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Miami boasts, of course, a reputation as a major clubbing center — but in decades past, the city is also where a big chunk of clubbing music actually got made.

Most histories of disco music focus on New York legends like DJ Larry Levan and clubs like the Paradise Garage, where funk and R&B met a new dance beat. But Miami had its own disco sound — and not just that of the Bee Gees, who did, in fact, record major material like their 1975 album Main Course here.

The road to construct a dedicated building for the Center for Creative Education (CCE) has been a long and bumpy one filled with more than a few roadblocks. But after nearly a decade of financial challenges and false starts, the South Florida non-profit children's art outreach is ready to unveil its new home in Palm Beach County.

Soccer fans, mark your calendars.

The Guinness International Champions Cup, a preseason soccer tournament beginning in Spain on July 27, will draw   to a close at Sun Life Stadium on August 6 and 7.

Like Miami Herald sportswriter David J. Neal, who wrote so eloquently this month about his boyhood memories of the Indianapolis 500, I’m a Hoosier-turned-Miamian who spent many a May in my own youth at the world’s most famous race car track.

In certain intellectual and artistic circles, it’s almost a sport to complain about how Miami gets every bit of culture last among the country’s larger cities. And yet, every day a little piece of evidence appears, shining like a beacon of hope in a sun-bleached mental vacuum.

Indie film buffs, take particular note of the latest development to benefit you: GATHR, a nationwide sort of film-previewing club that’s now offered in Miami at O Cinema’s Wynwood location.

What have I learned this school year?

I've learned that teaching is hard. Not only because of the curriculum, not only because of the new tests, new rules, new measures. Not only because there are tests, tests, and more tests. But because it so often feels like an insurmountable, thankless, stressful endeavor.

The rules are always changing. The tests are always changing. And the blame for anything and everything that goes wrong usually falls squarely on our shoulders.

But teaching is also so rewarding.

The Florida Legislature passed a gun control measure this year that would prevent more people with mental illness from buying guns. 

It essentially closes a loophole that enables people who seek mental health treatment to buy guns.

The bipartisan bill even got strong support from the National Rifle Association.

But some critics think it may do more harm than good.

When WLRN put out a call last week asking Miami Beach residents if they were staying or leaving during Urban Beach Weekend, the overwhelming majority said that they would be leaving until Monday or Tuesday.

Among the most frequently cited reasons for the exodus: a recent history of violence, traffic and noise, along with the event bringing a "bad crowd" into town.

Longevity in the arts, like any field, requires constant learning. Performance labs provide this space. It’s where artists can experiment, research and refine their skills. In these labs, sometimes new ideas emerge and old ideas are fleshed out. It’s where artists—dancers, choreographers, directors, composers—innovate and hone their craft.

You could call it Latin America’s Apollo 13 moment. In October 2010, 33 miners trapped 2,300 feet below Chile’s Atacama Desert for 70 days were rescued one by one in a small steel capsule. I’ll never forget being there to witness that operation, which was watched on television by more than a billion people around the world.

If you've ever found yourself biting into a tangy sapote, or a lush mango, give a small thanks to fruit hunters.

Fruit hunters are an intrepid band of explorers, growers and researchers. For decades, they have introduced most of the fruit that we enjoy in South Florida. The area's climate is conducive to growing most of the tropical fruit from nearly all the world's continents. Fruit hunters will travel the lengths of the earth, as well as mining their own back yards, in search of the newest, rarest and tastiest plants.

It's official. No more texting and driving in the state of Florida.

Gov. Rick Scott was in South Florida on Tuesday to sign SB 52, legislation championed by Sen. Nancy Detert (R-Venice) for the last four years. 

Under the new law, Florida will join a large majority of states in prohibiting texting while driving. As a secondary offense, however, drivers must be stopped for a separate alleged traffic violation before being ticketed for texting while driving. 

On Saturday and Sunday, The LAB Miami will host the first-annual Hack for Change: Miami as part of the National Day of Civic Hacking. The event endeavors to bring together citizens in the spirit of collaboration to develop new technological solutions for some our country’s oldest problems. Or, as the national website puts it, “to do what is most quintessentially American: roll up our sleeves, get involved, and work together to improve our society.”

Aging Americans worried about their droopy upper eyelids often rely on the plastic surgeon’s scalpel to turn back the hands of time. Increasingly, Medicare is footing the bill.

