'I hate that bill,' governor-elect Byron Donalds told Board of Governors

From having up-front views on a controversial college sports bill to pushing for the economic mobility of students, Florida governor-elect Byron Donalds is making it clear where he stands on issues affecting the state's higher education landscape. He delivered a keynote address at the Florida Board of Governors' Trustee Summit Nov. 12 on Florida International University's campus in Miami, where he focused on what he thinks are the responsibilities of the State University System (SUS). But what he appeared to be most candid about during his remarks were his views on the Protect College Sports Act (PCSA) . In a question-and-answer segment of his address, someone asked about his thoughts on how universities should be handling PCSA, which is a federal bill passed by the U.S. Senate that creates a single nationwide rulebook for college athletics. The bill has moved to the House. Speaking frankly, Donalds said, "I hate that bill." "I don't like it, I'm not a fan of it," Donalds said, adding that he believes it puts Florida at a disadvantage. "I think athletes deserve to be compensated for the amount of work that they do." While he said he's made his position on the bill known to

Coral Gables Weighs 12-Story Tower With 67 Units on East Ponce de Leon

1008 E. Ponce de Leon Blvd. — Approximate Site of Proposed Tower. A 12-story tower with 67 luxury units is headed for a key review in Coral Gables, as the developer behind 1008 East Ponce de Leon Boulevard, LLC moves forward with plans for a high-rise known as 1008 East Ponce. The project is set to go before the city's Development Review Committee on November 20, with additional approvals, including a City Commission vote, still required before anything gets built.

Patients with 3 health insurance plans lose access to Miami health network

The University of Miami Health System announced it will no longer accept three Medicare Advantage plans next year, requiring patients to find new insurance coverage or doctors to get in-network care. As thousands of people in South Florida review their health insurance plans during open enrollment, UHealth says Aetna, Preferred Care Network and Solis Health Plans are going away. The coverage allowing patients to be treated in-network by UHealth doctors and at the system’s facilities will end after Dec. 31, UHealth said in a statement to the Miami Herald. UHealth patients who are affected either need to sign up with new plans accepted by the system or find new doctors and hospitals. UHealth has added two Medicare Advantage plans — HealthSun and Simply Healthcare Plans — that will join the network Jan. 1, 2027. Both plans will include access to UHealth primary care doctors. “We have notified all of our impacted patients about this change, giving them the opportunity during open enrollment to select an insurance plan that includes UHealth,” the system said in a statement to the Miami Herald, which added that the insurance companies dropped the health system. READ MORE: Should you get original Medicare or an Advantage

Miami Beach commissioner proposes cuts to work perks to offset Amendment 3 losses

A Miami Beach commissioner is proposing to cut elected officials' stipends and reform their pensions to offset projected millions in Amendment 3 losses, while the mayor says he already opposes such perks and insists city finances remain strong.

A developer promised Miami a new fire station and park. What went wrong? | Opinion

It was sold as a great deal for Miami: A developer would build a Mercedes-Benz-branded skyscraper partially on taxpayer-owned land that housed a fire station in Brickell. In exchange, the city would get public benefits, including an improved park and cash payments. The primary benefit: a new, $8 million fire station. A 2020 agreement between the city and the developer — a subsidiary of JDS Development Group — stated the mixed-use project would create “state of the art... transit-oriented urban development” with “much needed retail uses and amenities.” The development is planned to go next to Southside Park, across from the Brickell Metrorail and Metromover stations and the Underline. That vision may still come true. But, for now, construction of the 800-unit Mercedes-Benz Places has mostly stalled as the developer faces financing complications. The fire station on Southwest Second Avenue has been demolished and moved to four, on-site trailers provided by the developer in one of Miami’s busiest and most flood-prone neighborhoods. The promised station at the base of the project has not yet been constructed. Miami has yet to see the payoff from this deal, and current city leaders are angry they inherited it from a previous administration. Mayor

New townhomes are coming to Little Haiti - but owners won't own the land

City and county leaders broke ground on a new townhouse development in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood aimed at giving working-class buyers an affordable path to homeownership. Place Louverture will have 13 townhomes on a corner lot along Northeast 67th Street. The development marks the first Miami-Dade County project for the South Florida Community Land Trust, a Broward-based nonprofit that helps first-time homebuyers and families displaced by South Florida’s soaring housing costs. Under the community land trust model, buyers purchase the home i at a reduced price while the nonprofit retains permanent ownership of the underlying land. The groundbreaking comes as soaring property taxes and living expenses weigh heavy on longtime residents in the historically working-class neighborhood. Sampson Lisca, who bought his Little Haiti home 20 years ago, said escalating expenses are making it increasingly difficult to hold onto his property. “I just paid $5,200 for taxes,” Lisca said. Miami City Commissioner Christine King, who represents the district, said local leaders must make sure that people are not priced out of their neighborhood. “We have to look out for everybody,” King said. While developers say families who qualify for Place Louverture townhomes will be able to pass the properties down for

Florida Bar complaint coming against ex-Bar president, a Coral Gables attorney

The Florida Bar’s 11th Judicial Circuit Grievance Committee has found probable cause for a Bar complaint that accuses Coral Gables attorney and former Florida Bar president Roland Sanchez-Medina of 17 professional conduct violations. A formal Bar complaint should be filed with the state Supreme Court against Sanchez-Medina by Dec. 22, the notice of probable cause said. The 10-member committee, three of whom are not attorneys, found probable cause to believe that Sanchez-Medina committed 10 kinds of trust account rules violations, four kinds of conflict of interest rules violations, two kinds of general misconduct and a failure in exercising independent professional judgment. “As a practicing attorney for 34 years, a member of The Florida Bar’s Board of Governors for 10 years, and a former Bar president (2024-25), I have devoted substantial time and effort to serving our profession and promoting public confidence in our legal system,” Sanchez-Medina said in an email to the Miami Herald. “I take this matter seriously and respect The Florida Bar’s responsibility to investigate concerns about professional conduct. “I also believe it is important to reserve judgment until the disciplinary process has run its course, and I respectfully ask others to do the same.” How this is

Country Club of Miami Will Reopen This Winter After Renovation

Country Club of Miami is coming back this winter. Miami-Dade County says the Hialeah course and club facilities have been revitalized, and it is billing the return as a refreshed golf experience. The county made the announcement Friday on X. . "Country Club of Miami is reopening this winter!" the...

