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.

Janet Reno: The politician who didn't seem political

    In 1998, I spent weeks profiling Janet Reno for a Tropic cover story. She grudgingly allotted me a 30-minute interview in her office at Main Justice -- uncharacteristically allowing the Q&A stretch to 50 minutes, keeping two groups of men in suits waiting in an anteroom.
    Her answers were clipped, careful. She was never much for big quotes -- her sister Maggie was much better -- but she made a major imprint as attorney general in Washington.
    Today, at noon, five days after she died, I was on WLRN's Florida Roundup show, discussing aspects of Reno's career in Miami-Dade, and it got me to thinking of her Washington career.
    Several memories stand out: The Washington press brutalized her. Full story HERE.