Mariel Hurt Miami Blacks, New Study Says

  ​      My Miami 1980 research has led to a Miami Herald story:
      "The tumultuous Mariel refugee influx of 1980 is back in the news — this time at the core of a roiling debate about whether immigrants hurt less-educated native-born workers. The heated arguments focus on the new work of a Cuban-born Harvard professor, George Borjas, who concludes that Mariel caused a drastic drop in pay among native-born Miami high school dropouts — the majority of whom were black." That story is available HERE.
        A companion Herald story discusses the discusses the politics of immigration, including Borjas' idea of taxing employers who benefit from cheap immigrant labor and how some progressives cite Borjas in rethinking their stance on immigration. That story can be found HERE. 

Inside the Gig Economy

      The latest Biscayne Times has my take on the gig economy -- co-working spaces in Miami, the latest manifestation that the old economic world of full-time big corporation jobs with benefits is dying out.

       This is what has sparked considerable anger from both young Bernie followers and aging Rust Belt Trumpers: no steady work that earlier generations had been able to count on. As Richard Greenwald, author of "The Death of 9-to-5" puts it: "This is the new normal. It’s going to only intensify, and then the question is: What do you do?”

       When I started this story with a quick survey of online articles about co-working, I assumed I’d be seeing long rows of 22-year-olds hunched over laptops dreaming of developing the next Facebook or killer app. But after visiting eight Miami co-working sites, I’ve seen that the reality tends more toward immigrants in their mid-30s promoting non-tech businesses

South Miami Mayor Takes on "Evil Genius" FPL

          The Guardian, NPR, New York Times and many others seek out Phil Stoddard, mayor and FIU biology professor, because he's known for blasting stupidity when he sees it, including calling Marco Rubio "an idiot" for not believing in climate change. Politico called him one of the 50 most influential Americans of 2016. Solar panels power his house, including air conditioning and an electric car, as he pays FPL less than $10 a month.
A Miami New Times story available HERE. 

Trump Controls Liberty Square

Local housing director confident despite negative statements of incoming HUD director. Full story HERE.

Ben Carson Getting Final Approval on Liberty Square?

Ultra-conservative neurosurgeon Ben Carson may get the final word on whether Liberty Square has a $300 million makeover because Housing and Urban Development must approve the county's plans for its largest and oldest public housing project. Full story HERE. Updated 12/7/2016 at 11 a.m.

Fidel's Death: Looking Back, Gazing Forward

       On Saturday, a WLRN panel spent two hours analyzing his death. Among those speaking were Andy Gomez of UM, Frank Mora of FIU and yours truly. Among other things, I repeated speculation of some Cubanologists who predicted some years ago that the announcement of Fidel's death would come in the late night hours of a weekend, to minimize the threat of spontaneous demonstrations. Perhaps the freshest voice was that of Nora Gamez Torres, an El Nuevo reporter who was an assistant professor at the University of Havana from 2001-2009, then got a masters and Ph. D. in London, and has become an expert on the attitudes of young Cubans. A replay of the broadcast -- from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday -- is available HERE.

Betsy Kaplan Honored

      Betsy Kaplan, who worked tirelessly for decades to improve Miami-Dade public schools, was honored at Wednesday's school board meeting with a special proclamation -- and a recommendation from the superintendent that one of the district's arts programs be named after her. Full story HERE. Video HERE.