News briefs

BY AUSTIN YAGODA, STAFF WRITER

Upcoming Monorail expansion

A plan for the monorail route connecting Miami and Miami Beach along the MacArthur Causeway was recently voted upon by Miami-Dade County (MDC) commissioners and passed 10 to 2. The county entered a $14 million deal with the investment firm that also funded the Port of Miami tunnel. This deal calls for 18 months of planning, after which it will be finalized and construction will begin.

“I think the monorail would be a great addition to our city and would greatly alleviate traffic along the few bridges leading to Miami Beach,” sophomore Diego Gomez said.

Florida's mobil drivers licenses

Starting in 2021, Florida will allow digital driver’s licenses on phones and mobile devices. The licenses will feature special security measures that can be validated by officials. The mobile license will also function as identification in other states and foreign countries. An official release date for the final product has not yet been announced by the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles.

“If the new licenses are really able to be verified by officials, then it would be a much safer and harder to lose alternative than physical licences,” sophomore Andrew Lee said.

Covid-19 cases lead to curfew

On Oct. 12, a new curfew was put into place, after recent spikes in COVID-19 cases, which is set to last from midnight to 6 a.m. every day. For those under the age of 17, the curfew extends from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. from Sunday night to Friday morning.

There are some exceptions to this rule which include having written permission to be out by a legal guardian or returning from an event which began before 10 p.m. “I definitely think a county-wide curfew is a necessary step to take in order to ensure the safety of the county. It would just be something that we need to get."