El alcalde del condado de Miami-Dade, Carlos Giminez, también anunció que la reapertura prevista para el lunes de las playas de Miami-Dade se pospondrá y que el condado estará bajo toque de queda a partir de las 9 p.m. hasta las 6 a.m. “hasta nuevo aviso”.

Cuando cayó la noche del sábado, Miami se unió a ciudades de todo el país en las que la ira justa por el asesinato de George Floyd se convirtió en violencia y crimen.

Los manifestantes cerraron la carretera interestatal 95, estallaron varios incendios y las tiendas fueron saqueadas en Bayfront Marketplace.

Las manifestaciones a menor escala también ocurrieron en el condado de Palm Beach el sábado. Y el domingo, los organizadores de una marcha que se realizará en Lauderhill el domingo por la tarde dicen que procederán a pesar de los esfuerzos de los funcionarios de la ciudad para posponer el evento.

En Miami, la ocupación de la I-95 tuvo lugar directamente frente a la sede del Departamento de Policía de Miami y comenzó justo antes de las 6 p.m. Los videos publicados en las redes sociales mostraron a los manifestantes cantando: “¿De quién son las calles? ¡Nuestras calles! “Mientras marchaban por la carretera cuya construcción hace medio siglo destruyó parcialmente el barrio afroamericano de Overtown.

La autopista interestatal fue reabierta aproximadamente a las 10 p.m., coincidiendo con la entrada en vigor obligatoria del toque de queda.

Mira fotos de las protestas en el sur de Florida:

La obstrucción del tráfico en la I-95 y la confrontación con la policía en su cuartel general finalmente fueron dispersados por los oficiales, pero la gente aún deambulaba por las calles mucho después de la sentada en la I-95, y el alcalde de Miami-Dade, Carlos Giménez, emitió las 10 p.m. toque de queda.

La protesta comenzó de manera más pacífica, cuando cientos de personas se reunieron en el monumento de la Antorcha de la Amistad en Biscayne Boulevard a las 3 p.m. antes de marchar por Third Street, lejos del Bayfront Park. A las 5 de la tarde, los manifestantes habían completado una ruta en bucle y regresaron al monumento, a través del tráfico en Biscayne Boulevard mientras cantaban “Black Lives Matter” y “George Floyd”, el nombre del hombre negro asesinado por un oficial de policía blanco en Minneapolis. , cuya muerte ha provocado protestas en todo el país.

El humo ondeaba a lo largo de Northwest Third Avenue el sábado por la noche mientras la policía de Miami buscaba romper una protesta que había continuado durante cinco horas, desde la Antorcha de la Amistad en Biscayne Boulevard, a través del centro, y finalmente hacia la I-95, donde los manifestantes detuvieron el tráfico durante horas. .

Otra protesta tuvo lugar en Coral Gables, y se planean más protestas para el domingo a las 3 p.m. cerca de la Iglesia Bautista de San Juan en Miami y cerca del Centro de Artes Escénicas Lauderhill en el Condado de Broward.

Las protestas tuvieron lugar en el condado de Palm Beach el sábado también, incluyendo una que comenzó en Bryant Park en Lake Worth Beach y otra en Pine Tree Park en West Palm Beach.

Más de 50 manifestantes se reunieron en Pine Tree Park, en la cuadra 1400 de Forest Hill Boulevard en West Palm Beach a las 11 a.m. del sábado. Cantaron “Black Lives Matter” y agitaron carteles a los automovilistas que pasaban que mostraban su apoyo tocando sus bocinas.

La organizadora Yesenia Valle, de 21 años, de West Palm Beach, hizo correr la voz a través de las redes sociales y quedó encantada con la respuesta.

“Honestamente, estoy tan feliz de que el mensaje se haya transmitido y que surjan más eventos”, dijo. “Alguien no debería morir para que nos demos cuenta de que hay un problema que debe ser reconocido en nuestro país”.

Hubo protestas simultáneas en Tallahassee, donde un camión chocó contra una multitud de manifestantes cerca del edificio de la capital del estado, hiriendo al menos a una persona y conduciendo al arresto del conductor. Otro hombre fue arrestado por conducir un SUV a través de una multitud de manifestantes en Gainesville.

Los manifestantes también se reunieron en las afueras de Windermere, la casa de invierno del agente de policía despedido de Minneapolis Derek Chauvin, acusado de asesinato por la muerte de George Floyd.

Pedro Castellanos, de 30 años, de West Palm Beach, ha participado en protestas antes, pero vino al parque Pine Tree porque sentía que había más en juego que la muerte de Floyd bajo custodia policial.

“No había respeto por su vida”, dijo. “Con todo lo que sucede con el coronavirus y todo lo que sucede en el mundo, necesitamos que todas las vidas se unan, apoyándose mutuamente”.

