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Since the beginning of time, Miami, Florida has been one of the main epicenters of mother nature's most intense tropical storms, hurricanes. Due to the city's location being off the coast of Florida, it finds itself in the path of these intense and very often destructive storms. Starting in June and ending in November, the Atlantic hurricane season poses threats to Florida's coastline due to the waters in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico being warm enough to produce tropical waves. To help you understand how hurricanes are born, how they work and its impact in our coastal cities, Miami Living brings this special report. how are hurricanes measured? To gain an understanding of hurricanes, a wind scale was developed specifically to measure wind speeds and the strength of storms. The scale named Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale was developed in 1971 by civil engineer Herbert Saffir and meteorologist Robert Simpson, who at the time was director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center. In fact, the scale came about when a devastating hurricane hit Robert Simpson's hometown when he was just a young boy. Later on in life, Simpson used his traumatic experience as inspiration to become a meteorologist and the director of the National Hurricane Center. His scale was introduced to the general public in 1973 and saw widespread use after Neil Frank replaced Simpson at the helm of the NHC in 1974. Once winds are at 74mph or higher, it is classified as a hurricane. Below highlights the damage that can occur from each category of a hurricane: Category 1: Will produce some damage Category 2: Substantial damage Category 3: Devastating damage will occur Category 4: Catastrophic damage, trees uprooted & snapped, homes at high risk, power poles down Category 5: Catastrophic damage (including but not limited to Category 4 wreckage), destruction to coastlines, infrastructures collapsed Hurricane History Miami's hurricane history is quite extensive, leaving the city with mass devastation at their hands. Here is an overview of the cities past hurricanes that have hit harder than expected. Great Miami Hurricane, 1926 Category 4 Record-breaking winds were recorded as the storm's eye passed over downtown Miami and parts of Coconut Grove and South Miami. Resulting in water from the Atlantic extending across Miami Beach and Biscayne Bay for several blocks. The Red Cross reported that 372 persons died and more than 6,000 injured. Damages were around $105 million, equivalent to $1.5 billion in damages today. San Felipe Okeechobee Hurricane, 1928 Category 5 The deadliest hurricane to strike Florida. Killing 2,500+ civilians. Lake Okeechobee overflows resulting in mass flooding. Causing $100 million in damages, equivalent to $1.48 billion in damages today. Classified as catastrophic damage. Florida Keys Labor Day Hurricane 1935 Category 5 Making history, the Labor Day hurricane is the most intense landfalling hurricane a category 5. Taking the lives of many veterans who were camped on Key West island for a government project. The derailed train pictured below was on the way to save the veterans but never made it. Formally known as Hurricane Three, the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 was the most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall on record in terms of pressure and tied with Hurricane Dorian in 2019 for the strongest landfalling Atlantic hurricane by maximum sustained winds, with winds of 185 mph (295 km/h) causing $100 million in damages, equivalent to $1.48 billion in damages today. Hurricane Dona 1960 Category 4 Intense winds hit the coast while creating a storm surge large enough to create major devastation. Heavy rainfall was reported in the Miami Dade area with 7 to 10 inches of rain. Tides in Miami Beach ranged from 2 to 4 feet above normal not being the main factor of the devastation in the area. Dona reached maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (210 km/h) on September 4, killed 439 people, and caused $980 million in damages ($1.4 billion in 2020). Hurricane Andrew 1992 Category 5 Known to be one of the most destructive hurricanes to ever pass through South Florida, Hurricane Andrew developed off the coast of Africa as a tropical storm. In just a few days, Andrew was headed towards Homestead, Florida where it later made landfall on August 1992. With 1-minute sustained wind speeds as high as 165 mph (266 km/h), the destructive Andrew passed directly through the city of Homestead in Dade County causing extreme devastation. It destroyed more than 63,500 houses, damaged more than 124,000 other structures, caused $27.3 billion in damage, and left 65 people dead. Thousands were left homeless, businesses were destroyed and many fled the area as the hurricane strikes. Hurricane Wilma 2005 Category 3 On its way to South Florida, Hurricane Wilma strengthened leaving buildings crumbled, windows shattered, and universal power outages in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach Counties. Wilma's strength stopped water services to many, forced hospitals to evacuate, and took the lives of 25 people. Damage totaled to $22.4 billion was reported, most of which occurred not only in South Florida but also in Texas and other neighboring states. Words by Brooke Klaiman, thebrookealexa.com. Images courtesy of Hurricane National Center

The Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami (MOCA) will host a virtual program as part of its “Conversations at MOCA” series. In conjunction with Carl Juste’s current public artwork on MOCA plaza, on Aug. 20 at 7:00 p.m., art historian and curator Elizabeth Shannon will present “Two Voices, One Vision: When Writers and Photographers Collaborate.” The virtual event is free and open to the public via the Zoom Video Conferencing Platform. During the event, Shannon will explore a variety of collaborations between photographers and writers. Looking at a wide selection of photographic artworks where image and text combine to create new meanings, she will discuss photobooks including James Agee and Walker Evans’ Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (1941), Roy DeCarava and Langston Hughes’ The Sweet Flypaper of Life (1955), Richard Avedon and James Baldwin’s Nothing Personal (1964), among others. Shannon is a curator, writer and academic based in Miami, Florida. She has worked with the collection at the International Center of Photography in New York and held curatorial positions at Dundee Contemporary Arts in Scotland, Locust Projects and Vizcaya Museum and Gardens in Miami, and was a Knight Curatorial Fellow at the Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach. Educated in the United Kingdom, Shannon holds a PhD in the History of Photography from the University of St Andrews and an MA in History of Art and English Literature from the University of Glasgow. She has taught at the University of St Andrews in the United Kingdom and the University of Miami, Florida International University and New World School of the Arts in the United States. The virtual event is free and open to the public via the Zoom video conferencing platform. To reserve a spot, please visit https://conversationsatmoca.eventbrite.com​. By ML Staff

Interracial marriage has been legal throughout the United States since June 12, 1967 when the United States Supreme Court made its landmark ruling in the well documented case of Loving v. Virginia. A rural working-class couple, Richard and Mildred Loving, with the help of attorneys with American Civil Liberties Union petitioned the land's highest court arguing that the criminalization of interracial marriage was unconstitutional. It must be noted that millions of loving couples today are afforded the right to marry someone of another race because of the steadfast loyalty of Richard Loving towards his African American wife Mildred, and because of the two Jewish Caucasian attorneys, Bernard S. Cohen and Philip J. Hirschkop, who fought on the Lovings' behalf to legalize interracial marriage. In other words, hard battles for equality and civil rights cannot be won by a minority population without the alliance of those in power (namely, the majority). Although interracial marriage became legal throughout the United States in 1967, mixed-race couplings, particularly between Black Americans and Caucasian Americans remained socially and societally marginalized in both action and opinion for decades thereafter. In the 1950s only 5% of the American population was in support of interracial marriage and 3% of marriages in the United States were interracial according to the Pew Research Center. Fast forward to the first decade of the 21st century, and that approval rating jumped to 80%. By 2017, according to the same research, 17% of Americans identified as being in interracial relationships, which does not count non-married domestic partnerships and dating relationships. Anecdotally, according to the trends, in 2020 we are looking at more than 1 million interracial relationships and marriages in the United States. According to the dating website, InterracialDatingCentral.com, the site's membership has grown by 300% since their original launch into the online dating landscape back in 2004, demonstrating a sharp rise in interest and pursuance over a sixteen-year period. The dating site also reports a Facebook community that has grown to 1.8 million followers and close to 40% daily engagement on their posts. Many of their community's Facebook posts consist of interracial couples and families sharing their successful love stories with the Facebook.com/InterracialDatingCentral community. As interracial couplings comprised of Caucasian and Black Americans and their children continue to grow exponentially across the U.S., we are presented with a unique moment in history and an opportunity for more people outside of the black community to have skin in the game, so to speak. In other words, there are more non-black Americans vested in the rights, safety and financial opportunities of Black Americans because a considerable percentage are dating and married to Black Americans, have mixed-race children or a good friend or family member who is black. An article on MedicalExpress.com shares a University of Queensland (Brisbane, Australia) study that finds, "The more time we spend with people from another nationality the more empathy we have