News

A $6 million deal that would have given a private prison company naming rights to Florida Atlantic University's stadium is now off. And that's leaving some FAU students wondering if another donation that size is coming around any time soon.

Barrel-chested Leo Thalassites squints like Clint Eastwood, hops around like Jackie Chan and has been an active cop for nearly six decades. He is 86 years old.

He first joined the Miami-Dade Police Department in 1956. He moved to the Hialeah Police Department in 1963, where he has been on active duty ever since.  And now, according to the International Police Association, he is the oldest active police officer.

President Obama traveled to PortMiami Friday to talk about the importance of the nation’s infrastructure to the economy. He outlined a plan for state and local governments to fund large-scale infrastructure projects through private sector partnerships.

PortMiami provided the perfect backdrop for the announcement. The port is undergoing a series of multimillion-dollar improvements including a $915 million project to dig a tunnel under Biscayne Bay that will directly connect the port to I-395.

Sometimes people stand up for their beliefs by refusing to stand on them.

Ryan Rotela, a junior at Florida Atlantic University and devout Mormon, claims he was thrown out of class by his instructor after refusing to step on the name of Jesus as part of a classroom exercise.

Not everyone remembers the moment when they lost the innocence of their childhood. But Paul Novack is reminded of that moment every day.

“Something about the Goldman house is that I drive by it at least twice a day,” says Novack. “It’s a constant reminder of what happened here in 1966.”

What happened in 1966 was suddenly the town of Surfside – Paul Novack’s town – became a place where horrendous crime happened. It began when a robber slipped in through the unlocked back door March 28, 1966, while the Goldman family slept.

President Barack Obama will be visiting PortMiami Friday to talk about the economy.  Gov. Rick Scott, meanwhile, is asking the federal government to repay Florida for the money it has spent on port improvements.

Although Scott often criticizes the federal government for spending too much, he says this is different.

Playing cards -- even though you hate it.

Going shopping -- although you already have a closetful of clothes.

Staying home and watching television? Yawn.

Golf?  Not on your life.

Many of the senior citizens who gathered Tuesday in solidarity at Boynton Beach’s Cleopatra Arcade paint a grim picture of a future without their beloved senior arcades.

On a mostly sun drenched South Florida day, about 900 former Miami Herald employees—myself included-- joined the current staff on Wednesday to reminisce, cry, and mourn the loss of the once proud building by the bay that will soon become a hotel/condo and possible mega casino now planned for the old property.

The Miami Herald isn’t going away. The newspaper operations, along with news partner WLRN, will move out to Doral in April.