A little before 7 a.m., a suspicious person was reported in the 300 block of Northeast 38th Street, the Sheriff’s Office said. When deputies arrived, they encountered Deavon Ray McGauley, a 39-year-old resident of Oakland Park, armed with a machete. At some point, he “attacked the deputies with the machete and a deputy involved shooting occurred,” said Miranda Grossman, a spokesperson for BSO.

Two deputies fired their guns, striking McGauley, Grossman said. None were injured.

Paramedics arrived and took him to Broward Health Medical Center as a Level 1 trauma alert with gunshot wounds, according to Shannon Vezina, a spokesperson for Oakland Park Fire Rescue. He was later pronounced dead.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting, Grossman said, and the deputies involved have been placed on administrative leave, as is standard for deputy-involved shootings.

Five men were charged by indictment in December: Palacio Valdes Farley, 45; Emmanuel Xavier White, 51; Andrew Francois Martin, 33;  Joassaint Josiah Aristil, Jr., 30; and Walter James Tillman, 37. A sixth man, Frederic Wayne Mordon, Jr., 44, entered a plea agreement for his role in the kidnappings in 2024 and will be sentenced in May, court records show.

The men who were charged in December are facing two counts of kidnapping resulting in death and one count of causing the death of a person in furtherance of a crime of violence and drug trafficking crime. Farley, Martin and Aristil are also charged with killing a witness, federal prosecutors announced in a news release Friday evening. Farley, who was the head of a South Florida drug-trafficking organization, is already in federal prison serving consecutive sentences on drug-trafficking related charges, totaling 34 years.

In August 2016, Farley proposed the plan to the group robbing a “narcotics stash house” in the 200 block of Lake Pointe Drive in Oakland Park that was run by a known drug trafficker, referred to only by the initials G.T., according to a court document in Mordon Jr.’s case.

Before the night of the robbery, the men rented two cars and purchased GPS tracking devices, one of which was placed on G.T.’s car, as well as clothes that read “DEA” and other supplies, federal prosecutors said. On Aug. 18, 2016, the men tracked his car to an apartment complex in Lauderhill and found him inside his car with a friend, Tiara Jeanne Register, in the passenger seat.

Farley, Mordon, and White confronted them with guns, wearing “DEA-style shirts and masks,” and claimed to be DEA agents, federal prosecutors said. Farley pulled G.T. from the car at gunpoint as Martin took over the driver’s seat. Meanwhile, White and Mordon placed Register in one of their two rental cars with Aristil and Tillman acting as lookouts.

After leaving the Lauderhill apartment complex, Register was taken to the original point meeting in Lauderhill, where Aristil held her against his will. G.T. was driven by Martin, Farley and White to the Oakland Park apartment, according to prosecutors.

Farley and White upon arriving at the complex were met with G.T.’s associate Eric Orlando McNair, who was standing at the bottom of a stairway in the complex smoking a cigarette, prosecutors said. McNair saw them and ran upstairs into the apartment, and the victim at that moment struggled with White, trying to disarm him.

Farley shot G.T. twice in his back once the struggle started, according to the factual proffer in Mordon Jr.’s case. The victim was “left for dead” as the men ran upstairs to go after McNair, but he managed to crawl away and hide in bushes, ultimately surviving.

Farley and White then went into the apartment and found McNair in a bedroom, prosecutors said, where Farley allegedly shot McNair, killing him. The men stole drugs and cash from the apartment and Martin drove away in G.T.’s car.

All six men met up at White’s home in Lauderhill after the robbery and shootings, with Aristil bringing Register along with him in one of the rental cars. Farley told Martin to take Register to a nearby street and kill her, prosecutors said. Martin and Aristil drove her to a dead-end street, where Martin allegedly shot and killed Register.

The men face mandatory life sentences on the kidnapping charges if convicted. The maximum penalty for all charges is death or life in prison.

This article was updated after publication to indicate the date when a group of men allegedly tracked a drug trafficker.

