only in South Florida

Five Questions: Peter Zalewski

Ruth Morris — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 21:55:41 +0000

Five years ago, Peter Zalewski was working as a business journalist, but he jumped into real estate before the condo crisis hit and founded Condo Vultures. His provacatively named real estate firm has grown by leaps and bounds, helping buyers to sift through the foreclosure stats and find steals in South Florida’s real estate collapse. Last year, he also appeared in Michael Moore’s Martin Stepanek, who founded Freediving Instructors International in Fort Lauderdale. His partner Niki Roderick– also an accomplished free diver– teaches courses too.

Premiere Episode

Staff — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 21:06:42 +0000

In our first episode, you’ll hear the voices of a Holocaust survivor who made pool cues in Miami Beach and a migrant tomato picker who struggles for higher wages in Immokalee. After losing her son, Queen Brown has taken up the fight to end youth violence, and to make peace in her own family. Two cat burglars remember how they made off with millions of dollars in jewels from Palm Beach mansions. The Miracle Fruit Man introduces our co-host Alicia Zuckerman to a magical berry. A 17-year-old announcer at Dania Jai A-lai hopes to revive a fading sport. And in our r

Alternative Spring Break

Alicia Zuckerman — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 20:32:57 +0000

It’s a time-honored tradition. Spring breakers descend on Miami from across the nation this time of year to guzzle beer, work on their tanlines and hit the clubs.

Or there’s Alternative Spring Break, where you sit in a windowless room, guzzle coffee, and fill out reams of immigration paperwork. You can compile proof of residence, and file for fee waivers. Sound appealing?

Episode 4: Second(hand) Chances

Alicia Zuckerman — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 20:29:27 +0000

Give Good Works, a Wynwood thrift store and charity, gives your old and gently used items a second chance. However, the point is to give people a second chance. Jennifer Rousseau, who works at the store, transformed her life with the help of the shop’s founder Heather Klinker.

“A lot of people would have given up on us girls,” said Rousseau. “Heather didn’t. She kept going. She’s a hero to me. I love her.”

Human Hair Is Farmers’ Friend

Dan Grech — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 20:27:12 +0000

That’s according to Blair Blacker, and he should know. In this story, host Dan Grech visits a warehouse in Florida City with Blacker to have a look at a novel product– mats made from human hair. Blacker says the mats fertilize plants better than most herbicides, plus they prevent weeds and conserve water. The circular mats, made by SmartGrow, fit snugly around a plant’s base and biodegrade over time.

The People Robert Frank Saw

Alicia Zuckerman — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 20:23:10 +0000

This photo of a forlorn, slightly bored young hotel elevator operator was taken on the beach in 1955, at the Sherry Frontenac Hotel (65th and Collins). It has become one of Frank’s most famous photographs and the face of the exhibition, “Looking In: Robert Frank’s the Americans” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It runs through Jan. 3.

Episode 4: Hispanic Versus Latino

Dan Grech and Jose Maya — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 20:01:57 +0000

Dan Grech gets a government form in the mail and he’s asked to decide: Is he Hispanic, or “a big white guy?” He’s pretty sure he’s not Latino.

To sort it all out, he invited demographer Maria Aysa to the studio.

In this piece, she explains the difference between the terms Hispanic and Latino, and why some people are so adamant about using one instead of the other.

What’s Up With South Florida?: Inglish Gratis

Kenny Malone — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 19:51:59 +0000

In our regular What’s Up With South Florida? feature, you decide what we investigate. You voted overwhelmingly for an explanation of the “Inglish Gratis” sign outside of Hialeah High. This photo had been circulating virally through email. It was brought to our attention by photographer Tomas Loewy. In Episode 3 of Under the Sun, Kenny Malone set out to solve the mystery of this misspelling. (-T.S.)

Dinner Set Gang

Lyn Millner — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 19:37:54 +0000

The writer Somerset Maugham called Florida a “sunny place for shady people.” A couple of decades before Bernard Madoff hit Palm Beach, a pair of cat burglars hit mansions up and down the coast. Lyn Millner tells us where they are now.

Before becoming a jewel thief, Dominick Latella played guitar with a band called Two + Two in New York. Here are some songs from the band’s record:

From Miami-Dade To Broward, The Case For Being Mindful When Renaming Counties

Daniel Rivero — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:00:00 +0000

Amid chatter that Broward County is considering changing its name to reflect the county’s biggest city-- Fort Lauderdale

The Not-So-Little Palm Tree That Couldn't

Kenny Malone — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 11:58:00 +0000

This is the sad story of a very tall tree.

"This one right here," says Patrick Griffith, slapping his hand on a rough, grayish trunk, "coccothrinax barbadensis."

Kindness Awards

Laura Isensee — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 17:21:35 +0000

The Miami Heat And Their City: Up To The Challenge To Redefine

Jordan Melnick — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 20:23:40 +0000

The NBA Finals have turned the nation’s attention–and cameras– toward Miami and Miami Beach. As the Miami Heat try to clinch the finals, Jordan Melnick wants to remind us all that there’s more to Miami than South Beach. It all started with these words by LeBron James: “In this fall–this is very tough–in this fall I’m going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat.”

Childhood Memories And A Hialeah Landmark

Michael Alen — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 20:10:25 +0000

Producer and Miami Herald multimedia journalist Michael Alen has long been fascinated with a strange building in the middle of Hialeah. Alen remembers seeing the building as a toddler on his drives home from Kendall with his parents. He remembers being awestruck, each and every time, by its rounded shape and how it contrasted with the sharp edges of its neighboring structures.

