A South Florida city known as The Town of Surfside famous for warm sunshine, palm trees, breezy beaches, and celebrity sightings, was bracing itself for summer vacations and returning to a sense of normalcy mid-pandemic.
But what happened overnight on June 24, 2021, wasn’t remotely the catastrophe Surfside had in their 2020 emergency management plans. The Champlain Towers South, a 12-story beachfront condominium in the Miami suburb of Surfside, Florida, partially collapsed in the middle of a busy week, at approximately 1:25 am.
Despite a small handful of residents escaping the collapse, many remained trapped in the concrete debris. Echoes of despair and desperation were seen on every news media outlet, until a young child was rescued from the debris, visibly shaken, but alive.
Dr. Steve Gallon, III, School Board Member and Vice Chair of Miami Dade County Public Schools, the 4th largest school district in the United States, explained the districts involvement during the Surfside Collapse aftermath. “Miami-Dade County Public Schools remains committed to deploying all available resources, including emergency supplies, food, and crisis counseling, to assist students, employees and families who have been affected by the tragedy in Surfside.” Said Gallon.
Gallon further explained that “M-DCPS has a longstanding commitment to the residents of Miami-Dade County affected by the tragedy regardless of age or enrollment status. We are currently partnering with our local United Way in Operation Helping Hands to provide support for affected families. The District’s Crisis Management team has been deployed to assist families in need.”
Florida Senator and Attorney Jason Pizzo, servicing District 38 , which includes the Town of Surfside, tweeted images of the site, showing the property where the 12-story Champlain Towers South once stood, as several recovery workers used a crawler loader to collect remaining debris.
The United Way of Miami Dade County is looking for volunteers to assist the victims of Surfside. Become a Relief Emergency Volunteer and sign up at United Way Volunteer .
Reposted with permission from originator Daisy Gonzalez-Diego, Miami Dade County Public Schools dgonzalezdiego@dadeschools.net
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 14, 2020
Reopening of Schools Parent Webinar To Be Held August 25
Additional resources for families are also now available
With a little more than two weeks before the start of the 2020-2021 school year, Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) continues to provide families with a myriad of helpful resources to assist them in ensuring their children have a strong and successful start to their academic year.
In addition to the Reopen Smart/Return Safe Reopening Guide already shared and posted on M-DCPS’ dedicated schools reopening web page,http://reopening.dadeschools.net, the District has also posted Frequently Asked Questions and a Back-to-School checklist in multiple languages. Parents are encouraged to read through these materials to prepare for the upcoming school year.
In an effort to answer additional questions, Superintendent of Schools Alberto M. Carvalho will also host a webinar for parents and guardians on Tuesday, August 25, at 5:30 p.m.Parents can submit questions for the webinar by emailing questions@dadeschools.net. The deadline to submit questions is Friday, August 21.
The hour-long webinar can be accessed by visitinghttp://reopening.dadeschools.net and will also air simultaneously on WLRN-TV Ch. 17. Click here for an informational flier.
Parents will also be provided with additional resources during M-DCPS’ virtual Week of Welcome, taking place August 24-28. During this week, parents and students will access video and digital tutorials in English, Spanish and Haitian-Creole on a variety of helpful topics, including connecting virtually, supporting student success, healthy mind and body, and what to expect once schools reopen. More details on the Week of Welcome will be provided early next week.
Communication is especially important in a virtual environment. To stay connected, it is imperative for parents to keep their contact information updated at their child’s school. Families can also sign up to receive emergency text messages by texting “Y” to 67587. Attached is a flier outlining the various ways families can stay connected.
For the most up-to-date information, please download the Dadeschools mobile app to your iPhone or Android device. Follow us on Twitter @mdcps and @miamisup, on Instagram @miamischools and @miamisup, and on Facebook at MiamiSchools and AlbertoCarvalho
Just days ahead of the Aug. 18 primary, a robocall has emerged falsely claiming former President Barack Obama has endorsed Senate District 35 candidate Daphne Campbell.
Campbell, a former Senator who was ousted in 2018 from her District 38 seat, is one of six Democrats competing in the contest. Obama has not endorsed anyone in that six-person field.
Yet the robocall stitches together a pre-recorded script from Obama and splices in former Sen. Campbell’s name where appropriate.
In the script, Campbell’s name is read by a female voice clearly distinct from Obama’s. We’ve inserted her name in brackets where it appears in the script to make clear Obama does not actually speak her name.
“Hi, this is Barack Obama calling on behalf of my friend, [Sen. Daphne Campbell],” the audio recording begins, according to a copy obtained by Florida Politics.
“Today is Election Day and it’s critically important that you get to the polls, cast your ballot and make your voice heard. I’m supporting [Sen. Daphne Campbell] because they’re the only candidate running to represent you and who will be a champion for middle-class families, and I know [Sen. Daphne Campbell] will fight to defend the progress we’ve made over the last eight years.”