WHAT: As if a tropical menu, Polynesian show and tiki-rrific cocktails weren’t enough, now the Mai-Kai in Oakland Park has gotten spirited with the launch of its own rum.

Called Mai-Kai Old Style Special Rum Number 1, it is available for purchase at the gift shop of the iconic island-chic eatery.

Pia Dahlquist, the Mai-Kai’s director of public relations, explains how it all came to be: “We [once] used a rum called Dagger Rum that was made in Jamaica … We were the biggest buyer of Dagger and it was used in many of our signature cocktails. When [it stopped being produced], we had to scramble to find a substitute.

“Our guests noticed that our drinks had changed and didn’t taste the same and that was true since we were missing a vital ingredient,” she adds. “Hence the search for a replacement that took years to find, and Mai-Kai Rum Number 1 is as close as you can get. It is a mixing rum, but a lot of people order shots as well, as it is surprisingly smooth to be a 100 proof.”

The new rum arrives roughly a year after the kahuna hotspot — officially called Mai-Kai Restaurant and Polynesian Show — debuted a $20 million+ makeover featuring a redesigned exterior/interior, revamped stage show and renewed food/cocktail menu.

WHERE: Mai-Kai Restaurant and Polynesian Show, 3599 N. Federal Highway, Oakland Park

COST: $75 for 1-liter bottle; $400 for a case of six

INFORMATION: 954-563-3272; maikairum.com

EXTRA TIDBITS:

• According to the Mai-Kai, the rum opens with aromas of banana, black treacle and fruit over toasted oak and vanilla toffee. On the palate, there’s a taste of “musty oak and bold funky fruit blend with baking spices, dark cane syrup and vanilla custard, finishing with notes of fruit cake and brown butter. At 50 percent ABV, it offers bold flavor with a smooth, well-balanced finish.”
• Some of the components come from refurbished copper stills that revive historic Caribbean rum flavors, the Mai Kai adds. “The blend brings together robust, funky and fruity notes from the Gregg’s Farm pot still at West Indies Rum Distillery in Barbados with high ester rums from the legendary pot stills of Long Pond Distillery in Jamaica,” according to a news statement.

Seated in an intimate wine bar on a random weekday evening, Brittney Coates is talking about the area surrounding the new downtown residential building that she moved into days before.

The building, which hasn’t even formally opened, has all the sweet amenities — including a skybridge to the parking garage across the street — but appealed to her for its proximity to a variety of restaurants, bars, breweries, shops, art galleries and a yoga studio.

And the neighborhood is only getting more interesting: Coming soon will be a record shop with some secondhand celebrity glow — the owner knows Madonna very well.

But Coates’ new home is not in Brickell or Wynwood, Flagler Village or Mizner Park. She’s a “LoakL,” a resident of Oakland Park, where her 136-unit downtown building, The Sky, is the latest addition to one of South Florida’s most underappreciated night-out destinations.

Located across Dixie Highway from Funky Buddha Brewery and Jaco Pastorius Park, The Sky includes ground-floor retail and the new home of Oakland Park City Hall, and is scheduled for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 12. The old City Hall property nearby will house Horizon of Oakland Park, a 311-unit, residential-retail building, with work slated to begin in December.

Among South Florida cities that have gained a certain cachet with everyone from chic Negroni sippers to nightcrawling shot chasers, the most well-established corridors of cool run west-east, toward the water. Think Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach, Lucerne and Lake avenues in Lake Worth Beach, and Clematis Street in West Palm Beach.

Downtown Oakland Park has gone in a different direction.

Along eight blocks on either side of parallel streets Northeast 12th Avenue and Dixie Highway, from 38th Avenue to Oakland Park Boulevard, the north-south spine of the city’s central business district is lined with nearly 20 unique destinations, all within an easy stroll from each other. From sophisticated dining to celebrated burgers, four breweries and a high-end distillery, it’s an interesting and inviting collection made even more distinctive by its unpretentious, small-town vibe.

