Hurricane season is officially underway and we’ve got a question that we bet is top of homeowners and potential homeowners’ minds: What should you do to protect yourself against environmental factors?

Storm surge, septic tanks, soil quality, flood protection, new construction vs old construction, and how it all relates to rising insurance costs… the list of potential topics to research before you buy a home goes on and on. If you’re in the market (or already took the plunge), what possible environmental issues do you want to raise for your prospective neighbors?

If you’ve got tips, advice, experiences, or hard lessons we can learn from, hit reply and let us know so we can highlight them in an upcoming story.  

ICYMI: Check out our previous videos in this home buying series: A look at how The New Tropic readers moved from renting to buying and how climate change can impact your home search.

PRODUCED BY THE NEW TROPIC CREATIVE STUDIO WITH CANVAS MIAMI

YASSS. It’s officially the most wonderful time of year – mango season (well, maybe the second most wonderful after Knaus Berry Farm Season). And that means Mango Men Homestead is back in action, selling delightfully exotic varieties of mango like Nam Doc Mai, Cambodiana, Manilita, Lemon Meringue, Vallenato, Nectar of Neptune and Ma Muang Paa. (Edible South Florida)

Stock up. If Tropical Storm Alberto wasn’t enough to get you thinking about hurricane season and stocking up on supplies, maybe this will inspire you: Today through June 7, storm supplies are tax free in Florida. That includes things like flashlights and generators, but not water or nonperishable food. (WLRN)

Anotha one. City of Miami just pitched a new trolley route to Miami International Airport. While county public transit is on a major financial struggle bus, city trolleys are bumping. The airport trolley would be one of several demonstration projects happening across the country to test out some of the newly proposed SMART Plan corridors. (Miami Today)

Oh, yea, got it. Kinda. A couple weeks ago, Miami residents (including us) flipped when condo king Jorge Pérez was quoted in a New York Times article saying about sea level rise, “In 20 or 30 years, someone is going to find a solution for this. Besides, by that time, I’ll be dead, so what does it matter?” Yikes. He’s finally explained that comment, kinda: he doesn’t actually remember saying it, but he was at a party among friends, so if he did say it, he was probably making a bad joke. “To be very clear, when I [talk about] the major issues that we have, the environment is always one of them. …  to say this is an issue that doesn’t affect me is absolutely idiotic. If I said it, maybe I had too many drinks that night,” he told the Miami Herald.

Snakes on a glade. The Everglades’ invasive Burmese python situation has gotten so out of control that national park officials are, for the first time in the park’s history, allowing paid hunters into the park. The National Park Service generally bans sport hunting in parks, but makes exceptions for removal of “unwanted wildlife.” Some managed hunts have made a dent in the population in the past, so the park superintendent has high hopes for this, but the idea has quite a few critics as well. (Miami Herald)

David v. Goliath. While Miami Beach and North Bay Village are slinging put-downs over Miami Beach’s proposal to annex the village on the John F. Kennedy Causeway, catch up on the controversy with this Miami Herald deep dive into the two cities. We’re in uncharted territory here – usually annexation is about a city taking over land in unincorporated Miami-Dade. This is the first time in county history that one city has tried to annex another, and there’s no clear county code outlining what to do next if Miami Beach passes a resolution and enough North Bay Village residents petition for it. (Miami Herald)

Wait a second… Back in 2015, Miami Beach gave police officers the option of issuing a citation, rather than an arrest, if someone was caught with less than 20 grams of pot. The law passed 5-0, and it was supposed to reduce arrests for pot use by the hundreds. Not so much, at least not during Urban Beach Week – police arrested 40 people last weekend on misdemeanor drug charges, most of them pot-related. Activists are not thrilled about it, especially in comparison to the 14 arrests that happened during Miami Music Week – a discrepancy they feel is tied to the large number of black tourists visiting the city during Urban Beach Week. (Miami New Times)

THAT’S ALL FOR THE WEEK.

We’ll catch you on Monday. 😎 (We hope these sunglasses aren’t wishful thinking.)