Jason Banegas, 23, pleaded guilty last year in a decision that even surprised Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra, who presided over the case. But after a penalty-phase trial ended with a jury recommending a life sentence instead of the death penalty, Banegas had a change of heart, writing to the judge that he never would have pleaded guilty had he not been “coerced” by his trial lawyers.

Defense lawyers Mitchell Polay and H. Dohn Williams argued the case before Kollra on Friday, saying Banegas wrongly believed his family would be targeted for deportation if he did not admit to killing Police Officer Yandy Chirino, 28, in Hollywood’s Emerald Hills neighborhood on Oct. 18, 2021. Banegas initially told police he was breaking into cars when he was confronted by the officer and that he shot him accidentally while trying to kill himself.

His guilty plea took accidental death and self-defense out of contention as defense arguments. Prosecutors criticized the motion vacate the plea as a cynical gambit to manipulate the legal system after the jury took the death penalty off the table.

Banegas’ sentencing hearing that was initially scheduled for February has been moved to April 8. Under Florida law, a life sentence is mandatory.

This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.

Suzanne “Sue” Gunzburger died Sunday, her family said. She was 86.

Her legacy of public service included serving 10 years on the Hollywood City Commission and 22 years on the County Commission. Along the way, Gunzburger developed a reputation for persistent advocacy on behalf of community members.

“She took her own lived experiences out in the community as a volunteer and she turned them into a source of power, by not only advocating for justice but taking the mantle of leadership herself,” recalled County Commissioner Nan Rich, Gunzburger’s longtime friend and colleague.

Gunzburger was born Suzanne Nathan in Buffalo, New York, on July 12, 1939.

She spent most of her childhood in New Jersey and Michigan before attending Wayne State University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in education.

Gunzburger worked as a schoolteacher in Detroit before relocating to South Florida with her family in 1967, settling permanently in Hollywood the following year.

She received her master’s degree in clinical social work from Barry University and served as a family counselor before entering politics.

Gunzburger took her first steps into activism in the mid-1970s, spurred on by the fight for the Equal Rights Amendment and other feminist causes.

She and Rich were both involved with volunteer work for the National Coalition of Jewish Women.

In short time, advocacy turned into a career in local politics. Gunzburger’s son, Ron Gunzburger, 62, described her as an “underdog” in the crowded 1982 race for a seat on the Hollywood City Commission, where she prevailed with grassroots support.

Gunzburger left city government for a seat on the County Commission in 1992.

As a public official, she fought for initiatives supporting children, the environment, social justice, the arts, and ethics in government, among other issues.

Her proudest accomplishments included protecting parts of Hollywood Beach from high-rise development, helping create the County Commission’s ethics code and Children’s Services Council, and spearheading county commissioners’ switch from at-large representation to district-based seating, according to her son.

“She was not your typical politician. She, at her heart, was still the old-school teacher she started as,” Ron Gunzburger said. “Her actions made a lot of people’s lives better in a concrete way.”

In 2014, Gunzburger retired as a commissioner. She remained active in community life until her death, serving on the boards of Temple Beth El, the Hollywood Lakes Civic Association and other organizations.

Gerry, Gunzburger’s husband of 49 years, died in 2009.

She is survived by her brother, Larry Nathan, her children, Ron, Cindy, and Judy, and her three grandchildren.

There are more cancellations to come, airport officials and the airlines said. And now that President Trump has declared the war with Iran could last for another several weeks, a resumption of full service to some of the world’s core commercial aviation hubs — Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi — could take longer than travelers and industry leaders had hoped.

“Dubai has flights that link all six populated continents,” Henry Harteveldt, president of Atmosphere Research Corp. in San Francisco, told the Sun Sentinel. “There are ripple effects of reduced air transportation all around the world.”

Dubai International Airport, he noted, handled more than 92.5 million passengers last year, Doha 53 million and Abu Dhabi more than 33 million. By contrast, in 2025, Miami International handled a similar amount of traffic as Doha, 55.3 million passengers, and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International had 32.2 million.

“All three Middle Eastern hubs had been growing with the expectation that 2026 would be another year of growth,” Harteveldt said.

But now, warfare has interrupted the status quo, and from South Florida to other U.S. cities whose airports connect travelers to Israel and the Arab states, airlines and their customers have found air travel to be a day-to-day proposition. Israel’s airports are closed to scheduled commercial traffic, and many of the region’s national carriers and U.S. airlines have suspended service to the Middle East.

“EL AL has notified us that their next flights tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday are canceled,” Greg Chin, spokesman for Miami International, said in an email Monday. “Qatar Airways has canceled their flight today.”

Shortly after that message, Chin reported that Emirates had canceled its Monday afternoon flight from Miami to Dubai International, which has been closed since Saturday. The airline operates wide-bodied Boeing 777 service to and from Miami, four times a week. UAE airports reportedly allowed limited operations to help move stranded passengers.

Qatar Airways, which started Miami service in late 2024, flies to Doha.

Chin also said all three carriers canceled their flights to and from the Mideast on Saturday, the day hostilities broke out.

EL AL cancellations through Thursday

EL AL, which now operates only a Monday flight every week to Tel Aviv from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International, canceled the flight, airport spokesperson Arlene Satchell said.

This was in the wake of a company announcement Monday that the airline had canceled all flights between Sunday and this coming Thursday as Tel Aviv came under attack from Iranian drones and missiles.

“Following the declaration of a special situation on the home front and the closure of Israel’s airspace for departures and arrivals, as directed by the security and aviation authorities, all EL AL and Sundor flights to and from Israel that were scheduled to depart through Thursday, March 5, at 2:00 AM (between Wednesday and Thursday) are canceled,” the company said in a website announcement.