And perhaps the most notable difference maker: Parking is free. That includes the new garage adjacent to The Sky.

‘This is the best-case scenario. I’m sooo happy to be here.’ — Brittney Coates, new downtown Oakland Park resident

A software professional and yoga instructor who moved to Oakland Park from Pompano Beach, the 30-something Coates lived in downtown Fort Lauderdale’s Flagler Village when that popular neighborhood was in the early stages of development more than a dozen years ago. With the move that took her to Oakland Park, she was looking for an area that was sociable, with restaurants, “but wasn’t as busy and bustling as Las Olas can be.”

“Just being able to walk out my door, put airpods in and have the ability to have different personalities and destinations, based on how I was feeling that day,” Coates says. “It was a lot of persuading to get my husband [to move], but we made it. This is the best-case scenario. I’m sooo happy to be here.”

For many residents, the makeover of downtown Oakland Park began when craft-beer pioneers Ryan and KC Sentz opened the 18,000-square-foot Funky Buddha Brewery in 2013.

Encouraged by the Oakland Park Community Redevelopment Agency, the slow transition of nearby warehouses into a hospitality zone called the Culinary Arts District has picked up steam in the past 18 months with the opening of the restaurant Red Sea Eritrean and Ethiopian Cuisine, Satellite Pinball Lounge, Moon Pizza Pie, Tripping Animals Brewing, Voodoo Brewing Co., BMC Smash Burgers and FMS Creamery, among others.

They join places that have already earned a passionate fan base over the last few years, including Nour Thai Kitchen, Rebel Wine Bar, Black Flamingo Brews & Kitchen, The Butcher’s Barrel and Bulegreen Cafe Yard.

Neysa Herrera, Oakland Park CRA and economic development director, says the city is leaning into the affordability and authenticity of the area, while also citing its creativity and walkability. Lampposts have signs urging passersby to “Live Like a #LoakL,” and the city has T-shirts, too.

“[It] has an organic feel for people looking for a unique destination,” Herrera says. “We liken ourselves to the Brooklyn of Broward.”

One unique way to experience the scene is during the quarterly Oakland Park Art Walk, hosted by Art Fusion Galleries on Saturday, Nov. 15, when shops and galleries will throw out a welcome mat from 6 to 9 p.m.

Until then, here is a quick tour of some of the reasons to make downtown Oakland Park a stop on your next night out on the town.

Dining: ‘It’s more diverse’

With food from Eritrea and Ethiopia, next to Thai cuisine, drive-worthy pizza and “best-of” burgers, there is so much good flavor in Oakland Park’s Culinary Arts District, it’s hard to know where to begin.

Red Sea Eritrean & Ethiopian Cuisine (RedSeaRestaurantFL.com) was opened almost nine months ago by Yoseph Kidane, who was raised in Addis Ababa before coming to the United States almost 40 years ago on a tennis scholarship to Barton College in North Carolina. By day an aquatic biologist, Kidane is a partner in the restaurant with his brother and two sisters, one of whom is the chef.

The menu is a fragrant survey of staples from northeast Africa, with lamb, chicken, beef and assorted vegetables appearing in stews and other dishes traditionally eaten by hand using injera, a traditional gluten-free flatbread. An alcove off the dining room is dedicated to three sinks for washing your hands. Yes, they also have silverware for the less dexterous among us.

Your waiter will be well-versed in explaining what to expect, including the varying heat level of the berbere, a spice fired by the berbere pepper that Kidane sources from Ethiopia.

“Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine is one of the healthiest,” Kidane says. “And the flavor is completely different than people expect.”

For after dinner, Red Sea has coffees made with a Nuova Simonelli, the Lamborghini of espresso machines. In December, Kidane plans to introduce exclusive coffee from Ethiopia’s Yirgacheffe region, which he calls “the best in the world.”

Kidane opened in the slow time of year last spring, but he says this season is “looking very promising.” He’s bullish on the area, too.

