This Month in Biscayne Times

Residents at Palm Bay Towers have been paying off high assessment fees as they wait for litigation against their condo association to conclude. Litigation against the Palm Bay Yacht Club’s $46 million assessment is well underway, with final testimonies, closing arguments and a judge’s ruling expected within the next week or so... Thanks for listening! For more local news visit BiscayneTimes.com .

The racial divide in North Miami Beach city government is coming to a head , with white commissioners “standing by their man,” Mayor Anthony DeFillipo, regardless of growing evidence that he has moved to Davie in violation of the city charter. Meanwhile, the city’s Black commissioners are making themselves scarce until the mayor is forced out, although McKenzie Fleurimond is the only one who admit...

It would be difficult to imagine that a small eight-block town on the coast of South Florida could produce so much controversy within its borders, but Surfside has found a way. In just two months, a concealed meeting with wealthy developers, sudden resignations, a parody email and an underfunded, high-stake investigation have all plagued the small municipality of 6,000 residents. Just as it seems...

The Palm Bay Yacht Club stands 27 stories high at 780 NE 69th St., and real estate listings for its residences – with price tags between $338,000-$600,000 – boast of Biscayne Bay views, luxury amenities and an idyllic South Florida lifestyle. What’s not included in those effusive property descriptions is that current owners are being told they must agree to cough up more than $175,000 each to brin...

The future is clear for Aventura politics as the races to fill all but one of its open commission seats have been over for months now. Mayor-elect Howard Weinberg and future Commissioners Michael Stern and Paul Kruss were automatically elected when they each stood unopposed by the qualifying deadline in August. Weinberg and Stern are back after having served on the commission before, while Kruss,...

What could be missing from a $4 billion master-planned community whose blueprint already includes luxury housing, retail shops, green spaces and even a 7-acre artificial lagoon? For SoLé Mia developers LeFrak and Turnberry, the answer was rather straightforward: health care. The idea fell into their laps when University of Miami Health System – UHealth for short – went searching for a site to acco...

Joe Cole is a bartender. He’s not a mixologist, not an apothecary, and not an artisanal cocktail crafter. He has a warm smile framed by a flowing white wizard’s beard. Somehow, he manages to be everywhere at once, making all the folks who walk into his establishment a little bit happier for having found their way there. He’s not the owner of Lost Boy Dry Goods, but this downtown Miami bar, located...

In the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, images of the widespread devastation of homes in southwest Florida caused by a relentless storm surge has political leaders and insurance industry advocates clamoring for a major overhaul of the state’s property insurance market to deal with the catastrophic impact of flooding. In Miami-Dade County, the situation is more dire as climate change, sea-level rise and...

 The reconfigured Senate District 34 seat, formerly District 35, has three opponents on the Aug. 23 primary ballot, fighting for a fair shot at representing its constituents. Incumbent Sen. Shevrin “Shev” Jones, Florida’s first openly gay senator, has served in the seat for two years since the 2020 election and is now seeking another term. Before that, he served in the Florida House of Representat...

There’s no doubt Audrey Edmonson is itching to get back into the political arena. The former Miami-Dade County commissioner appeared ready to shake up the status quo by taking on U.S. Rep Frederica S. Wilson in the upcoming Democratic primary in August. Now that Edmonson’s backed off that seismic political slugfest by not qualifying for the District 24 congressional race, political observers belie...

After six years in the red, North Miami is at last in the black. From one end of the city to another, signs of life are visible everywhere – from Solé Mia in the northeast and downtown to uninviting stretches of NW Seventh Avenue. More than a dozen significant developments will likely alter North Miami’s landscape significantly by 2030, including long-delayed work that’s scheduled to begin in Sept...

A group of environmentalists has been advocating for more organic pest control in Miami Shores for three years now. But when multiple kids went home May 5 with green spots on their skin and clothing after playing in a local field, parents marshaled around the village’s integrated pest management policy (IPM)... Thanks for listening! For more local news visit BiscayneTimes.com .

