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- [00:00]
Billy Corben
Limu Emu and Doug. Here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug. Uh, Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us.
- [00:21]
Mike
Cut the camera.
- [00:21]
Billy Corben
They see us. Only pay for what you need@libertymutual.com Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings vary unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates.
- [00:29]
Deborah Acosta
Excludes Massachusetts this episode is brought to you by State Farm. Listening to this podcast Smart move Being financially savvy Smart move. Another smart move having State Farm help you create a competitive price when you choose to bundle home and auto bundling. Just another way to save with a personal price plan like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state.
- [01:02]
Billy Corben
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- [01:34]
Deborah Acosta
Demonstrators gathered Monday afternoon in protest of a proposed Donald J. Trump Presidential Library on land that was just handed over to the state by Miami Dade College. The move that handed over this two and a half acre employee parking lot to the state of Florida happened quickly. The state notified MDC that it wanted the land Sept. 16. Exactly seven days later, the board voted to hand over the land without any apparent debate, questioning or public input. The agenda only listed a vote to, quote, convey property to the state, but did not say which property. The meeting was not broadcast live, streamed or even recorded, and no official minutes have been provided yet.
- [02:12]
Billy Corben
It prompted retired FIU professor and historian Marvin Dunn to organize this protest.
- [02:18]
Dr. Marvin Dunn
My concern is that this land is being taken away from our children and their future being given to a politician. No president, including Obama, should get this land, much less for free. So it outrages me that this happened in secret, dunn said.
- [02:33]
Billy Corben
This land was meant to expand the college and help educate future generations of students. It's right next to a building where tens of thousands of Cuban freedom seekers pass through. It's always a land hustle when you're trying to figure out what's going on. It's always a real estate hustle. It's always a land grab that's always what's going on in Miami when push comes to shove. The former president of Miami Dade College, which is one of, I think the largest was community college, one of the largest colleges by student body size in the country. The former president, Eduardo Padrone, a very well respected man in this community for a long time, said that this is unimaginable what happened here. He helped purchase this property in 2004 for 24.8 million. That was 20 years ago. Why? Because as he said, we're facing a huge problem in downtown. We're landlocked basically. So downtown is hot and that was 20 years ago. It's even hotter now and there's no land left available. So they made a lot of sacrifices at the college to purchase this land to secure the future growth of this institution for its students, its faculty, for our community to have this college available and affordable college available here. According to the Miami Dade Tax appraiser Roy, it is now worth $67 million. But that's just according to the appraiser because as we know on the free market everything is worth as much money as somebody is willing to pay for it. And the word on the street is Roy, it's worth at least $300 million and some estimate as high as in this market now. You get as much as 360 million for it. This land is directly across the street, shares a lot with the Freedom Tower. It's serving now as the parking lot for the Freedom tower. It's a 2.63 acre lot and it is going to be the site for free. This makes Mel Reese and the Marlins park boondoggle look like a good deal because at least they paid something. This is for free. A 360 plus million dollar land giveaway for not just the presidential library, but what will be the first ever hotel and presidential library.
- [05:00]
Mike
I gotta look at this coming to work every day.
- [05:02]
Billy Corben
And I've no doubt Roy, that by the time all is said and done, back to the Future, alternate 1985, Hill Valley style. The sofas who built Aventura and the fountain blue couldn't make it happen. Genting the Malaysian casino company couldn't make it happen. I bet Donald Trump is able to strong arm the Florida legislature into allowing downtown Miami's Trump Hotel casino. And also maybe there's a book in there somewhere. Library, little book, little asterisk or something. They Bannon those Dr. Marvin Dunn who led the protest this week and maybe taking some other steps after the Ron DeSantis and his cabinet voted unanimously this week. To give away this land. After the board of trustees at Miami Dade College secretly and quietly, unanimously voted to give away this land. It was. That's the thing, too. There was no input. There was no public notification. Dr. Dunn is the author of. Of one of my Miami must read books that I tell everybody, if you're coming here, you've got to put this on your list. Black Miami in the 20th century. Dr. Dunn, what a great economic boom it would be to have a hotel, a Trump hotel and casino right here in downtown Miami. No.
- [06:13]
Dr. Marvin Dunn
Well, first of all, thank you for having me on, but keep your eye on the ball. This has nothing to do with the library. This is not about a presidential library. This is about a land grab. To get land to build a hotel, condominiums that would contain the Trump library. It is an incredible land grab, the biggest land grab in Miami history, and we simply will not stand for it. As we speak, I am consulting with attorneys. We will file a class action lawsuit to stop this from happening. In fact, I'm hoping that we will be in court. At least our filing will be in court by tomorrow.
