As we move into the winter months we are seeing more reports of COVID outbreaks which has caused states to re-consider their current COVID strategies. The city of Miami just announced that they will be passing an ordinance that will, “Prohibit outdoor music at certain venues from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.” According to the Miami New Times, “This decision came without listening to more than eight hours of recorded comments from residents who opposed the proposal.” The proposal was set in place by Miami Commissioner, Joe Carollo.
A tremendous amount of local businesses in the Miami area need outdoor music in order to draw in guests. Local business, Ball & Chain, asked their Instagram followers to call the city commission in order to voice their disagreement with the decision set in place by Joe Carollo; the Miami New Times reports. In response to the public’s disagreement, Victoria Mendez (city attorney) openly stated that all 366 recorded messages were very similar and therefore would not need to be played as they all sounded the same. Bill Fuller, the Ball & Chain owner, claims, “Victoria Mendez lied to the commission about the comments that were left by Ball & Chain’s Instagram followers; saying there was no way all eight hours of comments repeated the same script verbatim.” Additionally, when the Miami New Times reached out to the attorney generals office, a spokesperson said the office, “Did not issue an official legal opinion on the matter, explaining that the staff had merely had a general conversation with the Miami city attorney’s office,” the Miami New Times reports.
In previous instances, Mendez has been viewed as siding with Carollo on his side projects and other issues. Regardless, the ordinance for banning outdoor music at night was passed with a yes coming from all the commissioners. The cutoff for all establishments that do not have a permit from the city will be cut off at 10 p.m. All other establishments who do have a permit from the city will be able to play music until 11 p.m.
The stay up to date on this ongoing dispute, visit the Miami New Time’s website for more information.
Feature Photo – usgang.ch
Source – Miami New Times
