miami-dade

COMMENTARY

Every few months now, Vice President Mike Pence drops into Miami-Dade County to remind voters the Trump Administration is putting the squeeze on Venezuela’s dictatorial dimwit president, Nicolás Maduro.

Dec. 21 marks the winter solstice. It is the longest night of the year. Because of that, the 21st is also recognized as Homeless Persons' Memorial Day across the country, honoring those homeless indivuals whose deaths have gone largely unrecognized. 

In Miami-Dade, the Homeless Trust held a service during its monthly board meeting.

Board members and formerly homeless individuals circled around a table filled with candles and surrounded by white pedals. After a brief prayer, there was a moment of silence. 

After a month of online voting for the United Way of Miami-Dade's first Inspire305 grant competition, two local nonprofits won a combined $35,000 Thursday night to jumpstart learning opportunities for communities of color and bring music to ailing or aging Miami residents. 

And, in a last-minute twist, at the ceremony for the announcement a donor decided to add $5,000 to each of the prizes.  

The annual Miami-Dade Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade will go on, despite calls from some in the community to cancel it after last year’s parade festivities ended in gunfire.

The parade’s organizers say it will be a day of family fun and the community should not be concerned.

“We are not going to let it fall apart because someone wants to destroy it,” said Gigi Tinsley, one of the event's organizers, referring to the shootings last year. 

In a sign of the challenges facing brick-and-mortar retail, Macy’s announced Thursday morning that its downtown Miami store will close.

The downtown Macy’s, at 22 East Flagler Street, is one of 11 stores around the nation that the department store giant said would be getting the ax. The others are in California, Indiana, Idaho, Michigan, Ohio and Vermont. In Florida, the Macy’s story in Oaks Mall in Gainesville will also be closed.

Miami’s yearlong sizzling temperatures were enough to beat a chilly end to 2017, tying the record for the hottest year on the books.

Democratic state Sen. Annette Taddeo was one of the first to call for the resignation of Sen. Jack Latvala. We spoke to her about the upcoming legislative session and the air of discomfort around the capital over numerous claims of sexual harassment. She also told us she was once the victim of sexual harassment when she was younger.