The South Florida Roundup

On the South Florida Roundup, we looked at what to expect if Florida voters approve a ballot measure in November to greenlight recreational marijuana use (01:01). We also asked whether residing in Miami-Dade County should be a prerequisite for being elected Sheriff of Miami-Dade County because several candidates live in Broward (18:42). And we discussed a genocide trial underway in Guatemala and why the events that happen there matters here (34:47).

On the South Florida Roundup, we discussed the Broward bog-down: Schools superintendent Peter Licata retires after less than a year on the job – while the district settles in court to pay tens of millions of dollars to charter schools (01:03). We also looked at how West Palm Beach is restoring the idea of public spaces as “third places (18:37).” And we examined why the Biden Administration had to re-tighten the oil sanctions screws on Venezuela this week – and what it all means for expat voters here (34:45).

On the South Florida Roundup, we spoke with Ben Crump, the attorney for Donald Armstrong, the Liberty City man shot by Miami police last month during a mental health episode. Does the case revive issues about Miami police training? (01:03) We also looked at what happens now that Miami’s district map has been dumped because of its racial gerrymandering (15:10). And we talked about the new interactive Everglades restoration visuals for the WLRN podcast Bright Lit Place (28:09).

On the South Florida Roundup, we updated listeners on the worsening crisis in Haiti: Powerful gangs making a violent bid for political clout; political bosses holding up a new transitional government; the deeper suffering of Haitians themselves (01:02). We also looked at the legal battle raging in Broward County over how much money public schools are required to give charter schools (08:20). And we examined whether Florida’s draconian new abortion law may steer women here toward Latin America (21:38).

On the South Florida Roundup, we talked about a lawsuit filed by two FIU students from China and a UF professor that challenges a Florida law blocking some foreign research recruitment (00:04). We also discussed Miami-Dade County’s new tourism district in the Redland and what it could mean for the area (16:58). And the economic engine of pornography in South Florida (32:23).

On the South Florida Roundup, we speak to the president of Stand with Parkland, Tony Montalto, ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris’ scheduled tour of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (01:02). We discuss elections in Palm Beach County and spoke to the youngest person ever voted into the Pembroke Pines city commission (16:53). And we hear the latest on Miami City Manager Art Noriega's controversial furniture business dealings from the WLRN Investigations team (34:04).

On the South Florida Roundup, we spoke to Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried about her decision to suspend two of the party’s South Florida chairpersons, amid fears that Democrats could lose once reliable Miami-Dade County (01:01). We also discussed Miami-Dade’s decision to scrap the Seaquarium — and what a more 21st-century use for that site is (19:25). And we examined whether Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ prep for more Haitian boat people is just more political grandstanding (35:13).

On The South Florida Roundup, we examine a disturbing maritime mystery: sawfish deaths in the waters off the Lower Keys, and bizarre behavior from other fish species (01:02). We also talked to a Haitian-American leader in South Florida who, like most Haitian expats, is urging President Biden to change course in Haiti before it’s too late (18:37). And we heard from Cuban exile and Hialeah son Edel Rodriguez about his new graphic memoir, Worm (35:05).

On the South Florida Roundup we spoke to the mayors of Miami Beach and Hollywood about why we’ve come to dread the month of March here, and whether some efforts to block the spring break crowds are crossing a line (01:03). We took a look at whether Miami International and Florida-Hollywood International Airports have fixed their nagging problems in time for the spring break wave (19:08). And we examined whether throwing more sand at the problem is really the way to save our beaches (35:29).

On The South Florida Roundup, we discussed our latest history education controversy and we asked, "if we teach the evils of communism, shouldn’t we include fascism?" (01:03) We also talked (or vented) about how unaffordable many South Florida events have become for average South Floridians (19:17). Plus we examined how the left and the right are taking Latin American human rights back to the bad old days (35:33).

On The South Florida Roundup, we discussed the age and competency anxieties that are gripping this year’s presidential election, because if South Florida – America’s Senior Citizen Central – can’t address them, who can? (01:03) We also looked at the animal welfare and other concerns swirling around the Miami Seaquarium (19:01). And we talked with the daughter of the late Jamaican reggae legend Bob Marley, Sharon Marley, about the new biopic Bob Marley: One Love (34:35).

