Spotlight 147-251014

Good morning. What we’re covering in today’s Spotlight:

Xavier Suarez, Mayoral Candidate
Miami’s Shrinking Tree Canopy
West Grove Housing Complaint Rejected
Another Week, Another Candidate Forum

Back to the Future: Xavier Suarez Mounts a Comeback

Miami’s first Cuban-born mayor is seeking to return to the office he first held 40 years ago (and replace his son Francis as Miami’s top elected official).

By Charles Rabin

During a fiery debate two weeks ago between the six candidates favored to be Miami’s next mayor, the only person on the dais to have served three – almost four – terms as mayor somehow managed to avoid the fusillade.

As barbs flew over everything from campaign donations and public corruption to a failed attempt to move the city’s Nov. 4 election, Xavier Suarez stayed out of the fray. When the fighting escalated and turned to name-calling, Suarez sat mostly idle.

Miami Far Short of Tree Canopy Goal

As Miami weighs changes to its tree protection laws, an FIU analysis finds that city rules meant to mitigate tree removal are inadequate, leaving the city well behind its promise of 30% canopy coverage.

By Jenny Jacoby

In 2007, after a run of hurricanes, the City of Miami joined other local municipalities by signing on to an ambitious goal: roughly doubling total citywide tree canopy to 30 percent by 2020.

The announcement, made with much fanfare by then-Mayor Manny Diaz, came with a comprehensive blueprint of strategies and initiatives — the Miami Tree Master Plan – to get there.

Five years after the deadline, the city is nowhere near its goal, and may even be back where it started.

HUD Rejects West Grove Housing Complaint

Federal housing officials say the parties that filed the complaint in July 2023 lack “standing.” The complaint contends that the City of Miami unfairly discriminated against Coconut Grove’s Black residents, in violation of federal law.

By Don Finefrock

Federal officials have rejected an unfair housing complaint filed against the City of Miami by three community groups who contend that the city’s planning and zoning policies resulted in the large-scale displacement of Black residents in the West Grove.

In rejecting the claim, federal officials at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) sided with the City of Miami, which denied the allegation and challenged the “standing” of the claimants to file the complaint.

Another Week, Another Candidate Forum

The candidates competing to be Miami’s next mayor will face off again this week during a mayoral debate hosted by the Miami Herald and NBC 6. The forum will take place on Thursday starting at 7 p.m. at the Adrienne Arsht Center in downtown Miami, and livestreamed on www.miamiherald.com and on NBC 6.

There are 13 candidates in the race, but not all may be on stage Thursday. The Herald is not disclosing – at least not yet – the official list of participants. The list will be released sometime this week, the newspaper said.

In the meantime, here are links to two previous forums – one with six candidates hosted by the Downtown Neighbors Alliance and CBS News Miami (see the Spotlight story “Who’s the Adult in the Room?”), and another forum with four candidates organized by the Coconut Grove Democratic Club and moderated by the Spotlight.

September 30 Candidate Forum Moderated by CBS News Miami

October 5 Candidate Forum Moderated by the Spotlight