Tomorrow is Give Miami Day, the biggest giving event of the year in the 305. Last year, the campaign raised more than $9 million for SoFlo nonprofits, and this year the sponsor, the Miami Foundation, is hoping to top $10 million.
Here’s what to know if you want to get in on it.
Make a list of your favorite participating nonprofits and get your credit card ready. It kicks off at midnight. Donate here.
Silver lining. Local environmental groups are riding a post-Irma wave of attention and support, with hundreds of volunteers picking up thousands of pounds of trash. People wanna know how to volunteer and donate as South Florida struggles to clean up all the debris left behind by the monster hurricane. (Miami Herald)
Oy vey. The owner of Lokal and Kush, Matt Kuscher, has bought Stephen’s, Miami-Dade’s oldest operating deli. Kuscher is closing it briefly for renovations, but says the spot will be serving up its famous corned beef in Hialeah soon – and Henderson “Junior” Biggers is staying put. (Miami New Times)
YASSS. Plus, Jackson’s Soul Food is opening up a spot on Ocean Drive. We’re not sure how its amazing fried chicken and mac-n-cheese fits in with those itty bitty bathing suits, but we don’t even care. (Miami.com)
Denied. Sea level rise threatens the very existence of the Key West mole skink, a brown and pink lizard. But the Trump administration has denied endangered protected status for it and 24 other species. Now the Center for Biological Diversity is suing, claiming the rejection is because the administration doesn’t believe in climate change. (Miami New Times)
I do what I want. Just two months after pretty much all of South Florida lost electricity from a Category 1 storm, FPL is asking for permission to pass the costs of fixing its leaking cooling canals at Turkey Point onto us consumers. But environmental and consumer groups aren’t gonna let that happen without a fight. (Miami New Times)
Fighting to stay. There are 2,500 Nicaraguans in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status, many of them right here in SoFlo, and they’re scrambling to figure out what’s next after the Trump administration announced it would end the TPS program, which means they’d have to return home. But there’s some hope. Three members of Congress, including our own Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, are working on legislation that would allow everyone protected by the program to apply for permanent residency. (Miami Herald)
Congrats on getting to hump day! Let’s do this. 💪