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🏀What your favorite Miami mascot says about you
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🏀What your favorite Miami mascot says about you

SHARING IS CARING

Getting involved in your local community benefits your neighborhood, benefits the future of Miami and can benefit you. Here are three ways to show you care about Miami:

SHARE YOUR POWER: Early voting starts on Monday (here are the early voting locations). Leading up to Election Day (Nov. 6!) you’ll discover more information about referenda, state amendments, and hear from those running for office in this very newsletter.

SHARE YOUR STORY: Sign up to attend one of The Miami Foundation’s My Miami Story conversations. Next week, thousands of Miamians will gather in small groups across the county to discuss common issues our residents are currently facing. This is an easy way to meet your neighbors over a cafecito and discuss what each of us can do to improve the community.

SHARE THE NEWS: Caring about the future of Miami = staying in the know about Miami. Share this newsletter with a friend. Support public radio and television. Kick a couple bucks to your friend’s local podcast. Supporting local media, no matter how big or small, is an important way in keeping Miami informed of what’s happening and what’s next.

At the end of the day, there are no quick fixes to improving our community, but getting involved and meeting your neighbors is a good place to start.

PRODUCED BY THE NEW TROPIC CREATIVE STUDIO WITH THE MIAMI FOUNDATION

Speaking of which…

COURTS, CITIES, CLASSROOMS AND MORE

Our voter guide is out! Yesterday we broke down what you’ll see on your ballot if you live in Miami Beach or the City of Miami.

Today we’re diving into the items that pretty much everyone will see when they hit the polls: the Miami-Dade County referenda, which include countywide changes and an item focused on schools. Shout out to Amore Rodriguez and Marika Lynch, whose questions we’re answering today.

Here’s what will be on the ballot across Miami-Dade:

And here’s an item that will be only be on the ballot for some folks in northeast Miami-Dade:

Stay tuned over the next few days as we publish the rest of our guide. Tomorrow we’ll tackle the dozen (!!) state amendments you’ll see on your ballot. Next week, we’ll be back with the candidates. Happy voting, y’all.

Also, thanks to Ray Louis, who wrote in with a follow-up question: For the City of Miami referendums. Would they pass with a simple majority or do they need to pass with a super majority (60 percent)?

All they need to be approved is a simple majority (or 50 percent of the vote plus one vote).

And if you haven’t had your fill of political talk, you can catch our storytelling producer, Lance, at Gramps tonight discussing some of these ballot items with local filmmaker Billy Corben and journalists from the Sun Sentinel, Local 10 News, and more.

WHAT'S NEW IN THE 305

Sheer chaos. When Hurricane Michael roared through the Panhandle last week it threw the entire election into disarray. It’s unclear what precincts will be back on their feet in time, and now officials are trying to figure out what to do about that. Eight of the 11 counties without power right now are Republican-leaning counties, which could seriously skew the results of statewide races. Gov. Rick Scott has one at least one option in front of him: delaying the statewide elections. (POLITICO)

Long road ahead. Major utilities are surveying the damage from Hurricane Michael, and they have a warning: the electricity grid has been “shattered” and it could be weeks before folks get their power back.  “This isn’t a restore… this is a rebuild,” a Gulf Power spokesman said. Want to help? New Florida Majority is collecting supplies here in South Florida to send to the Panhandle. (Tampa Bay Times)

Another long recovery. If you’ve been missing your favorite Rickenbacker Causeway beach since Hurricane Irma shut it down last year, you will soon be able to access it again. Reconstruction and repair efforts are scheduled to be finished by the end of 2018. (Miami Herald)

Good things come to those who wait. You’ve been hearing a whole lot about David Beckham and the Mas brothers, but there’s another VIP in Miami’s Major League Soccer partnership who might not be as familiar: Bolivian-American Marcelo Claure. He’s been trying to bring a Major League Soccer team to the 305 for several years now. The telecommunications genius was named the wealthiest Latin American businessman in the U.S. back in 2015 and he’s been searching for the right partners to turn his fútbol dream into a reality for a long time. Now, he’s moved back to Miami with some big plans for the city. (Miami Herald)

Up in smoke. Miami Beach passed regulations yesterday to keep e-cigarettes out of teenagers’ hands amid their surging popularity. Although technically you can’t buy e-cigarettes under the age of 18, there are plenty of loopholes, and the city’s new rules are designed to crack down on them. (Miami Herald)

It’s all about the money. One of the items on your ballot, as we said above, is a raise for teachers funded by a property tax increase. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho has a warning about that: without the tax increase, Miami-Dade will really struggle to attract great teachers who can make more money in other, lower cost cities. (WLRN)

YOUR ELECTION WATCH

  • Ashley Moody, the Republican candidate for attorney general, just pocketed a $25,000 check from GEO Group, one of the two largest private prison firms in the U.S. (Miami New Times)
  • The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that three state amendments, which were challenged for bundling together unrelated issues, will remain on the Nov. 6 ballot after all. (Phew. We already finished writing them up for our voter guide.) (Miami Herald)

THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY.

Big congrats to Rebecca Longtemps and Florencia Péndola, who won tickets to Modern OM’s Cushion Crawl Challenge! Happy meditating, friends, and thanks for sharing The New Tropic.

– The New Tropic

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