The South Florida Roundup

On The South Florida Roundup, we examined a rash of inmate deaths and suicides in Broward County’s jail facilities (01:03). We also looked at the city of Hialeah’s vote this week to stop the rental of recreational vehicles as residences — and what it says about our affordable housing crisis (18:56). And we discussed the new debate about the Cuba crisis. But this time it’s not about communism — it’s about capitalism (34:45).

In this episode of The South Florida Roundup we’ll look at bills in the new Florida state legislative session that would roll back gun control measures passed after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School six years ago (01:02). We also discussed last week’s cancellation of the South Florida Muslim Federation’s annual gathering at a Broward venue (18:51). And we asked what could be done about the record logjam of asylum cases in U.S. immigration courts like Miami’s (34:48).

On the South Florida Roundup, we discussed more 'Miami mess': the arrest of former Miami-Dade County School Board Vice Chair Lubby Navarro for allegedly stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the school system (01:03). We also talked to the makers of “Never Drop the Ball,” WLRN-TV’s new documentary about America’s pioneering 20th-century Negro baseball leagues (18:25). And we tried to make sense of the new outburst of narco-cartel violence plaguing Ecuador and Latin America (35:12).

In the first show of 2024, we discuss WLRN's investigation into Miami's hiring of the city manager’s wife for office remodeling. We look at a proposal to place homeless seniors and veterans into transitional housing in Cutler Bay that is being met with resistance (18:37). And we examine President Biden’s decision to free Venezuela’s alleged corruption mastermind, Alex Saab, from his Miami jail cell (35:29).

On the South Florida Roundup, we close out 2023 by looking at how tough the year was for South Florida’s most critical commodity: its environment. And that includes the Everglades, whose revival feels dangerously dormant (01:03). We also examine the face and the future of the Palestinians, both in Gaza and here, amid the brutal Israel-Hamas war (17:58). And we discuss new polls that suggest President Biden and the Democrats are in more trouble with Latino voters next year than they thought (34:00).

On The South Florida Roundup, with the year nearing its end, we look back at some stories that helped define 2023 in South Florida. First, education — and the often bitter debate here involving diversity, parental rights versus LGBTQ+ rights and book-banning (01:01). We also discuss how the affordable housing crisis finally took center stage across the region (18:01). And we examine the American immigration crisis — and the Latin American leaders, like Venezuela’s, who made it worse (33:04).

On the South Florida Roundup, we looked at the holiday edition of the Miami mess: embattled City Attorney Victoria Mendez gets to keep her job — for the moment — while the city commission corrects all the multi-million-dollar mistakes it’s made with the budget (01:01). We also spoke with Nancy Ancrum, the Miami Herald’s editorial page editor who is retiring after leading the paper to two Pulitzer Prizes (18:39). And we examined why Venezuela claims it should have two-thirds of neighboring Guyana (35:19).

On the South Florida Roundup, we looked at how Miami Art Week and events like it are now a development engine for some of South Florida’s once struggling communities like Opa-Locka (1:00); a retired U.S. diplomat and former ambassador to Bolivia who was charged with spying for Cuba (8:40); and how the state of Florida may soon loosen development restrictions in the Florida Keys (22:48).

On the South Floria Roundup, we discussed the Broward County controversy over whether a transgender student can play girls’ volleyball (01:03), the new WLRN Everglades podcast Bright Lit Place – and Big Sugar’s role in blocking the cleanup of one of our key eco-treasures (18:35) , and we examine how Puerto Rico’s mortality rate is going up as its healthcare system tumbles down (34:16).

On the South Florida Roundup, we examine how our region’s three major airports are likely to perform amid what’s likely to be record holiday traffic in the skies (01:03), we also look at a more unsettling aspect of the holidays: the fact that a larger share of people here are experiencing food insecurity than the rest of the country (18:45), and we ask if the country’s largest Spanish-language TV network is suddenly cozying up to Donald Trump (33:57).