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A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Miami.

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South Floridians got richer between 2019 and 2022

The area's median income was $70,769 in 2022.

News

Enjoy international cuisine, deals this Hispanic Heritage Month

Miami restaurants representing all types of international cuisines have special deals.

Food and Drink

Owner plans to replace Clevelander Hotel with residential building

40% of the units would be reserved for affordable housing rentals.

Development

New laws make teachers anxious about school year

New anti-"woke" education laws are stressing out Florida teachers.

Politics

Brightline launches train route from Miami to Orlando

Roundtrip tickets start at $158 for adults and $78 for kids ages 2–12.

The new transit option between Miami and Orlando is finally open.What&#x27;s happening: Brightline, the privately owned high-speed rail company, debuted its new route today after years of anticipation.

Florida leads the country in book bans

Public school book bans nationally increased by 33% in the 2022–23 school year.

Florida surpassed Texas as the state with the most books pulled from shelves in public schools this year, according to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="a report" data-vars-click-url="https://pen.org/report/book-bans-pressure-to-censor/" data-vars-content-id="0198bc4c-0add-42bc-9264-56ea1c8295f7" data-vars-headline="Florida leads the country in book bans" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://pen.org/report/book-bans-pressure-to-censor/" target="_blank">a report</a> released yesterday from literary nonprofit PEN America.What&#x27;s happening: The number of public school book bans across the country increased by 33% in the 2022–23 school year compared to 2021–22, the report found.

Illustration of a book wrapped in caution tape

Critter Corner: The brown pelican

Kayak on Sunday to help with the Little River Kayak Cleanup.

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Brown pelican" data-vars-click-url="https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/birds/shorebirdsseabirds/brown-pelican/" data-vars-content-id="f6dfe638-b5f1-4c23-a16e-692584e0a733" data-vars-headline="Critter Corner: The brown pelican" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/birds/shorebirdsseabirds/brown-pelican/" target="_blank">Brown pelican</a> populations declined in the 1960s and &#x27;70s but rebounded when the pesticide DDT was banned.<ul><li>Still considered imperiled, they put on an amazing show when they catch their dinner by diving from 50 feet, plunging headfirst into the water.</li></ul>

A Brown pelican dives straight down toward the water with its long beak pointed down. 

Miami-Dade searches for new trash incinerator site

Building a new incinerator could cost over $1 billion.

Miami-Dade County is searching for a new place to burn its garbage after the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Doral trash incinerator was destroyed" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/miami/2023/02/22/doral-trash-incinerator-fire-health-risks" data-vars-content-id="afd27146-f310-458a-9807-69c3168ccc36" data-vars-headline="Miami-Dade searches for new trash incinerator site" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/miami/2023/02/22/doral-trash-incinerator-fire-health-risks" target="_self">Doral trash incinerator was destroyed</a> in a fire earlier this year.Why it matters: The county needs a plan for the 1 million tons of garbage the Doral facility used to burn every year.

Firefighters battle a blaze at a Doral incinerator in February 2023.

Hialeah could crack down on RV rentals

It's so hard to find housing in Miami that some are paying to stay in RVs.

It&#x27;s so hard to find housing in Miami that some are <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="paying to stay in recreation vehicles" data-vars-click-url="https://www.local10.com/news/local/2023/09/13/hialeah-mayor-grows-frustrated-over-rvs-used-as-rental-homes-seeks-crackdown/" data-vars-content-id="7c46b8c1-5de0-47e5-a2e1-399149a205b5" data-vars-headline="Hialeah could crack down on RV rentals" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.local10.com/news/local/2023/09/13/hialeah-mayor-grows-frustrated-over-rvs-used-as-rental-homes-seeks-crackdown/" target="_blank">paying to stay in recreation vehicles</a> — and even boats — parked outside other people&#x27;s homes.Yes, but: The city of Hialeah, which has seen an uptick in these rentals, might restrict where and how many RVs can be parked at a single-family home.

