News

After several failed bills and a decade’s worth of debate, texting and driving remains legal in Florida – and the most recently proposed bill wouldn’t change that. But drivers could be charged with vehicular homicide in the case of an accident.

According to the News Service of Florida,

The Florida Public Records Act, also known as F.S. 119, is straightforward:  All state, county and municipal records are open for personal inspection and copying by any person. And it is the duty of each agency to provide you with access to public records.

With the country still in mourning over the death of Hugo Chavez, election season has begun again in Venezuela.

Burdened with the expense of medical care for more than a million uninsured Floridians, the Florida Hospital Association isn't ready to accept that Medicaid won't be expanded in Florida under Obamacare.

Scarcely a day after a Florida Senate Select Committee voted down the Medicaid plan, the association had mobilized healthcare providers and patients under the banner "The Florida Remedy" to make their case public.

Enjoy the Italian teenage tenors' renditions of operatic, pop and Italian classics, showcasing their vocal talent and interpretive gift for music.

Between Art Basel, Art Palm Beach, and the American International Fine Art Fair -- plus dozens of galleries from West Palm to Wynwood --  South Florida's well-heeled art collectors are pretty well covered. That leaves room for niche galleries like Bear and Bird Boutique + Gallery in Lauderhill to cater to fledgling art buyers and up-and-coming artists. 

Two months ago, I was forced cancel my windstorm insurance due to the high deductions, meager coverage and exorbitant cost. For the past four years, the insurance lobby has run wild in their insatiable demand for bigger profits for insurance companies already flush with cash.

College students from Miami and elsewhere around the state are trying to keep the dream alive.

They came by bus to Tallahassee during the opening week of the legislative session. The group is known as the Dream Defenders.

Phillip Agnew, Executive Director of Dream Defenders, led a news conference inside the Capitol then spoke with us about the group’s legislative agenda.

The election results and new leadership in the Florida legislature have made life a little easier for the state's elected Democrats.

Not that that there's been a substantial change in how the state's laws are made. The elections may have stripped House and Senate Republicans of their super-majorities, but Democrats remain profoundly outvoted and relatively powerless.

For News Service of Florida

A senator who last month opposed a bill that would create domestic partnerships for unmarried couples will support a new, narrower version when it comes up Tuesday in the Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee.

Imagine enough sand to cover about four football fields, four feet high, and you'll get an idea of how much work is being done to build up the dunes in Boca Raton's Red Reef Park.

Miami-Dade County is grappling with how to repair and replace parts of its aging sewage system, under pressure from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Water and Sewer Department has drawn up a $1.5 billion plan.

However, the clean-water advocacy group Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper says the plan doesn’t take into account the potential for sea level rise at its three coastal treatment plants on Virginia Key and in North Miami and South Miami-Dade.

Incest. Psychosis. Sexual taboo. Murder. A make-out session involving a severed head. Salome isn't the typical night at the opera. Likewise, the production at Palm Beach Opera this weekend is something of a departure for the South Florida cultural institution. 

"For us, German repertoire is not so often done," said Scott Guzielek, Palm Beach Opera director of artistic operations. "It's a great way for our audience to be exposed to a different style of music."

The future of some of Florida's smallest and most seldom seen inhabitants is under threat from climate change, and that could spell big trouble further up the food chain, scientists say. South Florida's coral and algae populations are declining as ocean temperatures rise and there's an economic factor to consider, according to researchers who study the coastal underwater ecosystems. 

Over the weekend, public transit advocates in Miami built a temporary train station along an imaginary transit line. They called it the Purple Line, sticking with the theme of Miami’s other two commuter rail lines, the Orange and the Green. Organizers of the project say this mock train station is going to help improve public transit in the city.

At the recent WLRN/Miami Herald-sponsored Town Hall on Session 2013 panelist Sen. Jack Latvala mentioned the need to focus on science and technology education to better prepare Florida's kids for a tech-centric global job market. It's a point echoed by Lew Crampton who serves as president and chief executive officer for the South Florida Science Museum.

On The Florida Roundup, here are some the events that caught our attention:

A state agency is considering designating large tracts of state-owned lands as "surplus," including sections that are home to a near-extinct bird endemic to Florida. Surplus lands can be made available for public sale or trade, or used in ways that differ from their original intention as conservation lands.

If you're friends with any civic-minded folks on Facebook -- or people who just like to get around without a car -- you've probably come across this lovely little meme this week. We've known for quite a while that Miami public transit is lacking. But this handy web graphic, by Leah Weston via her Twitter account, @LeahSwanky, sure throws it into stark relief, doesn't it?

The Florida Legislative Session 2013 is in full swing, and environmental groups are worried about a number of  bills before lawmakers. Organizations like Audubon of Florida are focused on proposed measures that would impact environmental funding, wildlife protection, water quality and land use and conservation.  

It’s hard to explain to someone what “sound art” is. These are encounters that bend our traditional definition of music, and the truth is CDs and MP3s simply cannot reproduce the experience. 

Luckily, the Subtropics music festival is literally your sounding board—both an introduction and advanced course—and a navigational chart for becoming conquistador of sound.

Victor Leong is affectionately known by many as the Sandman.  He has been building  sandcastles professionally on Miami Beach since 1992.

Broward’s Inspector General has found that Hallandale Beach officials “grossly mismanaged” millions of dollars in public funds “entrusted to the care of its Community Redevelopment Agency,” according to a report obtained by BrowardBulldog.org.

More than two dozen states are expected to adopt new national science education standards that include teaching children as young as elementary school about the effects of climate change. Florida was not among the 26 states that helped to "provide leadership" during the development stage of the Next Generation Science Standards, and it is unclear if it is among the roughly 15 states "that have indicated they may accept them," according to Inside Climate News. 

For 23 years, "The Ed Sullivan Show" featured America's premiere comedy legends performing their acts for millions of Americans every week. This special from the Sullivan archives brings back the original stars that defined the history of comedy, in their prime doing their original acts. The talent line-up includes classic bits from Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Red Skelton, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Flip Wilson, Joan Rivers, Alan King, Jack Paar, Jackie Gleason, Victor Borge and many more.