“We are preparing for an operation to bring Israelis back home as soon as Ben-Gurion Airport reopens for activity.” the airline added.

All around the Mideast, a weekend-long outburst of drone and missile strikes reportedly kept thousands of tourists and business travelers stranded in hotels and airport terminals in multiple Arab countries, as well as at airports on other continents where Mideast-bound commercial planes remained stuck with nowhere to go.

Airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha all remained closed to commercial traffic after taking direct hits from airborne attacks by Iran.

U.S. carriers cancel flights

Major American air carriers with service into the region have canceled flights from various U.S. cities.

Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines canceled flights from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Tel Aviv through March 8, and from Tel Aviv to JFK through March 9.

American Airlines of Dallas suspended all flights between Philadelphia and Doha, and delayed the resumption of service between JFK and Tel Aviv. The flights had been scheduled to start March 28.

United Airlines, which is based in Chicago, canceled service to Dubai and Tel Aviv through March 4 and March 6.

All of the airlines posted various fee waivers and flight change options on their websites.

“The U.S. airlines tend to restart their flights after other airlines from other parts of the world,” Harteveldt said. “EL AL tends to be the last to shut down and the first to resume into Israel. Right now it is a very uncertain environment.”

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report. 

Diane Hernandez del Calvo, who has worked for the railroad for more than two decades, was unanimously named by the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority board to temporarily run the more than three-decades-old operation that served more than 4.5 million travelers last year in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

The board’s monthly meeting Friday was the last one for Dech, and it was his last day on the job.

An auditorium in the Tri-Rail headquarters building next to the rail line’s Pompano Beach station was heavily populated by staff members and contractors, as well as Dech’s wife, Kathy.

Last month, the career railroader from Ohio announced he was leaving to take command of a Midwest commuter line that operates between South Bend, Ind., and Chicago.

Confident in restored funding

Dech, who started with Tri-Rail in August 2022, said he would not have departed if he believed the Legislature would not restore a $27 million funding cut to the Tri-Rail budget incurred last year.

For the better part of 2024, Dech has spearheaded the railroad’s lobbying campaign to restore the money which was cut, a move that Dech estimates would bring Tri-Rail to a halt by July 2027 if the funds were not replaced.

“We’re in session and nothing is finalized,” he told the board Friday. “But the mood, the temperature in Tallahassee is very supportive. I have extreme confidence in the folks that are leading this charge in Tallahassee. The commitments that people have given us over the last six months — they are living up to the things they’ve said they were going to do. … I have no indication that this will not end up in committee and not end up in our favor.”

“If I thought that the funding was not going to be restored, if I thought this was a sinking ship, I would stay here and go down with it,” he said. “But I don’t think that. I have the utmost confidence the funding is going to be restored and with a clear conscience I can move on to where I’m going.”

Fare boost approved

Board members, understanding the railroad itself is responsible for contributing to the annual pool of funds, voted to move forward with a 10% fare increase that would be installed later this year.

All fares in Tri-Rail’s Byzantine pricing scheme would be rounded up to the next dollar, except for the line’s $5 weekend fare, which will remain in place. The weekend fare allows customers to ride anywhere all day within the system — one-way or roundtrip.

The proposed increase needs to be submitted to the Federal Transit Administration for approval. Then, an FTA-mandated public hearing would take place and another 30 days would have to pass before the increases are implemented.

No timetable for those events has been set.

Both Dech and board member Raquel Regalado, who represents Miami-Dade County, noted there has not been any price increase since 2019.

Plaudits and proclamations

The board members agreed that the new executive director should have professional experience that mirrors the resume that Dech brought to South Florida: that of a railroader. He started his career with the CSX freight giant as a switchman, rising to engineer. He came to Tri-Rail from Capitol Metro in Austin, Texas, where he served as vice president of rail operations.

The firm K&A Partners, the Bethesda, Md., firm that located Dech more than nearly four years ago, will conduct the search for his replacement.

In both style and substance, members noted, Tri-Rail’s operations improved across the board under Dech’s stewardship, as he fostered an agency-wide culture of teamwork and accountability.

Among a long list of accomplishments, he is credited with activating a stalled plan for Tri-Rail to start serving the MiamiCentral station in downtown Miami, which it now shares with Brightline.

Under Dech’s tenure, Tri-Rail’s on-time performance dramatically improved, the rail corridor that runs from north of West Palm Beach to Miami International Airport was cleared of homeless camps, new locomotives were ordered, passenger coaches were fixed and cleaned up, and an array of other equipment has been ordered or installed to improve day-to-day train operations.

Equally important, members noted, Dech built and sustained working relationships with various individuals and private and public sector organizations that do business with Tri-Rail.

Board members from each of the three counties presented him with proclamations from their respective boards of commissioners recognizing Dech’s work.

Miami-Dade proclaimed Friday “David Dech Day.”

“Remember on your first day I told you this was going to be a painful experience?” recalled Regalado. “I apologized to your wife and said, ‘I’m so sorry we put him through all this stuff but we have a lot of cleanup to do.’ But you’ve been such a great sport.”

“It has been a heck of a ride,” Dech told the audience. “It has been one of the most humbling and honoring experiences that I’ve had in my life.”

“When you go to these jobs your goal is always to try to leave it in a better place than you found it,” he added. “I think we’ve done that. But personally the South Shore line is going to have to thank the people in this room. Because I am definitely stronger and better at what I do having spent the time here.”

The Utah-based carrier announced Tuesday it will start serving Florida’s capital city in July. Overall, the Breeze expansion will add eight cities out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, pushing the total to 14.

