Politics

Have you ever tried to cross US-1 on foot? Both in South and North Miami, all the way through Broward and even in parts of the Florida Keys it’s a harrowing experience. People are driving fast and not expecting pedestrians. It has the feel of an action movie to it and one you’re definitely not starring in.

There are other roads that have this same feel in South Florida. Brickell, Calle Ocho and the Macarthur Causeway are streets you take to get from point A to point B and pray you avoid running into a $200,000 luxury car or uninsured $500 car.

The city of North Miami holds key mayoral elections this month.

But the new mayor will have the difficult job of reuniting a city divided between east and west. 

Editor's Note: Be sure to check out an interactive bill tracker of this year's session from the Miami Herald.

It's curtains for Session 2013 in Tallahassee but a feeling persists that not much was accomplished during the last two months.

Dolphins Stadium

Here in South Florida, the clock ran out on the Miami Dolphins' 2-minute drill for state help on renovations to Sun Life Stadium.

Lawmakers have gone home. The following is a partial list of bills that were passed or failed to pass during the 2013 Florida Legislative session. (Please note: This is NOT a comprehensive list.)

Editor's Note: Be sure to check out an interactive bill tracker of this year's session from the Miami Herald.

 THE AMERICAS AND MIAMI

From world famous beaches to international trade flows, South Florida has become one of the world's most vibrant and diverse economies.

Through a series of one-hour radio programs, special correspondent Tom Hudson will host a weekly series on Mondays in May and June exploring The Sunshine Economy, a fresh take on the key industries driving growth across South Florida.

Guests:

Speaker Will Weatherford introduced a new member of the Florida House this week.

“Members, we have an auto-reader. We had it in the closet just in case we ever had to actually read the bills,” Weatherford said amid laughs from the chamber. “It may be a little bit faster than normal.”

Weatherford's communications director announced on Twitter that the auto-reader's name is Mary.

Within an hour of her debut, Mary had her own Twitter handle - @HouseAutoReader. Some of her tweets include “I'm so bored” and “Anybody have a cure for the hiccups?”

With just a few days left of the legislative session, we're working to get as many answers as possible to questions posed during our last WLRN-Miami Herald Town Hall meeting in February.

This question comes from Steve Moyer of Cooper City:

"I have a disabled child that attends public school and feel the education provided to most ESE (Exceptional Student Education) students in Broward County as well as other districts is inadequate.

I will never forget that awful December day. My daughter left to school and I turned on the TV. I stumbled upon something that read “School Shooting.” All I could think was that my little princess was at her school and that this could happen anywhere. As it was getting time to pick her up, I rushed a little more and could not wait to hear her voice and see her smile. As soon as I saw her, I felt an immense sense of relief and peace. Tears kept on coming down my face.

Update 10:07 p.m. EST: The Florida Senate approved the Dolphins bill, 36-4. Now the House will get its turn to pass its own version.

Believe it or not, early voting began Monday in Miami-Dade County in a referendum that may NOT be needed by the end of the week.