The top local news stories of 2019,
Here are the top news stories for 2019: Trump tourism at Mar-a-Lago, fallout from the Parkland tragedy, Florida Man and Animals, the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking case.
What news story captured your attention in 2019?
Was it the inmate who took a secret prison video? Or perhaps the latest in the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking case? Maybe it was the tragic fallout from the Parkland tragedy?
Or maybe you fell for lighter Florida fare, like the “crazy squirrel” who went nuts after being raised by a neighbor. Or the messy case of Dr. Pimple Popper.
We have no shortage of Florida stories. Some are serious. Others make you roll your eyes and say, “That’s so Florida.”
Then there are the stories that may not have made the mostpopular list, but still had a profound impact on readers and reporters.
Before we move on to 2020, here is a look back at the top stories of 2019.
MOST POPULAR STORIES IN 2019
1. SECOND PARKLAND SHOOTING SURVIVOR KILLS HIMSELF, POLICE CONFIRM
Monique O. Madan writes:
After a second Parkland shooting survivor died by suicide in a week’s span, Florida’s emergency chief is calling for the state Legislature to dispatch more mental health resources for the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School community.
2. GEORGE ZIMMERMAN SUES FAMILY OF TRAYVON MARTIN, PUBLISHER, PROSECUTORS FOR $100 MILLION
Douglas Hanks writes:
George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer acquitted of homicide charges in the 2012 fatal shooting of unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, is suing Martin’s family, prosecutors and others involved in the case he claims rested on false evidence, according to a copy of the suit sent to the media.
3. HOW A FUTURE TRUMP CABINET MEMBER GAVE A SERIAL SEX ABUSER THE DEAL OF A LIFETIME
Julie K. Brown writes: A decade before #MeToo, a multimillionaire sex offender from Florida got the ultimate break.
4. SOMEONE ATE THE $120,000 BANANA AT ART BASEL. SOME QUICK THINKING SAVED THE DAY
Howard Cohen and freelancer Siobhan Morrissey
write: Someone ate a really expensive snack at Art Basel Saturday afternoon — to the tune of $120,000. For one banana.
5. BOOTLEG FILM SHOWS FLORIDA PRISON IN ALL ITS DANGER, SQUALOR. AN INMATE SHOT IT ON THE SLY
Romy Ellenbogen writes:
Scott Whitney, inmate No. U21924, filmed a documentary on the Florida prison system and nobody knew. At least the guards didn’t.
6. TRUMP CHEERED PATRIOTS TO SUPER BOWL VICTORY WITH FOUNDER OF SPA WHERE KRAFT WAS BUSTED
Sarah Blaskey, Nicholas Nehamas and Caitlin Ostroff
write: Seated at a round table littered with party favors and the paper-cutout footballs that have become tradition at his annual Super Bowl Watch Party, President Donald Trump cheered the New England Patriots and his longtime friend, team owner Robert Kraft, to victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Feb. 3. Sometime during the party at Trump’s West Palm Beach country club, the president turned in his chair to look over his right shoulder, smiling for a photo with two women at a table behind him.
7. FEDERAL PROSECUTORS BROKE LAW IN JEFFREY EPSTEIN CASE, JUDGE RULES
Julie K. Brown writes: Federal prosecutors, under former Miami U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta, broke the law when they concealed a plea agreement from more than 30 underage victims who had been sexually abused by wealthy New York hedge fund manager Jeffrey Epstein, a federal judge ruled.
8. WHY WAS JEFFREY EPSTEIN ALLOWED TO PURCHASE SMALL WOMEN’S PANTIES FROM THE PALM BEACH JAIL?
Sarah Blaskey and Nicholas
Nehamas write: A decade ago, during a brief stint in Palm Beach County Jail, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein made an odd purchase at the facility’s store: two pairs of small women’s panties, size 5. It was just one of thousands of dollars of purchases made by the disgraced financier while in jail after pleading guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for sex, according to a purchase log.
9. TWO RAPES PUT A 19-YEAR-OLD IN THERAPY. THEN, HER THERAPIST TOLD HER SHE WAS ‘SO SEXY’
David J. Neal writes: A Palm Harbor mental health counselor gave up his license after the Florida Department of Health suspended him for sexually pursuing a 19-year-old patient, a two-time rape victim.
10. FLORIDA MAN ATTACKED BY A ‘CRAZY SQUIRREL’ GONE NUTS. AND IT WAS RAISED BY A NEIGHBOR
Howard Cohen writes: Pythons don’t do it often. Alligators have tragically done it, but we know to be wary. But unlike these creatures in the Florida Everglades and waterways, one pesky squirrel in Sarasota County is fighting way above its weight class. Who knew, in Florida, we have to be on the lookout for attacking squirrels?
