New Year’s Eve celebrations are renowned for their unique and vibrant drops. In Florida, each drop reflects the local culture and spirit of its city. Here’s a glimpse into some of these festive traditions:

Orange Ball Drop in Orlando (Thornton Park)
Orlando rings in the New Year with the iconic Orange Ball Drop, symbolizing Florida’s citrus heritage. A massive, illuminated orange descends as the countdown to midnight begins, accompanied by dancing and food vendors.

Booty Drop in Tampa
Embracing its pirate history, Tampa hosts the Booty Drop during the New Yaargh’s Eve celebration. A treasure chest, representing pirate booty, is lowered at midnight, featuring live entertainment and family-friendly activities.

Pineapple Drop in Sarasota
Sarasota’s Pineapple Drop Carnival is a family-friendly event featuring a large, illuminated pineapple. The festivities include a carnival with rides, games, and live music, creating a vibrant atmosphere for all ages.

Strawberry Drop in Plant City
Known as the winter strawberry capital of the world, Plant City celebrates with the Strawberry Drop. A giant glowing strawberry is lowered as attendees enjoy live music, local food vendors, and a kids’ zone.

Beach Ball Drop in Panama City Beach
Panama City Beach offers a family-friendly Beach Ball Drop, where thousands of inflatable beach balls are released for an early celebration, followed by the descent of a giant illuminated beach ball at midnight. The event includes live music, fireworks, and entertainment for all ages.

Shrimp Drop in Amelia Island
Fernandina Beach honors its fishing heritage with the Shrimp Drop. A large, illuminated shrimp is lowered to mark the New Year, accompanied by a street festival featuring food trucks, a live DJ, and fireworks.

Red Shoe Drop in Key West
Key West’s famous Red Shoe Drop features a local drag queen descending in a giant red high-heeled shoe. This event is a highlight of the island’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, attracting visitors worldwide. This year, Randy Roberts from LaTeDa will be the one in the shoe, according to the venue.

Keg Drop in Orlando (Ivanhoe)
Ivanhoe Park Brewing Company’s Keg Drop is a popular event among the Ivanhoe Park crowd, where a decorated keg is lowered at midnight. The celebration includes music, a food truck, and fireworks.

Each of these events showcases the diverse culture and community spirit across Florida, offering residents and visitors memorable ways to usher in the New Year.

You can listen to every episode of Florida’s Fourth Estate in the media player below:

MIAMI – Now that Christmas has come and gone, many people are planning to keep their trees up through New Year’s Day and then take them down.

To dispose of trees, there is always curbside pickup. But Miami-Dade and Broward counties are encouraging residents to participate in their respective Christmas tree recycling programs.

In Miami-Dade, people can drop off clean, decoration-free trees at one of the below Trash and Recycling Centers, which are open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.:

North Dade
21500 NW 47 Avenue

Norwood
19901 NW 7th Avenue

Palm Springs North
7870 NW 178 Street

Golden Glades
140 NW 160 Street

West Little River
1830 NW 79 Street

Snapper Creek 
2200 SW 117 Avenue

Sunset Kendall
 8000 SW 107 Avenue

West Perrine
16651 SW 107 Avenue

Eureka Drive
9401 SW 184 Street

South Miami Heights
 20800 SW 117 Court

Moody Drive
12970 SW 268 Street

Trees can also be dropped off at the Home Chemical Collection Center, 8801 NW 58 Street in West Miami-Dade. It’s open Wednesday to Sunday for tree drop-off only, from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

This service is for residents who receive waste collection services from Miami-Dade County only.

The trees will be turned into mulch which will be available beginning in spring 2025. Sign up to be notified when the mulch is ready. Residents are reminded to bring a shovel and bags or pails to take away the material.

Residents who are unable to drop off their Christmas tree can place it at the curbside. Crews will collect Christmas trees from the curbside beginning Wednesday, Jan. 8. This year trees will be collected throughout the service area during two sweeps. Do not place whole trees or cut-up trees in the green garbage carts or blue recycling carts.

First Christmas Tree Collection Sweep: Jan. 8 – 19
Trees will be collected on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays

Final Christmas Tree Collection Sweep: Jan. 22 – Feb. 2
Trees will be collected on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays

Trees placed at the curbside as part of a scheduled bulky waste pickup will not be recycled into mulch.

For more information, click here.

In Broward, you can recycle your three through the county’s annual Chip-a-Tree initiative. Every year Broward County Parks recycles thousands of trees, most of which probably would otherwise have gone to landfills. The trees will be chipped and used for landscaping throughout the county park system.

To recycle your tree, you can take it to one of the following locations before Jan. 20, no decorated trees will be accepted. There is a limit of two trees per vehicle, artificial trees are not accepted, and no commercial vehicles or garbage trucks are allowed.

(Hours vary, you are encouraged to call the park of your choice for details.)

