The South Florida Roundup

In the next hour we will get you ready for the new school year that begins next week, starting with a conversation with Miami-Dade County’s incoming school superintendent Rafael Villalobos who’s got declining enrollment in his backpack (01:03). We’ll also talk with a nutrition advocate about what looks like the end of universal free lunch for many schools and with a pediatrician about student vaccinations (19:03). And a Broward teacher shares what it’s like to teach in Florida — on Florida pay (34:35).

The primaries are upon us in South Florida. Rest easy, your mail-in ballots look secure — but Democratic races in those new gerrymandered districts? They’re lookin’ messy.Early voting starts on Monday, so we devoted the hour to the Aug. 18 Florida primary elections. The League of Women Voters walked us through what you need to know about the contests and controversies before you head to the ballot box (01:03). We also looked at the hot local races and referendums from Palm Beach to Key West (19:03). And we discussed the primary chaos playing out in so many South Florida congressional districts thanks to that new map (34:35).

On the South Florida Roundup, we talked with Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava about the daunting budget dilemmas ahead – especially if Florida voters approve a sharp property-tax cut measure in November (01:19). We also discussed the imminent expiration of Temporary Protected Status for some 350,000 Haitians here – who will now face deportation. (21:20) And we chatted with the director of Havana Coyotes – the first U.S. film shot entirely in communist Cuba with a Cuban cast. (36:23).

On this episode of The South Florida Roundup, we discuss what’s next for the Everglades site that, for the past year, was home to the controversial migrant detention center known as Alligator Alcatraz. It’s gone now, but what mark does it leave? [0:11]. Host Tim Padgett also spoke with WLRN's Wilkine Brutus on why Palm Beach County commissioners just decisively voted to block the massive artificial intelligence data center known as "Project Tango" [19:00]. And we’ll examine Argentina’s massive soccer success – and the local FBI probe into its federation. [33:45].

On this episode of The South Florida Roundup, we try to unpack how Venezuela now recovers from its worst earthquake disaster in a century – and the impact that will have on the large Venezuelan diaspora here [0:11]. Host Tim Padgett also spoke with the retired judge whose persistence paid off when a pioneering mental health recovery center in Miami-Dade County, was finally approved to open [18:00]. And with the last big match in Miami being played on July 11, we’ll take stock of the men’s soccer World Cup – and the fans! [34:00].