Ashley Lopez

Terence Cantarella, the man behind the the Canoe Project here at WLRN, had a chat with The Miami Herald‘s Michael Alen this week about waking up at day break, not sleeping well, and other aspects of spending four days straight in a canoe.

The Canoe Project was an idea of Terence’s to shed some light on the unrecognized backdrop to our lives here in Miami-Dade: our city’s vast network of canals.

Earlier this week WLRN Miami Herald’s Dan Grech interviewed Terence Cantarella, an intrepid contributor to WLRN who had the idea of navigating his way around Miami through its canal system in a canoe.

His proposed four-day journey became the Canoe Project: an effort to shed some light on the unrecognized backdrop to our lives here in Miami-Dade: our city’s vast network of canals. These waterways completely surround us, yet, many of us don’t know where they go or why they are there.

In an effort to add some perspective and history to WLRN’s Canoe Project, we’re also taking a look at books that add to our conversation about Miami-Dade’s canals.

The Canoe Project was a four-day long journey through Miami’s canals and waterways via canoe.

Part of the Canoe Project’s mission is to create a conversation, and ultimately some new understanding, of the nature of Miami-Dade’s vast network of waterways.

Contributing to this conversation today is Colin Foord, one of the brilliant marine biologists/artists behind Coral Morphologic, which is described as a “coral aquaculture laboratory and multi-media aquarium studio” here in Miami.

Terence Cantarella, the man who is currently navigating his way around Miami by canoeing through Miami-Dade’s  canals, is not the first person to attempt something similar.

In fact, according to The Miami Herald newspaper archives, this is something that has even been attempted a few times before.

Here is are some stories of other Floridians who have traveled via Miami Canals:

During an appearance on CNN on Wednesday, Gov. Rick Scott admitted Florida's voting law-- which he signed into law-- was partially to blame  for Florida's voting troubles this year.

He told Soledad O'Brien during Starting Point on Wednesday that lawmakers in the state have to come up with a bipartisan solution to Florida's voting woes. This year, people stood in lines that were up to six hours long even on Election Day, well after polls closed in other parts of the state.

As state and federal lawmakers roll out and implement the health care reform law over the next few years,  millions of people living in the U.S. who didn't have health insurance will gain insurance. However, in a state like Florida, thousands of people won't be included in those changes-- and that is because they are undocumented.

The Miami Beach Commission is finally going to let investors, developers and architects renovate the Beach's old and frumpy looking convention center.

The convention has been the site for some big events in the city. For example, Art Basel has been hosted at the center for the past few years. But even though some hot events are hosted there, the convention center has maintained its old and outdated look.

That's about to change, though.

The Cuban government officially doesn't like reggaeton. As some of you know, reggaeton is that mix of Jamaican dancehall music and Spanish hip hop that you hear blasted through car speakers all over Miami and in almost any club you go to in the city.

I would say reggaeton is an acquired taste, but the Cuban government was some pretty serious feelings about this.

There have already been a number of bills filed by Democratic state lawmakers to change parts of Florida's controversial voting law during the upcoming  Legislative session, which starts March 5.

Most of the bills, so far, focus on early voting rules that were changed in 2011 -- when the Republican-controlled  Legislature overhauled the state's voting law.

Yes, the 2014 gubernatorial election is months and months away, but there are already some signs that election season has started right back up again.

WLRN's Marva Hinton loves cats. I mean, she really, really loves cats.

So, it came as no surprise to me that when planning a visit to Art Basel last week she decided her time would be best spent at Art Meow-sel in O Cinema: a gallery dedicated solely to cat-related art.

It's weird, I know. But it's also kind of brilliant.

As someone who isn't an art aficionado, yet has a lot of opinions about cats, I have to say that this gallery  was awesome.

Here is why.

In Florida, it's safe to say that voting in the presidential election this year was a disaster.

As we all know, voting lines during early voting and through to Election Day were several hours long. In fact, while President Obama was giving his victory speech, some polls were still open in Miami-Dade because there were people still waiting in line to vote.

It's official, folks. Former Republican Florida Governor Charlie Crist is now a Democrat.

Here is a compilation of some different videos from Art Basel 2012 in Miami. Each video tours some galleries you may have missed and some videos even feature interviews with the artists.

Check it out below!

If you are walking around Art Basel you are probably going to notice these ornately painted pianos.

None of them are painted the same, yet they are all part of an exciting art event playing out at Art Basel Miami for the second year.

It's called Pop Up Piano -- a public arts project put together by Steinway and Sons Miami. The project first appeared at Art Basel last year.

For those of you unable to weather the traffic, costs and crowds at Art Basel this week, fear not. Here at WLRN -- and with the help of local blogs and newspapers -- we have a rundown of what's been happening at Art Basel.

Party Time

Before the actual galleries even open, in true Miami style, much of Art Basel is all about the parties. 

If  you were stuck in traffic Wednesday night, you can thank the many parties kicking off Art Miami this week.

Get ready to tune into 91.3 and take part in WLRN's very first holiday flash mob.

If you are at your office, grab lunch, and tune to 91.3 FM for an hour of beautiful holiday music guaranteed to stem the stress of the day and clear your head. If you are in your car, roll down your windows and turn up the volume and let the world around you share in the incredible harmonies of the Grammy nominated Seraphic Fire.

For all you art aficionados, Art Basel is an amazing time. For commuters in Miami, however, this is pretty grueling. 

Even though Art Basel officially starts today, last night's launch parties pretty much jammed up the downtown area.

This is about the time I would really like to have a helicopter #traffic #ArtBasel#ABMB

Prayer is coming back to Miami-Dade County Commission meetings starting Dec. 18.

In a 8-3 vote on Tuesday, commissioners signed off on a change to a current rule that only allowed for a moment of silence before meetings.

Now, commissioners will be able to invite a religious leader of their choosing or a fellow commissioner  to lead everyone in a prayer before each meeting. 

A bill that should help fix Florida's python problem is slipping out of the hands of lawmakers in Washington.

U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta, has been trying to get legislation passed that would broaden a ban on invasive species in the U.S. In effect, the bill would slow down a recent influx of invasive snakes taking over the Everglades in Florida.

Progress Florida and Florida Watch Action-- two influential progressive groups in the state-- have launched a preemptive attack on the influence of ALEC in the Florida Legislature. 

ALEC, or the American Legislative Exchange Council, is a pro-business political outfit that hands out model conservative legislation to state lawmakers who follow a conservative agenda.

City of Miami Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones is suing Mayor Tomas Regalado and state attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle for what she says is a plot to destroy her political career by accusing Spence-Jones of political corruption.

On Monday, Spence-Jones filed a lawsuit claiming that Fernandez Rundle and Richard Scruggs, the lead prosecutor in a case accusing Spence-Jones of corruption more than a year ago, misled key witnesses.

These criminal cases surrounding Spence-Jones turned out to be unsuccessful.

Forty years ago, the U.S. House and Senate passed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), an amendment adding language to the U.S. Constitution that says "equality under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."

The amendment was the result of a historic surge of women's rights activism in the country. It took decades to get the amendment passed in Congress, but it did indeed pass at a federal level.

I am sorry, everyone, but a judge doesn't want to let us all in on some of the more "defamatory'' and "salacious" aspects of the saga of Jim Greer, the former Florida Republican Party leader who was accused of defrauding the party to the tune of $200,000.

As you all know, Art Basel is a few days jam-packed with a ton of events, galleries and parties.

In short, it gets difficult to wade through everything that is happening starting next week.

No fears, though! We have a roundup here of some of the more helpful Art Basel guides. Some even point you to free events!

You can click through the links below:

Miami.com