Markus Lockhart, de 19 años, de Greenacres, dijo que participó en tres o cuatro protestas antes porque le apasiona acabar con la injusticia.

“Creo que cuando ocurren situaciones como esta en Estados Unidos, es fácil recurrir a la violencia, pero si mantenemos la paz estaremos bien”, dijo. “Nadie es arrestado. Nadie se mete en problemas. Nadie sale herido y todavía podemos transmitir nuestro mensaje “.

Raven Killingbeck, de 19 años, de West Palm Beach, dijo que llegó al punto en que le tiene miedo a la policía.

“Al ser una persona de color, me da mucho miedo confiar en alguien que podría matarme”, dijo. “Quiero asegurarme de detenerlo”.

wkroustan@sunsentinel.com o 954-356-4303 o Twitter @WayneRoustan

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Giminez also announced that the planned Monday reopening of Miami-Dade’s beaches will be postponed and that the county will be under a curfew from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. “until further notice.”

As darkness fell Saturday, Miami joined cities throughout the country in which righteous anger over the killing of George Floyd turned to violence and crime.

Protesters closed down Interstate 95, several fires broke out, and stores were looted in Bayfront Marketplace.

Rallies on a smaller scale also happened in Palm Beach County on Saturday. And on Sunday, organizers of a march set to take place in Lauderhill Sunday afternoon say they’ll proceed despite city officials’ efforts to postpone the event.

In Miami, the occupation of I-95 took place directly across from the Miami Police Department headquarters and began just before 6 p.m. Videos posted on social media platforms showed protesters chanting, “Whose streets? Our streets!” as they marched up and down the highway whose construction half a century ago partially destroyed the African American neighborhood of Overtown.

The interstate was reopened at approximately 10 p.m., coinciding with a mandatory curfew going into effect.

See photos from the South Florida protests:

The obstruction of traffic on I-95 and the confrontation with police at their headquarters was eventually dispersed by officers, but people still roamed the streets well after the sit-down on I-95, and Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez issued the 10 p.m. curfew.

The protest started more peacefully, when hundreds of people gathered at the Torch of Friendship monument on Biscayne Boulevard at 3 p.m. before marching down Third Street, away from Bayfront Park. By 5 p.m., the protesters had completed a looping route and returned to the monument, weaving through traffic on Biscayne Boulevard while chanting “Black Lives Matter” and “George Floyd,” the name of the black man killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis, whose death has touched off protests around the country.

Smoke billowed along Northwest Third Avenue Saturday night as Miami police sought to break up a protest that had gone on for five hours, from the Torch of Friendship on Biscayne Boulevard, through downtown, and finally onto I-95, where protesters stopped traffic for hours.

Another protest took place in Coral Gables, and further protests are planned for Sunday at 3 p.m. near St. John’s Baptist Church in Miami and near the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center in Broward County.

Protests took place in Palm Beach County on Saturday as well, including one that began at Bryant Park in Lake Worth Beach and another at Pine Tree Park in West Palm Beach.

More than 50 protesters gathered at Pine Tree Park, in the 1400 block of Forest Hill Boulevard in West Palm Beach at 11 a.m. Saturday. They chanted “Black Lives Matter” and waved signs at passing motorists who showed their support by honking their horns.

Organizer Yesenia Valle, 21, of West Palm Beach, put the word out via social media and was thrilled with the response.

“Honestly, I’m so happy that the message got across and that more events are popping up,” she said. “Someone shouldn’t have to die for us to realize that there’s an issue that should be acknowledged in our country.”

Simultaneous protests were going on in Tallahassee where a truck drove into a crowd of protesters near the state capital building, injuring at least one person and leading to the driver’s arrest. Another man was arrested for driving an SUV through a crowd of protesters in Gainesville.

Protesters also gathered outside the Windermere, winter home of fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with murder for the death of George Floyd.

Pedro Castellanos, 30, of West Palm Beach, has taken part in protests before but he came to Pine Tree Park because he felt there is more at stake than just Floyd’s death in police custody.

“There was no respect for his life,” he said. “With everything happening with the coronavirus and everything happening in the world, we need all lives to pull together, supporting one another.”

Markus Lockhart, 19, of Greenacres, said he participated in three or four protests before because he’s passionate about ending injustice.

“I think when situations like this happen in America it’s easy to turn to violence but if we stick to peacefulness we’ll be fine,” he said. “No one gets arrested. No one gets in trouble. No one gets hurt and we can still get our message across.”

Raven Killingbeck, 19, of West Palm Beach, said it’s gotten to the point where she’s afraid of the police.

“Being a person of color, it’s very scary for me to put my trust in someone who might kill me,” she said. “I want to make sure we put a stop to it.”

wkroustan@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4303 or Twitter @WayneRoustan

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that the two counties can join the rest of the state in a partial reopening.

