Hollywood

It's 450 feet of larger-than-life rock n' roll novelty. 

From the Florida Turnpike, the giant guitar building that lights up neon blue and green at night has been almost impossible to miss since construction broke ground in the summer of 2017.

Now, it's finally open to the public.

The new guitar-shaped hotel is part of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood's $1.5 billion dollar expansion, for more gaming, dining, places to stay and shopping. 

The 435-foot tall glass building shaped like a guitar is hard to miss while driving on the Florida Turnpike in Broward County. 

As a monument to the Gibson Les Paul guitar and the growing development in Hollywood, the $1.5 billion dollar expansion of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is the first of its kind in terms of opportunities - and challenges.  

It’s been one day since Chantal Reid got an explanation from the Hollywood police department about why a SWAT team officer shot and killed her 23-year-old son James Leatherwood over one month ago.

Many South Floridians know the suave, summertime vibe of Jimmy Buffett’s ‘Margaritaville,’ which he wrote over 40 years ago on his way down to Key West.

But fewer  know about Buffett’s passion for environmental activism - especially for Florida’s ecosystem. His message to protect it reached over five thousand Parrotheads in the Hollywood ArtsPark Ampitheater Thursday night.

Despite controversy over the city's funding of the Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort, Hollywood mayor Josh Levy argues his city has made an investment in its long-term future.   

According to a deal between the City of Hollywood and the resort's owner, KSL Capital Partners, the resort and parking garage will be paid for in part by taxpayers. The city provided a $28 million grant for the construction of the resort and 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.

Hundreds of Seminole Tribe members and construction workers cheered as the final piece of steel was placed on top of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino's new guitar-shaped building Monday in Hollywood.

At 450 feet tall, the new building will be a 638-room hotel on the existing casino's property on the Seminole reservation. One of two lakes on site were filled in to create space for the massive guitar next to an existing casino.

None of the more than 1,000 nursing homes and assisted living facilities in South Florida are on Florida Power & Light’s highest priority list for power restoration.

FPL rejected Broward and Miami-Dade counties’ lists, which included these facilities, according to the Sun Sentinel.

The South Florida community said goodbye to another beloved faculty member who died in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting on Feb. 14. 

Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Day is the only federal holiday that calls for a “day ON, not OFF”. Businesses may close, but it’s considered a day of service. At the Greater Hollywood YMCA, more than 125 people came to donate their time.

After a lengthy debate, the city of Hollywood is moving forward with renaming Forrest, Lee and Hood streets, which honor Confederate war heroes.

At Wednesday’s regular commission meeting, Mayor Josh Levy said he was ready to finalize this issue, which has been going on for several years.

"We stand certainly for much better than what those men stood for," Levy said. "We don't have to honor something that's so offensive to all of us."

Florida Congresswoman Frederica Wilson organized a Congressional Field Hearing Thursday at Miami Dade College's North Campus to hear ideas for possible changes to nursing home regulations. 

She said she hopes to pass a federal law that would prevent future deaths after natural disasters, like hurricanes. She opened the discussion by making its purpose clear.

"You know,  we had a terrible tragedy in District 24 and we vowed that this will never ever happen again, never happen again," she said.