An alleged drug “queenpin” accuses Miami prosecutors of misconduct before her trial

Sandra Avila Beltrán, once known as the “Queen of the Pacific” in the Latin American drug trade, is accusing Miami prosecutors of lying about her role in cocaine shipments to the United States to persuade Mexican authorities to extradite her last year.For Avila, a dark-haired beauty who stood out in a narco-trafficking world dominated by macho men, the misconduct accusation...

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UM, county clash with owner of mall over pedestrian overpass above U.S.-1

After several University of Miami students have been killed or seriously injured trying to cross busy U. S. 1 to get to popular retail spots on the other side, Miami-Dade County has finally approved building a Mediterranean-styled pedestrian bridge across the highway. But the project has come to a standstill after the owner of the mall, University Centre, has refused to cooperate.The...

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Miami mayor: City will fight to keep fed funding for housing, anti-poverty programs

Miami city administrators said Thursday they will do “everything possible” to avoid losing out on $5.8 million in federal community development funds.The promise came days after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development threatened to penalize Miami for failing to spend $13.3 million in Community Development Block Grants over the past three years. Cities that do...

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Florida advocates say 2012 proved need for Voting Rights Act

As a skeptical U.S. Supreme Court raised doubts about a central provision of the federal Voting Rights Act on Wednesday, the law’s defenders said the 2012 election provided a vivid example for why it was needed to protect Florida from voter suppression. “Look at the performance of our governor and Legislature in the last election,’’ says Howard Simon, executive director of...

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Somerset parents, neighbors unhappy with school’s plans to move campus to Kendall

Somerset Academy is drawing the ire of both parents and neighbors in Coral Gables and Kendall as it expands its charter school empire.Angry parents crowded into a cafeteria recently to hear that their kindergartners likely will be bused to a new school in Kendall after Somerset lost its Coral Gables lease at Granada Presbyterian Church. Meanwhile, about 40 neighbors of the...

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Wanna play for the Miami Marlins — the organ, that is

For the first time since the team's inception in 1993, the Miami Marlins held open auditions for an organist Monday night at their new stadium.Several local musicians showed up to vie for the special gig.The chosen organist will be responsible for performing songs such as Take Me Out to the Ballgame, Let's Go Fish and Clap and Stomp at all 81 home games next season. ...

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Execution of murderer raises new questions about the death penalty in Florida

TALLAHASSEE -- The execution of Paul Augustus Howell scheduled for Tuesday has put Florida’s death penalty process under the microscope again.Howell, 42, was convicted in 1992 of the pipe-bomb killing of Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Jimmy Fulford in Jefferson County, east of Tallahassee. If he dies by lethal injection as scheduled, his attorneys say, he will be the first...

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Renewed fight begins for bill to ban texting and driving

TALLAHASSEE -- It was supposed to be a joyous occasion. Russell Hurd and his wife were waiting for his 26-year-old daughter Heather and her fiancé at Walt Disney World on Jan. 3, 2008, to meet with a wedding planner.But the young couple never arrived.Heather, who worked for the theme park, was killed, and her fiancé injured, in a nine-car crash caused by a 61-year-old tractor...

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Parents of missing Hallandale Beach baby formally charged

The parents of an infant who disappeared more than a year and a half ago were formally charged Friday in Broward County Circuit Court.Brittney Sierra, 21, faces two counts of felony child neglect.Calvin Melvin, 27, was charged with three felony counts of providing false information to police. Each could face more charges if a Texas lab confirms that DNA...

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Helen Snapp, WWII pilot, dies

Helen Wyatt Snapp did not want to be called a hero.“The real heroes are the people who don’t come back” from combat, said the former WASP pilot.Despite that humility, Snapp was recognized in South Florida and beyond for her contributions to aviation and for helping pave the way for women in flight. Snapp died Jan. 20 at Memorial Hospital West in Pembroke...

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Man set ablaze Christmas night dies; family files suit

A man who was doused in gasoline and set on fire at a gas station Christmas night died Friday after being in and out of a coma since then.Darrell Brackett, 44, walked to the U-Gas Station at 4700 NW 27th Ave. shortly before midnight night while his girlfriend waited in their van. They were returning from dropping off family members after a Christmas gathering when they ran...

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More state spending on roads, ports

TALLAHASSEE -- If you think there’s too much road construction now, just wait.The state plans to increase transportation spending by 11 percent in an effort to boost jobs, build more roads, and get the state’s ports ready for the expansion of the Panama Canal. For motorists, that means navigating through more orange cones and thicker clouds of construction dust throughout...

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Pension reform plan put on hold

TALLAHASSEE -- House Speaker Will Weatherford’s push to close the state’s $136 billion pension system to new state employees is on hold.A report released Friday was supposed to provide an estimate of how much the change would cost to pay out benefits to the employees currently in the system while switching new state employees into 401(k)-style retirement plans.Instead, the...

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Key West Lotto ticket wins $17 million jackpot

A Lotto ticket sold in Key West was the only one to match all six numbers in Saturday night’s drawing, and is worth $17 million, the Florida Lottery said Sunday.Saturday’s numbers were 8, 21, 26, 27, 30 and 40. The winning ticket was sold at the Publix supermarket at 3316 N. Roosevelt Blvd. The jackpot for the next drawing, on Wednesday, will ratchet back down to $2 million.In...

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Parents decry closing of two Broward schools for special-needs kids

If you ask parents why they value Broward’s Wingate Oaks Educational Center — and why they’re so furious about its imminent closure — the answer often boils down to trust. The school for medically fragile children is a place where students might need help going to the restroom, and parents trust the teachers and staff to respect their child’s dignity. David Martinez’s 7-year-old...

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‘Alarmed’ by missing cash from Hollywood evidence room, city official calls for a full review

Saying he was “alarmed” to learn that as much as $175,000 in cash could be missing from the police department’s evidence vault, Hollywood Assistant City Manager Frank Fernandez asked Friday for a full review and meeting with anyone who was aware of problems there.Fernandez, who was hired in August, said although he had been briefed by outgoing Police Chief Chad Wagner, he...

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Body found floating in a Doral lake

Miami-Dade police are investigating the discovery of a body floating in a lake in Doral.The body was found Thursday afternoon in a lake at Northwest 25th Street and 95th Avenue, police said. It’s unknown how long the body had been in the water, or if the death is a homicide. Investigators will now try to identify the victim.An autopsy will help determine...

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Come 2016, Sen. Rand Paul could be the anti-Rubio choice for tea party faithful

WASHINGTON Sens. Marco Rubio’s and Rand Paul’s delivery of back-to-back rebuttals of President Barack Obama’s speech to Congress — Rubio as the Republican response, Paul as the tea party rejoinder — raises some tantalizing questions:With Rubio being stamped as the early favorite in the 2016 Republican White House race, is Paul emerging as a leading alternative among tea party...

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‘Tony Montana’ pleads guilty to millions in jewel thefts

Eight months after his arrest in a South Beach hotel, the jeweler who called himself “Tony Montana” pleaded guilty Tuesday to organizing the thefts of and later reselling millions of dollars worth of diamonds and other jewels.Juan Guardarrama, 49, received a reduced prison sentence of 10 years in exchange for cooperating with authorities on other cases related to the criminal...

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Papal transition won’t lead to big changes in South Florida parishes, archbishop says

Like millions of other Roman Catholics, when Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski woke up Monday morning and heard the news that Pope Benedict XVI had announced his resignation, he thought it was just rumor.When he realized it wasn’t, Wenski called Mary Ross Agosta, the Archdiocese’s communications director, and told her: “ ‘Get ready for a busy day.’ ’’And so it was, as he gave...

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