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🏊 Here are seven places you should not swim this weekend.
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🏊 Here are seven places you should not swim this weekend.

We feel more zen just looking at this.

THE SCOOTER SCOOP

If you hung around pretty much any part of Miami last year, you probably saw dockless bikes and scooters all over the place. Then suddenly, they disappeared. What happened? Local governments called them off the roads and sidewalks until they could put some rules in place.  Yesterday, the City of Miami took a stab at that by giving initial approval to a pilot program.

We’ve got the full download on when and where you’ll be able to take a scooter for a ride.

How we got here: Citi Bike is the OG in Miami when it comes to bikesharing. It launched in 2011 as Deco Bike. When the service expanded from Miami Beach to the City of Miami in 2014, they got Citi’s sponsorship and switched the name.

They were pretty much the only game in town until LimeBike brought the dockless craze to SoFlo and opened the floodgates. Lime started out in Key Biscayne before expanding across Miami.

What’s happened since then: Dockless bike sharing exploded with the arrival of new companies like Spin and ofo. Sidewalks were soon littered with bikes, and Miami-Dade officials said that operators needed to step up to keep the bikes from ending up scattered all over the place. Spin and ofo eventually decided to end their bike programs.

Lime, Bird and Spin launched scooter programs in Miami in the late spring and summer, and they were a hit. But the companies pulled their rides off the road when the City of Miami said they wanted to put regulations in place to follow state law and keep riders safe.

Where things stand now: Florida Statute 316 says that motorized scooters are pretty much a no-go on roads. But if a local government sets its own laws allowing them, that’s fine.

What’s next: The City of Miami approved a six-month pilot program for motorized scooters. Under the pilot, operators like Lime, Spin, Bird and Uber can have up to 100 motorized scooters on the streets and only in District 2.

When we can start really using the scooters: Pretty soon. Spin’s scooters are now legal in part of downtown Coral Gables and the City of Miami’s pilot program will likely go into effect by the end of October.

What will determine whether they’re approved for good? It will depend on how the pilot program goes in the City of Miami. The city is partnering with the Miami Parking Authority to help keep abandoned scooters off street and sidewalks So if you’re riding one, think of your fellow resident before you randomly toss it aside.

WHAT'S NEW IN THE 305

Thanks, Mickey. Florida is expecting a record-breaking number of visitors in 2018, with  65.5 million people visiting the Sunshine State in just the first half of 2018. If that pace keeps up, we’ll bust through our 2017 record of 118.5 million tourists. (WLRN)

Turn down the volume. The party might have to move on from Ocean Drive after Miami Beach commissioners gave initial approval to an ordinance making major cuts to the number of party spots exempt from the city’s noise restrictions. The city prohibits “unreasonably loud, excessive, unnecessary, or unusual noise,” but most businesses on Ocean Drive between 1st and 15th Streets are excluded right now. If the ordinance goes through, that won’t be the case. The final vote, including opportunity for public comment, is Oct. 17. (Miami Herald)

Maybe go to the pool instead. As of Thursday afternoon, there were SEVEN swimming advisories in Miami-Dade, from Crandon Park on Key Biscayne all the way north to Golden Beach. Ick. You can keep tabs on water quality via either Miami Waterkeeper or the Surfrider Foundation’s Blue Water Task Force, and given the almost constant water advisories this summer, that’s probably not a bad idea. If you’re looking to help clean things up another way, don’t forget that Saturday is International Coastal Cleanup Day, and you can find a whole bunch of cleanup opportunities across Miami here. (Facebook)

When even your friends say you’ve gone too far… Both Gov. Rick Scott and Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis gave a hard pass on President Trump’s comments casting doubt on Hurricane Maria’s death toll in Puerto Rico. Both are supportive of Trump, who has backed both of them, but Scott tweeted “I disagree with @POTUS” and Republicans across Florida are shaking their heads over the comments. (POLITICO)

Started at the bottom now we here. Back in 2016, Miami Beach tried to set its own minimum wage above the state minimum wage ($10.31 in Miami Beach versus $8.25 statewide). But Florida blocked the city by suing, and the case went to the state Supreme Court, where it’s been sitting since then. Miami Beach is pushing the court to hear the case soon, arguing that “all the low wage workers in the city are suffering immediate, continuing, and irreparable harm every day that they await a decision by this court.” (WLRN)

Building blocks. To say Miami’s architecture has a distinctive look is, uh, an understatement. If you’ve ever wondered how so many of our iconic buildings came to be, then dive into this piece on Arquitectonica, the architecture firm whose work is described as “phantasmagoric and miraculous.” They built their first project in 1978 and within five years had transformed the meaning of contemporary architecture in Miami and beyond. (CityLab)

THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY.

Send all the good vibes to those affected by Florence, and have a great weekend. 🙏

– The New Tropic

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