The South Florida Roundup

Two years ago, “spearphishing attacks” -emails targeted towards specific individuals with the intent to steal data for malicious purposes- flooded the inboxes of election officials in several Florida counties. This year, as Florida prepares for the general elections in November, issues around voting security have been front and center. In August, Sen. Bill Nelson claimed Russian hackers had gained access to valuable data on state voters. There has been no evidence found that Florida’s voting

South Floridians complain a lot about traffic. Jammed expressways, reckless drivers and unreliable public transportation contribute to a perennial dissatisfaction about the state of the region’s roadways – which sometimes not even the best Waze-like app can mitigate. “Traveling from South Dade to North Broward is a pain on I-95. The lanes are so narrow, it feels downright dangerous,” says Jeziel Garcia, who lives in Parkland. Miami-Dade County is responding. Next week, commissioners will decide

The city of Miami could be hiking the price to park for nonresidents. City commissioners are considering increasing the hourly rate to $3.25 an hour in some neighborhoods. Rates would increase for public parking lots, garages and curbside spots. According to The Miami Herald, Miami residents who register with the city would be spared the extra cost. (They can currently apply for a 20 percent discount through the PayByPhone app .) Read More: Miami's Parking Obesession Has Unforseen Circumstances

A year ago, South Florida was bracing for Hurricane Irma. The Category 4 storm made landfall in the Lower Keys. Irma ripped through islands, damaging thousands of homes and businesses. The storm effectively closed the Keys for a week and scattered lives in its wake. Residents who followed the warnings and evacuated weren’t allowed back in for days. The rest of South Florida was mostly spared from the brunt of Irma’s winds, rain and storm surge. Yet the storm revealed shortcomings in how

Politicians and property taxes weren’t the only questions on some ballots this primary season . Voters in the cities of Miami and South Miami approved opening the way for the redevelopment of two high-profile properties. In Miami, it’s a 13-story hotel at what used to be called Parrot Jungle — now Jungle Island. In South Miami, it’s a rule change that could mean big changes at The Shops at Sunset Place mall . Brian Bandell , a reporter with the South Florida Business Journal, and Kyra Gurney , a

The algae-choked waters of Lake Okeechobee and the deadly red tide along the Gulf Coast have dominated the political debate over Florida’s environment. The Republican gubernatorial candidates have focused their environmental positions on the pollution-fueled algae blooms. Earlier this month, during a televised debate on Fox , Congressman Ron DeSantis placed much of the blame for the state’s water woes on the sugar industry, accusing his opponent Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam of doing the

Mobile showers for the homeless in Fort Lauderdale have been shut down for violating city code. According to the Sun Sentinel , the charity Hope South Florida received a notice from the city at the beginning of this month, saying the use of a portable shower outside of a structure is not permitted. Since last year, Hope South Florida , a homeless services organization, had been offering weekly showers at two locations in Fort Lauderdale and one in Pompano Beach. To continue offering services,

The gun legislation passed after the Parkland mass shooting was historic for many reasons, not the least of which was that it represented the first gun restrictions passed in Florida in more than 20 years. One of the provisions of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, signed into law by Governor Rick Scott on March 9, allows police officers to ask a judge for permission to temporarily take away the guns of someone they believe poses a threat to themselves or others. Critics

Living in the Florida Keys is life in paradise, but it comes at a cost. Day-to-day life in the Keys can be a struggle despite the natural beauty of the archipelago. Still, the affordability challenges, threast from hurrianes and risk of higher seas can't dilute the Conch spirit of independence, self-resilency and individualism. This week, we head down the 7 Mile Bridge for a special edition of The Florida Roundup: Life at the Edge in the Florida Keys . WLRN's Tom Hudson will be speaking with

Two undocumented immigrants who were arrested for driving without a license and face deportation are suing Miami-Dade County over its immigration detention policy. The lawsuit was filed in federal court this week, claiming the county’s policy is unconstitutional. Last year, Miami-Dade reversed a county policy and started to honor federal immigration detention requests. The policy switch came days after President Donald Trump was elected and threatened with withholding federal funds if counties,