- [06:51]
Billy Corben
So what is your concern? I mean, obviously this. The idea that this is a land grab masquerading as a presidential library. But beyond that, your concern is, I think, twofold here, Right there's the educational value of the property, and then there's the location specifically of the property.
- [07:09]
Dr. Marvin Dunn
My main concern, frankly, is that they're taking this land away from our kids. This land belongs to our kids in their future. So that really insults and hurts me. They're doing that and then giving it to a politician for free. I don't think Obama should be given this land. No president should be given this land, in a way, obviously, for free. And that hurts our kids. That's my main concern. Second, they're going to put. Not just this library and hotel, they're going to build condominiums. The expectation is that they can put towers there that can go up 100 stories.
- [07:42]
Billy Corben
Wow.
- [07:42]
Dr. Marvin Dunn
On Biscayne Bay. That's what they're doing. They're putting in condominiums, hotel that may rise as high as 100 stories on land that they're taking from our kids.
- [07:53]
Billy Corben
And to be clear, this would be the first in the history of United States presidential libraries. Is that correct? To have a condo, hotel, retail restaurant component.
- [08:04]
Dr. Marvin Dunn
That's right. For a man who has not cracked a book since fifth grade, except mine comes.
- [08:10]
Billy Corben
I'm sorry, Dr. Dunn, what evidence do you have that he read a book in fifth grade?
- [08:16]
Dr. Marvin Dunn
You worse than I am.
- [08:17]
Billy Corben
So, Dr. Dunn. Also, as noted in that CBS report that we were playing earlier, this is directly next door. I mean, it shares a lot with what is known as the Freedom Tower, sometimes called the Ellis island of the south, where Cuban immigrants brought to Miami early on in the exit exodus slept on concrete floors and were processed and welcomed into this country, land of milk and honey, an opportunity to fulfill their American dream, and in fact, did by making Miami Dade County a minority majority community. And I wonder the symbolism of that in light of this administration's action with respect to our immigrant population.
- [09:05]
Dr. Marvin Dunn
You know, we must respect that Freedom Tower as important to the history of this community and particularly to our Cuban American citizens. That building is symbolic. It's important. We must protect it from now on. But to erect a structure next to it that memorializes a president who has been the most suppressive of freedom in the history of this country, next to that building, that's an iris that escapes me. Donald Trump has no business having a building next to the Freedom Tower, supposedly representing his stance on freedom. The man has been the most repressive president in American history. That building should not be erected next to the Freedom Tower.
- [09:44]
Billy Corben
Why do you suppose that all this happened very quickly? I mean, in a matter of 10 days? Yeah, I think all in 10 days from the time the state contacted the board of trustees. The board of trustees votes, kicks it back to DeSantis and his cabinet. Why do you suppose this all happened as quickly and quietly as it did?
- [10:04]
Dr. Marvin Dunn
Because it's a dirty deal. Because it's a shady deal that they should not even be doing. That's why they've been trying to hide it. The fact that now this has come to light, I think it's a surprise to them. This was not supposed to happen. Secret deal I'm supposed to go through, and we were not supposed to even notice it. There was no discussion before the meeting, otherwise that would have been illegal. The record says there was no discussion during the meeting, and then the vote was unanimous. And then the state steps in an hour or two later, says, okay, it's going to Trump. So how did that happen? Without discussion? Something in the milk and clean like Reverend said.
- [10:37]
Billy Corben
Dun-history.com Dr. You do these teach the truth tours before we go, tell us a little bit about what that is. I know last time you were on the show, we were talking about, you know, book bans and revisionist history. All the good thing, the upside of slavery, all that crazy shit that was happening, and it still is happening in the state of Florida. Tell us about the Teach the Truth tours.
- [11:01]
Dr. Marvin Dunn
Well, very fortunately, my Miami center for Legal justice received a grant for $1.5 million from the Mellon foundation over three years to take people, mainly college students, to places in Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi where lynchings took place, where the worst racial violence took place, so that people could walk the ground over Bud the shed and be transformed in our understanding of our racial history and racial violence. That's what we do, all expenses paid by the center. We've done about a dozen of these tours, and they have been transformational for the people of God.
- [11:37]
Billy Corben
But isn't that just so depressing, as the president would say, isn't that just all the negative stuff, really?
- [11:44]
Dr. Marvin Dunn
You should see the white kids and the black kids embracing, crying, talking to each other in the aftermath of these visits to graves where people were lynched. There's none of that pointing the finger. There's no blaming white people. We're doing this to understand our history and come together. There's no guilt, blame, anger. It's understanding and compassion and coming together to understand our history.
