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🙈Yes, that Uber receipt is for real
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🙈Yes, that Uber receipt is for real

There’s a nor’easter bearing down on the northeast. Meanwhile, in Miami…

YOU’RE RIGHT. WE’RE NOT NEUTRAL.

Earlier this month, with Parkland fresh on everyone’s minds, the Florida legislature dove into the first real attempt at gun reform in decades. And we kept a close eye on their work, tracking their progress every day for two weeks.

Hundreds of you wrote in to share your thoughts and give us feedback on our coverage  — and we’re super grateful for that.

Some thought our standard for defining “progress” on gun reform was too low. Some thought it wasn’t our place to have an opinion on what “progress” is. Some said we should stick to local events. (Man, do we feel you on that some days. 🙈)

But the thing is, we care about the future of Miami, and helping it move toward being a safe, inclusive, welcoming place for all of us. That means being unapologetic about things like furthering diversity, talking about climate change as a fact, supporting equality for LGBT members of the community, and responding to evidence about what keeps our communities safe.

In short: You’re right. We’re not neutral. And this is why.

WHAT'S NEW IN THE 305

Ouch. If you bugged out a bit when you rolled over and looked at your Uber receipts on Sunday morning, no, it’s not just you – it really is getting more expensive. Rates in Miami just rose about 10 percent. And no, that increase isn’t going to the drivers. (Miami Herald)

WTH. The Miami Beach government put 115 employees on notice when they didn’t report back to work immediately after Hurricane Irma, even if they were late because they evacuated out of town. It fired at least one of them. Now County Commissioner Sally Heyman is trying to make it illegal to punish an employee for obeying an evacuation order. Got thoughts? The public hearing is April 18. (Miami New Times)

History lesson. As some of South Florida’s last remaining pine rockland habitat gets bulldozed to make way for a strip mall, lots of folks are asking, “But how?” Here’s how: Since the early 2000s the University of Miami has been trying to do something with the land, and in 2014 the university, then led by congressional candidate Donna Shalala, sold off a big chunk of it. That decision opened the rare bit of forest habitat up to the destruction we’re seeing today. (Miami New Times)

Celeb status. Soccer star David Beckham, who fought for years to bring a soccer team to MIami, has a message for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos: choose Miami. He makes a little cameo in this pitch video with City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. (The Next Miami)

No longer the “Gunshine State”? For the first time since Florida passed new gun control laws earlier this month, a Broward judge ruled that police could temporarily seize a local man’s guns and ammunition. Called the “risk protection” or “red flag” law, it’s a clear sign that we’re in a new era for gun use in Florida. (Sun-Sentinel)

No more horsing around. The City of Miami Beach revoked South Beach club Mokai’s license earlier this month after it brought a real live horse into the club on a packed night. No bueno. But the city is giving Mokai a second chance, with two very important caveats – no more live animals in the club and they have to give a hefty donation to a horse farm. (Miami.com)

It begins. It’s official: one of the FIU bridge collapse survivors has sued FIGG Bridge Engineers and Munilla Construction Management (MCM), the two companies involved in the design and construction of the pedestrian bridge. (Miami Herald)

Follow the money. We’re learning a lot more about MCM, which is super well-connected in Miami. How connected? Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s recently departed communications director, Mike Hernandez, just became MCM’s crisis communications man. And last year, Gimenez intervened on MCM’s behalf when it didn’t get a contract it wanted. Amid all this, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said criminal charges are unlikely – and interestingly, she said that before she interviewed any witnesses. Hm. Meanwhile, it looks like the water is getting a little hot for MCM – the company deleted its Twitter account earlier today. (Miami Herald, Doug Hanks via Twitter, CBS Local)

One little thing. In yesterday’s newsletter, we wrote that “Miami-Dade chose to build a bridge to separate [pedestrians] from drivers,” rather than make the road safer. We weren’t talking about Miami-Dade County Government; we were referring to various decision makers in the Miami-Dade area. Apologies for the confusion.

IF YOUR BRACKET IS OFFICIALLY A MESS…

At least there’s still Munch Madness.

 

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