About a month ago, Miami Beach decided to auction off a handful of their iconic, colorful lifeguard stands as they brought in replacements. They’ve been standing guard since the 1990s, and Miami Beach felt it was time for some newer designs.

Annamaria Windisch-Hunt, a SoFlo artist and former Miami Beach resident, wrote in when she read the news in our newsletter to tell us about her art project, a collection of replicas of the lifeguard stands from Government Cut all the way up to Surfside.

She told us a little about her paintings, the love she got from the city, and where you could find her favorite lifeguard stand.

HOW SHE ENDED UP PAINTING ALL THE STANDS: Annamaria used to go up and down the beach sketching the stands, then go home and paint them on canvas. Before long, she’d painted more than a dozen of them.

WHAT HAPPENED TO HER PAINTINGS: She exhibited them at a few different art shows and they were also prominently featured as the main poster and promotional material for the 2007 Miami Beach Festival of the Arts. Annamaria was also presented with a key to the city by Miami Beach Mayor David Dermer and the city commission.

BEYOND THAT: Annamaria ran her own gallery in Coconut Grove for years before she and her late husband Fred moved up to Lake Worth. She has a blog and continues to paint and exhibit in that community.

HER FAVORITE STAND: She said she always liked the 10th Street stand because it had a surfboard on it.

BTW, if you were wondering what happened to all those stands that got auctioned off, we reached out the city for an update. The highest bid was for a stand off 80th Street for$3,251, which went to Keva Doyle. The lowest bid was for about $2,000, which went to Freddy Seikaly. He used a crane to grab his stand and plans to use it as a cabana and a DJ booth in his backyard.

Red alert on red tide. Water tests in Miami-Dade and Broward counties confirmed the presence of red tide here, and now our local beaches north of the Haulover inlet are closed. The red tide originated on the Gulf Coast this summer, and is believed to have reached the Atlantic Coast by going around the southern tip of Florida. That could mean dead marine life and health problems for humans who spend time in and near the water. (Miami Herald)

A sad so long. Jackson Hall, Miami’s first health-focused food hall, shut its doors on Tuesday after only six months in business. The hall, located near Jackson hospital, had delicious noms and was packed at lunchtime, but was unable to draw enough customers to stay afloat. Founder Della Heiman also owns Wynwood Yard, which will be closing next spring (in that case, not because of business problems, but because the property owner wants to build a luxury condo on the site). Della will be focusing her efforts on opening a similar concept in North Beach early next year. (Miami.com)

Chaos at Kairos. Brian Brackeen, the founder of local facial recognition company Kairos, has been ousted as CEO of his own company. No one’s said why yet, but Brackeen says he’s fighting the decision. The shakeup is getting lots of attention because Brackeen’s been a darling of the Miami tech scene both for his company’s success and for championing Miami as the land of opportunity after ditching Silicon Valley, including right here in The New Tropic. (Miami Herald)

We kinda get the Florida Man jokes. Floridians, particularly folks in Miami, often find themselves the butt of jokes over our unique brand of crimes and mischief, and this list from the New Times is another reminder of that. They rounded up seven of the weirdest crimes that happened in SoFlo in recent years, including a little league coach fighting an umpire and a guy who rode a luggage carousel into a restricted area at the Miami airport. Hey, at least the 305 is never boring. (Miami New Times)

But here’s a Florida Man to be proud of. Ron Magill is a Miami icon in his own way through his role as communications director for Zoo Miami. His personality, expertise, and love of the zoo have now translated to the TV screen. Magill’s hosting his own show on the network HITN called “Mundo Salvaje con Ron Magill.” It’s his take on the classic show “Wild Kingdom” and airs Monday nights at 9 p.m. (Miami Herald)

Go ahead, get a cinnamon raisin. While Miami isn’t considered the home of great bagels, this list has got some great spots around town where you can get your fix (and we’re probably a lot less judgy about what you order). (Miami.com)

THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY.

The weekend’s just a little bit closer. Hang in there. 💪

– The New Tropic