“I knew that they could not kill me.”

Photo courtesy of Mega TV

Media Hero

Well, it’s official: Jose Varela is a hero — this according to a telephone poll taken by Mega TV after Maria Elvira Salazar, host of Polos Opuestos, had an exclusive interview with the El Nuevo Herald freelance cartoonist after he stormed into the Miami Herald’s office with a toy gun and knife and declared himself the editor of the Spanish-language paper. During an on-air poll, 84.62 percent of viewers proclaimed Varela a “héroe” while 15.38 percent thought of him as “irresponsible.”

Looking as if he had just awoken from a long nightmare, Varela spoke of his frustrations at the paper: “They see everything black and white, Bush or Fidel. They don’t see any shades of grey, which is unfortunate because life does not work that way. They would toss away my work; my cartoons were censured. Management’s actions sent the newspaper back to the Stone Age. Throwing away my work was like tearing me to pieces.”

Varela also talked of his frustrations during his “takeover.” He said the secretaries initially didn’t take him seriously when he announced his coup d’etat. But he knew he wouldn’t die. “Yes, I got scared when the SWAT team shut down the lights in the building, but I relaxed when I turned on CNN and saw that they were covering the incident. I knew that they could not kill me,” he said.

Other guests included Varela’s now ex-wife, who said the “caricaturista cubano” (as Varela was labeled) was a good father to his children, as well as Zol 95.7 DJs Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero, who raised $15,000 for Varela’s bail. Zol 95.7, incidentally, is owned by the corporation Spanish Broadcasting System, which also owns MEGA TV.

As one viewer commented to Murmurs: “I don’t know why Varela’s lawyer allowed him to do the interview.”

Way of the Ninja

Another Japanese motorcycle claimed a life this week. This time it’s a Kawasaki Ninja and if you were trying to get to Miami Beach between noon and 3 p.m. this past Tuesday you noticed his passing. All eastbound lanes were shut down for much of that period. Automobiles that Miami Beach Police officers turned back toward Miami then gridlocked any other bridge leading to the multibillion-dollar sandbar.

“Apparently speed was a factor,” said Officer Arley Flaherty, spokesperson for the Miami Beach Police Department. Just in front of roads leading into the exclusive Star and Hibiscus Island neighborhoods, a 21-year-old male (his name was withheld until his family could be notified) lost control and smashed into a parked trailer — with enough force that evidence was flung all over the expressway. “There was a large crime scene,” Flaherty said.

Photo by Margaret Griffis
The young man is the third person this month to have died on a racing motorcycle. On Nov. 10, shortly after 2 a.m., residents at Meridian Avenue and Tenth Street were awakened by a loud crash. After a Miami Beach Police officer tried to pull over a souped-up Suzuki Hayabusa, the driver, who just had a “business purposes only” driver’s license after a previous DUI, decided to zag south, according to the MBPD. He plowed at 100 miles per hour into a white Ford Taurus heading east — hitting the mid-sized car hard enough to flip it over. The Suzuki pilot, just like the Ninja rider, was 21. Except the man who smashed his Suzuki did not die alone as he had a passenger — she would die at Ryder Trauma Center on what would have been her 20th birthday. (The three people in the Taurus had only minor injuries.)

Another similarity, the Meridian intersection was closed for hours.

They’re Back

Remember Homestead Air Base Developers, Inc.? How about HABDI, the acronym used by the company founded by politically connected individuals who sought to transform Homestead Air Force Base into a private airport over the objections of environmentalists throughout much of the 1990s and into the next millennium? Only to then be shot down by the Air Force in 2001? Former county Mayor Alex Penelas was mixed up in it? Ahhhhh! Starting to come back, ain’t it?

Well, HABDI is now suing Miami-Dade County for breach of contract. Acting as the company’s spokesman and legal counsel is Carlos Lacasa of the law firm Ruden McClosky. Lacasa is better known as the state representative who tried to create a strong mayor post in Miami-Dade via a complicated plot involving his colleagues in the Florida Legislature and a statewide vote on whether or not the county should continue having a sovereign “home rule” charter. Long story short: The strong mayor attempt failed, Penelas could not run for a third term, and Lacasa is no longer a state rep.

Anyway, HABDI was handed a no-bid contract to lease the base by Miami-Dade County in 1996 even though — as noted above — the Air Force still owned it. Now Miami-Dade County owns the 717 acres of land.

