Miami Beach Ocean Rescue lifeguards share some of their most harrowing rescues in our cover story on page 20: “What Everyone Should Know About the Number One Beach Threat.” We explore the dangerous phenomenon of rip currents, which account for 80-85% of all Miami Beach rescues. Unless you’ve lost your mobile phone or an expensive piece of jewelry in one of the city’s 7,800 stormwater inlets, you may not know that Miami Beach stormwater crews have a 98% recovery rate for finding lost items. More importantly, the same equipment that helps crews retrieve lost valuables, keeps pollutants from entering Biscayne Bay as you’ll discover in our article: “Lost Treasure from Vacations Past” on page 10. Our story: “Children with Special Abilities Find Camaraderie Through Play” on page 56 brings you a touching look at how our Parks and Recreation Department is changing the lives of children with autism and other differing abilities.