Obama’s reference to “progress we’ve made over the last eight years” appears to imply this recording was made in 2016 as he was set to exit office. That could lead some to believe a group supporting Campbell is simply reusing a 2016 endorsement from Obama, back when she was running for the SD 38 seat.
That’s not the case either, however. While Obama backed several Democratic candidates in competitive Senate races that cycle, Campbell was notably absent from his endorsement list.
The robocall continues on. “I trust [Sen. Daphne Campbell] to keep fighting for all the things we believe in: a woman’s right to choose, protecting Medicare and Social Security, making college more affordable and protecting our environment,” Obama says in the recording.
“Our children need us to keep working to make this country stronger, fairer, safer and cleaner, and [Sen. Daphne Campbell] will do just that. Again, this is Barack Obama urging you to get to the polls to vote for the candidate who has my back and yours: [Sen. Daphne Campbell]. Thanks, and go vote.”
The ad closes with the disclaimer, “This has been a paid political advertisement not paid for or approved by any campaign committee or Daphne Campbell.”
Florida Politics has attempted to contact Campbell to seek a comment on the advertisement but has not received a reply.
The ad does disclaim being paid for by her campaign, however. That leaves an open question as to who’s behind the fake endorsement.
Campbell has been caught falsely claiming endorsements before, however. In 2018, she repeatedly released campaign materials showing Aventura Commissioner Robert Shelley was endorsing her bid. Shelley, in fact, endorsed her opponent, Jason Pizzo. Pizzo would go on to oust Campbell and win the SD 38 seat.
Falsely claiming an endorsement violates Florida law. Florida Statute 106.143 reads: “It is unlawful for any candidate or person on behalf of a candidate to represent that any person or organization supports such candidate, unless the person or organization so represented has given specific approval in writing to the candidate to make such representation.” Violations can result in civil penalties.
In 2019, the non-profit organization Farm Share was forced to cancel a food distribution event after Campbell improperly linked the event to her campaign. Farm Share is a 501(c)(3) organization and is barred from participating in campaign events.
Campbell is competing in the Democratic primary against former firefighter Wilbur Harbin, Miami Gardens City Councilman Erhabor Ighodaro, outgoing Reps. Shevrin Jones and Barbara Watson, and former Rep. Cynthia Stafford.
The winner will be heavily favored for the seat in the General Election match-up against write-in candidate Darien Hill.
Ryan Nicol covers news out of South Florida for Florida Politics. Ryan is a native Floridian who attended undergrad at Nova Southeastern University before moving on to law school at Florida State. After graduating with a law degree he moved into the news industry, working in TV News as a writer and producer, along with some freelance writing work. If you’d like to contact him, send an email to ryan.t.nicol@gmail.com.
Miami – (August 8th, 2020) – The Feed Your City Challenge – founded by retired NBA star, Ricky Davis, and music industry legend, Tony Draper – will make the sixth stop on its nationwide campaign to combat the COVID19 pandemic August 8th in the parking lot of the Calder Casinoat 2 pm EST. Miami native, Grammy-nominated rapper/songwriter, entrepreneur, and record executive, Rick Ross will help serve the community fresh groceries and PPE items until supplies last.
Working alongside Mayor Oliver Gilbert III, Miami Gardens Police Chief Delma Noel-Pratt,Urban Community Connections, Inc. President, Sharron “Charito” Henley and Chris McCaffery, CEO of TSE Entertainment organizers of the event will utilize the grounds of the centrally located Calder Casino parking lot (21001 NW 27th Ave, Miami Gardens, FL 33056) at 2 pm to serve the community until all supplies are gone.
Feed Your City Challenge will aim to provide fresh groceries and essential PPE supplies for up to 4,000 community members via non-contact drive-thru lanes, following all CDC social distancing guidelines. The organization has produced community-driven events in cities all across the country and served thousands of people impacted by the coronavirus. Miami will join the growing list of cities receiving support in response to the covid19 pandemic.
Who: Grammy-nominated rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, and record executive, Rick Ross, NBA Vet Ricky Davis, and music industry legend Tony Draper (Suave House Records)
Why: The need for communities to work together to support and uplift each other through the COVID19 crisis.
With a simple mission statement, ‘to serve underserved communities’, ‘Feed Your City Challenge’ will continue feeding those in need and challenge more cities to join. Previous events around the country included Norfolk, VA with recording artistPusha T; Petersburg VA with recording artist Trey Songz; Brooklyn, NY with music executive Steven Victor in honor of Pop-Smoke; Oakland, CAwithGrammy award-winning (and Oscar-nominated), producer/singer/songwriter Raphael Saadiq and Los Angeles, CA withGrammy award-winning multi-platinum producer Mustard, singer Jhene Aiko and Grammy award-winning artist Roddy Ricch
CWC News 