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.

Miami's Media Mystery

           My take for Biscayne Times on "Miami's Media Mystery" -- trying to "survive in a digital, bilingual, Facebook world." Everything's moving toward the web -- but the money isn't there to support serious journalism. A look at print, TV, radio, the snarling blogs and an ambitious nonprofit, plus a little South Florida Russian-language newspaper that manages to get into a bit of controversy. Full story is HERE. 

A Novel Perfectly Timed for this Crazy Election

    A newly re-issued novel by a Miami Beach writer seems perfectly timed for this utterly divisive election cycle that has split the country into two camps that can't agree even on common facts -- if facts have any role in the campaigns at all.
    The Big Split, by John Lantigua, is an e-book available on Amazon. It is a "Novel of the Near Future" in which the gun-toting constitution thumpers decide they can no longer live with gun-avoiding, social-conscience peace people -- and so the country splits in two, with a mass migration and house swapping as the two camps decide they must live separately. For full story, click HERE.

  

Can Related Make It in Liberty City?

As the county commission starts today the process of considering Related Urban's $300 million plan to remake Liberty Square, questions remain on how much new buildings can do in an area mired in decades of poverty, unemployment and crime. For a thorough analysis of the social implications of Related's bid, read HERE.

Dreams of the East-West Corridor, Part II

  The saga of the plans for the east-west corridor is a good example of transit history in Miami-Dade. After decades of talk, the corridor plan has become an odd, twisting route because of deals, hopes, frustrations, arguments and what Maurice Ferre calls "wink, wink" -- meaning politicians advocating one course while quietly allowing the opposite to happen. Merrett Stierheim says it all started with Metrorail being built in the wrong place. Full story HERE.