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Miami Beach Extends Emergency Curfew as Spring Breakers Overwhelm City

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2 years ago

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  • Miami Beach extended its 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew until April 12 in an effort to fight off an influx of spring break crowds.
  • The curfew was initially put in place for 72 hours starting Sunday, but it was expanded after recent crowds packed entire streets, started fights, destroyed property, and in at least one instance, fired shots into the air, prompting police in riot gear to break out pepper spray.
  • The curfew represents a major concession for state and local leaders, who encouraged people to visit despite rising COVID-19 cases in the state and the Miami-beach area specifically, which was recently one of the worst-hit places in the country.

Miami Beach’s Party Problem

Officials in Miami Beach moved Sunday to extend a curfew in parts of the city for at least three weeks in an effort to crack down on spring breakers.

Over the last several weeks, the city has been packed with partiers ignoring social distancing and masking guidelines. In fact, officials have said that this year, there have been more visitors and more disruptions than in previous years despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Police have reported fights breaking out, property destruction, and several stampedes, including one that was started after someone fired gunshots into the air. According to the Miami Beach Police Department, since early February, about 1,000 arrests have been made and 80 firearms have been seized.

Notably, around 51% of arrests involved non-Florida residents, and police in neighboring cities have sent officers to help crowd management.

The situation escalated last week and culminated heading into the weekend. Videos showed thousands of people openly drinking, dancing, and partying in the streets, shoulder-to-shoulder on the city’s iconic Ocean Drive.

The city imposed a state of emergency and an 8 p.m. curfew in the entertainment district Saturday night, but that failed to stop the partiers. Police then responded by sending in SWAT teams and personnel from multiple law enforcement agencies in riot gear, who broke up crowds with pepper balls.

The move has drawn criticism, especially from Black activists and advocacy groups in the city, who claimed many of the people they dispersed were Black. City officials have argued they were targeting conduct, not groups of people, and that police had fired the pepper balls after a group rushed them.

Curfew Extended

On Sunday, Miami Beach authorities moved to extend the curfew — which was initially set for 72 hours — until April 12, when spring break usually ends. The leaders also voted to extend the state of emergency until at least Monday evening. 

Under the current rules, Ocean Drive will be closed to all vehicle and pedestrian traffic from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. four nights a week, with exceptions for residents, hotel visitors, and employees in the area. Bridges and other main causeways into the city will also be blocked.

Many have said the move marks a major concession for Miami Beach and Florida at large, where both state and city leaders have been heavily encouraging tourists to come. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has recently bragged about how open the state is in an attempt to bring more tourists to Florida’s traditional spring break hot spots.

These efforts have continued despite the fact that Miami-Dade County, which houses Miami Beach, has recently seen one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the country. Florida — which currently ranks in the top 10 states for highest cases per capita and has seen increases in the last few weeks — is also believed to be the state with the largest concentration of the highly contagious and possibly more lethal U.K. strain.

In addition to worries about continued spikes in Florida as a result of the influx of spring breakers, experts have also expressed concern that the visitors will bring back new cases — and most alarming, new strains — to their home states when they return.

See what others are saying: (The Washington Post) (The New York Times) (The Associated Press)

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White Supremacist Propaganda Reached Record High in 2022, ADL Finds

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2 weeks ago

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March 9, 2023

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 “We cannot sit idly by as these extremists pollute our communities with their hateful trash,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said.

White supremacist propaganda in the U.S. reached record levels in 2022, according to a report published Wednesday by the Anti-Defamation League’s Center of Extremism.

The ADL found over 6,700 cases of white supremacist propaganda in 2022, which marks a 38% jump from the nearly 4,900 cases the group found in 2021. It also represents the highest number of incidents ever recorded by the ADL. 

The propaganda tallied by the anti-hate organization includes the distribution of racist, antisemitic, and homophobic flyers, banners, graffiti, and more. This propaganda has spread substantially since 2018, when the ADL found just over 1,200 incidents. 

“There’s no question that white supremacists and antisemites are trying to terrorize and harass Americans with their propaganda,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “We cannot sit idly by as these extremists pollute our communities with their hateful trash.” 

The report found that there were at least 50 white supremacist groups behind the spread of propaganda in 2022, but 93% of it came from just three groups. One of those groups was also responsible for 43% of the white supremacist events that took place last year. 

White supremacist events saw a startling uptick of their own, with the ADL documenting at least 167, a 55% jump from 2021. 

Propaganda was found in every U.S. state except for Hawaii, and events were documented in 33 states, most heavily in Massachusetts, California, Ohio, and Florida.

