Here’s How You Can Adopt a Racing Greyhound

As soon as the news broke that Floridians had voted to end greyhound racing, local adoption groups were flooded with calls and applications from across the country. It seemed everyone wanted to bring home an ex-racer. But apparently forgotten in the panic over the fate of Florida’s thousands of…

Amid Dueling Protests, Anabelle Lima-Taub Promotes Islamophobic Website With Ties to Pizzagate Conspiracy Theory UPDATED

Earlier this month, Israeli-born Hallandale Beach Commissioner Anabelle Lima-Taub called Rashida Tlaib, one of America’s first two Muslim congresswomen, a “Hamas-loving anti-Semite” who might someday “become a martyr and blow up Capitol Hill.” Lima-Taub was then widely condemned for her big mouth, even by the Anti-Defamation League. But the commissioner won’t back down…

New Bill Would Ban Smoking on Florida Beaches

Two years ago, when Miami Beach commissioners wanted to reduce smoking on city beaches, they had only one option: asking nicely. Florida is one of a few states where municipalities cannot regulate tobacco use, so the commission created voluntary smoke-free areas at Fifth Street and 86th Street, where pastel-colored…

Florida Greyhound Racing Has a Complicated Legacy

Except for a scattering of white-haired regulars, the grandstand overlooking the old dog track at the Palm Beach Kennel Club is almost empty on a cold-for-Florida December day. Wearing hearing aids and World War II veterans’ hats, a group of four long-timers holds court near the top of the stands…

Protect Confederate Memorials, Says Black State Rep. Mike Hill

In public spaces across Florida, at least 30 monuments pay tribute to Confederate soldiers. Many of the memorials glorify members of the renegade army that declared war on the United States as “uncrowned heroes” or “a noble band” and celebrating their “dauntless valor.” It would become illegal to remove any of those…

AIDS Healthcare Foundation CEO Blasts Fort Lauderdale Residents for Opposing Affordable-Housing Project

Ever since the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) announced plans to build a 15-story affordable-housing complex in downtown Fort Lauderdale, nearby residents have been up in arms. Many locals suggested the development belonged west of I-95 instead of across North Federal Highway from the upscale Rio Vista neighborhood. One person wrote on Next Door: “Dump em in the glades.”

Miami-Dade Schools Are Making Students Sign Anti-Vaping Pledges

Earlier this year, the Miami-Dade County School Board decided to consider installing sensors in school bathrooms to deal with what they called the epidemic of teens vaping on campus. The district is still researching that idea, but in the meantime has come up with a different solution: making kids sign…

Remember When Florida Dog Tracks Used Monkeys as Jockeys?

Almost 40 years ago, a query came into the Action Line, a long-gone Miami Herald column that pretty much played the role Google does today, answering obscure questions and giving out advice. The writer, “M. Weisbaum” of Plantation, had heard that dog-racing tracks once employed monkeys as jockeys. “This is…