Prayer is coming back to Miami-Dade County Commission meetings starting December 18.

In an 8-3 vote Tuesday, county commissioners signed off on a change to a current rule that only allowed for a moment of silence before meetings.

Drummer, composer, physician, father – South Florida’s own Reuben Hoch has it all.  Founder and leader of the Chassidic Jazz Project, a member of Zaviot and other ensembles, this busy musician talks about making it all work, why and how he does it.

Fifty years ago Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Tony Bennett played the Deauville Beach Resort in Miami Beach. Now a handful of college students will have their day at the Deauville.

Miami-Dade Commissioners said they could bring back prayer to their public meetings and now they have. It came in an 8 to 3 vote. They signed off on a change to a current rule that only allowed for a moment of silence before meetings. Now, commissioners will be able to invite a religious leader of their choosing to lead everyone in a prayer before each meeting. Baylor Johnson is a  spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union      of Florida and says the commissioners are inviting conflict and a possible lawsuit by doing this. A commissioner can also lead a prayer themselves if t

The Florida Legislature has struck out again with an attempt to privatize some or all of the state prison system.

A Tallahassee judge ruled today that lawmakers chose an unconstitutional method to turn prison health care services over to private contractors. As Mary Ellen Klas reported for The Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times:

Progress Florida and Florida Watch Action-- two influential progressive groups in the state-- have launched a preemptive attack on the influence of ALEC in the Florida Legislature. 

ALEC, or the American Legislative Exchange Council, is a pro-business political outfit that hands out model conservative legislation to state lawmakers who follow a conservative agenda.

Leaders from throughout the region meet in Jupiter later this week for the fourth annual Regional Climate Leadership Summit, and the timing couldn't be better. Or worse, depending on your perspective. 

Pounding surf and high tides from Hurricane Sandy's passage have put the issue front and center, especially in Fort Lauderdale.

Art Basel opens Thursday for the 11th year of staging the "most prestigious art show in the Americas."  

So, if anything is prestigious at Art Basel, everything must be prestigious at Art Basel. The New York Times describes the event this way: "bigger, richer, longer and, if it’s possible, snobbier than ever before."

What is the value of living on a golf course? Michael Rosenberg isn’t sure. And though he doesn’t play the game, he likes the idea of sitting on his deck and looking out at serene green fairways, not someone’s rusty barbecue pit or swing set.

It’s why he bought his home on the Calusa Country Club in South Dade, paying a premium for his four-bedroom home.