Unlike the rest of Florida — where stores and restaurants must limit customers to 25% of capacity — businesses in Broward and Miami-Dade can open at 50% capacity. DeSantis hinted that he could relax the rules in other parts of the state Friday.

“Today we take another very important step,” DeSantis said, joined at the announcement in Doral by Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Broward County Mayor Dale V.C. Holness. “We’re going to get our mojo back and get back to where we need to be.”

Beaches in South Florida will remain closed for now. The reopening also will not include spas, bars, gyms, movie theaters, bowling alleys or massage parlors.

In Broward, gyms within homeowners associations and apartment complexes will be allowed to reopen with some limitations.

Holness emphasized that beaches will not reopen until at least May 26.

A protester at the news conference held a sign reading “please open beaches.” She refused to identify herself but said, “I’m here for everybody in South Florida who wants to see the beaches open.”

In Palm Beach County, businesses began to reopen Monday at 25% capacity. County spokesman John Jameson said he had no information about what DeSantis would announce Friday.

“I do not expect him to have those counties leapfrog the rest of the state,” he said of Broward and Miami-Dade. “I also expect he will make that announcement tomorrow.”

Beaches in Palm Beach County are tentatively scheduled to reopen with some caveats starting Monday, although county commissioners plan to meet Friday to discuss the issues.

Under the tentative plan, all public, private and municipal beaches in the county could be open from sunrise to sundown, with groups of no more than 10 people and social-distancing guidelines in place.

The governor said the timing for the reopening in South Florida makes sense because the region has “progressed nicely in dealing with the epidemic.”

“The trends have been positive; the work has been effective,” he said of state data showing a declining number of infections and a lower ratio of positive tests.

But not all businesses and attractions are ready to fling open their doors. Several said it takes time to prepare new safety procedures.

Hours after the governor’s announcement, a spokeswoman for the Simon Property Group, which owns Coral Square mall in Coral Springs and the Sawgrass Mills shopping mall, said they were not ready to commit to a reopening day.

Melissa Milroy, the general manager for The Galleria at Fort Lauderdale, said she was still checking with retailers to see who would be ready to open by Monday. By late Thursday, she said she could not commit to an reopening date.

Westfield Broward in Plantation will be ready to open May 22, a spokeswoman said, with new mall hours. Changes will include hand sanitizer and hand washing stations and curbside pick-up services.

The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino also will not open Monday “because it’s quite a complicated process,” said spokesman Gary Bitner. “You can’t just open an operation like that on a dime, and you really want to do it right.”

The Margate thrift store that benefits Women in Distress isn’t ready to open until June 2 because more time is needed to get ready, which includes having a supply of face masks and new plans to take payment, said CEO Mary Riedel. “We can’t just open the gates,” she said.

And April Kirk, the director of the famed Stranahan House museum in Fort Lauderdale, said there is no date yet for reopening “as we are still cleaning and sanitizing the museum and reviewing policies to keep our guests, volunteers, and staff safe.”

At the Carvel in Coral Springs, owner Diana Basch said she will have to reconfigure her seating area to go from three tables seating 12 people to probably one table seating four people. “The seating inside our area is very small — if I let people sit down and people come in to take out, it’s going to be kind of crowded,” she said.

An she’s not sure she wants to dive in with inside seating Monday: “We will wait probably a couple weeks. It’s a slow process.”

For others, Monday can’t come fast enough.

The owner of Contour Day Spa in Plantation has been spending her time remodeling the building in preparation for the reopening.

Owner Fanit Panofsky said she’ll go from 18 hair stations down to 12 and separated the pedicure stations — all to make sure people stay at least 6 feet from one another.

Clients and employees will have their temperatures checked at the door, and the waiting room is gone. Clients must wait in their cars for their turn.

Panofsky said she expects the renovations to be permanent.

“This is going to be the new way of doing things,” she said. “There is no cure for this thing, so many question marks. I’m more comfortable knowing my customers’ well-being is not compromised.”

Monday’s openings also will include Gulfstream Park Village in Hallandale Beach, which is preparing its shops and restaurants for the crowds. A spokeswoman for Red Lobster said restaurants in both counties will be ready for the reopening.

Half the tables will remain empty when Taverna Opa, a Greek restaurant in Hollywood, opens Monday. “We’ve been cleaning, we’ve been sanitizing,” said manager Gabby Cabrera. “We’re ready to go. We really miss our customers.”

Broward officials have been concerned that businesses would not be profitable if allowed to open at only 25% capacity. They asked the governor to increase the limit to 50%.

“It’s going to be a long hard haul to revive the economy to where it was before,” Holness said

Fort Lauderdale Vice Mayor Steve Glassman also advocated for the 50% rule.

