Miami news feed with daily updates on travel, technology, and local news issues.
We've started posting to our new News section on MiamiBeach411.com. If you need to change a link, the new address is: http://www.miamibeach411.com/news/index.php This blog will stay where it is (the archives will not be moved to the new blog). So you may want to keep this link for reference, although we won't be adding new posts. Please come visit us at our new address. The new blog is done in Expression Engine so it has more useful features, including easier commenting, and an XML feed.
Earlier this month, I mentioned Google released it's Maps API; and that we have integrated it into our site to create a local hotel map. The feedback has been positive. People seem to really enjoy searching on the map. We decided to follow up by adding a map of Miami Real Estate. Implementing a Google Map is important because it helps connect Real Estate Developers, and buyers researching investments in a more valuable way. Users can browse over 90 different develpments in and around Miami, searching a street-map, satellite image, or a hybrid of the two. The navigation is easy to use--just drag the map with your mouse, and use the slider to zoom in and out. By providing un-biased local coverage and a unique approach to displaying real estate in a visual format, MiamiBeach411.com has become a major stop for investors seeking Miami real estate information.
Hooray! We got power. Our online restaurant reservations system is back open for business. Big shout-out to Miami FPL for getting the power restored so quickly. After the storm, I thought the City would put all their efforts into getting things cleaned up for the VMA's, but I was wrong. FPL got the electricity at our offices in Little Haiti working Saturday night. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone that is in the path of Hurricane Katrina today. We hope you're all safely out of harm's way. The Hurricane Katrina page on Wikipedia is frequently updated and very helpful resource.
Suge Knight shot at the Shore Club Hotel
Hip hop producer, Marion "Suge" Knight, was shot inside of a Miami Beach Hotel during a post party for MTV's Video Music Awards, according to Miami Beach Police. The Death Row Records founder was admitted to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the leg and is in good condition at Mount Sinai Medical Center. Knight was attending a party at the Shore Club Hotel in Miami where Kanye West, Common, and John Legend held a G.O.O.D. Music party. Other celebrities in attendance included Eddie Murphy, Jessica Alba, Joss Stone, and The Game. An employee from the Shore Club told me that one shot was fired in the hotel's Red Room and the shooter was apprehended at the scene. News sources are saying that police are still looking for the suspect.
Katrina has passed - All is well in Miami Beach
All is well in Miami Beach, Florida. Aside from some downed trees, the City fared very well during the storm. For all you VMA'ers in town for the MTV Video Music awards this Sunday, I'm sure the weather will be fine for the show. I just took a bike ride around the Miami Beach, and all of the restaurants on Ocean Drive are open for business. I was concened about them, because they face the ocean and would bear the brunt of the storm, but they're all ok. Yesterday, Michelle and I lost power at 5pm, and it looks like it will be out all weekend. PLEASE NOTE: Due to our loss of electricity, we will not be able to process online restaurant reservations. If you wish to make a restaurant reservation, call the restaurant directly.
Port Everglades Closed, Locals Prepare For Flooding
Port Everglades is Closed. The U.S. Coast Guard has restricted ships from coming into the port as of Wednesday night. Cruise passengers should call their cruise lines for updated schedule changes. Even though the Local Weather channels have been monitoring Tropical Storm Katrina for a while, for most residents, the storm popped up out of nowhere. Since Tropical Storms tend to move slower than Hurricanes, officials are preparing for serious flooding.
