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Plus, the feds take a closer look at manatees and a fleet-footed show of solidarity.
The New Tropic
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🎞 An Evening with Marlon Johnson

Join us on April 3rd enjoy an outdoor film screening of “River City Drumbeat” directed by Marlon Johnson & Anne Flatté.

Details & tickets online

💉 Florida: Where vaccines will soon flow like springs

Plus, the feds take a closer look at manatees and a fleet-footed show of solidarity.

Welcome to Friday, folks.

We’re starting today’s newsletter off with some very good news: Starting Monday, April 5, all Floridians aged 18 and up will be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. 🎉 Gov. Ron DeSantis made the announcement yesterday, noting that with more than 70% of the seniors in the state already vaccinated, Florida is "ready to take this step.”

I — and I being Zach, your friendly neighborhood newsletter director — know the last year has been a different experience for everyone, but for those of us who’ve remained cooped up, this is a very welcome development. The day may soon be in sight where I can once again slam back my favorite Miami cocktail — the Rosemary’s Baby at Gramps, for those wondering — and make ridiculous motions on the dance floor with the best of them. Heck, if I’m feeling brave, I might even venture back into my old stomping grounds at the Churchill’s Pub bathroom (said with all love and affection, of course.)

In any case, I can see the texts in my group chats now: “Zach Schlein — coming soon to a dance floor near you.” Now that I’m done manifesting my biggest hopes and dreams, let’s see what else is happening in Miami heading into the weekend…

💧 What Miami is talking about

Support the newly renamed Alliance for Florida’s National Parks by visiting — and taking good care of — the Sunshine State’s natural wonders. ☀️ | Want to see your own picture in this space? Tag either #thenewtropic or @thenewtropic to be featured in our Instagram of the Day. (📸: @nationalparksfl)

😞 The federal government is getting involved with the rash of manatee deaths that’s plagued 2021 so far. Per the Miami Herald, “the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared Florida’s manatee crisis an ‘unusual mortality event,’ triggering a federal investigation to determine the causes of a recent spike in deaths and directing more money and resources to state agencies and environmental groups involved in rescues.” 

Earlier this week, we noted that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission had documented 432 manatee deaths between the start of the year and March 5; that number has since risen to 539 as of March 19. Comparatively, 637 manatee deaths were tallied for all of 2020. According to the Herald’s piece, “2021 is on track to be one of the deadliest for the gentle mammals in the past decade.”

In other news…

🚄 Brightline shared it’s still full steam ahead on completing its route from Miami to Orlando by December 2022. The extension will connect West Palm Beach directly to Orlando International Airport. The high-speed rail service aims to open the route by 2023 before expanding to Tampa by 2025. (Orlando Weekly

📢 There’s a 5K taking place tonight as a show of solidarity with Asian American communities in Miami and across the country. The run was organized by locals Esther Park and Max Pierre as a means of memorializing the victims of the recent shootings in Atlanta and taking literal steps against discrimination of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. You can join the jog by meeting at Simply Good Pizza on Miami Beach at 6 p.m. — masks are required. (Miami New Times)

🏠 Activists are speaking out against Florida legislators’ plans to redirect funds from the state’s affordable housing budget. A bill proposing that tax dollars reserved for the Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Fund be put instead toward sea-level rise and wastewater grants advanced in the state senate this week. A newsletter shared by advocacy group Miami Homes For All said the move is part of a larger trend that’s swept roughly $2.01 billion away from Florida’s affordable housing budget since 2008, costing the state 167,000 affordable housing units in the process. “This proposal uses other emergencies as a justification to permanently sweep funds from one critical pot to pay for other critical issues - Florida residents should not be forced to choose between housing and climate resilience,” the release said. You can learn more about the issue as well as how to contact your local legislator at the following IG link. ➡️ (Florida Politics / Miami Homes For All via Instagram)

💸 goPuff credit for everybody

The New Tropic’s got more than enough goPuff credit to go around — it’s just one of the many perks of supporting this newsletter. 😉 (📸: @gopuff)

Congrats to New Tropic reader Sydney D. for winning $100 in goPuff credit to spend on food, snacks, and everyday essentials plus two packs of Knaus Berry Farm’s Cinnamon Rolls and a goodie bag full of local favorites. Didn’t win? Use the code 'TROPIC305' to get $25 in goPuff credit. Spend it on whatever you want, whether it’s tequila or TP — we won’t judge. You can order from the goPuff app or their website. Enjoy! 

Today

🔍 Hear from HistoryMiami Museum’s resident historian Dr. Paul George about the past of Hollywood Boulevard and other local landmarks (Online)

🎸 Join Miami band Jaialai in celebrating their new EP "As Sweet As I Was" as part of the Live on the Plaza concert series (Downtown)

💡 Take part in MiamiEdTech's collaborative #SheCanLead Stem Mentorship Workshop detailing how young women can get a leg up on starting their STEM career (Online)

🎷 Check out singer Melanie Charles' genre-bending sounds during the latest installment of Jazz at MOCA (Online)

Tomorrow

🎤 Answer the age-old question of "to beat or not to beat" with this improvised Shakespearean hip-hop experience (Coral Gables)

🏖 Help Miami visual artist Haiiileen, ARTECHOUSE, and Surfrider Miami out with a community beach cleanup (Miami Beach)

🎭 Enjoy a funny yet heartrending musical at the Sandrell Rivers Theater about fathers, daughters, and a dance (Liberty City and Online)

🎨 Experience performances by Miami artists addressing women's authority over their bodies during the exhibit "MY BODY, MY RULES" at Pérez Art Museum Miami (Downtown and Online)

💃 Shake your hips during a socially distantced outdoor dance performance from Siudy Garrido Flamenco Company (Cutler Bay)

Sunday

🎶 Bring the kiddos to a live orchestral performance of The Purple Palace, narrated by Neil Nelson at Pinecrest Gardens (Pinecrest and Online)

Monday

😅 Fit some last-minute Monday cardio into your schedule with a new four-week session of Solo 20's free Charleston dance classes with All Swing Miami (Online)

Wednesday

🎥 Watch three new documentaries on how Miamians faced challenges exacerbated by COVID-19 at Pass the Mic (Online)

☝️ One more thing...

Consider this your periodic reminder to follow The New Tropic on social media — our accounts are helpfully linked below 😉 — to hear chats with some of Miami’s most notable creatives. We’ve been speaking with the winners of Knight New Work 2020 grants to learn how local artists are taking the lessons of the pandemic and applying them to their work. Just last night we spoke with Najja Moon about the spirituality of her practice, and you can also check out our talks with Melissa Cobblah Gutiérrez and Carlos Fabián Medina among many others. 

2020 — and indeed 2021 — placed a collective, divisive pressure on all of us. Consider joining us in celebrating the folks who’re imagining ways of bringing us back together. 😊

See you next week,

Zach & The New Tropic

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