155,000+ riders on our free @MiamiBeachNews water taxi since January, with 99%+ of scheduled trips completed. Demand has exceeded expectations! Another state grant is secured and we're working to expand across Miami Beach and Miami-Dade. Let's connect our entire county by water.

Miami Beach is setting records. Fiscal Year 2026 resort tax receipts totaled $117.5 million, the highest of any fiscal year in our city's history. Food & Beverage was up 8.7% from last year and total receipts up 6.8%. Behind these numbers are thousands of unique stories about our restaurants, hotels, and the hard-working people who make @MiamiBeachNews shine.

Drones, License Plate Readers, and GPS dart technology are some of the many initiatives I have brought to make our city safer. (bit.ly/DroneDartLPR) This weekend, they all worked together. Our LPR cameras flagged a stolen vehicle entering Miami Beach. Our drone tracked it, an officer tagged it with a GPS dart, and all five suspects were arrested after fleeing. Technology is a force multiplier. I’ll keep bringing initiatives to make @MiamiBeachNews the safest city in America.

Miami Beach is #1 in the nation for average daily hotel rate: $328.53. That's up 14.3% from last year, the biggest jump among the top 25 markets. A safe, clean, well-run city is good for residents, and for business. Read more: bit.ly/msmSeptemberHotelMark…

Last week at the Commission, I advanced several resident first priorities, including: a Live Local Act infrastructure capacity assessment, statewide advocacy to restore local control over development, a new long-term Art Basel agreement, and a look at advanced technology for litter cleanup. Full meeting: youtube.com/@CityofMiamiBeac…

We've officially approved a new long-term agreement with Art Basel! @MiamiBeachNews and @ArtBasel have grown up together. For more than two decades, the fair has been integral to our brand and economic growth, shaping our cultural identity and drawing roughly 80,000 visitors in 2025, with an estimated $570 million in economic impact across Miami-Dade County. This renewed agreement enhances benefits for our residents, including $100,000 a year from Art Basel for expanded water taxi and shuttle service during Art Week, and ensures Miami Beach remains its home through 2031, with a renewal option through 2033. Read more: bit.ly/msmBaselAgreement2026

I joined the @MiamiBeachFire Department, the Miami Burn Center, and fire rescue partners at the @MiamiBeachNews Convention Center to kick off the 39th Annual Children's Fire Safety Festival. 1,500 students in grades 1-3 gathered to "Learn Not to Burn" through hands-on training, including how and when to call 911. Fire safety starts young, and the lessons we teach our children today could one day save a life!

Tallahassee sold Live Local as a way to create housing working people can afford, not to let developers skip public hearings and build oversized projects. I've always fought overdevelopment, including legislation I sponsored to limit height and density increases, and this Commission is aligned on smart growth that respects our neighborhoods. At today's Oct. 14 Commission meeting, we're considering hiring outside legal counsel to opine on how Live Local applies to our height limits. I'm also bringing forward several initiatives, including: 🔹 Infrastructure review of our water, sewer, and electrical capacity, neighborhood by neighborhood. We cannot approve what our systems cannot support. 🔹 Statewide advocacy with other Florida mayors to amend or repeal Live Local and restore local control and resident participation. Read more: bit.ly/MSMneighborhoods

Recent Happenings: From Hispanic Heritage events to school gatherings, ribbon cuttings and community forums, here's a look at recent moments with residents, educators, business leaders and community partners across @MiamiBeachNews. ✅ Americas Food & Beverage Show 2026 ✅ Flamingo Park HOA Meeting ✅ Gift of Life ✅ Meet & Greet with Miami Beach Principals ✅ 22nd Annual Miami Hispanic Heritage Business Expo & Conference ✅ Rivani Grand Opening ✅ Barrier Island Coastal Mayors' Meeting ✅ North Shore Park Hispanic Heritage Festival ✅ Scott Rakow Senior Event ✅ SoBe West Community Forum ✅ Soirée des Arts – Mediterranean Edition ✅ UNIDAD Hispanic Heritage Celebration ✅ Final Budget Public Hearing ✅ Resort Tax Document Signing ✅ Easterseals 36th Annual Festival of Chefs ✅ Miami Business Club ✅ MB Chamber of Commerce 11th Annual Heroes Breakfast ✅ Rabbi Mann Birthday Celebration ✅ Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Miami Dinner ✅ Simchas Beis Hashoeva Celebrations ✅ CMU Miami Press Conference Grateful for every conversation, celebration, and milestone shared with our community.