‘Wait Until They Realize They Make 40% Less Than NYC’: Florida Newcomer Faces Backlash After Saying an Apartment in the State Is Cheaper Than in New York

There are many things that may set off the alarms of some people living in a specific city, yet one that really makes people turn their heads, raise their eyebrows, and even gasp is when someone says something that isn’t entirely true. To give you a quick example, one person on social media claimed that living in Miami, Florida, might be cheaper and more comfortable than in New York. What that person was not expecting was a wave of backlash, as those who live in the city think that it is much worse.

Property tax amendment could lead to more private industry in government

On Election Night, Florida voters approved Amendment 3: a sweeping property tax measure that’s expected to reduce the amount of property tax revenue cities and counties collect. Local officials, many of whom warned for months that the measure could be disastrous for government services, now have one year before...

Miami-Dade County to open new electric bus facility, creating more than 270 jobs

Miami-Dade County is preparing to open a new electric bus operations center in Homestead, marking its first major transit garage facility in 40 years and creating more than 270 jobs in South Florida. The South Dade Transit Operations Center (SDTOC), located at 12805 Biscayne Drive, is scheduled to begin operations...

Is a walkable Miami possible? This 225-mile trail could answer that one day

South Florida isn’t an easy place to walk. All those whizzing cars, disjointed streets and too-short “Walk” signs make life difficult for pedestrians. But local leaders want to prove Miami can join the ranks of walkable cities like New York, Boston and San Francisco, and they’re betting that 225 miles of trails can help solve some of the issues. So, they’re doubling down on the Miami Loop, a countywide network that will connect a labyrinth of walking and cycling paths, corridors and green space. The project has been in the works since 2015, but has stalled several times in the last decade despite support from city and county leaders, transit advocates and residents. The project’s ambitious scale is only partly to blame. Sections of the Miami Loop are still being designed or under construction as individual trails struggle with multimillion-dollar cost estimates. The project is also the ultimate test of whether city, county, state and federal leaders can work together to get the job done. MORE: The Underline’s bike and walk trail is complete. It’s named after a billionaire The Loop falls under the jurisdiction of several local governments, as well as special districts including the Miami Downtown Development Authority,

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Plan to build linear park along Allapattah railroad tracks gets funding boost

A plan to turn an abandoned rail line into a linear park in Allapattah has received funding to seek community input and conduct a feasibility study. Why it matters: The idea is to connect longtime residents in Little Santo Domingo with the neighborhood's newer arts district amid long-standing concerns about gentrification. It comes after Miami leaders approved a Community Redevelopment Agency to boost development and investment in the neighborhood, according to reports. Driving the news: The Allapattah Collaborative CDC, the nonprofit leading the project, received $200,000 from the Knight Foundation to kick-start the planning. The ACDC, which advocates for economic progress that does not displace locals, is modeling the project after The Underline . Zoom in: The plan is to build a 2-mile linear park on the long-abandoned railroad tracks that cut through the neighborhood, ACDC CEO Mileyka Burgos-Flores tells Axios. The project would create a free gathering space for locals with pedestrian and bicycle access, arts space and local vendors. What they're saying: Burgos-Flores says there is a "very big disconnect" between the people moving to Allapattah and the longtime residents. "We want to deepen that sensibility," she said. "We are here, welcome to our community. We don't need

‘District level reform': How Success Academy hopes to change education in Florida

In about nine months, parts of Westland Hialeah Senior High’s second and third floors will be filled with the energetic chatter of kindergarteners and first-graders who won a spot in the lottery to become Success Academy’s first students outside of New York City. Students will go up a staircase that’s currently being built just for them in the back of the school to gather in pastel-colored classrooms filled with bookshelves, counting blocks, chess games and baby dolls. Success Academy Westland Hialeah Elementary is one of the first five schools of the nonprofit charter operator, known for its high test scores and rigorous culture, to co-locate inside Miami-Dade public schools. But for founder Eva Moskowitz, these schools represent a larger ambition: building a Florida network big and successful enough to demonstrate that her model can work at district scale. Moskowitz wants 40 schools in Florida within the next decade and expansion appears to be just around the corner. Last month, the charter school toured and got floor plans for another ten existing public schools to possibly open next in Miami-Dade. Read more: Success Academy wants to open 40 schools in Florida. Its founder explains why Co-location is common in New York

Stefan Pizzi Says the Consent Letter With His Name on It Was Forged, and That Is How the 50-Foot Oak on His Little Haiti Property Line Came Down

Little Haiti homeowner Stefan Pizzi says a consent letter in his name was forged to cut a 50-foot property-line oak. A judge dismissed his fraud count in July.

Miami Approves New Housing Overhaul That Protects Overtown’s Original Residents

Miami-Dade backs Culmer Place V to replace 107 public housing units and add 375 mixed-income apartments with return rights.

Thanksgiving turkey giveaway events begin in South Florida. Here is a list:

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Instead of issuing a traffic ticket, police officers were giving drivers who committed minor infractions a warning and a free turkey on Wednesday in Miami Gardens. Chief Delma Noel-Pratt has turned the event into an annual tradition that shocked some drivers. Last year, police officers...