Conexion Miami / Marco’s $pending still a problem

Marco Rubio’s penchant for spending money that does not belong to him on himself and his family keeps biting him in the butt. This past week the Miami Herald’s Carl Hiaasen had this to say about Rubio’s money woes: “The idea of him sitting in the Oval Office with billions at stake is a little scary. To believe that prudence and competence will suddenly bloom when he gets a crack at the federal budget is optimistic in the extreme.”

Gay weddings a boon to Florida economy

Gay weddings have been happening in Florida since Jan. 6 when a stay on a judge’s ruling that the state’s 2008 constitutional ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional expired at midnight. Five months later, marriage license issuances are up over the same time last year, and an estimated $182 million dollar boost to the state economy is being reported.

War on women

The Eye on Miami blog is seeking details on this matter. Can you believe it? It is a crusher if true. Chris Matthews (of MSNBC) recently reported that Jeb Bush supported a very stupid law in 2001that made it mandatory for a woman who wanted to put a child up for adoption to put a notice in the newspaper for a week and name her partners in order to complete the adoption. And now we’re hearing that Marco Rubio sponsored the law. Anyone with info, contact Eye on Miami.

Kathy Fernandez catches another minnow

While too many of Miami’s leading politicians, lobbyists and business leaders are lining their pockets with taxpayer dollars, State Attorney Kathy Fernandez-Rundle goes after the little fish in the big Miami-Dade pond. It keeps her office busy and taxpayer eyes off the ball. Recently it was Siul Delgado, a lowly county employee who got caught stealing about $20,000 worth of gasoline from the county. Not to excuse Delgado, but we’d like Kathy to go after the whales in this town. She knows who they are. They party and socialize with her. They also fill her coffers with campaign contributions at election time.

Alzheimer’s in Florida

Florida has more than 500,000 residents who suffer from Alzheimer’s. As recognition for Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month, from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning, the Alzheimer’s Association will bathe Florida’s Old Capitol building in purple light, as a sign of concern and awareness of Alzheimer’s disease, the sixth leading cause of death in America.

Taking both sides on Medicaid

St. Leo University recently polled Floridians on their feelings about Medicaid. The results may demonstrate why our politicians have the ability to stand on all sides of an issue. Results found that the majority support the idea of taking federal money to expand Medicaid in the state, but it also found that a plurality of Floridians support Gov. Rick Scott’s lawsuit against the federal government to stop Medicaid expansion in the state. It’s the water, we think…

Labor takes action in Miami

Last week the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), in partnership with the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), conducted immigration training program in Miami to prepare workers for deferred action programs. According to both organizations, they will not wait for the courts to determine the fate of the immigrant community. They are taking action to build immigrant worker power by mobilizing workers to fight and apply for deferred action.

 

Debt and more debt

We’ve noticed that the more we pay our debts, the more debt we end up accruing. And a CardHub study seems to bear out our non-scientific finding. Its latest Credit Card Debt Study reveals that U.S. consumers are on pace to rack up another $55+ billion worth of debt in 2015, despite paying off $34.7 billion in credit card debt during the first quarter of the year.

Triple Crown passed through Hialeah back then

Less than two weeks ago we witnessed American Pharoah’s victory at the Belmont Stake, winning the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing as a result. But did you know that Hialeah Park was once world famous, and the Flaming Stakes a major step on the way to the Kentucky Derby? Hialeah is still considered the stately old queen of Miami’s few horse race tracks, but the glamour and legend are missing these days. Unless you count the statue of Citation, another Triple Crown winner who raced at Hialeah, as part of the track’s continued glamour.

Bob Menendez’s friend still in jail

Dr. Salomon Melgen, the Florida eye doctor friend of Sen. Bob Menendez, accused of corruption with the portly senator, and also charged with Medicare fraud by the federal authorities, remains in a South Florida jail as of last week. Melgen has been behind bars for nearly eight weeks since his arrest. He has pleaded not guilty to falsely diagnosing patients with eye conditions and performing unnecessary procedures to bilk Medicare out of some $105 million.

City Hall was once Pan Am

Miami’s City Hall was once the site of the former Pan American Airways Seaplane Base at Dinner Key. Before turning it into city hall, seaplanes would land and take off from the back on the glittering waters of Biscayne Bay, taxiing to docks behind the terminal where fleets of fishing boats now tie up at the Dinner Key Marina.

24 hour waiting period for abortions

Florida women will now have to see a doctor and then wait another 24 hours before they can have an abortion under a bill signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott.

Expect medical weed on the ballot in ‘16

United For Care, which last year put a failed constitutional amendment proposal on the November election ballot, expects to begin its main petition push in a matter of weeks to get a new proposal to voters in November 2016. The proposal’s aim is to legalize medical marijuana in Florida. The pot initiative ended up getting 58 percent of the statewide vote last November, but needed 60 percent to be adopted. More than 600,000 voter signatures are required to get the initiative on the ballot.