- [12:07]
Billy Corben
Dunn-history.com Marvin Dunn, if you want to understand Miami today, you have to read his book, Black Miami in the 20th century. Marvin Dunn, thanks so much for joining us again.
- [12:19]
Dr. Marvin Dunn
Thank you for having me. Enjoy being with you. Thank you.
- [12:24]
Billy Corben
Hey, friends. It feels like everywhere that you turn these days, there's just another fee. We were talking about it on the show earlier this week. Buy a ticket, there's a fee, pay a bill fee, even your bank piles them on. That's why Chime is such a game changer. Check it out@chime.com Dan With Chime, banking's done right. When direct deposit is set up, there are no monthly fees, no maintenance fees, and you can even get paid up to two days early. And here's the part that really stands out to me. With qualifying direct deposits, Chime gives you free overdraft coverage up to $200 on debit card purchases and withdrawals. To date, members have been spotted over $30 billion. That's billion with a B plus access to 47,000 free ATMs, more than the top three national banks combined. Someone I know uses Chime, and it's made managing money so much easier for them. Work on your financial goals through Chime today. Open an account in 2 minutes@chime.com dan that's chime.com dan Chime feels like progress.
- [13:28]
Deborah Acosta
Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services and debit card provided by the Bancorp Bankna or Stride Bankna members, FDIC spot and eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Timing depends on submission of payment file Fees apply at out of network ATMs. Bank ranking and number of ATMs. According to US News and World Report. 23 chime checking account required.
- [13:42]
Billy Corben
You ever try to name all your financial accounts and their balances? 401ks investments, properties? I can barely remember what I had for lunch, let alone all that stuff. That's why I started using Monarch Money. It's an all in one finance tool that pulls everything together. Your accounts, budgets, goals. And do one clean dashboard on your phone or laptop. And let me tell you, it was a wake up call.
- [14:01]
Mike
I found a 401k from some job.
- [14:03]
Billy Corben
I forgot existed and it wasn't some small change. Ended up being a nice little chunk of change there for the boy. I realized that I had cash just sitting there doing nothing in my investments. Not as smart as I thought it was. Monarch makes all that obvious and actually feels doable. No spreadsheets, no hopping between apps, just a real clear view of my money. You can even share with your partner or financial advisor. No more. Wait, let's see how much we spent on that coffee or that takeout. Monarch puts everything on the table. Literally. Don't let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use code dan@monimalmoney.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year@monimalmoney.com with code 10. Dan, strap in. This is the craziest Miami story never told. Monique Pardo Pope is running for Miami Beach City Commission.
- [14:58]
Deborah Acosta
We have public order laws that have to be enforced.
- [15:01]
Billy Corben
She introduced herself to voters by saying, I come from a Cuban family that believed in deep sacrifice, service of others and standing up for what's right. But what she didn't tell voters is her father, who she honors as my hero, my guardian angel, my guiding light in the sky was Miami's notorious neo Nazi serial killer, Manuel Pardo, a coke dealing, corrupt cop sentenced to die in Florida's electric chair nine times on May 7, 1986, 43 cops, including a SWAT team and the police bomb squad, raided Monique Pardo Pope's family apartment to arrest her father, Manuel Pardo, who slaughtered six men and three women in three months, beating and shooting them in cold blood. His motive? Greed. The individual allegedly wanted a larger piece of the pie, so to speak. The men were drug dealers and Pardo was ripping them off, stealing their cash, credit cards and cocaine.
- [15:54]
Deborah Acosta
Police say evidence linking Pardo to the.
- [15:57]
Billy Corben
Execution style slangs was found in Pardo's home. In the Pardo family's Lago Grande Haile apartment, cops found Polaroid pictures of his murder victims, a diary where he meticulously recorded the killings, names, dates, how many kilos he stole. Also, there was a Nazi flag hanging on the wall, 500 books about Hitler, three rifles engraved with swastikas, and the family's Doberman pinscher that Monique's mass murdering dad had tattooed with a swastika on his leg. Manuel Pardo was a Marine Corps veteran who began his law enforcement career with the Florida Highway Patrol. He was fired in 1979 for falsifying 100 traffic tickets, then hired by the Sweetwater Police Department. In January 1981, Pardo was charged in a series of police brutality cases, but those charges were eventually dropped. He was fired for lying and falsifying police records to cover up for a fellow coke dealing Sweetwater cop caught with 242 kilos. Then he became a serial killer. And despite being arrested for nine murders, Pardo bragged to a fellow inmate that cops missed three more bodies in Homestead. At trial, Pardo used the so called Charles Bronson defense, claiming he was a vigilante ridding the world of scum.
