Janey Tate of Hy-Lo News takes over The New Tropic every other Monday to share what’s popping in Miami-Dade’s Black communities. | Want to see your own picture in this space? Tag #thenewtropic to be featured in our Instagram of the Day. (📸: @janeytate)
What Miami news story are you following right now?
I’m always following what’s on Hy-Lo News, my hyper-local online news site dedicated to urban millennials in South Florida. Hy-Lo recently covered how the City of Opa-locka has made vaccines widely available to people in the community. Free vaccines will be available for anyone 50 years of age or older regardless of their health care provider or insurance. In keeping with state policy, health care providers and anyone with a Department of Health COVID-19 Vulnerability Assessment Form can also receive a shot. The vaccination site is located at the Helen Miller Center, 2331 NW 143rd Street, and will be open seven days a week.
Since the Beach ain’t it right now, what are some Black-owned places inland to support?
When I want a good seafood boil, I head over to iSeefood Miami, which borders Miami Gardens and Opa-locka. My favorite dish is a blend of garlic and lemon pepper flavored clams plus shrimp with a side order of conch fritters. The flavor of the seafood boil is rich, and you can taste the island influence of the owner and popular radio host, Papa Keith. Head inland and tell them Janey sent you. :-)
What Black-owned business do you want to shout out this week?
I want to give props to Chef Dario Stephen, the creator of Kids Can Cook. I love his concept of creating recipes that kids can follow to make their own meals. He has camps, organizes parties, and produces video tutorials for both kids and parents to follow along. He also recently released a culinary-themed coloring book iteration of Kids Can Cook that even shares recipes of more complex dishes like Brazillian Beef Kabobs and Chicken Tagine. Hey, maybe I should take these classes too...
When you look on networks dedicated to cooking, you don’t see many people who look like Chef Dario. However, he’s just as talented as any well-known celebrity chef. I hope someday a big network picks up his show, but until then, check him out for yourself.
What’s new in Black Miami’s tech scene?
Austatio is a new podcasting platform that produces shows in English, Creole, and Spanish. Founded by Haitian American David Frederick, Audastio aims to bring multicultural creators to the podcast space. “We understood from the very beginning, to increase diversity in podcasting, more minorities and women need to join the industry both as creators and executives,” Frederick said in an interview with Hy-Lo News. “On the other hand, there needs to be an increase in diverse audiences. So Audastio is trying to tackle this problem from both fronts.”
