Your Evening Sift

It was a rather busy day for a Thursday in the blogosphere today. Usually I see sign on the weekend slow down starting up, but not today. Enjoy your Thursday evening Sift.

A- Now that Charlie Crist is officially running for the Senate with no party affiliation, Bark Bark Woof Woof has a few questions.

Mr. Crist going independent also raises a couple of questions. First, is he running as an independent only in the Senate race, or is he now Gov. Charlie Crist (I-FL)? That may make his Senate chances better, but he still has to be the governor, and he will need some allies in Tallahassee and throughout the state, especially if the need arises. While he's a lame-duck governor and the Florida legislative session is wrapping up this week, he still needs to have some party clout unless he's planning to coast through the rest of his term. What if he needs to call a special session? Who is going to pay attention to him if they can't see any political advantage for backing him? And if he claims to be running only as an independent for the Senate race and still insisting on having the "R" after his name while he's governor, the Florida GOP, which is already scrubbing him from their website, might take a dim view of that and no party loyalist will give him the time of day.

B- Get a tour of Miami Tour Company's new Bluebird tour bus that is getting ready to be be put in service very soon...at Miami Beach 411.

We love the bus! She has giant tires, tons of character, and is perfect for Everglades tours, but before she hits the road, we are going to replace the floor, rebuild the seats, paint the interior and exterior, and install a GPS tour system.

C- Miamism Pix posts a photo of a cool wall mural in Wynwood.

D- Famous worldwide, Zuma is getting close to opening at the EPIC Hotel, says Eater Miami.

After its Hong Kong branch landed at #51 on the S. Pellegrino World's Best Restaurants list, Zuma, with locations in London, Dubai and Istanbul, went into high gear to ready Miami for its opening at the EPIC Hotel.

E- Worst Pizza shares some photos from a recent pizza tweetup held at PizzaVolante.

F- Coconut Grove Grapevine wonders if there's something that the city is doing to help the film industry in Miami.

According to District Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, "We all share in the enthusiasm and support for the film industry in Miami. It is in all of our best interests to work hand in hand with the film community to ensure that the industry thrives locally. One of the ways that we are working to do that is by working to close a deal on a very large property that will serve as a state-of-the-art sound stage. It will possess the spacing opportunities that members of the film industry have requested in a permanent facility."

G- A Hialeah couple provides some entertaining dance moves in a video posted by Sweet Home Hialeah.

H- Eye on Miami gets a solid round of support from readers after announcing that they will support Crist's candidacy.

This will be historic news. As a Republican, I am saddened by the extremist Republicans drumming our Moderates out of the party.

I- Under the Sun has the story of the only man delivering seltzer water in South Florida.

You may think the “seltzer man” went the way of the rotary phone, but Paul Urbant still delivers seltzer bottles. He is a “sodero” who travels throughout South Florida, delivering bottles to front doors. He came to Miami via Buenos Aires and New York City.

J- All Purpose Dark attended last night's grand opening of Via Luna at Lauderdale's Ritz and posts a few images to prove it.

The dessert was a secret nook overflowing with mini key lime tarts, tiramesu martini glasses, nutella-stuffed beignets, and cannolis studded with crunchy chocolate bits. I lurve crunchy chocolate bits.

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