This is a new feature that debuts today on Political Cortadito.

The Cortadito Calendar: A weekly calendar of political powwows, events with electeds and meaningful or not so meaningful meetings.

Now you know what’s going on. You have no excuses.

MONDAY — Dec. 5

7 p.m. — The New Administration and Prospects For Peace present New York Times columnist Roger Cohen and a discussion about what the elections results will mean for efforts to reach peace in the Middle East. Cohen, a staple at the NYT for 25 years is also the author of four books. The latest, published last year, is a family memoir entitled “The Girl from Human Street: Ghosts of Memory in a Jewish Family” that has received wide acclaim. The event begins at 7 p.m. in the Hibiscus Room at Pinecrest Gardens, 11000 Red Road.

TUESDAY — Dec. 6

9 a.m. — Miami-Dade Commissioner Joe Martinez is back Tuesday for his first county commission meeting — in four years. Martinez was termed out in 2012 and ran for mayor against Carlos Gimenez, but lost. He then ran for Congress, but lost again. He only won in August because Commissioner Juan Zapata dropped out of the race. It should be interesting to watch how he is welcomed. Or not. Folks at County Hall tell me that there are some people who are bristling. Martinez is former cop with an anger management issue who can hold a grudge with the best of ’em and it is no secret he feels slighted by folks at the 111 building. But he is also smarter than he looks and experienced with the county budget and processes. It will be hard for “Cry Wolf” Gimenez to pull th wool over Joe’s eyes. But it could be fun to watch him try. Sit in the audience at commission chambers at County Hall, 111 NW 1st Street. Or watch live: Channel 76 on Comcast or on the county website.

7 p.m. — Newly elected Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid will have his first meeting as mayor, having been sworn in last week after he beat former Mayor Michaeld “Muscles” Pizzi in a runoff, 77 to 23 percent. The meeting will also be graced by new council member Luis Collazo (it’s still an all boys club). And they have a pretty big agenda. They will review site plans for approval (inluding one for the Graham Companies), an amendment to their development code, several contracts with city vendors and the hiring of a lobbyist. They will talk about MDX, special taxing districts, modifying the budget (already?), requiring fences around construction areas, a toy drive and venomous snakes. Sounds like fun. The council chambers are at Town Hall, 6601 Main Street.

WEDNESDAY — Dec. 7

9 a.m. — Pinecrest Council Workshop at the Pinecrest Municipal Center, 12645 Pinecrest Parkway, in council chambers.

THURSDAY — Dec. 8

6-8 p.m. — Miami-Dade County’s Department of Cultural Affairs will have a town hall meeting to unveil preliminary site plans for the renovation of the Coconut Grove Playhouse and get community input. The plans to be presented have been developed by a design team led by Arquitectonica per their contract with Miami-Dade County and not the Coconut Grove Playhouse Foundation. The town hall begins at 6 p.m. at Ransom Everglades School, 3575 Main Highway. Expect Miami-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suarez, who has long championed the renovation of the cultural landmark, to be front and center and Miami Commissioner Ken Russell to attend.

If you know of any political happening that should be included in the Cortadito Calendar, please email the information to edevalle@gmail.com and thank you.

The head of the Beacon Council resigned last month. But it’s likely he would have been fired anyway when his contract expired in October.

That’s because it looks like Larry Williams has exaggerated his accomplishments.

Williams, president and CEO of the Beacon for the past three years, announced in late August that he was taking a job with Technology Association of Georgia. But maybe someone ought to send them a copy of the memo by Miami-Dade Commissioner “Mayor Sir” Xavier Suarez that shows Williams may have greatly inflated his or the Beacon Council’s achievements.

When the Beacon Council claimed in its third quarter “Key Performance Indicators” report to have brought or helped 10 companies in Miami-Dade with research and marketing, networking and the like, Suarez decided to check on it. He sent eight members of his staff to the companies with the addresses listed in the Beacon Council report. They all came back with reports of their own. And guess what? Not one single company volunteered any information about the Beacon Council helping them or recruiting them.

Not one.

In fact, most gave perfectly organic reasons. Like being close to family, in one case. The attractive diversity of the Miami market, in another.

Alpha Trade doesn’t even exist. Another company occupies its space in Doral and the company is not even listed in the lobby directory. The Suarez staffer who visited the office was told that they could arrange a meeting with someone from Alpha Trade. Like it’s some cloak and dagger illegal thing. Which it might be since the company has been inactive in the Division of Corporations since 2012.

The New York Code and Design Company was a locked office inside Strayer University. Suarez’s office has not been able to contact anyone there.

On a visit to Florida Minerals, an import export predicted to create seven jobs over the next three years according to the Beacon report, the commissioner’s staffer found a residence and someone with no knowledge of the company. George Tsotkas, the CEO of Florida Minerals — which is located in Boca Raton — had moved to Boca Raton.

Suarez was flabbergasted. “I told them I was going to bring it up in committee. I wanted answers,” Suarez told Ladra Friday. “And then the guy resigns. And I guess that’s the answer.”

Yep. Williams, whose contract was coming up next month anyway, figured he’d been caught. He’s not going to get his contract renewed if Suarez starts bringing up the lies he’s been telling. In his memo, Suarez questions whether or not the $3.5 million or so the county gives the Beacon Council every year is money well spent.

