Public organizations with their main offices in Downtown include the central offices of the Beacon Council the Downtown Development Authority Miami-Dade County government Miami-Dade County Public Schools Miami Police Department and Miami-Dade Parks and Recreation as well as numerous City of Miami departments despite city hall's location in Coconut Grove, Reconstruction era and end of the 19th century, Following this period of rapid development and environmental degradation the ecosystem began to receive notable attention from conservation groups in the 1970s Internationally UNESCO and the Ramsar Convention designated the Everglades a Wetland Area of Global Importance the construction of a large airport 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Everglades National Park was blocked when an environmental study found that it would severely damage the South Florida ecosystem With heightened awareness and appreciation of the region restoration began in the 1980s with the removal of a canal that had straightened the Kissimmee River However development and sustainability concerns have remained pertinent in the region the deterioration of the Everglades including poor water quality in Lake Okeechobee was linked to the diminishing quality of life in South Florida's urban areas in 2000 the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan was approved by Congress to combat these problems to date,[when?] it is the most expensive and comprehensive environmental restoration attempt in history but its implementation has faced political complications. ! 2.2.1 The Goodman Psychological Services Center Nova Southeastern University (private). .
. . . Following the 1959 Cuban revolution that unseated Fulgencio Batista and brought Fidel Castro to power most Cubans who were living in Miami returned to Cuba Soon after however many middle class and upper class Cubans moved to Florida en masse with few possessions Some Miamians were upset about this especially the African Americans who believed that the Cuban workers were taking their jobs.[citation needed] in addition the school systems struggled to educate the thousands of Spanish-speaking Cuban children Many Miamians fearing that the Cold War would become World War III left the city while others started building bomb shelters and stocking up on food and bottled water Many of Miami's Cuban refugees realized for the first time that it would be a long time before they would get back to Cuba in 1965 alone 100,000 Cubans packed into the twice daily "freedom flights" from Havana to Miami Most of the exiles settled into the Riverside neighborhood which began to take on the new name of "Little Havana" This area emerged as a predominantly Spanish-speaking community and Spanish speakers elsewhere in the city could conduct most of their daily business in their native tongue By the end of the 1960s more than four hundred thousand Cuban refugees were living in Dade County. At the same time mercury was found in local fish at such high levels that consumption warnings were posted for fishermen a Florida panther was found dead with levels of mercury high enough to kill a human Scientists found that power plants and incinerators using fossil fuels were expelling mercury into the atmosphere and it fell as rain or dust during droughts the naturally occurring bacteria that reduce sulfur in the Everglades ecosystem were transforming the mercury into methylmercury and it was bioaccumulating through the food chain Stricter emissions standards helped lower mercury coming from power plants and incinerators which in turn lowered mercury levels found in animals though they continue to be a concern.
Sergio Herrera - State Farm Insurance Agent