University of Miami COVID-19
September 19, 2020 Leave a comment
HIGH RISK: 13,000 FOOTBALL FANS
August 24, 2020 Leave a comment
Miami Congresswoman Donna Shalala, the former cabinet secretary of Health and Human Services and former UM president, told the Herald, “It is very difficult to open anything when you have community spread. We still have community spread.” She calls reopening large venues like Hard Rock Stadium “risky.”
Allowing fans at Miami Dolphins, Hurricanes games bad risk | Miami Herald
It sounds like a big mistake, an error, a high risk activity to allow 13,000 into football games. Many will drink too much, talk too much, yell too much and many without masks controlled by the Hard Rock Stadium.
THIS IS SIMPLY AN EXPERIMENT IN COVID-19 COMMUNITY SPREAD. NOT A GOOD MODEL FOR UM STUDENT BEHAVIOR.
COVID-19 CRISIS: Florida Doubling Rates are Falling Fast.
June 21, 2020 Leave a comment
Estimates from today’s Miami Herald, “In Florida, known cases are doubling every 20.7 days.” Florida is in trouble with this rate.
Similar doubling rates are occurring in Palm Beach County and only slightly higher in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties.
City of Miami Approved Dumping on Wetlands
April 7, 2011 1 Comment
Letter to Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection
March 31, 2011
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Mr. Donald Keirn
Environmental Specialist III
Submerged Lands & Environmental Resources Program
Department of Environmental Protection
400 N. Congress Ave., Suite 200
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Via email: Don.Keirn@dep.state.fl.usSubject: North Point, Virginia Key, Florida
Conceptual Environmental Resource Permit No. EC 13-0267159-001
Port Tunnel Contractor Deposits on wetlands, mangroves.Dear Mr. Keirn:
We are writing to object to the dumping of excavation materials from the Miami Harbor tunnel project on Virginia Key, a barrier island within the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve, an Outstanding Florida Water.
The City of Miami, the municipality that has jurisdiction over the North Point of Virginia Key, has allowed the Port of Miami Tunnel contractor, Bouygues Civil Works Florida,. Inc. access to Virginia Key for the purpose of depositing tens of thousands of cubic yards of fill material on the North Point. The contractor has been cited for depositing material on wetlands and destroying mangroves. A “Notice of Violation” was issued by the Miami-Dade County Department of Environmental Resources (DERM) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection is investigating.
The North Point of Virginia Key is an environmentally significant and fragile area for which the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has identified special resource designations: Manatee No Entry Zone, the Critical Wildlife Area and Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve.
In 1994, the Florida DEP described the North Point as “highly productive fish and wildlife habitat, as well as a movement corridor for the endangered manatee.” An extensive restoration project created five acres of coastal hammock, four acres of dune, 12 acres of new mangrove forest and new tidal habitat where there is a thriving coastal band mangrove community of red, white, and black mangroves.
In light of the significant environmental resources of the North Point of Virginia Key and the surrounding Wildlife Refuge and Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve, we are requesting that the Florida DEP:
*Issue an immediate Cease and Desist Order to prevent further damage to the area’s natural resources.
*Conduct an ecological assessment of the area to determine what damage has been caused by the most recent dumping of materials, the dumping of Port of Miami dredge materials in the 1990s as well as other uses introduced over the years by the City of Miami. These uses may be incompatible with the fragile natural resources of the uplands and submerged lands as well as contrary to the deed restrictions set by the State of Florida when it conveyed the property to the City of Miami in 1942.
*Request that the State of Florida manage the ecological restoration of the area, in partnership with Miami-Dade County’s Environmentally Endangered Lands Program or other responsible entities.
*Establish a state park, preserve or wildlife refuge on Virginia Key, in particular in the North Point and Critical Wildlife Refuge areas, to assure the protection and preservation of the area for future generations.
Thank you in advance for your attention and assistance in this matter of great public Interest.
Please add the undersigned to the list of organizations and individuals to be notified by the Florida DEP in all matters related to this issue and permit application.
Sincerely,
Debbie Matthews, chair
Sierra Club Miami Group
P.O. Box 43-0741
S. Miami, FL 33243-0741
email: treehuggerdeb@yahoo.com
Phone: 305-766-0835Robert S. Skinner
Izaak Walton League of America, Miami Chapter
2730 SW 3rd Ave # 205
Miami, FL 33129-2339
Phone: 305-285-0916
email: skinner205@earthlink.net
www.yellowbot.com/izaak-walton-league-of-america-miami-fl.htmlMichael Chenoweth
The Izaak Walton League, Florida Keys Chapter
P.O. Box 236
Homestead, Florida 33090-0236
Phone: (305) 451-0993
email: gladerunner@earthlink.netAlexis K. Segal, Esq.
Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper, Waterkeeper and Executive Director
465 Ocean Drive #417,Miami Beach, FL 33139
Email: alexis@bbwk.orgwww.bbwk.org
Miami Misuse of Funds–How Unusual
February 17, 2011 Leave a comment
And one wonders why the citizens of this county are not more disgusted with the pervasive corruption of its government. I can only conclude that they think that the rest of the world behaves to same way, and it’s a simply part of the cost of doing business here. I can assure you that many cities and counties that are well run in this country.
The city of Miami, already deep in the throes of a federal investigation into bond sales and questionable moves used to prop up past budgets, used nearly $7 million in restricted public works money to balance its books to close out the 2009 and 2010 budget years, according to yet another stinging city audit released Thursday.
via Audit: Miami misused millions in public works funds – Miami-Dade – MiamiHerald.com.
Recommended: “Transit Miami” on the FDOT
November 25, 2010 Leave a comment
Any “idiot” (I guess, including FDOT designers) could have driven along Brickell Avenue downtown and have known that this is the most pedestrian and bicycle unfriendly area in the county (I personally think it is also auto-unfriendly). Fortunately, we have people like the writer of Transit Miami who have take the effort to mobilize the community.
Herein lies the problem with FDOT. Why does it take an entire community to beg for overdue improvements? Shouldn’t FDOT have been proactive and taken the initiative to introduce improvements from the beginning? Why didn’t FDOT reach out to the community to get their input?
Together we will make a difference on Brickell Avenue, but only because so many people are directly affected by this poorly designed road.
This same culture of having to beg the government for change (without many results) applies to the city government of Coral Gables.
Thanks AT&T!
November 13, 2010 Leave a comment
AT&T–you have the worst internet, wireless and customer service in town (except maybe for Comcast!). My internet service was out for a few days and I read books! Enjoyable indeed.
Coral Gables Watch 