Elaine Chen

Marlins are no help for Dolphins.  The proposal by the Miami Dolphins to fund approximately $400 million in stadium renovations through county hotel taxes and state general funds is not getting a warm reception.  And it’s probably not because of reports by economists showing that events like the Super Bowl don’t contribute significantly to the host communities. 

On the Florida Roundup: The Miami Dolphins ask the public to go halfsies with them in a $400 million proposition to improve the Sun Life Stadium. But is hosting a Super Bowl really worth it? A skeptical public might be tougher to persuade after the Marlins ballpark deal.  

We take your calls on whether public money fund the stadium facelift.  

To kickstart our Town Hall project, we start with the question: Who runs Tallahassee?  

Our guests are: The Miami Herald's Tallahassee bureau chief Mary Ellen Klas and Dan Krassner, executive director of Integrity Florida, an ethics watchdog group, which proposes the unconventional idea we can make the government more accountable if we get rid of limits on state campaign donations. 

Join us on this site on Tuesday, Jan. 22 at 4pm or tweet us at #FL2013.  To read more about the Town Hall project, click here.

On The Florida Roundup:  Saturday marks the third anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti.  How has it affected us in South Florida, home to the nation’s largest Haitian diaspora?   We take your calls on what you have seen in Haiti and what responsibility we have to this country less than 700 miles away.   Why has development been so slow after so many promises?

Tallahassee may be hundreds of miles away, but WLRN and The Miami Herald will bring it to you. 

On the Florida Roundup: 2013 begins with the fiscal cliff averted, despite U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s vote against the agreement.   We find out whether Florida's fragile economy can "hang on" when many decisions have been kicked down the road.  

We were once again in the center of the political universe, but perhaps for all the wrong reasons as the state that can't vote straight.  It was also the year that the death of a black teen from Miami Gardens named Trayvon Martin made us reassess race relations, and the right to stand your ground.    

On the Florida Roundup: The tragedy in Connecticut hits home in what some people call “The Gunshine State,”as Florida has over a million concealed weapons permits, the most in the country.    Do you feel safer?  We hear your reaction to Florida’s milestone.  And will gun control be on the agenda in Tallahassee?

The well-regarded Helen Bentley Family Health Center, a fixture in Coconut Grove, will be losing almost to $2 million in federal funding next year.  

The Miami Herald says the funding represents approximately 17 percent of the center’s operating budget.  The center will continue to provide services but laid off several support staff due to the reduction.     

The series on remedial education at Florida’s colleges by NPR’s StateImpact Florida and the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting has prompted lots of conversations: Why are so many high school graduates needing remediation in college?  Should a high school diploma be a certificate of college readiness -- perhaps only for some students.

We chatted online with StateImpact’s Sarah Gonzalez and FCIR’s Mc Nelly Torres along with a social media audience of students, educators and people interested in education policy.

The coincidence of two recent events has brought the issue of gun ownership to the forefront in Florida: the state has issued its 1 millionth active concealed weapon permit, the highest of any state, and the shooting of 20 first graders in Newtown, Conn. 

In what may be a preview of the governor’s race, former governor Charlie Crist directly criticized Governor Rick Scott before a U.S. Senate hearing on voting rights. Crist was critical of Scott for helping to pass a 2011 election law that limited early voting hours. 

Florida’s only wading bird on the endangered species list, the wood stork, is on the mend.  From a low of about 2,500 nesting pairs in most of South and Central Florida in 1984, the bird has since grown to around 7,000 to 9,000 nesting pairs. 

But it doesn't mean all is well with the Everglades.

If state Democrats have doubts about Charlie Crist's break with the GOP, he'll be giving them more proof on Wednesday.  

Crist will be testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on Voting Rights on the impact of Florida's 2011 election law.  He will be joined by a Democratic state representative from South Carolina and a liberal advocacy group, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.  

State Representative Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, says the Newtown shooting should prompt us to re-examine our gun policies - and consider allowing more guns at school.

The Florida Current reports that Baxley, sponsor of the Stand Your Ground law and chair of the House Judiciary Committee, contends:

On the Florida Roundup:  Florida has its new Education Commissioner, former Indiana Superintendent Tony Bennett.  We’ll learn why Jeb Bush fans are thrilled and the teachers unions are not. NPR’s StateImpact Florida reporter Sarah Gonzalez will tell us why many of Florida’s high school graduates are not ready for college work.  And we hear from you on Florida’s growing need for remedial education and what the purpose of high school should be.  Tweet us @WLRN.  

The series on remedial education exposed what some in the public school system at the secondary and college level already knew: that many students are graduating from high school unprepared for college. 

On the Florida Roundup :  Local leaders and scientists gather in Palm Beach county to discuss how sea-level rise is “sinking in” in South Florida.  Citizens Insurance is awash with complaints about its "incentive plan" to have private insurers take over some of its policies. Will you be paying for it, hurricane or not? 

The Miami-Dade County Commission’s 8-3 decision to reinstate spoken prayer before its official meetings is sparking passionate responses on both sides of the issue. 

A sponsor of the bill to bring back spoken prayer, Commissioner Jose "Pepe" Diaz, called it a matter of "freedom of speech," while Commissioner Sally Heyman, part of the trio opposed to the measure, said it was "unfair to members of the community to be subjected to a religious point of view."  Since 2004, the commission has opened its meetings with a moment of silence during which commissioners and the public could do as they pleased. 

Often “Art Basel” is used as shorthand for the many arts events that coincide with the Art Basel fair itself, which takes place inside the Miami Beach Convention Center. 

But throughout Miami, galleries and artists are exhibiting their work so there really is something for everyone this week.  Below is a small sampling for various persuasions. 

You hate contemporary art: Endless Renaissance at the Bass Museum.  

Art Basel begins this week, and WLRN will be your guide.  In a special hour hosted by WLRN's arts editor, Alicia Zuckerman, we give you tips on what to see, and how.  Plus we look at the fair's history and how it's shaped Miami. 

On The Florida Roundup: Hurricane season has officially ended.  South Florida was saved from any severe hurricanes, but we see the effects of climate change as beaches erode, roads crumble and flooding inundates parts of region.  

With its low-level waterfront communities, South Florida is particularly vulnerable to climate change. 

But perhaps no area is more vulnerable than the Florida Keys.

James from Cudjoe Key tells us that a nature trail he has walked for 10 years is now regularly flooded, even at low tide.  Here is a photo he sent us:

While much has been written about the danger to South Florida caused by rising water levels, Pamela from Miami points out that Miami should pay attention to its air:   

The Marlins latest fire sale is official: Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig approved the trade of 5 of the team’s top players.  

This week on The Florida Roundup:  Have state GOP leaders taken the election as a cue to change course? 

The City Beautiful has begrudgingly decided to accept the working man's auto.  

On Election Day, voters in Coral Gables voted to end the city's 50-year old prohibition on overnight parked trucks.  The question whether to keep the law was put on the ballot by citizens (unlike the 11 state constitutional amendments).   

"An irrelevant laughingstock," a "benign tumor," a state that should just be "

The voting is over, ballots have been cast, and even though all the results may not be in--Florida has spoken.  Many voters voiced their frustration with the long lines and are demanding to know: why did the state shorten early voting and what went wrong on election night?  President Obama won this election, but the biggest news in Florida is the state's continued troubles with administering an election.  

Florida is ready to vote. Or is it?  Over 3 million Floridians have already voted early in person or by absentee ballot.  Early voting totals continue to be strong in mostly Democratic South Florida.  For many, lines at the polls are long, while still others wait by the mailbox for their absentee ballots.