Miami-Dade County has amended Emergency Order 21-20 so that leashes are no longer required at dog parks throughout the County.

Whether your kids are returning back to school in person or at home virtually, they'll be in need of new supplies to get them through the new school year.

Beginning today through Sunday, August 9, is Florida's tax-free sales holiday. During this sales tax holiday period, qualifying items will be exempt from tax, including certain school supplies selling for $15 or less per item; clothing, footwear, and certain accessories selling for $60 or less per item; and the first $1,000 of the sales price of personal computers and certain computer-related accessories purchased for noncommercial home or personal use. Learn more here.

For detailed scheduling information, click here. To register, visit register.miamibeachparks.com

If you do not have a car and would like to qualify for food assistance, please call or register online. Phone: 305.604.CITY (2489) or www.miamibeachfl.gov/food

The walk-up COVID-19 testing is located at 73 Street and Ocean Terrace from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Once you check-in, there is no need to stand in a line, you will receive a text message advising when the nurse is ready for you.

Both the COVID-19 active virus and antibody tests continue to be available at the Miami Beach Convention Center testing facility located on 17 Street and Convention Center Drive. The COVID-19 drive-thru and walk-up testing site is available daily, including weekends, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and is available for ages 5 and up.

Visit our 'Testing' tab to view detailed information on all testing locations, including testing at the Hard Rock Stadium and homebound testing and further details.

Early voting times vary, click here to view the schedule.

To protect your health and safety, you can also vote by mail. Voters have until this TOMORROW, August 8, to request a Vote by Mail Ballot for the August 18 Primary Election.

If you prefer to vote in-person, you can go to one of the 23 early voting locations throughout Miami-Dade County. Don't wait until August 18 to cast your vote. For more information on the three ways to vote, call 311 or visit: iamelectionready.org

Miami-Dade County is partnering with United Way of Miami-Dade to provide short-term assistance for basic living expenses through The Miami-Dade Pandemic Assistance Program.

The program aims to provide hard-working individuals and families with assistance for necessities such as food, utilities, childcare, medical expenses and rental assistance among others. If you have experienced a significant loss of income, become unemployed, underemployed and/or have experienced unexpected expenses as a result of COVID-19 and are a resident of Miami-Dade County, you can apply for assistance.

The Miami-Dade Pandemic Assistance Program is funded by the federal CARES Act. United Way of Miami-Dade will distribute the $20 million in relief funds to residents who meet hardship assistance criteria. The application is available in English, Spanish and Creole. For additional assistance, you can call 305.646.7068. Apply here.

We urge everyone to wear a mask, continue practicing social distancing and meticulously wash hands regularly.

As the number of COVID-19 infections rise in Florida, hospitals are facing critical shortages of convalescent plasma for treatment. OneBlood is working with the public and physicians to coordinate the delivery of potential lifesaving COVID-19 convalescent plasma to those in need.

Transfusing the plasma that contains the antibodies into a person still fighting the virus can provide a boost to the patient’s immune system and potentially help them recover. Click here to learn more on how you can donate today.

Now more than ever it's important to get counted! So call up your friends and neighbors and ask them to visit my2020census.gov and make sure our community gets counted.

Visit our dedicated, city-related coronavirus webpage www.miamibeachfl.gov/coronavirus for the most up-to-date information, including important resources, impacts to city services and more.

Our city hotline at 305.604.CITY (2489) is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. You can also email your questions to [email protected]. Or connect with us through social media via email, Nextdoor, Facebook, Twitter and via text message (text MBAlert to 888777).