FYI Miami: January 18, 2024

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.

LEFT LANE NO-NO: A proposed ban on drivers cruising in left lanes of highways won Florida Senate Transportation Committee unanimous backing. It would apply to drivers on highways with at least two lanes in the same direction and speed limits of 65 mph or higher. It would prevent them from using left lanes unless they are passing and could help curb motorists using right lanes to get around left-lane drivers. The bill would set non-criminal fines up to $158 for using left lanes unless drivers are attempting to pass other motorists. 

SUPPORTING BAHAMIAN CENTER: Mayor Daniella Levine Cava may be asked to find county money and personnel to support creation of a Bahamian Arts, History and Cultural Center in Coconut Grove and report back to commissioners. The resolution faces a county commission vote this week. The measure by Commission Chairman Oliver Gilbert III says the Thelma Gibson Health Initiative Inc., based in the Grove, plans to develop the cultural center, which has already been approved for federal appropriations totaling $6.2 million. His measure would ask the mayor to find “any legally available funding to be sure to support the center and … county departments or personnel with expertise that may lend technical assistance in the design, construction and/or operation of the center.”   

GAS PRICES DIP: Average gasoline prices in Miami fell 5.4 cents per gallon in the past week to $3.13, according to GasBuddy. That’s 15 cents per gallon higher than a month ago but 16.5 cents lower than a year ago. The national average price rose 0.6 cents in the week to $3.04, down 1.4 cents per gallon from a month ago and 23.9 cents lower than a year ago.

MATCHING FUNDS TARGETED: Florida voters would be asked to do away with a matching-funds program that has dished out more than $33 million since 2010 to statewide office candidates under a senate measure that would place on the November 2024 ballot a proposed constitutional amendment to eliminate the program. In the program, statewide candidates can receive matches for individual contributions of $250 or less. Voters approved the program in 1998 in a constitutional amendment intended to reduce the influence of big-money contributors by helping underfunded candidates compete in costly statewide elections. Lawmakers placed a repeal proposal on the 2010 ballot, but the measure failed when it gained less than the needed 60%. In 2022, the program provided just over $13 million to seven candidates.