for them." We can assume that the same findings would apply to racial differences. In the 2012 bestselling book, The Tanning of America: How Hip Hop Created a Culture That Re-Wrote The Rules of the New Economy, author Steve Stoute studies how our economy shifted to accommodate what Stoute describes as a new generation of consumers who are all the same mental complexion, with an entire generation leaning in to the influences of hip hop and urban culture. Interestingly, Black men are more likely to intermarry than black women, creating a societal dynamic where non-black women in these interracial relationships and marriages share a vested interest in the fight for equal treatment by police, equal treatment economically and politically for black Americans. As these women have children, their emotional investment in black American rights and safety continues to grow as does that of their extended family. It has been said that for a minority group to win the rights they deserve other groups of people must be in the fight with them. Women did not win the right to vote without the support of a vested population of men. The LGBTQ+ community did not win the right to marry without the support of vested heterosexual Americans. Black Americans will not win the fight for equal access to financial capital, additional educational and job opportunities, and safety under the law without the continued vested interest of non-black Americans. The explosive growth of interracial couplings, marriages, and families over the last 20 years has resulted in a default mechanism of non-black support for these human rights issues. A 2017 New York Times article, titled, "The Role of Men and New York State in Women's Suffrage" cites that it was after the mother of Harry T. Burn, a 23-year-old Tennessee legislator, persuaded him to cast the deciding vote for suffrage, that the 19th amendment was passed allowing women the right to vote in 1917. The article goes on to state, "By 1916, even President Woodrow Wilson had been persuaded by his daughters to support suffrage. 'A cause which could enlist the enthusiastic, devoted, idealistic support of such ladies must be wholesome,' he said." In the fight for gay marriage rights, another Pew Research Center compilation of surveyed information from 2013 states, "The rise in support for same-sex marriage over the past decade is among the largest changes in opinion on any policy issue over this time period. A new national survey finds that much of the shift is attributable to the arrival of a large cohort of young adults – the Millennial generation – who are far more open to gay rights than previous generations." The Pew article illustrates a graph showing 70% of Millennials supported gay marriage leading up to its legalization in On June 26, 2015, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all state bans on same-sex marriage, legalized it in all fifty states, and required states to honor out-of-state same-sex marriage licenses in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges." In much the same way, Black Americans with white partners are likely influencing a wave of familiarity, empathy, compassion and decisive action on the part of many white Americans who were, in previous generations, not against the fight for racial justice, but perhaps, more apathetic towards fight, prior to more non-black Americans living with and loving their black partner and their partner's family and parenting black and mixed-race children. By Allison Kugel

Ashley Sebera, aka WWE Diva Dana Brooke, is adjusting to the new normal. Used to performing for a crowd of thousands of screaming fans, at the moment, the 31-yearold is filming Friday Night SmackDown in an empty Amway Center in Orlando, Florida in order to promote safety amidst the global pandemic. “You go from a crowded arena to hearing crickets. But I think about who is on the other side of the TV, the kids who are out of school, who are going through a tough time…” says Ashley. You can imagine how different her environment must be. Fans drive the wrestling industry. Each performance is different because the crowd is different. There are plans to introduce a virtual audience to the atmosphere to at least give fans and performers the opportunity to see and connect with each other again. Ashley became a member of the wrestling universe, and was assigned to WWE Performance Center and NXT in Orlando July of 2013. The organization gave her the ring name, Dana Brooke --and it fit. “Some are able to stick with their real name, some of us get a few different ones to choose from. It’s so crazy how life works. My parents wanted to name me Brooke. It was a beautiful thing. I was also very close to an ultimate warrior’s wife, Dana. She was so strong. She had lost her husband a year after I lost my ex, Dallas. I’ve grown into that name. The meaning is inspiring and strong,” says the Ohio native. Ashley made her first televised in-ring debut on the April 15, 2015 episode of NXT, defeating Blue Pants. On October 16, 2019, she signed a five-year contract with SmackDown. The opportunity made her feel “super blessed and fortunate. I’ve been with the company for quite some time. I’m so happy.” Ashley has always been an extremely