Just two weeks ago, Fort Lauderdale was ready to scrap a long-term plan to spend $200 million building a new City Hall and purchase a less expensive office tower downtown instead. That plan went up in smoke on Tuesday when Commissioner Pamela Beasley-Pittman walked back comments she made two weeks ago saying she wanted to look into buying Tower 101 for $86 million. Commissioner Ben Sorensen broached the topic of buying the office tower after midnight on Jan. 20, four days after the commission... Read More
Financial advisor sentenced to 20 years in $94 million investment Ponzi scheme
A Broward County man who portrayed himself as an experienced international financial advisor has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty in a Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 150 investors of a combined $94 million. Andrew Hamilton Jacobus, 64, of Fort Lauderdale, began his career in financing in the 1990s, which included founding two companies, Finser International Corporation and Kronus Financial Corporation, that he used in the scheme, federal prosecutors... Read More
Broward business owner arrested in $1 million fraud scheme
A Broward County business owner was arrested Wednesday after detectives found she stole more than $1 million from another business she frequently worked with, then used the money to rent mansions, fly on a private jet and buy expensive jewelry, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said. Keshon Litesha Rivers, 32, of Fort Lauderdale, is the owner of Lock and Key Designs LLC, based in Fort Lauderdale. Rivers used her professional connection with Event Décor Direct in Deerfield Beach to take... Read More
Heat at NBA trade deadline prove to be a story about nothing (no Giannis, no Ja, no deal)
BOSTON — The NBA trade deadline proved to be a story about nothing, absolutely nothing for the Miami Heat. No harpooning of a whale with Giannis Antetokounmpo, who remains with the Milwaukee Bucks. No high-stakes risk-reward gambit for Ja Morant, who still is with the Memphis Grizzlies. Instead, with ample contacts to put in play and the seeming need for a shakeup amid a recent 7-9 run that has Erik Spoelstra’s team trending toward a fourth consecutive trip to the play-in round... Read More
Behind the scenes of ‘Back to the Future: The Musical’ | PHOTOS
The touring production of “Back to the Future: The Musical” hosted a behind-the-scenes media event Thursday at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. Stars David Josefsberg, who plays Doc Brown, and Lucas Hallauer, who stars as Marty McFly, showcased the production’s signature DeLorean time machine on the Au-Rene Theater stage. View photos of the cast and the technical elements of the Olivier Award-winning musical, which runs in Fort Lauderdale through Feb. 15. ... Read More
10 Super Bowl watch parties in South Florida that are not to be missed (plus a Bad Bunny brunch!)
South Florida may not have any skin in the 2026 Super Bowl (maybe next year, Miami Dolphins?), but you can bet we’ll be watching the action unfold when the New England Patriots take on the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Sunday night. After all, we do have one connection to the big game: Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny will bring some Latin flair to the halftime show as headline performer. Fresh off last Sunday’s Grammy Award win for Album of the Year,... Read More
An estimated 8,000 cold-stunned iguanas removed from parts of Florida
An estimated 8,000 invasive green iguanas were removed from various Florida communities this week after a record-breaking freeze event that sent overnight temperatures down to the mid-30s for two nights in a row. On Wednesday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife and Conservation Commission released official numbers for its iguana drop-off sites. All told, the five sites collected 5,195 dead or cold-stunned iguanas. The drop-off sites were in Marathon, Sunrise, Tequesta, Fort Myers and... Read More
Kindergarten readiness varies widely by income, new data shows. Cities are stepping in to help
By MAKIYA SEMINERA SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Sandra Mosqueda watched with an amused smile as her 2-year-old son, Atreus, began sweeping the floor with a miniature mop. Atreus is part of the inaugural class of infants and toddlers receiving free preschool in a citywide program in San Antonio, Texas. It’s something his mother doesn’t take for granted. As a child, she herself wasn’t able to start preschool this young. In the case of her two older boys — now in first grade and kindergarten —... Read More
Inspector general accuses Broward tax collector of campaign misconduct
Broward Inspector General Carol J. Breece has filed a formal complaint against Tax Collector Abiodun “Abbey” Ajayi, accusing her of misusing county resources during her run for office two years ago. Breece is asking a hearing officer to impose a $10,000 fine and issue a public reprimand. The complaint alleges violations of the county code and does not accuse Ajayi of committing a crime. The official complaint follows up on a report issued last May, when Breece’s office accused Ajayi of... Read More
Review: Superb ‘Back to the Future’ cast captures lightning in a bottle, but is it just history repeating?
“Back to the Future: The Musical” is old school. Not every show needs to reinvent and revolutionize Broadway. Some musicals can just sit there, front row in the class, confident that they’ve done their homework, know what they are doing, and just might school everyone before that bell rings. That’s the case with the national tour of this Great White Way take on the mega-hit film franchise that shot Michael J. Fox from small-screen to big-screen stardom starting back in 1985. How big... Read More