“Twenty-five percent indoor dining is almost not worth opening,” Glassman said. “That would be a money loser. That’s not sustainable.”

That said, Glassman is still concerned about possible spikes in cases if people don’t wear masks or follow social distancing guidelines.

“We need to do that or this is going to be a catastrophe,” he said. “I get calls daily about people behaving badly. People line up outside bars and restaurants. They hang out, they congregate. Not wearing masks or maintaining social distancing.”

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said he hopes the reopening will help bring people back to work and reduce any mental stress the stay-at-home orders caused.

“I’m disappointed they didn’t open up the gyms,” he said Thursday. “That’s become an important part of American culture. Let’s hope we can revive our communities. Let’s hope we can keep the illnesses at a low level and let’s just be safe. I think we can make it work.”

Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy said he backs the 50% capacity rule for restaurants as long as the tables are 6 feet apart.

“That’s the key, whether its 25% capacity or 50,” Levy said. “Restaurants would be losing money every day if they opened at just 25%. At least with 50% they can break even. We’ve heard that loud and clear from every chamber [of commerce] and every restaurateur.”

Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com or 954-572-2008 or Twitter @LisaHuriash

The report on coronavirus-related deaths in Florida nursing homes is released weekly. Last week’s report showed just three such deaths at the Wilton Manors nursing home. No staff at the home have died, according to the report.

Ralph Marrinson, president of the Marrinson Group, which operates Manor Pines and seven other senior care facilities in Florida and South Carolina, said in a telephone interview that he was upset about the deaths and has been taking extensive steps to contain the disease.

“We’re doing everything we’re supposed to be doing,” he said. “We’ve tested everybody. I just don’t know what more to say. It’s a worldwide situation. I just can’t wait till it’s over.”

The facility, which provides long-term care for seniors and short-term care for people with injuries or illnesses, has devoted two of its four wings to residents who have tested positive, he said.

“We have two units that are completely isolated, and we have specific staff in each unit to make sure we don’t have any cross-contamination,” he said. “Like the nurses in the hospitals, all of our nurses and aides and everyone else are heroes.”

The state health department reports 656 residents at nursing homes and assisted-living facilities have died due to the virus as of Friday. Additionally, the state reported eight staff members of facilities also died. About 190 of the state’s facilities have reported at least one death so far.

According to the Florida Health Care Association, a trade group, there are 700 nursing homes and 3,100 ALFs in the state caring for 155,000 people. The facilities employ 200,000 people.

Florida reported 1,715 confirmed deaths from COVID-19, and those at nursing homes and assisted-living facilities account for about 38 percent of those fatalities.

The Florida facility with the most deaths is the Seminole Pavilion Rehabilitation and Nursing Services in Pinellas County, where fatalities include 22 residents and one staffer.

In South Florida, the Wilton Manors facility has experienced the most deaths. Facilities in Miami-Dade County were next on the list, with Miami’s Unity Health and Rehabilitation Center and Claridge House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center accounting for 11 deaths each.

In total, the state report shows 81 nursing-home deaths in Broward County, 75 in Palm Beach County and 163 in Miami-Dade County.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.

A sampling from Twitter and Facebook:

Most of these social media posts reference Florida statute 876.12. It states:

That would certainly seem to ban the wearing of masks in public.

But sorry, anti-mask readers, you should have also read Florida statute 876.155, which was enacted decades later. It states specifically that the previous statutes only apply to people who are wearing masks with the intent to intimidate others, deprive others of their civil rights or commit a crime.

“Intent matters,” said Dave Aronberg, the state attorney for Palm Beach County. “The statute in 876.12, enacted in 1951, does prohibit people from wearing a mask. But 30 years later, 1981, the statute was limited to people who were doing that with the intent to intimidate other people, deprive them of equal protection under the law, and with the intent to engage in criminal conduct. So, yes, intent matters.”

Businesses have also adapted their policies to the new normal.

Consider banks, which frowned upon sunglasses or caps — much less masks — because of the potential for robberies.

“Before, if there was a reason people needed to wear one, medically, they could. But in general, we did not allow that. If you would walk into a financial center, we would say please remove your cap,” said Carla Molina, a spokeswoman for Bank of America. “Obviously, today, customers can walk in with facial coverings. … The good news is, as a customer, if you’re trying to get cash, you don’t even have to take a mask off because we can identify you with the pin on your debit card.”

So wear your masks with the approval of Florida law, just so long as you don’t try to threaten or intimidate anyone while you’re doing it.

“The protesters who are on the steps of the Michigan state capitol, carrying guns with their faces covered, they could be violating the law, if Michigan had similar laws,” Aronberg said. “If you’re out there with the purpose of intimidating people, that could be a crime. If you’re just wearing a mask to protect yourself from coronavirus, it’s not a crime.”