On The South Florida Roundup, we spoke to Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Peter Licata about how he’s adjusting to dramatically declining enrollment – and the growing competition that’s driving it (01:02). We also looked at the state legislature’s efforts to get sorely needed tourism workforce housing built in the Florida Keys (19:04). And we examined the case of Guatemalan migrant farmworker Virgilio Aguilar-Mendez, who community leaders insist was unjustly charged with a Florida police officer’s death (34:32).

On the South Florida Roundup, we looked at widening ethics investigations into Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s lucrative moonlighting – and Democrats telling him to resign as he proposes city reforms (00:05). We also discussed an exclusive WLRN report about Florida’s anti-'woke' government finding something positive about diversity, equity and inclusion (17:50). And we examined Haiti’s new struggles against violent gang government as its real government faces a deadline to step down next week (33:36).

On The South Florida Roundup, we examined a rash of inmate deaths and suicides in Broward County’s jail facilities (01:03). We also looked at the city of Hialeah’s vote this week to stop the rental of recreational vehicles as residences — and what it says about our affordable housing crisis (18:56). And we discussed the new debate about the Cuba crisis. But this time it’s not about communism — it’s about capitalism (34:45).

In this episode of The South Florida Roundup we’ll look at bills in the new Florida state legislative session that would roll back gun control measures passed after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School six years ago (01:02). We also discussed last week’s cancellation of the South Florida Muslim Federation’s annual gathering at a Broward venue (18:51). And we asked what could be done about the record logjam of asylum cases in U.S. immigration courts like Miami’s (34:48).

On the South Florida Roundup, we discussed more 'Miami mess': the arrest of former Miami-Dade County School Board Vice Chair Lubby Navarro for allegedly stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the school system (01:03). We also talked to the makers of “Never Drop the Ball,” WLRN-TV’s new documentary about America’s pioneering 20th-century Negro baseball leagues (18:25). And we tried to make sense of the new outburst of narco-cartel violence plaguing Ecuador and Latin America (35:12).

In the first show of 2024, we discuss WLRN's investigation into Miami's hiring of the city manager’s wife for office remodeling. We look at a proposal to place homeless seniors and veterans into transitional housing in Cutler Bay that is being met with resistance (18:37). And we examine President Biden’s decision to free Venezuela’s alleged corruption mastermind, Alex Saab, from his Miami jail cell (35:29).

On the South Florida Roundup, we close out 2023 by looking at how tough the year was for South Florida’s most critical commodity: its environment. And that includes the Everglades, whose revival feels dangerously dormant (01:03). We also examine the face and the future of the Palestinians, both in Gaza and here, amid the brutal Israel-Hamas war (17:58). And we discuss new polls that suggest President Biden and the Democrats are in more trouble with Latino voters next year than they thought (34:00).

On The South Florida Roundup, with the year nearing its end, we look back at some stories that helped define 2023 in South Florida. First, education — and the often bitter debate here involving diversity, parental rights versus LGBTQ+ rights and book-banning (01:01). We also discuss how the affordable housing crisis finally took center stage across the region (18:01). And we examine the American immigration crisis — and the Latin American leaders, like Venezuela’s, who made it worse (33:04).

On the South Florida Roundup, we looked at the holiday edition of the Miami mess: embattled City Attorney Victoria Mendez gets to keep her job — for the moment — while the city commission corrects all the multi-million-dollar mistakes it’s made with the budget (01:01). We also spoke with Nancy Ancrum, the Miami Herald’s editorial page editor who is retiring after leading the paper to two Pulitzer Prizes (18:39). And we examined why Venezuela claims it should have two-thirds of neighboring Guyana (35:19).

On the South Florida Roundup, we looked at how Miami Art Week and events like it are now a development engine for some of South Florida’s once struggling communities like Opa-Locka (1:00); a retired U.S. diplomat and former ambassador to Bolivia who was charged with spying for Cuba (8:40); and how the state of Florida may soon loosen development restrictions in the Florida Keys (22:48).

