A living fossil, sea turtles still nest up and down the busy and overbuilt South Florida coast and travel past our shores throughout the year. The various species of ocean roaming turtle are approximately 200-300 million years old but because they lay their eggs on our beaches, scientists are able to closely study the nomadic animals. For this reason, and with modern techniques such as satellite tagging, we can occasionally glimpse closely into their mysterious lives.
Retired Miami Herald photographer Tim Chapman in front of less than half of his massive archive of photos, negatives, slides and newspapers.
Credit Kenny Malone
"This is Mariel right here," said Chapman, "the first slide."
Credit Tim Chapman
In 1980, Chapman took one of the most iconic photos from the Mariel Boat Lift. He was in a military hanger. "This guy from the military came out and said, ‘Welcome to America.’ And these people, they just erupted with joy."
Credit Tim Chapman
In 1978, Tim Chapman was one of the first journalists to arrive on the scene of a mass suicide in Jonestown, Guyana.
Credit Tim Chapman
The Mutiny Hotel was ground zero for the Cocaine Cowboys culture. Here, two men finished their climb down the side of the building after lighitng a bathtub full of cash on fire.
In a small house in west Miami-Dade, Tim Chapman has nearly filled his guest bedroom with cardboard storage boxes, each one carefully labeled with a year.
“I’ll show you a couple years,” said Chapman, moving pulling a box from a teetering stack. “This is Mariel right here, the first slide.”
Chapman holds up a color slide of an iconic photo he took during the Mariel Boat Lift in 1980.
Listen to radio story here (includes WLRN exclusive, an up close and personal interview with Boo while eating a biscuit).
Over the weekend, more than 250 dogs competed in an American Kennel Club event at Miami-Dade County’s Tropical Park. Anyone in attendance learned that canine athletes are capable of feats humans can only dream of doing and would never dream of doing.
Tucked away on a high shelf in the collections room of the Museum of Science is a startlingly unique rock specimen. It is white with long jutting crystal arms and made of a fragile mineral called calcite. The piece looks like it comes from completely different planet.
The Overtown section of Miami was the heart and soul of music during the early to mid-1960’s.
It developed as Southern and Bahamian blacks relocated to Miami area to work on Henry Flagler’s railroad.
As they prospered, so did the club and performing arts scene.
Other venues included the Rockland, Palace, the Harlem Square Club, the Cotton Club, the Ritz Theater, the Mary Elizabeth Hotel and the Sir John, to name a few.
Richard Blanco wasn't the only poet to pen a line for President Barack Obama's second inauguration. Last week, our partners at The Takeaway asked for your help writing a poem for the inauguration.
Poet Kwame Dawes wrote the first line--"Say 'nation.' In the Wake of quarrels, say 'hope'"--and the audience tweeted the rest of the lines.
After a failed career at home in the U.S., the Chinese-American rapper Jin found an unexpected second chance at stardom on the other side of the world.
Credit Louis Trinh / Courtesy of artist
After a failed career in the U.S., the Chinese-American rapper Jin got an unexpected second chance at stardom — in Hong Kong.
