The day after Miami-Dade County Public Schools sued WLRN's management company, the chair of the radio station's board unloaded on district leaders.

• Emails show the chair, Richard Rampell, called a district official a "petty, small-minded, vindictive bureaucrat" and a school board member "a two-faced shamelessly ambitious politician."

Why it matters: The exchanges, revealed in court documents last week, show how contentious the relationship between the station and the district, which holds its broadcasting license, has become.

• And it further escalates the months-long conflict over South Florida Public Media Group's effort to acquire a radio station in West Palm Beach.

Catch up quick: Last week, Miami-Dade Public Schools sued the parent company of South Florida's NPR station over its effort to acquire a radio station in West Palm Beach, claiming the company violated its contract.

• The district alleges the media group would be using funds from an endowment for WLRN that is meant to exclusively support the Miami community.
• SFPMG disputed those claims.

The latest: In an email to district chief of staff Jose Bueno, Rampell claimed the lawsuit was "a despicable act that you clearly helped instigate" and that Bueno and the board's actions were a "cowardly assault on the free press."

• The email continues to say that WLRN "will not be dissuaded" and that "Mark Twain was right" by saying, "At first God created idiots; that was for practice. Then he created school boards."

In a separate email sent the same day to school board member Danny Espino, who also sits on WLRN's board of directors, Rampell accused him of "double-cross[ing]" the station.

• Rampell wrote that Espino had "assured us in our meeting that you supported our efforts to expand our reach into Palm Beach County."
• He said he would "urge the [WLRN] board to publicly kick [Espino] off" if he didn't resign.

The other side: Espino rejected Rampell's assertions, calling his email "unprofessional" and an "attempt to impugn" his integrity, emails show.

• In his response, Espino said SFPMG informed him of its hopes to expand beyond the district's license, to which he added, "I believe I wished you luck."
• "For you to imply that my comments somehow blessed your business endeavor," with limited information, he said, "is a nonsensical proposition."

Friction point: "Espino's response is purely self-serving," Rampell told Axios Wednesday. "For him to accuse me of [being unprofessional] is a cheap smear. I don't need a lecture from him on how to behave or correspond."

• Rampell argued WLRN gave Espino "full disclosure" of the acquisition plans.

Espino did not respond to Axios' questions regarding the email exchange, and district officials declined to comment on pending litigation.

• The district's attorneys filed copies of the emails in circuit court on Friday.

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The Trump administration said yesterday it's barring a University of Miami affiliate from the network that distributes donated organs, citing unsafe practices, administrative errors and underperformance.

Why it matters: The action, if completed, would mark the first time an organ procurement organization has been decertified, and the first time federal regulators have used their authority to pull an active contract for such work.

• In a statement, Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency (LAORA), a division of the University of Miami's health system, said it wouldn't appeal the decision and will "cooperate fully with HHS to ensure a smooth transition."

State of play: HHS said an investigation revealed years of unsafe practices, chronic underperformance and paperwork errors, including a 2024 case in which a mistake led a surgeon to turn down a donated heart for a patient awaiting transplant surgery.

• The University of Miami did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Between the lines: The organ transplant system has been a source of bipartisan concern for years.

Context: Organ procurement organizations are non-profit federal contractors that come into hospitals in defined regions to gather donor organs from deceased patients. There are 55 such organizations across the U.S.

• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regulates and certifies the organizations. CMS implemented new regulations in 2020 that created more stringent performance requirements.
• Current data shows that 47% of OPOs in the country would be automatically decertified or forced into competition for their contract next year, according to the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations.

Keep reading: What they're saying

👀 Lionel Messi and Inter Miami have agreed to terms on a new multiyear deal, a source tells the Miami Herald.

• The 38-year-old's current contract expires at the end of the 2025 season.

📚 The Partnership for Miami is committing nearly $2 million to expand an early literacy program to four schools in Miami-Dade County. (Press release)

⚖️ The Federal Trade Commission and seven state attorneys general — including Florida's — sued Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation yesterday, accusing them of allowing brokers to snap up large quantities of tickets and profiting from it. (Axios)

Here's what's happening around Miami this weekend.

🐰 Mi Casa Tu Casa: The two-day Bad Bunny-themed house party at the Dead Flamingo pop-up at Casa Tiki is bringing the star's residency to Miami.

• Friday and Saturday, 9:30p.m. Tickets: $47+

🌽 The Berry Farm's Harvest Festival is open Saturday 9am-6:30pm and Sunday 9am-7pm.

• There's line dancing every Saturday from 7pm-11pm.
• Ticket prices vary. Saturday GA tickets start at $18.76 for kids.
• Line dancing tickets start at $21.60.

😳 The Horrorland, an 18-acre horror carnival at Jungle Island, is open Thursday-Sunday, 7pm-11pm.

• GA tickets start at $35.99.

🐠 International Coastal Cleanup Day: Join one of the nearly dozen cleanups happening across South Florida as part of a one-day, global volunteer effort to clear our lakes, rivers and beaches of trash.

• Saturday, times and location vary depending on organizer.

🎧 Coffee and Beats: Celebrate the caffeinated music event's one-year anniversary with a takeover of Sable coffee shop in Wynwood.

• Saturday, 10am-2pm. Tickets: $11+

More events: Sports

Martin and Sommer here! We enjoyed some team time at the energy-filled Bandalos Chinos show last night.

• Dare we say the downpours made the show even more fun?