This week on The Florida Roundup, host Tom Hudson, Miami Herald reporter Patricia Mazzei and WLRN's Tim Padgett discuss how Venezuela's crisis impacts policy and politics in South Florida. Also part of the conversation: This week's torrential downpours overwhelmed some local flood control efforts, and what would South Beach look like if voters choose to move up last call?
Listen:
As Venezuela moves to seat a new constitutional assembly after a widely disputed vote, the push to tighten U.S. sanctions against the oil-rich nation has intensified. That effort has been led by Florida politicians like Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
Read more:
- The Miami Herald - Why Venezuela politics matter to Miami's Cuban-American politicians
- WLRN - Venezuela's own election tech firm accuses regime of fraud in constitution vote
- The Miami Herald - Why the U.S. is taking its time before more Venezuela sanctions
Miami Beach has spent half a billion dollars raising streets and installing a series of pumps to battle rising water. But the system was not designed to handle so much rain falling so quickly. When the rain fell during high tide on Tuesday, it knocked out the power pumps. NBC 6 chief meteorologist John Morales talks about the conditions that led to the downpour and Miami Herald reporter Joey Flechas tells us what the city is doing to battle high waters.
Read more:
- WLRN - #StartBuildingAnArk: Heavy rain leaves part of South Florida under water
- The Miami Herald - When it rains in Miami, the politicians pour on
And the move to make last call earlier on Ocean Drive led to a lawsuit from some South Beach businesses. We'll look at how an earlier curfew could impact nightlife on the beach and the city's economy.
Read more:
- The Miami Herald - Ifcitymoves uplastcall on Ocean Drive, how much would the party change?