Besides Tallahassee, the new in-state service includes Jacksonville and Tampa. The airline also intends to expand existing service to Pensacola.

The other new destinations are out-of-state: Birmingham, Ala., Charleston, S.C., Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.,  Salisbury, Md., and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pa.

Existing out-of-state service will increase to Myrtle Beach, S.C, and Savannah, Ga.

Early July kickoffs

All of the new flights will start in early July. The airline started taking bookings Tuesday.

“Breeze was designed for convenience, and these routes will make it easier than ever for our Guests in the region to get where they want to go,” David Neeleman, founder and CEO of Breeze Airways, said in a prepared statement. “This announcement brings the total number of destinations we serve from Fort Lauderdale to 14, and we look forward to welcoming more Guests on these flights this summer.”

The Breeze expansion is a welcome addition for the airport, which saw its annual passenger traffic decline in 2025 from 2024 by 8.5% or nearly 3 million passengers. Among the setbacks: Hometown carrier Spirit Airlines of Dania Beach, the leader in airport market share, entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings for a second time with the intent of becoming smaller. Regional commuter Silver Airways ceased operations last year during a failed bid to reorganize in bankruptcy court. And Southwest Airlines cut back on flights at the airport amid a systemwide route overhaul.

“We’re very pleased with Breeze’s ongoing expansion at FLL since making its debut here last November,” CEO/Director of Aviation Mark E. Gale said in the airline’s statement. “We welcome the eight new routes announced today and look forward to growing our partnership even further.”

“Breeze’s decision to add several other destinations to its FLL route map is great news,” Broward County Mayor Mark D. Bogen said. “We’re thrilled about Breeze’s continued investment in FLL and the potential economic impact of its growth, from two routes to over a dozen within a year of operating here, is appreciated.”

Founded in 2021, Breeze started service in Fort Lauderdale late last year after entering several other Florida cities first. It is part of a relatively new generation “post-2020” carriers worldwide whose business model is to provide low fares to cities that are either served infrequently by scheduled airlines, or not at all.

“From day one, we knew we didn’t want to be just another airline trying to squeeze into the same crowded markets,” Neeleman said at an airline leader summit in the Cayman Islands last April. “We wanted to go where the need existed, where people had been ignored — cities where the only options involved long drives to bigger airports or hours of connecting flights through hubs.”

Breeze operates 137-seat Airbus 220 jetliners, serving 86 cities with 300 nonstop routes.

Tallahassee confidence

Lukas Johnson, the airline’s chief commercial officer, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel  that the airline is confident it can sustain service to and from Tallahassee, a city that over the years has proven to be a revolving-door experience for airlines trying to make a profit, and passengers seeking consistent service.

In 2024, for example, JetBlue Airways halted flights between Tallahassee and Fort Lauderdale within months of its startup, citing a subpar business performance.

“I think we’ve got the right [business] model,” Johnson said. “We’ve got the right plane size, the right kind of brand and the right kind of product.”

Breeze passengers, he noted, have access to streaming Wi-Fi and electrical power at every seat. Out of the 137 seats on each plane, the cabins contain 12 first class seats and 45 “extra legroom” seats. The carrier’s onboard premium section helps support the idea that Breeze is “not just all one type of service.”

‘It’s why we’ve been able to make hundreds of routes work and Tallahassee is part of that,” Johnson said.

Florida cities currently served besides Fort Lauderdale include West Palm Beach. Key West, Fort Myers/Bradenton, Orlando, Vero Beach, Daytona Beach. Fort Myers, Sarasota, Jacksonville and Pensacola.

South Florida became the last area in Florida for expansion, Johnson said, because “we just waited to make sure the capacity is right in the market.”

Asked if Breeze is watching Spirit as it works its way through bankruptcy court, Johnson said, “we’re certainly monitoring the changes in the marketplace down there. It’s just a really dynamic time in air travel.”

“Some flights out of Fort Lauderdale are routes that used to have air service by a number of carriers and people have not had that option,” he added.

The new and expanded Breeze flight services from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood starting in early July:

Inside Florida

• Jacksonville: New nonstop daily starting July 1, from $49 one way.
• Tallahassee: New nonstop  Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays starting July 2, from $39 one way.
• Tampa: New nonstop service operating 13 times weekly starting July 1, from $40 one way.
• Pensacola: Existing route increasing from twice to six times weekly beginning July 1.

Out-of-state

• Birmingham, Ala.: New nonstop on Mondays and Fridays starting July 3, from $59 one way.
• Charleston, S.C.: New nonstop on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Sundays starting July 2, from $49 one way.
• Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.: New nonstop on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays starting July 2, from $49 one way.
• Salisbury, Md.: New nonstop  Wednesdays and Saturdays starting July 1, from $79 one way.
• Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pa.: New nonstop  Wednesdays and Saturdays starting July 1, from $79 one way.
• Myrtle Beach, S.C.: Existing route increasing from twice to six times weekly beginning July 1.
• Savannah, Ga.: Existing route increasing from twice to four times weekly Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays beginning July 1.

By late afternoon, the tracking service Flightaware recorded the following figures for cancellations, which far outnumbered delays of departing flights from South Florida:

• Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport: 198 canceled, 120 delayed.
• Palm Beach International: 125 canceled, 24 delayed
• Miami International: 141 canceled; 89 delayed.

By Monday morning,  New York’s LaGuardia Airport saw 98% of its flight schedule wiped out, according to CNBC. The figure for Boston Logan International Airport was about 90%, and 80% for Newark Liberty International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport.