- [17:10]
Dr. Marvin Dunn
These to me were not human beings.
- [17:12]
Billy Corben
They're parasites and they're leeches and they.
- [17:14]
Dr. Marvin Dunn
Have no right to be alive.
- [17:16]
Billy Corben
Manuel murdered one of the men inside a Honda belonging to his wife, Monique Pardo, Pope's mother, which was then cleaned and reupholstered. Pardo murdered Sara Musa because she was a lesbian, throwing her on the floor and emptying his gun into her. She was shot 10 times with defensive gunshot wounds on her hands. When I see my daughter gun chop.
- [17:36]
Dr. Marvin Dunn
And not have a tea.
- [17:37]
Billy Corben
Pardo shot Daisy Ricard five times, but she survived. So he bludgeoned her with a bat and ran over her with a car, crushing her brain and tearing off her right ear. Pardo was proud of being a mass murderer. He enjoyed the killings. He even described them to people so graphically they said it sounded almost sexual. That was not wrong to kill these people. Somebody had to kill these people. Pardo told the jury that Hitler was a great man and agreed with him that Jews, blacks and homosexuals were inferior. That sort of turned off the Jews and the blacks. On the jury, he said his only regret about murdering nine people was that he didn't murder 99 people. The only regret that I have is that instead of nine, I wish I could have been up here for 99. Manuel confessed to the murders his lawyer and mother said he was insane.
- [18:24]
Dr. Marvin Dunn
How many people do you know that think like that? That's abnormal.
- [18:27]
Billy Corben
But over his attorney's strong objections, Manuel Pardo spoke directly to the jury. Ladies and gentlemen, jury, I'd like you all to disregard the statements you heard from my parents. I am a soldier, and as a soldier, I asked him to be given the death penalty. The jury sentenced him to death nine times. And now this one man, judge, jury and executioner is headed for death row. On December 11, 2012, after the electric chair was outlawed, Pardo died by lethal injection. When then Florida governor Rick Scott signed his death warrant, his last meal was leshon asado, rice and beans, plantains and Cuban coffee. Pardo's last words were, I am ready to ride the midnight train to Georgia Airborne forever. I love you, Michi baby. Referring to his daughter, Monique Pardo Pope, he told the court he committed these heinous murders to make his daughter proud. Understand my motive, what I did, because I want my daughter to be proud of her father, and she is. Monique has never repudiated her father or his crimes. She's embraced him and celebrates him. My eternal best friend. There's no one better suited to have been my daddy. And I will forever be proud to have been your little girl. And in post commemorating his birthday and Father's Day, Monique Pardo Pope wrote hashtag, midnight train to Georgia and Airborne forever, quoting her neo Nazi serial killer fathers. That last words on death row. I think I sent a significant message to the community, and I hope there's other people out there that follow my steps. When I first broke this story on social media last week, I emailed Monique Pardo Pope, inviting her to join me today on the podcast to share her compelling story about her complicated family history, her relationship with her father, her public comments about him as an adult overcoming adversity to become the lawyer and the person and the candidate that she is today. I thought it would do the voters of Miami Beach a lot of good to hear it directly from her. Instead of replying to my invitation, Pardo Pope doubled down on dishonesty and attacked the messenger. In a failed effort to silence my accurate reporting about her family, she released a statement where she starts off by saying, I have not hidden who I am, but she's definitely been less than truthful with voters about her background. She's been campaigning for a powerful public position overseeing $1 billion budget in taxpayer money. Citing her family background. Interst statement, she goes on to accuse me of smears, attacks and bullying. But the truth is not a smear or an attack. Again, facts don't bully. I stand by my story and note that nowhere in her statement does Pardo Pope challenge the substance of my reporting and she's still being untruthful about who her father really is, she writes. The courts found my father to be mentally ill due to health problems. The exact opposite is true. The facts are Pardo's defense attorneys repeatedly argued he was insane, but three court appointed mental health experts testified he was legally sane and the insanity defense was rejected by the jury who called it a made up defense and rejected by every single appellate court all the way to the Florida Supreme Court. And then she went too far inventing a defamatory lie about me, pardo Pope told the New Times. Billy Corbyn has made a career of slinging mud which has even resulted in losing a defamation case. That is a total lie. There is no such case. She just made it up. The only defamation case I've ever been involved in resulted in a $412,000 award to my side. We can disagree and have good faith debates with facts, but we cannot deliberately and invent and spread malicious lies. Because of her defamatory lie, I was forced to send this cease and desist letter. As an officer of the court who attended an excellent law school, Pardo Pope should know better. I hope she understands now and will consider publicly apologizing, correcting her misinformation and joining me here on the Because Miami podcast to share an open and honest dialogue with her voters who have a right to know the truth so they can make an informed decision when they vote this November.
