“Great news!” Rica Danastor told New Times yesterday “I can’t wait to call everyone and tell them. We’re so happy.” Though Danastor’s brother, Maxime Cherilus, was sentenced to 10 years in prison—more than six times the prosecution’s recommendation for selling 1 gram of crack cocaine for $50, that ruling was reversed by…
Riverland Road is known for its quiet streets and veil of tree canopy. When one owner wanted to dissect his 5.19-acre property into 13 parcels of land to make way for a new road, sidewalk, and 13 new homes, the residents of Riverland worried about the fate of the more…
Last night, city commissioners agreed to allow a new four-story parking garage on the Intracoastal lot north of the Las Olas Bridge. They also agreed to conversion of the beach parking lot at A1A and Las Olas to an entertainment venue with a drop-off/pick-up lane. But residents fear the $43…
Dahrnaz Tigner’s little sister, Jade, once weighed nearly 300 pounds. She was ill. He was ambitious. So to bring attention to childhood obesity, the 27-year-old former high school athlete recently walked more than 1300 miles from his home in Pompano Beach to the White House. It took two months. “At…
Since 2003, the lush art garden behind the William Debilzan Gallery has been one of Delray Beach’s best kept secrets. Amid artist William Debilzan’s colorful paintings, the garden has become a serene, clandestine spot for many locals to escape Atlantic Avenue’s bustle. But now the future of the secret art…
The people of Pembroke Pines didn’t need number-crunching analysts from Cambridge to tell them how scary their city is to drive in. But after reviewing three months of data from 15,000 people driving 18 million miles across the country, the team at Cambridge Mobile Telematics concluded that Pembroke Pines is statistically…
After 14 cases of the Zika virus were believed to contracted in Wynwood, the CDC, Florida Department of Health and South Florida’s local governments raced to mist and fog likely mosquito breeding grounds with chemicals. They launched an awareness campaign about turning over flower pots and covering vacant pools to…
After four Zika cases were confirmed as being locally transmitted in South Florida, one square mile of Wynwood has been cordoned off as the area of concern. Pregnant women are told to avoid the region, chemicals are being misted by workers on the ground and through aerial spraying, and the…
When developers proposed plunking two 39-story condo towers on Fort Lauderdale beach, residents fought back. They feared more traffic and congestion as well as losing a piece of the boat show, tennis courts, and a parking lot. The outrage was ultimately enough to convince developers to withdraw their plans. It…
When Ingrid Anglin and Christina New Land purchased bottles of Banana Boat Sunscreen for Kids at the Target in Deerfield Beach, they believed that the tropical-scented salve would protect their children from South Florida’s searing sunbeams. After all, there was the number 50 on a red shield and a red…
An underwater home typically refers to a mortgage that is higher than the property’s value. But as rising seas are expected to increasingly flood South Florida, scientists and economists have warned that the term might be taken literally one day. A new study recently released by Zillow, the online real estate…
On Saturday morning, Charlie Esposito woke up to a loud, screeching racket. But the Fort Lauderdale Beach homeowner couldn’t bring himself to go outside. After spending more than a year fighting developers to preserve Alhambra Street’s historic Art Moderne buildings, Esposito knew it was the sound of defeat. A piece…
If you’re from Fort Lauderdale, you know it isn’t easy to brag about your home town. There are way too many cringe-worthy stereotypes about rowdy spring-breakers, orthopedic-wearing snowbirds, and aloof Canadians. Plus, it’s humid, our cops have been criticized as racist, and a dumb law tries to keep us from sharing…
Eight hours after the police officer who shot his brother was cleared of manslaughter charges, Andrew McBean stands on stage at the African American Research Library in Sistrunk for the monthly Black Lives Matter meeting. Rather than shrivel in defeat, the young black man captivates an entire auditorium in his…
Charlie Esposito has lived in his home on Seville Street off A1A on Fort Lauderdale Beach for the last decade. He’s always marveled at the sharp corners, striped paneling, and asymmetrical chimneys and staircases of the neighborhood’s 1930s’ architecture. But now that Miami-based Key International purchased three parcels on Alhambra…
Miss Cleo, the inimitable self-proclaimed television psychic, has died. TMZ reported this morning that Youree Harris, who became popular on the Psychic Readers Network, was in hospice care in Palm Beach County after suffering from cancer. She was 53 years old. Profiled by New Times in 2002, she was a…
Attitudes toward medical marijuana are shifting as more and more states pass legislation recognizing it as a form of treatment—not a way to get high. But as Floridians gear up this November to vote on a constitutional amendment that would legalize medical marijuana across the state, it seems that the…
Since January, toxic algae has polluted the waterways near 10-year-old Jack Benson’s home in Stuart. Frustrated with how the adults were handling it, the incoming fifth grader flew to Washington D.C. to speak to Congress. Last week, he demanded that they take real legislative action. “Our river has toxic algae…
Last Friday, alleged murderer Dayonte Resiles sprinted out of the maroon-colored staircase door on the northeast side of the Broward courthouse to freedom. Five days later, activist Cal Deal had his nose pushed against that same door’s glass window. Even though uniformed officers and guards patrol the front of the…
For the second time in less than three weeks, Erica Muskgrow’s belongings have been confiscated by city workers. After her bags of clothes and hygiene items were taken at Stranahan Park on June 23, the chronically homeless woman moved to Fort Lauderdale Beach. Last Tuesday, her clothes, blanket, bus pass,…
At 5:45 p.m. Sunday evening, Jesse Cosme stood outside Bass Supermarket in Sistrunk with the Pokemon Go app open on his iPhone. Cosme and three activists with the Black Lives Matter Alliance of Broward had spent a half hour trying to catch the invisible Japanese monsters in Fort Lauderdale’s historic…
After the sun set on July 10, Robin Merrill headed over to the A1A median between Oakland Park Boulevard and NE 21st Street. The stump of a black olive tree lay at her feet. The artist and owner of Upper Room Art Gallery bowed her head. “Thank you,” she said…