good athlete, but she never thought that being a wrestler was a possibility. For 18 years, she did gymnastics before facing severe ankle injuries that would make her rethink her journey altogether. “I always think of life like a puzzle --every piece connects in some way to your journey. Gymnastics was all I knew. My family was super supportive and I’d always thought about being in the Olympics. When injuries stopped my career, my dream was pulled out from under me. I didn’t know what to do next.” Next, Ashley competed, and dominated, as a diver. Her accomplishments include school champ, district champ, and a state qualifier. “It was cold. I didn’t want to get my hair wet, but I tried it and I discovered it wasn’t my thing. People are afraid of failure. Trying and not being your thing is completely okay. It’s about taking those mistakes and learning from them. I like to say must-takes, not mistakes.” The Kent State University graduate went on to compete as a professional bodybuilder and found lots of success in this arena. During her body building journey, she met and began dating fellow bodybuilder, Dallas McCarver. His untimely death in 2017 turned her world upside down. The 3-year anniversary of his passing was a few months ago. “Wrestling has saved my life. Going through that experience, wrestling was there for me. It gave me a reason to live my life.” During a trip to the Arnold Classic in Spain, Ashley met a very special recruiter that changed the trajectory of her entire career. “I was competing and a recruiter from WWE came. I couldn’t believe it. My family watched wrestling while I was growing up. My dad and I would always wrestle. So they asked me to come down to Tampa, Florida and try it out. The moment I was in the ring, I fell in love. To experience the outreach that WWE has, how hands-on they are with children, Special Olympics, community programs such as UNICEF, and more, I’m so grateful. Never give up on your dreams.” Ashley started The Dallas McCarver Foundation, a non-profit organization, in honor of Dallas to raise money for underprivileged children. “He was a big kid at heart; I always called him a kid. He grew up with a rough upbringing and childhood, so I partnered with Dallas’ family, his mom Penny, to help others. We make donations to St. Jude. It’s amazing to see children’s eyes light up when they get a new toy or a new book to read. It’s really painful to lose a loved one. He would want us to do this. It feels right.” Ashley and her boyfriend Uly Diaz also give back to the Miami community. Uly founded 305 Gives Back, a non-profit organization that is responsible for feeding the homeless. “Uly is such a strong motivator and supporter. He has a very strong local following in Miami, so we love giving back by speaking with children through anti-bullying campaigns. We’ve experienced similar situations as them, so we want to impact children as much as we can. To us, giving back is receiving.” The two are also heavily involved with the Boys and Girls Club of America, and Ashley is currently developing a Women’s Empowerment group, focused on pulling together women to be able to connect and share similar interests with each other. After a night filming at Amway, Ashley makes the three-and-a-half-hour drive back to her home in Miami. “The last eight years I’ve been traveling from city to city, 4-5 days a week on the road. Being able to be home has been a blessing. I’m spending time with my boyfriend and his kids. I have a kitchen and I’m living out of a closet. It’s a good reset,” says Ashley. For now, while she has some time to spend in Miami, she’s been enjoying some of the things she likes to do, like, working out. “It’s funny, but working out helps me disconnect. And Uly has opened up a whole new training method to me. We have everything in our backyard. Learning something new is refreshing to me. It’s something new for my brain to comprehend.” Additionally, Ashley’s partnership with Denison Yachting has allowed her to go boating a lot more these days. “I’m taking in these moments… I recently got a dog and I’ve been taking him too.” Though most restaurants are operating on a delivery-only basis or at half capacity, there are a few Miami staples Ashley has been enjoying, including Seaspice and Grails in Wynwood, which has “great food and great hospitality! I love to watch UFC fights there and they always provide a private spot for us to watch them.” In the ring, Ashley is consistently reinventing herself, leveraging strength-based gymnastics moves, including roundoffs in the ring, front flips off of the top rope, and bodybuilding maneuvers like front squats and sit out powerbombs. For the next few years, wrestling will continue to play a major role in her life. “Life is weird these days. I’m always focused on small-term goals that lean into longer-term, bigger-picture goals. Eventually, I’d love to write a book and go into acting and movies. One day, when our time frees up, we also want to travel to multiple cities and continue to give back.” She is also working on herself and self-love. “In today’s society, you’re worried about what people think and what people are saying. I’ve been focused on just me and self-love, which has made me such a stronger