Thanks mostly to the Miami Heat's coup signing Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and Lebron James, Miami Beach's upcoming "tourist season" could be the city's best ever.

At least that was the vibe today at the Miami Beach Chamber of commerce preseason annual luncheon at the Forge.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The number of U.S. homes lost to foreclosure surged in July, another sign lenders are moving quicker to take back properties from homeowners behind in payments.

Lenders repossessed 92,858 properties last month, up 9 percent from June and an increase of 6 percent from July 2009, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.

Banks have stepped up repossessions this year to clear out the backlog of bad loans. July makes the eighth month in a row that the pace of homes lost to foreclosure has increased on an annual basis.

After an unprecedented surge during the boom years, the number of homes and condos on the market in South Florida has been plummeting for the past two years, posting 24 monthly declines that slashed the cache of for-sale properties nearly in half.

But for the past 10 weeks, the number of homes for sale -- crucial in the supply-demand seesaw that determines real estate prices -- has been inching upward, sparking questions about the state of the housing recovery and the effect of foreclosures on the marketplace.

MIAMI, Fla. -- South Florida Realtors have been busy over the last few months.

Miami-Dade County Health Officials have closed Crandon Park Beach in Key Biscayne in South Florida due to very high concentrations of Enterococci, a bacteria typically found in the intestines of humans and animals as well as in soil.

Miami Beach's Deauville Beach Resort, once host to presidents, Hollywood celebrities and what was perhaps The Beatles' most iconic performance, is in danger of being shut down over a slew of code and life-safety issues.

And caught in the middle were a South Miami couple who had to get married in the hotel's noisy lobby because its ballrooms had been shut down.

Detroit is listed by Children's Health magazine as being the worst place to raise a family, but right behind it is Miami. If a city isn't a good place to raise a family, that likely means its also a terrible place to live. Factors the magazine used to come to its conclusions, included crime and safety, education, economics, housing, cultural attractions, and health.

Despite his vows of neutrality, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is likely to caucus with the Democrats or the Republicans should he advance to the Senate, if only because failing to pick a side would exclude him from the chamber’s choice committees and dramatically reduce his influence.