FYI Miami: December 22, 2022

Bellow 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.

CRIME SOARS: Violent crimes rose more than 31% in the first 10 months of 2022 from that period of 2021 in areas under the Miami-Dade Police Department, police figures show. October violent crimes pushed the increase up further from just under 30% through September. The 5,693 violent crimes in the first 10 months were up from 4,295 in the period last year. Homicides decreased more than 4% from last year to 84, though 19 homicides were recorded in October alone. Nonviolent crimes rose more than 17% through the 10 months compared to 2021. The rise had been more than 18% for the first nine months of 2022. Total crime rose almost 20% in those 10 months. Only one purse was snatched in the county this year, down from six last year, and the 24 pocket pickings were down from 47 last year, as fewer transactions use currency. The figures do not include crimes in areas municipal police patrol.

GAS APPROACHES $3: Gasoline prices in Miami have fallen 10.2 cents per gallon to average $3.10 and may be below $3 soon, if only temporarily, according to GasBuddy. Prices in Miami are 39.5 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and 17.3 cents lower than a year ago. The national average is $3.09. “The national average for a gallon of gasoline is down nearly $2 compared to six months ago, and heading into Christmas travel week, is at its lowest in a year and a half, saving Americans some $750 million every day,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis. “While the decline should take the national average under $3 per gallon in the next week or so, it is soon likely to fade as oil prices have held in the $70 per barrel range.”

BRIDGE REPRIEVE: Hours before the Brickell Avenue Bridge over the Miami River had been scheduled to shut down Monday night for work that was to close the bridge every night through Dec. 23, the Florida Department of Transportation announced after 4 p.m. that the work had been “postponed until further notice to avoid potential impacts to holiday traffic.” It didn’t set rescheduling dates. The heavily traveled bridge linking Brickell to Downtown in 2020 and 2021 underwent $4 million in repairs and the addition of gates to stop pedestrians with the aim of reducing time the bridge needed to remain open for boats and ships to pass.

BIRD BATTLE: A bill filed for the 2023 legislative session proposes designating the Florida scrub-jay as the official state bird, displacing the mockingbird. Rep. Sam Killebrew of Winter Haven filed the bill, which said the mockingbird was designated the state bird during the 1927 legislative session.