Anti-Social

SOME KEY BISCAYNE residents are up in arms over a proposal to mandate flood barriers on private property in Key Biscayne. And some members of council have delayed the next big step in advancing the island's $250 million dollar plan to fight sea level rise and increase resiliency.  Village Manager Steve Williamson, a former Army Corps of Engineers Colonel, has said the island is already behind...

THE TRAGIC COLLAPSE OF THE CHAMPLAIN TOWERS SOUTH in Surfside two years ago this month had huge impacts on condominiums where millions of Floridians live. New inspections and new costs are coming at a time when insurance rates are skyrocketing and buildings are confronting deferred maintenance. In Key Biscayne, the largest complex is the news, with multiple legal issues. Our guest is veteran condo...

FEW VOTERS KNOW that a mammoth change in law enforcement is coming to Miami-Dade County. That's because for the first time in decades, voters will elect a sheriff who will run the nation's sixth-largest police agency. It means that the job - currently non-political - will become a political office with Republicans and Democrats competing. The current MDPD director, Freddy Ramirez is the...

THE RECENTLY CONCLUDED LEGISLATIVE SESSION was one for the book s with contentious votes on abortion, immigration, guns, and a fight with Disney. It also brought a million dollars to Key Biscayne -- but the island didn't get everything it wanted. Our guest is State House Representative Vicki Lopez who talks about her votes, how the system is working -- and a lot more. We also cover a contenti...

A RECENT REPORT CARD gave Biscayne Bay another set of poor ratings for water quality. And despite increased attention and new regulation in recent years, the bay is getting worse, not better. It's at a "tipping point," scientists say OUR guest is Audrey Siu, the policy director for Miami Waterkeeper, a nonprofit group working to restore health to Miami's most precious resource...

A conversation with U.K artist Luke Jerram about an illuminated globe installed for Earth Day weekend in Key Biscayne. Measuring nearly 23 feet in diameter, this installation is a scale replica of Earth, created using detailed NASA imagery of the planet’s surface. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Subscribe to the Key Biscayne Independent today

AFTER YEARS, a plan meant to meet future challenges for Miami's "Island Paradise" had a raucous final public meeting before coming to a vote. Critics have organized against it, claiming it will promote density. Village leaders pushed back as they defended the lengthy document. Our guest is former Council Member Luis de la Cruz, a member of the panel who talks about the document&apos...

THE KEY BISCAYNE Rib Off is a charity event in honor of  abeloved local physician that has expanded to more than 20 teams, drawing an ever growing audience. Details here Our guest is York Flik, one of the organizers of the competition who gives the history, some insights on what makes a winning rib, and the impact that the charity has had on on medical education  Send us Fan Mail Support the show...

Lolita has been at the Miami Seaquarium for decades, but an unlikely partnership this week announced a plan to return her to her home waters in the Pacific Northwest after five decades in captivity. Our guest is Charles Vinick , the co-founder of Friends of Lolita, who describes how a plan to privately fund her preparation and transport came about. We also talk about a new affordable housing bill...

Major criminal cases are daily work  in America's fourth-biggest prosecutor's office, but Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle says pay is so low, she lost 100 lawyers in the past year.  She's pleading with the Florida Legislature to fund law enforcement offices so criminal cases can go forward as pandemic backlogs are straining resources, We also talk to her about b...

It's 20 MONTHS before Election Day, but DANIELLA LEVINE CAVA announced her re-election campaign for the top job in Miami March 1. Why so early? And what is the state of play as the 2024 presidential race gets closer? Our guest is  Fernand Amandi ,  who  is one of Florida's leading  pollsters and analysts, who shares his views of what could one of the biggest municipal races in the U.S.A....

Governor Ron DeSantis thinks it should be easier to sue for libel, and a bill in the Florida Legislature would to exactly that. Our guest is veteran newsroom leader Bobby Block , the head of Florida's First Amendment Foundation, to talk about how this proposed law would chill speech -- whether it's from the right or left, and whether it's a newspaper or a WhatsApp post. We also talk...