Airlines had prepared for the storm’s onslaught by canceling flights as early as Saturday.

By Monday, domestic cancellations had exceeded 5,300 flights after carriers dropped 3,400 flights on Sunday.

Fee waivers

Most carriers said they would waive change/cancellation fees and fare differences for their customers.

JetBlue Airways, one of the busiest carriers at Fort Lauderdale, had the most cancellations at the airport and said on its website that waivers would apply to customers traveling between Sunday through Thursday to and from 15 cities including Boston, Hartford, Islip, N.Y., Newark, the JFK International and LaGuardia airports in New York, Norfolk, Va., Providence, and Washington, D.C.

“Customers may rebook their flights for travel through Wednesday, March 4, 2026, online in the manage trips section of jetblue.com prior to the departure time of their originally scheduled flight,” the airline said on its website. “Customers with cancelled flights may also opt for a refund to the original form of payment. Original travel must have been booked before Friday, February 20, 2026.”

Spirit Airlines, which is based in Dania Beach and placed second in cancellations at Fort Lauderdale, had similar modifications in place for travelers booked on flights between this past Sunday and this coming Wednesday, according to its website.

For the blizzard, the affected cities include Atlantic City, Baltimore, Boston, Newark, New York’s LaGuardia Airport, Norfolk, Philadelphia and Richmond.

Trip modification charges and fare differences are waived through March 4. “After this date, the modification charge is waived, but a fare difference may apply,” the Spirit site says.

Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, which was third in cancellations at Fort Lauderdale, posted blizzard-related advisories for more than two dozen cities, and a separate one for civil unrest in Mexico, which was the scene of weekend violence involving a major drug cartel.

Delta issued a waiver for customers traveling to Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara on Sunday and Monday. The airline said people planning to fly to the affected region should monitor their flights for changes by using the airline’s app or by visiting delta.com.

Other carriers including Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines have either diverted or canceled trips into the region.

South Florida temperatures to plunge. How long will the chill last?

The blizzard, meanwhile, was expected to deliver its pain through at least Monday night, with up to 6,000 flights canceled, according to AccuWeather.

“Snow totaling 18-24 inches is forecast to bury parts of New Jersey, Long Island and coastal New England through Monday night,”: the service advised. “Heavy snow combined with wind gusts above 50 mph will lead to near-zero visibility and coastal erosion issues from Delmarva to Cape Cod.”

Villa Jordana is scheduled to rise in Hollywood next year, serving low-income seniors earning between 33% and 60% of the city’s median monthly income of $2,179 as calculated by the national firm RentCafe. It’s a joint venture of the Miami-based Housing Trust Group and the nonprofit AM Affordable Housing led by NBA Hall of Famer Alonzo Mourning.

“Villa Jordana reflects Housing Trust Group’s deep commitment to ensuring that seniors can age with dignity in the communities they call home,” said Matthew A. Rieger, president and CEO of Housing Trust Group, in a statement. “As South Florida’s senior population continues to grow, the need for high-quality, affordable housing has never been more urgent.”

A number of analysts and advocates who devote much of their time following the situation would agree. In South Florida, the pace of construction is far from keeping up with the needs of not only a growing senior citizen population filled with retiring Baby Boomers, but hourly wage workers who toil in the region’s traditional industries such as construction, health care, hospitality, retail, trade and transportation.

The HTG announcement came shortly after RentCafe, a firm that tracks apartment rental pricing nationwide, released a survey that showed Broward and Palm Beach counties ranked well behind Miami-Dade in the construction of affordable housing for lower-income renters.

The national survey took snapshots of new affordable apartment construction in nearly 150 metropolitan areas during two time periods: 2015 to 2019 and 2020 through 2024.

In a statement, RentCafe, an affiliate of Yardi Matrix, the commercial real estate intelligence firm that conducted the survey, outlined the following conclusions about South Florida:

• Fort Lauderdale:  Broward County’s biggest city experienced an 18% drop in completed apartments,  with 955 affordable apartments built between 2020 and 2024 against 1,161 units built between 2020 and 2024.
• West Palm Beach–Boca Raton: The area “saw affordable housing construction decline by 15%” with 1,068 units constructed between 2020 and 2024 versus 1,259 between 2015 and 2019. The area’s affordable apartments also accounted “for less than 10% of new construction.”
• Miami:  Its greater metropolitan area led the state “by a wide margin, with 8,690 affordable apartments completed  between 2020 and 2024. These units account for about 19% of all new apartment construction in the metro,” Rent Cafe said. “Compared with the previous five-year period, affordable housing construction in Miami increased by 97%, reinforcing the metro’s role as Florida’s largest hub for income-restricted development.”
• Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater:  This Gulf Coast area ranked second in the state, adding 3,711 affordable apartments over the past five years.
• Southwest Florida and North Central Florida: Both regions saw construction surge “from a small base.” The Southwest added 1,966 apartments — “a 492% increase compared with the previous five years.” The North Central region completed 1,756 units, “a 392% increase from the pre-pandemic period with affordable units making up about 11% of all new apartment completions.”

The state, according to RentCafe, “has been one of the country’s most active states for affordable apartment construction in recent years.”

“Miami leads the state by a wide margin,” Doug Ressler, manager of business intelligence at Yardi Matrix, said in an interview. “One of the things we saw is Miami developed because of the density of Miami proper and rapidly scaled up projects in the face of demand.”

Nationally, construction rose 73% in the post-pandemic period  versus the previous five years, the company said in a statement. The year 2024 was a high water mark for construction “with more than 91,000 affordable apartments completed.”

