On this Monday, October 11, edition of Sundial:
Police Chief Art Acevedo vs. Miami City Commissioners
The back-and-forth criticisms between Miami鈥檚 city commissioners and Police Chief Art Acevedo are still an ongoing conversation. The city commission has questioned his leadership and character after Acevedo stated that it鈥檚 almost as if Miami were controlled by the 鈥淐uban Mafia.鈥�
Some of the commissioners, including Joe Carollo, want Acevedo fired. They can鈥檛 directly fire him, but they can vote to remove Acevedo which would put pressure on Miami City Manager Arthur Noriega to make a decision.
By Monday evening it was announced that Acevedo would be fired. In a statement Noriega said:
"Today, I suspended Police Chief Art Acevedo with the intent to terminate his employment, consistent with the City Charter. The relationship between the Chief and the organization has become untenable and needed to be resolved promptly. In particular, the relationship between the Chief and the Police Department he leads - as well as with the community - has deteriorated beyond repair. Relationships between employers and employees come down to fit and leadership style and unfortunately, Chief Acevedo is not the right fit for this organization."
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Meanwhile, Acevedo wants the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate some of the city commissioners for patterns of misconduct.
SA国际传谋's Danny Rivero has been following this story. He said the controversy and pushback from the city commission began as soon as Acevedo started his new position. The city commission was surprised that Miami Mayor Francis Suarez hired Acevedo after not following the structured hiring process.
鈥淸Suarez] basically went around [the process], and he recruited Chief Acevedo from Houston after talking to the Houston mayor,鈥� said Rivero. 鈥淎s soon as the police chief came on, there was a lot of grumblings of, 鈥楬old on, we鈥檝e been interviewing people and you totally sidestepped it and went around it.鈥欌��
Rivero mentioned that Suarez hasn鈥檛 commented on the city commissioners鈥� opinions of Acevedo.
Thousands Of Broward Students Are No Longer In Broward Classrooms
The first day of school for Broward County Public Schools was nearly three months ago. Officials predicted an increase in student enrollment, but in reality, thousands of students left the district.
Some parents put their children in homeschool, private school, or an online program. However, there are still students who did not return to their public school and did not give an explanation.
Anna Fusco is the president of the Broward Teachers Union. She鈥檚 concerned about the missing students鈥� overall wellbeing and education. Fusco credited Interim Superintendent Vickie Cartwright for seeing the potential impact of going door-to-door in search of the students.
鈥淭he community will see us out there, we can reconnect with the families and the students because Broward Schools has been open,鈥� Fusco said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e been ready and they want to make sure that the families know that we鈥檙e here and that it鈥檚 safe to come back.鈥�
Fusco said there are multiple reasons why parents aren鈥檛 letting their children go back to brick-and-mortar schools. Many of them were concerned their young kids could contract COVID-19 and bring it back home, especially if they have a family member with severe immunocompromised conditions.
Dr. Katharine Hayhoe Discusses Climate Change
Climate change is a prominent topic in South Florida. Even though it involves the environment, it鈥檚 become a political conversation over the years as Republicans and Democrats debated its existence and the best economic solutions.
Dr. Katharine Hayhoe is the chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy, a global environmental nonprofit organization. She鈥檚 also a professor, a climate communicator, and an author.
Hayhoe also advocates for women getting involved with climate change solutions. Hayhoe was a panelist at The Nature Conservancy鈥檚 virtual event, 鈥淲omen in Climate" and mentioned that women and children are more affected by hurricanes and other natural disasters 鈥� especially in low-income countries and communities.
鈥淲hen we bring a greater diversity of voices to the table to talk about solutions, we end up with better solutions,鈥� said Hayhoe. 鈥淪olutions that are more robust that they consider more perspectives.鈥�
Her new book, 鈥淪aving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World,鈥� details how to talk about climate change in an effective way.
