In recent months, Miami Mayor Manny Diaz and District 3 Commissioner Joe Sanchez have shown increased interest in promoting bicycling in Miami. Last March, Mayor Diaz announced the formation of a new Bicycle Action Committee as part of his Green Commission, which Comm. Sanchez chairs.

A month later, Comm. Sanchez joined Emerge Miami’s Saturday Critical Mass ride in a show of support for cycling.

It’s exciting to see political interest in making Miami a better place for bikers – but interest isn’t action. The next question, and it isn't rhetorical, is when Miamians can expect to see actual change.

So far, the Bicycle Action Committee has focused mainly on creating maps of existing bike accommodations – that shouldn’t take too long – and identifying good places for new stuff like lanes, signage, or even ‘bike boulevards,’ a relatively new idea in planning for bikes, in which side streets are refitted to dissuade cars and encourage bikes.

But if the city’s politicos – Commissioner Sanchez, in particular - want to prove what they’re made of when it comes to getting things done, they may have a good chance coming up. Apparently, Coral Way is slated for resurfacing – and that means there’s an opportunity for long-term, permanent changes in how the street works.

The city, in particular Commissioner Sanchez, in whose district the work will be taking place, should push for bike lanes on Coral Way. Here's why:

Rarely has a beauty product line been named so appropriately – LUSH skin care, hair, and beauty products are exactly what you might be dreaming of. Truly excellent, handmade, all-natural, and so fresh most items come with an expiry date, LUSH is what your mom should be using on her hair, face, and body. If your mama’s the kind of lady who doesn’t know any better than bar soap, you will absolutely knock her socks off at Cater To You, a pampering mini-spa day at the newish LUSH store at Dadeland Mall (7303 Kendall Dr., Miami). Stop by from noon to 6 p.m., spend $45, and you can score a free facial chosen especially for your skin type, and walk away with a free fresh face mask sample. Plus there’ll be massages and product demonstrations in store. Call 305-668-1774 to RSVP.

Or if your mom’s a bit more ritzy, take her to the Mother’s Day shopping event at Merrick Park (358 San Lorenzo Ave., Coral Gables). There’ll be live music, activities, and promotions throughout the sprawling mall, and if you drop $250, you get a complimentary orchid. Visit www.villageofmerrickpark.com.

- Patrice Yursik

President Bush is frequently criticized for not doing more to advance the cause for Cuban freedom. I tend to feel the same way because nothing has changed in regard to Cuban policy and the "Wet Foot/Dry Foot" policy still allows Cubans to perish at sea in order to get to US land. However, he has also kept the castro regime in the forefront by making frequent speeches, awarding Dr. Biscet the Presidental Medal of Freedom, and today, holding a teleconference with dissidents in Cuba (see Gusano's earlier post. ) So, when you look at it in terms of what past presidents have done, it certainly is more significant, although obviously "significant" is relative in this case. I suppose a gesture is better than nothing, and it cannot be denied that President Bush is making an effort to make sure the regime is recognized for what it is.

Needless to say, Bush and the GOP have been experts on keeping Cuban-American voters happy without completely alienating those who are strongly anti-immigration and xenophobic.

- Jose D. Duran

You can always count on Miami Today Publisher Michael Lewis to do what the Miami Herald editorial board won't do. This week, Lewis takes Miami-Dade County Schools Superintendent Rudolph "Rudy" Crew and School Board Chairman Agustin Barrera to the wood shed and whups them real good. Here's an excerpt:

For years, several board members in the nation's fourth-largest school district have been asking embarrassing questions of Superintendent Rudy Crew. When they seek details, he refuses and says things like: "I do not believe that the effort required of my staff to gather and organize the information regarding job descriptions and cost of all board office renovations ... is an effective use of their time." Would you dare tell that to your bosses? You'd be out of a job in 10 minutes flat. And since Dr. Crew's bosses are chosen at the ballot box, he's thumbing his nose not only at the school board but at you. How does it feel?

-- Francisco Alvarado

Suit against new Florida Marlins ballpark to proceed - A Miami-Dade circuit judge will allow the suit brought by auto dealer Norman Braman against Miami-Dade County for the financing of the new Florida Marlins stadium to go forward. Braman claims the financing of the stadium violates the Florida constitution because it relies on public funding to help out a private business.

Miami Art Machine - Local developer and art collector Craig Robbins and the University of Miami are pioneering a new graduate program called Art + Research that would give artists the opportunity to live and work in Miami on a full scholarship. While some applaud Robbins efforts to expand the arts in the city, others see it as nothing more than an unrealistic fantasy.

- Jose D. Duran

What’s two times smaller than your first apartment and shorter than Shaq?

Stumped? It’s a prison cell at Guantánamo Bay. A true-to-life replica of the roughly 6.5-by-8-foot space arrived in Bayfront Park in downtown Miami Thursday. Amnesty International kicked off its national tour of the cell to bring attention to the injustices just across the water in the U.S.-controlled slice of Cuba. The goal: close Gitmo.

More than a dozen activists – old, young, bald, brown, blonde and bearded - dressed in orange jumpsuits and linked by silver chains, gathered near the replica Thursday at Tina Hills Pavilion (behind the balloon). Leaders from Amnesty International, the ACLU and the American Bar Association presented a bleak reality. One even noted that a detainee was imprisoned for having a Timex watch. Apparently, that's a preferred brand for terrorists.

Even the act of taking the stage was funny. “Where am I, in Macbeth?” he said, bewildered at the faux Roman columns. Approaching an equally faux gas lamp pole on stage left, he said, “Is Judy Garland going to come out and sing a song?”

