Florida
This Week In South Florida: Billy Corben joins journalists to discuss Miami City Hall dysfunction
MIAMI – Anyone who thinks local government meetings are boring hasn’t been to one at City Hall in Miami. The latest spectacle of the dysfunction at a commission meeting was the ousting of Miami City Attorney Victoria Méndez.
Commissioners Miguel Angel Gabela, Damian Pardo, Manolo Reyes, and Christine King voted to oust Méndez and placed her in an advisory role ending June 11.
“I was doing my job; that’s why you’re upset at me,” Méndez told Gabela during the meeting.
Gabela said he didn’t trust her. Commissioner Joe Carollo was the only dissenting vote. This had just followed Miami City Manager Art Noriega’s furniture scandal.
Filmmaker Billy Corben met with local journalists to discuss the madness during This Week In South Florida’s Roundtable on Sunday. He compared the city government to a mafia, a dictatorship, and a third-world banana republic.
“It runs on fear and intimidation, and I would say extortion,” Corben said.
The Miami Herald’s Sarah Blaskey, an investigative reporter, and Joe Flechas, an associate editor, joined the conversation on TWISF with Joshua Ceballos, the local government accountability reporter for WLRN.
Blaskey described Méndez’s role as someone who has a hand in “a lot of pots” and went beyond her role as a city attorney to comment on a case that resulted in a $63.5 million legal judgment against Carollo.
“She has been sort of proactive in that case,” Blaskey said adding she had defended Carollo.
Flechas said the attorney is tasked with interpreting the city’s code and charter. Instead, Méndez went on the record several times defending Carollo’s actions against the businessmen who won the judgment.
“She attacked these Little Havana businessmen and besmirched their reputations often as a means of justifying the taxpayers paying for the legal defense,” Flechas said referring to Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla.
Ceballos said Méndez was allegedly “the go-between” Carollo and Emilio Gonzalez, the former city manager. Corben said Méndez was tasked with spending taxpayers’ money to defend corruption, as Carrollo “weaponized” government.
“She has had a blank check to enable this corrupt behavior,” Corben said.
The furniture choices and the city’s legal costs were not the only scandals mentioned. Blaskey said Méndez’s husband had a company that flipped homes.
“The allegation is that through her work at the city, she had information that helped, you know, guide her husband’s business towards homes that, you know, could be flipped for a profit,” Blaskey said. “Often these were homes through the guardianship program.”
Blaskey said the program’s homes mostly belong to the elderly and people with disabilities.
“There is a lawsuit that Victoria Méndez and her husband are facing right now about this house flipping business. There’s also a bar complaint into how she has engaged with that business as the city attorney,” Blaskey said.
Corben said the city attorney also failed to intervene on the redistricting maps that prompted a federal racial gerrymandering suit. U.S. District Court Judge K. Michael Moore found the city unconstitutionally drew district lines.
“This perversion of the redistricting is far more corrupt than even the judge decided,” Corben said.
Blaskey said that to notice the incumbent’s attempt to disqualify Gabela from running last November an observer has to “zoom in on this tiny, tiny little carveout around the part where” one home is.
There was speculation about the impact of the federal judge’s ruling, how this reflects on Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, and how it affects other local governments.
“I think whatever happens in the city of Miami government is something that will influence the way other government officials act in their governments as well,” Blaskey said. “And so I think, that’s how it becomes relevant to everyone else.”
Watch more on TWISF: Debra Hixon talks about Broward schools
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Florida
South Florida leaders take preventative safety measures after the U.S. and Israel’s attack on Iran
South Florida leaders are taking preventative measures to keep residents safe after the U.S. and Israel launched major strikes on Iran early Saturday morning.
Miami-Dade County mayor Daniella-Levine Cava issued a statement reacting to the military operation that President Trump dubbed on Truth Social as “Operation Epic Fury.”
The statement reads: “The escalating conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran poses serious risks to regional stability and international safety.”
She goes on to say that her thoughts are “with the people of Israel and the Jewish community here in South Florida who are watching these events with worry and uncertainty.” She also says the Iranian people “deserve peace, safety, dignity, and the freedom to live without repression.”
Of the Trump administration’s decision to launch the military operation, Levine-Cava writes: “Any military action taken without congressional authorization is a dangerous precedent, and we must learn from our nation’s past challenges. What must come next is a serious effort to restore stability and pursue diplomacy, not further violence.”
As for measures she will be taking, she says she asked her Chief of Public Safety to “ensure public safety agencies are aware and ready to activate plans in case of any disruption.”
The Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz also issued a statement saying that MDSO is “taking immediate security measures by increasing patrols to ensure the safety of our residents.” She said that they have increased security presence around places of worship, cultural centers, and schools.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the servicemen and women protecting our national security interests around the globe,” Cordero-Stutz wrote.
Aventura Police have also responded to the current situation on X, saying that they are monitoring the “current situation in the Middle East with our local, state, and federal partners.”
They go on to say: “At this time, there are no known or credible threats to the U.S. or Miami-Dade County.” However, they note that in “an abundance of caution,” they will be increasing security in religious facilities and other locations they deem as “sensitive” throughout the city.