There’s more. Please press this “continue reading” button to “turn the page.”

You could cut the tension in the room with a knife Tuesday night, when the Kendall Federation of Homeowners Associations had their first candidate’s forum and former friends Joe Garcia and Annette Taddeo faced off for what could be the first time in this election cycle — or ever.

They are so used to working together, not against each other, and you could tell both were uncomfortable with the new dynamic. Pained, even. Certainly extremely awkward.

The other candidate sessions were lackluster in comparison.

Blame Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who was a no-show and gave Miami-Dade School Board Member Raquel Regalado (and, yes, Ladra’s horse) a captive audience of about two dozen people to present her platform and ideas to. She did a great job because she can fill a room by herself. The audience was full of bobbing heads in what Ladra now calls the “aha moment,” which is when people realize she is the real deal and can be the mayor we deserve to have.

Next to her, KFHA President Michael Rosenberg, who is also founder of the Pets’ Trust and has a rocky relationship with Gimenez, had placed an empty chair to represent the mayor — not just his personality but his MIA status. Rosenberg first noted that he had invited Gimenez no fewer than a dozen times. Ladra is not surprised he’d be afraid to try to defend his record of broken promises, sweetheart deals and no-bid contracts to his friends and family.

The opening acts were even more — yawn, stretch — uneventful. Miami-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suarez and former Commission Chairman Joe Martinez, ran circles around their challengers, the unfortunately named Michael Castro and Felix Lorenzo, respectively. These certainly seem like slam dunk races, so it’s hard to even pay attention. Ladra got her ears pulled for talking in whispers during Martinez’s closing statements. Ay, he is such an unforgiving guy. And he’s trying too hard. Both incumbents — because Martinez once represented District 11 and is the defacto incumbent now that Commissioner Juan Zapata withdrew — should landslide in. Unfortunately. Because nothing makes for a bad elected like a big head that feels no pressure.

Read related story: Chased out: Juan Zapata leaves hostile work environment

But the Taddeo/Garcia face-off was weird enough to make up for the rest of it. And it offers just a taste of what we might see in future debates and/or mailers.

You wouldn’t think that a debate or forum featuring these two carbon copy candidates and former BFFs could be entertaining. They both support the same things. They both love Obamacare and the U.S. reaching out to Cuba. They are both concerned about sea level rise and immigration. They both took jabs at Republicans. Garcia said Everglades restoration was being purposefully mismanaged by Gov. Rick Scott. Taddeo mocked Congress members Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (who beat her 58 to 42% in 2008) and Carlos Curbelo (who they are fighting to face in November) for their efforts to keep studying sea level rise ad nauseaum.

Blah. Blah. Blah. Taddeo even said “Ditto” one time because it was getting repetitive.

But underneath all the outwardly polite agreement, seethed a palpable bitter resentment that surged with a little jab here and there. Him on her total lack of experience in public service. This is Taddeo’s fourth try to get elected. Her on the election fraud issues in his 2014 campaign. Garcia’s campaign consultant and his former congressional chief of staff, Jeffrey “No Relation” Garcia, was sentenced to 90 days in jail for absentee ballot fraud after he was found to have rigged a computer to request ballots without the voters’ permission.

Read related story: Joe Garcia releases first web ad in congressional contest

When asked if negative campaigning had a place, Taddeo was quick to make her position clear. And it’s a yes. But she said it was a “very tough thing” to “let people know about your opponent,” especially when it was someone you once supported.

Once upon a time, Joe and Annette were BFFs

“My level of disappointment to find out that the person I supported to get rid of David Rivera had done exactly what David Rivera had done was very high,” Taddeo said. “I don’t care if you’re a Republican or a Democrat. It is not right.

“And I know the disappointment I feel is felt by the community because they tell me.”

Garcia did not take the bait.

“Clearly, they’re going to attack. You’ve known me for a better part of two decades,” Garcia told the room, because it basically took him that long — and four tries himself — to get elected. He said that he was going to campaign on his track record, fighting FPL, fighting for children — we guess between his ear wax snacks.

“I’ve worked here. I lived here. I grew up here. I know this community,” he said, which could be a dig at Taddeo’s carpetbagging for a seat, any seat.

Taddeo shot back. She told the audience that Garcia was backed by Big Sugar. “Let’s make sure to follow the money… I;m so tired of the influence of special interests,” she said. To which Ladra would say, yeah, but he had Big Sugar money when you supported him, too.

Still, Obamacare seems to be the go-to for Democrats as much as it is for Republicans (the repeal anyway). Taddeo also took Garcia to task for voting against Obamacare eight times.

Garcia giggled and glimpsed down at his shoes a lot while he waited his turn with his arms crossed. Then he said he had voted against some of the convoluted registration requirements and actually made it easier to sign up. He said he voted for Obamacare more than 50 other times and hit her on her lack of experience. “I was on the floor. Unlike her, I have a record.”

Ouch. That is hitting her where it hurts. Taddeo wants nothing more than a vote record. Anywhere.

But as pained as it might have been for them to be in this position, it was even more so for many in the audience. Said Esther Garvett, a Democrat who has volunteered for both candidates in different races: “It’s breaking my heart.”