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FORT LAUDERDALE — Editor’s note: Daily coverage of the Parkland trial is being provided to all readers as a public service. Another defense witness came forward Wednesday to describe the troubled childhood of Parkland gunman Nikolas Cruz, painting him as a hothead who once swung a golf club repeatedly at a motorcycle trailer because he was upset. Advertisement Paul Gold, a former neighbor, said Cruz’s tantrums often came with little to no warning. Gold met Cruz, his brother and... Read More

Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Torey Alston to the Broward School Board, leaving an important, but vacant position on the Broward County Commission. Alston had been the governor’s hand-picked selection when the previous county commissioner gave it up to unsuccessfully run for Congress. Advertisement Now the seat is open again, after Alston moved on to fill the School Board seat, as part of a move by the governor to suspend four members at once. Their forced removal followed a statewide... Read More

TALLAHASSEE — After banning CRT in the classroom and board room, Gov. Ron DeSantis has a new target in his culture war against “wokeness” with another acronym most folks have never heard of — ESG. DeSantis says he views investment policies that take “Environmental, Social and Governance” issues into consideration as an existential threat to Florida’s people and economy, just as he sees Critical Race Theory undermining the state’s social and cultural... Read More

Boynton Beach commissioners voted Tuesday night for a new city manager, a well-liked police captain who lacks experience in municipal administration. Dan Dugger, a captain with the city’s police department for 18 years, was chosen during a special commission meeting after dozens of residents spoke in support of him. Advertisement The new city manager will come in during a time of turmoil in the city of more than 80,000 residents. Boynton has been reeling from an incident involving a... Read More

An unusually quiet Atlantic hurricane season is poised to kick into action this week with the potential for three tropical depressions to form. An area of stormy weather located several hundred miles from the border where the Atlantic Ocean meets the northeastern Caribbean Sea stands a 80% chance of organizing itself into a tropical depression “at the very least” over the next five days — with a 60% chance over the next 48 hours — according to an update issued at 8 p.m. Tuesday by the... Read More

NASA announced it would pursue a launch of its $4.1 billion rocket to the moon Saturday. The two-hour launch window opens at 2:17 p.m. and teams will meet on Thursday for a flight readiness review. Advertisement The Space Launch Delta 45 weather squadron predicts only 40% chance for good conditions. “I’m optimistic that we’ll have some clear air to work with during the afternoon attempt on Saturday,” said 45th Weather Squadron Launch Officer Mark Burger. “However, again, the... Read More

Two Broward County residents have been accused of running a massive Ponzi scheme that raised more than $196 million from at least 15,400 investors in a little over a year. Johanna M. Garcia, Pavel Ramon Ruiz Hernandez and a team of 70 sales agents ran the scheme out of headquarters on West Atlantic Boulevard in Pompano Beach, according to complaints filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Securities and Exchange Commission in U.S. District Court in Fort... Read More

Broward’s newest School Board members wasted no time showing changes were coming, as they selected one of their own as the new chairman. Torey Alston — one of five members recently appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (one in May and four last week) — was elected as the new chairman after the longer serving board members lost a 5-4 vote to elect Lori Alhadeff for that role. She was elected vice chair. Advertisement Alston, who recently stepped down as county commissioner, is a former... Read More

TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s first “tool time” sales-tax holiday on tools and other home-repair and construction items will kick off during the Labor Day weekend. The seven-day holiday will allow shoppers to avoid paying sales taxes on numerous home-repair and construction items from Saturday through Sept. 9. Advertisement In Florida, the sales tax varies by county and city from a state-imposed minimum of 6% to 7.5.%. “I think it’s just to give a boost to our skilled workers,”... Read More

Two teenagers face an array of charges for their alleged involvement in the burglary of an upscale home in Fort Lauderdale’s Harbor Beach neighborhood, the theft of two cars and a chase by police that ended in a woman’s death in western Broward County, authorities said Monday. The juveniles, males aged 15 and 13, reportedly fled the scene of a fatal three-car crash early Sunday on West Oakland Park Boulevard in Oakland Park, but were quickly arrested, Fort Lauderdale Police... Read More