Miami, FL
Florida’s emergency chief seeks changes in disaster response
TALLAHASSEE – Florida’s emergency-management director needs lawmakers to make adjustments to assist with catastrophe preparation and response, pointing to points which have arisen because the state recovers from Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole.
Division of Emergency Administration Director Kevin Guthrie this week requested lawmakers to scale back the period of time folks need to take away broken boats from waterways and to offer uniform necessities for native governments about debris-removal contracts. He additionally needs to tweak a brand new reduction fund and defend from public data the names of individuals harmed by disasters.
“What we’re speaking about is media shops. We’re speaking about legal professionals, attorneys, these which are searching for to attempt to begin making a living off of catastrophe survivors and victims,” Guthrie instructed members of the Senate Choose Committee on Resiliency as he described the proposed public data exemption.
“In case you recall, there was a few 72-hour interval the place we created a web site that allowed folks to type of self-report they had been both secure or wanted to test on a person,” Guthrie added. “We had multitudes of people, multitudes of personal sector organizations, making an attempt to get their palms on that knowledge.”
Committee Chairman Sen. Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, referred to as the proposals “logical and considerate,” including that the committee should work out that are “doable.”
“If I’ve realized one factor on this whole course of, it is that issues that look actually easy are hardly ever actually easy,” Albritton instructed reporters after the Wednesday assembly.
Albritton lent his help to making a public-records exemption, calling it “troublesome when you may have of us that want to exploit data for personal acquire when possibly households have not been notified, or possibly they have not developed all of the circumstances to what could or could not have occurred to a sufferer.”
Albritton famous a difficulty comparable to eradicating derelict boats from waterways might be extra difficult.
“Totally different components of the state have totally different challenges,” Albritton mentioned. “I do know down within the Keys they’ve hassle discovering homeowners as a result of there isn’t any quantity on the boat, there isn’t any registration … and by regulation, they’ve to offer some flexibility for these issues.”
Vessel homeowners got 45 days after Ian crossed the state to get boats out of derelict situation. Nevertheless, some vessels nonetheless stay in state waters because the restoration effort continues from Ian, which made landfall Sept. 28 in Southwest Florida as a Class 4 hurricane.
Guthrie famous that “tightening” the timeframe might assist the state safe federal reimbursements for eradicating watercraft, as boats left derelict for 45 days or longer may not warrant FEMA funding and even end result within the state having to finally return some reduction cash.
Eradicating derelict boats has lengthy been a difficulty within the state.
Lawmakers final yr elevated funding for eradicating such vessels from $3.5 million to $8.2 million, after giving regulation enforcement extra authority to handle boats that haven’t any efficient technique of propulsion and have taken on water or are on the verge of turning into unanchored.
Additionally, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee moved ahead with a program that inspired homeowners of boats which were deserted, wrecked, junked, or considerably dismantled in state waters to rid themselves of the vessels for free of charge.
In the meantime, lawmakers final yr established a disaster-relief fund, referred to as the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund, and put $500 million into it. Guthrie mentioned Wednesday that some “extra readability” is required on its use.
The fund was created as a pool of money the governor might dip into with out having to get approval from the Legislative Finances Fee, which is made up of Home and Senate price range leaders and meets periodically.
Guthrie additionally urged lawmakers require native governments to have pre-storm contracts that cowl all features of particles removing.
“The state has needed to navigate the removing of several types of particles, together with personal and business property particles, together with demolition, vegetative and building particles, and automobiles and vessels,” Guthrie mentioned. “One of many issues that we encountered is that there’s a lack of a uniform course of to make sure that all of these applicable entities have all of these applicable line objects in each one in all their contracts.”
Miami, FL
Designs revealed for Miami-inspired city in the Middle East
A masterplan has been unveiled for a coastal neighborhood in Bahrain which is partly inspired by the U.S. city of Miami.
Bilaj Al Jazayer Beach will span just over two miles of length along Bahrain’s coastline. According to an official release, the mixed-use district will draw inspiration from Miami’s low-rise Art Deco buildings combined with traditional local design.
The walkable locale will feature new homes, hotels, and retail options in addition to public green spaces and “state-of-the-art” amenities.
The city is designed around three main streets, which will be lined with native trees and are intended to encourage walking and cycling across the district.
The site will be flanked by two large hotels, with smaller, boutique hotels positioned at 500-meter intervals throughout, and residential communities nestled in between.
Neighborhoods will incorporate shaded green courtyards and alleyways that the city’s designers say are inspired by Bahrain’s traditional design principles to create cool outdoor spaces.
At the heart of the development will lie a public surf park, featuring wave-generation technology to simulate the experience of a natural ocean environment on land.
The beach links to a network of piers stretching into the sea, forming protective coves to safeguard the shoreline, and a green park will serve to separate the beachfront from the main road.
“We are creating a green and walkable community on the beach, which offers a range of crafted experiences for residents and visitors,” said Gerard Evenden, head of Studio ar Foster + Partners, the firm behind the designs.
“The permeable development features tree-lined streets, shaded courtyards, and a spectacular public park that directly connects with the waterfront. Needless to say, the west-facing district will also offer some of the best sunset views in Bahrain,” Evenden added.
Newsweek has contacted Foster + Partners for comment via email form.
Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is a small island nation in the Persian Gulf, situated between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
With a population of around 1.5 million, its economy primarily relies on oil, financial services, and tourism.
In neighboring Saudi Arabia, the first project for the country’s Neom megacity recently opened.
Known as Sindalah, the opening of the “luxury island destination” represented a significant milestone for the project, which has become the world’s biggest construction site as part of an effort by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to diversify the nation’s economy.
However, a recent report from human rights organization ALQST warned that companies working with the biggest construction projects in Saudi Arabia, which includes several American firms, run the risk of “political and reputational risks” as the projects face allegations of dangerous conditions and abuse of migrant workers.
The report came amid allegations that thousands of migrant construction workers have died or gone missing since 2017.
Do you have a story we should be covering? Do you have any questions about this article? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com
Miami, FL
Triple shooting in NW Miami-Dade under investigation
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Miami, FL
Miami-Dade prison inmate sets his cell on fire, investigators say
MIAMI – Florida Department of Corrections officers recently asked Bureau of Fire, Arson & Explosives Investigations detectives to figure out how a 26-year-old prison inmate set his cell on fire.
Correctional officers accused Jeronimo Rosario of setting the fire shortly after 11:05 a.m., on Wednesday inside his locked prison cell at the Dade Correctional Institution.
BFAEI detectives reported Rosario likely removed the protective plexiglass cover from his cell’s light fixture, accessed the electric wires, and burned cloth from a towel.
FDOC records show Rosario has been in prison since March 1, 2023 after convictions of grand theft vehicle, fleeing and eluding police, and battery on police/fire.
Before the fire, Rosario was set to be released from prison on Feb. 2. On Thursday, he was facing charges of preventing or obstructing extinguishing a fire and lewd or lascivious exhibition at a correctional facility.
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