On the South Floria Roundup, we discussed the Broward County controversy over whether a transgender student can play girls’ volleyball (01:03), the new WLRN Everglades podcast Bright Lit Place – and Big Sugar’s role in blocking the cleanup of one of our key eco-treasures (18:35) , and we examine how Puerto Rico’s mortality rate is going up as its healthcare system tumbles down (34:16).

On the South Florida Roundup, we examine how our region’s three major airports are likely to perform amid what’s likely to be record holiday traffic in the skies (01:03), we also look at a more unsettling aspect of the holidays: the fact that a larger share of people here are experiencing food insecurity than the rest of the country (18:45), and we ask if the country’s largest Spanish-language TV network is suddenly cozying up to Donald Trump (33:57).

On the South Florida Roundup, we discussed Miami-Dade’s new public bus system that launched this week (01:02), a WLRN investigation that finds Citizens Property Insurance is using unlicensed inspectors as it moves to drop homes from its burgeoning coverage rolls (16:38), and Argentina's presidential election (33:39).

On The South Florida Roundup, we looked at South Florida’s sugarcane harvest season – also known as the sugarcane burning season – and asked just how dangerous it is to the health of nearby residents (01:01). We also examined affluent Coral Gables’ renewed effort to annex the low-income Little Gables neighborhood – where many residents fear they’ll just be booted out (17:54). And we discussed the latest dispute over a sunken ship – this one containing an estimated $20 billion, found off Colombia’s coast (33:56).

We talked with both Jewish and Muslim community leaders about the disturbing increase in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents (01:01). We also preview next week’s local elections in Miami-Dade County (35:17).

On the South Florida Roundup, we discussed why the Palm Beach County Commission rejected a land-swap proposal that supporters hoped could alleviate the housing crisis (01:00). We also recalled the life of the late Shirley Gibson, who helped create Miami Gardens 20 years ago (18:09). Later, we ask if Venezuela’s new opposition candidate, Maria Corina Machado, can dislodge a dictatorship (34:22).

A year ago this week, the Biden Administration launched a humanitarian parole for migrants escaping crisis and dictatorship in Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. It’s brought a quarter million people to the U.S. – especially South Florida. But has it alleviated the crush at the U.S. southern border? On the South Florida Roundup, WLRN reporters discussed WLRN News' new series: “Waiting for America” – examining the successes and failures of President Biden’s key immigration policy.

On the South Florida Roundup, we spoke with a respected former Middle East correspondent to help make sense of the tragic conflict now raging in Israel – and how it affects our local Jewish and Arab communities (01:03). We also examined the Florida House Speaker’s attempt to reduce the number of the state’s judicial circuits (19:26) and we looked at whether Miami Beach is spoiling its celebrated historic look with more luxury condo towers (34:39).

On the South Florida Roundup, we discussed a court decision to stop the City of Miami’s attempt to keep a business owner from running for the District 1 commission seat (01:00), Broward College’s uncertain future after it suddenly lost a president and picked another (08:42) and the U.N. sending a police mission to gang-ravaged Haiti (21:27).

On the South Florida Roundup, we examined Florida’s decision to yank voucher money from two South Florida private schools because it says their owner is a shill for China (01:00), why the Cuban government is allowing more economic freedom — but not political liberalization (08:22) and Miami-Dade County’s ramped-up efforts to get rid of septic tanks (29:17).

This week on the South Florida Roundup we discussed the city of Miami's decision to spend millions of dollars on a half dozen homes as part of their effort to create more affordable housing (01:03); Broward County finding 'forever chemicals' in their water (19:24); and the Biden Administration's decision to extend and redesignate temporary protections for Venezuelans (41:04).

This week on the South Florida Roundup we discussed a proposal to bring speed enforcement cameras to school zones in Miami-Dade County (06:49), the big things to have your eyes on for the coming fiscal year across South Florida (19:20) and a court order that will block thousands of recently arrived Cubans from getting permanent residency in the U.S. after one year and one day (37:56).