“The city has done an unbelievable job, you know, creating this Culinary Arts area. And with Wilton Manors being a neighbor city, it’s more diverse. The people are more accepting, to try different kinds of food,” Kidane says. “This area is turning. I’m very optimistic.”

A few doors down, Nour Thai Kitchen (NourThai.com) is a destination unto itself, with a flurry of five-star reviews on Yelp and a peaceful patio out front. “It’s just, notably, fantastic. It definitely gives Larb Thai [in Fort Lauderdale] a run for its money,” Coates says.

Across Dixie Highway, Dwight Slamp’s Moon Pizza Pie (Instagram.com/moonpizzapie_florida) is a popular stop for pie-zans, located next to Slamp’s retro bar-game room Satellite Pinball Lounge (Instagram.com/satellitepinballlounge), which opened in 2024.

“I’m here all the time, every couple of weeks,” says Troy Gambell, of Davie. “It’s a ride over here, but it’s the best pizza in Broward, for sure. Plus, there’s pinball.”

On the opposite corner of Northeast 35th Street, revered food trucker Jason “Jay Rok” Smith opened his brick-and-mortar BMC Smash Burgers (Instagram.com/eat.bmc) in 2024, and his reputation followed. In May, the Burger Beast named BMC’s Patty Melt to his list of “The 10 Best Burgers in Broward.”

Last month, seeing a void in Oakland Park’s menu, he opened FMS Creamery (Instagram.com/fms.creamery) next door to his burger spot. Along with scoops, he has the fixings to create your own float, selling more than 10 different root beers, a bacon-chocolate soda, as well as bottles flavored with peanut butter and jelly, buffalo wings and more.

Drinking: ‘Just way more inviting’

Rebel Wine Bar (RebelWineBar.com) is the perfect antidote to South Florida glare — intimate, dark and chill, by day or night. Enclosed in evergreen walls, a few stools surround a small L-shaped bar, with four-top tables in a line leading back to a seating area arranged around a velvet mauve loveseat that, rumor has it, is the best in the house.

The vibe is friendly and conversational, the tapas are tasteful, the wine list broad and thoughtful (Spanish red recommendation: The plummy and surprisingly smooth 2022 Castillo de Monjardín Garnacha). Here, old-school R&B is the jam. Worth checking out is Rebel’s happy hour, which runs from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday (yes, Saturday), offering select wines for $6 to $10, beers for $3, and mini hummus or cheese plates for $5.

Bartender Rebecca Guido, 29, formerly of Uncommon Path Brewing in Fort Lauderdale’s Thrive Art District, says the area around Rebel Wine Bar is “definitely a hidden gem.”

“There’s a lot of different restaurants and little shops and places to get drinks, grab a good bite to eat. Everything is in nice walking distance. The area is really safe, too, and not overcrowded, in comparison to downtown Fort Lauderdale and Las Olas. And way less expensive, too,” she says. “Parking is free, and everything is just way more inviting.”

Rebel Wine Bar owner Larissa Castelluber was running a marketing company when she turned her tiny storefront into a cozy boîte four years ago, partially to get more involved in the community. Last week, Rebel provided free sandwiches for local SNAP recipients.

“This spot has given me an ability to meet people I never would have met before in my life, and to have special moments and a platform to be able to help,” Castelluber says. “Some people, all they do is complain about things and not do anything. I’m happy to be able to at least contribute a little bit.”

Castelluber acknowledges that downtown Oakland Park was a “dead zone” for a while, and says even its current energy may not last, citing the government shutdown and tariffs.

“This year has been very hard for us. Everyone is just kind of bootstrapping it. We’re all trying to work together. We all try to collaborate with each other. It is a community effort at the end of the day,” she says.

