Axios Miami

August 12, 2024
😎 It's Monday. Welcome back.
🎸 Sounds like: "Mariella" by Leon Bridges & Khruangbin.
🌦️ Today's forecast: Slight chance of storms. High of 89. Low 82.
Today's newsletter is 858 words — a 3.3-minute read.
1 big thing: 🥇 City-funded Olympic dreams
When Olympic sprinter Twanisha "TeeTee" Terry won her first gold medal Friday in the women's 4x100m relay, her dad was there to cheer her on.
- Antwan Terry, a Miami Beach city employee, received a $5,500 gift from the City Commission to help cover his trip to Paris.
Zoom in: Terry, whose daughter attended Nautilus Middle School and Miami Northwestern, told Axios from Paris that he had already planned to fly to the Olympics, but he was grateful to the city for the financial support.
- The longtime parks employee, now serving as acting supervisor over north end park maintenance, said the city also surprised him with a going-away party.
- "It was over-the-top. At the end of the day, you don't see employers doing what they did."
How it happened: Word got around City Hall about Terry's Olympic connection after one of his co-workers emailed city officials asking them to recognize TeeTee's achievements.
- This was the 25-year-old's first Olympic Games.
- Commissioner Laura Dominguez heard Terry's story and proposed a resolution awarding him money for the trip.
What they're saying: Dominguez said the commission provides financial support to numerous nonprofit groups and community causes, so she wanted to support a city employee with a unique connection to the Olympics.
- "It wasn't for TeeTee. It was for her humble father who has worked for the Parks Department, and this is a way to say thank you for something unusual and special that has occurred and doesn't happen often."
- "We do have almost a billion dollar budget — this amount is just a small drop to help an employee," she told Axios.
Zoom out: The city's gift to Terry isn't its only Olympics-related expense: Commissioners also voted last month to approve a $10,000 grant sponsorship for Miami-based skeleton racer Jared Firestone.
- Firestone is raising money to represent Israel in the Winter Olympics in 2026.
- "These are relatively small expenses that improve our brand image and support peaceful connections among nations," Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez wrote in a text message to Axios.
- Both expenditures came from the city's general fund.
What's next: Dominguez said she would love TeeTee to visit Miami Beach schools and speak to students about her Olympic journey.
- Firestone, the Winter Olympics hopeful, visited summer campers this week and will feature Miami Beach's logo on his equipment during competitions.
2. 🌀 NOAA issues warning as hurricane season nears peak stretch
Federal hurricane experts unfortunately see no reason to soften their outlook for a highly active Atlantic hurricane season — one that has already featured multiple damaging, fatal storms.
Why it matters: Climate change can make tropical storms and hurricanes more dangerous, and hurricane season is nearing its traditional peak stretch.
- Systems draw strength from warmer oceans and air, producing more rainfall, and some hurricanes are also seeing rapid intensification.
Driving the news: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Thursday issued a midseason outlook (see above) that largely hews to its initial version in May.
The big picture: "Atmospheric and oceanic conditions have set the stage for an extremely active hurricane season that could rank among the busiest on record," the latest outlook states.
- This season has already brought four named storms, most recently Tropical Storm Debby (since downgraded) that's soaking several East Coast states this week.
- It initially made landfall in Florida on Monday as a Category 1 hurricane.
The bottom line: "Sea surface temperatures remain abnormally high, and La Niña is still expected to emerge during the hurricane season, so the time to prepare is now," Matthew Rosencrans, lead hurricane season forecaster with NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, said in a statement.
3. Cafecito: 🤝 New leadership for O, Miami
🍔 Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer, the international burger and milkshake joint founded in New York City, opened its first Florida restaurant in Brickell City Centre. (Miami Herald)
- The Miami location will feature a signature burger, the Frita Cubana Burger, and local beers from Biscayne Bay Brewery and Tripping Animals.
👋 O, Miami announced its new executive director and artistic director: Melody Santiago Cummings and Caroline Cabrera, respectively. (O, Miami)
- The duo succeeds P. Scott Cunningham, who stepped down in June.
🐍 The Florida Python Challenge, a ten-day hunt for the invasive snakes, began on Friday in the Everglades. Snake hunters are looking to claim $30,000 in prizes. (Associated Press)
4. 🎒 Back to school details
As students in Broward and Miami-Dade counties return to school this week, there are a few changes parents, guardians and students should keep in mind.
State of play: While both districts will enforce last year's statewide ban on using cellphones in class, in Broward County, phones are now banned throughout the school day, including lunch.
- All Broward high-school students will have to pass through metal detectors upon entering campus. (The Miami-Dade County School Board discussed implementing detectors, but no decision has been made.)
- In both districts, free breakfast and lunches are available to all students.
The big picture: The Broward and Miami-Dade school districts have back-to-school websites with information for bus routes, lunch menus, immunization information and more.
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5. 📷 Pic du jour: Miami's own breaker
Logan Edra, aka Logistx, made her Olympic debut on Friday in the Games' first ever breaking competition.
- She didn't make it past the round-robin stage, but Florida's Victor Montalvo took home bronze.
🥲 Sommer loved the Olympics and is sad she won't have any events to watch throughout the day.
🤩 Martin has been so inspired by Team USA's track and field athletes. They are like superheroes straight out of the Marvel universe.
This newsletter was edited by Jeff Weiner and copy edited by Vincent Sherry and Anjelica Tan.
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