Conexion Miami / The $150 million race

By the time you read this the election may well be over. Who came out the winner? In the end probably the TV stations and others who prospered from the advertising dirt heaved by both sides to elect the next Florida governor. The facts are that this election will have cost more than $150 million. Finding himself a bit short on the poop tossing, incumbent governor Scott put in $12.5 million of his own money in the last week. The tally: Scott’s side spent $96 million; Crist’s a meager $49 million as of the weekend…

Cameras and cops

Law enforcement officers in the Florida Keys will soon be wearing body-mounted cameras. The president of the Florida Police Benevolent Association has said body cameras could distract and endanger officers. It may mean that cops may have to think before shooting. And that’s what may have the PBA up in arms.

Rubio stumps for Scott

Charlie Crist’s two most recent political competitors joined forces asking voters to get out and vote for Gov. Rick Scott in this week’s gubernatorial election. Scott and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, who opposed Crist when he ran for Congress as an independent in 2010, appeared together for a last campaign push to get people to the polls Tuesday. We suppose it’s a meeting of the Florida Tea Party honchos.

Frost Art Museum ushers in Art Basel

The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum ushers in Art Basel season 2014 with two powerful shows opening November 8. From China, Wang Qingsong: ADinfinitum, and from Argentina, Global Exchange: Geometric Abstraction Since 1950 (from the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Buenos Aires, MACBA). Both exhibitions open Saturday, November 8, with a reception from 5-8 p.m. Wang Qingsong will present a lecture on that day at 4 p.m.

Beach animals

Photographic works by Lena Herzog will be displayed alongside six Theo Jansen Strandbeests (beach animals) during Art Basel in Miami Beach next month. Jansen’s kinetic, wind-powered creatures will be exhibited in Miami Beach by the ocean between 21st & 22nd Streets. This beachside presentation features Jansen’s newest Strandbeests, including the debut of the 42-foot-long Animaris Suspendisse.

Carl and his big cats

Carl Bovard, a Florida resident, keeps 14 big cats in his own backyard, including six tigers, two lions and a desert lynx, as reported by Britain’s Daily Mail. After an accident 13 years ago caused Bovard to lose his eyesight, he realized that the main thing he would miss seeing were animals. Therefore, when he regained his vision, he bought his first two tiger cubs. [Photo/Carl Bovard/Facebook]

Voting to secede

Commissioners from the City of South Miami recently voted, 3-2, in favor of a resolution proposed by Vice Mayor Walter Harris calling for a new state of South Florida, covering 24 counties from Tampa and Orlando south to the Keys. According to the Miami Herald, Florida consists of 67 counties, with a population of more than 19 million. The state of South Florida would occupy 39 percent of the state’s area and have a population of 13.4 million, or 67 percent of the state’s population. According to the resolution, South Florida collects 69 percent of Florida’s “$22 billion in sales and documentary taxes.” Some say we don’t get our fair share.

White power

A new state-by-state analysis of more than 42,000 elected offices examining gender and race released at www.wholeads.us, shows that both Red and Blue states have one thing in common: the people who are elected to office from the county level up through the United States Senate do not reflect the populations they serve. The survey reveals that most of America is just like Ferguson, Missouri, and while pre-election GOTV efforts are focused on populations of color and women, no matter what the turn-out, white men will still have four times as much political power as women and people of color.

Beautiful but deadly

“It’s beautiful!” said an eco-tour guide as a light show appeared in one Florida’s many waterways. The colorful lights are caused by algae blooms, reports the Washington Post, and warn that they have a great potential for damaging local economies dependent on the state’s environment. Intense research is going on as scientists and environmental officials seek to pinpoint their cause while improving early detection systems that can predict when and where they will occur. The problem, they tell us, is decades of overdevelopment and lax environmental controls.

Miami-Dade mayor leaving republicans behind

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez may be leaving the Republican Party. The Miami Herald reported last week that Gimenez “strongly hinted he was thinking of dropping GOP registration in order to run for reelection as an independent.” Why? you may ask. Progreso Weekly thinks that Gimenez is no longer as popular among voters as he once was. Democrats and those with no party affiliation are a majority of voters in Miami-Dade. Gimenez, who is no dummy, may not want the republican baggage that may drag him down in a countywide election.