Memorial Weekend is one of the most exciting times for fun and entertainment in South Florida. Traditionally, for the African American community the entertainment magnet which pulled visitors to the region, primarily South Miami Beach, was Urban Beach Week, a hip-hop music dominating event. However, with the increase in popularity of reggae music, over the past seven years a reggae music show has become the biggest event in Miami over the Memorial Weekend.
This event, a music festival aptly titled "Best of the Best International Music Festival" is a 10-hour explosion of the best in reggae, urban and other Caribbean music genres, held on the Sunday before Memorial Day at the Bayfront Park in Downtown Miami. This year's festival will be held on May 26.
Best of the Best has grown to be more than an iconic music event for Miami, as it has become a significant boost to the city's economy, adding millions of dollars to public and private businesses. On Tuesday several hotels, motels, guest houses, and car rental companies in the area attested to being either totally or almost maxed out in reservations. Reservation managers at hotels in the Miami area said the festival is one of the biggest events attracting guests to the hotels for the Memorial Weekend, and it's not unusual for guests who stayed at the hotels last year to make reservation for this year, "even before they check out."
The festival is also a boon for several small businesses, especially restaurants, bars and clubs in Miami and Miami Beach, and for vendors who have the opportunity to rent booths to sell a variety of food and other wares at the festival.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) accused Florida of making it difficult for some unemployed residents to get unemployment benefits. The DOL stated that beginning in 2011, federal officials found Florida violated the civil rights of unemployed individuals, mainly the disabled and persons who speak little English, by requiring them to apply online for benefits and take an "assessment" before qualifying to receive benefits.

The state's unemployment benefits provide relief for many residents as Florida's unemployment situation grew worse with the economic recession adversely affecting the region. However, there have been frequent complaints of difficulties involved in applying for the benefit relating mainly to the application process accessible only over the Internet.The recent announcement by the DOL was a revelation that the complaints were justified.

It was reported that in response to the DOL's accusation, Florida's Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) has agreed to enter negotiations with DOL to make appropriate changes which, according to a DOL spokesperson, includes "ensuring all persons who have limited English proficiency or disabilities and are eligible for unemployment compensation, have fair and meaningful access to those benefits."
As of April, 2013, the unemployment rate in Florida was reported as 7.5 percent or 750,000 residents, but the rate in Miami-Dade County is close to 10 percent, including hundreds of English, Creole, and Spanish speaking Caribbean residents who have incurred difficulties in applying for and obtaining unemployment benefits.

Last week Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Giminez informed county commissioners and the unions representing county employees that current projections show the county could incur a $50.7 million budget deficit. In order to meet this deficit Giminez plans to ask county employees to continue making concessions to their job benefits, including contributing 5 percent of their salaries toward meeting the cost of their county provided health insurance for another year.
Previously Giminez had said there was a possibility he would eliminate the 5 percent contribution paid by employees this year.
However, the continuation of the health insurance contributions and other concession that could be asked of county employees will have to be negotiated with the unions. Accordingly Giminez has directed his staff to schedule negotiation sessions with all of the respective unions to come to a possible agreement related to the concessions.
The mayor also projects there could be $15 million deficits in the county's fire-rescue budget and library budget respectively.
The mayor has indicated that if the 5 percent healthcare contribution paid by employees is discontinued it would increase the county's general-fund budget by $33.5 million, thus increasing the overall budget deficit to $84.2 million, should the county not cut back on the level of public services it provides.

Although the May 14 mayoral and city council elections in North Miami attracted unusual publicity with seven candidates competing to replace Mayor Andre Pierre who is term limited, and could not seek reelection, there was no conclusive outcome.
In the mayoral elections, former mayor, Kevin Burns received the majority votes – 2,254 (33.22 percent), but well below the 50 percent required to be elected. He'll now have to face a run off on June 4 with his closest challenger Lucie M. Tondreau who received 1,870 or 27.56 percent of the votes.
Physician, Joseph Smith, a newcomer to the city's politics finished third in the mayoral race with 23 percent, or 1,561 votes. Ana Pierre, a registered Nurse who claimed during the election that she was the victim of voodoo and had been endorsed to be mayor by Jesus in a dream, only secured 56 votes, less than 1 percent.
In the last days of the campaign, Burns who served as mayor from 2005 to 2009, was touted as the candidate most likely to win, as it was the opinion that the Haitian American vote in the city's large Haitian American community would be divided between Haitian American candidates of which community and human rights activist, Lucie Tondreau was seen as the favorite.