If you’re looking for another place in the area to stop for a drink, create your own brewery tour — there are, count ’em, four nearby: The cavernous Funky Buddha Brewery (FunkyBuddha.com); Tripping Animals Brewing (TrippingAnimals.com), with a sprawling beer garden and sous-vide chicken wings; more great food at Black Flamingo Brews & Kitchen (BlackFlamingoBrewing.co); and Voodoo Brewing (OaklandPark.VoodooBrewery.com), bright and welcoming, with three styles of mussels.

Also nearby is ChainBridge Distillery (ChainBridgeDistillery.com), a Hungarian mom-and-pop shop that offers housemade gin, brandy, rum and vodka. In the tasting room (closed Mondays), look out for the Florida Basil Vodka (infused with basil grown on Florida farms) and Florida Ginger Vodka.

If you’re in the mood for a dive bar (no judgment), Big Dog Station Sports Bar & Cafe (Facebook.com/BigDogStationFL) and Tenth Level Tavern (Instagram.com/tenthleveltavern), “built, owned and [run] by gamers, nerds & geeks,” keep things real.

Shopping: ‘Oh, that’s cute’

On the opposite corner from restaurant Red Sea, a tidy gray building with smart black awnings and a second-floor patio sits empty, but filled with promise. Pending final approval from the city, it is the future home of Jellybean’s Funhouse Record Store.

That would be Jellybean Benitez, the DJ and producer who was a pivotal figure in the early career of Madonna, his girlfriend at the time, after they met when he was spinning at New York nightclub Fun House. Benitez produced Madonna’s breakout hits, “Holiday” and “Lucky Star.”

Plans for the record store feature two floors of retail, including coffee, kava and juice bars.

Benitez and wife Carolyn Effer visited the area recently, dining at Red Sea, owner Yoseph Kidane says.

“He’s been here a couple of times. Great guy, great couple,” Kidane says. “Once that opens up, we hope it brings in a new kind of crowd.”

The CRA’s Herrera says that in conversations with Benitez, he remarked on how charming and clean the downtown area was.

“We are super-excited. We do believe that it will be a great addition to the vibrant downtown that the city is committed to building,” Herrera says. “It adds to the mix and the environment, the hub of culture and entertainment that we are trying to build here.”

As for shops that are currently open, it is hard to walk past the window of The Wander Shop (TheWanderShop.com) without someone saying, ‘Oh, that’s cute.” The shop specializes in women’s and kids’ fashion and lifestyle items curated by the discerning eye of owner Marisa Folz (you may remember her Airstream pop-ups back in the day). Heads-up: Folz hosts a Small Business Saturday tent event after Thanksgiving that typically turns into a mini festival. Check Instagram.com/tothewandershop for updates.

Art Fusion Galleries (ArtFusionGalleries.com) is a bold and colorful presence on the downtown strip, but also an active participant, as host of the Oakland Park Art Walk on Saturday, Nov. 15. What’s more, the gallery is holding a competition during Art Walk, with selected artists creating original pieces live on site. Details at Instagram.com/artfusiongalleriesoaklandpark.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Oakland Park Art Walk

WHEN: 6-9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15

WHERE: Northeast 12th Avenue, between Northeast 36th Street and 34th Court

COST: Free

INFORMATION: OaklandParkFL.gov/OPAW

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

Seafood purveyors from Broward and Palm Beach counties are reporting robust hauls and even stronger consumer demand, with some shortages of medium-sized claws in the opening days. So far, crabbing vessels on the Gulf Coast and Florida Keys have pulled traps under clear skies and mild weather, unlike the turbulent storms that affected the start of the 2024 season.

For Peter Jarvis, owner of high-end wholesaler Triar Seafood in Hollywood, cautious optimism over his potential crab haul turned into relief when more than half of his 700-pound order arrived about 10 a.m. Thursday. His new prices: $35 per pound for medium, $45 for large, $55 for jumbo and $79 for colossal — the same price customers paid at the tail end of last season.

“There weren’t as many mediums as everyone expected in the traps, but over all, it’s been pretty good,” said Jarvis, whose Day 1 haul is being shipped out to 700 restaurant clients around the country that had pre-ordered. “Pretty much everything that was caught is already spoken for.”