The Everglades Runs Through Their Blood

Michael Keller — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:10:43 +0000

The Jones family has lived in the Everglades for five generations. They’ve made their livelihoods in Mack’s Fish Camp, a spit of marshland that straddles the county line between Broward and Miami-Dade out west. They live among seven-foot alligators, painted turtles, blue herons and white egrets. They make a living fixing airboats, renting out bungalows and serving as guides for tourists and government researchers. They are known as Gladesmen.

The World According To Sound

Alicia Zuckerman — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 20:56:37 +0000

When you stop and listen to your surroundings, what do you hear? We take sound for granted because it’s around us all the time. But when you are forced to listen in a different way, you hear a different story.

All In A Day’s Work: A Man And His mangoes

Trina Sargalski — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 19:11:29 +0000

It’s mango season in South Florida. Thanks to our humid climate and poor soil, this region excels at mango growing – only rivaled by Hawaii. The man who knows most about mangoes in Miami is Dr. Richard Campbell, the senior curator of tropical fruit at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables.

Fugitives On The Run, Bondsmen On The Hunt

Tristram Korten — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 17:22:29 +0000

If you ever find yourself charged with a crime, a bail bondsman can be your best friend. When a judge sets bail and the defendant doesn’t have the money to pay, the bondsman posts the money in exchange for an upfront fee – usually 10 percent of the bond amount – and property as collateral. All the defendant has to do is show up to court.

American Fare At “La Vaquita”

Julia Longoria — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:18:24 +0000

Farm Stores have been a staple of South Florida since the 1950s, when the chain opened its first drive-through store in South Beach. Generations have taken advantage of its convenience, picking up necessities such as milk and eggs and treats such as ice cream. Today, there are 100 stores across South Florida.

Cuban Nostalgia For 3 Cents A Cup

Laura Isensee — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 17:08:09 +0000

For many Cubans living in South Florida, the pre-Castro years in Cuba represent a golden era. Nostalgia for friends, family and yesteryear traditions can be felt at Cuban coffee counters across South Florida. One local business owner decided to take this yearning for tradition one step further by selling coffee for 3 cents, the price it was sold for in pre-Castro Cuba.

No Simple Answer To Bullying In South Florida

Trina Sargalski and Sammy Mack — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:11:34 +0000

Bullying is not a new phenomenon. It has been around for decades, but schools across South Florida are reporting that the frequency and severity of the incidents are getting worse. In the past year alone, a West Palm Beach student was attacked in math class and a Deerfield Beach middle school student slipped into a comma after being kicked in the head.

Walter And Edith, By Jeremy Glazer

Staff — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 20:14:43 +0000

Jeremy Glazer is a legislative analyst, a former high school teacher and a Miami native. On his phone message, he has been known to identify himself as a “future hall-of-famer,” but he says he hasn’t decided yet which hall of fame or what his achievement will be. He recently finished his first novel and is looking for a publisher.

Letter From Key West: A Different Air

Frank Deford — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 20:57:04 +0000

Journalist Frank Deford’s stories have appeared in Sports Illustrated, HBO Real Sports and NPR. He and his wife spend every winter in Key West, where Deford says he breathes in the island’s different air.

It’s very possible to dismiss Key West, as the British say, as just too much by half. I mean, you arrive at the airport and it says WELCOME TO THE CONCH REPUBLIC – and everybody is quick to let you know that Key West really isn’t Florida … which is to say: it’s too good for Florida, or, for that matter, too good for any mere state of the union.

Viewing Key West From The Front Porch

Sammy Mack — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 20:20:49 +0000

Journalist Frank Deford spends every winter in Key West with his wife. They rent a house, take long walks and breathe in the island air. Under the Sun producer Sammy Mack listens to Deford marvel at the view from his front porch, a relic of a bygone era. He loves the lushness of the island, so green and beautiful. To him, Key West is soft and peaceful. But above all, it is a warm escape.

What’s Up With South Florida?: Shipwrecks In Biscayne Bay

Sammy Mack — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 19:42:59 +0000

Inspired by the peerless film Sahara (starring Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz), listener Michael Laas wondered about the treasure hunting possibilities in Biscayne Bay. He submitted his question to us.

There are forty known shipwrecks in Biscayne Bay and hundreds more in the Keys. Under the Sun producer, Sammy Mack, found out more about what lies beneath these attractive, but dangerous waters.

Six-Word South Florida Memoirs

Staff — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 18:11:32 +0000

“Man, she don’t speak no Spanish!”
(What I heard as I was getting checked out by one African American man and two Latinos while buying a cafe con leche in Hialeah.)
Tara Kray, Gainesville

Born and raised; a rare breed.
Mallory Colliflower, Hollywood

Best compliment: white boy’s got rhythym!
Marc Rabinowitz, New York City

My favorite place. Family, sun, ocean.
Elaine Cyr, Boca Raton

From Your Ears To Ours: The Tale Of Lot 180

Kenny Malone — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:29:17 +0000

In December, we originally aired “The Tale of Lot 180.” Producer Kenny Malone searched for the story behind deceased Udavilla Rutherford’s unclaimed collection of salt shakers, held at the Florida Bureau of Unclaimed Property.

We received this comment from Carolyn Lane about “The Tale of Lot 180:”

Episode 4: Chickens In South Florida

Rick Stone — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:23:45 +0000

There are some people who think that if a parrot is considered a pet, then a chicken should be as well. They keep a small number of “domestic chickens” in their yards.

Jeremy Glazer Reads “Souvenir”

Staff — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:19:46 +0000

Jeremy Glazer is a legislative analyst, a former high school teacher, and that rare breed– a Miami native. He identifies himself as a “future hall-of-famer” on his phone message, but he says he hasn’t decided yet which hall of fame, or what his achievement will be. He recently finished his first novel.