UCF suspends socials for fraternities, sororities

It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact moment when the University of Central Florida decided that the behavior of its Greek student organizations was out of control — after all, UCF fraternities and sororities have been caught breaking the rules on dozens of occasions in only the last couple of years.A recent Sigma Chi photo posted on Facebook, however, sticks out as one of...

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Harry Sargeant, Florida Republican money man, is a highly controversial figure

TALLAHASSEE -- Former Gov. Charlie Crist calls him "a great patriot.’’Congressional investigators call him "a war profiteer" who walked away with an extra $200 million while providing fuel to American troops in Iraq.At Florida State University, he is something of a hero — contributing more than a million dollars to athletic programs, the business school and his old fraternity....

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’Les Mis’ touring company works out to stay in shape at Wilton Manors gym

Even if you’re a Broadway dancer in top shape, it’s not easy looking good and staying fit when you’re on the road with a show like Les Misérables."Touring is a difficult life because you’re constantly moving," said Trinity Wheeler, production stage manager for the Les Mis touring company, playing through Sunday at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami."It’s not like you can...

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2006 report detailed problems with Havana Palms condos in Little Havana

In January 2006, executives at Montara Land V, LLC, hired a firm to do an analysis of the roof, structure, plumbing, and other conditions of an apartment complex in Little Havana that they wanted to convert to condominiums. This report, submitted to the state department that regulates conversions, concluded that the buildings, constructed in 1946, barely had five more years...

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Little Havana condo owners get little help as units collapse

When a group of Little Havana condominium owners realized in 2009 that there were serious structural problems in the properties they had just bought, they sought help from several local officials. They called Miami building inspectors. They wrote letters to the directors of the city and county programs that helped finance their purchases with nearly $1 million in public funds....

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Is this really the end of Cuba’s Castro brothers? Exiles say not so fast

On the streets of Miami, the announcement of a possible end to the Castro brothers’ rule was met with uncharacteristic silence Monday — no clanging of pots and pans in Little Havana and Hialeah. No loud pronouncements on Spanish-language radio, either, about the news that President Raúl Castro planned to retire in 2018 and had named an heir apparent. “There’s like, a little...

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Analysis: When it comes to Citizens, property insurance costs, Gov. Rick Scott keeps mum

TALLAHASSEE -- He says he is protective of Florida families, but Gov. Rick Scott can’t get a grip on one of the big pocketbook issues for many of them: the rising cost of homeowner insurance.Scott has ordered internal investigations into spending practices at the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance, Florida’s largest insurer, and when he was blindsided by big raises...

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The case of the phantom ballots: an electoral whodunit

The first phantom absentee ballot request hit the Miami-Dade elections website at 9:11 p.m. Saturday, July 7.The next one came at 9:14. Then 9:17. 9:22. 9:24. 9:25.Within 2½ weeks, 2,552 online requests arrived from voters who had not applied for absentee ballots. They streamed in much too quickly for real people to be filling them out. They originated from only a handful...

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Shots fired as Hialeah police attempt to stop a stolen vehicle, perimeter set up in search of suspects

A perimeter has been set up in Hialeah as police search for car thieves after shots were fired in an attempt to stop the vehicle.According to Hialeah police Sergeant Eddie Rodriguez, shots were fired as police approached a stolen blue mini-van in an attempt to make a stop. The occupants then fled and crashed into an occupied vehicle around the corner at East 6th Avenue. and...

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Gas leak in Lauderdale-by-the Sea causes evacuation near A1A

More than 25 residents along a section of A1A have been evacuated due to a propane natural gas tank leak in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.A town spokesman said the leak is from an old, abandoned underground tank that began leaking Thursday, sending a smell of gas into the Palm Bay Club development at 5555 N. Ocean Blvd.“The abandoned tank was supposed to have been emptied, but it...

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Police: Multiple people shot in Miami

Multiple people were shot Wednesday night in Miami near Southwest 24th Street and 26th Avenue, according to Miami police. The victims were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital.Police could not confirm how many people were shot or the extent of the injuries. This story will be updated as more information becomes available. ...

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Cops, robbers and cameras

Hialeah deploys license-tag-reading cameras in its fight on crimeThe Hialeah Police Department is installing cameras at eight key intersections and equipping an undercover patrol with four high-definition cameras to snap photos of the license plates of thousands of vehicles a day — not to catch red-light runners but in a controversial attempt to stem the wave of robberies...

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Inauguration poet Richard Blanco back in Miami for reading

The South Miami engineer who became the youngest poet to read at a presidential inauguration – and the first openly gay, as well as the first Hispanic to do so – is glad to be back home where his historic journey began.“I really, really missed Miami,” said Richard Blanco, 44, during a phone interview on Monday from his mother’s Miami home. He is visiting from his home in...

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The builders of the Sen. Marco Rubio brand

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Marco Rubio is on a breathless rise, a testament to his political skill and demographic appeal that last week saw him delivering the Republican State of the Union response and appearing on the cover of Time as “The Republican Savior.”But behind the scenes is a relentless, methodical effort to build the Rubio brand, aided by a team of strategists and media...

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The Miami Beach cop and the meth dealers: a tawdry tale

While other cops strived for the big bust or sergeant’s stripes, George Navarro Jr. had other aspirations. The Miami Beach patrolman yearned for the ultimate score, his friends told investigators: to engineer an epic drug deal, one that would make him rich and allow him to leave law enforcement behind.They called it the “Coke Dream.”That dream is dead now, as may be Navarro’s...

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State’s flawed contracting process comes under fire

TALLAHASSEE -- In the last two years, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater has agreed to let the state lose $48 million. That’s the amount of taxpayer money Atwater spent to settle dozens of bad contracts and grants that he said could have been avoided had the state done a better job cutting the deals. “We could have built two elementary schools with that money,’’...

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Miami-Dade packed for weekend of events

Lured by sailboats and megayachts, urban street art and Romero Britto — and, of course, the lack of snow — thousands of visitors are expected to pour into Miami-Dade this holiday weekend.The activities started Thursday morning with the opening day of the 72nd annual Progressive Miami International Boat Show at the Miami Beach Convention Center and the Yacht & Brokerage...

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Kendall teen shot inside home; rushed to hospital in critical condition

A Kendall teen is in critical condition at a local hospital after being shot at his home Wednesday afternoon.According to Miami-Dade police, they were to a home near Southwest 118th Avenue and 99th Street at about 5 p.m. after reports of shots fired.When they arrived, they found a 13-year-old boy had been shot. The teen was rushed to Miami Children’s hospital and is listed...

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Marco Rubio’s school voucher plan shows strong Jeb Bush ties

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio immediately followed his rebuttal to the president’s State of the Union address Tuesday night by releasing a “school-choice” bill to allow taxpayers to subsidize private-school education for poor kids.By putting legislation where his mouth is, Rubio wanted to reinforce the theme of his speech — that conservative policy is good for the poor and working...

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Related could give jolt to long overdue Watson Island development plans

The long overdue development of Watson Island, stalled for a dozen years by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and a collapsed economy, may have received a huge jolt when New York’s Related Companies agreed to study the plan and possibly join forces in its development. Developer Mehmet Bayraktar, who won the right to develop on the waterfront crown jewel back in 2001, said Monday...

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