The Tortuga Music Festival drew a massive crowd with its first concert on Fort Lauderdale beach a dozen years ago — and it’s been luring big crowds ever since. But if Fort Lauderdale were to increase outdoor event fees, Tortuga could pick up and leave for Miami or West Palm Beach, some say. Chris Stacey, founder of the popular three-day country and rock music festival, did not mince words when warning commissioners against increasing Tortuga’s impact fees to nearly $70,000. “Let’s... Read More
Live rodent in kitchen, ‘half-used cigarette butt’ on cook-line hood: 12 South Florida restaurants shut
The state last week temporarily shut 12 South Florida restaurants, with violations ranging from scores of rodent droppings to a cigarette butt and ashes on a cook-line hood to a live rodent stuck to a glue trap in a kitchen. The Sun Sentinel typically highlights restaurant inspections conducted by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation in Broward and Palm Beach counties. We cull through inspections that happen weekly and spotlight places ordered shut for... Read More
State orders Fort Lauderdale to remove LGBTQ+ rainbow street markings — plus three others
The state has ordered Fort Lauderdale to remove the section of a street near the beach painted in the colors of the LGBTQ+ progress pride flag, as it moves beyond its efforts to eradicate rainbow crosswalks throughout Florida. Other intersections that have nothing to do with the LGBTQ+ community are caught in the crossfire. They were ordered removed — even though the state Department of Transportation approved the design and colors of at least two of the intersections before they were... Read More
Breaking down why Medicare Part D premiums are likely to go up
By Julie Appleby, KFF Health News Medicare enrollees who buy the optional Part D drug benefit may see substantial premium price hikes — potentially up to $50 a month — when they shop for next year’s coverage. Such drug plans are used by millions of people who enroll in what is called original Medicare, the classic federal government program that began in 1965 and added a drug benefit only in 2006. The drug plans are offered through private insurers, and enrollees must pay monthly... Read More
Spirit bolsters finances by borrowing $275 million, extending credit card processing deal
Spirit Airlines, which just 10 days ago warned it had doubts about its ability to operate past June of next year, still has cards to play. After the financial markets closed Thursday, management announced it made two key moves to solidify the Dania Beach-based airline’s cash position. The troubled discount carrier said it drew down on the entirety of its $275 million revolving credit line, and negotiated an extended agreement with its credit card processor for another two years. Both steps... Read More
Your health insurer is now out-of-network at nearby hospitals. What are your options?
Contract showdowns between hospital systems and health insurers are happening more often, and patients are caught in the middle. In recent months, disputes over expiring contracts have led to tens of thousands of South Florida residents receiving state-required warning letters from their insurance companies, alerting them that their physicians or local hospitals could soon be out-of-network. If the insurer and health system fail to reach an agreement, patients lose access to trusted doctors... Read More
ASK IRA: Are the Heat attempting to promote being all-in with Andrew Wiggins?
Q: Ira, lots of smiling faces on Heat social media with Andrew Wiggins. What do you make of that? – Andrew. A: First, as stressed in this space multiple times, the Heat’s business side, social media and marketing divisions operate to a degree in their own spheres. So mostly it is a case of between Andrew Wiggins’ visit to China and then time back at Kaseya Center, there has been an opportunity for such social media. At no point (and I could be wrong) do I think the Heat’s basketball... Read More
Florida must stop expanding ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ immigration center, shut down in 60 days, judge rules
By DAVID FISCHER and MIKE SCHNEIDER MIAMI (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday issued a preliminary injunction halting further expansion of an immigration detention center built in the middle of the Florida Everglades and dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” that advocates said violated environmental laws. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams’ injunction formalized a temporary halt she had ordered two weeks ago as witnesses continued to testify in a multiday hearing to determine whether... Read More
Judge orders Alligator Alcatraz shut down in 60 days, says no more new detainees
<p>By DAVID FISCHER, MIKE SCHNEIDER and FREIDA FRISARO</p><p>MIAMI (AP) — A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction Thursday halting further expansion and ordering the winding down of an <a href=”https://apnews.com/article/alligator-alcatraz-immigration-detainees-florida-cc2fb9e34e760a50e97f13fe59cbf075″>immigration detention center</a> built in the middle of the Florida Everglades and dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” that advocates said... Read More
New York man charged with DUI manslaughter in 2022 Broward crash that killed two
A New York City man was extradited to Broward County this week after law enforcement officials say he drunkenly drove a car that crashed on Interstate 95, killing two people in 2022. Florida Highway Patrol troopers say Nick-Quan Francis, 30, was intoxicated when he slammed the rented Honda sedan he was driving into a highway barrier at 89 mph about 6:30 a.m. on May 8, 2022, in Fort Lauderdale. Two passengers not wearing seatbelts were ejected upon impact and died. A third passenger, who was... Read More