Miami-Dade County’s animal shelter is one of the most state-of-the-art in the whole country. We took a tour to find out what makes it so noteworthy.

Come for the adorable animals, stay for the fun facts about what makes this a great place to be an adoptee. Then go and adopt one of these sweet furballs.

We’re gonna need a bigger boat, because South Florida is the wettest it’s been in 86 years. Three weeks after Irma, Lake Okeechobee is still so high that its dike might spring a leak – or worse – and Shark Valley is still underwater. Plus these king tides mean that the drainage canals that should be making room for more water aren’t really working. Grab your floaties, folks. (Miami Herald)

Where do we begin? The Miami Herald investigation into Florida’s juvenile justice system is horrifying. They uncovered beatings by officers; fights staged for “entertainment, wagering, and to exert control”; sex between staff and detainees; and “questionable deaths.” The Department of Juvenile Justice calls it “tough love.” The investigation shows that it’s much, much more than that.

#GirlBoss. Annette Taddeo, the newly elected District 40 state senator, was sworn in yesterday, making her the first Hispanic Democratic woman to serve in the Florida Senate. (WLRN)

#Increase. Miami native and Alvin Ailey lead dancer Jamar Roberts is in The New York Times, sharing his journey. He spent his childhood in Goulds in South Dade, raised by parents with a drug problem, and went on to join one of America’s most renowned dance companies. He’ll be telling his story through dance at Downtown’s Olympia Theater in January.

SMH. Way back in December 2016, auditors warned that Florida’s Division of Emergency Management was not even close to being ready for a major disaster. How bad was it? For starters, the agency was using a spreadsheet made in the 1980s to estimate its needs. That’s a #TBT gone wrong. (Miami Herald)