News

Over the course of the recently concluded legislative session, we approached lawmakers with questions from South Florida residents that came out of last February's WLRN-Miami Herald Town Hall.

Here's one:

What's being done to promote and protect development of local artists across the state?

The short answer is: not much.

Chances are you have a friend who forces you to make excuses for him. He’s just not good in big crowds. Or he’s like that because of the tough boss he has at work. He’s late all the time, but then, he’s just from Miami.

Living in Fort Lauderdale is like having one of those friends. It’s a city that’s often the punch line of a joke in a state that just can’t seem to stay out of late-night monologues.

When she won a James Beard award for her cookbook, Gran Cocina Latina, Maricel Presilla felt gratified to be acknowledged for the "work of a lifetime," as well as for "the collective work of millions of Latin Americans that live on two continents, in the Caribbean Islands, and also in the U.S."

The recently-wrapped 2013 Florida Legislative session was an active one for those who track environmental issues in the Sunshine State.

Editor's note: In the hunt for what to do about the various mix of invasive species found in Florida, we are running a series that not only describes the problems caused by these plants and animals but, well, offers a culinary solution. Tweet us (@WLRN) your ideas and tips or email us a recipe: WLRNMIA@gmail.com.

Editor's note: In the hunt for what to do about the various mix of invasive species found in Florida, we are running a series that not only describes the problems caused by these plants and animals but, well, offers a culinary solution. Tweet us (@WLRN) your ideas and tips or email us a recipe: WLRNMIA@gmail.com.

Many South Florida voters were still in line to cast ballots during the 2012 election hours after President Barack Obama had been declared the winner.

Twelve years after hanging chads and the infamous election recount, Florida was again a national punchline last November.

Elections supervisors blamed the length of the ballot and fewer days for early voting as reasons for the long lines in some areas.

Sixteen-year-old Webster Jean is driving around on city streets, left hand on the wheel, right hand holding a smartphone.  As he reads and responds to his text messages, he repeatedly veers across the double-yellow lines.

And then --  wham.

"I crashed,"  says Jean with a chuckle.

Jean tee-bones another car – but he’s fine.  The teenager is just taking a spin in a texting-while-driving simulator brought to Park Vista High School by wireless carrier AT&T. 

Socks.

Those wonderful cotton foot huggers which absorb our sweat and decorate our ankles, are taking the day off.

At least for those who observe it, May 8 is No Socks Day.

But living in South Florida should make you think twice:

Have you ever tried to cross US-1 on foot? Both in South and North Miami, all the way through Broward and even in parts of the Florida Keys it’s a harrowing experience. People are driving fast and not expecting pedestrians. It has the feel of an action movie to it and one you’re definitely not starring in.

There are other roads that have this same feel in South Florida. Brickell, Calle Ocho and the Macarthur Causeway are streets you take to get from point A to point B and pray you avoid running into a $200,000 luxury car or uninsured $500 car.

Proposed changes at Everglades National Park have put anglers at odds with environmental groups. The park's draft general management plan, which includes several variations (or "alternatives"), is currently up for public comment. This Sunday is the deadline to weigh in on proposed measures, which include prohibiting traditional boating in about one-third of Florida Bay. 

Editor's note: In the hunt for what to do about the various mix of invasive species found in Florida, we are running a series that not only describes the problems caused by these plants and animals but, well, offers a culinary solution. Tweet us (@WLRN) your ideas and tips or email us a recipe: WLRNMIA@gmail.com.

To accompany our Invasive Species Cookbook , we are also posting the potential health risks of eating certain invasive species and how to possibly mitigate those risks.

Editor's note: In the hunt for what to do about the various mix of invasive species found in Florida, we are running a series that not only describes the problems caused by these plants and animals but, well, offers a culinary solution. Tweet us (@WLRN) your ideas and tips or email us a recipe: WLRNMIA@gmail.com.

The city of North Miami holds key mayoral elections this month.

But the new mayor will have the difficult job of reuniting a city divided between east and west. 

Editor's Note: Be sure to check out an interactive bill tracker of this year's session from the Miami Herald.

It's curtains for Session 2013 in Tallahassee but a feeling persists that not much was accomplished during the last two months.