Minding the gap

But in a region that has been awash in new higher-income residents since the COVID-19 pandemic started, the construction has not been enough. While economic development agencies and growth-minded politicians succeeded in attracting well-paid financial and technology executives to Florida, housing prices headed sharply upward, muscling aside longer-term residents who have experienced a protracted case of sticker shock.

“You’ve had a huge migration of wealth down here,” said JC de Ona, Southeast Florida division president for Arkansas-based Centennial Bank, which maintains a large presence in the tri-county area. “You’ve had all of those CEOs and high-level executives and entrepreneurs. It’s really given a boost for the economy.”

But he added: “The problem still looms for a majority of the population. Middle-level employees can’t afford the properties.”

Zack Simkins, managing director of Miami-based Vaster, which provides bridge financing for developers, said the state Live Local Act is helping builders expedite affordable projects with rapid government approvals. Vaster provides loans for site acquisitions, allowing developers the time to prepare for the construction phase of their projects.

“That’s by no means the cure,” Simkins said of the act. “It’s a Band-Aid to soften the effects of the high-rise condominiums that are going to be too expensive for the hourly wage workers.”

Ressler, meanwhile, suggested that all three counties have not all seized upon the act’s advantages. “Miami-Dade has grasped it a little more aggressively,” he said.

Still, he acknowledged, “South Florida officials in general have been working to incentivize the construction of more below-market apartments.”

‘Cost-burdened’ residents

For years, Dr. Edward “Ned” Murray of Florida International University’s Jorge M. Perez Metropolitan Center has monitored and analyzed the South Florida housing market and assisted Broward County in assessing its housing needs. In an interview last week, he said he’s “concerned about the labor force, as well as in-migration and out-migration.

But equally important are the “cost burdened” — hundreds of thousands of South Floridians who are paying out large chunks of their monthly incomes to keep a roof over their heads. It means they’re spending at least 30% of their monthly incomes on housing.

“Miami-Dade is much larger population wise, and being larger they have a lot more renters and prospective homeowners priced out of the market,” Murray said.

So-called “affordability ratios” that show the percentage of earnings a resident pays for rent “are much higher than Broward and even Palm Beach. The numbers are just shocking.”

The main industries that dominate South Florida’s economy, Murray added, “don’t come close to paying what they need.”

“We’re not building for the economy,” he said. “The housing supply should represent in some fashion our economic base and it doesn’t at all.”

In the meantime, “net out-migration is increasing by the year,” he said. “Our labor force is really stressed right now.”

Public dollars

Sandra Veszi Einhorn, a long-time affordable housing advocate from Hollywood who is board chair of the Florida Housing Finance Corp. and executive director of the Coordinating Council of Broward, noted the County Commission last Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution to allocate 90% of revenue from expired Community Redevelopment Agencies for the Broward County Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

Ninety percent of the county’s share of expired CRA tax increment financing revenue would go to affordable housing, with the remaining 10% reserved for economic development.

“We’ve got buy-in from the board of county commissioners on the value of affordable housing,” she said. “I am thrilled to say [the resolution] did pass and once again the board of county commissioners made the commitment to those dollars.”

She believes the approach beats a new round of taxes or borrowing via the bond market.

“Affordable housing is the key to economic prosperity,” she said. “We continue to keep our foot on the gas pedal which is what we’ve been doing.”

Public-private partners

In the statement from the Housing Trust Group, Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy lauded the city’s collaboration with the company.

“Through our continued partnership with HTG, we are transforming a once-blighted property into modern, affordable housing for seniors — a true win for our community,” he said.

HTG is a firm devoted to the affordable end of the housing business. In Hollywood, it has also developed the 96-unit Hudson Village community and University Station, a 216-unit mixed-use community that also houses the Barry University College of Nursing and Health Services.

The Villa Jordana project brings the total number of units developed by HTG to 408 in Hollywood, 1,009 countywide, and 2,696 across South Florida, the company said.

“Big problems require big solutions — and the affordable housing crisis demands a coordinated effort from federal, state and local leaders,” said Matthew Rieger, the HTG chief executive officer and president.  “Municipalities that work closely with private developers and nonprofit partners to expand housing supply thoughtfully and strategically will see the most progress. That’s what we’ve seen in Hollywood, where we’ve been fortunate enough to work closely with city officials to create more mixed-income, transit-oriented and senior housing in the downtown area, placing residents closer to jobs and key services.”

The look ahead

Will the region ever catch up with the demand for affordable housing?

Murray of FIU credited Broward with being “a leader” in construction.

“They have funded a decent share of housing over the last seven years or so,” he said. “Palm Beach County not even near as much. And Miami-Dade, they’ve done okay but given the scope and scale of the affordable housing needed it’s just coming up short.”

Bob Swindell, president and CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, the economic development agency for Broward, said the biggest challenge is persuading residents of existing neighborhoods that affordable housing projects are positives for the community.

The task at hand: “Getting neighbors to understand these people moving in are going to be good neighbors. We have to get people to embrace it.”

“We would have to build so much to catch up,” said JC de Ona of Centennial Bank. “I don’t know that we will ever catch up unless our population growth has a shift somehow. You’d have to build a lot of projects to get there.”

Fort Lauderdale developer Dev Motwani, a member of the city’s Downtown Development Authority, managing partner of Merrimac Ventures, and creator of a philanthropic fund for education and the arts in a partnership with the Community Foundation of Broward, said the issue ultimately boils down to supply and demand. Moreover, he views housing as a regional matter given the high volume of crossings over county lines by daily commuters to their jobs.

“People working in Miami-Dade live in Broward  and vice versa,” Motwani said. “I don’t view it as one county versus the other.”