Residents living in District 4 of Miami-Dade County will have one less box to check on their ballot come  Election Day, and with a new commissioner already decided, constituents of Miami Beach can expect a familiar face. Former Miami Beach Commissioner Micky Steinberg automatically won the race for the fourth seat on the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) when she was left standing unopposed by t...

With a goal of lowering greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 in mind and an effort to electrify its public transportation fleet already underway, Miami-Dade County is now taking another stand against climate change, by encouraging property owners to go solar. The county recently launched its 2022 solar co-op in partnership with Solar United Neighbors (SUN), a national nonprofit whose philo...

For two years, local food banks have been dealing with increased demand for assistance from those greatly affected by the pandemic. Now, these food banks face even more pressure as the cost of everyday goods continues to increase amid supply chain shortages worsened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – leading families to seek help putting food on the table.  Curley’s House of Style, Inc. – Hope Reli...

Ask condo lawyer Eric Glazer about the biggest problem with the Florida condo mindset, and he gives this answer: “Picture getting together with a group of friends at a restaurant and each one lives in a different condominium. The ‘winner’ at the table has the cheapest condo assessment – $100 cheaper than the runner-up. But the winner is living a lie, and the Florida Legislature has given condo own...

The iconic Raleigh Hotel, with its traditional, clean and elegant art deco lines, has sat empty for five years, damage from Hurricane Irma sealing its murky fate. Before then and as far back as 2013, there were projects approved for the property that never came to fruition. It’s also been sold twice since, according to Deborah Tackett, historic preservation and architecture officer for the city of...

If Related Group gets its way, North Miami’s Biscayne Bay frontage is in for a seismic change. Related has submitted plans for Icon Residences, a 15-story, $150-million project on the one-acre plot of land at 2305 NE 123 St., now occupied by the two-story White House Inn, built in 1969, closed in 2014, and now shuttered and fenced. Thanks for listening! For more local news visit BiscayneTimes.com...

For the survivors and families of the 98 fallen victims of the Surfside condo collapse, the past year has seen a flurry of mourning, litigation and effort to honor or recover all that has been lost. Now, as the one-year anniversary of the tragedy approaches, those affected are beginning to see some results. Settlements have been all but finalized for cases related to property loss and wrongful dea...

Overtown’s newest luxury residential tower, Soleste Grand Central, stands 18 stories high and sports modern suites, and a resort-style pool, spa, rooftop deck, club room and fitness center. Its Class A rental units are branded as mixed-use, but just over 20% only are reserved for affordably priced workforce housing. With big changes coming to Miami’s historic Black neighborhood, does breathing new...

For Aaron DeMayo, the first shock came when he saw the water overlapping the sea wall on Tatum Waterway on Miami Beach. “Wow, this is happening,” he told himself. DeMayo’s been following the water ever since. He was once trapped in a cab after crossing the Venetian Bridge to the mainland because floodwaters had closed down North Bayshore Drive. When he finally got to his high-rise building near Ma...

The stunning fall of former Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo reveals a lot about the best way to select a police chief, and how not to do it. Experts in policing and good government say it’s crucial for the process to be a public one that seeks the opinions of all the city’s communities. The kind of plan that Miami leaders started – and then abandoned – in selecting Acevedo. Thanks for listening! Fo...

It was a match made in heaven – a group of friends with a dream, and a neighborhood hungry for their business. Bianca Sanon, Brian Wright, Audrey Wright, Ben Yen and Sef Chesson are the founders and owners of Paradis Books & Bread in North Miami, where they’ve established a wine club, maintain an enviable library of thought-provoking and politically charged books, bake fresh bread and other go...

This was going to be the year of “What can I do to help?” The year when Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, through his YouTube Cafecito Talks and Twitter interactions with global business leaders, was going to publicize the Magic City as the friendly alternative to high-tax regions like New York and California. Thanks for listening! For more local news visit BiscayneTimes.com .

If you’re hosting visitors from out of town, you want to make sure they have a great time. And one way to do that is to eat – a lot. Whether your guests are here for the first time or the fifth time, there are some restaurants that are always a must in Miami. Thanks for listening! For more local news visit BiscayneTimes.com .