FYI Miami: December 9, 2021

Below are some of the FYIs in this week’s edition. The entire content of this week’s FYIs and Insider sections is available by subscription only. To subscribe click here.

THE 305, PLUS 786 AND X: Calling Miami-Dade County “the 305” for our telephone area code is about to get more complicated. We already have mixed in 786 codes, a designation added in 1998 as 305 area codes were exhausted. Now the Florida Public Service Commission is planning a Dec. 21 workshop, announced Tuesday, that is likely to lead to a new unrevealed code number – let X stand for the unknown – because 786 codes will be used up by the first quarter of 2024. When 305 first came into use in 1947 it had enough numbers for all of Florida. But telecommunications is mushrooming along with population. Regulators on Tuesday approved moving forward with a second area code for Palm Beach County because its well of 561 codes is running dry.   

BIDDING THEM UP: Miami residential real estate resales are attracting multiple bids, with buyers going over the listing price, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. The median percentage of original list price received for single-family homes was 98.7% in October, up from 97% last year, the association reported. The median percentage of original list price received for existing condos was 97.3%, up from 94.4% last year.

CUTTING POLICYHOLDERS: Homeowners covered by state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. would have to take policies with rates up to 20% higher if they got offers from private insurers under a proposal being shopped to lawmakers. Christine Ashburn, Citizens’ chief of communications, said the request for the 2022 legislative session is part of ongoing efforts to slow growth at Citizens, which has been adding about 5,000 policies a week. She said just 18% to 20% of customers who are offered private coverage accept the change. Citizens had 725,942 policies as of Oct. 31, as it has seen heavy growth amid financial problems in the private insurance market. 

WOMEN’S HALL OF FAME: Miami-Dade County is to have its own Women’s Hall of Fame after a resolution was adopted at the last county commission of the year. The county’s Commission for Women would accept nominations to the hall of fame and make recommendations for membership to the Office of the Chair, says the ordinance by Jose “Pepe” Diaz and Sen. Javier Souto. The hall would reside at the Women’s Park at 10251 W Flagler St. Its aim is to celebrate the lives and preserve the legacies of notable women whose contributions to the population of Miami-Dade should not be forgotten. Nominations would open to the public on the first day of January and close Jan. 31. Florida already has a Women’s Hall of Fame, created in 1982 by the Legislature.