If you thought the thousands of people trying to get to Ultra would be your only traffic headache this weekend, prepare for some bad news. Today isn’t just the first day the music festival tests its plan for transporting hordes of EDM lovers to Virginia Key. It’s also the last Friday of the month, which means cyclists with Critical Mass will take over local roads for several hours.
This weekend, Ultra will bring around 125,000 EDM fans to its new home on Virginia Key, a wildlife sanctuary that’s normally home only to manatees, birds, crocodiles and other protected wildlife. Despite a long list of concerns raised by local nonprofit Miami Waterkeeper and other environmentalists, the festival’s organizers insist no harm will be done to the island’s wild inhabitants.
More than two years after voting overwhelmingly to legalize medical marijuana, Floridians are still fighting for access. Smoking it remained illegal until just days ago. And in cities like Miami Beach, officials are hellbent on restricting where and how dispensaries can operate. Other places, including Boca Raton and Coral Springs,…
There are dating apps and websites for farmers, Disney freaks, tall people, beard enthusiasts, and even furries. It was just a matter of time before someone started one for dog lovers. Enter Dig — the Dog Person’s Dating App. Sisters Casey and Leigh Isaacson came up with the idea back…
When Miami-Dade Police violently dragged Dyma Loving to the ground and arrested her earlier this month, she was standing on the sidewalk telling officers that a man had pulled a gun on her. According to County Commissioner Joe Martinez, though, the 26-year-old black woman “was not being compliant,”…
Ever since Miami city commissioners approved Ultra Music Festival’s move from downtown to Virginia Key, environmentalists have worried about the impact on the island’s federally protected wildlife. Festival organizers conducted wildlife surveys and put together an environmental plan — but now one leading environmental nonprofit is blasting those efforts as…
Last month, Key West became the second locale in the country to ban sunscreens containing chemicals believed to harm coral reefs. Now, officials in Miami Beach and Surfside are considering passing bans of their own. During their meeting today, Beach commissioners will consider prohibiting the sale of sunscreens…
At the 1972 Democratic National Convention, a woman named Madeline Davis called for something new: The party, she said, should include gay rights in its platform. Davis, the first out lesbian delegate at a major party convention, declared that gay people were “here to put an end to our fears.”…
In March 2017, Massage Envy therapist David Egusquiza was arrested after a woman told police he had sexually assaulted her during a massage at the company’s Coral Gables location. But four months earlier, management at the spa had ignored another woman’s report of being assaulted by the same masseur, a new…
Last fall, retired Miami Police Sgt. Nestor Garcia dropped by the department’s Internal Affairs office to read up on a case filed against Capt. Javier Ortiz, the former police union leader known for exploits like harassing a citizen online, calling Tamir Rice a “thug,” and bragging about his lengthy IA…
In November 2016, 80 percent of Miami Beach residents voted to legalize medical marijuana. More than two years later, the city has only a single dispensary — and now one commissioner wants to prevent others from opening.
North Beach could become home to up to 624 “micro-units” — apartments as small as 375 square feet, or a little bigger than two parking spaces put together — as part of city commissioners’ latest plan to revitalize the sleepy area. During today’s Land Use and Development meeting, committee members approved…
It’s no secret the Miami area is in desperate need of affordable housing. The city often ranks among the worst for renters; research shows Miamians spend more of their incomes on housing than residents of any other U.S. city. Wages aren’t keeping up with housing prices. Meanwhile, the city has…
Behind bars, male inmates masturbating in front of female employees is so common, there’s a word for it: gunning. Ceneca Valdez, a counselor at Miami-Dade County’s Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, says she experienced it repeatedly on the job, along with vulgar comments and gestures. When she brought the problem…
In an absolutely staggering announcement, Jupiter Police today announced that billionaire and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is being charged with soliciting prostitution in Palm Beach County. Kraft is one of 25 people who have arrested as part of a huge sex-trafficking sting. The TC Palm yesterday reported that,…
By now, the havoc wreaked by opioids on communities across the United States — especially in white, rural areas — is well known. But particularly devastated have been Native American tribes, who have suffered the highest death rate from prescription opioid overdoses of any ethnic or racial group. The Miccosukee Tribe, based…
It was a strange case from the start: a prominent Florida State University law professor shot to death in broad daylight at his home in an upscale Tallahassee neighborhood. And over time, the 2014 murder of Dan Markel turned stranger still. Police quickly determined the killing wasn’t a robbery or…
Dr. Michael Salzhauer, AKA Dr. Miami, is best known for wacky antics like writing a children’s book about plastic surgery, live-streaming operations on Snapchat, and recording a surprisingly successful dance song called “Flawless.” But now the Bal Harbour plastic surgeon says he’s taking on a new role as…
Since its launch about a year and a half ago, the secret Facebook group Miami Beach Crime Prevention and Awareness has been lauded by city leaders for its efforts to fight crime. Despite a lean toward vigilantism and concerns from groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, the group has been awarded…
When Miami city officials decided to tear out grass along Brickell Avenue and replace it with artificial turf last fall, residents were not pleased. A days-long protest ensued, complete with “Save me! I will die soon” signs on trees the protesters said would be smothered by the fake sod. Now,…
In the five years since he was killed by Miami Beach Police while tagging an abandoned building, Israel “Reefa” Hernandez has returned to life in countless street tributes, a graphic novel, a skateboard line, and his own art. Now, the story of the 18-year-old, Colombia-born artist is headed to the…
Over the last year or so, money from the City of Miami’s Anti-Poverty Initiative has gone toward setting up college savings accounts for kindergarten students, helping low-income residents purchase vehicles to get to work, and funding the United Way’s Thanksgiving Drive. But Commissioner “Loco Joe” Carollo has his…
