Miami has been home to the Ultra Music Festival for more than 20 years, attracting thousands of electronic dance music fans to the city each year. But last week, Ultra decided not to renew its contract with the city, terminating a two year contract agreement for the festival to be hosted on Virginia Key Beach. We spoke to Miami Herald reporter Joey Flechas and WLRN's environmental reporter Jenny Staletovich about the impact this year’s event had on Miami and its wildlife. The movie POMS -- about

A new musical at the Colony Theatre in Miami Beach tells the story of Afro-Caribbean band Parranda El Clavo . The band comes from the small village of El Clavo nestled in Venezuela’s jungle. They regularly play house concerts around the village and are an essential part of the community. The play, “Viva La Parranda,” is an interactive experience; the audience is invited to come on stage and sing and dance. Traditional Venezuelan food cooks throughout the show and is offered to the audience to

Access to healthcare inside South Florida prisons and jails is under renewed scrutiny after a pregnant woman with a mental illness delivered her child alone in a Broward County jail cell last month. In a letter to Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony, obtained by our news partner the Miami Herald, the Broward County Public Defender Howard Finkelstein wrote, “It is unconscionable that any woman, particularly a mentally ill woman, would be abandoned in her cell to deliver her own baby.” The woman says

There's a hidden industry on the Miami River that takes things South Floridians discard to Haiti, where they find new life. In a recent Harper's Magazine piece called, "Downstream: The afterlife of American junk," by reporter Rowan Moore Gerety explores the shipping industry, the role it plays in Haiti and how the South Florida's Haitian diaspora is reacting to it. He talked about his reporting with Luis Hernandez on Sundial. Federal law requires prisons and jails to provide medical care to

College graduation is here. And you've probably been seeing a lot of photos of recent graduates from the class of 2019 with their caps, gowns and smiles. But what happens to South Florida graduates after they receive their diploma? Some will continue their education into graduate school. Others are heading into the job market. Some will be staying in South Florida to build their lives and careers. And others will leave to try and find their dreams in another place. And many will be leaving with

In the U.S. more than 700 women die each year while pregnant or shortly after giving birth, and an alarming number of them are black . According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), black women in Florida are two times as likely to die while or after giving childbirth compared to white women. Democratic state lawmakers Rep. Kamia Brown and Sen. Audrey Gibson sought to address the state's problem through legislation. The bill (SB 758) would have established a Maternal

The 2019 legislative session has come to a close. Reporter Elizabeth Koh has been covering this year’s legislative session for the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times. She joined Sundial to give a recap on the state’s budget, the sanctuary cities bill, and the guardian program. Black women living in Florida suffer higher maternal mortality rates compared to their white counterparts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . This year during the legislative session, Florida

Miami residents face the highest housing cost burden of any large metro area in the country. Last year the city of Miami passed an inclusionary zoning measure for the Omni housing development downtown. It would require a portion of the apartments in those developments to be designated affordable. However, the new measure could be facing opposition from lawmakers in Tallahassee. A new bill sponsored by Rep. Jason Fischer , a Jacksonville Republican, would prevent cities from requiring

On today’s episode of Sundial, WLRN Broward County reporter Caitie Switalski fills in for host Luis Hernandez. Last year, the city of Miami passed an “inclusionary zoning ” measure that would require a portion of the apartments in Miami’s Omni district, north of downtown, to be made affordable for residents. Commissioner Ken Russell spearheaded the project. He joined Sundial to talk about affordable housing in South Florida and also update us on future plans for the Coconut Grove Playhouse ,

A controversial bill (HB 19) that would allow for the importation of pharmaceutical drugs from Canada into Florida now sits on Gov. Ron DeSantis' desk. The drug import program would still need federal approval, but opponents of the bill, like Drug Enforcement ( DEA) Agent Steve Murphy , have raised concerns about the safety of the drugs coming from Canada. “This just scared be to death,” Murphy said Monday on Sundial. Proponents of the legislation argue it will allow Floridians to access