Spotlight 151-251028

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

A Former City Manager Runs for Mayor
Miami Candidates Talk Tax Relief
Sleepless Nights in Center Grove
A Fatal Shooting, A Family in Mourning

The Race for Mayor: Candidate Emilio Gonzalez

The former Miami city manager and military veteran is promising to clean up City Hall and cut the budget if Miami voters choose him as their next mayor.

By Charles Rabin

Emilio Gonzalez said he chose to resign as Miami’s city manager in 2020 because he refused to do Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo’s dirty work.

Almost six years later, the 26-year military veteran says he’s running for mayor to clean up – among other things – the commissioner’s mess. The election is Tuesday Nov. 4.

Miami Mayoral Candidates Talk Tax Relief

The high cost of housing and other basic expenses in Miami is driving a conversation about affordability in the race for mayor this year.

By Don Finefrock

At a time when many families are struggling to make ends meet, the cost of living in Miami has emerged as a major campaign issue in next week’s mayoral election.

A recent study by the United Way of Miami found that more than 39% of all working families in Miami-Dade County are struggling to cover basic expenses – to pay for housing and healthcare, groceries, transportation and childcare. Another 15% live in poverty.

Up All Night

Despite multiple complaints to City of Miami officials — and at least one citation for violating the city’s noise ordinance — residents say repairs at a Center Grove office building have left them sleepless.

By Jenny Jacoby

A four-hour night of sleep has become a luxury for Center Grove resident Caroline Chiaroni, who’s been kept awake each night by the incessant rumbling of a portable air-conditioning system, or chiller, outside the neighboring Offices at Grand Bay Plaza near the corner of SW 27^th Avenue and Tigertail Avenue.

The chiller is part of a $3-million construction project, providing air conditioning to the building while its permanent cooling system is undergoing repairs. While city-issued construction permits are in place, permits or “waivers” to produce excessive or after-hours noise are not, city records show.

Letters to the Editor

Readers React: A Coconut Grove grandmother mourns the loss of her 30-year-old grandson, who was shot and killed in August at Ike’s Food Center on Douglas Road.