To save costs, North Miami City Hall will only be open four days a week, starting in September, officials decided Tuesday. Other local governments across South Florida have looked to a four-day work week to save money.
NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND
Only about a third of schools in South Florida and a quarter statewide met federal government standards for student performance, the state Department of Education said Tuesday. That is fewer than in 2007.
CRIME
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum on Tuesday touted a statewide initiative to combat gangs. The strategy will adopt much of what local authorities have used to battle back against a growing gang problem.
THE ECONOMY | MIAMI-DADE
Hoping to keep South Florida's construction industry afloat and get ahead of rising costs, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez wants to speed up construction of $700 million worth of government projects this summer.
RETURN OF THE TREASURE
For centuries, the dead guarded precious objects in their graves: painted terra cotta dishes, figurines, gold ornaments and other pre-Columbian artifacts.
RELIGION
A Santeria church leader who says that Coral Gables police officers harassed followers and desecrated a ritual at a resident's home last year has sued the city for public records he says officials are withholding.
OPA-LOCKA
Two years ago, Opa-locka Commissioner Rose Tydus argued against a selection committee and her city manager's recommendation to hire a new garbage-hauling firm that would have saved taxpayers more than $1 million.
CUBA
Miami resident and Latin music recording star Willy Chirino made direct contact with the daily reality of life in Cuba as some 30 of his most die-hard fans had the opportunity to meet their idol during a live video conference between Miami and Havana.
POLICE
A Miami Beach police captain has been disciplined for pulling a gun on a detective in an impromptu training exercise shortly before an undercover prostitution sting at a luxury South Beach hotel.
EDUCATION | FCAT
Deep South Miami-Dade, home to some of the county's most chronically struggling schools, pulled out of its downward spiral this year as six of seven failing schools leapt off the F list -- several in dramatic fashion.
SOUTH MIAMI-DADE
On the holy day, police say, Kashef Johnson walked into Grace Baptist Church in South Miami-Dade but not to find a higher power. Instead, Johnson stole three laptops Sunday afternoon -- laptops that the church used to run its online radio programming.
JACKSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
A disabled foster child whose quest for a life-saving liver transplant was rejected by a Central Florida hospital because he has no stable home is expected to arrive in Miami Wednesday to begin testing with Jackson Memorial Hospital's organ-transplant team.
FCAT | MIAMI
Hearts sank in Little Haiti on Tuesday after word broke that Miami Edison Senior High School earned not the anticipated C grade from the state, but a painful F.
MIAMI BEACH
The $1 billion reinvention of the Fontainebleau paused recently on the topic of toilet paper. Rooms division chief Charlotte Rosenau wants all 1,500 upgraded rooms to have a distinctive look, and that includes the final flourish on a roll of bath tissue. Rosenau, a veteran of Las Vegas hotels, ruled the old triangular fold wouldn't do.
TROPICAL WEATHER | SOUTH FLORIDA
As Bertha fizzles out at sea, forecasters say the first hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic season should remind Floridians that tropical storms can grow into ferocious hurricanes without much warning.
EDUCATION | FLORIDA COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT TEST
The Miami-Dade school district halved the number of F-rated schools this year and earned an overall B grade from the state. Additionally, the number of A-rated schools in the district jumped from 142 to 171. The grades, based on results of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or FCAT, were released Tuesday by the Florida Department of Education.
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A bloody fingerprint and a DNA match have tied a drifter to the January murder of Alexio Bello, a gay man found slain just before he was to finally meet his estranged daughter, police said Tuesday.
A local Santeria church leader who says that Coral Gables police officers harassed followers and desecrated a ritual at a resident's home last year has sued the city for public records he says officials are withholding.
