Miami, FL
Miami Seaquarium offers Local 10 exclusive tour to display ‘investments’ as deadline to vacate nears
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – For the first time since Miami-Dade County told its tenant — Miami Seaquarium operator The Dolphin Company — that it needs to vacate the Virginia Key site by April 21 amid mounting animal welfare concerns, Local 10 News is getting a look inside.
Edwin Gonzalez, the company’s U.S. parks executive director, showed reporter Christina Vazquez around the park Friday.
“You are going to see some of the investments we have been making,” he said.
He showed improvements he said the company has been making to floating decks, cages and more.
“All of these decks over here that you see, all those floating decks, was about a $200,000 investment we made,” Gonzalez said.
He said the repair work underway takes time given the degree of disrepair the aging facility was in at the time The Dolphin Company took over the lease a little more than two years prior.
Take, for example, the whale bowl.
“The county has said that this is an unsafe structure,” Vazquez told Gonzalez.
“Correct,” Gonzalez said. “We have already requested a permit for demolition. It starts with fencing and from there we get the demolition permit and they knock it down.”
Gonzalez said the whale bowl was in a state of disrepair when the company acquired the facility.
“We ended up investing nearly $2 million in this whale bowl but when we came in, we had to put in a new water system, filtration system (when taking care of famed orca Lolita),” Gonzalez said. “You are going to see the famous whale bowl where Lolita was and you will notice it is old, it is closed, no one can go in because one of the concerns with Dade County is it is an unsafe structure.”
The county, citing U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection reports that document a series of repeat violations, is pressing forward in its lease termination process.
Miami-Dade Chief Operations Officer Jimmy Morales said if the company is still on the premises on April 21, the county will evict it.
“Folks can rest assured the commitment of the mayor and the administration to try to do right by the animals there and the community,” Morales said. “We are going to follow the law and hopefully get to the point that we are able to evict them and then plot a new future for what will happen there but, most importantly, make sure the animals are properly taken care of whether there or somewhere else.”
Gonzalez said executives with the The Dolphin Company have been trying to meet with county officials to “show everything we are doing to fix the park.”
Self-described “dolphin defender” Ric O’Barry, a former trainer at the park, plans to hold a demonstration at the park in support of county leaders Sunday to celebrate Miami-Dade becoming “animal cruelty free.”
He said the industry has gotten “completely out of control.”
“It means a great deal to me to know that the Seaquarium is finally closing,” O’Barry said.
Gonzalez said the company is staying put.
“We are going to fight to stay because we love this place, we love the animals,” he said.
The Seaquarium plans to hold an Earth Day event on April 22 — one day after the day they are supposed to vacate the premises.
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With Miami-Dade Superintendent Jose Dotres’ contract ending in February 2027, school board members are now looking to have his replacement by August.
Dotres has served as the superintendent for the third-largest school district since 2022. The school board started the search for his replacement in April.
More than 20 people applied for the position, but now only six have secured spots as semifinalists.
Here’s a closer look at who Miami-Dade’s superintendent might be:
Jose Bueno
With roughly 33 years of experience within Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Bueno currently serves as Dotres’ Chief of Staff.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Bueno’s tasks include coordinating and implementing major projects “that have significant district-wide impact on the goals of the district and involve coordination of other divisions and offices.”
He started as a teacher within the country back in 1993 and is a Florida International University and Nova Southeastern University graduate.
Ernie Lozano
Lozano is currently Broward County’s Public Schools Chief Human Resources Officer.
His passion is creating a safe and secure environment for both students and staff.
“He has been recognized for his contributions to the District’s safety and security initiatives, receiving accolades for his exceptional leadership and commitment to student and staff well-being,” according to a bio on the site for the National Student Safety and Security Conference & Workshop.
Before his career in human resources, Lozano served within education as a teacher, assistant principal and more.
Sylvia Mitchell
Hope builder, executive leadership coach and seasoned superintendent are all descriptions Mitchell has on her LinkedIn.
