Center at an old FPL complex “without committee review or the detailed look at long-term costs the administration had planned to give county commissioners.” But days before, they got called out by the press, and suddenly backpedaled — embarrassingly announcing that she would renegotiate a deal that she already endorsed! The building last sold in 2014 for $57 million. Cava’s administration of land hustlers now says the $205 million price from December has been negotiated down 11% to $182 million — still over $70 million above market value according to two county-commissioned “independent appraisals.” “The cost is too high, and we cannot afford it,” then-interim Solid Waste Director Olga Espinosa-Anderson wrote in an Oct. 16 email to Alex Muñoz, the department director overseeing real estate deals for Cava, concerned that her agency’s rent would double. According to the Miami Herald, they pay about $1.3 million in rent at a county complex by the MLK Metrorail station, but Cava’s plan would cost them $2.8 million a year. Espinosa-Anderson wanted to “rent cheaper space off Florida’s Turnpike at a commercial complex called Flagler Station” that would charge about $400,000 less per year than Cava’s proposed government center. “In March, Cava went outside county government to hire a new director, longtime municipal administrator Aneisha Daniel, who had previously worked as an assistant director in Solid Waste,” demoting Espinosa-Anderson back to her former position of deputy director.
“We cannot afford it”: Miami-Dade interim Solid Waste director demoted after calling out @MayorDLC and @CommishArod’s overpriced real estate scam to pay $205 million (plus $64 million in renovations) to buy a 50-year-old 75% vacant office building appraised at an “ACTUAL MARKET VALUE” of $110 million #BecauseMiami Last December, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Commissioner Anthony Rodriguez planned to force through a terrible proposal to open a West Dade Government Center at an old FPL complex “without committee review or the detailed look at long-term costs the administration had planned to give county commissioners.” But days before, they got called out by the press, and suddenly backpedaled — embarrassingly announcing that she would renegotiate a deal that she already endorsed! The building last sold in 2014 for $57 million. Cava’s administration of land hustlers now says the $205 million price from December has been negotiated down 11% to $182 million — still over $70 million above market value according to two county-commissioned “independent appraisals.” “The cost is too high, and we cannot afford it,” then-interim Solid Waste Director Olga Espinosa-Anderson wrote in an Oct. 16 email to Alex Muñoz, the department director overseeing real estate deals for Cava, concerned that her agency’s rent would double. According to the Miami Herald, they pay about $1.3 million in rent at a county complex by the MLK Metrorail station, but Cava’s plan would cost them $2.8 million a year. Espinosa-Anderson wanted to “rent cheaper space off Florida’s Turnpike at a commercial complex called Flagler Station” that would charge about $400,000 less per year than Cava’s proposed government center. “In March, Cava went outside county government to hire a new director, longtime municipal administrator Aneisha Daniel, who had previously worked as an assistant director in Solid Waste,” demoting Espinosa-Anderson back to her former position of deputy director.
New documents reveal Miami Mayor Ponzi Postalita Francis Suarez was secretly paid at least $200,000 — more than previously known — to exploit his public office for private profit by scandal plagued developer Rishi Kapoor, and the mayor was recently subpoenaed by the SEC in fraud case against Kapoor #BecauseMiami The secret $10,000 a month gig is just one of 15 side hustles, riddled with conflicts of interest, for the part-time mayor who gets $130,000 from the city — plus $1 million in security theater that takes police off the street to attend parties and fundraisers. Suarez’s net worth exploded from NEGATIVE $100,000 when elected city commissioner in 2009 to $4 million today. Since elected mayor in 2017, he has QUINTUPLED his wealth — DOUBLING it each year for the last two years. Last year, Kapoor’s world crumbled into foreclosures, fraud allegations, and investigations by the FBI, SEC and IRS. His shady dealings are connected to at least three local mayors: Suarez, @MayorVinceLago of Coral Gables, and @MayorBovo of Hialeah. Miami Herald: Kapoor hired Suarez in July 2021 to help push legislation beneficial to a $70 million Coconut Grove project. The next month, the two had a secret meeting at the Cocoplum Yacht Club on Kapoor’s yacht “in which Suarez spent two hours with Kapoor in what appears to be his mayoral capacity at a time he was also on the developer’s payroll… The details of Suarez’s contract, and in particular its start date, are more broadly relevant as Miami-Dade County ethics officials, state prosecutors and federal authorities, including the FBI, investigate whether the mayor misused his public office for private gain.” According to records, Kapoor met with Suarez and city manager @artnoriega to discuss a zoning hurdle that, without a waiver, would have required an expensive redesign. Later, with the help of the mayor’s office, Miami Zoning Director Daniel Goldberg changed his position on the matter, saving Kapoor millions of dollars.