We gathered in @MiamiBeachNews today on the third anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, to ensure the world never forgets the more than 1,200 murdered that day and the 250 hostages torn from their homes. October 7 was an attack on Israel and the Jewish people, but it was also an attack on humanity. Since that day, Israel and the Jewish people have faced a war of narratives alongside a war of arms. Yet West Point's Modern War Institute has called the IDF's civilian protection measures the "gold standard," doing more to prevent civilian casualties than any military in history. In the face of terrorism, hatred, and antisemitism, there can be no moral ambiguity. We stand with Israel and the Jewish people. Today and forever. 🇺🇸🇮🇱

Tomorrow, Wednesday, October 7, at 9:00 AM, please join me and the @MiamiBeachNews City Commission as we honor the victims of the barbaric October 7 Hamas attack against Israeli civilians and remember the hostages kidnapped from their homes and communities. We will be joined by Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz and others. On this third anniversary, the pain of that day has not faded. Millions around the world are still grieving the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. The wounds are still fresh, and since that tragic day, we have witnessed an explosion of antisemitism. Miami Beach will always stand against hate and stand with Israel's right to exist in peace and defend itself against attacks. 📍 Fire Station 2, 2300 Pine Tree Drive, Miami Beach 
🗓 Wednesday, October 7 | 9:00 AM

A license plate reader (LPR) helped catch a wanted fugitive this weekend. An LPR hit flagged a vehicle in @MiamiBeachNews whose owner was wanted on a Broward County felony warrant for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and domestic violence battery. Within minutes, our police made a safe felony stop, leading to an arrest. A search of the vehicle turned up a semiautomatic handgun with 37 live rounds. We can protect the privacy of LPR data and keep our community safe at the same time.

A dream is becoming a reality in Miami! I was honored to join last night's celebration and today's press conference announcing @CarnegieMellon University's new Wynwood campus, made possible by Ken Griffin's record $3 billion gift. Carnegie Mellon is the No. 14 university in the nation and ranks No. 1 in multiple fields, including cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and software engineering. The impact on @MiamiBeachNews and South Florida will be profound, and we celebrate this historic milestone.

More than 150,000 rides since we launched in January. Our free water taxi gets you across the bay in 20 minutes, with no traffic and no stress. Hop on board!

Great meeting with fellow coastal mayors and police chiefs in Golden Beach. Our focus: coordinated smart mobility, keeping local control of LPR cameras to fight crime, and working to expand our @MiamiBeachNews water taxi to include our neighboring cities.

A lot of great things are happening in @MiamiBeachNews! We finalized a fiscally responsible budget that lowers our city’s property tax rate for the second year in a row, while increasing essential services and growing our record-high reserves. We're also seeing real progress on homelessness, sustained growth in resort tax revenue, results from our new drug detection K-9 unit, and a new AI-powered approach to make permitting faster and easier. Read more: bit.ly/msmontherise

Miami Beach is commanding the highest hotel room rates in the nation for 2026 through August. Average Daily Room Rate is up 15% year-over-year at $340/night, both number one nationally. Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) climbed 10% from last year, among the strongest RevPAR growth rates of any top market nationally. Visitors are choosing @MiamiBeachNews, and paying a premium to be here. Read more: bit.ly/msmAugust2026

It was my privilege to welcome the public school principals serving Miami Beach to City Hall last week. Excellent schools are the foundation of a thriving, family-friendly Miami Beach. I'm proud that every one of our schools is now an International Baccalaureate World School, and grateful for their commitment to our STEAM+ programming. I was delighted to present each principal with a commemorative medallion celebrating America 250 and to thank them for their dedication to our students, teachers, and families.

Lowest homeless count in Miami Beach history! Our August census counted 92 unsheltered individuals, down 40% from August 2023 and 25% from last year. Compassion + enforcement is working. And we're not done. We'll keep extending a hand to those in need while upholding our laws. bit.ly/HomelessTrustCensus