Miami Beach Police Now Have a Military Armored Truck

The Coral Gables Police Department, which patrols one of the safest, richest parts of Miami-Dade County, inexplicably has two military-grade, tank-like armored trucks called Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected trucks (MRAPS). The department got the truck from the U.S. Department of Defense, which outfits local cops with military-grade equipment for free, so long…

Overtown Is Skeptical of David Beckham’s New Soccer Stadium Plan

David Beckham’s crew said just about everything right last night. They’d pay for their new stadium entirely with their own money. Minority and locally owned contractors would have first dibs on the construction, and then the team would create at least 50 full-time jobs. They’d offset a lack of parking with new public transit options. It all sounded great.

Recent College Grads Can Afford Only 2 Percent of Miami’s Rental Market

There comes a point in life when you grow tired of living in six-person apartments, swatting flies from the leftover pastelitos your roommate left congealing on the table, and cleaning up after the feral cats your other housemate insists on bringing into your tiny space. For a huge number of people, that desire comes right after college ends.

Five Reasons Heat Fans Should Root for LeBron James

It’s been nearly three years since LeBron James left the Miami Heat for his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers. To be precise, it’s been 1,041 days, of which 715 were work days, not that we’re counting or anything. For Miami, it was supertough to see the greatest athlete on the planet leave our favorite team, but as time has passed, the pain has subsided.

Miami Beach Wants Ultrastrict Medical Pot Rules: “Odor Management,” 21-and-Up Patients, and Visitor Logs

Miami Beach’s moratorium on medical marijuana is officially coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be a whole lot easier to open a dispensary in the city. A little more than a week after state legislators gave up on passing rules for medical marijuana, city commissioners are set to consider regulations of their own — and they’re among the strictest rules debated anywhere in the state.

Aerial Naled Mosquito Spraying Returns to South Dade Tonight (but Not for Zika)

Mosquito season in Miami begins every year when the so-called black salt marsh mosquitoes, a buzzing cloud of bugs not known to carry the Zika virus or other tropical diseases, descends upon the area. The insects arrived a few weeks early this year — so, after sundown tonight, Miami-Dade County will send airplanes to blast naled, the controversial mosquito-killing pesticide, over wide portions of Homestead, the Redland, Florida City, Cutler Bay, and South Miami-Dade.

Florida’s 2017 Has Been the Hottest Year on Record

Miamians still don’t spend enough time worrying about global warming. Sure, we’ve got multiple city task forces dedicated to making sure Dade County isn’t underwater by the year 2100. But construction across town has continued to boom, to the point that it seems like real-estate developers believe they’re building in landlocked Colorado as opposed to a city that can adequately be described as “pre-Venice.”

Protesters Demand Curbelo, Diaz-Balart Hold Town Halls to Explain Trumpcare Support

The GOP health-care bill, which is opposed by virtually every major health-care and hospital group in the nation and could leave 24 million Americans without insurance, snuck through the U.S. House by just four votes earlier this month. In other words, without the backing of two Miami legislators — Carlos Curbelo and Mario Diaz-Balart — it wouldn’t have passed.

North Miami Beach to Vote on Privatizing Its Water System Tomorrow Despite FBI Probe

On April 3, the City of North Miami Beach began negotiating with a global engineering firm to take over the city’s water utility, which services close to 200,000 people in North Miami-Dade. Clean-water activists vehemently opposed the move, citing research that water utilities run by private companies tend to get much more expensive over time and typically provide services at “cheaper” rates by cutting staff or services.

Five Times Congressional Candidate Bruno Barreiro Helped His Wealthy Donors

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Bruno Barreiro would like to be a congressman. He announced this past week he’s officially running as a Republican to replace longtime incumbent Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a moderate GOP congresswoman who will retire this year (and likely can’t stand dealing with Donald Trump’s carnival sideshow any more days than she legally must).

Spirit Accused of Stranding Disabled Passenger Alone in Wheelchair at FLL for Hours UPDATED

When his family finally found him at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Holmer Avellan was sitting alone in his wheelchair and weeping. Spirit Airlines was supposed to have an employee escort him to his connection. Instead, according to a federal lawsuit filed this week, Avellan — who as result of a stroke is confined to a wheelchair, cannot use his arms, and struggles to communicate — was left alone in the airport for hours.

Miami Traffic Is So Bad That I Did Yoga on the Highway

Hi, I’m Kristin. I’m the art director at Miami New Times, and I’m used to suffering in South Florida’s agonizing traffic. Most days I spend at least 40 minutes each way trapped in my car, slogging between my house in Broward County and our office in Wynwood.