Tom Hudson

The 20 Democratic presidential hopefuls debated this week about everything from healthcare to higher education to gun violence.

Notably missing from both nights — Latin America policy. Four hours of debate in Miami — the gateway to the Americas — and not a mention of Cuba, Venezuela or Nicaragua (what the Trump administration has called the "troika of tyranny").

It used to be that Cuban artists from the island who performed in Miami had to be ready for backlash from anti-Castro exile groups.

In 1999, for example, Miami officials tried to prevent the Cuban dance band Los Van Van from performing in the city. When the band eventually got to perform, they were met with thousands of demonstrators. They were against Los Van Van and considered the group loyal to the communist government.

Two years ago, it looked as if Hurricane Irma would make a direct hit to South Florida. Hundreds of thousands of people were ordered to leave their homes. Many did and found emergency shelters with no room and gridlocked traffic.

It’s almost six months into Gov. Ron DeSantis’s first term, and the biggest shift from the Rick Scott administration has been his focus on the environment.

In less than a month, 20 Democratic presidential candidates will debate in South Florida.

Kim Rivers' dad was a Jacksonville Sheriff's deputy while she was growing up. For a time, he was working with an undercover narcotics unit.

Today, Rivers leads the largest seller of legal marijuana in Florida, as the CEO of Trulieve.

The company was the first to have medical marijuana dispensaries in the state, and now has the most. Revenues grew 400 percent last year to more than $100 million and sales are expected to more than double this year. It has bought dispensaries in California and Massachusetts, and announced the purchase of a Connecticut dispensary this month.

Before the end of the month, the federal government plans to send hundreds of migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border plans to Broward and Palm Beach counties, according to South Florida leaders.

Officials in both counties say they are concerned the Trump administration’s plan puts a burden on their already strapped resources. Broward and Palm Beach  are preparing to receive up to 135 migrants twice a week in each county, beginning in two weeks.

Business from cannabis is growing fast in Florida; some of it regulated tightly, and some of it without rules. But all of it comes with cash that the banking industry is reluctant to touch. 

The first legal industrial hemp seeds in decades are growing now in South Florida soil.

CBD is showing up in ice cream, gummy bears and cocktails, but the state says the products are illegal.

And millions of dollars are being generated by the medical marijuana industry in Florida, but few banks want the money.

It is expensive to live in South Florida. People pay a lot for housing while wages are relatively low.

The latest research by the city of Miami and Miami Homes for All finds about 60 percent of renters are cost-burdened, which means they pay more than 30 percent of income for housing expenses.

Florida lawmakers have finished their work for the year. The 60-day legislative session had to have a few extra hours on Saturday for them to okay a $91.1 billion state budget.

For several years, South Florida has been working on its technology credentials. Tech incubators, accelerators, pitch competitions and other efforts have worked to nurture and grow the technology industry, especially tech start-ups.

A Miami-Dade city is banning all single-use plastics. It’s one of the most comprehensive legislation of its kind in the state of Florida.

The village of Bal Harbour recently passed an ordinance that prohibits places like restaurants and hotels from using, selling or distributing plastics, such as straws and shopping bags.

Mike Jackson used to shovel horse manure for one dollar a stall. He wound up leading a company selling over half a million new and used cars and trucks a year.

In March, Jackson stepped aside from CEO of AutoNation, the position he held for 20 years. AutoNation is one of South Florida’s largest publicly traded companies -- worth almost $3.5 billion. And Florida is its most important market, with quarter of its revenues coming from auto dealers it owns here.

In the hunt for housing affordability, mobile home parks have been an oasis. But developers are eyeing them, increasing rents and forcing some residents to leave.

Republicans and Democrats in Tallahassee are in agreement on at least one thing as they forge a state budget that will total around $90 billion: Florida's economy is doing well. 

The state’s unemployment rate was 3.5 percent in February, and more than 25,000 jobs were added that month.

Still, the state forecast for money coming in from sales taxes is down a little bit from forecasting just a few months ago. While still growing, the incoming tax dollars are expected to grow slower in the years ahead.