FYI Miami: April 3, 2025

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.

AIRPORT TAKEOFF: THE ROOF: The Miami-Dade Aviation Department plans to begin in June procurement for re-roofing Miami International Airport and upgrading the lighting system, county commissioners were told in a memo from Mayor Daniella Levine Cava this week. In the five-year project, the airport plans to demolish 413,800 square feet of the roof, install temporary roofing and replace it was a roof that incorporates insulation and a bitumen membrane with a 20-year warranty. That roofing system “is less prone to cracking and can withstand even the harshest of elements such as ice and sun,” the memo said. The project is to feature the installation of a solar photovoltaic system to support solar power generation. 

AIRPORT RECORDS: Miami International Airport not only set a passenger record last year, it also had cargo growth that moved closer to the airport’s full capacity, handling a record 3.035 million tons of cargo. In the prior year, the airport was first in the nation and third in the world in handling international freight, as well as third in the nation and sixth in the world in handling total freight. The passenger record last year was 55,926,566 total passengers.

BISCAYNE BAY PLATES: Biscayne Bay specialty license plates will be soon manufactured and become available to drivers across Florida, with the first plates expected in about four months, according to an announcement from Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. To add the tags to the suite of Florida specialty license plates, 3,000 voucher reservations were required. Plate sale revenues will go to the Biscayne Bay Recovery Fund housed at the Miami Foundation. “Community partnerships are critical to preserving and restoring Biscayne Bay,” said county Chief Resilience Officer Loren Parra. “We are so thankful to the many nonprofits, residents and entrepreneurs who marketed the plate.” Once plates are available, those with vouchers can pick them up at the local tax collector’s office or Department of Motor Vehicles location, and others can then buy the plates there.

EDUCATION CHANGES: A bill headed to the full Florida Senate would make wide-ranging changes in the public education system, including revising graduation requirements for high school students. The bill would eliminate a requirement that students pass a 10th grade Algebra 1 assessment and a 10th grade English-language arts assessment to earn standard high school diplomas. The bill would require that a student’s performance on the English-language arts assessment make up 30% of the student’s course grade, similar to an existing requirement for Algebra 1.