Conservationists have been trying to incentivize environmental preservation for more than a century in Florida. If history has made one thing clear, however, it’s that it’s not an easy feat. Indeed, not everyone sees – or cares about – nature’s intrinsic value, focusing rather on how it extrinsically serves our needs. Even then, amid high-rises, office spaces and condominiums, it’s difficult to grasp just how much we rely on our natural ecosystem to survive...Thanks for listening! For more local news visit BiscayneTimes.com.

Arch Creek Park is in trouble – dirty trouble – and local activists are organizing once again to save a historic landmark in North Miami they began fighting for more than 40 years ago. In 1972, environmental lawyer Maureen Harwitz read in a newspaper that Chrysler Automobile Corporation sought to convert historic Arch Creek Park into a used auto lot. She knew she had to get involved to stop those plans and teamed up with local activists like Alice Cohen to do so...Thanks for listening! For more local news visit BiscayneTimes.com.

 The city of North Miami Beach’s special mayoral race is in high gear. Now that the qualifying period has officially closed, residents have one month to weigh out potential candidates before the Dec. 5 election. Although pickings are slim in quantity, residents may find that both names on the ballot hold some weight. Evan Scott Piper and Paule Villard, both former commissioners with decades of community involvement behind them, are the only two candidates running. A third candidate, David Zapen, whose platform included building a basic income for North Miami Beach residents, pulled his name from the race before the qualifying period closed Oct. 21.Thanks for listening! For more local news visit BiscayneTimes.com.

As flames spread through Miami-Dade’s massive North Dade Landfill trash incinerator earlier this year in February, destroying the heart of the county’s waste-management system while spreading chemicals through the air, residents could smell, taste and see the results of decades of failed leadership. For years, successive mayors and commissions punted on finding long-term solutions to the county’s garbage woes. New residents and tax dollars poured in, but as development surged so did the amount of trash produced, along with the size of sprawling, pungently odorous landfills.Thanks for listening! For more local news visit BiscayneTimes.com.

The city of Miami has big plans for Edgewater’s Margaret Pace Park, and it’s asking the community what it thinks. District 2 Commissioner Sabina Covo and Chris Evans, the city’s parks and recreation director, came together Aug. 10, 2023, to unveil the park’s master plan at the park itself. Located on approximately eight acres of waterfront land along Biscayne Boulevard, it’s slated for a multiphased renovation that the city promises will deliver something for everyone...Thanks for listening! For more local news visit BiscayneTimes.com.

The town of Surfside will have a special election Nov. 7, 2023, that could change future elections in the municipality. Residents will vote on five charter amendments, one that would extend the terms of both the mayor and commissioners from two to four years and another that would require a mayoral candidate to receive a majority vote before being elected. If approved, those changes would affect the outcome of the town’s next general election March 19, 2024. As it stands now, all Surfside commissioners are elected at-large every two years. The first charter amendment would change that to elect only two new commissioners for four-year terms at any given election...Thanks for listening! For more local news visit BiscayneTimes.com.

“It will be blue for the Miami sky and for the sea, but also blue for the frames of Emtiti,” said Stéphane Denève enthusiastically, making a gesture around his face.Emtiti. Is that … something Egyptian? “No, no,” he laughed. “M.T.T. You know, Michael Tilson Thomas! He wears those blue glasses!” Denève was discussing some of the themes he plans to explore in his first season leading the New World Symphony as artistic director. His enthusiasm was infectious. Blue is for the city, he said, but also for his predecessor and collaborator, who co-founded the symphony 35 years ago and who will be presenting several works this season as artistic director laureate.Thanks for listening! For more local news visit BiscayneTimes.com.

With Miami’s hotel revenue soaring to 24% higher than pre-pandemic levels last year, networking coalition Commercial Real Estate Women Miami (CREW) gathered some of the industry’s top women leaders last month to home in on what’s working for the city’s tourism business – and what’s not. Moderated by Mabelle Perez, director of hotels and hospitality for commercial mortgage lender Berkadia, CREWs “Miami’s Hospitality Market: No Reservations About It” took place at the Mayfair House Hotel & Garden in Coconut Grove Aug. 16, 2023. More than 65 enthusiasts and professionals attended the luncheon and forum. Here’s the lowdown on what was covered...Thanks for listening! For more local news visit BiscayneTimes.com.

Poor water quality in Biscayne Bay and its effects on underwater sea animals have been hot topics since the 2020 fish kill, which made headlines statewide and has occurred again every year since. Lesser known, however, are the impacts such conditions have on those found higher up, both in the food chain and in the ecosystem itself. Resting on tree canopies rather than tidal waves, our winged friends, too, rely heavily on the bay for their survival.Thanks for listening! For more local news visit BiscayneTimes.com.

There will come a time, perhaps in the next two years as planned, when Inter Miami will move into its beautiful new soccer stadium at Miami Freedom Park near Miami International Airport. Until then, Fort Lauderdale civic officials want the world to know their city is the current home of Lionel Messi – not Miami. What good is having a living legend in your community if you can’t use his presence to promote your city?Thanks for listening! For more local news visit BiscayneTimes.com.