Conexión Miami / Black men as targets
There seems to be a problem with police departments and black men in this country. And things have gone from bad to worse lately by the lack of indictments in the Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and Tamir Rice cases. Making matters even worse, in Miami, NBC 6 recently reported that the North Miami Beach Police Department was using photos of local black men for a recent target practice session. The city’s police chief told reporters that he found no problem with the practice and added, “Our policies were not violated.”
Millions could lose ObamaCare subsidies
Thirty-four states opted to use the federal Affordable Care Act website rather than create a website of their own. The Supreme Court will hear King v. Burwell in March, about whether people who obtain insurance throughHealthCare.gov, the federal government’s online health exchange, are eligible for the tax subsidies offered under the law. If the Supreme Court rules that the subsidies pass constitutional muster only if obtained through a state-run exchange, anywhere from 1.2 million to 2.5 million Florida residents could lose their subsidies in 2016.
A chocolate festival
Indulge in chocolate delicacies during the season’s most delicious event! says the advertising. Enjoy fine chocolate samples from artisan chocolatiers, lectures on chocolate making and demonstrations from Miami’s master chefs and chocolatiers. Take our Chocowalk to learn about the life cycle of a cacao plant, with stops in our Rainforest and more. Find out everything you ever needed to know about chocolate from the experts. The Chocolate Festival at Fairchild Tropical Garden, 10901 Old Cutler Road in Coral Gables, will be held on Jan. 23 starting at 9:30 a.m.
Solar power in Florida
Florida is known as the Sunshine State. Still, we’re only number 13 nationally in solar energy production. Now proponents of the so-called Solar Choice ballot initiative want to change that by challenging the control major utility companies hold over electricity sales in Florida. The initiative, if passed as an amendment to the state Constitution, would supersede a state law allowing only investor-owned utilities to sell electricity. If approved, property owners would be allowed to generate up to 2 megawatts of solar electricity and sell it to others on the same property or an adjoining property. The measure has driven solar investment in other states.
Supreme Court to decide on gay marriage
The Supreme Court last week announced it will decide whether same-sex couples have a right to marry everywhere in America under the Constitution. The justices will take up gay-rights cases that ask them to overturn bans in four states and declare for the entire nation that people can marry the partners of their choice, regardless of gender. The cases will be argued in April, and a decision is expected by late June.
Same-sex marriage became legal in Florida on Jan. 6, after a federal court decision overturning the state’s ban went into effect.
State of Florida positions fell drastically under Scott
A state report issued last week indicates that positions in Florida’s main personnel systems fell by nearly 11,000 jobs during Gov. Rick Scott’s first term – a faster rate of reduction than any governor has recorded. The overall reductions under Scott far outpaced Bush’s first term figures. Between 1998, when Bush was elected, and 2002, when he was re-elected, positions in the State Personnel System fell from 124,838 to 117,561, according to annual DMS reports for those years. State employment had edged upward most years, in most agencies, under Democrats and Republicans alike, prior to Bush.
Guns on campus
Florida State Rep. W. Gregory Steube, a Republican from Sarasota, has filed legislation (HB 4005) that would make it legal for anyone with a concealed weapon permit to bring their firearm on a college campus. His argument, fully supported by the influential National Rifle Association among others, goes like this: If students and others were armed they may have stopped the shocking shooting at Florida State University’s main library on Nov. 20, last year.
Miami Dade College offers free jazz
Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Arts and Philosophy Department continues its successful jazz series, Jazz at Wolfson Presents (300 Northeast 2nd Avenue, Miami, FL 33132), at noon, Wednesday, Jan. 21, with B-3 organist Kyle Koehler. The concert is free and open to the public. All About Jazz magazine calls Koehler “a revelation on organ” and “a natural heir to the progressive tradition of Jimmy Smith and Larry Young.”
Community relations meetings
The Miami-Dade County Community Relations Board (CRB) is bringing residents together with law enforcement and community leaders at a number of forums intended to hear input and create consensus on an agenda for enhanced police and community relations. The town hall type meetings will provide opportunities for addressing a panel of elected officials and CRB and law enforcement leaders. Dates, places and times: South Dade Regional Library on Jan. 22 from 5 to 8 p.m.; Florida Memorial University on Jan. 29 from 6:30 to 9 p.m.; University of Miami Life Science and Technology Park on Feb. 4 from 5 to 8 p.m.; North Dade Regional Library on Feb. 11 from 5 to 8 p.m.; and West Kendall Regional Library on Feb. 18 from 5 to 8 p.m.
Florida students to opt out of standardized tests?
The Sun Sentinel is reporting that South Florida’s parents are growing increasingly unhappy with the state’s high-stakes standardized testing. Local groups have formed in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties encouraging parents to have their children opt out of the new Florida Standards Assessment in the spring. They say students can’t be forced to answer questions and can stay home or refuse to take it.
State officials have said opting out can create chaos and skew results. School grades, teacher evaluations and student retention are all based on student test scores. But activists say opting out will send a clear message to lawmakers about the urgent need to reform.
Miami metro worst for STEM pros
The leading personal finance social network WalletHub conducted an in-depth analysis of 2015’s Best & Worst Metro Areas for STEM Professionals. Stem (science, technology, engineering, math) jobs are expected to grow 1.7 times faster than non-STEM professions through 2018. The Miami metro area ranked worst for STEM professionals. Ranking (1=Best; 50=Avg.): 78th – % of All Workers in STEM Jobs; 56th – STEM Employment Growth; 39th – STEM High Schools Index; 82nd – Annual Median Wage for STEM Workers (Adjusted for Cost of Living); 41st – Annual Median Wage Growth for STEM Workers; 96th – Housing Affordability for STEM Professionals; 94th – Job Openings per Capita for STEM Graduates; 94th – Unemployment Rate for People with a Bachelor’s Degree or Higher; 79th – Projected Number of STEM Jobs Needed in 2018.
Supporting immigrant families
SEIU is running digital ads, which call on House and Senate Republicans to support immigrant families and to oppose legislation that would undo recent administrative actions. The states and districts targeted by these ads are home to sizable numbers of Latino and Asian American/Pacific Islander voters who could impact the 2016 elections. The initiative comes as Republican leadership in the House is poised to vote on legislation that undermines the president’s immigration action, prohibiting funding and fees to both DAPA and DACA and even going so far as to eliminate DACA.
