Tuesday, August 4, 2026 · Independent Miami Beach journalism
SubscribeThe latest Miami Beach news, including City Commission decisions, development proposals, zoning changes, public safety updates, tourism, culture, litigation, and neighborhood issues.
Five of eleven affiliated cannabis companies headquartered at 1111 Lincoln Road filed state-law insolvency petitions on July 28, saddled with hundreds of millions in debt and blocked from federal bankruptcy by cannabis's illegal status.
8 things to do in Miami Beach this weekend — from a K-pop world tour stop at the Fillmore to free Latin music on Ocean Drive and the opening weekend of the International Ballet Festival of Miami.
With no public hearing and no board vote, the Planning Director signed off on a 16-story, 79-unit, all-workforce tower at Alton Road and Seventh Street — nearly four times the height the site's zoning allows — under the state preemptions of Florida's Live Local Act. Before anyone can move in, the developer must build out a substantial piece of South Beach's sewer system.
The two-month restaurant promotion marks its 25th year August 1 through September 30, with $40 lunch and brunch menus, $50 and $65 dinners, and a new Reserve tier starting at $95 at more than 300 restaurants across Greater Miami and Miami Beach.
Miami Beach is reviving its popular $1-per-hour parking promotion from Aug. 1 through Oct. 31 at municipal lots, garages, and on-street spaces citywide — exclusively through the ParkMobile app.
Unit owners at South Bay Club on West Avenue are fighting in court to remove all seven directors at once via a written consent recall, raising a novel question about whether condo bylaws can lower Florida's default signature threshold.
Commissioners deferred the 530 Meridian Avenue transfer to Oct. 14 after a 53-minute argument over housing-first placements, missing wraparound services, and whether the city still holds any leverage over the building's future.
On second reading Wednesday, Miami Beach commissioners voted 6-1 to approve the RK Rivani ground-lease amendment at 1691 Michigan Avenue and called a November 3 special election to let voters ratify it. Commissioner David Suarez cast the lone no vote.
The owner of a Sunset Islands home — a familiar name in Miami Beach luxury development — is asking a circuit court to shrink a nearly $19 million assessment after winning cuts at Miami-Dade's appeal board three years running.
Debbie Tackett, a 20-year veteran of Miami Beach city government and former chief historic preservation officer, has been unanimously confirmed as the city's new planning director.
On the last day it could have placed a question on the November 3 ballot, the Commission rejected both general obligation bond options and voted 5-2 to fund roughly $450 million of water, sewer and stormwater work through utility rates alone — a program about half the size of the one staff brought in. How much bills will actually rise won't be known until September.
The Miami Beach City Commission took up a resolution directing staff to stop painting curbs in non-traditional colors and repaint any altered curbs back to standard markings.
7 things to do in Miami Beach this weekend — from a free-all-ages psych-cumbia celebration to 18 years of Go-Go culture, Jack Pierson at The Bass, a free outdoor farmers market, and more.
Mediation failed at midday Tuesday; by evening, both sides had sued. The dueling complaints tell opposite stories about why the N Bay Road deal collapsed — with a $500,000 deposit sitting in escrow until a court sorts it out.
A reference of the week's public city meetings
Miami Beach Journal is an independent local news publication covering City Hall, development, zoning, litigation, public safety, tourism, culture, and civic affairs across Miami Beach — from South Beach to Mid-Beach to North Beach.
Our reporting focuses on the institutions and decisions that shape daily life in Miami Beach: the City Commission, the Planning Board, the Historic Preservation Board, and the proposals, ordinances, and projects that move through them. We follow major civic stories from agenda to vote, and we cover the development, zoning, and litigation issues residents tell us they want explained clearly.