News

A state appeals court on Friday said the Florida Department of Health used an invalid rule to approve new trauma centers in Pasco, Manatee and Clay counties, handing a victory to nearby hospitals that have waged a long-running battle against the facilities.

Art Basel begins this week, and WLRN will be your guide.  In a special hour hosted by WLRN's arts editor, Alicia Zuckerman, we give you tips on what to see, and how.  Plus we look at the fair's history and how it's shaped Miami. 

After  helping direct a successful re-election campaign, a top Democratic official says President Obama wants South Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz to stay on as party chair.

Motorcycle deaths are on the rise in Florida. And within that finding is another story: older bikers  dying in increasing numbers.

University researchers say riding motorcycles is a popular hobby for retired Baby Boomers, many of whom rode when they were younger. But now, according to the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida in Tampa, their reflexes, eyesight and overall bike skills have eroded, and some of them are no longer safe on the road.

What would a plunge off the fiscal cliff mean in Florida?

Disaster, according to the data. Higher taxes, job losses and probably a recession because of curtailed consumer spending.

Governor Rick Scott says he's worried that Citizens Property Insurance could cost Floridians money when they can least afford it - after a major storm.

As more Floridians find jobs, the state's unemployment compensation trust fund is expected to have a surplus again in six months. The fund has been running a deficit for nearly four years.
 

Forty years ago, the U.S. House and Senate passed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), an amendment adding language to the U.S. Constitution that says "equality under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."

The amendment was the result of a historic surge of women's rights activism in the country. It took decades to get the amendment passed in Congress, but it did indeed pass at a federal level.

Miami-area Republicans helped the U.S. House pass legislation to give out more high skilled visas.

On The Florida Roundup: Hurricane season has officially ended.  South Florida was saved from any severe hurricanes, but we see the effects of climate change as beaches erode, roads crumble and flooding inundates parts of region.  

I am sorry, everyone, but a judge doesn't want to let us all in on some of the more "defamatory'' and "salacious" aspects of the saga of Jim Greer, the former Florida Republican Party leader who was accused of defrauding the party to the tune of $200,000.

To the TV watcher sitting with wide eyes, tightly crossed legs and an image burned indelibly into his mind:

Sorry about all the catheter commercials you've been seeing lately. Thought you'd like to know where they came from and why it's actually a good thing.

New Policy, New Market  

Some of your fellow Americans have just gotten a new medical benefit that they really needed, an increase from Medicare in their monthly catheter allotment from 24 to 200.

"Little Haiti" has lost perhaps the man who could be called its father and the man who is credited for the name.

Viter Juste has died at the age of 87.

He was born in La Gonaive, Haiti in 1924 and after first going to New York, he and his family made their way to Miami in 1973.

He started with a house in Buena Vista and a record store in downtown Miami, "Les Cousins."

That led to creating the first Haitian newspaper for the growing community,  Haitian Florida,  and the Haitian American Community Association of Dade.

Just two blocks west of Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale, progressive metal band Neolythyc is rehearsing in a cramped, dark, converted garage.  The rehearsal space is just a stone's-throw from Holiday Park, the last known address of jazz legend Jaco Pastorius.

The four members of Neolythyc are all 17 years old, born nearly a decade after Pastorius's death in 1987.  But bass player Jerry Caceres refers to Jaco as "one of the old homies from down the block."

Forty-five-year-old Tammy Goss is sitting on a park bench in a small patch of green wedged between Dixie Highway and the FEC railroad tracks. Staring down from the southeast wall of the corner community center is a huge blue-toned mural of a man's face, his fingers curled around an electric bass guitar.  She knows his name.

“Jaco Pastorius, I think,” says Goss.

But that's all she really knows about John Francis Pastorius III.

As you all know, Art Basel is a few days jam-packed with a ton of events, galleries and parties.

In short, it gets difficult to wade through everything that is happening starting next week.

No fears, though! We have a roundup here of some of the more helpful Art Basel guides. Some even point you to free events!

You can click through the links below:

Miami.com

After this year's disastrous election in Florida, state lawmakers are looking to make some changes to some of the culprits for the long lines and delayed ballot-counting.

Among the changes: Democratic state Sens. Gwen Margolis of Miami and Arthenia Joyner of Tampa have introduced bills that would make early voting more accessible and last longer.

The Atlantic Hurricane season comes to its merciless end today.

It concludes in a busier-than-expected year punctuated by one of the most damaging storms on record, Hurricane Sandy.

When it began, forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted a near-normal season of anywhere between 9 and 15 named storms.

The final number turned out to be 19, with most systems--including the season's only major hurricane, Michael-- spinning out harmlessly in the ocean and posing little threat to land.

 Today is the last day of hurricane season, and South Florida was largely spared. The season concludes a busier-than-expected year punctuated by one of the most damaging storms on record. We take a look back at Sandy, a storm with a track forecasters say they haven't seen in more than 150 years. WLRN-Miami Herald News has details on how a no-show weather pattern from the Pacific may be to blame for an unusual six months. 

With its low-level waterfront communities, South Florida is particularly vulnerable to climate change. 

But perhaps no area is more vulnerable than the Florida Keys.

James from Cudjoe Key tells us that a nature trail he has walked for 10 years is now regularly flooded, even at low tide.  Here is a photo he sent us:

While much has been written about the danger to South Florida caused by rising water levels, Pamela from Miami points out that Miami should pay attention to its air:   

At a roundtable arts engagement at Locust Projects a few months ago, the conversation inevitably turned to Art Basel and it’s effect on Miami both as a city overall and the development of the arts scene.  The chat touched on the blossoming scene in street-art hub of Wynwood, and of how there is a tangible sense that Miami is starting to matter in the arts world.

It would have been a positive, maybe even an uplifting conversation, if it was not filled with undertones of frustration.

The Miami Dade County Commission will consider a policy next month that would allow prayer before every commission meeting.

For years, the commissioners have simply observed a moment of silence before meetings, which allowed people to pray or not pray.

However, at the urging of a conservative Christian group, the commissioners are moving to change that policy back to a few years ago when praying was allowed before meetings.

Consumer confidence in Florida dropped this month, but retailers were busy over the Thanksgiving/Black Friday weekend.

The National Retail Federation says more people went shopping on Black Friday this year than ever before.

University of Central Florida Economist Sean Snaith says shoppers may just be more budget conscious and eager to take advantage of big sales.

Overtown artists have participated in Art Basel with showings and events in the neighborhood in past years. However, this is the second year that the neighborhood participates on a grander scale.

Lots of us would rather steer clear of construction, but Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is actually embracing it. 

The new runway and terminal expansion project will not only allow for more flights, it also creates more space for art.

So, the Broward County Public Art and Design Committee is looking for an artist, or perhaps artists, in residence.

And the art is supposed to be about the airport construction project itself.