FYI Miami: February 2, 2023

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.

GOLDEN GLADES GOLD: Some $150 million to upgrade the Interstate 95 interchange at Golden Glades is in a package pitched this week by Gov. Ron DeSantis in a $7 billion proposal to speed completion of 20 Florida highway projects. Of that, $4 billion would come from a general revenue surplus that built up as the state got higher-than-expected tax collections as well as federal stimulus money. The remaining $3 billion would be raised through “innovative financing,” according to Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue. Miami-Dade commissioners late last year OK’d a maintenance agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation as it constructs the Golden Glades improvements. The Department of Transportation is to fund the $500 million upgrade to the interchange that connects the Florida Turnpike, I 95, US 441, State Road 9 and the Palmetto Expressway. The anticipated construction start is January 2024.

GRIFFIN FUNDS NICKLAUS: Nicklaus Children’s Hospital on Tuesday announced a $25 million gift from Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin that will support the new five-story, 127,000-square-foot surgical tower opening in 2024 that will now bear his name. The donation will also help fund Nicklaus Children’s four institutes advancing pediatric care related to the brain, cancer and blood disorders, the heart, and orthopedics. “This transformational gift will change the future of pediatric care for generations to come and ensure that doctors, nurses, and specialists have the latest technological advances at their fingertips to treat the children we serve,” said Matthew A. Love, Nicklaus Children’s Health System president and CEO.

MIAMI LOOKS AT SURPLUS: The City of Miami’s Office of Management and Budget updated commissioners on the status of proposed budgets for 2023. Through December, projected revenues are exceeding expenses to the tune of $37.7 million and the internal service fund has a surplus of $1.5 million. Current projections show a net year-end surplus of $39.1 million. The Office of Management and Budget noted the projections are preliminary as it is the first quarter and numbers can change as they continue to analyze information.

NO LEFT-LANE DRIVING: A proposal in Florida’s Legislature seeks to prevent motorists from driving in the left lane on roads with speed limits of at least 65 mph. Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka filed the bill for the legislative session that will start March 7. It would bar motorists from driving in the left lane “except when overtaking and passing another vehicle, when preparing to exit the road, street, or highway, or when otherwise directed by an official traffic control device.” Violators could receive citations.