Miami commuters, brace yourselves. You'll likely experience some travel headaches in the coming years.
A massive, four-year, $800 million highway reconstruction project in Miami started on Monday. Once finished, commuters driving in and out of the city can expect a double-decker freeway stretching from Interstate 95 to the MacArthur Causeway, 30-acres of urban parkland and a six-arch suspension bridge in the city's downtown. The project will be paid for by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX) and is expected to be completed by 2023. Miami Herald columnist Linda Robertson and Oscar Gonzalez, a FDOT senior community outreach specialist, joined Sundial to discuss the coming changes and answer listener questions.
The murder rate in Miami is dropping. According to the city's police department, official figures show 51 homicides in 2018, the lowest murder rate the city has seen in over 50 years. Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina attributes the drop to a combination of neighborhood policing and surveillance cameras. Chief Colina was on Sundial to unpack the city’s murder rate data, describe the department’s hate crime protocol, discuss the role technology plays in reducing crime and give us details of arrests for marijuana possession in Miami.