Schools • Broward County schools closed Thursday & Friday. Check the District's Web site at www.browardschools.com or call the Rumor Control Hotline at (754) 321-0321 for updates. • Miami-Dade County schools will be closed Thursday. No decision has been made yet regarding Friday cancellations. • Monroe County Schools will be open Thursday. Students may be released early depending on the track of the storm. For more information, call the Key West Rumor Control Hot Line (305) 809-1108. • Beginning at 4 p.m. Thursday, all FAU classes are cancelled. Classes held on Friday are cancelled. Classes are expected to resume on Saturday. Please check this or emergency hotlines on Friday after 3 p.m. for Saturday's status. For continual updates, visit www.fau.edu or call the FAU hotline at (561) 297-2020, (561) 799-8020, (954) 236-1800 or (772) 873-3330. • MIAMI DADE COLLEGE announced all campuses and outreach centers will close on Thursday and Friday. Only essential and emergency personnel will be allowed on campus. A decision on the status of weekend classes and activities will be made on Friday. • Classes will be closed at all BROWARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE locations on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Classes will resume on Monday as scheduled. • UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI will remain in session Thursday. A rumor control line has been established at (305) 284-5151. • AMERICAN INTERCONTINENTAL UNIVERSITY will be closed for classes Thursday and Friday. Please call the Campus Hotline for further information: (954) 446-6112. • ST. THOMAS UNIVERSITY is closed until further notice. • Florida School for the Deaf & the Blind in St. Augustine sent hundreds of students home to South Florida Wednesday so parents could decide whether to evacuate. The students normally return home each weekend. Evacuations, Shelters The Broward Emergency Operations Center has announced a recommended evacuation of people living on the barrier islands east of the Intracoastal Waterway effective Thursday at 8 a.m. Red Cross Shelters open at 2pm for residents who wish to evacuate. Shelter Locations Miami-Dade County issued voluntary evacuations for residents in mobile homes and low-lying areas that flood regularly. A shelter has been opened at Charles Drew Middle School, located at 1801 NW 60 Street in Miami. Hotlines Broward County Hurricane Hot Line: (954) 831-4000 Miami-Dade: (305) 468-5900 Report Price Gouging: 1-866-9-NOSCAM Report A Power Outage: 1-800-4OUTAGE Courts • All Divisions of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida will be suspended at 1 p.m. This includes the Court's locations in Key West, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Fort Pierce. Further information about the status of the Court's operations for Friday will be available on the Court's Web site at www.flsd.uscourts.gov. • All courthouses in Broward will be closed on Thursday and Friday. Airports & Transportation • Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport will close at 7 p.m. Thursday. • Miami International Airport is open. • Broward County transit services stopped at noon Thursday. • The Broward Sheriff's Office and U.S. Coast Guard activated an emergency flotilla to move large pleasure boats upriver. Miami-Dade and Broward drawbridges have been locked down for evacuating cars and for emergency vehicles. • Tri-Rail will cease operations Thursday after southbound train P655 departs the Mangonia Park Station at 2:40 p.m. and northbound train P656 departs the Miami Airport Station at 3:19 p.m. Trains will not operate on Friday. Passengers should monitor local news reports, www.tri-rail.com or call 1-800-TRI-RAIL for service updates throughout the weekend. Other Closings & Information • Sawgrass Mills Mall and Boca Town Center are closed. Broward Mall plans to close later Thursday afternoon. • The Port of Miami is closed to vessel traffic. • Port Everglades remains open to vehicular port traffic and for businesses inside the port. The U.S. Coast Guard has restricted ships from coming into the port as of Wednesday night. • Biscayne National Park is closed. Additional Links: Katrina satellite view Hurricane local statement Miami weather Tropical Storm Katrina
As of 9:30am, Tropical Storm Katrin is located 70 miles east of Fort Lauderdale with winds of 50 mph. It is moving west at 8 mph. The system is forecasted to intensify to hurricane strength before landfall sometime late tonight/early Friday. Hurricane warnings are posted from Florida City to Vero Beach along Florida's east coast. Tropical storm warnings remain posted across the Northwestern Bahamas and tropical storm watches are posted across southwestern portions of Florida. The primary threat from Katrina is from heavy rainfall. Street flooding is expected and will be enhanced by the fact that Katrina will be moving slowly across southern Florida. The storm is expected to take 24 to 36 hours to move from the east coast to the west coast. Note: MDCC will be closed today and tomorrow. Additional Links: Katrina satellite view Hurricane local statement Miami weather Tropical Storm Katrina
The City of Miami Beach has issued a Tropical Storm Warning and a Hurricane Watch for the southeast coast of Florida. No evacuation order has been issued at this time. However, based on current forecasts, the weather is expected to begin to deteriorate by mid afternoon Thursday. Residents are urged to prepare their homes and take necessary precautions to prevent possible wind damage. Secure all loose objects outside of your residence including trash cans, patio furniture, boats and so on. Please do not cut or trim trees prior to the forecasted storm arrival. This will result in debris piles which could become missile hazards. The City does not plan to provide complimentary debris collections. Residents must call Waste Management at (305) 471-4444 to schedule a bulk pick-up after the storm. Please continue to monitor the storm throughout the next 48 hours. We will continue to follow Tropical Storm Katrina and will be providing updates as needed. Residents and visitors may contact the Miami-Dade County Answer Center at (305) 468-5900 for more information.
Each year, Forbes Magazine ranks the best cities for singles. Miami ranks 23rd out of 40 cities. Here are the guidlines that the editors used to rate the cities and how Miami fared on each count: Number of Singles - Each city is evaluated based upon the percentage of its adult population that has never been married. Miami ranks 23 on this attribute. Nightlife - Forbes editors count the number of bars, restaurants and nightclubs in a city and use this strictly numerical rating to assess the city's nightlife. Miami came in a surprising number 15 on this attribute. Culture - The cultural index is calculated in a similar manner. In this case, Forbes editors track the number of museums, sports teams and entertainment venues. Miami scored 24th out of 40. Coolness - Several University professors used data on the number of creative jobs and amount of diversity in each city to come up with a coolness ranking. I'm not sure how they did their math, but Miami only came out number 15 on this ranking. Job Growth - Projected job growth is important to young singles looking to advance their careers. Economic data placed Miami as number 19 on this attribute. Cost of Living - Miami's cost of living was the third worst in the study. The only cities studied that were more expensive than Miami were Austin and San Antonio. Miami is a great town to be single in. Obviously, the Forbes list was put together by someone who has never partied here. Last night, my friend George gave me a tip on where to meet girls. He says go to SoFi Lounge on Friday or Saturday night at around 1am. His words were: "... the place is overflowing with hos beautiful women" What is the Miami singles scene like for you? Where is your favorite place to meet girls/guys? Drop us a comment.
