Using public resources for private rail – A tale of two stations
At a special Board of County Commissioners meeting on October 11, I voted against a proposal to use taxpayer dollars to expand for-profit Brightline-Virgin rail into Aventura. The item was rushed, shifted nearly all the costs to the County, and left us with more questions than answers on how the project would fulfill our critical mission of connecting residents to accessible transit.  Read more.

In contrast this week, I supported legislation to allow Virgin to build a rail station at the County-owned PortMiami . This proposal is a win-win for residents because Virgin is paying for our track improvements, construction, operation, maintenance as well as paying us more than $250K annually in rent. While we face a real affordability crisis in our County, we need to leverage our limited resources to achieve more good deals for our residents, like this economic development asset.

Advocating for Medicaid expansion (Oct. 29) – The board adopted my resolutions urging the Florida Legislature to expand Medicaid to help fill the healthcare insurance coverage gap affecting vulnerable children and adults. The intent is to provide all residents with fair access to affordable healthcare. Read more.

Working to protect farmlands from turning into trucking depots (Oct. 29) – My ordinance will help ensure agricultural properties in South Dade are not used for the commercial storage of vehicles that are unrelated to farming. The item is intended to end the trending problem of property owners renting parking spaces for multiple non-farming trucks, which is negatively impacting the farming industry and residents’ quality of life. Read more.