During the 2025-26 season, which began Wednesday and continues through May 1, most of Florida’s stone crabs will be caught in muddy waters off the Gulf Coast, Florida Keys and Florida’s Big Bend, with some fisheries laying traps near Miami and the Bahamas. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission abridged its season by two weeks back in 2020 (ending May 1 instead of May 15) to curb overfishing and give crabs more time to regenerate their claws.

Florida law allows harvesting both claws of a crab if they meet the FWC’s minimum-size requirement of 2 7/8 inches. However, taking just one is better for sustainability, said Dave MacLennan, co-owner of Even Keel Fish Shack in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.

At his restaurant, the claws come pre-cracked and served with housemade mustard sauce, dill aioli and lemon.

MacLennan, who’s also grappling with a shortage of medium-sized claws, said he’s asked servers to recommend the large-sized claws all weekend. He is charging $9 per medium claw and $15 per large and has no jumbo or colossal in stock yet.

But he has a tip for savvy buyers: With stone crabs claws, bigger isn’t always better.

“The jumbo-sized claws are not as tender as the mediums and larges, and they can be tougher and stringy,” MacLennan said. “But the larges have more crab meat than mediums and taste sweeter.”

Chef André Bienvenu, who left his job at Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami Beach after 26 years to open Catch & Cut in Fort Lauderdale earlier this year, said he received 100 pounds on Thursday but “almost no mediums.”

His theory: “Typically, this means the claws have had more time to regenerate, so you’ll find bigger sizes closer to shore,” said Bienvenu, who’s charging $62 for four large claws and $89 for two jumbos. “We had a feeling the catch would be abundant because our suppliers said the crabs were crawling into the lobster traps, too.”

Compared with restaurants, stone crab prices are cheaper at seafood markets, which sell the crustacean delicacy uncracked and packed on ice. That’s the case at Captain Clay & Sons Seafood Market in Delray Beach, which is charging $31.99 a pound for medium, $39.99 for large, $56.99 for jumbo and $64.99 for colossal.

Pent-up demand always stirs up a frenzy of sales in the first two weeks of stone crab season, but prices often drop by early November, market co-owner Clay Brand said.

“Prices are a bit more expensive than I like them to be by a few dollars, but they should come down in a couple of weeks,” said Brand, who received all 300 pounds he ordered from fisheries in the Keys and West Coast.

So where can the biggest per-pound bargains be found? Call ahead to confirm pricing, but Pop’s Fish Market in Deerfield Beach said they’re charging $29.99 for medium, $45.99 for large, $59.99 for jumbo and $65.99 for colossal.

Not far behind is Delaware Chicken Farm & Seafood Market in Hollywood, with $32.99 for medium, $42.99 for large, $64.99 for jumbo and $67.99 for colossal.

Hunting for all-you-can-eat dinners? Billy’s Stone Crab in Hollywood is selling one for all sizes starting at $140 per person. Meanwhile, Catfish Deweys in Oakland Park has an all-you-can-eat offer of $109 per person.

“It’s looking good so far,” owner Dewey Culbreth said. “The amount of interest so far today tells me I’ll probably sell out an hour before closing time.”

A total of 3 to 4 inches of rain fell across parts of Broward County and northeast Miami-Dade County on Friday, mostly between noon and 3 p.m., said NWS Miami Meteorologist George Rizzuto. Areas from Pompano Beach south to Hallandale Beach were under a flood advisory for much of the afternoon.

Near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the NWS Miami recorded just over 2 inches of rain on Friday as of 4 p.m., close to a record total of 2.34 inches set in 1968.

Numerous roads in Wilton Manors were submerged and closed for hours, the police department said in a post on X. Commercial Boulevard in Oakland Park, as well as Federal Highway and Northeast 56th Street in Pompano Beach, also experienced some flooding, up to 8 inches, according to NWS Miami local storm reports.