#BREAKING: “Miami’s most corrupt cop” Captain Javier Ortiz — who has over 50 citizen complaints, 20 use-of-force incidents, three suspensions, a termination, cost taxpayers over $600,000 in brutality lawsuits, got promoted after falsely claiming he’s Black on a 2014 lieutenant’s exam and 2017 captain’s application (his original @mpdpolice paperwork said he’s white Hispanic), and the FBI and FDLE found “engaged in a pattern of abuse and bias against minorities, particularly African-Americans” — just joined Ron DeSantis’ paramilitary force “Florida State Guard” #BecauseMiami Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle @saomiami, the county’s top cop for 31 years, has had ample opportunities to charge Ortiz over his 20 year career, but has done nothing, even when he’s caught on video committing alleged batteries, false arrests and lying in police reports to cover it up. Ortiz was terminated in September 2022, then rehired by city manager @ArtNoriega and disgraced fired city attorney “Tricky” Vicky Mendez in a May 2023 settlement — with “all backpay” and benefits on his (CORRECTION) $155,004.96 salary — to work the night shift from home while also able to “work outside employment” (he can get a second job while he’s supposed to be working for taxpayers!), and will retire on November 7, 2025 with full public pension. #BecauseMiami
#BREAKING: “Miami’s most corrupt cop” Captain Javier Ortiz — who has over 50 citizen complaints, 20 use-of-force incidents, three suspensions, a termination, cost taxpayers over $600,000 in brutality lawsuits, got promoted after falsely claiming he’s Black on a 2014 lieutenant’s exam and 2017 captain’s application (his original @mpdpolice paperwork said he’s white Hispanic), and the FBI and FDLE found “engaged in a pattern of abuse and bias against minorities, particularly African-Americans” — just joined Ron DeSantis’ paramilitary force “Florida State Guard” #BecauseMiami Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle @saomiami, the county’s top cop for 31 years, has had ample opportunities to charge Ortiz over his 20 year career, but has done nothing, even when he’s caught on video committing alleged batteries, false arrests and lying in police reports to cover it up. Ortiz was terminated in September 2022, then rehired by city manager @ArtNoriega and disgraced fired city attorney “Tricky” Vicky Mendez in a May 2023 settlement — with “all backpay” and benefits on his (CORRECTION) $155,004.96 salary — to work the night shift from home while also able to “work outside employment” (he can get a second job while he’s supposed to be working for taxpayers!), and will retire on November 7, 2025 with full public pension. #BecauseMiami
#BREAKING: “Miami’s most corrupt cop” Captain Javier Ortiz — who has over 50 citizen complaints, 20 use-of-force incidents, three suspensions, a termination, cost taxpayers over $600,000 in brutality lawsuits, got promoted after falsely claiming he’s Black on a 2014 lieutenant’s exam and 2017 captain’s application (his original @mpdpolice paperwork said he’s white Hispanic), and the FBI and FDLE found “engaged in a pattern of abuse and bias against minorities, particularly African-Americans” — just joined Ron DeSantis’ paramilitary force “Florida State Guard” #BecauseMiami Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle @saomiami, the county’s top cop for 31 years, has had ample opportunities to charge Ortiz over his 20 year career, but has done nothing, even when he’s caught on video committing alleged batteries, false arrests and lying in police reports to cover it up. Ortiz was terminated in September 2022, then rehired by city manager @ArtNoriega and disgraced fired city attorney “Tricky” Vicky Mendez in a May 2023 settlement — with “all backpay” and benefits on his (CORRECTION) $155,004.96 salary — to work the night shift from home while also able to “work outside employment” (he can get a second job while he’s supposed to be working for taxpayers!), and will retire on November 7, 2025 with full public pension. #BecauseMiami
