Whether you are a born and raised Miamian or brand new to the city, we all have our own My Miami Story to share.

Through The Miami Foundation’s My Miami Story conversations, you now have the opportunity to share yours and hear from others. On October 23, thousands of Miami-Dade residents will gather to discuss topics like education, housing, arts & culture, and transportation.

You don’t have to be running for office or be already civically involved to be a part of the conversation – you just need to have a love for the city and a passion to better understand your community and what we can do to improve our lives here.

Find out more about adding your voice to the conversation.

PRODUCED BY THE NEW TROPIC CREATIVE STUDIO AND THE MIAMI FOUNDATION

Mighty Michael. Hurricane Michael pummeled the Panhandle on Wednesday, coming ashore as a Category 4 storm near Panama City. It left more than 300,000 people without power, uprooted trees, demolished homes, and left at least two people dead. Gov. Rick Scott has asked President Trump to declare a major disaster in Florida to speed up aid to the devastated region, where many residents chose to stay instead of heeding evacuation suggestions. (Miami Herald)

Put on your rain boots. If there’s a hurricane headed for Florida, you can bet you’ll see Gov. Rick Scott, well, everywhere. And as Hurricane Michael bore down on the Panhandle this week, just a few weeks out from close gubernatorial and senate elections, politicians like Scott and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson were spotted all over the place, because a great showing as a prepared, resolute leader could notch them a win – and one wrong move could ruin their entire campaign. But one thing was new this time around: campaigns kept the attack ads against both Andrew Gillum and Rick Scott on the air, breaking an unofficial bipartisan campaign role that campaigning, especially negative campaigning, stops when a tragedy strikes. (The New York Times, Miami Herald)

A shitty situation. Every time it rains, a block of Opa-locka fills with sludgy, raw sewage, feces…  and all the things that come along with that. The city says that there’s no sewage problem, and hasn’t even reported it to the county. But the city’s been under a state of emergency for a few years now for mismanagement of public utilities, and has struggled to meet pretty much all of its public works obligations for years. Residents are fed up, and tired of wading through “poop-filled moats” to get to their homes. (Miami Herald)

Follow the money. If you live in South Florida, tolls are basically a way of life – a mysterious one. The average commuter spends $1,000 a year on tolls, and has no real understanding of where that money goes, why tolls are going up, and why there are so many in the first place. Well, now it’s less of a mystery, thanks to this breakdown. (Miami Herald)

YASSSS. It’s the second most wonderful time of year in South Florida: stone crab season (the first is Knaus Berry Farm cinnamon roll season, obviously). Here’s where you can get your stone crab fix, and here is how to order like a boss if you decide to splash out and head to Joe’s. (Miami.com)

Denial. Developers are forever being asked whether the threat of sea level rise has dampened their desire to build and build (and build some more) in the 305. Generally, their answer is “nope.” And this week, despite a damning UN report that spells out catastrophe in just the next couple decades, it’s still “nope.” “If I have great beachfront locations I will definitely still build on the beachfront because our greatest asset in South Florida is the water,” mega-developer Jorge Perez said. Welp. (WLRN)

THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY.

But ICYMI, yesterday we announced that we’re giving away a pair of VIP tickets to the South Beach Seafood Festival next Saturday, Oct. 20th. 🦀🙌

The tickets include access to an open bar, food vouchers to use at participating festival restaurants and dessert stations, all the food samples, some dance parties, and much more. The pair is worth $300, and all you have to do is get one friend to sign up for The New Tropic.

How do you enter to win? Just share this, your unique link to our sign-up form, with your buddies and get ‘em to sign up: https://thenewtropic.com/invitation/[YourIdHere]

We’ll draw the winners at random today at 6 p.m. and announce ‘em in tomorrow’s newsletter. See you then!

– The New Tropic