Yes, Medicare. The public health insurance program for people over 65 typically does not cover cosmetic surgery, but for cases in which a patient’s sagging eyelids significantly hinder their vision, it does pay to have them lifted.

If you’re looking to buy a brand new, never before used bridge, contact the town of Davie.

The Davie Town Council voted last year to build a bridge across the N-23 Canal. It was supposed to be a small, charming bridge for hikers and horseback riders.

But instead, they ended up with a brown, bulky bridge for vehicles-- as well as a lot of upset residents.

Sunrise is a special time on South Beach, but on holiday weekends, it's a magic hour.

Right around dawn, there's a brief overlap as the night owls wind down and the early birds gear up for a new day.

"It's peaceful, it's quiet. All of the chaos kind of dies down," observed Malika Everette, who woke up early on Memorial Day to take photos of the sunrise over South Beach. Everette planned to post the landscapes to Instagram before heading back home to Atlanta.

The dawn hours are for locals, too.

On Friday evening the Standard Hotel and Spa was completely tented for the weekend, to reopen Sunday, while countless other businesses were closed up on Miami Beach.

Spiga Restaurant on 12th and Collins had a sign stating they were observing Memorial Day Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Ostensibly, businesses like Spiga really love the troops, but no one is fooled.

It seems like Miami Beach abstracted Memorial Day in more ways than one.

The giant African land snail has competition in the "strange and destructive little invasive species" department. A report released last month by University of Texas scientists shows that "crazy ants" are "invading the southeastern United States and Texas" -- including Florida. 

Tourism has been the fuel for South Florida's economy since Henry Flagler stretched his railroad to Palm Beach in the 1890s. It remains a significant and long-term driver of the local economy to this day.

Our program starts where Henry Flagler ignited the industry, at The Breakers in Palm Beach. The Breakers CEO Paul Leone tells us his resort has never been busier, even as it gears up for the "slow season" (which isn't slow.)

South Florida has serious car culture and Memorial Day weekend is one of the best times of year to see it in its full splendor. As Urban Beach Week draws car enthusiasts from all over the country to South Beach, there’s no mistaking a local car if you know what to look for.

“I can just look at cars and tell which one is from Miami,” says Isaac Hernandez, a Miami car enthusiast and owner of Ride Kreations.

It’s family literacy night at Holmes Elementary School in Liberty City, and first grader Adam Redding is reading a poem about plants while he absentmindedly tips dirt out of a plastic cup and onto a laptop.

I can imagine my dad's excitement leaving gritty Newark behind him and hitting the highway in his old Studebaker bound for paradise . . . Miami Beach. I can see the bathing suit postcards guiding his way and hear the ocean calling his name: M-I-L-T-O-N B-R-A-N-D, come on down!

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will visit Colombia, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago next week. President Obama already swung through Mexico and Costa Rica this month and next month Obama will host the presidents of Chile and Peru at the White House.

The South Florida Science Museum in West Palm Beach was built in 1961, and stayed essentially the same for more than 50 years.  All that changes this summer, as we learn from SFSM President Lew Crampton.

In preparation for Urban Beach Week, WLRN-Miami Herald News asked members of the Public Insight Network to weigh in on the festival. 

In preparation for Urban Beach Week, WLRN-Miami Herald News asked members of the Public Insight Network to weigh in on the festival. 

Last year during Memorial Day, I hid out along the West Avenue corridor. When I went out on Sunday afternoon to the Lincoln Road Farmer's Market, I was shocked at how empty it was. 

Without a doubt this is history’s most unconquerable of all Caesars!

Go anywhere in the U.S. and, from truck stops to swank spots, this is the one salad you are most likely to encounter.

  On The Florida Roundup today at noon:

Dolphins Stadium

The Florida Legislature balked on proposed renovations to Miami Dolphins stadium. A  public referendum (already in progress) on the renovations was called off. And to make matters worse, the NFL denied South Florida a Super Bowl.

Oklahoma Tragedy

A Broward County costume company is breathing new life into a Palm Beach County theater that fell victim to financial hard times.

The owners of Costume World are renovating the 30,000-square-foot former home of the Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton and will operate the theater themselves under a new name.

Last year, the Caldwell closed down under the weight of $7 million in debt.

It was a big year for education policy in Florida.