Fort Lauderdale

With free hot meals, showers and a friendly judge, the Fort Lauderdale Community Court is Broward's most unusual courtroom. The program began in 2019 as a jail diversion program for unhoused individuals charged with low-level nonviolent offenses, but has grown into a clearing house for homeless services — and is particularly valuable after camping bans were enacted.

Budget cuts to the USDA, as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to reduce federal spending through billionaire Elon Musk’s DOGE activities, have hit deliveries of food to the Salvation Army of Broward County.

A federal appeals court has sided with Tesla in a lawsuit filed by the father of Barrett Riley, who died in a car crash on Florida A1A in Fort Lauderdale. The lawsuit was in part due to the activation of a speed limiter on the Tesla Model S, which would have prevented the car from going more than 85 mph.

The city of Fort Lauderdale announced Wednesday its law enforcement plan for this spring break season, which includes tripling the amount of officers on patrol and beach sweeps with police mounted on horseback.

The City, especially Mayor Dean Trantalis, has long favored a tunnel over a bridge to allow commuter rail to cross the New River.

Pending home sales are falling fastest in the market of Fort Lauderdale, where it’s down 15.2% year over year during the four weeks ending November 10, according to Redfin. Next is Miami (-14%) followed by West Palm Beach (-13.8%).

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis pledged to improve the city’s flood prevention infrastructure, boost water quality and take a “get tough” approach to deal with the city’s long-standing homeless crisis.

Florida natives Sierra Grace and David Paulo have seen the landscapes of the places they grew up in change rapidly. Through photos of historical and cultural landmarks shared on Instagram, they work to preserve their community — before gentrification and development take over.

The city is going full steam ahead with a plan that is opposed by Broward County commissioners. But getting any federal grants will be tough without support from the county, which is in charge of the project and prefers a bridge crossing.

The home-grown Our Voices Festival is in its second year and hopes to give out more than a thousand books to local students.

Greg Chavarria has abruptly stepped down as the city undergoes major infrastructure projects such as stormwater upgrades and a new water treatment facility — to the cost of billions of dollars — that will shape Fort Lauderdale for generations.

UPDATE: As the city's mayor paid his condolences to the family of a construction worker killed in the accident, it emerged that a company under investigation was cited with two U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration violations at other job sites last year.