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)