- [22:40]
Mike
Hey Jeremy, old buddy, old pal. Hey Mike, I want to talk to you about Miller Lite. You and I have bonded over these last few weeks talking about our shared love of Miller Lite. That's right, a great partner of our show for practically its entire existence.
- [22:52]
Billy Corben
It's been a partner of this show since I was 10 years old and.
- [22:55]
Mike
It'S been around for 50 years and they've been a part of our show for almost 20. We're approaching incredible partner status with Miller Lite.
- [23:03]
Billy Corben
I mean, to think that people were celebrating at my bar mitzvah with Miller Lite as they were a partner of this show is pretty incredible.
- [23:10]
Mike
You're talking about the moments that are made better by making those times, those special times. Miller Time. Jeremy, there's nothing like cracking open Miller Lite with your crew this football season. It's especially true whether it's a touchdown you didn't see coming or just Arguing about fantasy lineups you already know you're gonna lose. Miller Lite has been the taste you can depend on for 50 years. Brewed for flavor with simple ingredients, rich toffee notes that iconic golden color. And here's a kicker. Jeremy.
- [23:35]
Billy Corben
What's that?
- [23:35]
Mike
It's just 96 calories.
- [23:36]
Billy Corben
I still can't believe that we say it every week. I can't believe it.
- [23:39]
Mike
It's just 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. It's the original light beer since 1975 and still hit indifferent five decades later. Miller Lite Great Taste. 96 calories. Go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.
- [24:03]
Billy Corben
What does Zyn give you? Not just smoke free nicotine satisfaction, but real freedom. Freedom to do what you love and choose your rewards. With Zinn Rewards, you can redeem points for premium tech outdoor gear and gift cards to your favorite retailers. Find your Zyn and keep keep finding rewards that fit your lifestyle@zen.com rewards warning. This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical. I was gonna say that you was back baby, but we lost the bye week. Somehow we dropped from two to three.
- [24:47]
Mike
Yeah, that's what happens when Oregon beats Penn State. Apparently they jump the hurricanes.
- [24:52]
Billy Corben
Robbed. It's okay. The Canes are still the number three ranked team in the country. The Miami Dolphins and the power rankings are what, 29 out of 32? Roy.
- [25:01]
Mike
Yeah, and only because they beat somebody.
- [25:03]
Billy Corben
That was below them with the Jets. Yeah, it's okay. Miami is still number one in a lot of things. Por hemp low.
- [25:10]
Deborah Acosta
So according to a new global survey, Miamians are paying more per meal to eat out than anywhere else in the country. This study ranked more than 175 cities worldwide based on the average cost of dining out, the price of coffee and beer against local wages earned. Miami landed 72nd overall, worse than any other US city. A mid range three course meal costs about 60 bucks a person.
- [25:39]
Billy Corben
60 bucks per person might not sound like huge, but $60 for a person doesn't sound huge. Well, what I'm saying is is that like if you're going to indulge or go out every once in a while and treat yourself or your family, but a single meal eats up 1.4% of earnings when measured against Miami's average monthly salary which is only 4,230 bucks. So this is part of the study is like compared to, to earnings. So everything is too damn expensive. But also nobody's making any money is the other problem. But don't worry, we're number one in other things too. Roy, for example, Miami has topped ubs, his list of global cities at risk of a real estate bubble. We did it. We did it, guys. So this is really exciting. UBS Major Duty International bank says that Miami is for the second year in a row ranked number one for a potential real estate crash out of all the cities in the world. This is a worldwide, not just like the AFC east. Ok. This is a power race. Buffalo. This is, yeah, it's just only Buffalo or the Jets. This is, we're talking about every city in the world. And why is that, do you suppose that we're primed for a crash? Well, the United Way has put out its latest ALICE Report. The ALICE report is a really interesting and depressing thing. It's an acronym for Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed. That means people who have jobs, sometimes multiple jobs, and how they are struggling to just survive. For example, you can see on the screen now, 54% of Miami Dade county households are below the ALICE threshold, which means that they are basically, we're basically living paycheck to paycheck. And this is versus the 2023 Alice report, which had it at 51%. So it is trending in the wrong direction. And what does that mean? That means that people are again, it's kind of compared to two wages. So in Miami Dade county, the current median household income, and this is countywide, is $72,311. The current household survival budget is $89,844. So we're all over 12 grand underwater just to survive in Miami Dade County. And when you look across the municipalities of Miami Dade, obviously different municipalities are suffering more than others. The worst off is north Miami at 68%, which is Alice. And the poverty below the poverty line, 66% in Hialeah, 62% in Homestead, 71%. I'm sorry, in Leisure City, that tops it. And 56% are either below the poverty line or struggling to make ends meet in the city of Miami. And yet we're just giving away $300 million lots of property. Another major problem here with the imminent, what the experts think might be an imminent real estate collapse and bust is this.
