Conexion Miami / Nuviola to play Celia Cruz 

The Miami Herald reported last week that the Colombian production company Fox Telecolombia has found the person who will play Celia Cruz in an upcoming biographic series that will start filming shortly. The chosen actress is Aymée Nuviola, a Cuban singer living in Miami who will play Cruz as an adult. Nuviola was recently nominated for a Latin Grammy in the category of Best Tropical Album for her most recent production, First Class to Havana. Born in Havana, Nuviola comes from a family of musicians.

Florida and Cuban aquariums may collaborate

Today (Tuesday) members of The Florida Aquarium’s fundraising arm will travel to Havana for meetings with the National Aquarium of Cuba. “This is an educational mission,” Tom Hall, foundation chairman, told the Tampa Tribune. There is currently no collaboration. The National Aquarium of Cuba hopes to change that, said Jeffrey Boutwell, board member with the Latin America Working Group Education Fund in Washington, D.C. So does this mean marine life is not limited by the Cuban embargo?

Dead by police gunfire

Bad news for Floridians… The number of times police officers in Florida have shot and killed people has increased since 2000. According to the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement, in 2000, there were 20 people shot and killed by officers. In 2013, it was 58, and there were 69 killed by cops in 2012. Officers blame “meaner and more confrontational” streets for the killings.

$5.6 million vs. $37,533

Half of Florida’s All-Republican state Cabinet will be reelected with little if any Democratic resistance. Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, a Palm Beach Republican, will technically face off against Deerfield Beach Democrat William Rankin, who he’s never met and won’t debate. Atwater has raised $2.9 million; Rankin has raised just $16,370, and has been largely overlooked by the Florida Democratic Party. Then there’s Republican Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, who’s raised $2.7 million and is running against Democrat Thaddeus “Thad” Hamilton, who has raised just $21,163 and has not been seen on the campaign trail.

Miami cops set quotas

A Crespogram report reveals that a Sgt. Jason Ferguson of the Miami Police Department issued an email, confirmed by the NBC-6 TV in Miami, that tells his crew that he “would like for each of you weekly to have a minimum of the following: 5 (tickets); 1-2 (arrest); 5-10 (Watch orders/park and walks/directed patrol).” State law prohibits ticket quotas for law enforcement, but it’s not a crime. The same law also doesn’t list any penalties for an agency that does set quotas.

Curbelo represented Ecuadorean embezzlers

The Miami Herald reported that Carlos Curbelo, running against incumbent Joe Garcia for the District 26 congressional seat, until recently represented two wealthy brothers convicted in Ecuador of embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars. The family of Roberto and William Isaías, who live in Miami, hired Curbelo and his government and public relations firm to try to turn public opinion against the Ecuadorean government. Another interesting fact was turned up because of this discovery: Curbelo never registered as a lobbyist for the Isaías family in Washington, D.C. Some would consider that illegal. Now we know why Curbelo refuses to tell us who his clients are…

Mr. Marijuana

Multimillionaire lawyer John Morgan, these days referred to as Mr. Marijuana because of his championing of Florida’s medical marijuana amendment, is touring the state in a a luxury bus originally customized for rock stars while he campaigns for Amendment 2. Morgan expects to spend about $6 million on the marijuana campaign. He’s been seen visiting most colleges and universities in the state.

Oranges, grapefruits and lemons

And this from the Associated Press: Officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted Florida’s orange crop would produce 108 million boxes, up from last season’s 104.4 million boxes. The forecast for grapefruit was down slightly from last year. An estimated 15 million boxes of grapefruit are predicted for this upcoming season, down 15,650 boxes from last season. The estimate for lemons was the same as last year, 19,000 boxes.

FIU Law student earns top score on Florida Bar 

Students from law schools all over the country took the Florida bar exam in July. In that group was Florida International University Law student Alexander Martini, who studied in the evenings, since he worked full-time as an Internal Revenue Service Agent and had to commute from Ft. Lauderdale to attend class. It did not keep Martini from achieving the highest score of the almost 3,000 who took the test. Martini, by the way, also graduated with the highest GPA in his class.

The Beatles visit Miami

Ladies and Gentlemen… The Beatles! – A traveling exhibition celebrating the fascination America has with “Beatlemania” and the four lads from Liverpool for the past fifty years includes more than 400 pieces of memorabilia, records, rare photographs, tour artifacts, video, and instruments. Catch it at the History Miami Museum, 101 W. Flagler St., Miami, FL 33130. For info, call Victoria Cervantes at (305) 375-4141 or email her at vcervantes@historymiami.org.

Florida DOH on lookout for Ebola

The Florida Department of Health continues outreach efforts to hospitals, health care providers and first responders to ensure that Florida remains prepared to respond if an Ebola case is diagnosed in Florida. In Broward County, for example, DOH briefed Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport officials and partners from Port Everglades on Ebola preparedness efforts, as well as distributed Ebola preparedness packets to Broward County Public Schools and area private schools.

Same-sex marriage sweeping the country

Florida attorney general Pam Bondi, Wake up! States are leaving us behind. Last Thursday, for example, Nevada began issuing marriage licenses for same-sex couples. Earlier the same day, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Governor Earl Ray Tomblin announced they will not fight a challenge to the state’s same-sex marriage ban, due to the Supreme Court’s decision earlier in the week. As a result, same-sex couples should be able to marry no later than Tuesday, October 14. Click here to see how same-sex marriage rights are sweeping the U.S.

AT&T refund claims

Consumers who believe they were charged by AT&T without their authorization can visit www.ftc.gov/att to submit a refund claim and find out more about the FTC’s refund program under the settlement. If consumers are unsure about whether they are eligible for a refund, they can visit the claims website or contact the settlement administrator at 1-877-819-9692 for more information. This is part of a $105 million settlement with federal and state law enforcement officials whereby AT&T Mobility LLC will pay $80 million to the Federal Trade Commission to provide refunds to consumers the company unlawfully billed for unauthorized third-party charges, a practice known as mobile cramming.

Voter protectors wanted

Are you interested in becoming a voter protector? Florida New Majority is training volunteers interested in protecting our voting process. They will train you on how to help voters at the polls; to document what you see and what to do with it; and to defend against disenfranchisement. If interested, email Jacob Coker-Dukowitz at Jacob@Flnewmajority.org. Trainings are scheduled for Oct. 18, 10 a.m., at 8330 Biscayne Blvd. – Suite 101 in Miami, and at 4 p.m. at 201 N. Krome Avenue #240 in Homestead.

New farmers market in Kendall

The newest farmers’ market for the Kendall area will host its grand opening on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2014, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Kendall Village Center, located at 8651 SW 124th Avenue in Miami. After this event, the farmers’ market will be open every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Expect to find organic, fresh, and locally grown produce, plus artisan goods.