“In the end housing continues to be a supply and demand issue,” he said. “The more density we provide, the more supply we provide, the more costs are going to be controlled. That’s just simple economics.”

This article was updated to clarify the names of the groups behind the Hollywood Villa Jordana project; they are the Miami-based Housing Trust Group and the nonprofit AM Affordable Housing.

The crash occurred shortly before 6 a.m. in the 900 block of North Federal Highway, according to Chai Kauffman, a spokesperson for the Hollywood Fire Rescue department. First responders took the pedestrian to the hospital as a Level 1 trauma alert, which is reserved for the most critical injuries. The driver was hospitalized as a Level 2 trauma alert, which refers to potentially life-threatening injuries but a more stable condition.

At the site of the crash, first responders surrounded a crushed SUV with caution tape. Debris littered the road.

Fire Rescue has not provided further information about the cause of the crash.

This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.

Many descendants have taken on the role of storytelling, but educators still face a challenge: How do you teach the history in a way that is engaging to students?

Two local artists turned to music.

Musician Jeff Jacob proposed the idea of a songwriting session for students — using Holocaust survivor testimonies to create an original, fully produced piece — to Ali Shrago-Spechler, a visual artist who is director of The George Gottlieb Institute at the David Posnack Jewish Community Center in Davie.

Together, they created “A Survivor’s Song” and offered it to history students from Cooper City High School and Everglades High School and their teachers through the Gottlieb Institute’s Testimony to Teach program.

“What better way to embody history than through music?” Shrago-Spechler said. “I think it’s a fantastic vehicle because it allows the kids to engage in every way. They are hearing it, writing it, singing it and, in that way, the history becomes a part of them and they become witnesses to it.”

The students sat through two initial sessions where they heard testimonies from first-, second- and third-generation Holocaust survivors. They then participated in a live songwriting session on Wednesday, Feb. 4, at the David Posnack JCC. With a small stage and mood lighting, Jacob set it up to look and feel like an MTV “Unplugged” session from back in the day.

Students took what they learned from the survivor stories to write song verses alongside first-generation survivor Ivan Gluck. The result was a fully-produced song titled “You Can Be a Candle.”

Song lyrics include poignant parts of the survivor’s experience, such as: “In the basement my life spared, tomorrow another day to fear,” and “Can’t find my slumber, with others in distress. We still held belief, cause we held each other dear.”

After the writing was complete, the students recorded parts of the song in an on-site mobile music studio, alongside local musicians and JCC staff.

“Bringing people together from all these walks of life felt really beautiful and impactful,” said Jacob, who has spent the past decade focused on purpose-driven music. “When it was done, I had such a rush of joy feeling like most people in this room were hopefully going to walk away with a memory that maybe they retain a little bit better and speak out when [they] see something like this happening in the future.”

How it started

Through Testimony to Teach, Shrago-Spechler uses different art forms to explain the story of the Holocaust to students.

The program began two years ago with Broward County students creating a short film based on Holocaust testimonies. Shrago-Spechler felt the students weren’t as immersed in the process as she would have liked.

“I just find when you’re dealing with hard histories, it can be really difficult to make a lasting impact on the kids,” she said. “ When you’re dealing with intense ideas and sad ideas, a lot of the time your brain kind of blocks the trauma off to protect you so the kids don’t end up engaging as much.”

And with visual art, she added, kids can be critical of themselves if they feel they aren’t artistic. Songwriting, however, was a perfect fit for the program.

“With music, anyone can write a song or write a verse or do rhythm, so we felt like it was a great way to bring this history to the kids,” she added.

A lasting impression

Before involving the students, Jacob, who is also the executive director of Temple Beth El of Hollywood, created the chorus, which he used as the jumping-off point for the live songwriting session.

He sang lead vocals alongside a band of six others, including Timothy LaRoque from the nonprofit Guitars over Guns, and Don Hicks, who plays the fiddle and is part of the Jewgrass Revival band at Temple Beth El.

In addition to the song, Jacob also plans to create accompanying videos. One will be a 3.5-minute music video with imagery from the live songwriting session, the other will be a longer mini music documentary that will include interviews and more insight into the program. The song and music video are expected to be released on all major streaming platforms for Yom HaShoah in April.

Jacob and Shrago-Spechler hope the song, and similar initiatives, will help connect students to the history of the Holocaust in a more profound way.

“After [the songwriting session], I was buzzing,” said Shrago-Spechler. “This is why I do this work — when you can see the impact it has on the kids and how they are going to talk to friends and how they stand up to hate.”

And the efforts continue. Shrago-Spechler has more programs in the works to bring Holocaust education to Broward County schools, including a May 7 event with culinary historian Michael Twitty, who wrote the book, “Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew.”

“It feels empowering to make some kind of impact in Broward County,” she said. “We can’t fight antisemitism all over the world, but if we can make a difference in our county, that’s really important.”

This will be the 40th annual edition of the festival, and change is a theme: Along with its new home in February, FLIFF will be a leaner affair, with a nip here and a tuck there, some changes having been long discussed, other moves coming in response to cuts in state and federal support.

This also will be the first festival in more than 30 years not curated with help from former FLIFF president and CEO Gregory Von Hausch, who left shortly before the 2024 festival to take a job in Hawaii. The 2025 festival was postponed until this year.

FLIFF 40 will show more than 50 features and documentaries at venues across Broward County, with most high-profile screenings taking place at Savor Cinema in downtown Fort Lauderdale. For those keeping score, the 50+ films represent less than half of the lineup at FLIFF last time out.