In Davie, the fire department’s Technical Rescue Team freed a horse that became stuck in the mud. There were no other significant calls for service related to flooding, said Jessica Montes, a spokesperson for Davie Fire Rescue Department.

“The horse wasn’t stuck very deep in the mud — she had fallen onto her side and the ground was too slippery for her to get back up on her own,” Montes said. “She had also worn herself out trying, which is why our crews responded to assist.”

Fort Lauderdale officials said crews were out monitoring the areas that saw some flooding and made sure drains were clear. Fire rescue crews did not receive any major calls for service related to the weather, according to Frank Guzman, a spokesperson for Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue.

Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Batallion Chief Michael Kane said there were many weather-related calls for assistance Friday afternoon but none involved rescue or a major medical emergency.

FLOOD ADVISORY: The below roadways are underwater. Please seek alternative routes.

NE 26 St & Andrews Av
700 – 900 NW 26 St
800 – 900 NW 29 St
2700 – 2900 NW 7 Av
2600 – 2700 NW 3 Av
NW 29 St & Andrews Av
NE 26 St & 15 Av
2600 – 2800 NE 16 Av
2700 – 2800 NE 16 Ter pic.twitter.com/YaQGyU52iI

— Wilton Manors Police Department (@wiltonmanorspd) October 10, 2025

South Florida is expected to see a cold front in the region starting Saturday. Friday’s storms were “right ahead of the front,” Rizzuto said.

Rain chances will decrease for the weekend and early next week, according to NWS Miami, though Rizzuto said there’s still some chance for showers early Saturday morning.

Temperatures are forecast to drop to the low 70s Saturday and Sunday night and into next week.

The Jolly supporters include four county commissioners, two school board members, five state legislators, two mayors and four city commissioners and a long list of former elected officials and Democratic Party leaders.

“This coalition sends a clear message: David Jolly is the candidate who can energize Democrats, appeal to independents and common sense Republicans, and deliver real solutions to Florida’s affordability crisis,” Broward Mayor Beam Furr said in a written statement.

Broward, the second most populous county in the state, has lost some of its political swagger in recent years as Florida has become more Republican and the Democrats have had difficulties mobilizing their registered voters to show up at the polls.

Still, Broward is a home to an enormous number of Democrats who could determine the outcome of the August 2026 primary for governor. Any Democratic candidate for statewide office faces a tough climb next year — since 2002, Republicans have won 32 statewide elections and Democrats have won six.

A Democratic nominee has no hope of winning a statewide general election without running up a large advantage in Broward to help overcome more Republican parts of the state. “Winning statewide in Florida requires winning big in Broward,” Furr said.

Jolly agreed. “Broward County is vital for any Democratic path to victory in Florida,” he said in a statement..

The endorsements from the Democrats, who collectively have won dozens of elections, provide validation for Jolly, who once was a Republican member of Congress from Tampa Bay. In December 2015, while he was still in Congress, Jolly called on Trump to drop out of the presidential race. Jolly lost his bid for reelection in 2016.

In 2018 he left the Republican Party. After years as a no party affiliation/independent voter, he became a registered Democrat in April.

Endorsers include County Commissioners Furr, Nan Rich, Lamar Fisher and Steve Geller; School Board members Maura Bulman and Nora Rupert; state Sen. Tina Polsky; state Reps. Dan Daley, Mitch Rosenwald, Michael Gottlieb, and Robin Bartleman; Mayors Dean Trantalis of Fort Lauderdale and Angelo Castillo of Pembroke Pines; and Commissioners Steve Glassman and Ben Sorensen of Fort Lauderdale and Caryl Shuham and Idelma Quintana of Hollywood.

Another 20 former elected officials also endorsed Jolly, as did former Broward Democratic Party Chairs Mitch Ceasar and Cynthia Busch.

Jolly’s campaign chair is Mitchell Berger, a Fort Lauderdale lawyer and prominent Democrat.