This week on the South Florida Roundup we discussed the clash between the proposed Miami Wilds water park at Zoo Miami and conservationists (1:01); the Parrothead culture that “tropical rock” music legend Jimmy Buffett left in Key West and beyond (19:02); and Cuba’s sudden — and questioned — claim that it’s broken up a smuggling ring sending Cubans to fight for Russia in Ukraine (36:10).

This week on the South Florida Roundup we discussed the Miami-Dade County mayor’s budget priorities (1:00), the City of Miami mayor’s ethics issues and his short-lived run for president (19:06) and the international community’s inability to come up with a workable plan of intervention to help Haiti overcome gang rules (34:46).

This week on The South Florida Roundup, we discussed new plans to protect Miami's coast from storms (1:00), the state taking control of Miami-Dade County's busiest local toll roads (19:00) and the Nicaragua's dictatorship outlawing the Jesuits (36:02).

The Aug. 18 episode of the South Florida Roundup dives into why Miami-Dade is so bad at recycling; why Donald Trump still has strong support in South Florida (19:20) and why gangs have taken over Ecuador — and much of Latin America (35:40).

This week on the South Florida Roundup, we got AP Psyched-out for the new school year, looked into Broward facing its own cost-of-living crisis (19:22) and why protecting the Amazon rainforest matters here (35:10).

On the South Florida Roundup, we spoke about whether Miami is facing an exodus, the race to rescue our local coral reef from the effects of climate change (18:44), and we examined Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s draconian crusade to bring down the gangs whose violence drives so many Central American migrants here (35:15).

This week on the South Florida Roundup, we discussed the tragedy of Miami-Dade’s police director and the triumph of Miami Beach’s new police chief (12:41), the challenges of teaching Black history in Florida (18:50) and a play that shows who was the real José Martí (36:18).

This week on the South Florida Roundup: Miami-Dade County moves to protect workers from this terrible heat, Florida Atlantic University’s president selection is in chaos (19:33), but right now — it’s all about soccer here, as Messi mania and the Women's World Cup get underway (35:03).

A discussion with the new Broward schools superintendent following his first week on the job, a look into the rise in inflation and home insurance in South Florida (19:33) and looking at the Tequesta archaeological site and the back and forth on its preservation (35:03).

A look into where Miami-Dade County is going to take all its trash, South Florida’s small public airports leading the country in toxic lead pollution (19:00) and the 200-year anniversary of America’s southernmost county (34:24).

This week’s episode discusses Hialeah’s troubled 911 emergency call dispatch system, new revelations about Miami-Dade County’s Guardianship program (18:32) and whether Guatemala’s presidential election is reason for hope (36:08).

This week on The South Florida Roundup, we discussed Citizens Insurance's rate hikes for homeowners and their efforts to transfer policy holders to private providers (01:00), took a look back on the community impact made by Danny Agnew (19:24), and talked about the relationship between Cuba and the Roman Catholic Church (35:30).

This week on The South Florida Roundup, we discussed Florida’s migrant labor, whether Broward County finally put its recent troubles behind it with the selection of a new superintendent (18:40) and Colombia seeing messes (34:54).

A Parkland school resource officer faces an unprecedented trial, Lionel Messi is coming to Miami (19:40) and battered Haiti needs our help more than ever (35:16).

The South Florida Roundup covered whether Southeast Florida could extend its five-year winning streak with hurricanes, a decade-long federal lawsuit that may force Florida to remove medically fragile kids from homes for the elderly (18:55) and the modernizing effect Chile’s young President Gabriel Boric may have on a movement that haunts South Florida: the Latin American left (34:42).

This week on the South Florida Roundup, WLRN’s Tim Padgett led a discussion about the latest happenings in Miami’s government, examined why a Miami-Dade public school removed books from the shelves for elementary students (18:40) and whether Russia’s footprint is about to get bigger in Cuba (34:54).

On the South Florida Roundup, we spoke about the Broward County school board’s closed-door discussion about backpacks and uniforms, how dangerous climate change is making Miami heat (19:38), and how difficult daily life is in Haiti amid the country’s violent security collapse (37:46).

