Connect with us

Miami, FL

Here's how Miami Beach successfully broke up with spring break

Published

2 years ago

on

Here's how Miami Beach successfully broke up with spring break


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Florida has long been a popular destination during the winter months. Whether the panhandle’s beaches, the theme parks of Orlando or the quieter Gulf Coast, the state had something for everyone. 

But for years, everyone knew that Miami Beach was best avoided in the “spring break” months of March and April. South Beach, in particular, on the southern tip, was a rowdy place to be. Fights, garbage and arrests were all standard. The crowds were excessive and felt dangerous. It was certainly not somewhere for families to visit.

This year, Steven Meiner, the new mayor of Miami Beach, elected just in November, pledged to put an end to that reputation. 

Advertisement

The first night of Miami Beach’s spring break curfew saw smaller crowds, which thinned out early and were completely gone after the midnight shutdown. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)

Our family vacationed on Miami Beach a few weekends ago to see for ourselves. The change from previous years was dramatic.

MIAMI BEACH SPRING BREAK RESTRICTIONS PROVED TO BE ‘HUGE SUCCESS’ FOR RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES

Police were very present but quietly so. It didn’t seem like a scary environment that required police presence, just that they were around in case of any problems. The city felt safer but also cleaner and more organized. Disorderly crowds were nowhere to be seen. 

I had assumed they achieved this result with more arrests. But, in fact, arrests were down this year from previous years. It turns out deterrence played an important role. The city ran an ad campaign, that had gone viral online, “breaking up” with spring break. 

Advertisement

Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner, at the podium, with Gov. Ron DeSantis, right, during a spring break law enforcement crackdown. (Fox News Digital)

A memorandum from Rickelle Williams, interim city manager, a few days ago, noted, “While some of the measures had been employed in the past, the totality of the 2024 spring break measures was unprecedented, particularly with respect to the ‘Miami Beach is Breaking Up with Spring Break’ campaign that reached a global audience and garnered an estimated 19.8 billion media impressions.” 

POLICE IN FORT LAUDERDALE REPORT SURGE OF SPRING BREAKERS AMID MIAMI BEACH CRACKDOWN

I spoke with Mayor Meiner about the city’s success. He told me “the ad campaign was instrumental” to the positive outcome. The ad campaign warned people coming to vacation on Miami Beach that the city wouldn’t stand for bad behavior. Just saying so helped control that bad behavior.

Of course, it couldn’t be done with a good ad alone. Meiner told me that they had a united front. From government agencies to businesses, everyone wanted a safer, happier spring break scene. 

Advertisement

“Everyone is saying enough is enough,” Meiner said. “Law and order are priority number one. Gov. Ron DeSantis visited several times and said he would provide whatever the city needed. The state was a great partner and came through for us. The county gave us many police officers. Everyone was on the same page.”

MIAMI BEACH LAUNCHES ‘BREAKNG UP WITH SPRING BREAK’ AD TO DISCOURAGE UNRULY TOURISTS

As part of Meiner’s 14-point plan, neighboring police departments stepped in to help too: “Law enforcement agencies providing additional resources to the Miami Beach Police Department, including the Florida Highway Patrol, Miami-Dade. County Police Department, City of Miami Police Department, and Coral Gables Police Department, among other jurisdictions.” 

It makes sense. When bad behavior is happening on Miami Beach, it could easily spill over into other areas. 

Most of all, the City of Miami Beach simply enforced laws that were already on the books. Open container laws and the city’s noise ordinance already existed, but demanding they be followed went a long way to curbing other law-breaking.

Advertisement

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION

The mayor told me the city had “no fatalities, no stampedes,” during the spring break time, as they had had in previous years.

The message of the Miami Beach cleanup to other cities is: It doesn’t have to be this way. 

Miami Beach has shown that good coordination among government agencies leads to good results. But they’ve also shown that enforcing the law, and telling visitors they plan to do so, leads to more law-abiding behavior. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Advertisement

Much of it is not rocket science. Cities that have allowed themselves to spiral into being targets for crime largely don’t enforce existing laws. 

Miami Beach has drawn a line in their soft, white sand: Not here, not anymore. 

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM KAROL MARKOWICZ



Source link

Advertisement
Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Miami, FL

Miami Heat-Boston Celtics Injury Report, Betting Lines, How to Watch, Lineups & More

Published

14 hours ago

on

January 15, 2026

By

Miami Heat-Boston Celtics Injury Report, Betting Lines, How to Watch, Lineups & More


Game date, time and location: Thursday, Jan. 15, 7:30 p.m. EST, Kaseya Center, Miami, Florida

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Sun (South Florida), NBC Sports Boston

Radio: 104.3 FM (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale), ESPN 106.3 FM, (West Palm Beach), FOX Sports Radio 105.9 FM (Ft. Myers/Naples), 1450 AM (Suart), 97.7 FM (Florida Keys), WAQI 710 AM (Spanish-language broadcast, South Florida), 98.5 FM The Sports Hub (Boston)

Advertisement

VITALS: The Miami Heat (21-19) and Boston Celtics (24-15) meet for the second of four regular season matchups. Earlier this season, the Celtics recorded a, 129-116, win in Boston on December 19. The Heat are 54-87 all-time versus the Celtics during the regular season, including 30-42 in home games and 24-45 in road games.