- [29:04]
Deborah Acosta
This Venezuelan business owner said the political instability has led to a 20% drop in revenue.
- [29:11]
Billy Corben
It's affecting your Clients as well as.
- [29:13]
Deborah Acosta
The people who work here. Here in Florida, Trump won almost 70% of the Cuban American vote in 2024, along with 61% of Doral, home to the largest Venezuelan American population in the U.S. they used us. Adelis Ferro is the co founder and executive director of the Venezuelan American Caucus. How is the Venezuelan community feeling right now, especially in the context of these deportations?
- [29:39]
Billy Corben
Desperate, terrified.
- [29:41]
Deborah Acosta
There are people with mental health issues. There are people with panic attacks, anxiety attacks. They rather to die than go back to Venezuela. And then people are talking about taking back. I have those messages. The ripple effects affecting families and businesses. A lot of people have already invested in businesses here and they've stopped because.
- [30:08]
Billy Corben
They just don't know what the future brings.
- [30:12]
Deborah Acosta
Still, experts say the current turmoil may not hurt the Republican Party.
- [30:16]
Billy Corben
The city of Doral, home to the Trump National Doral, where the G20 summit will be held, is known as Doral Zuela because it probably is the largest and most vibrant Venezuelan community outside of Venezuela itself. And it has been growing by leaps and bounds with working class Venezuelans, wealthy Venezuelans predominantly. And now this incredible report this week from the Wall Street Journal says that this once vibrant housing scene has been hit by an exodus of migrants. Deborah Acosta is the journalist working on that. She is out of Miami and she is joining us now. Deborah, what is the data on this showing? And we'll talk about the why people are fleeing in a moment. But what are the numbers actually indicating?
- [31:04]
Deborah Acosta
Yeah, so this real estate data often lags, but we're looking at vacancy rates at apartment buildings across Doral. And in some cases, we're seeing apartments that have a more than 10% vacancy rate.
- [31:17]
Billy Corben
Wow.
- [31:17]
Deborah Acosta
And according to the leasing agents in those buildings, this vacancy uptick is due to the fact that many of these Venezuelans are fleeing the area.
- [31:26]
Billy Corben
Your report says is that vacancy rates for apartments in municipalities surrounding Doral are at about 4.3%. But indural from late last year, where it was at 5.6%, it's now up to 6.5%. And you're saying that's still lagging? That report we just saw earlier was from this past July where business owners in Doral were already taking hits of upwards of 20% in sales and revenue. So you're saying it's probably even worse.
- [31:54]
Deborah Acosta
Right now in certain buildings? It is, yeah, absolutely. Some of the newer construction buildings where a lot of these new migrants were living, those are seeing a big hit. And, you know, there was a moment in time this year where these individuals really believed. And the Trump administration was making it clear that they would have to leave by September. An appeals court in California has been able to extend that to October of next year, but that just occurred a few days ago. And so now these individuals have a little bit of breathing room for the rest of next year. But basically after October of next year, a lot of these individuals are going to have to figure out something else for themselves because not seeing any pathways for them to be able to stay in the country past that date.
- [32:38]
Billy Corben
Yeah, it seems extremely unlikely that the Trump administration will extend any kind of leniency or, or tps, like, you know, temporary protective status of any kind. You're on the ground in Doral. There's also confusion. Right. People are erring on the side of caution to not get, I don't know, caught up and sent to Alligator, Alcatraz or some ICE prison somewhere. Right. So it's not even just the deadline as much as it is. Like people just don't know what's going on. They maybe can't afford an immigration attorney to. And even the immigration attorneys don't really know what's going on.
- [33:10]
Deborah Acosta
It is absolutely nuts. Absolutely. Yeah. There was a lot of confusion and there still is at this point, though, the individuals with TPS are able to extend until October. However, again, no one knew this until it was almost too late. So a lot of people self deported, particularly people with small children who don't want to be caught up in this Alligator, Alcatraz or whatever else, they don't want to deal with federal agents or getting deported. And so a lot of people with actually very great contributors to the economy, people with great jobs went ahead and self deported or went to other parts of the country to avoid all of this situation. And again, a lot of these people who are still here, I mean, their days are counted. They only have until October, if that at all. So it's a huge problem for this particular municipality in Miami, which really depends a lot on these immigrants who have been coming in and really growing that city, like you said, to the level that it's at today. But it's not just Doral. I mean, we have immigrants all over South Florida that really make up a huge portion of the population and make a huge difference in terms of the rental population in particular. And so we're going to see the spillover effects of this all over South Florida. What makes Doral a really interesting case study is the fact that so many Venezuelans live there, and Venezuelans are such a huge portion of the immigrants who really benefited from this TPS program that's getting phased away by the Trump administration.
