Look up in the sky! It's a bird. No, it's a plane. No, it's the financial ceiling on Miami-Dade County crumbling down.
And at the center of it all is Mayor Carlos Alvarez, who reminded everyone during his State of the County address on Wednesday that he is as oblivious to the county's woes as he is bold.
The much-maligned mayor made his way to the podium for his speech after the theme song to Superman was played by a 15-piece orchestra as if he was a conquering superhero. At least he left the cape and tights at home, but some might wonder who paid for that ensemble considering the county is facing a $50 million budget hole this year.
We could have thought of a more appropriate entrance song for the mayor of a county falling apart. "Highway to Hell" perhaps?
Alvarez's people claim the Miami Symphony Orchestra volunteered their services for free, and were instructed not to play the Superman theme music. The group also played a few bars of Star Wars and "Fanfare for the Common Man."
Symphony officials said they were not told scratch Superman from the play list.
"We were never told not to play," Eduardo Marturet, the conductor for the Miami Symphony Orchestra. "I'm sorry if my choice created any damage to the mayor. We had fun with."
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But music choice aside, Alvarez's speech reminded county residents that tougher times are likely coming and he doesn't plan on going anywhere. Take that one with a grain of salt the size of a pearl. Here is transcript of the speech.
Alvarez said county employees only need hold on until the new Florida Marlins stadium is up and running in 2012 and the Port of Miami tunnel is built, which may never actually happen. Then, the county will be back on its feet and better than ever.
Alvarez may have a better shot at leaping the Bacardi Building in a single bound or beating the Metro Rail in a foot race.
The rah-rah speech wasn't quite met with thunderous applause by the employees in the building. Some of them won't have the option of waiting because they will likely be fired in the next few months to make up for the budget gap.
One thing Superman and Alvarez seem to have in common is that something green often gets them in trouble.
Anybody got a spare piece of Kryptonite?