person. Me being happy rubs off on people. When you’re out in public, you impact people. That’s what I want to do.” Ashley admits that she too has insecurities. “Definitely my freckles --rarely do I ever show them. Recently, I did a photoshoot, natural hair and just embraced it, showed the world. From that point, I’ve tried to wear less makeup. I’m embracing self-love, that’s what I want the world to see.” As Dana Brooke, Ashley inspires millions, including children who she relates to on a personal level, women who are following their dreams, and those in her local community of Miami. “I want to see the world and empower women to follow their dreams and goals.” Keep up with Ashley on Instagram @ashasebera_danabrooke and watch SmackDown on Fridays at 8 pm. Words by Briana Dodson • Photo Credit: Christopher Patey

Taylor Swift has made history yet again. As her 5 star album folklore debuts at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 this week with over 846k equivalent albums making her the only artist in history to have 7 albums sell half a million copies of a studio album in a week. This marks Taylor’s seventh consecutive #1 entry on the Top 200 and 6th consecutive studio album with over 800,000 albums in the first week folklore stands out as the top selling album of 2020 with global sales over 2 million worldwide and over half a billion total streams on audio and video in just one week. What’s even more impressive, it is the biggest album debut by an artist since Taylor Swift last released her award-winning album, Lover, just 11 months ago! Additional stats on the release of folklore below: USA #1 Billboard 200 debut with over 846,000 albums first week #1 Billboard Alternative Album Biggest first week album of 2020 and since Lover in 2019 Biggest female album streaming debut of 2020 with over 300M audio+video streams Biggest first week album streams of Taylor’s career Taylor’s 6th consecutive album with over 800,000 copies in the first week Only artist in history with 7 albums to sell at least 500,000 copies in a single week Debuted Top 16 songs on Spotify US Daily Top 200 chart “cardigan” #1 iTunes Song “cardigan” #1 Spotify Top 200 Song “cardigan” #1 YouTube Trending Video GLOBAL 2M album equivalents sold globally first week Over half a billion audio + video streams first week 1.3M album equivalents sold globally first day 740K albums sold in China, biggest first week since Lover Taylor holds the Top 2 album debuts by a Western artist in China #1 iTunes Album in 85+ countries Biggest female album debut of 2020 in the UK Biggest female album streaming debut of 2020 in the UK Biggest first week album streams of Taylor’s career in the UK First and only artist in 21st century to score five #1 studio albums in the UK Set record for Spotify first day female album global streams (80.6M) Set record for Apple Music 24 hour Pop album streams (35.47M) Set record for Amazon Music Indie Alternative album first day US and Global streams Debuted Top 5 songs on Spotify Global Daily Top 200 chart “cardigan” debuted #1 Spotify Global Top 200 chart “cardigan” had the most Spotify Global Daily Streams of 2020 (7.74M) “cardigan” #1 Apple Music Top 100: Global Songs chart “cardigan” added to BBC Radio 1 A-List (UK) “exile” feat. Bon Iver Triple J Radio airplay (Australia) folklore debuted at #1 on the ARIA Albums Chart claiming the highest Week 1 album consumption of 2020 folklore is Taylor Swift’s 6th #1 ARIA Album folklore officially claims the biggest selling week 1 release in Ireland of 2020 Taylor Swift becomes the only female solo artist with the most Official Irish Albums Chart Number 1s this millennium By ML Staff. Image courtesy of Republic Records

From the outside, Adam Scott looks much the same as he did in 2000 when he opted to leave college and become a professional golfer. He still has the same boyish good looks and perpetual smile. And his smooth textbook swing remains the envy of aspiring youngsters around the world. But Scott is no longer just another handsome guy who can square up a clubface as well as anyone in the world. He has grown dramatically as a person and a player. And now Scott—who turned 40 on July 11—has become one of the game’s international leaders, in words and deeds. He’s a family man with a wife and two young children. And Scott, with his continued success, has thrust himself into the conversation when it turns to inclusion in the World Golf Hall of Fame. Right now, Scott is willing to let others determine his legacy. He is only interested in winning golf tournaments, particularly major championships. “Winning tournaments is always my goal and we put a huge focus on the majors,” Scott said. “Of course, I would love to win any of the other majors later this year. My goal is to keep my game in a spot where that’s realistic. … I would like to get myself back quickly in that position and see if I can add to that tally this year.” Scott was back in form earlier in 2020 when he ended a four-year winless streak by claiming a two-shot victory at the Genesis Championship at Riviera Country Club outside Los Angeles. The win enabled the former Players Championship winner to climb back into the top-10 rankings after falling as low as 82nd in July 2018. It