- [34:34]
Billy Corben
It's kind of a bummer too, because Doral is arguably an example for kind of responsible growth. It's been growing by leaps and bounds, but, like, there's a hospital and then there's like what appears to be like, reasonably priced workforce housing and rentals and shopping and restaurants and things in kind of in scale with a suburban community like this. It was all kind of lovely in a way. It was like not what you see in Miami where just like growth on top of growth and condos next to condos on top of condos just to the sky. It all just seemed kind of in the, the design and the scale of the neighborhood or of this city.
- [35:11]
Deborah Acosta
It's definitely a huge success story. I mean, it's grown by leaps and bounds, like you said. It's very balanced. It's a live work play environment to the extreme. I mean, there's like huge office headquarters there. Univision and other like Royal Caribbean has an office there. And so it's a, it's a growing space. And guess what? Even our president saw a huge opportunity there when he invested and bought that very large property, the Trump Doral. And he himself has said what a vibrant, wonderful community it is. And that's why he invested there. He's bringing the G20 summit there next year. And actually he's planning his organization, the Trump Organization is planning on building some condo units there. So, I mean, for who?
- [35:53]
Billy Corben
Who's gonna live there? Let me. Deborah, I gotta ask you, not once but twice in your article, you use the word fled. Fled, fled to describe what is happening with the Venezuelan community in Doral. This term I, and I use the word flee earlier, kind of borrowing from your article. This term is usually reserved for when people are escaping third world dictatorships or authoritarian regimes, when people are fleeing Cuba, fleeing Venezuela, usually for Miami. In that case, why the term fled? What are some of the anecdotes you've heard of people like to sort of up and skipping town in the middle of the night?
- [36:32]
Deborah Acosta
Well, like we said, a lot of these are people who have white collar jobs. They saw a pathway here into the United States when the Biden administration started opening up more opportunities for people to migrate here. And so a lot of these individuals are not used to living in the fringes of society. They're used to being somewhere if they're fully legal in that country and they have a job if they have a future. Right? And so particularly people with small children, families, they suddenly saw that stuff drying up for them when there was this big change from the admin. Why would they stick around? They're like, well, you know, I've got a better opportunity for me in this other country or even back in Venezuela in some cases. So one example that I found quite shocking is like a family that just like, disappeared from one day to the next from their single family home. They were renting the home. They'd been there for two years with their two children and basically stopped paying rent from one month to the next. The landlord was like, what's going on? These people have always been great at paying rent and beautiful family, et cetera. It's like, what's going on? Why aren't you paying? Why didn't you pay the rent? Why are you skipping out? Oh, I'm so sorry. We had to, like, divert all of our funds to immigration attorneys to figure out what the hell's going on and what's, you know, what we're going to do next. And it got to the point where it was like, okay, we're going to have to leave. I'm so sorry. And left the keys in the house from one day to the next, disappear. Leave most of their furniture behind, their personal belongings. Didn't even take out the trash. And so the landlord and the realtor are like, we've never seen this before. This is wild. Like, why would people decide to disappear from one day to the next from this community? That's never happened before in, in their entire careers. And so that was where I was like, okay, this is super interesting. And then you've got the leasing agents all complaining that they're losing tenants from one day to the next. No, nobody's renewing. Like, what's happening? Why? Oh, well, because I'm no longer going to be able to be here legally, or I've lost my, my, you know, broker's license because I no longer have a current driver's license. I can't renew it because et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. And so these individuals don see a future for themselves. They're educated, they have other options, and they just get up and leave.
- [38:40]
Billy Corben
So are you saying that family is not getting their security deposit back, Deborah?
- [38:44]
Deborah Acosta
That's right. And so it also brings up other issues in the fair housing law. You know, there's complicating issues here where landlords, if they see temporary on someone's license, they don't want to let them in, they don't want to rent to them.
- [38:59]
Billy Corben
So they're going to discriminate against them effectively and not be able and not rent them a home.
