After several cancellations, the foreclosed Little Havana house owned by Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla — you know, the one he supposedly doesn’t live in because it’s outside his district — has been set for auction in November.
Unless he gets another last minute reprieve. Again.
August 10th came and went and there were no campaign finance reports filed in Florida for state candidates. Or for county candidates. Or for city candidates.
Did anybody else notice this had happened?
The public will have six opportunities this week to hear details about the proposed $11 billion, 2023-24 Miami-Dade budget — which includes a proposed $36 annual garbage fee increase — beginning Wednesday in North Dade.
But will they have a chance to make any meaningful input? That is the real question. Are these just futile exercises for the sake of optics? To make it seem like a participatory process?
The breakfasts in South Miami have become a political staple. Gov. Ron DeSantis has been to the CasaCuba events hosted by Community News twice. Former Congressman Charlie Crist swung by last year. Miami-Dade Commission Vice Chairman Anthony Rodriguez was the last speaker.
They’ve had former Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas, former Miami Herald Publisher David Lawrence, who now leads The Children’s Trust, and new Miami Dade College President Madeline Pumariega.
The rate at which pets are being abandoned has grown and Miami-Dade Animal Services ran out of space at their spanking new, $15-million adoption center shelter in Doral. So, they are keeping some dogs and cats at the old shelter in Medley and animal advocates worry about horrible conditions.
After all, this is the worn out, grossly “sick” building, the “house of horrors” for both the animals and staff, that had to be replaced pronto.
Elected officials, you are now free to lobby again.
A U.S. district judge issued an order Wednesday that strikes down the state’s lobbying amendment, passed by voters in 2018, which bans any elected official from any kind of lobbying during their term of office and for six years after because, she said, it was an unconstitutional infringement on free speech.