After the mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, the country renewed a debate over gun control. At the same time, Florida quietly marked a milestone. It became the first state to issue more than a million permits allowing residents to carry concealed weapons. From Miami, NPR's Greg Allen reports.

GREG ALLEN: It's the holiday season, and at American Armory, a gun store in Homestead, Florida, the atmosphere is festive.

(SOUNDBITE OF CROWD)

Longshoremen and East Coast and Gulf Coast port operators have agreed to a 30-day extension on labor negotiations, averting a potentially crippling strike that would have halted container traffic at many of the nation's largest seaports, according to a federal mediator.

The strike would also have idled cargo but not cruise ship operations at PortMiami and Port Everglades. PortMiami is the nation's 11th largest container port and a lengthy strike would be costly to the regional economy.

The unrelated killings of two young men, two state government controversies, election developments and a multi-fatality car crash made up the top 10 Florida news stories of 2012, according  to an Associated Press survey of newspaper editors.

We were once again in the center of the political universe, but perhaps for all the wrong reasons as the state that can't vote straight.  It was also the year that the death of a black teen from Miami Gardens named Trayvon Martin made us reassess race relations, and the right to stand your ground.    

A bustling Art Basel Miami Beach, the 1,000th Random Act of Culture, a vote of popularity for Delray Beach’s Arts Garage and major change for the Miami City Ballet.

All this and more took place in 2012.

WLRN is seriously committed to covering the arts and a lot of our staff was in the thick of the arts world.

We asked some voices you may just know to identify a few of the influential happenings.

So here are thoughts from Alicia Zuckerman, Arianna Prothero and Christine DiMattei in what we like to call “ArtsYear 2012.”

Tumbling off the fiscal cliff will immediately cut the economic lifeline for 119,000 Floridians who depend on extended unemployment compensation now funded by the federal government.

It would also mean an immediate increase in the payroll taxes paid by every American wage-earner. But the long-term unemployed will be especially vulnerable if Congress and White House negotiators are unable to reach an agreement to head off automatic tax increases and deep spending cuts by Monday.

Just a few miles away from downtown Miami lies a natural beach in the city’s largest park.

The 82-acre Virginia Key Beach Park remains a bit of a hidden gem. The historic beach still attracts those looking for a quiet place to relax despite one drawback.

In season, about 2,000 people visit Virginia Key Beach Park every weekend even though swimming isn’t permitted.

“It’s a disadvantage - one we’re overcoming," said Guy Forchion, head of the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust.

Gov. Rick Scott and executives of Florida's largest ports Thursday called on negotiators to avert a strike that could cripple the majority of container shipments along the eastern and gulf coasts as early as this weekend. 

Barring an agreement between longshoremen and shippers, the group urged President Barack Obama to use his authority to keep containerized cargo moving while talks continue, saying any interruption would have a ripple effect throughout Florida and across the country.