This week on the South Florida Roundup we held our annual post-legislative session discussion with the editorial page editors of South Florida’s three major newspapers. We examined the immigration crackdown (1:00) and the effects measures like abortion restriction will have in South Florida (19:14), as well as what this all may mean for Gov. Ron DeSantis if he seeks the Republican nomination for President (34:27).

On The South Florida Roundup, we spoke about the convictions placed on four members of The Proud Boys. We also looked at Broward County's current search for another superintendent, and the wave of vigilantism across Haiti.

On the South Florida Roundup, we looked at the effort to use freight-train tracks, running mainly across Miami-Dade’s west suburbs, for passenger rail lines to reach long neglected areas of the county: north, east, west and especially south. We also examined Hialeah’s controversial bid to expand into unincorporated Brownsville — one of Miami’s most important historically-Black neighborhoods (21:28). Finally, we talked about why Colombia expelled Venezuelan democracy hero Juan Guaidó — and why he is now in South Florida (37:56).

On The South Florida Roundup, we received updates on the flooding that impacted all of Fort Lauderdale and other parts of Broward County (01:02); we discussed Fabián Basabe, a controversial state lawmaker at the center of a political storm in Miami Beach (19:54); and we looked at a reversal in the the abortion realities in Florida and Latin America (35:07).

On this week's South Florida Roundup we looked at the flooding that impacted all of Fort Lauderdale, the call for action on the disparities in health care outcomes that Black pregnant women face in the U.S. (17:37), and the civil trial against Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo (41:12).

On this episode of the South Florida Roundup, we spoke about Miami's low ranking as one of the friendliest and helpful cities in America. We also spoke about a rare intersection of faith, as Christians, Jews and Muslims all observe some of their holiest periods this week (21:41).

On The South Florida Roundup, we looked at the end of Medicaid's expansion as the federal government's public health emergency ends. We talked about Citizens Insurance's proposed rate hike for Florida and its potential effects in the state (19:42). We also talked about Florida's presence in the Final Four of the NCAA March Madness Tournament (39:23).

On this episode of the South Florida Roundup, we spoke about spring break violence in South Beach and possible solutions (01:03), a bill targeting illegal immigrants that's making its way through the Florida legislature (21:31), and the continuously worsening gang violence in Haiti (39:11).

On this episode of the South Florida Roundup, we spoke about the march across Palm Beach County for labor rights, the exoneration of a man who had been handed a 400-year sentence in Fort Lauderdale (8:59), and the impact Silicon Valley Bank's collapse had on South Florida (21:59).

On this episode of the South Florida Roundup, we looked at the ballot for Broward's municipal elections and the reasons behind absenteeism among North Miami Beach Commissioners (14:15). We also spoke to a journalist about Venezuela and its diaspora 10 years after the death of president Hugo Chávez (32:36).

On the South Florida Roundup, we discussed some of the bills headed into the Florida legislative session (1:06), the stalemate between the University of Florida and a key developer over naming rights (26:37), and spoke with Sabina Covo, the city of Miami’s new District 2 commissioner-elect (39:28).

On this episode of The South Florida Roundup, we looked into the fire that started at the Covanta waste incinerator plant in Doral two weeks ago and the county’s trash problem (01:10), the walkout that college students in South Florida staged to protest Gov. DeSantis’ plans to block race and diversity programs (20:07), and U.S.’s relationship with Nicaragua in the face of the release of hundreds of prisoners (37:45).

On this episode of The South Florida Roundup, we looked into the four arrests that were made in South Florida in connection to the assassination of Haiti's President Jovenel Moïse in 2021 (01:03), the unsafe structure violations that the Caribbean Marketplace at the Little Haiti Cultural Center received (18:37), and Palm Beach County’s upcoming municipal elections (39:11).

On this episode of The South Florida Roundup, we spoke to a survivor as we mark five years since the tragic shooting in Parkland. Plus, we spoke about the new superintendent of Broward County Public schools and school vouchers. And a look at the state of the Americas from the new U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States.

