FYI Miami: March 21, 2019

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.

NONPARTISAN ELECTION QUESTIONS: Voters will decide Nov. 3, 2020, whether to amend Miami-Dade election rules so that the election of the county sheriff, property appraiser, tax collector and elections supervisor in 2024 does not include information about candidates’ party affiliations. County commissioners this month voted 12-0 to OK an item sponsored by Esteban Bovo Jr. and co-sponsored by Jose “Pepe” Diaz, Sally Heyman, Eileen Higgins and Rebeca Sosa to pose the question to voters next year.

ELECTRIC VEHICLE PARKING: New developments in Miami-Dade with 10 or more parking spaces will have to include the infrastructure necessary to convert 10% of those spaces into charging stations for electric vehicles before Jan. 1, 2022, and 20% thereafter, as commissioners this month OK’d an item sponsored by Daniella Levine Cava calling for such requirements and an annual county report updating what the appropriate percentage of off-street electric vehicle supply equipment spaces should be. A study of electric car sales by clean technology website CleanTechnica.com found Floridians bought 20,228 electric cars between 2011 and 2016 – the fifth-highest rate behind New York, Washington, Georgia and California. Automakers are investing more than $90 billion in electric and hybrid vehicles to be released in the next five years, the item states, and “one perceived barrier to greater dependency upon electric vehicles is inadequate and insufficient charging support infrastructure in local communities.”

ULTRA TRANSIT: For the Ultra Music Festival on Virginia Key from March 29-31, Metrorail and Metromover will offer 24-hour service to handle tens of thousands of visitors to the event. Ultra plans to run shuttles to and from the event from the Vizcaya Metrorail station and three Metromover stations; College/Bayside, Freedom Tower and Adrienne Arsht.

PANHANDLE LEAVE DONATIONS: Miami-Dade employees donated $31,427.31 in earned annual and holiday leave time toward the county’s Emergency Disaster Relief Fund for Hurricane Michael relief efforts in the Florida Panhandle, according to a memo from Mayor Carlos Giménez, who recommended the funds be given to nonprofit Habitat for Humanity, Bay County. “To date, [Habitat has] already assisted over 20 Bay County homeowners, with assistance ranging from major repairs to that of replacing windows, doors, soffits and sidings,” he wrote, adding the group also helped in 23 cases of direct and arranged debris and tree removal totaling 100 tons, provided thousands in makeshift amenities to help displaced residents and “started new construction on a number of homes for families who were displaced by the hurricane, with an anticipated completion date of June 2019.”