Conexion Miami / The growing Braman (political) empire 

We’ve reported that billionaire car salesman Norman Braman will help bankroll Senator Marco Rubio’s presidential run. And now this from The New York Times: “When Mr. Rubio left state government, determined to shore up his finances before running for the United States Senate, he landed a teaching job at Florida International University, agreeing to raise much of his salary through private donations. Mr. Braman gave $100,000, according to records he shared with The New York Times. Dario Moreno, who oversaw the university center where Mr. Rubio worked and who taught classes with him, confirmed that Mr. Rubio had raised the money from Mr. Braman.” And later they say money can’t buy everything… By the way, Braman will soon be financing others. The Braman Empire seems to be growing. 

We speak Español

You can’t win the White House without Florida. That’s according to some. And the key to winning Florida is the Interstate 4 corridor (the I-4 highway in the central part of the state connects Tampa and Orlando). Between 2008, when President Barack Obama was first elected, and 2013, the most recent reliable census figures, the population of that corridor increased by about 7 percent. The Hispanic population increase in the same swath was 20 percent. Since 2008, the population of the six counties through which I-4 travels grew from about 4.1 million to about 4.4 million. Of the overall increase of 292,424, those identifying themselves as Hispanic totaled 181,384. No wonder all the presidential candidates are speaking Spanish in Florida, or at least attempting to learn it.

Who cares what the voters want!

Florida legislators just don’t care. By a whopping 75 percent majority, Floridians approved a proposal in November to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to buy and protect unspoiled land in the state. So our politicians decided to spend that money on wages for officials who regulate fish farming, new patrol vehicles for wildlife officers, salaries in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, funds for law enforcement officers to ticket speeding boaters and other routine expenses. Less than 10 percent of the $750 million fund will go to what the voters intended.

Bush starting to sound like Marco

Jeb Bush reminds us of Marco Rubio more and more. In other words, he’ll say whatever it takes to win over a crowd. Claiming that “the Christian voice” isn’t heard enough in the world, Bush attacked President Obama’s administration for its aggressive stance against religious freedom. Huh?! In this case Bush was courting Christian conservatives at Liberty University where he gave the commencement speech this past weekend.

Emma and Noah are faves

Emma and Noah are America’s most popular baby names for 2014, according to the Social Security Administration. Emma returns to the top spot she held in 2008 and hangs out in first place with Noah. There are a few new names in the top 10 this year—James (a former #1 from the ‘40s and ‘50s) on the boy side and Charlotte on the girl side, her first time ever in the top 10.

Expensive rents in Miami

Miami may be a great place to live: There’s sun and fun, the beaches and much more; did we mention the hard bodies and bikini babes? If you want some of this, though, you better come with pockets full. According to real estate rental listing site Zumper, Miami is the eighth most expensive metro area in the United States to rent, with median rents at $1,800 a month. First place belongs to San Francisco at $3,460 a month, followed by New York with $3,100 monthly. By the way, those are one-bedroom apartments. It’s $2,450 a month median rent for if you’re looking for two-bedrooms in Miami.

Next ‘biggest’ one for Miami

For those who can read Chinese, there’s a Chinese group of investors that bought the former Capital Brickell Place site, which has been sitting empty for years and as of right now is the biggest open space in the ground in Miami’s Brickell Avenue. If you drive by today you will probably see the area’s largest, well, hole. If you check out their website, only in Chinese though, you’ll read that plans are to build the tallest building in Miami. We wonder why everyone in this city seems to want to claim the biggest one.

Tampa leads the way

The Tampa Bay Times seems to see the good in doing business with Cuba. As they reported this week, the U.S. government’s decision to allow ferries to take people to Cuba and back could open two doors for the Tampa Bay region. First, Tampa would be a natural home port for ferry service to Cuba once that nation agrees to receive U.S. ferries. Second, it would introduce a brand new transportation industry to the bay area.

Corruption and Rick Scott

We’ve never called Florida Governor Rick Scott a crook. Well, not exactly. But we’ve wondered where he stands on those who call him corrupt. We ask because this report from the Political Fix Florida website sounds fishy: “The same day Gov. Rick Scott announced the creation of a new hospital commission and a Washington trip to secure federal hospital money, the state’s largest hospital chain gave $100,000 to the lame-duck governor’s political committee. […] The money was from Hospital Corporation of America, a Tennessee-based company that would stand to gain millions if Scott’s federal negotiations are successful. [Last week] the company wrote three checks totaling $100,000 to Let’s Get to Work, a political committee controlled by Scott, disclosure records show.” 

Militarized police

Since 2010, civilian law enforcement agencies in Florida, including U.S. Dept. of State Narcotics Enforcement units based here, have acquired more and more surplus military gear designed for wartime scenarios. This is the result of the Dept. of Defense’s 1033 program, which provides excess military equipment – including armored vehicles, helicopters, night vision goggles and assault rifles – to police forces. The amount in dollars since 2010 equals $278.50 million, which corresponds with the drawdown of U.S. military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.