was the 14th victory of his PGA TOUR career – tied for 65th all-time -- but his first in 74 starts. The only active players with more wins are Tiger Woods (82), Phil Mickelson (44), Dustin Johnson (21), Rory McIlroy (18) and Jim Furyk (17). It also helped him climb to No. 35 in the FedExCup Standings as of early August and on the threshold of once more qualifying for the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship. Scott admitted that the long drought – although not as serious as the bad stretch he endured in 2009 in the aftermath of a surfing-related knee injury -- took a toll on him. He cited frustration and said he was pushing himself too hard in the wrong direction. The Genesis victory acted as both as a salve and form of encouragement. The win helped point him back in the right direction. “My big goal is to be a multiple major winner and I think the habit of winning is good for that,” Scott said. Although his lone major championship remains his historic victory at the Masters in 2013 – when he became the first Australian to earn the green jacket – Scott has an exemplary record in the big events. He has 19 top-10 finishes in 74 starts in majors. In 2019 he tied for eighth at the U.S. PGA Championship, tied for seventh at the U.S. Open Championship and won the Australian PGA Championship for the second time in his career. He was trending in the right direction when the COVID-19 pandemic forced competition to temporarily cease. “I would like to think most of my achievements are still to come,” Scott said. “For me it’s about winning major championships. That’s the measure of a career, really in this game, but it’s always the process of getting there. You don’t just show up and win majors randomly. Maybe it can happen once. You can luck into one, but not multiple majors. “To achieve what I want to achieve, I can’t leave it up to luck. There is a lot of work to get there, but I feel like I’m on the right track. There are lots of adjustments throughout my professional and personal life the last few years. Took me some time to just figure out how to balance everything out. I think I’m on a good track now.” Scott is tied with Bruce Crampton as the third-winningest Australian on the PGA TOUR. Only Greg Norman (20) and Jim Ferrier (18) have more. However, a second major championship would elevate Scott into a different sphere. There have been 223 major championship winners, but only 82 players – including Norman -- have won multiple majors. So how does that frame Scott’s credentials for eventual enshrinement in the Hall of Fame? His current numbers mirror those of American Hal Sutton. Each has won The Players Championship and one major championship. But Sutton had only eight top-10 finishes in 68 major championship appearances and endured an inexplicable stretch of nine consecutive winless seasons during the prime of his career. Sutton was a finalist for inclusion in the World Golf Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021 and will almost certainly be inducted soon. Sutton has one item on his resume that Scott does not – captaincy of an international team. Sutton was the captain of the losing 2004 U.S. Ryder Cup team and is still remembered for the ill-fated pairing of Woods and Mickelson on the first day of competition. Scott has not yet been asked to be the captain of the International Presidents Cup team – largely because he’s still pivotal in the team’s chances as a player. He has made the team nine times and acted as an unofficial vice-captain for Ernie Els at the 2019 competition at Royal Melbourne in Australia. Scott was heartsick when the team squandered a big lead and watched the American team come back for a victory on his home soil. He is currently more concerned with helping the International team win the event than he is serving as captain. “It will be incredibly disappointing if I played all these and never won a Presidents Cup,” he said. “I feel I’d be missing something. The last few years, I’ve put more of myself out there for the team, and so far it hasn’t yielded much of a result. It’s never fun leaving on Sunday with not having won the trophy.” South African Trevor Immelman, also a Masters champion, has already agreed to be the team captain for 2021. Scott would likely be next in line to lead a team, possibly as soon as 2023. In the meantime, he’s been helping add a touch of normalcy to his homeland during the COVID-19 shutdown. In May he hosted a live-streamed nine-hole match on Instagram against local professional Wayne Perske at Maleny Golf Club in Queensland. The match – with a $5 wager in the balance -- ended all-square when Perske missed a putt on the final hole. The stakes are even higher now that Scott has returned to the PGA Tour, with his first start coming at the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park. The hope is to end the 2019-20 season on the other side of the country, at East Lake Golf Club outside Atlanta. And Scott believes he’s ready to do just that. “I have a sense of calm, which has always suited me on the golf course,” Scott said. “I definitely walk on the course with a calmness. Maybe it’s confidence, but I say calmness.” Written by Stan Awtrey. Courtesy of PGA, Images by Getty Images.