Park locations are:

Brian Piccolo Sports Park & Velodrome
9501 Sheridan Street, Cooper City (954) 357-5150

C.B. Smith Park
900 N. Flamingo Road, Pembroke Pines (954) 357-5170

Easterlin Park
1000 NW 38 Street, Oakland Park (954) 357-5190

Fern Forest Nature Center
201 Lyons Road South, Coconut Creek (954) 357-5198

Markham Park and Target Range
16001 W State Road 84, Sunrise (954)  357-8868

Reverend Samuel Delevoe Memorial Park
2520 NW 6 Street, Fort Lauderdale (954) 357-8801

Snake Warrior’s Island Natural Area
3600 SW 62 Avenue, Miramar (954) 357-8776

Tradewinds Park and Stables
3600 W Sample Road, Coconut Creek (954) 357-8870

Tree Tops Park
3900 SW 100 Avenue, Davie (954) 357-5130

Topeekeegee (T.Y.) Park
3300 N Park Road, Hollywood (954) 357-8811

Vista View Park
4001 SW 142 Avenue, Davie (954) 357-8898

West Lake Park
1200 Sheridan Street, Hollywood (954) 357-5161

Curbside pick-up varies by city and contracted waste disposal company. Usually, they pick up in the first two weeks of January.

MIAMI – In a year marked by soaring costs and economic strain, South Florida residents grappled with skyrocketing rents, surging insurance rates, and record-high grocery bills, all while navigating a mix of triumphs, tragedies, and unforgettable headlines — from the chaos of Copa America at Hard Rock Stadium to the rescue of a little dog named Lulu in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.

The rising cost of living in South Florida 

In South Florida there is always plenty of news but the story that impacted everyone was, and is, the high cost of living and inflation.

“We have a very bad match in South Florida with high expenses and low salaries,” said Maria Castillo Dominguez who serves on the board of the Financial Planning Association of Miami.

It was a tough year for South Florida consumers, renters and homebuyers. Supermarket prices surged, landlords raised rents to cover their costs, and automobile and home insurance rates soared.

“To see the housing market prices double in a few years, it is crazy,” said Tommy Bartolomeo who lives in Broward.

Tyreek Hill’s takedown, Copa America final and Taylor Swift

The Miami Dolphins season opener made news before the game’s kick-off. A Miami-Dade police officer pulled wide receiver Tyreek Hill from his car, forced him to the ground and handcuffed him when a traffic stop escalated. The citations Hill received were later dismissed.

Soccer fans at Hard Rock Stadium caused chaos in July when they rushed the gates before the start of the Copa America soccer final between Argentina and Colombia. Taylor Swift fans were better behaved in October when she took the stage at “The Rock.”

Traffic nightmares and South Florida’s most tragic stories  

Our everyday traffic troubles were a breeze compared to the nightmare one Sunday in April when hundreds of drivers were stranded on their way to Key Biscayne for up to six hours after the Rickenbacker Causeway flyover bridge was closed for repairs. 

South Florida lived up to its reputation for the bizarre and tragic when a 71-year-old man was found dead in a North Miami nursing home closet. He had been missing for weeks. A little girl died in a freak accident on a Lauderdale-By-The Sea Beach. She was buried while playing in the sand.

There were stories with international impact that caused concern in South Florida. 

Haiti was racked with instability and violence. Cuba’s economic plight was worse than ever. Add to that Miami resident and former State Department diplomat Victor Manuel Rocha who was arrested and charged as a Cuban spy.

High-profile Miami figures that made headlines in 2024

Insiders were shocked over developer Sergio Pino‘s suicide amid an FBI murder-for-hire investigation.

The year also saw two local politicians convicted. Former Miami-Dade County Commissioner Joe Martinez was found guilty of political corruption while former state Senator Frank Artiles received jail time and probation after a guilty verdict in a “ghost candidate” trial.

South Florida lost civic leader Enid Pinkney. The educator, historian and first Black president of Dade Heritage Trust helped save the historic Hampton House where Dr. Martin Luther King wrote a portion of his “I Have a Dream” speech.

Months after the Miami Seaquarium‘s famous orca Lolita died, the tourist attraction received an eviction notice from the Miami-Dade County. Rent issues and maintenance problems plagued the long-time entertainment facility.

Florida and the 2024 hurricane season

Florida endured a rough hurricane season but South Florida escaped the devastating impact of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

We were very lucky and so was a little dog in Fort Pierce, whose story went viral after being pulled from the rubble of a tornado spawned by Hurricane Milton. The rescue was due in part thanks to CBS News Miami’s Morgan Rynor who was live on air when she realized the dog had been rescued reporting, ” He got Benji. He got Benji, Oh my Goodness.”

Benji, whose name we later learned is Lulu, was reunited with her family, a little bit of good news to wrap up the year 2024.