South Florida News Service

As they face down an above-average hurricane season, South Florida residents need to be especially prepared this year, officials said. A report released in late May by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration states  that this year’s hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, is expected to be especially heavy, with as many as 17 storms forming. ...

A Surfside resident, who has waited for four months to get approval from board members to install a fence — and is still waiting — said she feels town officials dragged their feet. Elena Rodriguez recently moved from downtown Miami to Surfside. She renovated the home at 500 Surfside Blvd., completing most work in February 2017. However, an essential component was missing. “I ...

Café Crème, a French café in downtown North Miami, has recently begun offering deli services, chocolate and wine, consolidating operations from two other stores, said one of the store’s owners. Co-owners Claude Postel and Corentin Finot closed the Buena Vista Deli and Buena Vista Chocolate & Wine earlier this year, both in the Miami Design District. Finot said a combination ...

Dayle Fragin held a three-dog leash in a tight grip on a recent Saturday as she talked to a child petting the salt-and-pepper Schnauzer at her side. She has six at home, all of which she’s adopted from the Humane Society’s Adoption Clinic in North Miami Beach. After retiring from her job as a Liberty City middle school teacher, Fragin ...

A Palmetto Bay musical tradition is returning to the Deering Estate with a performance by a South Florida jazz veteran, county officials announced. On June 17, keyboardist, vocalist and steel pan player Hal Roland will kick off the historical archeological and environmental preserve’s annual Summer Cabaret Concert Series with a solo live performance. This is the first of three monthly ...

Every Tuesday at 6:15 p.m., the North Miami Beach Public Library offers a free class to help people prepare for the American citizenship test. At the head of the class stands Cuban-native teacher, Yalilys “Lily” Pérez. She came to Miami in 2006 and became a citizen on 2012. “I know what the whole process is like, which is very difficult ...

Haitian flags flew high in North Miami as the city celebrated Haitian Heritage Month with several cultural events at the Museum of Contemporary Art. The city-sponsored happenings at the museum in May, located on the corner of Northeast 125th Street and Northwest 8th Avenue, included musical performances and Haitian vendors serving food native to several regions of Haiti. Themed “No ...

Off-duty Sweetwater police officers are serving customers at the Texas Roadhouse on Flagler Street Tuesday evening from 4-10 p.m. as part of the department’s second annual “Tip-A-Cop” fundraiser. The event is part of Sweetwater Police Department’s “community oriented policing” initiative, said Manuel Saavedra, a neighborhood resource officer. Officers are paired with servers, he said, and tips received by cops go to ...

After homebrewing for 11 years, a beer enthusiast from Houston said he believes now is the perfect time for a brewery to open in Hialeah. Zachary Swanson, founder and owner of Unbranded Brewery Co., hopes to launch the city’s first brewery in its burgeoning Leah Arts District in late 2018. “I think the people of Hialeah really want something like ...

In a shakeup Tuesday at Sweetwater City Hall, three newcomers were elected to the city commission, one current member discarded her “interim” tag and two incumbents lost their seats. David Borrero won the Group One seat while Marcos Villanueva, Joniel Diaz and Cecilia Holtz-Alonso received voters’ nods for the Group Two, Three and Four seats, respectively. Holtz-Alonso, the interim commissioner ...