Governor Ron DeSantis announced more than $5 million in grant funding will be awarded to the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) as part of Florida’s continued efforts to protect water quality and the Sunshine State’s natural resources. The two grant recipients will be using the funding to implement enhanced nutrient removal technologies, water quality monitoring and data sharing and work to improve the relationship between environmental conditions and nutrient dynamics in Lake Okeechobee. These efforts will result in a better scientific understanding and management of nutrient conditions in Lake Okeechobee. “Lake Okeechobee continues to be at the center of many discussions surrounding water quality in Florida, and rightfully so,” said Governor DeSantis. “Lake Okeechobee has far reaching impacts on Florida’s natural resources. The allocation of more than $5 million in grant funding will ensure our state’s environmental leaders can continue enhancing our ability to monitor and protect water quality and marine life for years to come.” This most recent allocation of grant funding was facilitated through the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Office of Water Policy and Ecosystem Project’s Innovative Grant Program following recommendations made by DEP’s Blue-Green Algae Task Force (BGATF). These recommendations included an investment in a diverse portfolio of technologies to prevent, detect and address harmful algal blooms in a cost-effective, environmentally safe and scalable fashion. “As the largest lake in the southeastern United States, Lake Okeechobee serves as a vital component of our ecosystem,” said DEP Secretary Noah Valenstein. “Our state’s ability to support marine life, strengthen aquatic habitats and bolster water quality are all reliant upon our ability to preserve the health of Lake Okeechobee and the recent allocation of grant funding will further support research efforts aimed towards preventing harmful algal blooms.” Titled the Lake Okeechobee S-191 Basin Surface Runoff Phosphorus Removal Project, the SFWMD will be using $3 million in DEP grant funding to reduce Total Phosphorus (TP) loads in the S-191 Basin, which is located within the Taylor Creek/Nubbin Slough Sub-watershed in the Lake Okeechobee Watershed. The 3-year project will utilize a ferrate TP removal system in an effort to help achieve the Total Maximum Daily Load of 105 metric tons per year and associated TP target concentration levels in Lake Okeechobee. “Governor DeSantis continues to champion investments and actions to protect our water resources including Lake Okeechobee, the liquid heart of the Everglades,” said SFWMD Governing Board Chairman Chauncey Goss. “Innovative technologies coupled with the additional water quality improvements through expanding monitoring and science, expediting restoration projects, and meaningful reforms are doing more for Florida’s water resources than ever before.” Titled the Harmful Algal Bloom Assessment of Lake Okeechobee (HALO), Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (FAU’s Harbor Branch) will utilize $2,200,000 in Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) grant funding to assemble an integrative system of state-of-the-art technologies to strengthen harmful algal bloom (HAB) monitoring efforts. Innovative, autonomous monitoring platforms will be used in conjunction with conventional observational, experimental techniques, and modeling approaches to provide the necessary data to improve our overall knowledge of the triggers underlying HAB formation, toxin generation, and bloom senescence. HALO will include a web-based platform designed by the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS) for visualizing Lake Okeechobee freshwater HAB bloom intensities and extents, as well as results of environmental characterization and modeling. Overall, the innovative technologies and the knowledge gained during this project will set a foundation for selecting and applying future mitigation technologies, whether of a preventative or active nature, while the HALO system will provide a platform for mitigation efficacy monitoring. The project will also include a human health study designed to better understand the relationships between environmental conditions, cyanotoxin exposure, and human health. “For more than five decades, scientists from FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute have worked collaboratively with marine science and technology partners as well as state and federal agencies to conduct multidisciplinary research to combat some of our most complex environmental problems such as harmful algal blooms,” said FAU President John Kelly. “We are honored to receive this grant and for the continued support from Governor Ron DeSantis and Secretary Noah Valenstein who share our deep commitment to preserving the health of Lake Okeechobee. Our project, spearheaded by Dr. Jordon Beckler, will implement state-of-the-art monitoring technologies and platforms designed to produce positive environmental, societal and economic outcomes.” By ML Staff. Courtesy of flgov. Image courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory/Joshua Stevens