But it was neither of those things. It’s part of Starlink, a project by billionaire mad scientist Elon Musk that will result in a constellation of satellites offering high-speed Internet access within a year or two, according to a timeline by SpaceX, Musk’s private space agency.

On Friday night, according to the Find Starlink tracker app, the train of Starlink satellites will be more visible than it was on Thursday.

The sighting should take place between 8:44 p.m. and 8:49 p.m. as the satellites move in a train formation from southwest to northeast, beginning at 11 degrees above the horizon, rising to 49 degrees above it and ending 10 degrees above it.

SpaceX launched the first train of 60 satellites from Florida about a year ago.

When completed in late 2021 or 2022, the satellite constellation will offer global satellite Internet, with a beta test coming sooner to Canada and the United States. Astronomers worry that the array will cause widespread clutter in orbit and severe light pollution, inhibiting their ability to see beyond the atmosphere and into outer space.

Musk has said the satellites won’t cause problems for astronomers, and that they are designed to fall out of orbit when they reach the end of their lifecycle and need to be replaced. However, the European Space Agency has already reported it had to fire thrusters on an Earth-observation satellite to avoid one of Starlink’s quarter-ton satellites.

When completed, the Starlink project will see some 4,000 satellites launched.

“My children and grandchildren live within a 3 to 12 mile radius. Can we go to each other’s homes to see each other?” wrote one.

“I have not read anywhere if people should refrain from having workers such as cleaning people (maids), pest control, etc. in their homes as we social distance,” wrote another.

“If you are exclusively dating someone and do not live together, can you continue to spend time together with them (dating)? If no, how is this scenario different from a couple living together, given both sets of people work from home, and limit social gathering, except for coworkers, grocery stores. How is living together and social distancing and dating and social distancing different?” wrote a third.

Another wrote in wanting to know whether she could visit her grandkids.

Another wants to know if it’s OK to go to a friend’s house to play mah jongg if they clean the playing pieces well.

We consulted the social distancing guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control to find the answer.

No. The answer to all of your questions is no.

Do not visit the grand kids. Do not get together with your mah jongg buddies to Lysol your favorite game. Do not have cleaning people in your home. Pool cleaners, landscapers and other outdoor services are fine, but keep six feet away. And while you should put off having work crews put in new tile, you should, of course, still feel free to call a professional if a pipe bursts, the A/C blows out or you have some other emergency.

Do not visit your boyfriend/girlfriend who is being just as careful as you, because even if they’re just going to the grocery store, that’s twice as many visits to the grocery store, twice as many chances for you to infect each other.

It may seem as if the month of March took a few years to pass by, but Florida is still weeks away from the peak of the virus’s effect on the state. According to the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Florida will see its peak on April 21, at which point there will be nearly 250 deaths per day in the state.

That means social distancing is more important than ever, and Florida could be doing a better job. Some Floridians could be doing a much, much better job, such as the guys in the Keys who attacked people with bats when told they needed to practice social distancing. The Centers for Disease Control recommend keeping six feet from others when away from home and avoiding any large gatherings. Further, the state’s safer-at-home order dictates just a few reasons for leaving your house. They include things like attending church services, caring for a pet or getting exercise. That order has also restricted most brick-and-mortar shops in the state, though there are many exceptions that qualify as essential businesses.

The CDC also now recommends wearing a cloth mask in public and has several ways you can make one at home, such as the tried and true coffee-filter-and-bandanna method.

That doesn’t mean you seal yourself off in your house and ride this out as though you were dealing with a months-long hurricane. It’s important to stay in touch with your family and friends. Use video calls instead of typical phone calls to keep up with family, or even use Zoom or other video conferencing apps to hold a virtual reunion among people at multiple locations. And don’t overdose on news. Take a break from the constantly changing coronavirus numbers and the efforts to fight it. All those efforts will continue without your obsessing over them. Find ways to unwind, and find the time to.

If you have any questions about the coronavirus, please let us know by filling out this online form.

As part of our Sound Off South Florida project, in which we answer your questions, reader Mary wanted to know, “What retailer sells the most lottery tickets in Florida?”

Just given population centers, you’d think the biggest retailers would be in the biggest cities — Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa and so on — but you would be wrong.

According to numbers from the Florida Lottery, one retailer each in Jacksonville, Miami and West Palm Beach were in the top 10. But the top three locations for lottery sales in Florida were in McDavid (pop: 1,302), Campbellton (pop: 224) and Bonifay (pop: 2,722).

Given those population numbers, you can be forgiven for never having heard of these towns, especially if you’re reading this from South Florida. Because the location of those towns gives away why they’re such hot lottery sellers: They’re all in the Panhandle on the border with Alabama. And Alabamadoes not have a lottery. That’s allowed not only these three stores to place in the top three, but two Pensacola stores to finish elsewhere in the top 10 as well.

