News

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today an agreement with a North Miami Beach condominium association settling allegations its board president harassed and made discriminatory remarks about Black and Hispanic residents and attempted to evict them.

The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension in Lake County is offering its popular two-hour long course “Chicken University” on Thursday, June 11 from 6 – 8 p.m. at the Lake County Agricultural Center, located at 1951 Woodlea Road in Tavares. Topics to be covered include poultry anatomy and biology, housing, egg production, predator protection and egg handling.

South America’s largest nation continues to be the top foreign country searching for South Florida real estate on the MIAMI Association of REALTORS® (MIAMI) website, according to new statistics from the nation’s largest local Realtor group. For the 11th consecutive month, Brazil led all global consumers using MIAMI’s search portal, Miamire.com, in April 2015.

The Florida Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Fraud (DIF) today announced the arrest of Juan C. Garcia, owner of Construction Forever LLC, for his involvement in a workers’ compensation insurance fraud scheme. The investigation conducted by DIF revealed that Garcia provided false and misleading information on his application for workers’ compensation insurance with the intent to lower premium costs

The MIAMI Association of REALTORS® (MIAMI), the nation’s largest local Realtor association with 35,000 members, promoted South Florida real estate to Asian luxury buyers at China’s leading property showcase last month. MIAMI participated in the ninth annual Luxury Property Show Beijing show from April 24-26 at the prestigious Legendale Hotel Beijing

Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24) announced today that the City of Opa-Locka will receive revitalization grants totaling $400,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Opa-Locka is one of nine communities in Florida to receive a portion of more than $3.9 million in Brownfield grants. This investment will provide communities with funding necessary to assess, clean, and redevelop contaminated sites, which will boost local economies and leverage jobs while protecting public health and the environment

Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were granted a final judgment against the Hoffman Law Group and corporate affiliates accused of using deceptive marketing practices and scamming distressed homeowners into paying illegal advance fees. Working together, five companies conned consumers into paying millions of dollars in illegal upfront fees to join frivolous lawsuits that the companies falsely claimed would pressure banks to modify their loans or provide foreclosure relief.

The westbound curb-side lane of West Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard is closed between North Rome and North Albany Avenues while the Tampa Water Department repairs a distribution pipe. One westbound lane and all eastbound lanes remain open for traffic. Barricades and signs will be located in the area to assist with traffic flow

The Florida Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Fraud today arrested Giselle Avila, vice president of The Valenti Group Insurance, Inc. in Miami, for insurance fraud after she knowingly misled a consumer in order to obtain a higher commission payout. Investigators also determined that Avila prepared and issued a fictitious notice of reinstatement for the consumer’s homeowner insurance policy in an attempt to conceal that it had been canceled.

This year's Broward County Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, conducted over a three-day period on January 26-28, 2015 shows that the total number of sheltered and unsheltered persons experiencing homelessness in Broward County has decreased by 5.1%, from 2,766 to 2,624. The number of unsheltered persons also decreased by 5.7% from 879 to 829. Both figures are comparisons to the same count done in January 2014

The MIAMI Association of REALTORS® (MIAMI), the nation’s largest local Realtor association with 35,000 members, is pleased to announce its latest staff addition, Ana Maria Rodriguez as Vice President of Government Affairs

Miami’s single-family home market registered its most robust sales month since December, and median sales prices for all housing types rose in April, according to a new report by the 35,000-member MIAMI Association of REALTORS® (MIAMI) and the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system.

“Insisting that the Castros pay back Americans for property they stole should be non-negotiable in any talks to normalize relations with Cuba,” Rooney said. “It’s bad enough that, if the President gets his way, American trade and travel dollars will be used to prop up the Castro regime and repress the Cuban people. The least we can do is make sure those profits aren’t earned on property stolen from American citizens and businesses and never settled.

CFO and State Fire Marshal Jeff Atwater, alongside Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, today announced 30 more arrests made during the second wave of a collaborative state and local operation known as “Operation Flames and Floods.” The investigation exposed an extensive scheme in which a Miami public adjuster named Jorge Espinosa recruited homeowners to stage fire and water damage claims in residential homes in order to defraud multiple insurance companies.

At the request of Congresswoman Lois Frankel (FL-22), the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee unanimously passed a resolution requiring the General Services Administration (GSA) to investigate the feasibility of constructing a new federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale and report back within the next four months

Today, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson and Congressman Alcee Hastings (D-FL), founding co-chairs of the Congressional Homelessness Caucus hosted a briefing titled “Successful Community Models in Housing and Homeless Shelters.”

Just miles from where NASA launches rockets to explore the final frontier, wind power developers, manufacturers, workers, executives and more from around the world gather today for a four-day exploration into what’s next for wind energy in the U.S. The WINDPOWER 2015 Conference & Exhibition of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) kicks off this afternoon, following election of new leadership this morning by AWEA’s Board of Directors.

Industry Best Practices Will Help NYDFS Work with Local Officials to Curb Blight, Reduce Taxpayer Costs, and Shore up Property Values. Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Other Companies Representing Nearly 70 Percent of the NY Market to Adopt Zombie Property Best Practices

United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the return of an indictment charging David W. Griffin (44, Lutz) with one count of mail fraud, nine counts of bankruptcy fraud, two counts of making a false statement under oath during a bankruptcy proceeding, and one count of aggravated identity theft. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison for the mail fraud charge, and up to five years on each of the bankruptcy fraud and false statement charges.

U.S. Representative Tom Rooney (FL-17) issued the following statement on legislation under consideration in the House today to block an EPA proposal that would give the agency unprecedented new authority to regulate bodies of water on private property, including ditches and farm ponds