In case you missed it...

At a City Hall rally Thursday afternoon, Miami Beach resident Mike Burke politely
discussed the city's problems as Mayor Matti Bower listened intently.

...there was some kind of demonstration at Miami Beach City Hall Thursday.

Not much was accomplished, but it made for some outstanding teevee.

If you missed it, here are the highlights:

The participants all pretty much agreed on one thing: It's time to get rid of Miami Beach Mayor Matti Bower and City Manager Jorge Gonzalez.

Former Miami Herald reporter and Beach resident Edna Buchanan told Local 10's Michael Putney, "For the decade [Gonzalez has] been city manager, our city has turned into a third world country."

Miami Beach Mayor Matti Bower got into several shouting matches with some of the protestors. At one point it appeared that her eyeballs were on the verge of exploding. (It's just a hunch, but as I watched news footage of Matti engaging one protestor after another, I couldn't help thinking that she had seen this movie one time too many.)

Miami Beach Mayor Matti Bower shouts at resident Mike Burke.
Mike Burke shouts back. Both point fingers at each other.

CBS4 showed video of brand new Miami Beach Police Chief Ray Martinez observing the action from the second floor of city hall.

In the run-up to today's demonstration, there was an exchange of emails, embedded below) between City Manager Gonzalez and Miami Beach Commissioner Ed "Mad Dog" Tobin.

In one of the emails, Tobin complains: "Commissioners are not privy to ANY matters of employee misconduct or malfeasance. We get that type of information from newspapers, blogs and the rumor mill."

(Note to "Mad Dog" from Random Pixels: It's not my fault that I have better sources than you.)

The next regular Miami Beach Commission meeting is set for May 9. With any luck at all, that proceeding will make today's demonstration seem tame by comparison.

Apr.24 Tobin/manager Exchange