Ultra Music Festival, our bond with wildlife, SCOTUS contestant’s time on the Miami high school debate stage

On this Thursday, March 24, edition of Cadran Solaire:

ultra music festival

Yes, Ultra is back at Bayfront Park in Miami this year, with DJ performances and crowds in colorful outfits. The techno and electronic music festival runs from Friday to Sunday this weekend.

Yesterday, we spoke with Miami Herald reporter for government and public affairs in the city of Miami, Joey Flechas, about the festival.

He told us about the excitement of Ultra’s return.

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“It took a while to come, I mean, Ultra was an indicator at the start of the pandemic,” Flechas said. “It was a major event that draws 55,000 people a day for three days in Miami. And it was one of the first really big events in this country that was canceled during the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has really started in March 2020. So there was a lot of anticipation when events like this would start again.”

With a Miami Heat game also taking place in downtown Miami this weekend, Flechas said it’s a return to the mix of events Miami saw before the pandemic. He recommended people take note of the increased police presence in downtown and check any crowd control curfew rules from nearby Miami Beach.

Our connection with wildlife

Living in our world today, we often forget our connection and closeness to the environment.

With things like air conditioning, two-day delivery and Uber Eats for lunch, it’s sometimes easy to forget that we share this planet with millions of other species and creatures… Until a fly lands on your salad or you find an iguana in your toilet.

The Florida International University Office of Engagement is Hosting a “Cafecito Cat” Friday evening to discuss our connection to the environment and wildlife. It will be held at IPC ArtSpace Gallery in Little Haiti and it will also be streamed live on facebook.

Carl Juste, Miami Herald photojournalist and founder of the Iris Photo Collective, will speak at the event along with wildlife expert and Zoo Miami communications director Ron Magill.

One of Magill’s most iconic images is of Hurricane Andrew in 1992. It’s an image of dozens of flamingos in a public restroom, where they would ride through the storm.

“We knew the storm was coming. As part of the preparations, we have to catch all these flamingos and put them in a safe place. Ironically, the safest place in the zoo at the time was the public toilets because first of all there were no windows in the public toilets,” Magill said. “I turned away after I put the last one in there, I looked at those flamingos against the sinks and urinals, and I said, that’s a weird picture, and I literally took the device off photo of my hip, I took the photo without thinking twice.”

He added that the composition of the image isn’t the best and the lighting is anything but ideal, but this photo has garnered a lot of attention over the years.

“What Ron has been able to do is have been able to take some of the qualities that I see in human beings and somehow exemplify them in terms of animals in their natural habitat. “, said Just on Sundial. “You see a transmigration in Ron’s images, you see a sense of compassion and love, of family.”

Magill’s wildlife photography will be featured in an exhibit opening on Earth Day, April 22, at the IPC ArtSpace gallery in Little Haiti.

Our connection with wildlife

Candidate SCOTUS’ time on the Miami high school debate stage

After three long and intense days of hearings by the Senate Judiciary Committee, the vote on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackon could take place as early as Monday.

If confirmed, she will be the first Florida woman and the first black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court.

Wednesday saw a continuation of the questioning and political theater that we have seen all week. Thursday was the fourth and final day of hearings, bringing testimony from outside witnesses.

People in South Florida who knew Ketanji Brown Jackson aren’t surprised by his poise on this national stage this week. At least that’s what Palm Beach County State’s Attorney Dave Aronberg tweeted.

He joined Sundial to remember some of those high school speech and debate circuit days with Judge Brown Jackson.

Candidate SCOTUS’ time on the Miami high school debate stage