When was the last time you had baklava? Like, really good baklava.

Thanks to the work of Christa Tawil, business manager at Zaytouna Foods, and her team of female Syrian refugees in Miami, you can now pick up the Middle Eastern dessert at Whole Foods downtown. And North Miami Beach. And Aventura. And starting next week, nine other locations throughout Florida.

Tawil came to the United States in 2012 a year after the civil war broke out in Syria. Three years later, she landed in Miami and started helping other Syrian refugees by providing pro bono translating services. The women soon began cooking and hosting dinners and Tawil saw the opportunity to launch a catering business.

“I thought that it would be a great mission for us to help these women.”

Learn more about Zaytouna, Tawil and how they are able to help Syrian refugees with employment opportunities in Miami.

Immigrant Powered is a nonpartisan, grassroots initiative highlighting immigrant-powered businesses and organizations in our community. Request a sticker and show your support.

PRODUCED BY THE NEW TROPIC CREATIVE STUDIO WITH IMMIGRANT POWERED

Thanks to everyone who submitted your questions about affordable housing. We got a lot of great ones and here are the three finalists! Vote here on the question that you most want us to dig into:

• “Why do our city leaders keep allowing more and more luxury developments when there’s no demand for them but there’s demand for affordable?” – Jemar Souza
• “What’s the Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Fund? Why has its funds been repurposed? Why haven’t they been/can’t they be replenished?” – Charles Villard
• “What are current legal/zoning/tax mechanisms to promote affordable housing—national/state/local? What are ideas/opportunities to improve this?” – Rebecca Willett

You have until Thursday to vote for the question you most want to know about.

We’ll let you all know the winning question in Friday’s newsletter and then work on getting you the answer, so stay tuned!

Find a good podcast or audio book now… Because a major, multi-agency interstate project started construction yesterday and loads of lane closures have already started in the late-night hours on southbound I-95. The project is a redesign of Interstate 395 that will include a massive bridge feature (that kind of looks like a spider), and a two-level span on the Dolphin Expressway that will make it a little easier for drivers to head east toward the MacArthur Causeway. It’s all pretty complicated so check out, and bookmark, the Connecting Miami website to save yourself from a traffic headache. (Miami Herald)

What’s in a name? In the case of some local leaders and political figures, it’s a chance for your legacy to become a lot more problematic once a street or other monument has been named in your honor. It’s happened enough in recent years that County Commissioner Joe Martinez is now proposing an ordinance that would require a background check (and a little extra Googling) of public figures and organizations before they get a street named after them. (Miami New Times)

Eyes on 2020. While much of the political discussion around 2020 is centered on the presidential race, there will be also be some big contests in Miami-Dade County – most notably the county mayor’s race. Former county commissioner Juan Zapata has officially filed to run, and former U.S. Rep Carlos Curbelo announced late last year that he’s also considering a run for the position. (Miami Herald)

Good eats and good beats. If you’ve ever found yourself nodding your head to a Wu-Tang Clan song over dinner at spots like Mignonette or The Spillover, it didn’t happen by chance. Local company Soundry has been curating playlists at some of Miami’s best foodie spots for years. Mark and Damian Pratt created the company and also recruited local music expert Lolo Reskin, founder of Sweat Records, to help create custom playlists for spots all over town. (Miami New Times)

ONE MORE THING

If you’re looking for a TV recommendation  you might want to catch The Swamp, a documentary about the Everglades that’s airing tonight at 9 p.m. on PBS.

It’s adapted from journalist Michael Grunwald’s book, and the film is about how Florida dreamers and schemers once tried to drain the Everglades and turn it in a profitable enterprise. But later had to deal with environmental consequences like catastrophic floods and droughts as a result of draining our natural wetlands.

We’ll catch you tomorrow, folks.

– The New Tropic