I can’t begin to recount a single joke, not with that manic onslaught, but this much I can recall: As his set progressed I laughed harder and harder. Early on he introduced the subject of his possibly being molested by his internist, and how he fired his therapist when she was disinterested in discussing it.

Religion, politics, sex, psychotherapy, aging, airlines, hotel “suites,” the dangers of women like his wife having children in their 40s (and something about not wanting to be on a Larry King panel with his “rooster boy”) … nothing unusual, but in Lewis’s neurotic, apoplectic delivery it was all hilarious.

With a precision that belied his fury, Lewis came back around to everything. Well, everything except one topic: I never did find out what happened with that internist. Let me know if you do: Lewis continues his run at the Improv through Sunday. --Frank Houston

Every once in a while, someone sends me a question that doesn’t require miles and miles of discussion. The issues are pretty simple, and they usually roll in between the hours of 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., so at first I assumed that they it was nothing more than drunken correspondence from people who had taken my advice. But one night I myself was sauced and needed counsel, so I went to my mentor, screamed my question into the air, shook him, and….”Reply hazy, try again.” Damn you, Magic 8 Ball. Dejected and answerless, I cried. Okay, so maybe copious amounts of tequila had something to do with those tears, but I was equally distressed about my inability to get a dose of valid advice when I needed it. I could practically hear the similarly desperate wails of the lovelorn rising up from the city, and I vowed to never allow anyone else to feel the way I did. So, M.C. Quickie was born; and I’m open like Club Space – allll niight looong.

12:46 A.M.
My supposedly-platonic guy friend just popped up at my house with a bottle of wine and some weed. I don’t like him like that, but I’m not exactly doing anything right now. What should I do?

♥ ♥ ♥ Smoke and drink, bitch. Just don’t let your guard down – or else, you might wake up with a friendly dick in your mouth.

Got a question? Email the Magic City Kitty.

As reported in the Herald, the audit reveals, to no one’s surprise, that Wackenhut over-billed the county for millions of dollars worth of work that was never performed, including “ghost posts,” which went unfilled but were billed anyway to create the appearance of a fully-staffed Metrorail when, in fact, Wackenhut suffered a personnel shortage.

This much has been known – or strongly suspected, anyway – for some time. Besides the Herald, local blog Eye on Miami has featured particularly good coverage of the ongoing Wackenhut fiasco, and New Times has written several stories about the company as well.

But the real story lies in questions as yet unanswered:

Today, for the 54th time since July 2007, Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Rudolph "Rudy" Crew did not show up for work. This time, he took a vacation day. Meanwhile, the school district continues to fall apart.

-- Francisco Alvarado

The area on Washington Avenue, between 8th and 5th Streets, is finally catching up to the rest of the strip. Gorgeous lounges and clubs have replaced the area’s notorious seedy (and not in a good way) clubs, and we have Dek23 (655 Washington Ave., Miami Beach) to thank for that. Check out the space tonight for Basic Thursdays when perhaps one of Miami’s best DJs, Ross One, stops by to do a special guest set.

The South Florida Business Journal recently published a story detailing a slimy deal between media executive and former Miami-Dade mayoral candidate Jose Cancela and the Jackson Memorial Foundation, the fund raising arm for the Public Health Trust, which runs Jackson Memorial Hospital. According to reporters Brian Bandell and Oscar Musibay, some foundation board members, including Cancela's ex-wife, were unaware the nonprofit paid him $250,000 to lobby its behalf. What makes the whole affair even more sickening is that Cancela used to be a foundation board member. -- Via eyeonmiami.

-- Francisco Alvarado

Last week, when I stumbled upon all the quirky art on the utility poles, I also came across a mural done by artist Mariano Molina back in November. Actually, I was told that right before Art Basel comes into town, artists go around the area asking tenants if they can paint the exterior of their buildings, sort of like a guerrilla art show. So I wouldn't be surprised if this is actually one of those cases.

If you read the New York Times yesterday, you might have seen this rather alarming headline from Reuters: “Haiti riot instigators set deadline to install [Prime Minister].”

The article began with this cheerful sentence:

“Slum leaders in the southern town of Les Cayes who started Haiti's recent food riots handed lawmakers an ultimatum on Monday to install a new government within a week or face more protests.”

Alarming stuff -- but maybe you didn’t read the Times yesterday; maybe you turned to the Herald, which seems to have brushed aside news of the possible collapse of Haiti’s government for something a little . . . well, not so serious, for God’s sake.

Yesterday’s Herald headline: “Young Haitian soccer players get lesson in shopping”

You can almost hear the exclamation marks dotting themselves.

Hello, Kitty

Reddy Taseddle

Hi Reddy,

Pressure cooker. Pressure cooker. Pressure cooker, that’s what you’re being to this girl right now. You’re just getting out of a super-serious relationship and already you’re trying to get Miss Sex in the City to trade in her fuck-me pumps for a pair of your wife’s run-down house shoes? I think it’s really funny that you think she needs to “lose some of the baggage,” but with your pending divorce and two rugrats you’re coming at her with more luggage than Louis Vuitton. Sweet. I’m sure she is reeeally excited about all you’re bringing to the table. You say that it seems like every breath you take annoys or disgusts her, and you’re probably right - your commitment-happy ass probably represents everything that this chick is running from as she bounces from man to man. Reddy, the past “domestic issues” you mentioned make me think that this girl either looves the drama or that she’s a little clumsy in the relationship department. Either way, I think a little backing off (by you) would be an amazing idea.