Shaq feuds with neighbors over bright lights
Neighbors are complaining that the floodlights from Shaq's Star Island home are ruining their views. "My problem is I've got this beautiful condo with a great view and I've lost my view thanks to Shaquille O'Neal. It feels like I'm living across from a baseball stadium and that's not what I paid for. I paid a lot of money for this property" says Miami Beach condo owner Kim Suereth. "I got a spotlight myself and shined it on him last night and today knocking on my door was code enforcement from the city of Miami and the city of Miami Beach, threatening to cite me and that I would be fined $5,000 if I did it again," For weeks, Shaq's neighbors have asked him to dim the floodlights, but this is not possible do to the fact that flood lights do not have a dimmer switch ;-) NBC 6 television reporter, Tom Llamas, stopped by Shaq's house unannounced to ask him about the lights. Shaq wasn't too excited to see him. "Get away from my house. What do you want?" Shaq responded through an intercom outside the gate of his home. "Of course, I've been told about the lights. If they don't like it, tell them to pull the shades." The response angered Shaq's neighbors, who said that if Miami Beach doesn't fix the problem they would take matters into their own hands. But don’t worry, it’s not what you think, the condo owners are just going to buy flood lights too. "I'm going to buy the same lights that Shaq has and since they're in code I'll have no problem," neighbor Alain Toto said. "I'm going to put them on my balcony and others will do the same and we’ll make Star Island light up." Come on millionaires neighbors. Let's all be neighborly and find a solution. Maybe you can find a hardware store in Miami that sells a flood light with a dimmer switch, or at least a smaller wattage bulb. Both sides should lighten. Lighten up, get it? heh heh Update: Shaq has dimmed the floodlights. Thursday night, he came outside his house and waved from across the bay to make sure neighbors were OK with the new lights.
The wrongful euthanasia of Cowboy the golden retriever, has got us thinking about what to do if you've lost your pet. First, report it missing by calling the Miami-Dade Animal Shelter. Their phone number is (305) 884-1101, ext. 241. You can visit the Animal Shelter which is located at 7401 NW 74th Street. The shelter is open to the public from 11am to 4:30pm. If your pet is not at the shelter, ask to fill out a form and return every two days to check. You can also view animals that have recently been impounded at PetHarbor.com, an independent website not run by the county. I did a Zip Code search, and was impressed with the results, but sadly saw no picture of Cowboy.
U.S. postal inspectors have arrested three American Airlines baggage handlers on charges they stole mail headed to Haiti. In the mail bags, the men found cash, possibly being sent from local residents to their relatives in that impoverished country, where many people rely on money sent to them from Miami. Bryan Riley, of Homestead, Nelson Rodriguez, of Miami, and Sidney Jimenez, of Pembroke Pines, were all charged with grand theft after inspectors staked out the plane they were loading. Source: Miami Hearld (registration required)
CriticalMiami has statrted a Miami Wiki. What is a Wiki you ask? A Wiki is a web application that allows users to add and edit content, as on an Internet forum. The term Wiki also refers to the collaborative software used to create such a website. Wikis are collaborative in nature. What's great about them is they put the power of Web publishing in everyone's hands. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, began in 2001 and has almost 700,000 user submitted articles in many different languages. For CriticalMiami, the idea began as an experiment to document Miami's local bands, but they hope to grow the idea to document everything. I added some content to the Cafeteria restaurant page. It was fun and easy to go back and re-edit until I got it right. If you're in a band, have a local interest, or know about somthing special, go to the Miami Wiki and create a page.
From Kelly x at MTV UK: "Hello. I'm emailing from MTV UK, we're coming out to film the VMA's in Miami from 22nd August. We really want to film in a boat with a boat tour guide for a couple of hours on Tuesday 23rd August with our presenter. We would love the presenter to do links from the boat as well. We have insurance which I can forward onto you as well. Our budget is very limited but it would be a great advertising opportunity for your company- especially for UK viewers who want to visit Miami. If you are interested or know anyone else that might be interested could you email me back to this address." She says her budget is limited, but don't let that fool. This is MTV. Not to mention, the British Pound is destorying the US Dollar. If you own a tour boat and are looking for exposure, contact us and I'll send you the details.