“Ultimately, HABDI is desirous of meeting with the County to work out a mutually acceptable resolution,” said Lawrence Gordich, the lead legal counsel and fellow Ruden McClosky attorney, via press release.

The basis of the lawsuit, according to the same release, authored by Bristol Public Relations: “Notwithstanding the Lease Agreement between HABDI and Miami-Dade County, the County has not yet made any alternative proposals under which the County can honor both the restriction in the EDC [Economic Development Conveyance] and its contractual obligations to HABDI for the development of the subject property.”

Murmurs was going to call Lacasa, as invited to do in the press release, but our brain started to hurt. So Murmurs invites the public to give Lacasa a call at 305-789-2711 or an e-mail at carlos.lacasa@ruden.com. Figure out how a classic political epic has mutated and managed to survive — and then explain it to us.

Speak Portuguese to Me

Photo: Camila Souza

A few days before he was spotted praying at Epicure (see The 411), Murmurs and friends noticed record producer Pharrell outside of Skybar Saturday night and called him over for a photograph. Though clearly a few music sheets to the wind, Pharrell, accompanied by an ultra-polite bodyguard, still engaged in conversation. “I know some words in Portuguese,” he said, before uttering a few random words in Murmurs’ native tongue, like “pear,” “father” and, ahem, “skirt” before driving off, alas without Murmurs, in a vehicle that cost more than Murmurs’ house.

The Commissioner

You spend months raising money, making speeches, absorbing attacks from your competitors and launching a few volleys of your own. And then, when the dust clears, you emerge the victor. You have won an election, an achievement few people have achieved. Perhaps Robert Redford said it best as Bill McKay in 1972’s The Candidate, after being elected senator: “What do we do now?”

So what now indeed? Murmurs decided to ask Michael Gongora after his runoff victory for Miami Beach commissioner last week. “I have a meeting with the city manager and some staff members tomorrow [Tuesday] and am looking forward to that,” Gongora replied via e-mail. “The mayor has named me to the neighborhoods committee and as an alternate on the development committee.” Gongora is also looking forward to his first commission meeting as a commissioner, on Dec. 6.

But Miami Beach commissioner is not the only title Gongora will soon take. On Dec. 14 he will be officially named president of the Miami Beach Bar Association. “The MBBA has a great team and will not be a big hindrance time-wise and I have invested many years into the MBBA…. [I] am looking forward to [taking] the position of president,” Gongora wrote when asked about his third job (he is also a practicing attorney with Becker & Poliakoff). “I believe the dual roles will complement each other.”

Gongora’s role as president-elect of the MBBA also has its duties: He is promoting the Dec. 14 luncheon where he will officially be named president. According to a fax Gongora sent to local media, Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice R. Fred Lewis and CBS-4 reporter Michele Gillen will be among the guests as a new board of directors is installed. The fun takes place at the Miami Beach Resort & Spa at 4833 Collins Ave. Cost is $20 for judges and $40 for everyone else. Interested? Call Maria Pereira for more details at 305-262-4433.

Coming Soon…

*Miami-Dade County Commissioner Sally Heyman will be on hand as medical professionals from Dade County Health Clinic hand out free flu vaccines to those age 65 and older in what is being billed as a “Free Flu Clinic and Health Fair” on Wednesday, Dec. 6, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Murmurs normally equates “fairs” with amusement rides, carnies or people looking for jobs— but hey, the title got our attention. Too young? Flu shots are only $20. There will be pneumonia shots too (also free for seniors), blood sugar and pressure screenings, and tests for HIV, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and poor hearing. Fun! Call the Department of Health at 786-845-0550 for more information. Takes place at the McDonald Center, 17051 NE 19th Ave., North Miami Beach.

*Reader Marlene Zwibel informs the SunPost in a letter (intercepted by Murmurs) that her father, Harry Gold, a resident of the Carriage Club in Miami Beach, turns 100 on Dec. 10 “and G-d willing, we will have a little get together for him in his apartment.” Gold was a pharmacist until he moved to Miami Beach in 1948. Then he decided to write mortgage applications at Miami Beach Federal. His mom used to live in The Anglers Hotel (soon to be a trendy condo-hotel, last time we checked). Anyway, Gold gets this paper in his mailroom, Zwibel informs us, so what the heck — Happy Birthday, Harry Gold. Don’t ride any motorcycles. And flu shots are being offered at the McDonald Center.

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