🌱 La Caja China's South Florida Roots + CDC Says South Florida 'High' Risk For COVID-19

Hello, people of Miami! Carlos Hernandez here with your Tuesday edition of the Miami Daily.

First, today's weather:

Mostly cloudy, heavy t-storms. High: 78 Low: 63.

Rent this space!

Are you a local business owner or marketer in Miami? We'd love to start connecting local businesses with our amazing readers. Click here to learn more.

Here are the top stories in Miami today:

1. Avian Guerra and his father, Robert Guerra, are the owners of the official La Caja China or "China box," what they claim as the U.S.A.'s first commercial producer of the appliance. It is a product of South Florida with ties to immigration in the 1950s. It is now popularly used for Nochebuena and beloved by Miami residents. (Miami New Times)

2. 48 guests and crew members on board a Royal Caribbean ship that docked at PortMiami Saturday have tested positive for COVID-19, the cruise line said. Additionally, 6 of those who tested positive for the virus “disembarked earlier in the cruise and were transported home.”(WSVN)

3. Miami Fire Rescue said the body of missing 26-year-old Joustin Chavez was found in the waters north of the Rickenbacker Causeway off Brickell Avenue around 7 p.m. on Saturday. Chavez was last seen getting on the charter boat at Miami Marine Stadium on Friday. (CBS Miami)

4. More than 5 million Floridians plan to travel for Christmas. That represents a 35% increase from 2020, according to AAA. The travel giant says the busiest travel days will be between December 23rd and January 2nd. AAA also shared the best and worst travel times during the holiday season with Patch. (Patch Florida)

5. The CDC says South Florida counties have entered "high" risk level for COVID-19 transmission. Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties all saw positivity rates near or over 6% and new cases per capita at levels that moved them to the new classification. (NBC Miami)

Today's Miami Daily is brought to you in part by our friends at Ring, the home security company. Ring does a lot more than doorbells: check out their full suite of smart home products at Ring.com. And thank you Ring for helping to make local news happen in Miami!

Today in Miami:

• Center for Black Innovation Presents Baking With Santa. (4:00 PM)
• 1st Annual Coconut Grove Outreach Gala at Coconut Grove Sailing Club. (6:00 PM)
• Canned Food Drive LIVE at Bar Nancy Miami. (7:00 PM)
• Miami Heat Vs. Indiana Pacers at FTX Arena. (7:30 PM)
• Macallan Tasting At MO Bar + Lounge 2021 at Manadarin Oriental. (7:30 PM)

From my notebook:

• Florida accounted for around 25% of all jobs created in the entire U.S. last month. (The Next Miami)
• Single match tickets for all Inter Miami CF home matches go on sale this Friday, December 24th. (Inter Miami CF)
• City of Miami is still offering their Emergency Rental Assistance Program for those impacted by the pandemic. (Twitter)
• Enjoy a holiday movie night with “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” at SoundScape Park in Miami Beach on Wednesday, December 22nd at 8 p.m. (Twitter)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• Brighten The First Day Of Winter With 15 Percent Off FTD’s Sunniest Blooms (December 21)
• Add your event

Loving the Miami Daily? Here are all the ways you can get more involved:

• Send a friend or neighbor this link so they can subscribe
• Get your local business featured in front of readers
• Send me a news tip or suggestion at carlosreportsnews@gmail.com

You're officially in the loop for today. I'll see you around!

— Carlos Hernandez

About me: Hello my name is Carlos Hernandez and I am a food writer with over 10 years of experience in the industry. I write the food blog Carlos Eats (http://www.carloseats.com) and also contribute to several newspapers and magazines with food-related blogs and articles.