On this episode of the South Florida Roundup, we looked at the revisions made to the potential AP African American Studies course, the investigation of a nursing wire fraud scheme (14:01), and the multiple scandals involving Florida Power & Light (37:36).

On this week's South Florida Roundup, we spoke about the state rejecting the College Board's proposed curriculum for their AP African American History course, the current state of the Office of Election Crimes and Security (24:11), and plans to redevelop the City of Riviera Beach (40:14).

On this week's South Florida Roundup, we had a special live edition of WLRN’s Detention By Design. We covered the current wave of migration (02:42), the Biden Administration’s new parole program (13:56), and gave some historical context to today's situation (34:40).

On this week's South Florida Roundup, we covered: The City of Miami's decision to hold a special election to fill a vacancy; Broward County and the sheriff’s office decision to partner up once again (17:18); and a plan for a potential light rail line in Palm Beach County (36:20).

On this week's South Florida Roundup, we covered: the recent waves of immigrants from Haiti and Cuba; the Biden Administration's immigration policy change (20:28); and the 'broken promises' the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County have failed to follow up on (39:22).

In the last South Florida Roundup of 2022, we spoke to WLRN reporters about the most topical issues of the year and how we can expect to see them play out in the new year: education and news in Broward; affordable housing and Miami-Dade's push for demolitions (19:29); more fallout from the Surfside disaster (38:12).

On this episode of the South Florida Roundup, we look back at some of our favorite conversations and reporting from 2022, including: the return of Fantasy Fest; an interview with Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (8:58); and the band made up of Miami-Dade firefighters (40:14).

On the South Florida Roundup, we spoke about the spike in Cuban immigrants arriving in Florida (1:02), how the collapse and bankruptcy of the bitcoin exchange FTX are impacting South Florida (20:32) and the major property insurance bill that was passed in Tallahassee (39:10).

On this week's South Florida Roundup: meet WLRN's new local government accountability reporter; controversy after an anti-LGBTQ speech made by a newly-elected Broward school board member; flu, RSV and COVID cases on the rise.

In this week's South Florida Roundup, we discussed: the Biden administration's decision to ban imports from a Dominican sugar company with Palm Beach County links (01:03); Miami Art Week at 20 is bigger than ever and less NFT-obsessed (19:16); a Miami-Dade commissioner calls out FIU's Cuban Research Institute for arranging a talk about Cuban advantages in the federal immigration system (36:40).

On this Thanksgiving edition of the South Florida Roundup, we revisit some of our favorite segments from 2022: Miami-Dade County Public Schools block students from watching Anna In The Tropics (01:04); Hurricane Irma's legacy (19:42); and Haiti's humanitarian crisis (27:30).

On the South Florida Roundup, we discussed Tri-Rail possibly making its way to Downtown, Miami-Dade County commissioners voting to accelerate and extend the existing Metrorail system, as well as the Broward County penny tax from 2018 and how it has been implemented.

Miami-Dade county has experienced a political shift that Republicans have been building on for years.

On this week's South Florida Roundup, we discussed: Miami-Dade County’s decision to move a boundary that protects wetlands (01:02); the results of Brazil's presidential election (15:31); and the anger over the City of Miami's ousting of Virginia Key Trust's majority-Black board (38:04).

A lawsuit filed in Palm Beach County over LGBTQ+ flags in a school classroom could be the first of many linked to Florida's recent parental rights laws. On the South Florida Roundup, we also spoke to Senator Annette Taddeo about her run for congress in District 27 and to WLRN’s new Florida Keys reporter Gwen Filosa about Fantasy Fest returning in full for the first time since 2019.

Ex-felons are now "afraid to vote" on the back of a series of contentious arrests trumpeted by Governor Ron DeSantis, a social justice reporter tells the South Florida Roundup. With early voting about to start, opinion editors from two newspapers dissect the three congressional amendments that Floridians have on their midterm ballots.

A jury unanimously decided to sentence Nikolas Cruz to life in prison for the shooting of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High. In Haiti, a humanitarian crisis has led the prime minister of the country to call for foreign intervention — but is there another solution for the troubled nation?

