🌱 Miami Beach Supervisor Fired And Arrested + Downtown Miami Office Report

Happy Friday, neighbors! Here's everything happening today in town.

First, today's weather:

Humid with a few showers. High: 80 Low: 71.

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Here are the top five stories today in Miami:

1. Brightline's parent company is finishing up paperwork needed to sell its supertower sites at MiamiCentral, shortly after obtaining approval from Miami-Dade commissioners to build the massive project. The twin supertowers are approved to rise 83 stories, or 848 feet above ground. (The Next Miami)

2. Cadel Aldana, operations supervisor in Miami Beach's facilities and fleet department since 2017, has been arrested and fired for using a city staffer to build him a home kayak rack during work hours. Aldana allegedly instructed another subordinate to create a city work order for "brackets for a saddle mounted toolbox," according to the report. He is facing a misdemeanor charge of theft and a third-degree felony charge related to official misconduct. (WPLG Local 10)

3. The U.S. Coast Guard offloaded a historic amount of drugs at Port Everglades including 54,500 pounds of cocaine and 15,800 pounds of marijuana. The estimated total value of the drugs is over $1.6 billion. The evidence is used to take down cartels and prosecute drug traffickers. (WSVN)

4. A South Florida woman allegedly used $15,000 of federal COVID-19 relief funds or Paycheck Protection Program funds to hire a hit man to kill a Miami International Airport worker who was dating her ex-boyfriend. 33-year-old Jasmine Martinez is facing first-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder with a deadly weapon charges. 29-year-old Javon Carter is also facing charges as her alleged accomplice. (Miami Patch)

5. Downtown Miami has an office inventory of 32 buildings, encompassing 6,813,620 total square feet and a total vacancy rate of 24.4% as occupancy grows from the pandemic, according to a Collier’s 2021 Q4 Office Market report. The report also says that for every 10,000 LinkedIn members in South Florida, 17.23 workers moved to the city during last year. (Miami Today)

From our sponsor:

Today's Miami Daily is brought to you in part by Atlantis Paradise Island, The Bahamas. In honor of Bahamian culture, Atlantis Paradise Island welcomes its guests to join in the Taste of Paradise, a two-week celebration of food and beverage prepared with the freshest seasonal ingredients and an innovative eye taking place from March 2 to March 13.

Today in Miami:

• Friday Fundays at Little River Branch Library. (3:00 PM)
• Acrylic Pour Painting at Lemon City Branch Library. (4:00 PM)
• Riverside Happy Hour at The Wharf Miami. (4:00 PM)
• Carousel Club - Grand Opening Weekend at Gulfstream Park Casino. (6:00 PM)
• Coconut Grove Village Council Meeting at Miami City Hall. (6:30 PM)

From my notebook:

• The Coconut Grove Arts Festival is this weekend and Miami-Dade Public Library System will be there. Stop by and discover what's happening at the library. Look for them in the Regatta Park area. Coconut Grove Branch Library will be closed due to the festival through Monday, February 21st. (Facebook)
• Join Miami-Dade Parks this holiday weekend for the Haulover Kite Festival co-hosted by Skyward Kites and Commissioner Sally Heyman. Enjoy beautiful kites, good food, music, games and much more. Kites will be available for purchase via Skyward Kites for those who don't have one. (Facebook)
• Develop your volleyball skills with Miami-Beach Parks, in partnership with Playeros Volleyball Club at North Shore park. (Twitter)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• Breast Ultrasound Screening Coming Direct to You! (February 19)
• Garden Walk 2022 (February 19)
• FEB 18th-20th Greek Fest in Fort Myers (February 20)
• Social Security Webinar 2/21 & 2/23 (February 21)
• Estate Planning Webinar 2/21 & 2/23 (February 21)
• Social Security Webinar (February 22)
• Taxes in Retirement Webinar 2/25 & 3/3 (February 25)
• Learn How To Reduce Your Risk For Heart Disease During American Heart Month (February 28)
• Get A ‘Taste Of Paradise’ During This Exclusive Event At Atlantis (February 28)
• Alternative Products Expo - Fort Lauderdale (March 11)
• Alternative Products Expo - Fort Lauderdale (March 12)
• Alternative Products Expo - Fort Lauderdale (March 13)
• Add your event

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Thanks for following along and staying informed. I'll see you soon!

— 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.