But FLIFF managing director Hal Axler says the number is misleading: Many of the short films that would typically plump up the festival were redirected to FLIFF’s new Savoir-faire Shorts Film Festival, which showed more than 100 titles across four days in November.

There will be no repeat of 2024’s celebrity-packed, opening-night gala at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood — in its place this year will be a red-carpet block party at Savor Cinema for a Feb. 21 showing of “Miami Nights,” with stars Terrence Howard, Danay Garcia and other cast members on hand.

The historic romance of Savor Cinema — in a building more than 75 years old that once housed the First Methodist Church of Fort Lauderdale — is more consistent with the intimate art-house atmosphere of FLIFF, Axler says.

“Everyone loves Savor,” he says.

The nonprofit festival has long been a showcase for global filmmakers and art-house titles. It was among the first U.S. venues to screen “The Artist,” a French-Belgian silent film that went on to win the Best Picture Oscar in 2012. But FLIFF 40 seems intent on being accessible to a wider audience.

Among the unique events will be a free screening on Monday, Feb. 23, of “Mr. Goalie,” a documentary about the late NHL Hall Of Fame goaltender Glenn Hall, on the ice at the Florida Panthers’ Baptist Health IcePlex. A screening of the documentary “I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not” will include a “Caddyshack”-themed party with Chase in attendance.

The lineup also includes a wacky comedy about wrestling fans starring Paula Abdul and a comic showdown between Paul Reiser and Colm Meaney set in Ireland, as well as compelling documentaries about heroes of the Holocaust and the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

“There’s a really strong variety, everything from some very serious documentaries and topical feature films, but also a lot of really good, just fun comedy films as well. I think the variety is maybe broader than it’s been,” says Axler, who curated the festival with longtime FLIFF film programmer Rob Davis.

The move of FLIFF from its traditional November window to February is also an attempt to be more convenient for filmgoers, Axler says. The change, which he says had been under consideration for several years, removes the festival from the distraction of elections, hurricane-related travel issues and the shadow of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.

“We’re certainly thrilled so far with the way ticket sales are going,” Axler says. Indeed, by the time you read this, films scheduled with appearances by Chase, Reiser and Harvey are likely to be sold out. Additional screenings for some films are being added.

Here are things to know before you go to FLIFF 40, including a list of standout films and events to see.

Tickets

Prices vary by film, with general-admission tickets for typical screenings ranging from $6 to $13. Films with receptions and other special features may carry an extra charge. Memberships, which come with discounted tickets to films and other events, start at $100. For more information on tickets, visit FLIFF.com or call the Savor Cinema box office at 954-525-3456.

Venues

Savor Cinema: 503 SE Sixth St., Fort Lauderdale
Cinema Paradiso: 2008 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood
Paragon Theaters Ridge: 9200 W. State Road 84, Davie
Paragon Theaters Deerfield Beach:  3984 W. Hillsboro Blvd., Deerfield Beach
African American Research Library and Cultural Center: 2650 Sistrunk Blvd., Fort Lauderdale
Alvin Sherman Library, Nova Southeastern University: 3100 Ray Ferrero Jr. Blvd., Davie
Flamingo Gardens: 3750 S. Flamingo Road, Davie
Baptist Health IcePlex: 800 NE Eighth St., Fort Lauderdale
AutoNation IMAX Theater at Museum of Discovery & Science: 401 SW Second St., Fort Lauderdale

Highlights

Among myriad films and events on the schedule at FLIFF 40, here are a baker’s dozen worth noting, in chronological order. Unless otherwise noted, all of these screenings are at Savor Cinema in Fort Lauderdale. Many of these films and others will have multiple screenings throughout the festival. A complete schedule can be found at FLIFF.com.

“Inside the Oasis”: Friday, Feb. 20, at 7:30 p.m. World premiere of a 47-minute documentary subtitled “The Story of South Florida’s Gay Mecca,” which traces more than 60 years of history in Wilton Manors and Broward County as an LGBTQ+ “oasis.” Actor Sharon Gless narrates, describing the film as “a tribute and warning of what was, what is and what could be again.” Among the locals appearing in the film are U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, State Sen. Shevrin Jones and Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis. Director Andy Perrott is scheduled to attend. Tickets: $8.

“Miami Nights”: Saturday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m. FLIFF’s formal opening-night feature is a crime thriller, shot on location in Miami, about two dishonorably discharged war heroes whose attempt to rebuild their lives draws them into a plot to steal a diamond. It stars Terrence Howard (Oscar nominated in “Hustle & Flow”), Jeremy Sumpter, Thomas Jane, Jeremy Piven and Danay Garcia, with an original score by Serj Tankian, Grammy-winning frontman of System of a Down. This world-premiere screening will be preceded at 6 p.m. by red-carpet arrivals at Savor Cinema, with a post-film block party and a Q&A session with Howard, Sumpter, Garcia and cast members Sydelle Noel and Manu Bennett. Tickets: $50.

“Raging Midlife”: Saturday, Feb. 21, at 7:30 p.m., Paragon Deerfield Beach. A screwball comedy about two midlifers on a quest to recover “the greatest trophy in entertainment sports history” — a tank top from their favorite old-school wrestler, Raging Abraham Lincoln. If that were not enough, its stars include Paula Abdul, Eddie Griffin and Walter Koenig, the original Chekov of “Star Trek” fame. Says Axler: “It’s just a really, really funny comedy about, you know, these two 40-year-olds who are obsessing over a wrestler from the 1980s and trying to meet him. That’s what I mean when I talk about variety. It’s the least likely film you’d be expecting to play at a film festival.” Director Rob Taylor and co-writer Nic Costa are expected to be on hand for the screening and a Q&A session, joined by cast members Bryna Smith and Matt Zak. Tickets: $6.

