Tony Winton | Key Biscayne Independent

The delay is only a week, but it was indicative of the unsettled and increasingly bitter mood surrounding the project and the current municipal election, where some candidates want to slam the brakes on parts of the Big Dig, the biggest public works project in the island’s history.

In a vote that will rip up some island streets to install miles of pipes and pumps, Key Biscayne’s Village Council on Tuesday approved a record $97 million budget, a spending plan heavy on borrowing that will fund the first phase of the “Big Dig.”

Key Biscayne is expected to give final approval Tuesday to its biggest budget in history, a $97 million plan that will fund critical portions of the “Big Dig” plan to protect barrier island from the onslaught of rising seas and climate change.

Miami-Dade law enforcement is planning a strong presence on the waters off Miami this Independence Day week and weekend, motivated in part by the recent death of a teenager in a marine collision off Key Biscayne.

A proposed luxury condo on the site of the old Silver Sands hotel would rise 14 stories and require variances and a change to the island’s zoning code, according to documents filed before a Village Council workshop meeting set for Thursday.

State transportation officials outlined plans for phased shutdowns of the I-95 and U.S. 1 flyover exits from Key Biscayne in July.

UPDATED: The ordinance passed on first reading Tuesday, 6-1. Key Biscayne Village Manager Steve Williamson had recommended restrictions that would expire next year in the hope state law will give a future Council different options.

Flyover closure causes massive Key Biscayne bottlenecks and delays of up to seven hours. Mayor Joe Rasco says project needs to be halted until FDOT comes up with better plan.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is recommending a five-year, $5 million study to kick off major changes to the Rickenbacker Causeway, including a planned replacement of the aging Bear Cut Bridge.

A group of visiting Army Corps of Engineers assessed the vulnerability of Key Biscayne's shoreline after a powerful wintry storm did significant additional damage to the beach.

A lawsuit unsealed in federal court last month alleges dozens of South Florida’s most luxurious country clubs and homeowners associations improperly got as much as $29 million in federal pandemic or “PPP” loans and should be ordered to pay up to triple damages.

In a unanimous ruling welcomed by civil liberties groups, the Florida Supreme Court ruled last week police cannot grant blanket anonymity to alleged crime victims under a victim’s rights provision known as “Marsy’s Law.”