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🚨 Art Acevedo's stint as Miami’s top cop seems to be over. The embattled police chief was suspended “with the intent to terminate his employment” by Miami City Manager Art Noriega on Monday night. Acevedo — who served in the role for six months and gained a reputation for his attempts to reform the department — sent a mass email with the subject line “Farewell,” to the Miami Police Department that same evening. Miami New Times’ report on the development included a comment by MPD Sgt. Stanley Jean-Poix, who remarked that many law enforcement officers were disappointed with the turn of events and felt that Acevedo had been “railroaded.”
The City Commission is scheduled to meet this afternoon and formally issue a decision on his future. During his tenure, Acevedo attracted controversy with the Miami Fraternal Order of Police as well as Commissioners Joe Carollo, Alex Díaz de la Portilla, and Manolo Reyes. As detailed by the Miami Herald, the erstwhile chief “blasted three of the five commissioners in a scathing eight-page memo weeks ago, accusing them of interfering with internal police investigations.” In a separate article, the paper noted Noriega had recently defended Acevedo on Twitter and said the union had attempted to “baselessly undermine” the chief with frivolous accusations. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez — who’d previously described Acevedo as “the Michael Jordan of police chiefs” — said he supported the suspension during a press conference yesterday.
In other news...
🌱 Fast food history is being made in Miami. The Magic City is serving as one of the testing grounds for Burger King’s exciting new offering *cue drum roll* … Impossible Nuggets. The plant-based alternative to traditional chicken nuggets is the chain’s latest “I can’t believe it’s not meat!” menu item and can be ordered as of this week. Its predecessor, the Impossible Whopper, was unveiled by Burger King way back in the salad days of 2019. (WSVN)
🌌 As yesterday’s newsletter showcased, Miami is a hot spot for scenic sights. And it’s about to get a whole lot more colorful too: A pair of dazzling light shows are set to debut in the coming months. Next month, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden will be opening “NightGarden: A Magical Light Spectacular,” a walkthrough experience that needs to be seen to be believed. Pinecrest Gardens will be unveiling “Bruce Munro: Forest and Field of Light” — an immersive installation designed by its namesake artist — in December. You can read more about both at the following link. ➡️ (Local 10)
🐟 Shuck yeah: South Beach Seafood Festival is finally returning next week. The festivities begin on Wednesday, Oct. 20, and run up through the main event on Saturday, Oct. 23. And as it so happens, The New Tropic is giving away two VIP tickets to this tasty occasion; sea it for yourself up near the top. ☝️(Miami New Times)
😋 A sweet South Florida institution is hoping to reopen soon. The cinnamon bun specialists at Knaus Berry Farm are reportedly set to welcome guests back as early as Tuesday, Oct. 26. (WSVN)
