Broward.US

The Broward County Commission is scheduled to end its annual summer recess Thursday morning to take up a $2 billion budget for the new fiscal year that resists pressure to increase funding for police, fire rescue and public transportation. The budget does not address the state’s recent efforts to identify allegedly wasteful spending at the county level — an accusation from the governor’s office that spurred the state’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency to conduct what... Read More

FORT LAUDERDALE — One of the designs that made the state’s crosswalk hit list no longer exists, prompting one city commissioner to question how the state is coming up with its running tally of forbidden street art. In a widening crackdown on Fort Lauderdale, the state last week identified 11 locations with street art that it wants removed. The original list had just four locations, including one with LGBTQ-themed rainbow art on Sebastian Street near the beach. The intersection at Las Olas... Read More

It’s menu-sampling day at The Hen and The Hog Smokehouse & Cantina in Pompano Beach, and restaurateur George Abbondante has brought brisket nachos, shrimp and grits, smoked brisket melts and pulled pork sandwiches for hungry coworkers seated at a long communal table. Except, all of a sudden, something is missing. Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel Executive chef David Fogel is the pitmaster in charge of barbecue at The Hen and The Hog Smokehouse & Cantina in Pompano Beach... Read More

The Orlando Magic are celebrating a milestone this weekend that few NBA franchises can claim — two Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductees in the same class. For a franchise that’s spent most of its existence hovering between rebuilding and re-rebuilding, having two people connected to the franchise enshrined in Springfield is a big deal. Except … well, let’s talk about who these two people are. First, there’s Dwight Howard, whom I consider to be the Magic’s greatest all-time... Read More

A man from Nicaragua who was deported from South Florida nearly two decades ago has been sentenced to a five-year federal prison term after pleading guilty to illegally re-entering the country. Marco Orlando Vado, 66, was charged in federal court by indictment in December 2023 with one count of illegal re-entry after removal. He pleaded guilty to the charge this June and was sentenced last week, federal court records show. Vado was deported to Nicaragua in 2009, not long after he was... Read More

A bitter custody dispute between rapper Kodak Black and the mother of two of his children has been settled, according to court records. Black, whose legal name is Bill Kapri, was accused of violently abusing his ex-girlfriend and failing to pay child support during the contentious case, which began in February. Meanwhile, his ex, Maranda Johnson, 23, faced a series of lawsuits and criminal charges in Broward, one of which led to her arrest following a custody hearing at the courthouse last... Read More

Filmmaker John Hughes was a clear-eyed student of Generation X as it came of age in the 1980s, a suburban archaeologist who flipped over disregarded rocks to reveal the universal issues that were squirming out of sight. His most memorable reports, typically blended with witty banter and an irresistible soundtrack, included “Sixteen Candles,” “Pretty in Pink,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “The Breakfast Club,” the latter celebrating its 40th anniversary with screenings... Read More

GAINESVILLE — Despite a drizzling rain, a line of cars filled with famished patrons, some surely Florida football fans, idled on the grass, waiting for one thing: a DJ Lagway burger and a taste of NIL success. DJ’s Cast Iron Burgers has evolved into a staple of the Gainesville community while serving as another example of the ever-expanding footprint of the Gators star quarterback. Some deals are more glamorous and far-reaching than others. Lagway appeared in a T-Mobile commercial... Read More

Margaret Seidler didn’t put much stock in the DNA test she took in 2012. “Somebody pestered me to do it,” says the Charleston, South Carolina, native. “It was kind of a new thing to do. And to me, it was a big waste of money.” As it turned out, that DNA test not only changed everything she’d believed was her past, it also changed the entire trajectory of her life. “I’m not a Charleston aristocrat,” says the retired consultant, a white woman whose test confirmed a West... Read More

Tua Tagovailoa’s sixth year as the Miami Dolphins quarterback isn’t some final code-cracking of who he is or last incursion into what he can do. There’s no identity crisis here. Everyone knows his talent by now, where he succeeds and what he lacks. This year is simply about whether all that’s enough. You can talk about cornerback holes and the lack of offensive line depth, but everyone knows a quarterback can spray perfume on most any problem if he’s good enough. Do you believe in... Read More