“My Underground Mother”: Sunday, Feb. 22, at noon. An extraordinary documentary from journalist Marisa Fox, who discovered that her late mother, a New York doctor’s wife who always claimed she fled Poland in time to avoid the Holocaust, had kept a secret until the end. In researching a story that spans the globe, Fox uncovers her mother’s true experience from Nazi slave to freedom fighter, from refugee to spy and saboteur. Says Axler: “She finds out … that her mother kind of had a heroic role during the Holocaust. You know, one of those things you don’t find out until after the fact, as we do with our parents, it seems. … I love anything about history and I love the storytelling in that one.” Fox is scheduled to take part in a post-screening Q&A session. Tickets: $13.

“Land of the Mustaches”: Sunday, Feb. 22, at 2 p.m. This compelling autobiographical documentary by actor and writer Rutanya Alda (“The Deer Hunter,” “Mommie Dearest”) recounts her experience as a child growing up in refugee camps with her mother and grandmother after World War II, starving and stateless, and how she triumphed over this dark history. The screening and 1:30 p.m. reception will include a special guest appearance by Alda. Tickets: $6.

“Mr. Goalie”: Sunday, Feb. 22, 4 p.m. at Savor Cinema; Monday, Feb. 23, 7 p.m. at Baptist Health IcePlex. Documentary by Florida Atlantic University graduate Ryan McInerney on the life and career of NHL Hall of Famer Glenn Hall, who played goaltender without wearing a mask. Hall died in January at age 94. The film will make its U.S. debut on Feb. 22 with McInerney joined by NHL legends Scotty Bowman and Gerry Cheevers, among others. On Feb. 23, the Florida Panthers will host a free 7 p.m. screening at the IcePlex with numerous NHL players expected to attend the film and after-party. They include legendary goaltenders Martin Brodeur, Grant Fuhr, Darren Pang and Mike Vernon, as well as NHL Hall of Famer Mark Recchi and former Panthers general manager Dale Tallon. Tickets for the Feb. 22 screening cost $20; the Feb. 23 screening is free.

“Uvalde Mom”: Sunday, Feb. 22, at 5 p.m., Paragon Theaters Deerfield Beach. A profile of Angeli Gomez, a mother who captured national attention when, in the face of police inaction, she rushed into an elementary school to save her two sons from a mass shooting that left 21 dead in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022. Gomez is expected to attend the screening in its Florida premiere with filmmaker Anayansi Prado, who also wrote and produced the film. Tickets: $13.

“California Scenario”: Sunday, Feb. 22, at 6:30 p.m. A story of intergenerational trauma and healing told through the eyes of a Japanese American father whose forebears were incarcerated during World War II and a Jewish-American mother descended from Holocaust survivors. A pre-show reception at 5:30 p.m. will include cast members Will Yun Lee (“The Good Doctor”), Jon Huertas (“This Is Us”), Brooklynn Prince (“The Florida Project”) and Abby Miller (“Home Before Dark”), along with director James Takata. Tickets: $13.

“The Problem With People”: Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 7:30 p.m. A culture-clash comedy set in a small town in Ireland about cousins previously unknown to each other — one from America (Paul Reiser) and one from Ireland (Colm Meaney) — and a simmering family dispute that they seem committed to making worse. Reiser (“Diner,” “Mad About You,” “Stranger Things”) is scheduled to be on hand for an Irish-themed party at 6:30 p.m. and a post-film discussion led by writer-comedian Wil Shriner. Tickets: $40.

“Hello Beautiful”: Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 7:30 p.m. Based on model and breast cancer survivor Christine Handy’s novel “Walk Beside Me,” the film follows a model, Willow (Tricia Helfer of “Battlestar Galactica”), on her journey after a breast cancer diagnosis. The cast also includes Tarek Bishara (“Law & Order SVU”) and Susan Shalhoub Larkin (“Stranger Things,” “Sleepy Hollow”). The evening will include a 6:30 p.m. reception and book signing with Handy and director Ziad H. Hamzeh. Tickets: $20.

“I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not”: Thursday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. This deeply human documentary about flawed and enigmatic film and “Saturday Night Live” icon Chevy Chase, from CNN Films, is one of the must-see films of FLIFF 40. The evening will include a “Caddyshack”-themed, red-carpet arrival at 6 p.m. and a post-film Q&A session with Chase, recipient of the 2026 FLIFF Lifetime Achievement Award, and intrepid filmmaker Marina Zenovich. Tickets: $40.

“Wingman”: Friday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m. This comedy, directed by actor-comedian Harland Williams, follows a stuck-in-the-’80s wingman-for-hire struggling to find hook-ups for his clients. Comedians Jamie Kennedy and Russell Peters co-star. The screening will include a 6:30 p.m. reception and post-film Q&A session with Kennedy, as well as co-writer Justin Levine. Tickets: $15.

“Guy Harvey: The Documentary”: Saturday, Feb. 28, at 6:30 p.m., Museum of Discovery & Science, Fort Lauderdale. This dazzling documentary follows Guy Harvey from his boyhood in Jamaica, fishing and creating sketches of the majestic blue marlin, through his training as a marine biologist and evolution into a famous wildlife artist and prominent advocate for ocean conservation at the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center at Nova Southeastern University. The world-premiere screening on the IMAX screen at MODS includes red-carpet arrivals at 5:30 p.m., cocktails and a Q&A after-party with Harvey and director Nick Nanton. Tickets: $50 (sold out); tickets for a second screening at 2 p.m. March 1 cost $13.

Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on IG: @BenCrandell.