PROJECTED STARTERS

Advertisement

HEAT

G Davion Mitchell

Advertisement

G Tyler Herro

C Bam Adebayo

F Norman Powell

F Andrew Wiggins

Advertisement

CELTICS

G Payton Pritchard

G Derrick White

C Neemias Queta

Advertisement

F Jaylen Brown

Advertisement

F Sam Hauser

Spread: Heat +2 (-112), Celtics -2 (-108)

Moneyline: Heat +108, Celtics -126

Total points scored: 233.5 (over -110, under -110)

Advertisement

INJURY REPORT

HEAT

Jaime Jaquez Jr.: Questionable – Knee

Advertisement

Tyler Herro: Probable – Toe/Ribs

Advertisement

Davion Mitchell: Doubtful – Shoulder

Nikola Jovic: Probable – Knee

Terry Rozier: Out – Not with team

CELTICS

Advertisement

Josh Minott: Out – Hamstring

Jayson Tatum: Out – Achilles

Advertisement

QUOTABLE

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra: “I think now we have positive teaching points from this. We’re going to conquer the third quarter. We’ve had so many incredible first halves, even in the games that we’ve lost. If we can get some of these games, like even where we play poorly in the third, just get to the fourth, we have great competitors in our locker room.

Advertisement

They love these kind of moments where it’s electric in there and you have to make big plays. So it was good to see us overcome the third quarter, there was a little bit of a glitch there where we kind of went back to some of the things that get us in trouble.”

For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.

Advertisement

Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket



Source link

Continue Reading

Miami, FL

Boxer Gervonta Davis faces new domestic violence allegations, this time in Miami Gardens

Published

1 day ago

on

January 14, 2026

By

Boxer Gervonta Davis faces new domestic violence allegations, this time in Miami Gardens


MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Professional boxer Gervonta “Tank” Davis is once again finding himself on the wrong side of the law, and once again on charges that stem from an alleged domestic violence incident.

Leer en español

Miami Gardens police said on Oct. 29, a woman claiming to be involved in an intimate relationship with Davis since 2022 arrived at the police department with her lawyer, alleging Davis physically abused her.

“The victim reported sustaining minor injuries, including visible bruising to her left arm, at the time the report was made, and sought medical attention,” said Miami Gardens police Sgt. Emmanuel Jeanty.

Advertisement

Investigators said just days prior, surveillance video showed Davis arrive at a gentlemen’s club where the victim was working.

“The victim reported that Mr. Davis grabbed her by the back of her head, pulled her hair with one hand and by her throat and forcefully escorted her down a stairway and toward the parking garage while maintaining his grip on the back of her head,” said Jeanty.

Police said the victim was only able to get away after he released her.

This is not Davis’ first run-in with the law involving domestic violence. In 2020 he was seen grabbing his then-girlfriend by the throat at a celebrity basketball game.

In 2022, Local 10 News was there as he bonded out of the Broward County Jail after being arrested for allegedly hitting an ex-girlfriend in the face.

Advertisement

Most recently, in July 2025, Local 10 News was also there as he bonded out of the Miami-Dade County jail after allegedly striking the mother of his child in the back of the head.

A U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force is assisting the Miami Gardens Police Department as they work to arrest Davis on new charges.

At last check, Davis was still not in custody as of Wednesday evening.

Local 10 has reached out to his attorney to see if they are aware of the warrant and if Davis will turn himself in, but has not heard back as of the time of this story’s publication.

Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.



Source link

Continue Reading

Miami, FL

Ground stop lifted for flights coming to Miami International Airport due to weather

Published

2 days ago

on

January 14, 2026

By

Ground stop lifted for flights coming to Miami International Airport due to weather


Published: 

Updated: 

WPLG

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — The Federal Aviation Administration has lifted a ground stop for all incoming flights at Miami International Airport Wednesday.

Advertisement

The order was initially issued at about 8:30 a.m. due to poor visibility in the area caused by “low ceilings.”

Leer en español

According to The Weather Channel, a low ceiling “refers to low clouds or fog,” making it too dangerous to fly.

MIA spokesman Greg Chin said airport officials are still determining the number of flights affected.

The FAA’s order was lifted around 9:30 a.m.

Advertisement

Click here to view real-time airport statuses across the National Airspace System.

Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.

Amanda Batchelor

Amanda Batchelor

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending