South Florida felons owe a billion dollars in fines — and that will affect their ability to vote

And some individual crimes can carry much higher fines. For example, marijuana trafficking in Florida involves 25 pounds or more of the plant. Those convicted of trafficking who are caught with 25 to 2,000 pounds or more than 300 plants face a $25,000 fine. If it’s 2,000 to 10,000 pounds or more than 2,000 plants, the sentence comes with a $50,000 fine. And for amounts over 10,000 pounds or 10,000 plants, the fine is $200,000. ... Read More

Hurricane season is here again. Will Florida residents take storms seriously?

South Florida’s hurricane forecasters and emergency managers keep getting better at their jobs. They are “shrinking the cone of uncertainty,’’ sharpening track forecasts and giving people more time to prepare. … Click to Continue » ... Read More

There’s no justice for Florida wife and mother in ‘strained marriage’ who vanished at sea | Opinion

Sometimes there really is no justice. There wasn’t for Isabella Hellmann — mother, Delray Beach real estate broker, Colombian-born U.S. citizen — in this week’s sentencing of her husband, a … Click to Continue » ... Read More

Davie 7th-grader makes it through Round 14 of Spelling Bee finals. One letter did her in.

With only a few hours between Thursday’s morning competition and the prime-time ESPN broadcast of the Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals, Simone Kaplan got in some last-minute studying of spelling … Click to Continue » ... Read More

NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen accuses 5-year-old of defacing mansion with crayons

The legal battle over a trashed mansion between NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen and lawyer-turned-stand-up comic Lindsay “The Alphabitch” Glazer Woloshin isn’t over yet. Earlier this month, Pippen amended … Click to Continue » ... Read More

Miami attorney opposed Alabama’s abortion ban. The state university may return his millions.

The Coral Gables philanthropist who became one of the University of Alabama’s top donors in recent years has found himself in open rebellion against the university after calling for a … Click to Continue » ... Read More

They paid thousands to reach South Florida in a smuggling boat. It ended with all of them detained.

The three Turkish nationals told authorities they had traveled together from Turkey to the Bahamas. Once in the Bahamas, they searched for a captain of a vessel to take them to the United States, paying $5,000 to $7,000 each to be smuggled, according to the criminal complaint. One of them said he also paid the captain an extra $11,000 once he boarded the boat. ... Read More