Living in Houston, Texas, Mitchell is familiar with the Sunshine State since she was a principal at Charter Schools USA in Fort Lauderdale back in 2012.
She has also served as superintendent twice in Texas and is currently Executive Vice President, Curriculum, Design & Development for Per Scholars.
Carlos Perez
Perez is a charter school principal in West Palm Beach and the former executive director of the Education Reform Project, a nonprofit organization based in Miami Beach.
According to the nonprofit, Perez has over 25 years of experience within education, mainly in New York, but now in Florida.
Perez has also been an assistant superintendent in the past, as well as taking part as an Executive Board Member for the New York State Association of School Personnel Administrators.
Christopher Ruszkowski
Currently based in South Carolina as CEO of South Carolina’s Children’s Fund, Ruszkowski has moved all over the country, and Florida will be no exception.
According to his LinkedIn, he served as New Mexico’s Secretary of Education back in 2019. Before living in South Carolina, he was a conservator for the Texas Education Agency. A conservator oversees the state’s takeovers of large school districts and charter school networks.
Getting his master’s at Stanford, Ruszkowski was a Distinguished Policy Fellow at the Hoover Institute located within the university.
Rafael Villalobos
Since 2022, Villalobos has been the South Region Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Before that, he was a principal for over ten years.
The Nova Southeastern alum has been in Miami for most of his life, even graduating from South Miami Senior High School in 1990.
Miami, FL
I went to 2 famous Miami restaurants, a flashy steakhouse and a Cuban hot spot. Here’s how they compared.
Café La Trova celebrated the city’s Cuban heritage through live music, warm hospitality, and dishes that felt deeply rooted in local culture.
Papi Steak, meanwhile, embraced Miami’s flashy, see-and-be-seen reputation with theatrical presentations, celebrity appeal, and an atmosphere that often felt more like a nightclub than a standard steakhouse.
Despite Papi Steak’s over-the-top reputation, nearly every dish I tried — from the wagyu pastrami to the hamachi crudo — was thoughtfully prepared and tasted just as good as it looked. If you’re looking for an indulgent, special-occasion dinner where the spectacle is part of the fun, it’s easy to understand why the restaurant has become such a phenomenon.
Still, if I could only recommend one restaurant to a first-time visitor, I’d choose Café La Trova.
While Papi Steak offered the more decadent, once-in-a-lifetime meal, Café La Trova delivered a more authentic Miami experience, pairing outstanding food and cocktails with a genuine sense of the city’s history and culture.
Miami, FL
7 more women arrested at southwest Miami-Dade massage parlors, accused of prostitution in undercover sting
Seven more women have been arrested at massage parlors across Miami-Dade, following a wave of arrests in an undercover prostitution sting operation run by the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office.
All seven women appeared in bond court facing prostitution charges as well as running a massage business without a license. The arrests come a day after seven other women were arrested at massage parlors in southwest Miami-Dade. Those locations were closed after the first round of arrests.
According to arrest reports, the women would offer sexual acts to an undercover detective after a massage. They would also charge, according to the reports, prices ranging from $50 to $150.
The women’s ages ranged from 46 to 67 years old:
- Yaoying Lin, 58
- Xiufen Lin, 51
- Yan Xi, 48
- Zixuan Wang, 46
- Mei Hui Lin, 49
- Quirong Xu, 67
- Hongli Ren, 63
Judge Mindy Glazer presided over the bond court appearances. During the proceedings, she referenced charges of “committing a lascivious act and engaging in prostitution,” according to CBS News Miami’s reporting from the courthouse.
Yaoying Lin’s attorney, Paul Petruzzi, persuaded the judge to reduce her charge from a felony to a misdemeanor.
“She’s resided in Miami for many years. Married. And has never failed to appear,” Petruzzi said.
“They had my client held overnight. She was charged with a felony unfairly. To the point where a judge on her own dismissed it. It’s either real bad, bad, bad police work. Or it’s something else. A little bit more nefarious. I’m afraid the latter,” Petruzzi said.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said that they will not be providing any interviews regarding this undercover sting at this time.
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