Good morning. What we’re covering in today’s Spotlight:
- Election Day: What’s on Your Ballot?
- A Neglected Nuisance on Virginia Street
- Where We’ll Be: Our Stellar Event Guide
Miami voters will choose a new mayor, two new commissioners, and vote on four proposed charter amendments this year. Election day is Tuesday Nov. 4.
By Don Finefrock

How much do you love democracy?
Enough to know what’s on the ballot before election day on Tuesday?
Miami voters will choose a new mayor, two new commissioners, and vote yes or no on four proposed charter amendments. Here’s a sample ballot.
Below is a quick guide to the four charter questions on the ballot this year. For more election coverage and candidate profiles published by the Spotlight this year, see the links at the bottom of this story.
Coconut Grove residents say a long-neglected wall on U.S. 1 is an eyesore and safety hazard, racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines as city enforcement drags on.
By Jenny Jacoby

Few would call U.S. 1 one of Miami’s prettier boulevards, but one spot along the six-lane, chronically congested highway has caught the frustration of Center Grove resident David Rosen.
At the corner of U.S. 1 and Virginia Street sits a crumbling, two-foot-high pink wall with peeling paint and a sagging chain-link fence. Overgrown with weeds and tagged with graffiti, it greets drivers with what Rosen calls an eyesore at the entrance to the neighborhood he loves.

Halloween’s barely out the door, but we’re not done dressing up—just trading cobwebs for culture. The week ahead is all rhythm and shimmer: live music under the palms, art that hums long after you’ve left the gallery, and films that haunt in the best possible way. Style and substance, that’s the Grove way. And come Tuesday 11/4, don’t forget the biggest event of all — Election Day. Mayor, referendums, a brand-new District 3 commissioner. Show up, make it count, and call it democracy with flair. Don’t ghost your ballot.
Bonus Round. Daylight savings ends early Sunday, which means one glorious thing: an extra hour. You could spend it asleep (the respectable choice), or still out somewhere — at the after-after-party that refused to quit, laughing with friends as the clock rewinds itself. Either way, time’s on your side – for once.
Recent News
The former Miami city manager and military veteran is promising to clean up City Hall and cut the budget if Miami voters choose him as their next mayor.
The high cost of housing and other basic expenses in Miami is driving a conversation about affordability in the race for mayor this year.
Despite multiple complaints to City of Miami officials — and at least one citation for violating the city’s noise ordinance — residents say repairs at a Center Grove office building…
Coconut Grove’s once-gritty waterfront is generating millions in rent for the City of Miami as an upscale entertainment zone. But a close look at the lease shows the city may…
The parents of an 11-year-old girl who nearly lost a leg while participating in a summer camp program at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club are suing the club and three…
Outdoor dining is part of the charm of Coconut Grove, but pedestrians often have to negotiate narrow stretches of sidewalk to squeeze past restaurants that lease space in the public…
The Downtown Development Authority has come under fire in recent months from downtown residents who don’t want to pay an additional tax to support the agency.
Once envisioned as the retail centerpiece along Coconut Grove’s working waterfront, a former seaplane hangar on historic Dinner Key is now a playground for the well-heeled.
Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church is celebrating 130 years of service to the community this month. The celebration concludes with a closing service on Sunday October 26 at 11 a.m. featuring…
Miami’s first Cuban-born mayor is seeking to return to the office he first held 40 years ago (and replace his son Francis as Miami’s top elected official).
Halloween’s barely out the door, but we’re not done dressing up—just trading cobwebs for culture. The week ahead is all rhythm and shimmer: live music under the palms, art that…
Editor’s Note: Robert Denardes Whittle Jr. was fatally shot on Aug. 6 at Ike’s Food Center on Douglas Road in Coconut Grove. Loretta Scippio-Whittle, the president of Macedonia Missionary Baptist…
To the Editor: For too long, the shape of Miami’s political map has determined the shape of our democracy. Lines drawn in back rooms have divided neighborhoods, weakened communities, and silenced…
Call it Cultural Whiplash. It’s officially that time of year when your social calendar looks like a ransom note. The Grove’s rolling out concerts, costumes, crafts, and carnivals faster than…
Where We’ll Be is looking downright boo-tiful this week — from pep rallies to pup parades, trivia throwdowns to haunted house showdowns. Shenandoah’s got parking debates, Silver Bluff’s got bragging…
The candidates competing to be Miami’s next mayor will face off again this week during a mayoral debate hosted by the Miami Herald and NBC 6. The forum will take…
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