Some of WLRN's reporters made their way to Southwest Florida to help fellow public media stations after Hurricane Ian — they tell the South Florida Roundup what they saw. With the destruction caused by the hurricane, how will the upcoming election be impacted? Finally, the City of Miami aims to terminate its contract allowing Miami Dade College to operate the historic Tower Theater.

On this week's episode of the South Florida Roundup, we looked at Hurricane Ian through a South Florida lens. How are we helping those in Southwest Florida and how were the Florida Keys damaged by Ian?

Governor Ron DeSantis recently suspended Miami-Dade Commissioner Joe Martinez, and is looking to appoint his replacement in a few weeks. Hurricane Fiona left Puerto Rico with floods and power outages all over the country. In South Florida, housing prices have dropped slightly, while in West Palm Beach more people are buying houses with cash. A $1.3 billion transit village project was also approved in the city.

The defense in the Parkland sentencing trial abruptly decided to rest their case, surprising everyone, especially Judge Scherer. Miami-Dade County Public Schools denied students from attending the Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Anna in the Tropics" by Nilo Cruz

It's peak hurricane season in South Florida... but where are all the storms? On this week's South Florida Roundup, we mark the five-year anniversary of Hurricane Irma, get an update on the storms currently swirling in the Atlantic and look at a new plan to address the housing affordability problem in Miami-Dade County.

Miami-Dade Commissioner Joe Martinez was arrested on unlawful compensation charges. What does this newly appointed Broward school board mean for the county, and what impact will the restored Gulfstream Hotel have on Lake Worth Beach?

From the South Florida Roundup: deputies in Palm Beach County are now allowed to carry Narcan; a new school year has started, leaving teachers feeling anxious; and scammers from across the country are trying to get some of the Surfside settlement funds.

The Florida primaries saw DeSantis endorsed candidates winning their races across Florida. How will two candidates change the dynamic of the Miami-Dade school board? Plus, four Broward school board members were removed by DeSantis.

A fire in Matanzas, Cuba, destroyed four oil tankers, worsening the country's desperate energy situation. Also, The U.S. House is expected to vote today on the Inflation Reduction Act, a package of actions that includes allowing the federal government’s Medicare health plan to negotiate prices for some prescription drugs.

Palm Beach County approved plans to build affordable housing in the county's Agriculture Reserve, but the plan has environmentalists sounding alarms. In Miami-Dade County, a plan to build mini-homes for the homeless on Virginia Key has brought out many voices of dissent.

Parents, teachers, and school districts are adjusting to inflated prices for school supplies ahead of the new school year. Also, many home insurance companies are at risk of downgrades. Plus, what would Miami-Dade County look like if it were hit by Hurricane Irma in 30 years?

The jury began hearing testimonies this week for Nikolas Cruzes penalty trial, and will decide if he lives or dies. Also, the Miami-Dade school board rejected the health education curriculum for middle and high schools students that they previously approved, meaning students will not have sex education classes.

Haiti has been troubled by gang violence, food and water scarcity and a need for humanitarian aid. What will the U.N. do? The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary aims to expand by almost 1,000 square miles.

With the 15-week abortion ban being reinstated in Florida due to the state's appeal, how will companies handle helping their employees with abortions if they choose to do so? Also Broward County residents will vote in August to decide whether or not to increase their taxes to help keep funding teachers and schools.

A man who had the Cuban economy on his resume has recently died. The 12 jurors who decided whether Nikolas Cruz gets life in prison or dies have been selected. The city of Miami and other cities have been looking into the potential of underground tunnels to help ease traffic congestion.

A ceremony marked one year since the Champlain Towers collapse. The reversal of Roe vs. Wade has people wondering how abortion access will look like in Florida. And, how has inflation and increasing costs affected South Florida’s communities?

A religious institution argues in favor of abortion rights. Florida reverses decision not to preorder COVID-19 vaccines for kids amid a surge in cases. Several Miami restaurants earns high marks from the prestigious Michelin restaurant ratings.