Local Government

Business owners Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla's 2018 federal lawsuit against Joe Carollo for alleged harassment has finally begun its jury trial, after years of appeals.

WLRN's investigative team joins host Carlos Frías to discuss their latest report, which looks into a government-funded nonprofit that was put in place to help care for people who can’t take care of themselves. And sometimes sell their homes to cover the cost of their care. Reporters Joshua Ceballos and Danny Rivero found blurred lines in the program.Plus, we’ll hear a radio documentary about how developers and cities clash over how to restore the hundreds of Art Deco buildings on Miami Beach.

Joe Alvarez has sued the City of Miami's attorney Victoria Mendez and her husband for an alleged real estate scheme that forced him to sell his family home.

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Rene Garcia tells WLRN that waste management is not always top of mind for a lot of people. But the Covanta energy plant fire in Doral has pushed for a rethink of South Florida's relationship with trash — how much waste people produce and where to put our garbage for the long haul.

A fire broke out at the Covanta Waste-to-Energy Plant two weeks ago, resparking debate in Doral about the county’s plans to build a new, more modern waste energy plant next door to the old facility. With residents fed-up with the Covanta facility, what's next for the city of Doral and waste management in the county as a whole?

On this episode of The South Florida Roundup, we looked into the fire that started at the Covanta waste incinerator plant in Doral two weeks ago and the county’s trash problem (01:10), the walkout that college students in South Florida staged to protest Gov. DeSantis’ plans to block race and diversity programs (20:07), and U.S.’s relationship with Nicaragua in the face of the release of hundreds of prisoners (37:45).

The loosely organized drum circle has become the latest flash point in the Miami Beach culture wars, which have pitted residents' quality of life concerns against just about anyone making noise. Other recent inflection points: last call for alcohol, party boats and hookah bars.

As the special election for the vacant seat in Miami's City Commission — representing Edgewater, Morningside, downtown, Brickell and most of Coconut Grove — draws closer, voters are receiving racially charged messages that are lowering the tone of the race.

The City of Miami took ownership of the building in 2005 and planned to demolish it to the ground, until activists convinced the city to back off. Some fear it could be happening again.

The new Doral City Council is looking to repeal an ordinance from their predecessors that granted mayors and council members generous pensions.