Taxpayer subsidized foreign owned private company @GoBrightline announces 251% increase on ticket packages for frequent commuters — from $399 to $1,400 — starting June 1st #BecauseMiami #BecauseFlorida Currently commuters buy 40 one-way tickets to all destinations between West Palm Beach and Miami for $399. Starting June 1, Brightline will offer packages of just 10 tickets, and are offering the first 10 for free. But after that, the 40 tickets will cost commuters $1,400— a 251% increase, according to WPTV. Brightline has the dubious distinction of being the deadliest train per mile in the U.S. In 2023, Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Capital in the United Arab Emirates acquired 90.01% of Brightline’s parent company Fortress Investment Group. Brightline came to be after then-Florida Governor Rick Scott, declined $2.4 BILLION in federal grants from the Obama administration in 2011 to build high-speed rail between Orlando and Tampa. Scott then invested over $3 million in Fortress which started Brightline, “the [self-proclaimed] only privately owned, operated and maintained passenger rail system in the United States,” first to run between Miami and Palm Beach, and later made an unsolicited proposal for rail service between Orlando and Tampa. State and local taxpayers in Florida have spent HUNDREDS of MILLIONS of public dollars subsidizing the overpriced death train, in some cases paying outright to build train stations. Miami-Dade taxpayers, for example, committed $75 million just on Brightline’s Aventura station.
#BecauseMiami (Gardens)
We shot this Shark Bites fruit snacks commercial at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne circa 1990 (I’m the kid on the left) #fbf #BecauseMiami P.S. I swear it was baking powder!
Florida appeals court overturns jury conviction against Miami-Dade PD Officer Alejandro Giraldo for battery and official misconduct after he violently falsely arrested Dyma Loving, 26, a crime victim who called 911 when a white neighbor called her a “hooker,” pointed shotgun at her, and yelled “I’m gonna shoot you in the f*cking head” — then Giraldo lied in his police report to cover it up #BecauseMiami The three-judge 3rd District Court of Appeal in Miami ruled the state’s argument that Giraldo falsified the arrest form was “subjective.” Since intent could not be proven, the court said the battery charge would also be dismissed. “… the State attempts to criminalize a whole new category of statements relying on subjective opinions and perceptions, as opposed to objective falsehoods. Because Giraldo’s subjective interpretation wasn’t clearly refuted by objective facts, it didn’t—and couldn’t—rise to the level of intentional falsification…” Giraldo was sentenced to 364 days in jail and 18 months probation, but only spent part of the day he was convicted in jail. He’s been released on bond pending appeal ever since. According to the Miami Herald: “Giraldo, a Field Training Officer before his termination, is expected to move to reclaim his job and seek back pay for salary and benefits that could be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. If he chose to return, Giraldo would also have to apply for re-certification as a police officer from the state, which was stripped from him after his conviction. And he’s expected to try and reclaim his pension, which he also lost.”
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle’s 31-year failure to prosecute substantive corruption cases is the reason this town is so broken. She either willfully ignores flagrant crimes committed by public officials or is forced (repeatedly!) to recuse herself from the investigations because she is DIRECTLY CONNECTED to the corrupt targets. She has never charged a law enforcement officer for an on-duty killing during her entire tenure, and is currently engulfed in a misconduct scandal after her veteran prosecutors were disqualified by a judge from a death penalty case for alleged witness tampering, obstruction of justice, and plotting to murder a witness on tape. “The prosecutors in this case have lost sight of their responsibility, and justice demands their disqualification,” Judge Andrea Wolfson wrote, citing “over 20 years of allegations of misconduct.” And now Rundle has been automatically re-elected to a 7th consecutive term because nobody filed to run against her. And #BecauseMiami.
Nextdoor is wild #BecauseMiami
The Sunshine State sits second-to-last in national rankings of all 50 states and the District of Columbia this year, according to a new report released by the National Education Association. According to the NEA, a labor union representing over 3 million educators and school staff in the United States, Florida’s average teacher salary of $53,098 is the lowest in the entire country, behind only West Virginia, where average pay is $52,870. Florida was ranked No. 48 in the nation last year, and is ranked No. 50 this year. Nationwide, the NEA’s new report shows that the annual teacher salary actually increased 4.1 percent, reaching $69,544. — via Orlando Weekly
“It’s a travesty.” Florida’s 6-week abortion ban can destroy the quality of healthcare in our state. Florida is not a safe place for people to build healthy families. Doctors cannot safely practice under their oath to “do no harm” without fear of losing their livelihoods or freedom. We will suffer a brain drain of quality medical professionals making Florida less safe for everyone.