“The sheer volume of white supremacist propaganda distributions we are documenting around the country is alarming and dangerous,” Oren Segal, Vice President of the ADL’s Center on Extremism said in a statement. “Hardly a day goes by without communities being targeted by these coordinated, hateful actions, which are designed to sow anxiety and create fear.”

“We need a whole-of-society approach to combat this activity, including elected officials, community leaders, and people of good faith coming together and condemning this activity forcefully,” Segal continued. 

See what others are saying: (Axios) (The Hill) (The New York Times)

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Adidas Financial Woes Continue, Company on Track for First Annual Loss in Decades

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2 weeks ago

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March 8, 2023

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Adidas has labeled 2023 a “transition year” for the company. 

Yeezy Surplus 

Adidas’ split with musician Kanye West has left the company with financial problems due to surplus Yeezy products, putting the sportswear giant in the position to potentially suffer its first annual loss in over 30 years. 

Adidas dropped West last year after he made a series of antisemitic remarks on social media and other broadcasts. His Yeezy line was a staple for Adidas, and the surplus product is due, in part, to the brand’s own decision to continue production during the split.

According to CEO Bjorn Gulden, Adidas continued production of only the items already in the pipeline to prevent thousands of people from losing their jobs. However, that has led to the unfortunate overabundance of Yeezy sneakers and clothes. 

On Wednesday, Gulden said that selling the shoes and donating the proceeds makes more sense than giving them away due to the Yeezy resale market — which has reportedly shot up 30% since October.

“If we sell it, I promise that the people who have been hurt by this will also get something good out of this,” Gulden said in a statement to the press. 

However, Gulden also said that West is entitled to a portion of the proceeds of the sale of Yeezys per his royalty agreement.

The Numbers 

Adidas announced in February that, following its divergence from West, it is facing potential sales losses totaling around $1.2 billion and profit losses of around $500 million. 

If it decides to not sell any more Yeezy products, Adidas is facing a projected annual loss of over $700 million.

Outside of West, Adidas has taken several heavy profit blows recently. Its operating profit reportedly fell by 66% last year, a total of more than $700 million. It also pulled out of Russia after the country’s invasion of Ukraine last year, which cost Adidas nearly $60 million dollars. Additionally, China’s “Zero Covid” lockdowns last year caused in part a 36% drop in revenue for Adidas compared to years prior.

As a step towards a solution, Gulden announced that the company is slashing its dividends from 3.30 euros to 0.70 euro cents per share pending shareholder approval. 

Adidas has labeled 2023 a “transition year” for the company. 

“Adidas has all the ingredients to be successful. But we need to put our focus back on our core: product, consumers, retail partners, and athletes,” Gulden said. “I am convinced that over time we will make Adidas shine again. But we need some time.”

See what others are saying: (The Washington Post) (The New York Times) (CNN)

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Immigration Could Be A Solution to Nursing Home Labor Shortages

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2 weeks ago

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March 7, 2023

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98% of nursing homes in the United States are experiencing difficulty hiring staff. 

The Labor Crisis 

A recent National Bureau of Economic Research paper has offered up a solution to the nursing home labor shortage: immigration. 

According to a 2022 American Health Care Association survey, six in ten nursing homes are limiting new patients due to staffing issues. The survey also says that 87% of nursing homes have staffing shortages and 98% are experiencing difficulty hiring. 

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) outlined in their paper that increased immigration could help solve the labor shortage in nursing homes. Immigrants make up 19% of nursing home workers.

With every 10% increase in female immigration, nursing assistant hours go up by 0.7% and registered nursing hours go up by 1.1% And with that same immigration increase, short-term hospitalizations of nursing home residents go down by 0.6%.

The Solution 

Additionally, the State Department issued 145% more EB-3 documents, which are employment-based visas, for healthcare workers in the 2022 fiscal year than in 2019, suggesting that more people are coming to the U.S. to work in health care. 

However, according to Skilled Nursing News, in August of 2022, the approval process from beginning to end for an RN can take between seven to nine months. 

Displeasure about immigration has exploded since Pres. Joe Biden took office in 2021. According to a Gallup study published in February, around 40% of American adults want to see immigration decrease. That is a steep jump from 19% in 2021, and it is the highest the figure has been since 2016.

However, more than half of Democrats still are satisfied with immigration and want to see it increased. But with a divided Congress, the likelihood of any substantial immigration change happening is pretty slim. 

See what others are saying: (Axios) (KHN) (Skilled Nursing News)

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