Conexion Miami / FBI leaves Miami

After 28 years at its North Miami Beach location, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Miami field office moved to a new facility in Broward County last week. Located at 2030 SW 145th Ave. in Miramar, on a 20-acre site, the new complex will be fully operational by the start of 2015, the agency said in a news release. The 330,000-square-foot facility, certified by the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design as a green building, can seat over 1,000 employees and includes surface and enclosed parking for 1,075 vehicles.

Paying the prison chief twice

Florida has a new head of prisons. Julie Jones, 57, is the new secretary of the Department of Corrections. Eight months ago she retired as head of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Upon retirement, Jones received a $621,980 lump sum payment as part of what’s known as the Deferred Retirement Option Program. In Jones’ case, she will also begin collecting $9,730 in monthly pension payments in May, on top of the more than $13,000 a month from her state salary. It must be nice for those who can.

New public school trend?

Palm Beach County School Board member Debra Robinson is asking her colleagues and staff members to consider randomly scanning students and classrooms with metal detectors as a matter of policy in Palm Beach, as they now do in Miami-Dade. Fewer than 3 percent of the nation’s public schools require their students to pass through permanent metal detectors. Miami-Dade is among the 5 percent to conduct random metal detector checks, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. 

Jeb to release emails

Here’s another sign that Jeb Bush is getting ready to run for president in 2016. The Associated Press is reporting that Bush will be releasing 250,000 emails from his years as Florida governor (1999-2007). Progreso Weekly wonders if he will also answer questions regarding his brother’s presidency. Something in the order of: Where you in favor of torture as used during the W. Bush presidency?

Legal pot, soon, may be closer than you think

Will marijuana be as legal as gambling in Native American tribal lands in Florida? So asked a Miami Herald reporter recently. “The tribes have the sovereign right to set the code on their reservations,” said Timothy Purdon, the U.S. attorney for North Dakota who chairs the U.S. attorney general’s Subcommittee on Native American Issues in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. Florida’s Miccosukee Tribe has three reservation areas in South Florida, along Tamiami Trail, Alligator Alley and Krome Avenue. The Seminole Tribe of Florida has six reservations, which total more than 90,000 acres. They are located in Hollywood, Big Cypress, Brighton, Immokalee, Fort Pierce and Tampa.

Miami’s Freudian dilemma

First it was Sky Rise, the huge tower they plan to build that looks like a nail clipper. Then it was the largest American flag that would be donated by a grateful Cuban American. And now it’s the biggest Ferris wheel in the world in downtown Miami. Where are they going to fit all this (some of it) junk? And why does it have to be the biggest this or the biggest that… do these Miamians have some kind of complex? 

Florida job growth down

Florida’s job growth tumbled “significantly” in November, sliding more than 30 percent from the number of private sector jobs created in October, according to a report released Wednesday. Payroll processing company ADP estimated that Florida added 13,900 nongovernment jobs in November, down from 20,500 a month earlier.

The MatzohBall

On Dec. 24, Jewish singles will converge on Miami and other cities across the U.S. for the annual party popularly known as the MatzohBall. While many observe Christmas eve hip Jewish singles in urban communities will be mixing and mingling at the 28th annual Ball. Founded in 1987, there have been over 1,000 marriages as a result and we now know of 21-year-old children of parents that met at the Ball decades ago who will be attending this year’s version. New York, Miami, Boston, Atlanta, Dallas, Philadelphia and Las Vegas are but a few of the cities where the MatzohBall is celebrated.

Broward bans ban on same sex marriage, again

Florida’s ban on same-sex marriages is back off the books in Broward County. Broward Circuit Court Judge Dale Cohen issued a ruling last week striking down the state’s same-sex marriage ban, just as several county judges had before him. The case involved Heather Brassner, who wanted a divorce after getting a civil union in Vermont in 2002. Barring unlikely circumstances, on Jan. 6, gay and lesbian couples in Florida can get marriage licenses, and Florida must recognize those already married in other states.

Florida kids less likely to smoke

Florida had a 7.5 percent smoking rate among high school students, according to a study conducted by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association, among other groups. This means that Florida’s youth are less likely to smoke than kids in every other state but Utah, according to the report.

Gov. Scott may have broken the law

Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s disclosure of nearly 200 pages of emails from a private Google account could become key evidence in an ongoing lawsuit that charges that the governor flouted the state’s public records law, reported the Associated Press. The Scott administration released documents late last month that showed Scott, using a private account, exchanged emails with top aides and others on topics including vetoes, the state budget and his speeches. It is not a violation of law to have a private email account, but it would be a violation if someone asked for emails and the governor’s office failed to turn them over, which may have been the case. 

EPrix racing comes to Miami

The FIA Formula E Championship – the world’s first fully electric racing series – is making its historical Miami ePrix debut March 14, 2015, and is inviting the South Florida community to participate. The eight turn, 2.17km circuit will be located in Downtown Miami, along Biscayne Bay around the streets of the American Airlines Arena, home to the Miami Heat NBA basketball team. It will be the setting for the fifth race in the inaugural Formula E season and the first of two events in the U.S.

Retiring to more money

It is good to be a retired University of Florida president. Bernie Machen will spend his post-presidency as a senior adviser to the UF board of trustees and incoming President Kent Fuchs, raising money for endowed faculty positions and the Florida Opportunity Scholars Program that bears Machen’s name. Machen is UF’s 11th president and will earn $3.9 million during those five years, all of it paid by private money.

Gainesville area cuts down on flu

The University of Florida has just published a study that shows that the Gainesville area FluMist program to vaccinate schoolchildren in prekindergarten through 12th grades has cut down on influenza rates among both those students and other age groups in Alachua County. The free nasal spray influenza vaccine provided by the program started as a pilot program for grades K-8 in November 2006 and expanded to public and private school children grades preK-12 during the 2009/10 school year. The program is a collaboration between groups that include the Alachua County Health Department and the University of Florida.

Peruvian art

Galeria Adelmo is hosting an art gallery opening reception on Saturday, Dec. 20, from 7 to 10 p.m.  Co-hosting the event with the gallery is the Consulate General of Peru, Miami Chapter. That night they will introduce the Peruvian artist, Enrique Bustamante. There will be a complimentary Wine & Cheese Reception, as well as gourmet Peruvian food. The gallery is located at 1165 S.W. 6th St., Miami, 33130. For more info: (305) 549-7200.