The Florida Roundup | WLRN

In the hunt for housing affordability, mobile home parks have been an oasis. But developers are eyeing them, increasing rents and forcing some residents to leave. Mobile home parks – from Homestead to Hialeah to the Keys – are caught in the squeeze between rising real estate values and housing that has remained affordable, especially for those living on smaller paychecks or fixed incomes. On the South Florida Roundup, host Tom Hudson heard from some residents of these parks and a panel of WLRN reporters: Nadege Green, Nancy Klingener and Danny Rivero. Nejla Calvo, an attorney with Legal Services of Greater Miami , also joined the conversation. She works on behalf of residents who want to take legal action to try to stay in their homes. Here's an excerpt of the show: WLRN: So what's important about a mobile home park to understand that relationship oftentimes people who are living in the homes own the trailer – own everything from the rubber up but they don't own the ground underneath

The Florida Cabinet is planning to hold its next meeting in Israel next month. Gov. Ron DeSantis said the trip’s main purpose is to promote investment in the state. He also reiterated his push against companies like Airbnb. The company announced last week it reversed its ban on listings of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. It had removed those listings to protest the treatment of Palestinians there. On the South Florida Roundup, host Tom Hudson spoke about the issue with WLRN’s Danny Rivero , The Miami Herald’s David Smiley and Emma Green , a staff writer at The Atlantic who wrote titled "What Another Round of Netanyahu Will Mean For American Jews." You’ll hear first from Rivero. DANNY RIVERO: Gov. Ron DeSantis ran on the platform of being what he called the most pro-Israel governor in the country. He came into office, and just a couple of days after he came in, he said, "listen this is a I take issue with this. And Florida, we're going to seek to do what we can do. We won't invest

The political turmoil in Venezuela continues to intensify. On Tuesday, officials loyal to President Nicolas Maduro stripped opposition leader Juan Guaidó of immunity – which means he could face prosecution and arrest. In January, Guaidó declared himself Venezuela’s interim president. More than 50 countries, including the United States, have recognized him as president. Guaidó’s wife Fabiana Rosales also visited Florida this week. She addressed the country’s ongoing humanitarian crisis. “Today Venezuelans live in danger,” she said in Spanish, alongside Gov. Ron DeSantis, First Lady Casey DeSantis and Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez. “Today the life of the president of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, is in danger.” On the South Florida Roundup, host Tom Hudson got the latest news from WLRN’s Americas correspondent Tim Padgett. Here’s an excerpt of their conversation: WLRN: What is the latest on the relations and the pressure that the United States is trying to continue to apply in Venezuela? PADGETT:

Thousands of college students are crowding South Florida beaches as they normally do this time of year for spring break. Most spring breakers land on Miami Beach, but the city is not happy with what it's seeing. According to the Miami Herald , there have been beach brawls, heavy drinking and injured police officers. These incidents prompted the Miami Beach officials to hold an emergency meeting earlier this week. Some city officials want to curb spring break tourism by making it less attractive for partygoers. Miami Beach’s coastal neighbors to the north have some experience with this effort. The city of Fort Lauderdale created a task force in the mid 1980s when they wanted to tone down wild spring break debauchery – and it worked. On the South Florida Roundup, Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber explained the city’s approach to spring break. He was also joined by former Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle. Here's an excerpt from that conversation: WLRN: Is the city prepared for another weekend

The Florida International University community marked Friday one year since the devastating bridge collapse that killed six people — including a student and a bridge worker. The school held a memorial service, and a moment of silence took place at 1:47 p.m., the time of the collapse. Stand with us today at 1:30pm at the Betty Chapman Plaza at MMC in a moment of silence for the victims of the Southwest 8th Street pedestrian bridge accident. #FIUStrong pic.twitter.com/dQmb9ujosw — FIU (@FIU) March 15, 2019 The bridge was meant to carry pedestrians across Southwest Eighth Street, connecting the city of Sweetwater with the campus. The National Transportation Safety Board found that design flaws caused cracking at a critical structural point. The agency’s latest update doesn’t blame those design errors for causing the collapse. A full report is expected to come out later this year. On the South Florida Roundup, host Tom Hudson spoke with two reporters who've been looking into the collapse