4 January 2-8, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | news | letters | coNteNts | MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | ▼ MAGIC CITY THIS IS US THE TEN MOST “MIAMI” NEW TIMES HEADLINES OF 2024. BY ALEX DELUCA M iami sure Miami’d a lot this year. The following quintessen- tial 305 headlines — many of which, as we’ve observed over the years, involve recurring themes of scan- dal, absurdity, opulence, crypto, cocaine, or, on rare occasions, a combination of at least two of these things (see No. 7) — are part of what makes us who we are for better or for worse. We present them here in no particular order. For a version with links to the stories themselves, point your web browser to bit. ly/2024-mnt-news. 1. “Of Course Both Super Bowl LVIII Streakers Are From Miami,” by Naomi Feinstein The two shirtless fans who rushed the Al- legiant Stadium field during the Super Bowl LVIII matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs were (un- surprisingly) from Miami. Alex Gonzalez, 23, and Sebastian Rivera, 22, were jailed on charges of prohibited conduct at an athletic event. Gonzalez, a day trader, often posted videos of himself on social media “living a life of luxury, puffing on cigars and posing along- side exotic cars with the Miami skyline as a backdrop.” Yep...he’s ours. 2. “Miami Billionaires Are Gentrifying Million- aires Out of Indian Creek,” by Alex DeLuca The tiny, exclusive island community of Indian Creek Village was reported to be ex- periencing “its own version of gentrification,” with billionaires displacing the neighbor- hood’s millionaires, according to a January 2024 Bloomberg report. Real estate broker Dina Goldentayer, who was previously involved in several of the is- land’s sales, told Bloomberg that prices for homes renovated to the “standards” of Indian Creek billionaires could soon start at $100 million(!) 3. “Cop Who Cuffed Tyreek Hill Is a Motorcy- cle Club Member and a DJ,” by Naomi Feinstein Danny Torres, the Miami-Dade Police De- partment officer who pulled Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill from his car and pinned him facedown on the pavement in a highly controversial incident earlier this year, also moonlights as a DJ under the name DJ DNO. Photos on his social media show he has performed as a DJ for the police department. 4. “The Bill Baggs Boner: Mystery Penis Etched in Key Biscayne Sand,” by Zulekha Pitts Online sleuths discovered a giant penis etched into the sand at Bill Baggs Cape Flor- ida State Park on Key Biscayne. A Reddit user posted a photo of satellite imagery that showed a mysterious (and unmistakable) de- sign etched into an equally large patch of sand in the state park. 5. “Coppin’ Luxury: Miami Beach Unveils Rolls-Royce Police Car,” by Naomi Feinstein Sure, it might be a difficult time to recruit and retain police officers. But has your police department tried flaunting a Rolls-Royce? In May, the Miami Beach Police Department unveiled a new Rolls-Royce police car to help with recruitment efforts. The department said the car (which it later clarified was the property of Braman Motors) would serve as a promotional vehicle for its recruitment team. 6. “Just Snort It: Divers Find 25 Kilos of ‘Nike’-Branded Cocaine Off Florida Keys,” by Naomi Feinstein In June, divers found what they thought was trash while swimming near Key Largo. It turned out to be cocaine bricks floating in the water. The drugs, which totaled 25 kilo- grams in weight, were wrapped in plastic that prominently featured the Nike Skate- boarding logo. 7. “Miami Real Estate Mogul, Scientologist Lists $42M Mansion on Cryptocurrency Plat- form,” by Alex DeLuca Earlier this year, prominent Scientolo- gist Grant Cardone put his sprawling Golden Beach mansion on the market for $42 million. Several things set the property apart from other listings, including the fact that it was tokenized on a blockchain, meaning prospective buyers could buy it using cryptocurrency. 8. “Person Cartoonishly Envelops Self in Lug- gage Wrap at Miami Airport,” by Naomi Feinstein In what was probably just one of many odd sights at the airport that day, a man was spotted standing at the LATAM Airlines check-in counter at the Miami International Airport while enveloped head-to-toe in lug- gage plastic wrap. As seen in video posted on social media, he then proceeded to hop onto the luggage scale. Naturally. 9. “Welcome to Miami, Where You Can Rent a ‘BBL Chair’ for $20 a Day,” by Alex DeLuca Someone listed a “BBL Chair” — a chair for people recovering from a Brazilian butt lift — for rent on Facebook Marketplace in November. Conveniently located near Miami International Airport, the chair was adver- tised for just $20 a day. 10. “Miami Family Operates ‘Capsule’ Hotel Out of an Apartment and...Wow,” by Naomi Feinstein Vlogger and traveler Ellis Rayson docu- mented his experience staying at the $35-a- night “Miami Capsule” — which turned out to be a sleep pod inside a family’s apartment in Allapattah. Among other oddities Rayson encountered upon his arrival, he was greeted and checked in by a small child, who he paid in cash. [email protected] | RIPTIDE | GET MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY AT MIAMINEWTIMES.COM/NEWS In no particular order, here’s a list of the ten most Miami stories we covered in 2024. Photo by Neil Williamson/Flickr ▼ EVERYWHERE NEWS GETS AROUND. SO DO WE. YOU CAN NOW FIND NEW TIMES ON BLUESKY AND REDDIT. BY ANNA MAGLUTA A s the social media world continues to flourish, Miami New Times must adapt and grow with the ever-changing digi- tal landscape. Being an independent alt-weekly newspaper comes with great responsibility, and it’s our job to provide accurate information in real time. We’re here to share the hard facts with you and listen to what our readers and followers have to say. In recent weeks, X’s terms of service have changed, allowing users’ data to be used for arti- ficial intelligence training. In light of these changes, many users have said goodbye to X and moved over to Bluesky, a younger and newer version of the platform that doesn’t use people’s data for AI. As millions of users have already joined, we’re thrilled to announce that our readers can now find us on Bluesky. We’ve also joined Reddit, and we’re excited to bring our local coverage of all things food, music, art, news, and culture to these spaces. Since New Times’ inception, our newsroom has adopted a forward-looking approach. In the late 1990s, we were among the first alt-weeklies to commit to digital journalism, restructuring our workflow to publish stories web-first. And we’d prepared by digitally archiving the stories we published in our weekly print edition. Our web archive goes back as far as 1991. As times continued to change, so did we. In 2023, under our new editorial director, Chelsey Dequaine-Jerabek, Miami New Times added a social media editor to the team, and I took on the role in March 2024. I received my bachelor’s of science degree in advertising and a master’s in mass communica- tion with a special- ization in social media from the Uni- versity of Florida. While completing my program, I worked with Yelp Miami, assisting with their monthly community events, elevating their online presence on social media, and photographing events. As someone who has a specialization in social media and who is chronically online, I understand the power of social media and what it can do for both a brand and a community. As a free, independent newspaper, it’s our mission to keep the news free and accessible to anyone in Miami, as well as to those who read from afar, whether online or on social platforms. Our social media presence provides space and opportunity for public discourse about the go- ings-on in our city. As we continue to navigate the social media landscape, we hope you’ll stay up to date with us, give us a follow, and even share some love by engaging with our posts. Aside from Bluesky and Reddit, you can also find us on Instagram, Threads, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, and TikTok. Have feedback on our social media or con- tent ideas you want to see more of? I’m all ears. [email protected] IT’S OUR MISSION TO KEEP THE NEWS FREE AND ACCESSIBLE TO ANYONE IN MIAMI.