That could be changing soon. According to the Birmingham News, Alabama’s state legislature is considering a bill that would allow Alabamans to vote on whether to have a lottery. That would certainly affect sales in these small North Florida towns and move other locations to the top of the lottery-selling pack.

But for now, here are the top 10 lottery-selling locations for the 2019 fiscal year, as well as total net sales, including lotto and scratch-off:

1. State Line Gift Shop, 11208 U.S. Highway 97, McDavid, $5,505,257.50

2. Fortune Liquors, 5878 Highway 231, Campbellton, $5,384,016.50

3. Friendly Mini Mart, 1080 N. U.S. Highway 79, Bonifay, $4,577,112

4. Mercado Miami, Miami International Airport Terminal F, Miami, $4,289,590

5. Flora Bama Liquor, 17395 Perdido Key Drive, Pensacola, $3,558,104.50

6. Publix, 1921 N. Belcher Road, Clearwater, $3,503,670

7. Edgewood Shell, 2309 Edgewood Ave. West, Jacksonville, $3,484,808

8. Circle K, 3225 W. Nine Mile Road, Pensacola, $3,445,720.50

9. Publix, 926 S. Military Trail, West Palm Beach, $3,403,995.50

10. Publix, 7050 Seminole Pratt-Whitney Road, Loxahatchee, $3,367,386.50

Do you have a question about South Florida life, culture or history that you’d like to see us answer? Go to SunSentinel.com/SoundOff or fill out the form below. We might use it in a future story.

Reader Matt Dillon wanted to know more of those details. As part of our Sound Off South Florida project, in which we answer reader-submitted questions about life in South Florida, Dillon wrote in to ask, “I know lots of mobsters lived in Fort Lauderdale back in the day. Where did they live?”

Truth is, back in the day, Fort Lauderdale was not exactly mob city. Most of the action was a little further south. We’ll begin at the beginning, with perhaps the most infamous mobster of all time in this list that, while exhaustive, is far from a complete account of every shady mafiosi to live in our sunny state.

1920-1930

Al “Scarface” Capone (we’ll be including ridiculous mobster nicknames whenever possible) purchased his Miami Beach mansion at 93 Palm Ave. on Palm Island in 1928. Unfortunately for Capone, he didn’t have much time to enjoy the island home, as he went to prison for tax evasion in 1932, served seven years while his brain melted from syphilis, and then spent his remaining eight years at the mansion where, by the time he died in 1947, doctors said he had the mental capacity of a 12-year-old.

But the mansion did give Capone a useful alibi for the most violent day of his career. On the morning of Feb. 14, 1929, he had an appointment with Dade County Attorney Robert Taylor to discuss his business dealings in South Florida.

“I am a gambler, play racehorses,” he told the county attorney according to “Organized Crime in Miami,” a 2016 book by mob researcher Avi Bash. Later that morning, in Chicago, seven men from a rival gang of Capone’s were put up against a wall by four men, two of them dressed in police uniforms, and turned into Swiss cheese with a pair of Thompson submachine guns.

Capone’s mansion is now owned by Emanuela Verlicchi Marazzi, the widow of Filippo Marazzi, who was president of the Italian ceramic tile company Marazzi Group. The house went on sale in 2018 after major renovations. It was listed for $14.9 million. Capone paid $40,000, then kicked in another $200,000 for upgrades.

The hangout: On its website, Cap’s Place, the oldest restaurant in Broward County, touts many of the famous people who have eaten there. World leaders like Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. The obscenely wealthy, including Rockefellers and Vanderbilts. Pop culture icons like George Harrison and Mariah Carey. Also, Al Capone and Meyer Lansky. Back when Cap Knight first opened the place in the 1920s, it was a combination bar, restaurant and gambling house known as Club Unique. Gambling was illegal then, but so what? It was the 1920s — so was alcohol. Knight conducted his own rum-running missions to Bimini, returning with liquor to stock the bar in his restaurant. To this day, Cap’s Place, located at 2980 N.E. 31st Ave. in Lighthouse Point, has a speakeasy feel. Diners should know that there is no parking. Instead, a ferry shuttles patrons between the restaurant on Cap’s Island to the dock at 2765 N.E. 28th Court.

1930-1950

Capone’s mansion may be the larger-than-life example of mobsters living in South Florida, but in terms of numbers, Hollywood may take the title. Back in the 1930s and 1940s, Hallandale Beach was filled with casinos — “carpet joints,” they called them. Broward County Sheriff Walter Clark, who held his position through most of the two decades despite being thrown out of office by Florida’s governor in both 1939 and 1950, turned a blind eye to the gambling dens. But while their business was in Hallandale, the mobsters lived in Hollywood.