Florida’s 6-week abortion ban goes into effect today. “I wasn’t asking for an abortion. I was asking for healthcare.” Anya and Derick Cook didn’t want an abortion. They wanted a daughter. When Anya’s water broke at 16 weeks and a Florida ER doctor, scared to lose his license or go to jail, sent her home to die. 12 hours later, her baby, who she planned to name Bunny, was stillborn in a toilet and Anya lost half the blood in her body — and nearly her own life…
#RIP Workday with Florida legend Bob Graham on set of an unreleased @rakontur joint.
#RIP Workday with Florida legend Bob Graham on set of an unreleased @rakontur joint.
MAY DAY: Florida’s 6 week abortion ban goes into effect today. Deborah Dorbert and her husband Lee never wanted an abortion. They wanted a son. Deborah was an excited expectant mother until her baby was diagnosed with a deadly abnormality, Potter Syndrome, and doctors told her he would live, at most, for just a few hours. Then, because of Florida law, they forced her to carry the pregnancy to term, in unfathomable physical and psychological pain, and risking her ability to ever have a healthy baby again. Milo Evan Dorbert was born on March 3rd, 2023 without kidneys and underdeveloped lungs, and spent 94 agonizing minutes struggling to breathe before dying in Deborah’s arms. #RIP
WE’RE #1: Miami is the RISKIEST place in the U.S. to start a small business due to high operational costs, economic instability, and a volatile labor market #BecauseMiami (Also due to the fact that the City of Miami is a criminal racketeering enterprise masquerading as a municipal government. You’d be crazy to move, invest and/or open a business here under the current regime. Just watch ONE commission meeting.) According to the newly released Forbes Advisor report, Florida is home to the ENTIRE TOP THREE worst places to open a small business: 1. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach Metro Area, 2. Jacksonville, and 3. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater!
WE’RE #1: Miami is the RISKIEST place in the U.S. to start a small business due to high operational costs, economic instability, and a volatile labor market #BecauseMiami (Also due to the fact that the City of Miami is a criminal racketeering enterprise masquerading as a municipal government. You’d be crazy to move, invest and/or open a business here under the current regime. Just watch ONE commission meeting.) According to the newly released Forbes Advisor report, Florida is home to the ENTIRE TOP THREE worst places to open a small business: 1. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach Metro Area, 2. Jacksonville, and 3. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater!
WE’RE #1: Miami is the RISKIEST place in the U.S. to start a small business due to high operational costs, economic instability, and a volatile labor market #BecauseMiami (Also due to the fact that the City of Miami is a criminal racketeering enterprise masquerading as a municipal government. You’d be crazy to move, invest and/or open a business here under the current regime. Just watch ONE commission meeting.) According to the newly released Forbes Advisor report, Florida is home to the ENTIRE TOP THREE worst places to open a small business: 1. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach Metro Area, 2. Jacksonville, and 3. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater!
WE’RE #1: Miami is the RISKIEST place in the U.S. to start a small business due to high operational costs, economic instability, and a volatile labor market #BecauseMiami (Also due to the fact that the City of Miami is a criminal racketeering enterprise masquerading as a municipal government. You’d be crazy to move, invest and/or open a business here under the current regime. Just watch ONE commission meeting.) According to the newly released Forbes Advisor report, Florida is home to the ENTIRE TOP THREE worst places to open a small business: 1. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach Metro Area, 2. Jacksonville, and 3. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater!
WE’RE #1: Miami is the RISKIEST place in the U.S. to start a small business due to high operational costs, economic instability, and a volatile labor market #BecauseMiami (Also due to the fact that the City of Miami is a criminal racketeering enterprise masquerading as a municipal government. You’d be crazy to move, invest and/or open a business here under the current regime. Just watch ONE commission meeting.) According to the newly released Forbes Advisor report, Florida is home to the ENTIRE TOP THREE worst places to open a small business: 1. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach Metro Area, 2. Jacksonville, and 3. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater!
