QuarexNews

Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill paving the way for several large water slides to be built at the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach. The bill had been criticized by Miami Beach officials because it allows the development to move forward without being cleared by the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board. The Miami Beach Commission had urged the governor to veto the bill.

Under the measure, which took effect immediately, a "large destination resort" can skip the approval process from the Historic Preservation Board, and a local government "must administratively approve" an application for a zoning variance. The decision has sparked controversy among local officials who argue the legislation undermines their historic preservation oversight.

The new law represents a significant shift in how major tourism developments can navigate local approval processes in historic areas. Miami Beach officials expressed frustration that their recommendations to veto the legislation were ignored.

Current conditions in Miami: Broken clouds, 76°F (feels like 77°F). Humidity: 82%. Wind: 15 mph.

Today's forecast: High of 79°F, low of 74°F. No active weather alerts.

Data from OpenWeatherMap as of April 02, 2026.

Massive police investigations took place near three schools in Miami on Wednesday after threats were made that were later determined to be hoaxes, according to investigators. Miami-Dade Schools Police said that an anonymous person called 911 on Wednesday morning and told law enforcement that they were going to harm students.

The caller did not specify if they were targeting Kinloch Park Elementary School or Kinloch Park Middle School, but both schools were locked down as a precaution. West Miami Middle School, which is located nearby, was also put in lockdown as a precaution. The area near Kinloch Park Middle School, located at 4340 NW Third St., and Kinloch Park Elementary, located at 4275 NW First St., was blocked off by police as parents drove to the area to find out what was going on.

Miami-Dade Schools Police said they are still working to determine who made the hoax call, and reminded everyone that making threats like these are a felony. The incident caused significant disruption to school operations and prompted parents to rush to the schools seeking information about their children's safety.

Sandy Alcantara threw the first complete game of the MLB season in a 93-pitch shutout to lead the Miami Marlins over the Chicago White Sox 10-0 on Wednesday. It was Alcantara's second career shutout with fewer than 100 pitches, known as a "Maddux" in honor of Hall of Famer Greg Maddux. It was his 13th career complete game.

Liam Hicks homered, had two singles and drove in four runs to increase his major league-leading count of RBIs to 12. Otto López also went deep and Graham Pauley doubled twice for the Marlins, who ended the homestand 5-1, their best start since 2020. After a dominant outing against Colorado in the season-opener, Alcantara (2-0) extended his scoreless streak to 15 innings.

The dominant performance highlights the Marlins' strong early-season form and Alcantara's return to elite status after injury concerns. The complete game shutout represents efficient pitching at its finest in an era where such performances have become increasingly rare.

South Florida has one of the lowest unemployment rates among largest metropolitan areas in the county. The region saw employment increase by almost 4,000 last month compared to November. Most of the work was added in Broward County.

Statewide, Florida's unemployment rate increased slightly to 4.3%. While that remains well below what most economists consider full employment, it is a post-pandemic high. Healthcare and education experienced the largest job growth in 2025 with over 11,000 more positions in December 2025 compared to a year earlier. That is more than three times the growth versus the second best performing sector — local government, which added 3,800 new jobs last year.

Business and professional services, which is a catch-all description that includes legal services, some financial jobs, advertising and management, dropped almost 7,000 positions over the course of last year. Despite the job losses, the sector continued to be the largest employment industry in South Florida.

Despite already slashing its budget halfway through this school year, the Miami-Dade County school district is set to make further cuts in 2027-28 amid an "unprecedented" enrollment drop. Miami-Dade County schools, the third largest district in the country, this academic year had 313,000 students — 13,200 fewer than in the 2024-25 school year.

At $7.4 billion, this school year's budget was already $100 million smaller than the previous year's. Even so, the district shrunk that even more when it docked the budget by another $89 million halfway through the school year. As Florida lawmakers craft the state budget, M-DCPS could potentially cut another $52 million in next school year's budget. For next year, it asked lawmakers to release one-time extra funding of $21 million to help offset the enrollment drop.

Miami-Dade County district officials push back against this. Instead, they say it's because of a decrease in immigrant families moving to South Florida. The state calculates Miami-Dade County schools will see a drop of 6,800 students next year. But with what the district now knows about how immigration is playing a role, Steiger estimates it'll be closer to 8,000 students.

Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried hopes the result makes Republican lawmakers pause as they approach Gov. Ron DeSantis' call for a special session to redraw congressional district lines the week of April 20. "Voters are tired of one-party rule and attempts to steal their votes," Fried said in a conference call Wednesday with reporters. "They are tired of the skyrocketing costs and the chaos in the news this year." Fried also said the state party, which still faces a need to cut into the Republican supermajorities in the Legislature in the fall election, has been on the phones with national Democratic groups that have disengaged from Florida politics the past couple of cycles.

Analysts and politicians point to the combination of strong candidates, low turnout special elections, rising gas prices compounding existing affordability issues and the ongoing conflict in Iran, which helped offset the registration and financial advantages of Republicans. University of Central Florida political science professor Aubrey Jewett said at the campaign level Florida Democrats did a good job getting solid candidates who didn't make mistakes and stuck to the message of affordability. Also, there is the timing, as historically the sitting president's party more often loses seats in midterm elections at the congressional and state legislative levels.

The victories represent the strongest Democratic performance in Florida special elections in recent years, potentially signaling shifts in voter sentiment ahead of the November elections.

The City of Miami is working to modify traffic flow at 26 locations in the Silver Bluff area as it studies and then enacts traffic calming, safety improvements and movement restrictions. The total cost will exceed $7.8 million, the Citizens' Independent Transportation Trust was told. The aim is to control cut-through traffic in the area under an agreement that county commissioners approved unanimously in November, said Charles Alfaro, assistant director of the city's Department of Resilience and Public Works.

The accord allows the city to add traffic-calming devices using pre-approved designs without having to get specific county approval each time. Silver Bluff is between Southwest 27th and 12th avenues, bordered by U.S. 1 to the south and Coral Way to the north. The neighborhood encompasses just over a half square mile and is mostly single-family homes.

The comprehensive traffic management initiative represents one of the largest neighborhood-focused transportation improvement projects in recent Miami history. The modifications are designed to reduce vehicle speeds and discourage drivers from using residential streets as shortcuts to major thoroughfares. The project is part of broader citywide efforts to improve pedestrian safety and quality of life in residential neighborhoods.

Miami-Dade is expected to see about 1,200 new hotel rooms this year, nearly as many as in the past three years combined, a market report from brokerage Marcus & Millichap says. Despite the added room supply, the firm expects occupancy to hold at last year's 73.9% level as demand grows, much of it spurred by foreign travelers.

The significant hotel development boom reflects continued confidence in Miami's tourism and hospitality sector. Industry analysts point to the area's appeal to international visitors and its positioning as a gateway to Latin America as key drivers of demand. The new supply is expected to be absorbed by growing visitor numbers, particularly from overseas markets.

This hotel construction surge comes amid broader real estate development activity in the region, with multiple luxury residential and mixed-use projects also underway. The hospitality expansion aligns with Miami's strategic goals to strengthen its position as a premier international destination for both business and leisure travelers.