OUR GUEST Sofia Schott has devoted her life to teaching people good manners, and her business is now taking off. Our world may be politically polarized, but that's no reason to ignore the social rules that just make life more pleasant for you -- and everyone else.  Join us -- so you won't be Anti-Social.  Send us Fan Mail Support the show Subscribe to the Key Biscayne Independent today

Former Florida Agirculture Commissioner Nikki Fried wants to be the chair of the Florida Democratic party, which took a drubbing in November's election. What is her plan to turn the party around in the Sunshine State. And the Chat GPT artificial intelligence software has exploded into all kinds of fields, what about education? We talk with a Sofia Barnett, a writer for WIRED magazine about ho...

Are schools back from the pandemic? Out guest is Anne Rothe , the director of the Key Biscayne Presbyterian School, which is celebrating 25 years of service. Also joining us: Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado with updates on e-bikes, scooters, and the Rickenbacker Causeway We also discuss a big battle in the largest condo complex in Key Biscayne . What's the fight all about? Our podcast...

Key Biscayne is about to start a crackdown on e-bikes and electric scooters, while state officials consider granting local communities more tools to promote safe ridershi Police Chief Frank Sousa joins us on our OUR 100th SHOW! We also ask the chief about some serious local crimes, his reaction to the police beating of Tyre Nichols, and a proposal to let people carry concealed weapons in Florida w...

GROWTH is 2.9 percent, unemployment is low, and inflation has cooled down a lot. So why do so many think we're headed into a recession. We talk the "R" word with Bankrate.com analyst Mark Hamrick. As we welcome new co-host Mike Davey to the show, we talk about an inflation issue locally -- wages for sanitation workers On the fun side we also get into some wacky social media ranging...

Starbucks is in the news -- not for it's new latte flavors, but for dozens of alleged labor law violations as baristas try to form unions across the country. We talk to two employees in Miami, one of whom says he was illegally fired in retaliation for trying to unionize the Hialeah store. We also discuss the national trends where there's been an large increase in the number of union elec...

Meet Olena Goncharova, part of a team of journalists covering the war in Ukraine. We as her about the KYIV INDEPENDENT , a new English nonprofit newspaper that We ask Olena about the  war and how her colleagues are covering -- and coping -- with the bloodshed in their homeland after Russia's full-scale invasion 11 months ago, You can support her work and the Kyiv Independent here Send us Fan...

Should e-bikes be banned in Key Biscayne ? A leading seller of the powered devices, Don DiCostanzo,  joins us on the show. He  is an e-bike expert and CEO/ Founder of one of the nations largest e-bike chains, Pedego. He'll give us a 101 course on the various classes of e-Bike and weigh in on the Village's proposed ban on the vehicles. Plus we dive into a the breaking story of a former re...

Brianna Wu , political activist, gamer, follower of Elon Musk and Crypto joins us. She fills us in on whether Twitter is doomed. She's also got a lot to say about the fall of FTX,  what the means for the rest of the crypto-world, and how it's all going to impact Miami's brand.  We'll also fill you in on the latest efforts by the Key Biscayne Village Council to ban certain e-bik...

MIKE DAVEY is ending his  stint as the 8th mayor of Key Biscayne. We ask him to take stock of his two terms, both ups and downs. And his advice for the next mayor in the wake of the most expensive and nastiest election in the island's history.  Also, you'll learn that someone had the experience of being "unbossed." Listen to find out who.  This is also the start of NewsMatch a...

THIS ELECTION SEASON the debate is over proposed changes to Key Biscayne's Charter, which some opponents and elected officials say are part of a plot to increase development of Island Paradise. If adopted, they would increase a borrowing cap and allow a supermajority of council members to make zoning changes as the island prepares an expensive fight against sea level rise. The charter change ...

VICKI LOPEZ is the Republican running to succeed outgoing Democrat Nick Duran in the district representing much of coastal Miami in the Florida House of Representatives. A former Lee County legislator, She served time in prison, but had her sentence commuted by President Clinton, and courts later found she had committed no crime. Learn about this episode an how it impacted her life, as well as her...

HURRICANE IAN's devastation dominated the questioning at a mayoral debate for two men vying to mayor of another Florida barrier island, Key Biscayne. Listen to the session with our panel of journalists including Emily Cardenas of the Miami Times and Tess Riski of the Miami Herald Graciously sponsored by the Key Biscayne Community Foundation and the Key Biscayne Chamber of Commerce. Assistance...