“I’m grateful to have the support of so many leaders who have dedicated their lives to public service. Together, we’re building the coalition needed to solve the affordability and insurance crisis, defend our public schools, and restore common sense in state government,” Jolly said.

Jolly’s endorsers don’t include top elected Black Broward Democrats. The political world is waiting to see whether Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings enters the primary.

Demings became his county’s first Black mayor in 2018, after serving as its first Black sheriff and Orlando’s first Black police chief. Unlike Broward and Palm Beach counties, where county commissioners elect one of their own to serve a term as county mayor, the Orange County mayor is elected by voters.

Political writer Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Mastodon.

Ruben Whitworth’s case was transferred to adult court, and he was taken to the Broward Sheriff’s Office’s Paul Rein Detention Facility on Friday. His arraignment was held Tuesday morning, court records show. He is facing one count of second-degree murder with a deadly weapon.

Deputies were called on Aug. 25 to the group home in the 5400 block of Northeast Third Avenue in Oakland Park after Whitworth allegedly stabbed Jordan Dowdy, 14, at least five times, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Jordan had no less than seven visible stab wounds on his body, including his chest. He was pronounced dead at Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale less than an hour after deputies arrived at the home, according to the affidavit.

After Whitworth was detained, he told detectives that he had been arguing that afternoon with Jordan about chores and that they had fought before and did not get along, the affidavit said.

Whitworth was sitting in the living room while he continued yelling at Jordan, who had gone into his room. He then got up from the couch, pushed past someone and walked into Jordan’s room with the knife and went straight for Jordan, witnesses told deputies, according to the affidavit.

Whitworth said at first that he stabbed Jordan because the boy “charged” at him multiple times during their fight and he was in fear of being beaten, but he later said he wasn’t acting in self defense.

Whitworth admitted he got the knife about a week earlier, after a previous argument with Jordan, according to the affidavit. Hidden in his waistband, he took it out, entered Jordan’s room and stabbed him multiple times, he told deputies.

Jordan Dowdy, 14, and the 16-year-old, who is a sophomore at Northeast High School, were arguing at the group home about chores on Monday afternoon. Trying to de-escalate their argument, Jordan was asked to go to his room, and the older boy continued yelling at him from the living room, the affidavit said.

The teen then pushed past multiple people to walk into Jordan’s room with a knife and ran straight toward him, the affidavit said. When Broward Sheriff’s deputies arrived about 5 p.m. at the home near the 5400 block of Northeast Third Avenue, they found Jordan with at least seven stab wounds, including in his chest.

An adult at the group home tried to keep Jordan conscious while he answered questions from a 911 dispatcher, a call released Thursday shows.

“Can you send me law enforcement and send me paramedics? Please!” the man asked.

He could be heard repeatedly telling Jordan to “talk to me” and moments later told the dispatcher they were at a foster home.

The dispatcher asked where the knife was.

“I don’t see the knife right now. I had to break it up, and I had to get involved with this situation,” he said.

Moments later, the man could be heard telling Jordan, “You with me? Speak to me.”

Jordan was pronounced dead at Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale shortly before 6 p.m., the affidavit said.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel is not identifying the teen who was arrested because he is a minor, and his case does not appear in adult court records as of Thursday. He was arrested Monday and taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center.

The name of the group home was not available. The exact address is redacted in the affidavit, and the Sheriff’s Office in a news release earlier this week did not provide the home’s name.

After the arrest, the boy’s reaction was “unphased,” according to the affidavit, and deputies were unable to contact his mother.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office received a call reporting a stabbing shortly after 5 p.m. near the 5400 block of Northeast Third Avenue. When deputies and fire rescue arrived, they found Jordan Dowdy, 14, of Oakland Park, with stab wounds, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Tuesday.

Jordan was pronounced dead at a hospital. He and the 16-year-old had been in an argument and physical fight before the stabbing, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The teen, whose name was not released, was arrested later on Monday and taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center. Additional information has not been released.