TOP FLORIDA MAN/WOMAN/CRITTER STORIES OF 2019
1. LARGE FLIGHTLESS BIRD IN CAPTIVITY KILLS FLORIDA MAN IN ‘HORRIBLE’ ACCIDENT
Martin Vassolo writes: A
captive cassowary, the large flightless animal considered the most dangerous of birds, killed a man near Gainesville.
2. STAR FIGHTER
CONOR MCGREGOR ARRESTED ON MIAMI BEACH, ACCUSED OF SMASHING FAN’S PHONE
David Ovalle writes: Mixed Martial Arts star fighter Conor McGregor was arrested after police said he smashed a fan’s phone outside the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel.
3. A FLORIDA MAN LET IT ALL HANG OUT AT A STRIP CLUB, DANCER SAYS. HE WASN’T PART OF THE ACT
Howard Cohen writes: A Florida Man got carried away at a Pensacola strip club over the weekend, a witness said, and now he’s been charged with exposing himself.
4. PAGING ‘DR. PIMPLE POPPER’: MEDICAL
ISSUE ON MIAMI-BOUND FLIGHT JUST CAUSED A MESS
Madeleine Marr writes: Passengers were likely feeling sickened on an American Airlines flight the other day, but it had noth
ing to do with turbulence.
5. ‘KILLER’ HERPES ISN’T STOPPING THESE MONKEYS FROM MATING AND, YEP, THEY’RE IN FLORIDA
Howard Cohen writes: They have a herpes virus that can be fatal to humans. They are randy. And their population could double by 2022. “They” are a group of about 200 feral monkeys — rhesus macaques, to be exact — in Silver Springs State Park in central Florida’s Marion County. There is also a colony of these monkeys in Puerto Rico.
6. IGUANA POPULATION AND DAMAGE BOOMS. FLORIDA’S NOT SURE WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT
Adriana Brasileiro writes: The green iguana is the most in-your-face invasive species in South Florida. Unlike the infamous but elusive Burmese python, iguanas freely mingle with people — and often act like they own the place. One jaunty male was videoed recently strolling Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road while others pose unperturbed for pictures along the crowded promenade. They sun on docks and decks across South Florida, poop in pools and graze on gardens. They’ve undermined the kitchen at a golf course restaurant in Cooper City and canal banks along Miami’s Little River. They’ve been spotted in the wild across much of the state, everywhere from Gainesville down to Key West, where they short out power lines.
7. GOOGLE ‘FLORIDA MAN’ AND YOUR BIRTHDAY — AND SEE WHAT YOU GET
Howard Cohen writes: Florida Man never sleeps, never goes on vacation (though sometimes vacationers turn into Florida Men) and never fails to amuse. Now, Florida Man is a social media challenge.
8. A GATOR GRABBED HIS DOG. THIS TIME, FLORIDA MAN WAS BOLDER THAN FLORIDA CRITTER
Howard Cohen writes: A Sarasota County man jumped into a canal behind his house to rescue his chocolate lab after a gator got hold of the dog, Florida Fish and Wildlife officials said. Soon as the unidentified man hit the water, he “pried open the gator’s jaws” to rescue his beloved pet from the critter, said to be between 6- to 8-feet long.
9. SHE WANTED TO HAVE SEX WITH HER HUSBAND WHILE HE WAS SLEEPING. IT DIDN’T END WELL
Madeleine Marr writes: No means no, even between married people. A Florida woman was arrested for domestic battery on her husband at their Holiday home, near Tampa.
10. COPS TO FLORIDA WOMAN: ‘DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE?’ SHE PULLED A GATOR
FROM HER PANTS
Carli Teproff writes: When a Florida deputy asked a woman if she had anything else on her during a routine traffic stop, he wasn’t expecting what she did next. She “proceeded to pull an alligator out of her yoga pants (about one foot in length) and placed it into the bed of the truck,” the Charlotte County Sheriff’s deputy said in an incident report.
STORIES THAT MADE A DIFFERENCE IN 2019
If you missed these notable stories, now is the chance to catch up:
HURRICANE DORIAN
After Hurricane Dorian devastated the Bahamas on Sept. 1, a team of Miami Herald reporters and visual journalists were among the first on the ground to bring back the story of devastation and need. Their reports, photos and videos led news organizations throughout the U.S. in telling this important story.