The City of Miami Beach also posted its statement to X, saying it is also “closely monitoring the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.” They also note that at this time, there are no known credible threats to the city.
They write: “Out of an abundance of caution, we have increased our uniformed presence at synagogues, schools, and other key locations citywide. We remain in close coordination with our law enforcement partners and leaders within the faith-based community.”
They also urge residents to report any “suspicious or unlawful activity” to call their non-emergency number at 305-673-7901 or, if it is an emergency, call 911.
Other cities’ police departments, such as Bal Harbour, Sunny Isles Beach, and Hallendale Beach, posted on their social media that they will also increase security measures after the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.
Austin Smotherman will carry a three-stroke lead into the weekend at the Cognizant Classic at The Palm Beaches.
Smotherman followed his opening 62 with a 2-under-par 69 on Friday at PGA National’s Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. That brought him to 11 under, comfortably clear of Taylor Moore, who is in second after his second straight 4-under 67.
Cognizant Classic scoreboard
“Yeah, leading a PGA Tour event, come on, pretty awesome,” Smotherman said.
Smotherman, 31, is in fine position for his first win on the PGA Tour since turning pro a decade ago. He has won three times on the Korn Ferry Tour, including last June.
Afterwards, he credited himself with playing “Austin Smotherman golf.” When asked what that meant, he responded, “as boring and simple as it can be.
“That’s what I want to do out there. I feel like I ball strike it good enough to have that kind of boring golf, a bunch of fairways ideally,” he said.
He suffered three bogeys Friday after a bogey-free opening round, but the key stretch for him after starting on the back nine was between Nos. 17 and 3. He birdied four holes in that stretch, starting with a 54-foot bomb at the par-3 17th hole.
“Anything under par I thought would have been (good) following up a round like yesterday, which was a special one,” he said, “and try not to get too far ahead of myself thinking I’m going to make every long putt I’m looking at, like kind of was the feeling yesterday, and then today I still make a 55-footer on 17.”
Moore overcame a bogey in each half of his round with three birdies on either nine, more than counterbalancing the rough patches to earn his second straight solid score.
“I think very different 67s,” Moore said when comparing his rounds. “I didn’t hit many fairways yesterday, kind of grinded a lot, had a couple chip-ins, which obviously helps. I thought I struck the ball much better today. Drove it in the fairways on the par-5s, I felt like. Yeah, still had a few up-and- downs, obviously, with the tough windy conditions this afternoon, but overall I thought it was solid.”
Canadian A.J. Ewart had the round of the day, a 64 that powered him to 7 under for the week. He’s tied with Colombia’s Nico Echavarria (72), and Joel Dahmen is in fifth at 6 under after a second consecutive 68.
Ewart, who played for nearby Barry University in college, came in with some familiarity.
“We used to come and watch this tournament when I was at school. I think I came up here twice, maybe three times and watched,” Ewart said. “I had never actually played the golf course, but I felt like I knew it just from watching it.”
Irishman Shane Lowry, one of the most recognizable players in the field, is in a large knot for sixth at 5 under after posting a 67. Defending champion Joe Highsmith made the cut on the number at even par.
Notable players who missed the cut included Webb Simpson (1 over), Gary Woodland (2 over), Matt Kuchar (2 over) and Canada’s Adam Hadwin (3 over).
Kim maintains narrow lead in Singapore
Auston Kim maintained a narrow lead over three seasoned competitors with a 3-under-par 69 on Friday at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore.
Kim carded five birdies and a double-bogey at the par-5 16th hole at Sentosa Golf Club to move to 9-under par, one shot ahead of major champions Minjee Lee of Australia (64 on Friday) and Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn (67) and three- time LPGA Tour winner Haeran Ryu of South Korea (68).
Lurking two shots back at 7-under in the no-cut event are Australia’s Hannah Green (66), Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen (68), Sweden’s Linn Grant (69) and England’s Mimi Rhodes (69).
Kim, an LPGA Tour member since 2024, has been knocking on the door of her first tour win. The American has eight finishes in the top 10 and was the runner-up at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship last season.
“I think just sticking to my process. I’m trying to earn each shot and win each shot and win each day,” Kim, 25, said of her strategy heading into the weekend. “I can put a hundred percent of my focus into every single shot and try my best to execute each time, I’ll do well.”
Lee soared into contention with an eagle at the par-4 second hole and six birdies in a bogey-free round.
“I think just I holed a few more putts out there,” Lee said of the difference between Friday’s play and her opening-round of 72. “I holed a few long ones and I also holed out for eagle on the second. That always helps the score.”
Jutanugarn had six birdies, including three straight from holes Nos. 5-7, and one bogey.
Ryu collected four birdies in a round free of bogeys, but not free from pain.
“Today, my neck was so bad and I cannot turn it around, it’s so hard, my neck,” Ryu said. “But yeah, golf is not perfect. I just think about it, just hit the fairway and the green. Yeah, that’s good for me. There’s a lot of birdies, and yeah, I’m so happy.”
Angel Yin matched Lee for the low round of the day with a 64 to move into a tie for ninth at 6-under.
Defending champion Lydia Ko of New Zealand (72) remained a 2-under posting four birdies and four bogeys.
World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand is tied for 33rd at 1-under after a round of 70.
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