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On stage at the Kravis Center, Palm Beach Opera is performing Rossini's Cenerentola, the Italian version of Cinderella.  In the second to last row of the house, 27-year-old Jennifer Pfaff's thumbs are going a mile a minute on her smartphone:

A Coconut Creek police officer who held an activated Taser stun gun at the ready while questioning a frightened 19-year-old theft suspect he made stand in a bathtub won’t be charged with a crime.

Civil rights advocates call Officer James Yacobellis’ interrogation of Blake L. Robinson on Aug. 15, 2011, a disturbing example of police misconduct akin to torture.

But Broward corruption prosecutors did not see it that way.  In fact, their case closeout memo expressed tolerance for police use of the Taser as a technique to enhance an interrogation.

Redistricting, property insurance, Medicaid expansion and political transparency were among the topics covered during this week’s Town Hall event on Session 2013 of the Florida Legislature hosted by WLRN and the Miami Herald.  The second annual forum marks the beginning of WLRN's coverage of Session 2013, which convenes March 5 and continues through May 3.

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Tallahassee may be hundreds of miles away, but WLRN and The Miami Herald have brought it to you.

Tonight we will be holding our second annual Town Hall event on Session 2013 of the Florida Legislature.  Follow a play by play rundown of the show below, and join in by using the comment box, or by sending us a tweet to #FL2013.

The person who robbed me of six years of my childhood wasn't a stranger, or even an acquaintance. My abuser was my live-in female nanny, someone who my parents trusted implicitly.

I know what you’re probably thinking: this is unimaginable. This would never happen to my family, or to my child, or in my house. But 90 percent of sexual abuse victims know the perpetrator in some way. When the victim is a child, the abuser is likely someone they – and their parents – not only know, but trust.

It seemed general consensus that no one really knew the facts about the auction last Saturday of a piece by graffiti artist Banksy. Certain parties weren't talking. In retrospect, the answer may have been simply that Fine Arts Auctions Miami knew what may be coming, that it would have to withdraw the piece over questions about who actually owns it. 

Last week, Jordan Melnick of Beached Miami posted an interesting interview with the organizers of a new event in Little Haiti dubbed "Sunday Stroll." The monthly event starts this Sunday, March 3, organized by the underground art studio and gallery Yo Space, and supported by Sweat Records and the Little Haiti Cultural Center. Melnick interviewed Yo Space's founder, Yuval Ofir, who wants to introduce a wider audience to small, creative businesses established in the area:

Getting a handle on property insurance rates is a top priority in the upcoming Florida Legislature 2013 regular session, but it's no easy task, according to popular consensus at Monday night's Town Hall session hosted by WLRN and the Miami Herald. 

"The legislature is in a terrible box," said Mary Ellen Klas, the capital bureau chief for the Miami Herald and a panelist at Monday's event. "This is one of the tough issues they have to grapple with."

As I lean my motorcycle into the curve that takes me onto I-95, I roll the throttle to accelerate up to highway speeds. Up ahead I see a car going well below the minimum speed of 45 mph, with the left turn signal on but swerving to the right. I give this big unknown a wide berth, and as I pass, I see the person gabbing it up on a cell phone.

Education, voting reform, property insurance, and political transparency were among the topics covered during Monday night's Town Hall event on Session 2013 of the Florida Legislature hosted by WLRN and the Miami Herald.  The second annual forum marks the beginning of WLRN's coverage of Session 2013, which convenes March 5 and continues through May 3.

Tough economic times put environmental issues on the Florida Legislature's back burner in recent years, but this session should be different, according to Sen. Jack Latvala (R-Clearwater), who sat on the panel at Monday night's Town Hall Session 2013 hosted by WLRN and the Miami Herald. 

for News Service of Florida  

The panel charged by Gov. Rick Scott with reviewing the state's 'stand your ground' self-defense law did not recommend any major changes to the statute, although it did make suggestions for tweaks by the Legislature in the upcoming session. The basic premise of the law isn't challenged in the final report released Friday. Scott's Task Force on Citizen Safety and Protection included lawmakers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, representatives of minority communities and law enforcement. 

The audio/visual set-up at ArtServe, an "arts incubator" in Fort Lauderdale, could use an upgrade. To get there, the organization needs equipment like XLR cables and a 12-channel mixer, plus permits and the manpower to install the gear. In total, it's expected to require nearly $7,500 in funds. 

As Mike Perez mingled with visitors at the recent Python Challenge awards event in Miami, his left arm supported the weight of a black-and-white lizard with a body as thick as a linebacker's bicep. Gazing through heavily hooded eyes, the lizard rarely moved, save for sticking out its forked tongue for an occasional sniff . 

 Chefs and food personalities flock to  Miami this week to take part in the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, which starts this Thursday. We asked some of the out-of-town chefs which Miami restaurants they want to check out while they are here:  

Do you have what it takes to navigate the political swampland of Florida and come out clean?

WLRN and the Miami Herald have partnered to create a  new interactive experience that will allow you to put your political integrity to the test.  After a cutthroat election, you have officially begun your career as a Florida politician.

Now it is up to you to make the right political and personal choices.

CLICK HERE TO PLAY THE 'TALLANASTY' ETHICS GAME

On the Florida Roundup, we have on the slate:

Florida -- and Miami in particular -- should prepare for habitat destruction, loss of cropland, increased salt-water intrusion, worsening coastal flooding, and a host of related disasters if climate change and sea level rise patterns continue, according to findings in a federal "draft climate report."

This weekend, music lovers have a special treat with the second annual Virginia Key Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance at Key Biscayne. This four-day event of live music,  includes camping, a sustainability fair, along with great food, meditation and yoga.

Reporter Patricia Sagastume tells us why the event is coming back despite last year’s rough start:

When Richard Blanco got the call that he'd been chosen to write a poem for President Obama's second inauguration, at first he thought it was a prank. He still has no idea how he ended up on the President's radar.

"I would dream actually that the President has actually read my work and was so moved by it," says Blanco, laughing, "that he said, 'I want this guy to read a poem at the inaugural.'"

David "Ras D" Reuter began at WLRN in 1986 as a volunteer for WLRN's Radio Reading Service. In February 1988 he became a regular staff member of the Reading Service. Before coming to WLRN, David worked a variety of radio jobs including working on "Caribbean Rendezvous," a Caribbean music show that aired on a variety of radio stations in the South Florida market. It was there that David was exposed to not only a variety of music from the Caribbean, but its various cultures as well. David was also a musician and vocalist, performing throughout the Keys and South Florida.

In Lake Worth, where the prevalence of gang graffiti motivated city commissioners to create an anti-spray paint ordinance in 2010, artist/business owner Adolphe Latorre has his work cut out for him.