Monday, November 2, 2026 · Independent Miami Beach journalism
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A 12-month, privately funded pilot for a plumbed bird bath at Belle Isle Park advanced without opposition, along with a flock of concerns about droppings, mosquitoes and iguanas.
A Miami Beach man has sued Florida Power & Light Company in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, alleging the utility failed to adequately resolve recurring voltage problems at his Michigan Avenue apartment over nearly eleven months, even after FPL's own Power Quality team identified a service condition there and the company made upgrades. The lawsuit was filed October 9, 2026.
The Five Park master association and Jay Newman, as trustee, filed an 11-count federal complaint Oct. 13. It asks a judge to order TCH 500 Alton to build the Fifth Street bridge and the City to enforce the agreement that requires it.
Ric-Man Construction says City-caused delays have pushed the North of 14th Street project's completion from June 2026 to as late as 2029. It wants a judge to confirm it can walk away and pay it for work done. The City has not yet responded in court.
The ordinance needed six of seven votes and failed 4–3 after Commissioner David Suarez took about five minutes to cast the deciding no. After the lunch recess, backers used the Sutnick forum to ask for a do-over, and the Mayor and Commissioner Monica Matteo-Salinas switched. It passed 6–1.
Miami Beach's Planning Board directed staff to send the City Commission a recommendation letter urging a ban on obstructions in single-family swales and street trees limited to Miami-Dade County minimums.
Miami Beach's Private Property Adaptation Program is reopening Oct. 5 with a seawall-only application cycle, offering up to $20,000 in matching funds and a streamlined path that skips the Phase I assessment.
A 7-0 vote on Sept. 10 urges Miami-Dade County to approve an annual pedestrian-only season on Ocean Drive between 5th and 15th streets, extended on the dais to run through March 31. Hotel, restaurant and shop owners who packed the chamber called the closures a threat to guest access and sales, and the city's transportation chief said the permit would follow the same county process as this summer's World Cup closure.
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.
A Normandy Isle EV charging item closed without a vote, but the discussion exposed a citywide problem: the flood elevation code is stalling fast chargers everywhere except one lot that squeaked by on a technicality.
Miami Beach's troubled 5th Street Pedestrian Bridge remains stalled by an undocumented FPL power line, with a city committee deferring action until September while the developer awaits findings from an independent consultant.
County commissioners on June 16 cleared the final procedural step toward condemning the roughly 10-acre PortMiami fuel depot — the move the Journal warned was looming — after Mayor Daniella Levine Cava walked away from a $400 million purchase. With only Raquel Regalado opposed, the vote sets up a constitutional fight already playing out in two courtrooms.