Illustration of a welcome mat in the shape of an RV

Florida Python Challenge winner catches 20 Burmese pythons in 10 days

The invasive species consumes almost all mammals in the Everglades ecosystem.

Paul Hobbs won the grand prize of the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="2023 Florida Python Challenge" data-vars-click-url="https://flpythonchallenge.org/?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery" data-vars-content-id="fe8fadf4-6557-406d-b8d2-8b44dd773acb" data-vars-headline="Florida Python Challenge winner catches 20 Burmese pythons in 10 days" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://flpythonchallenge.org/?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery" target="_blank">2023 Florida Python Challenge</a> last Friday.What&#x27;s happening: Hobbs and teammates caught 20 Burmese pythons in South Florida during the 10-day contest, winning $10,000.

A group of people holds a giant symbolic check 

The median household income across the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach metro area rose 1.8% between 2019 and 2022, per new Census Bureau data.<ul><li>The area&#x27;s median income was $70,769 in 2022, compared with $69,522 in 2019, adjusted for inflation.</li></ul>

A map with states in shades of teal and purple 

Incarcerated Florida woman wins writing prize

Catherine LaFleur won the inaugural Bell Chevigny Prize from PEN America.

Catherine LaFleur, a writer <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="incarcerated" data-vars-click-url="https://fdc.myflorida.com/offenderSearch/detail.aspx?Page=Detail&amp;DCNumber=J14175&amp;TypeSearch=AI" data-vars-content-id="d163e428-4d36-44aa-94e9-66c5a81de500" data-vars-headline="Incarcerated Florida woman wins writing prize" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://fdc.myflorida.com/offenderSearch/detail.aspx?Page=Detail&amp;DCNumber=J14175&amp;TypeSearch=AI" target="_blank">incarcerated</a> at the Homestead Correctional Center for women, was recently named the first winner of a new award from literary nonprofit <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="PEN America" data-vars-click-url="https://pen.org/" data-vars-content-id="d163e428-4d36-44aa-94e9-66c5a81de500" data-vars-headline="Incarcerated Florida woman wins writing prize" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://pen.org/" target="_blank">PEN America</a>.What&#x27;s happening: LaFleur won the inaugural Bell Chevigny Prize, which honors an incarcerated woman writer as part of the 2023 Prison Writing Contest.

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month! Celebrate with ceviche, party with picadillo and get down with gambas.Driving the news: Beginning Friday, Hispanic-owned restaurants across Miami representing all types of international cuisines are marking the annual holiday with special deals, letting you eat your way across the Spanish-speaking world in the name of cultural celebration.

Illustration of a map of Hispanic countries sewn onto colorful fabric.

Miami commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla arrested on corruption charges

The charges include bribery, money laundering and more.

Miami Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla was <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="arrested Thursday" data-vars-click-url="https://www.wlrn.org/law-justice/2023-09-14/alex-diaz-de-la-portilla-miami-commissioner-money-laundering" data-vars-content-id="b52b116d-d30f-4753-8c74-58e8f0fbc79b" data-vars-headline="Miami commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla arrested on corruption charges" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.wlrn.org/law-justice/2023-09-14/alex-diaz-de-la-portilla-miami-commissioner-money-laundering" target="_blank">arrested Thursday</a> on charges including money laundering, bribery and official misconduct.Driving the news: The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said in a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="statement" data-vars-click-url="https://www.fdle.state.fl.us/News/2023/September/FDLE-arrests-Miami-Commissioner-on-money-launderin" data-vars-content-id="b52b116d-d30f-4753-8c74-58e8f0fbc79b" data-vars-headline="Miami commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla arrested on corruption charges" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.fdle.state.fl.us/News/2023/September/FDLE-arrests-Miami-Commissioner-on-money-launderin" target="_blank">statement</a> that Díaz de la Portilla and local attorney William Riley Jr., who was also arrested, accepted more than $15,000 in payments from the Miami-Dade County judicial campaign of Díaz de la Portilla&#x27;s brother without reporting them.

Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla speaks at Miami City Hall in 2021. 

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