Here's what's brewing in Broward and Palm Beach this Wednesday morning:
- The Broward County Commission finally passed its budget, but not without ransacking some of the major arts and culture events. [Sun-Sentinel]
- Hollywood managed to pass a budget that called for just 13 layoffs and a tax hike that was smaller than initially proposed. It sets the stage for a vote on the budget for the city's two community redevelopment agencies, which deserve to be gutted, in one blogger's humble opinion. [Miami Herald]
- In West Palm Beach, taxes were raised 7.4 percent but grueling negotiations remain between the city and its major unions who will be made to accept layoffs as a way of resolving the $7 million budget gap that remains. [Palm Beach Post]
- A second arrest has been made in the horse-slaughtering investigation. Both suspects are from Miami-Dade, but a few of the horse deaths occurred in north of the county line, and investigators are still looking for two more suspects. [WPLG]
- In the debut of his new radio show, Mark Foley tackled the scandal that cost him his seat in Congress. Rookie mistake. You gotta save that juicy material for sweeps week! [Sun-Sentinel / WPTV]
- You're not going to believe this, but an unemployed Floridian named Mel Martinez, most recently of the United States Senate, has managed to find a job. In this economy! He's joining the law firm of DLA Piper, which has offices in Tampa and Washington, among other locations around the globe. [Legal Times]