“They raised and had families here, so they kept that somewhat clear of their doings and the clubs were in Hallandale,” said Hollywood historian Joan Mickelson. “[Vincent] Alo used the Hollywood Yacht Club as a meeting place, and they got together and played cards or something, but that wasn’t a major place.”

Vincent “Jimmy Blue Eyes” Alo was one of several gangsters that operated the casinos. His places included the Colonial Inn and the Barn, according to Mickelson. Alo lived in the 1200 block of Monroe Street in Hollywood. Alo operated the places in conjunction with Meyer and Jacob Lansky. (Meyer’s last home in South Florida was on the second floor of the Imperial House, a condominium that still stands at 5255 Collins Ave. in Miami. His brother Jake lived in the 1100 block of Harrison Street in Hollywood.)

But as pointed out by Mickelson, who wrote the book “A Guide to Historic Hollywood” and volunteers at the Hollywood Historical Society, Alo and Lansky were not the first to open casinos in Hallandale Beach. That honor belonged to Julian “Potatoes” Kaufman.

According to his 1939 obituary in the Chicago Tribune, Kaufman had been a lieutenant in the gang of Dean O’Banion — the same gang that lost seven members in the 1929 St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

“On the run from Capone, he came down here and realized that Hallandale didn’t much care what you did,” Mickelson said.

Kaufman opened the Plantation casino, and the others swiftly followed. Kaufman lived in the 1200 block of Tyler Street, in a home recently bought by antiques dealer Guy Bush. He had heard only rumors about the home’s shady past.

“I heard Al Capone used to come and play cards in the house in the ’20s and ’30s,” Bush said. “And I’ve been told somebody was shot and killed on the front steps.”

Just down the street from Bush’s home on Tyler Street was the home of Benjamin Eisen, who kept books for the Lansky brothers and also served as chief financial officer of Gulfstream racetrack.

Although Kaufman died of a heart attack in 1939, the good times rolled on for the Lanskys and Alo until Sheriff Clark was dragged before a Senate committee holding hearings on organized crime. When he told the committee he had no knowledge of gambling in Broward County, the audience broke out in laughter. In 1950, Clark was removed from office for the second and final time. Although Lansky and Alo continued to live in South Florida, they turned their attention elsewhere, to Cuba and Las Vegas.

The hangouts: Every carpet joint in Hallandale Beach. Along with the Plantation, the Barn and the Colonial Inn, there was the Club Greenacres, the Club Boheme, the Farm and a number of others, none of them still standing.

1950-2000

That wasn’t the end of mobsters in South Florida, though after gambling went away, many came here for the same reason a lot of people do — retirement.

Gerardo “Jerry” Catena, a reputed underboss of the Genovese crime family, retired to the 2100 block of Cocoanut Road in Boca Raton after he got out of a five-year jail stint in 1975. He died in 2000.

Anthony “Tumac” Accetturo lived on the 5100 block of Jackson Street in Hollywood until fleeing a contract put out on his life by the boss of his Lucchese crime family. His house is currently owned by the Marianists, a Roman Catholic order of priests and brothers, property records show.

The reputed head of the Philadelphia mob, Nicodemo “Little Nicky” Scarfo moved to Fort Lauderdale part-time in the 1980s, until the FBI met him at the Newark airport when he flew there from Fort Lauderdale. He spent the rest of his life in prison. His house was in the 3100 block of Northeast 47th Street.

Along with the retirees, the mob also conducted business in South Florida through the latter half of the 20th century, even if the golden days of the carpet joints had long gone.

Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano served as point man in South Florida for the Genovese crime family. He lived at two houses on Palm Drive in Hallandale Beach from 1974 until his arrest in 1978. He died in prison 11 years later, serving a life sentence for murder and racketeering charges.

One murder that Provenzano may have gotten away with: Jimmy Hoffa. On July 30, 1975, former Teamsters union boss Hoffa was supposed to meet Provenzano and Anthony “Tony Jack” Giacalone, a member of Detroit’s Mafia family, at a restaurant near Detroit. Instead, Hoffa was never seen again.

Along with Provenzano and Catena, another member of the Genovese family, Michael “Trigger Mike” Coppola, lived in the 4400 block of Alton Road in Miami Beach from 1950 to his death in 1966, except for a few years in prison over that time for tax evasion, according to mob researcher Thom Jones.

The hangouts: In Miami-Dade, you had The Forge. First opened in the 1920s, it came into its own after a major overhaul in the 1960s and became the high-end restaurant we know today, located at 432 W 41st St. in Miami Beach. It had a reputation as a mob hangout in the years immediately after its remodel, according to the New York Times, especially on Wednesday nights. On June 30, 1977, Meyer Lansky’s stepson, Richard Schwartz, shot and killed the son of a Genovese family soldier at the Forge’s bar. While awaiting trial in October of the same year, Schwartz was himself killed by a single shotgun blast to the chest while sitting in his Cadillac in Bay Harbor Islands. The killer was never found.

