Ahead of the Dec. 9 runoff election for the Miami mayor's race, candidates Eileen Higgins and Emilio Gonzalez responded to questions about how they'd address some of the city's urgent needs.

The big picture: None of the 13 candidates earned more than 50% of the vote last month to succeed outgoing Republican Mayor Francis Suarez. (The race is technically nonpartisan.)

• Higgins, a Miami-Dade County commissioner who resigned her position to run, and Gonzalez, the former Miami city manager, earned the highest percentages, with about 36% and nearly 20%, respectively.

Driving the news: Their answers came during a community forum last week hosted by the League of Women Voters of Miami-Dade, WLRN reported.

Here's what each candidate said on the issues, per WLRN.

Affordability

Both candidates agreed the city's permitting system needs to be overhauled, or even eliminated.

• Higgins argued the city's process — compared to the county's — takes too long, which keeps residents out of housing.
• Gonzalez echoed calls from Tallahassee to do away with property taxes in some form.

Immigration

Gonzalez, who headed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services during the George W. Bush administration, said he will "always defend my immigrant community," but added he "will never ever defend rapists, thugs, murderers and child molesters."

• He said Miami police and ICE officers should treat anyone they interact with respectfully.

Higgins pushed back, arguing officials aren't just going after criminals, "They're going after everybody."

• She pointed to a Miami Herald investigation that showed hundreds of detainees at Alligator Alcatraz had no criminal record.

Transportation

Both candidates agreed that the city needs to improve transportation options.

• Higgins said she supports extending the Metromover rail system from downtown to South Beach.
• Gonzalez said city street trolleys and their routes should be updated to better reflect residents' desired destinations.

Head to WLRN to read the full story

A third of the record 15 people put to death this year by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis were military veterans, according to a new report.

Why it matters: Veterans are overrepresented on death rows across the country, with their military service and psychological and physical trauma often minimized or not mentioned at all to jurors.

• That's according to "Forgotten Service, Lasting Wounds: Military Veterans and the Death Penalty," a new report from the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center.

State of play: No state has sentenced more military veterans to death than Florida, per the report — and no state has executed more so far this year.

• That's despite pleas for mercy from veterans who have appealed to DeSantis' own military service and invoked his assertion that Florida is "the most veteran friendly state in the nation."

What they're saying: "We can never be a veteran friendly state when our leader is signing off on their deaths at the hands of the State," 160 veterans wrote to DeSantis in August.

The other side: A spokesperson for DeSantis didn't respond to Axios' questions about the letter, the report and how the governor is deciding which executions to carry out. More than 250 people are on Florida's death row.

• "My advice to those who are seeking to avoid the death penalty in Florida would be to not murder people," communications director Alex Lanfranconi said in a statement to Axios.

Yes, but: When considering whether to impose a death sentence or life in prison without parole, jurors are required to weigh the severity of the crime against certain life circumstances.

• Some circumstances, including military service, could lessen a defendant's culpability.

Case in point: The report zooms in on Jeffrey Hutchinson, whom the state executed in May in the murders of his girlfriend, Renee Flaherty, and her three children.

• The former Army Ranger and paratrooper fought in the Gulf War and was exposed to bombings and sarin gas, a toxic nerve agent.
• Hutchinson had post-traumatic stress disorder, brain injury and Gulf War Illness, a wide-ranging group of symptoms of which little was known when he was sentenced to death in 2001, per a court filing in his case.

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🎶 Ultra Music Festival 2026 announced its phase two lineup last week, adding more than 70 acts to an already packed list. (Miami New Times)

😋 Pauline, a new restaurant headed by Abram Bissell, a renowned New York chef, is now open at the Miami Beach hotel The Shelborne by Proper. (Miami Herald)

🏗️ The Miami Urban Development Review Board on Wednesday will vote on a proposal to bring an eight-story, 354-unit multifamily project to Little Havana. The project includes a 5,000-square-foot grocery store. (The Real Deal)

• The developers are seeking several city code waivers, including a 10% reduction in required parking spaces.

Half of new Florida businesses make it to their fifth year, according to the latest federal data.

Zoom in: About 50% of Florida startups that opened in the 12 months ending in March 2019 were still operating five years later, per U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

• That's slightly lower than the national average of 51.6%.

Between the lines: The states with the highest and lowest 5-year business survival rates don't have a lot in common, varying by region and politics.

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A few weeks remain until the start of Miami Art Week, but some art shows are already on display.

Why it matters: The weeklong event coincides with Art Basel at the Miami Beach Convention Center, but features shows that are often more accessible to the general public.

The latest: No Vacancy, Miami Beach, which is back for its sixth edition, opened Nov. 13 and runs through Dec. 20.

How it works: The juried competition invites 12 artists and collectives to display site-specific works at 12 iconic Miami Beach hotels, including The Betsy Hotel, The Miami Beach EDITION and Casa Faena. (Think: pop-up exhibits.)

• Each artist receives $10,000 commission to create an installation at their assigned hotel.
• Two prizes will be awarded this year, totaling $35,000.

Flashback: Last year's jurors' choice was local photographer Josh Aronson, whose installation, "Florida Boys," was printed on translucent floor-to-ceiling curtains.

The full list of participating hotels and artists can be found here.