Your Evening Sift

For those of you keeping track, and believe me when I tell you there are a few sociopaths out there who are, I'm officially on vacation. W00t! But there isn't time to celebrate because I have a full blown gorilla of an evening Sift for you tonight. Have fun...

A- While UM officials apparently pussyfoot around the issue, Rakontur gets into it and tells us what really went down when they approached UM about The U, then known as Hurricane Season.

The University of Miami should just come clean with its reason for not participating, whatever that is.

B- Is a car chase important enough news to warrant TV stations breaking into their regular programming? SFLTV thinks so and informs us what happened today.

I’d like to offer my kudos to WFOR and WSVN today. In case you missed today’s top story, there was a huge car chase spanning 3 counties, with excess speeds of 130 MPH. But you wouldn’t know that if you were watching WTVJ’s or WPLG’s afternoon soap operas.

C- Random Pixels does a nice job recapping the Elian story that occurred this week, 10 years ago.

Ten years ago this week, on Friday, Nov. 26, 1999, the Miami Herald's front page carried the obligatory "holiday shopping" story.

And there was a story on the start of the criminal trial connected to the 1996 Valujet crash and one about the Miami Dolphins' humiliating 20-0 loss on Thanksgiving Day to the Dallas Cowboys.

There was also a story about three Cuban migrants found clinging to inner tubes in the Atlantic Ocean on Thanksgiving day.

The three were the only survivors of a group of 14 migrants whose 17-foot aluminum boat broke apart and sank after leaving Cuba.

One of them was a five-year-old Cuban boy named Elián González.

D- A Miami-Dade public defender is arrested and Justice Building Blog commenters weigh in and debate.

E- Sex and the Beach has some fun on her last mission with the well-traveled Ford Fiesta loaner.

F- Miami for Change provides their thoughts on Miami's improved crime ranking.

The CQ Press just released its crime rankings as reported by our pals over at the New Times.

City of Miami is ranked at 45, down from 30 least year.

We remember the days when Miami used to top these lists.

Mayor Regalado tells us lower crime has NOTHING to do with Chief Timoney cleaning up the MPD.

G- Food for Thought files a report from this past weekend's P.I.G. fest.

This past Sunday was the P.I.G. (Pork Is Good) fest by Chef Jeremiah Bullfrog at Harvey's By The Bay, east of Biscayne Boulevard off 64th Street, and a good number of VIPs (Very Important Pigs) turned out for the occasion.

Our group of about 25 took over the bay-windowed back room of Harvey's for the afternoon, when we weren't outside monitoring the progress of the whole boned-out piglet cooking away in Chef Jeremiah's new-fangled high-tech caja china. While the pig roasted, we were given samples of a number of his other pork-centric creations.

H- The beans are very happy in the Redland this week, according to Redland Rambles.

Last Tuesday an overflow crowd packed the Community Zoning Appeals Board room and spilled into the hall for Mr. Bernardo Campuzano’s zoning hearing regarding his request to build a private soccer club on 9.2 acres of former plant nursery. On one side of the room sat Mr. C and his supporters, including about two dozen kids. On the other side was the opposition, consisting mostly of aggravated neighbors.

I- South Florida Lawyers weighs in on the terrorist trials that are planned in NYC.

A similarly annoying argument is that the accused will turn the trial into a soapbox and score some propaganda points somehow. Again, these lawyers know that this is federal court. Other than courtroom sketches and transcripts, there will be nothing to work with. Does anyone remember any big propaganda points that Moussaoui scored when he was tried in federal court?

And if they did, so what?

J- Another airport study is out and guess what airport sucks? Eye on Miami has the not so surprising results.

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