Dolphins Stadium

Here in South Florida, the clock ran out on the Miami Dolphins' 2-minute drill for state help on renovations to Sun Life Stadium.

Dorn Martell doesn't act surprised to hear gay culture is hot right now after a perfect storm of recent events from legal rulings on same-sex marriage to headlines of professional athletes coming out.

Editor's note: In the hunt for what to do about the various mix of invasive species found in Florida, we are running a series that not only describes the problems caused by these plants and animals but, well, offers a culinary solution. Tweet us (@WLRN) your ideas and tips or email us a recipe: WLRNMIA@gmail.com.

Lawmakers have gone home. The following is a partial list of bills that were passed or failed to pass during the 2013 Florida Legislative session. (Please note: This is NOT a comprehensive list.)

Editor's Note: Be sure to check out an interactive bill tracker of this year's session from the Miami Herald.

  I was born Martha Anne Peters in Victoria Hospital on Dec. 20, 1937, a second generation native-born Miamian.

Editor's note: In the hunt for what to do about the various mix of invasive species found in Florida, we are running a series that not only describes the problems caused by these plants and animals but, well, offers a culinary solution. Tweet us (@WLRN) your ideas and tips or email us a recipe: WLRNMIA@gmail.com.

Caroline Breder-Watts and critic and author Scott Eyman discuss the work of legendary film composer Ennio Morricone.  To learn more about  Scott Eyman, visit www.  scotteyman.com.  To hear the complete conversation, log onto www.artsradionetwork.com.

The woman whose name is synonymous with the fight for equal pay for women brought her message to South Florida this week.  And Lilly Ledbetter has some advice for working women at any stage of their careers:  learn how to negotiate.

A study released last month by the National Partnership for Women & Families shows that South Florida women are earning 86 cents for every dollar their male co-workers earn.  Although that's better than the national average of 77 cents, Ledbetter responds to that statistic with three words:

"Not good enough."

We love to pack a little carry on of food before getting on a plane. It’s a fine way to pass the time and avoid the bland, predictable and unhealthy!

Update 7:27 p.m.: Tallahassee lawmakers ended their 60-day legislative session without approving a deal to provide taxpayer support for a $350 million upgrade of Sun Life Stadium.

Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.

 THE AMERICAS AND MIAMI

From world famous beaches to international trade flows, South Florida has become one of the world's most vibrant and diverse economies.

Through a series of one-hour radio programs, special correspondent Tom Hudson will host a weekly series on Mondays in May and June exploring The Sunshine Economy, a fresh take on the key industries driving growth across South Florida.

Guests:

Art that has been coming out of the urban core is often heavy on portraiture – characters, friends, family portrayed in both raw settings and historical and cultural context – especially in painting, especially from African-American artists. The work of Houston’s Robert Pruitt, currently showing at General Audience Presents up in North Miami, is one such example. But Miami has always lacked a strong black artistic infrastructure, and therefore we haven’t seen much significant work coming out of the community (with some notable exceptions). Enter the up-and-coming T.

If you ask someone to name a valuable commodity, they may say gold, or oil. Ask someone in ballet the same question, and there’s good chance they’ll say boys.

Most ballets have almost equal part male and female roles. But in the U.S., boys who want to do ballet are hard to come by.  

For that reason boys often receive full scholarships to ballet schools and other forms of special treatment in order to attract them to the profession.

Former principal dancer with New York City Ballet Philip Neal was one of those boys.

The legendary choreographer George Balanchine once said, “ballet is woman,” and that seems to be the case, considering the scarcity of boys aspiring to become ballet dancers compared to the legions of girls.  But of the girls who grow up to become top dancers, few have actually graduated into the upper levels of leadership.

Ballet’s Glass Ceiling

Move over, Freud. Your couch is being replaced by a piece of wood on wheels.

On the shady slopes of pavement in Greynolds Park in North Miami Beach, a therapy counseling session is in progress.

Once a week, amid the sprawling canopies of hardwood hammocks and mangrove forests, patients sort through emotions — while pushing on a longboard skateboard.

Donning kneepads and helmet gear, Alex Batista, 47, smiles as he rides silently alongside his therapist.