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Some voters in Miami Dade waited in line for hours Monday for the opportunity to vote early.

We caught up with some voters in Miami Beach who used the time in line to learn more about the issues on the ballot.

Even though Hurricane Sandy has moved past South Florida, the region's airports continue to feel the storm's effects.

Director of Operations at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Mike Monnemacher, said 152 flights have been canceled at his airport.

"One of our larger markets for this airport is to the Northeast," Monnemacher said. " So, when we're not having any operations into the Washington all the up through Boston area, that's a significant number of aircraft. So, right now we have 35 aircraft that really don't have any place to go."

Under new federal dietary rules, kids in school cafeteria lunch lines will be required to accept a serving of fruit or vegetables. But since there is no corresponding federal power to make them eat it, it’s likely many students will soon be defying their government at lunchtime.

StateImpact education reporter Gina Jordan has been sampling the student opinion of broccoli and peas and stuff:

“I hate them.”

HMS Bounty, a cinematic replica of the ship sailed by Capt. Bligh in a famous 1789 mutiny, has sunk in stormy waters off North Carolina, an apparent casualty of Hurricane Sandy.

The Coast Guard says 14 persons were rescued from lifeboats within sight of the sinking three-masted ship and two others are missing.

Amanda Rubio, 12, remains hospitalized in fair condition with a head injury following a golf cart accident over the weekend. A spokesperson for Senator Marco Rubio says the long term prognosis is positive for the Senator's oldest daughter. 

Remnants of Hurricane Sandy have left us in South Florida with gusty winds, big waves and large swells.

That has resulted in some coastal flooding along the Atlantic seaboard.  And a coastal flood advisory is in effect until 10 a.m. this morning.  

More than 51,000 people in Miami-Dade County waited in long lines Saturday and Sunday to vote early. About 54,000 people in Broward County cast their ballots and about 21,000 in Palm Beach County. 

Meanwhile, many others in South Florida are still wondering where their absentee ballots are. 

Legal expert Lee Rowland with the Brennan Center for Justice tells us where Floridians can track their absentee ballots online. 

Early voting begins Saturday in Florida and rallies and get-out-the-vote events are planned for this weekend.

Organizers say at least 135 churches statewide will take part in the so-called "souls to the polls" bus and car caravans.

Those are aimed directly aimed at getting mostly Latino and African-American congregations to cast ballots early and usually come from Democratic organizations.

While no major flooding is expected in South Florida as a result of Hurricane Sandy, South Florida water managers are taking no chances.

The South Florida Water Management District says it started lowering drainage canal levels throughout the region days ago.  In late August, record rains from Tropical Storm Isaac overtaxed Palm Beach County's canal system, leaving many neighborhoods in the western part of the county flooded for days.

Hurricane Sandy is still swirling around in the Bahamas. The storm has left 21 people dead in Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica. 

The storm is lashing South Florida with heavy rains and strong wind.        

  Messy weather should be becoming increasingly windy weather beginning Thursday night and through tomorrow, say forecasters at the National Hurricane Center. As of 5:00 PM, Sandy remains a Category Two hurricane with 105 mile an hour winds. The storm is moving faster - 20 miles an hour to the north. Forecaster Todd Kimberlaine says the turn will keep South Florida out of the brunt of the storm. But the storm will morph some and the windfield should become even larger, so windy conditions are expected.  

South Florida beaches are characteristically void of big, west coast waves. Visitors and residents alike can be seen swimming in the calm water, and sipping mojitos on the shore for relaxation.