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Dirty dining, home sales & more: Catch up on top Pembroke Pines stories of week

By Edited by Mike Garbett. Story produced with AI assistance
Catch up on the stories that made headlines across Pembroke Pines this week.
Catch up on the stories that made headlines across Pembroke Pines this week. Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com

From a roach-related food court shutdown to an arrest tied to a deadly festival shooting, it was an eventful week in Pembroke Pines.

Here’s a roundup of the top stories you might have missed:

  • A roach found in a customer’s meal at Kelly’s Cajun Grill inside Pembroke Lakes Mall sparked backlash on social media after inspectors shut down the restaurant on April 15 for live roach activity and cross-contamination violations. The eatery reopened the next day after a clean follow-up inspection, but Broward shoppers are calling for broader changes at the food court.
  • Pembroke Pines was named one of Broward County’s most competitive markets for home and condo sales in the first quarter of 2026, with single-family home inventory dropping 23% year-over-year in March. The city’s median home sales price sits at $668,000, above the county-wide median of $600,000.
  • The city’s Youth Advisory Board is accepting applications from high school students in grades 10-12 who want to get involved in local government, with a deadline of July 13.
  • A new 410-unit affordable living community for residents 55 and older, the Douglas Gardens Residences at Miami Jewish Health, celebrated its grand opening April 24, featuring on-site health care through a 15,000-square-foot Florida PACE Medical Center.
  • Water Safety Day returns to the YMCA Aquatic Center on May 2 from 10 a.m. to noon, offering free pool activities, CPR training and demonstrations from first responders.
  • A Pembroke Pines teacher created Unplugged Outdoor Co., a device-free summer camp for teens ages 12 to 16 featuring outdoor excursions across South Florida. The three-week program costs $2,250 and runs two sessions this summer starting June 22 and July 20.
  • A look back at when the intersection of Pines Boulevard and Flamingo Road was dubbed the nation’s most dangerous by a 2001 State Farm Insurance study. Roughly $5 million in improvements later cut crashes at the intersection by 64%.
  • A 22-year-old was arrested during a felony traffic stop in Pembroke Pines on April 16 in connection with a shooting at the Taste of Miami Karnival in Little Haiti that killed one person and injured two. He has entered a plea of not guilty.

This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence and using our own originally reported, written and published content. It was reviewed and edited by our journalists.