- [39:03]
Deborah Acosta
This is actively happening not only with the single family homes, but in certain buildings. The policy is according to the leases. Leasing agents I spoke with, if somebody has a temporary status or even if they're applying for asylum, we don't want them here. You don't have to like go through and like when you're renewing the leases of the people who already live here, you don't have to look through their documents to see where they're at. But if it's somebody new, no, we're pushing them away. And so these people, these leasing agents, they say in many cases more than half of the people that are coming in to get an apartment, they have to turn away because they're all temporary people.
- [39:38]
Billy Corben
Deborah, we're seeing, you know, last question, a $400 million county budget deficit that had to be shored up with taxes going up, though they always argue the millage rate isn't going up, but we're still paying more in taxes. Miami Beach, I think, suffered from just 23 to 24 and approximately 10% hit in resort taxes, which means from 24 to 25, it's going to be, I mean, who knows how much worse it could be. It could be double or triple that. Is there a follow up story here to be had in Doral and surrounding areas? The resulting kind of overall economic effect, not just the real estate, although real estate is kind of everything in this town. The, the condos. And you said the upside is the rental prices are obviously going to, going to bottom out here. I guess in Doral. I guess that's good news for locals, I suppose. But, you know, is there an overall picture here to paint of an economy teetering or in slow motion or in fast forward to collapse?
- [40:32]
Deborah Acosta
You know, I focus a lot on the real estate, so I, you know, I wonder about the apartment buildings. We have a lot of new, brand new apartment buildings that are coming onto the market and have been coming onto the market. And so I do see a glut of apartment buildings, particularly the luxury apartment buildings. And that's actually a follow up story I'm writing about now is like, what's going to happen to all these apartments that are vacant and can be problematic for an economy, particularly one like ours, that really focuses on real estate and really depends on real estate. But in terms of like the working population, you know, we are a very retiree heavy community, not only in South Florida, but all of Florida. We have a lot of retirees down here. And we really do depend on immigrants for working age population. That population is coming down. I mean, if you look at the census figures, it's clear we have fewer and fewer working age people in our communities here. And once these working age people that have been coming in start coming out, then we have even less. And so that definitely becomes problematic. Right. Who is going to do the work in Florida? There's palm trees and sunshine and beaches, but who's going to be actually, like, getting the work done in Florida to keep it pumping? That's an open question at the moment.
- [41:52]
Billy Corben
As my friend Peter Zaluski of Condo Vultures says, as goes the condo market, so goes the economy in Miami Dade County. So when you talk about vacancies, when you talk about rents coming down again, on the one hand, us locals are like, yeah, you know? And on the other hand, it's like, well, like you said, who's going to work here? Who's spending money here? And when your kind of sole economic engine is growth, where is there to go from here but down? So see Roy, some good news. Miami is number one. Yay. Deborah Acosta. Read her@WSJ.com in the wall Street Journal. Thank you so much for being here.
- [42:32]
Deborah Acosta
It's a pleasure as always. Billy, thank you so much for having me.
- [42:35]
Billy Corben
See? A pleasure as always. I never get that. Sure. Don't I? Yeah. I mean, it was. Billy, this was really a great obligation. Eileen Higgins, about that. Yes, Just you wait. Eileen Higgins, Cocaine's.
- [42:51]
Mike
Hey, Jeremy, old buddy, old pal.
- [42:53]
Billy Corben
Hey, Mike.
- [42:53]
Mike
I want to talk to you about Miller Lite. You and I have bonded over these last few weeks talking about our shared love of Miller Lite.
- [42:58]
Billy Corben
That's right.
- [42:59]
Mike
A great partner of our show for practically its entire existence.
- [43:03]
Billy Corben
It's been a partner of this show since I was 10 years old and.
- [43:06]
Mike
It'S been around for 50 years. And they've been a part of our show for almost 20. We're approaching incredible partner status with Miller Lite.
- [43:15]
Billy Corben
I mean, to think that people were celebrating at my bar Mitch mitzvah with Miller Lite as they were a partner of this show is pretty incredible.
- [43:21]
Mike
You're talking about the moments that are made better by making those times, those special times. Miller time. Jeremy, there's nothing like cracking open Miller Lite with your crew this football season. It's especially true whether it's a touchdown you didn't see coming or just arguing about fantasy lineups you already know you're gonna lose. Miller Lite has been the taste you can depend on for 50 years. Brewed for flavor with simple ingredients. Rich toffee notes that iconic golden color. And here's a kicker. Jeremy what's that? It's just 96 calories.
- [43:47]
Billy Corben
I still can't believe that we say it every week. I can't believe it.
- [43:50]
Mike
It's just 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. It's the original light beer since 1975 and still hit indifferent five decades later. Miller Lite Great Taste. 96 calories. Go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.