A report on funding for a new parking garage at Margaritaville Resort in Hollywood Beach has renewed controversy about the city's push to bring the resort to town. The Sun Sentinel recently reported on a deal between the City of Hollywood and the resort's owner, KSL Capital Partners, in which the city gave a $28 million grant for the construction of the resort. Part of the deal also included an $80 million loan for the resort’s parking garage, which will be paid off by the parking garage's users and taxpayers by 2045. Today, Sundial spoke to a public official who has been against the deal since the beginning, commissioner Peter Hernandez.
Note: Earlier this week we heard from the mayor of Hollywood, Josh Levy, who defended the deal with the resort as a winner for the city’s tax coffers.
Time and time again, President Donald Trump has used negative rhetoric when talking about the press, such as by calling them the "enemies of the people." In the current political climate, journalists have been threatened and targeted. Today, the Boston Globe launched a nationwide campaign for journalists to unite in opposition to that message. More than 300 news outlets across the country, including WLRN, published editorials advocating for freedom of the press. They wrote in defense of the First Amendment and in support of journalists who hold public officials accountable. Sundial talked to WLRN reporter Jessica Bakeman, Miami Herald Editorial Editor Nancy Ancrum, and the President of Florida’s First Amendment Foundation, Barbara Peterson, about the importance of freedom of the press.
The International Ballet Festival of Miamiis back. This will be the 23rd year the Miami Hispanic Ballet welcomes ballet companies from all over the world to unite in the Magic City for a performance of their best classical and contemporary dance. International ballet companies this year include those from Colombia, Italy, England, Mexico, Argentina and the U.S. This year’s festival will dedicate a Lifetime Achievement Award to its founder, Pedro Pablo Peña, who passed away in March. Eriberto Jimenez, who worked with Peña for over 30 years, was announced as the new director of the festival after Peña's death. Jimenez joined Sundial to talk about the festival and about Peña’s legacy.
The festival began with performances July 28 and will wrap up this weekend with a grand finale on Saturday at 8 p.m. at Fillmore Miami Beach Jackie Gleason Theater and Sunday at 5 p.m. at Miami Dade County Auditorium.