PRICED OUT OF PARADISE
This series of stories examined how Miami-Dade became the most expensive metropolitan area in the U.S. for renters and among the costliest for homebuyers. We explored what that means for the economic future of our region and our residents, as well as some potential solutions to the crisis.
TRUMP TOURISM
In a series of reports, Miami Herald reporters disclosed how President Donald Trump has become a favorite target of a littleknown Chinese industry peddling access to the rich and powerful, mainly through the venue of Mara-Lago, the private club the president owns in Palm Beach. The story was largely told through Cindy Yang, a former massage parlor operator who became a major GOP operative, bundling contributions from Chinese expats and funneling the proceeds into the campaign accounts of President Trump and other Republicans.
CHAOS IN PUERTO RICO
Nearly two years after a devastating hurricane, Puerto Rico reeled from a new political crisis touched off when a leaked private group chat on a messaging app revealed crude conversations among Governor Ricardo Rosselló and his closest advisers — and pointed to possible wrongdoing within their circle. The chats, coupled with corruption charges against former top officials, ignited public outrage against the governor, who ultimately resigned. Reporters from the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald were on the island to document the protests and the aftermath.
CLIMATE CHANGE
The Miami Herald has the only reporter in Florida devoted to full-time climate change coverage, and her work in 2019 showed how rising seas and temperatures are impacting our daily lives, from public health to our pocketbooks. In addition, the Herald helped launch the Florida Climate Reporting Network, a consortium of news organizations across the state.
SINCE PARKLAND
Collaborating with The Trace, a national nonprofit news organization focused on the impact of gun violence, the Miami Herald documented the deaths of nearly 1,200 children, ages zero to 18, killed in shootings in one year, starting with the day of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy.
HAITI
In Haiti, we provided exclusive coverage of a year of crisis that included chronic fuel shortages, widespread allegations of public corruption and the end of the U.N. peacekeeping mission. Those events paralyzed Haiti’s government and led to demands for the president’s resignation.
ODEBRECHT
Partnering with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the Herald revealed that the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht’s cash-for-contracts operation was far bigger than the company has acknowledged, and involved prominent figures — some posted in Miami — and massive public works projects not mentioned in the criminal cases or other official inquiries to date. The project also disclosed that Odebrecht spread its tentacles to Cuba. Between
2010 and 2015, the company made irregular payments tied to the modernization of the port of Mariel and the planned expansion of two Cuban airports, totaling more than $800 million. The stories illustrated how Odebrecht sought to hide its involvement in Cuba in order to maintain political viability in Miami, an Odebrecht hub where doing business with Cuba is toxic.
DWYANE WADE’S LAST DANCE
We chronicled Dwyane Wade’s final season with the Miami Heat with a look at his remarkable rise from a top pick to South Florida sports icon.
WISH BOOK
For more than 30 years, the Miami Herald Wish Book Program has spotlighted the needs of less fortunate individuals in South Florida.
THE IMPACT OF THEIR STORIES
Here are choices from several Miami Herald reporters on what they consider their most important stories of 2019:
MIAMI’S AIRPORT IS REMOVING AUTOMATIC TIPS. RESTAURANT WORKERS SAY WAGES WILL PLUMMET
From reporter Taylor Dolven: Miami-Dade County’s Aviation Department sent a letter to airport restaurants in March ordering them to stop including tips on restaurant bills citing a 1970s law against soliciting tips at the airport. Tipped restaurant workers make only the Florida minimum wage of $5.44/hour. Workers, some who had the automatic tips in place for years, said their income would likely be cut in half without the tips. One day after the story ran, Mayor Carlos Gimenez reversed course and said the county would not be enforcing the 1970s law. In June, the county commission passed an ordinance which rewrites county law to allow airport establishments to add suggested tips up to 18 percent on a check, as long as customers have the option to leave any gratuity they choose.
WOMEN AND GIRLS SAID A HIALEAH COP SEXUALLY ASSAULTED THEM. THE CHIEF GAVE HIM A RAISE
From reporter Nicholas Nehamas: A month after the Miami Herald published this story on a Hialeah police sergeant accused of sexually assaulting four women but never disciplined by his own department or charged by state prosecutors, FBI agents arrested the cop, Jesús “Jesse” Menocal Jr. He was charged with violating the civil rights of two women, a federal crime, “for his own sexual gratification.”
MIAMI DOLPHINS MOVE TOWARD NEW PHILOSOPHY, AND IT WILL BE PAINFUL
From columnist Armando Salguero: Hours before 2019 began, I wrote the Dolphins’ new philosophy would mean a year of much losing, little happiness and tons of pain. That’s exactly what Dolphins fans got.