In Broward County, the hangout not just for local mobsters but for organized crime figures across the country was Joe Sonken’s Gold Coast Restaurant, located along the beach where GG’s Waterfront stands today at 606 N. Ocean Drive in Hollywood. The FBI believed the restaurant served as a neutral meeting place for members of every Mafia family. Agents opened at least three investigations into Sonken and his restaurant over 20 years, attempted to bug the place, and took thousands of photographs of it, but Sonken was never indicted and died in 1990.

2000-present

Finally, we come to contemporary times, and Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino.

Like Scarfo, Merlino is the alleged head of the Philly mob. He got out of prison in 2011 after a decade-long stint, maintained that he was retiring and moved to Boca Raton. He bought a house on the 600 block of Northeast Fourth Street in September 2018, but was sentenced to two years in prison just a month later on an illegal gambling charge.

Like so many before him, Merlino was brought low by associates who had flipped and informed authorities of his actions. But unlike his predecessors, Merlino put a very contemporary spin on his woes. As he was led from the courthouse in handcuffs, he told reporters, “President Trump is right — they’ve got to outlaw the flippers.”

The hangout: Merlino’s, of course, though it’s now known as Frank and Dino’s, located at 39 SE First Ave. in Boca Raton. When Merlino got out of prison and moved to Boca Raton in 2011, he maintained he had gone straight. He said he worked as maitre d’ at the restaurant bearing his name, and was emphatically not an owner of the place, at least not on paper.

The Sun Sentinel’s food critic at the time gave the place three stars out of four. It closed in 2016 after Merlino’s latest legal woes.

An earlier version of this story misidentified the Dade County Attorney who talked with Al Capone on Feb. 14, 1929. His name was Robert Taylor.

Do you have a question about South Florida life, culture or history that you’d like to see us answer? Go to SunSentinel.com/SoundOff or fill out the form below. We might use it in a future story.

Remote control: If someone is sick in your house, you wouldn’t share a cup with them, so why are you fighting over the remote? When’s the last time anyone cleaned that thing? If you’re the first to catch flu-like symptoms in your house, you should assume you’re losing remote privileges. Wipe down the remote every so often. And don’t even think about touching the remote in your hotel room (or the phone, for that matter) without sanitizing it first.

Dish sponge: You’re conscientious about wiping down every plate and bowl carefully — with the same sponge for every plate. If something is wet, absorbent and rubs against grime after every meal, it’s probably pretty gross. Replace your sponge every now and then.

Money: It’s the one thing that gets passed around from anonymous person to anonymous person, several times a day, every day. And what do some people do when they’re trying to separate a couple of ones from their wad? They lick their fingers. And then you get their saliva-enhanced money when you make change at the Wawa. Wash your hands after you count your cash. Speaking of gas stations…

Gas pump handles: On Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner of Consumer Affairs Mary Barzee Flores of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services held a news conference at which she warned consumers about consumer safety at gas stations. This was partly about credit card skimmers, though little electronic devices that crooks hide in gas pumps to steal your credit card information. But it was also partly about helping stop the spread of the new coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control recommends that businesses regularly clean frequently touched surfaces. Some gas stations even offer disposable gloves.

Office break room: If your office is like the Sun Sentinel’s, your fellow employees may be pretty good about refilling the water in the Keurig coffee maker, but cleaning out that thing is one of those jobs in which everybody assumes somebody is going to do it and therefore nobody does it. All of those surfaces in the break room that rarely get cleaned mean a build-up of germs. Keurig recommends cleaning out its coffee maker once every three to six months. They also recommend their Keurig Descaling Solution, but you can do the job with white vinegar a lot cheaper.

Touch screens: ATMs, the ordering screens at some fast food places, and any other surface that people are constantly putting their grubby little paws on can fill up with nastiness. According to the CDC, the flu virus can only survive on hands for three to five minutes, but it can survive on these surfaces for up to 48 hours. So if you go to the ATM to get money, touch the screen and then rub your face, you’re asking for a disease. Use hand sanitizer after using public touch screens.

Shopping carts: There’s a reason Publix has those antibacterial wipes next to the lines of shopping carts. Use them.

High-fives and handshakes: Many Catholic dioceses, including the Archdiocese of Miami, have suggested churches remove holy water from basins, end giving out sacramental wine during Communion and refrain from shaking hands during the “sign of peace,” among other temporary changes in an effort to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. If it’s good enough for God, it’s probably good enough for you — you may want to think about a wave or, at most, a fist bump. And wash your hands afterward. In fact, wash your hands often. The worst that happens is you give yourself cleaner hands.