THEY HOPED TO JOIN VENEZUELA’S LIBERATION FORCE. NOW THESE SOLDIERS HAVE NO MISSION
From reporter Jim Wyss: Some of the bravest people to take on Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro were members of the Venezuelan military who defected — at great risk to themselves and their families — and crossed into Colombia hoping to return home as part of a liberation force. As the days dragged into weeks and months, and support for an armed incursion never materialized, these men and women became stranded in Colombia. This story helped shed some light on their quiet, day-to-day struggle to survive after most of the international media attention had turned elsewhere.
VENEZUELA’S BUSINESS ELITE FACE SCRUTINY IN $1.2 BILLION MONEY LAUNDERING CASE
FEDS TARGET VENEZUELAN BROTHERS IN NEW $4.5 BILLION MONEY-LAUNDERING INVESTIGATION
From reporter Jay Weaver: Two exclusive profiles on the Venezuelan kleptocrats — Alejandro Betancourt and the Oberto brothers. They are suspected of stealing billions of dollars from the Venezuelan government by using their political connections and financial schemes to enrich themselves and their cohorts, contributing to Venezuela’s economic collapse. Betancourt and the Obertos face possible federal prosecution in Miami on charges of money laundering in the new year.
‘LIKE NOTHING WE HAVE EXPERIENCED’: PANHANDLE KIDS ON VERGE OF MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS
From reporter Elizabeth Koh: Hurricanes leave a long trail of damage in Florida — and their farreaching effects are more than physical. Long after Hurricane Michael pummeled the Florida Panhandle, residents have struggled with the challenges posed to their mental health, particularly young kids still coping with widespread trauma. (After this story ran, the First Lady of Florida announced state and federal officials were sending millions in additional aid to the region to help improve access to counseling and behavioral health services.)
ICE TUBS SAVE ATHLETES’ LIVES AFTER HEATSTROKE, SO WHY DON’T ALL SCHOOLS HAVE THEM?
From reporter Michelle Kaufman: The state of Florida leads the nation in heatstroke deaths among high school athletes, and yet, the Florida High School Athletic Association has not mandated that schools have ice tubs on hand, even though a simple ice tub is 100 percent effective in preventing heat stroke deaths, according to all the national experts. Even the FHSAA’s own Medical Advisory Committee requested that all schools be required to have ice tubs; but the FHSAA went against the committee’s advice and just “strongly recommends” ice tubs rather than requiring them. I surveyed all 123 high schools in Miami-Dade and Broward counties to see who has and doesn’t have ice tubs, and we published a list. Because of that survey, the Greater Miami Athletic Conference ordered five tubs for the schools that didn’t have them. Also, perhaps partly because of the publicity from this story, the Florida State Legislature is now considering a bill to require ice tubs at all Florida high schools. I received a lot of feedback for this story, from parents, trainers, coaches, etc. ... thanking me for bringing the issue to the forefront.
‘WE ARE PRICING EVERYONE OUT OF MIAMI.’ HOW LOCALS COMPETE WITH FOREIGN BUYERS
From reporter Rene Rodriguez: It generated a lot of reader engagement and gets to one of the cruxes of the housing affordability issue: We are competing with foreign buyers. Both the city and the county are unveiling affordable housing master plans in January and this is one of the issues they are expected to address.
HOMESTEAD ISN’T JUST FOR KIDS AT THE BORDER, IT’S FOR KIDS LIVING IN THE U.S. THEIR WHOLE LIVES
From reporter Monique O. Madan: The story ended up going before Congress, and ended up putting pressure on the government to quickly reunite a child with his mother.
HAITI CHILDHOOD CANCER VICTIM DJOOLY JEUNE IS DEAD
From reporter Jacqueline Charles: We first introduced readers to Djooly Jeune in 2018. After his story was featured as part of the Cancer in Haiti series, produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, healthcare providers in Haiti got together to care for pediatric cancer victims who were over the age of 14. Upon reporting his death, a good Samaritan paid for his funeral services and others provided assistance to his mother and surviving siblings.
THEY LOST SONS TO ADDICTION. NOW THEY’RE PUSHING FOR NEEDLE EXCHANGE TO GO BEYOND MIAMI
From reporter Joey Flechas: This story documented a group doing important work in the streets of Miami and shifting political positions on the topic of harm reduction. It left an impression on me after meeting people who found new hope through this program, and readers were able to see why the Legislature eventually allowed all other counties in Florida to launch similar programs.