Comfort food is making a comeback during the culinary calamity currently being experienced by residents throughout South Florida, and a newcomer to Miami’s gastronomic scene is providing a much-needed option with a traditional taste of classic favorites from across the pond. Award-winning British Chef Justin Brown introduces “The Chippy” pop-up at Balan’s Bar & Brasserie in Mary Brickell Village, now serving a hand-crafted selection of classic English dishes that will quench the palate of those craving an authentic menu of home-cooked cuisine that goes well beyond the bangers. Classic Fish and Chips is Chef Brown’s signature dish, recreated from his own recipe, and cooked with a homemade beer batter and served with lemon and fries—offering a choice of either Haddock or Cod—both made to melt in your mouth and remind you of your last visit to a British fish and chips shop. Expect local Wynwood Beer Battered Fish wrapped in newspaper, authentic homemade chips using the best quality Idaho Potatoes, and a squeeze of tangy lemon for that essential aftertaste. Additional menu items under the Meat & Chips option, include Battered Proper Pork Sausage, Battered Bell & Evens Chicken Strips, or an 8oz Wagyu Cheeseburger Salad, served with tomato and red onion. All main dishes, whether fish or meat, come with a choice of home-made sides or garnishes, including curry sauce, gravy, tartare sauce, mushy peas, Sarsons Malt Vinegar or picked egg. Homemade British desserts include Battered Mars Bar, Battered Snickers or Sticky Toffee Pudding with Toffee Sauce—one of England’s oldest and most traditional “puddings.” “After arriving in Miami at the beginning of the year, I made it my mission to search for the very best local vendors to use for my own menu of classic British favorites,” says Chef Brown. “The city has a wealth of excellent suppliers I’ve had the privilege of getting to know, and my discovery in the quality of fish and produce encouraged me to create an even broader selection beyond my signature fish and chips. The Chippy was originally a concept created in Amsterdam that has become a huge success, and I believe Miami also has an appetite for something genuine and unique from England.” Chef Brown relocated to Miami after spending more than 15 years at the helm of some of the leading restaurants in the UK and Europe, working alongside today’s most iconic personalities of the culinary world including Jamie Oliver and Robert Clayton.  He realized that South Florida’s burgeoning culinary scene was an opportunity to infuse his own style of contemporary and upscale English cooking into a region that is historically unfamiliar with modern-day British cuisine. The Chippy pop-up at Balan’s Bar & Brasserie is located at 901 South Miami Ave in Mary Brickell Village and is now offering pick-up or Uber Eats delivery in Brickell only from Wednesday to Sunday between 4:00pm and 10:00pm. Follow @thechippymiami and for further information or to place an online order, visit www.thechippy-restaurant.com. By ML Staff

While the world may still be socially distancing, people are online now more than ever looking for connections and answers. The eighth season of MTV's Catfish: The TV Show will go to the ends of the internet to find them. For the first time ever, Executive Producer and host Nev Schulman and co-host Kamie Crawford work together, remotely, to do what they do best: track down the truth. This season, Nev and Kamie have their work cut out for them as they must play by new rules, encounter new obstacles and dive headfirst into the world’s "new normal" to uncover lies and potentially find true love. Allison Kugel: When the pandemic hit, whose idea was it to take Catfish: The TV Show virtual? Nev Schulman: I don’t know if it was one person’s idea. We know that obviously most of the entertainment industry was going to be shut down. A lot of shows, because they require a studio audience or a lot of people on set, couldn't resume production. It occurred to us that our show, in many ways, already exists in a digital world. While we do love the aspect of the show where we travel and meet people, and the whole idea of finally bringing virtual interactions into the real world, that doesn't change the core function of our show, which is just to get the trace on someone. We all looked at each other and thought, "Is there a version of the show where we can do it from home via Zoom?" We did the first episode and right away we all saw that it does work, and we were super excited. Allison Kugel: Although most people are meeting online these days, I can’t imagine that I would be motivated to continue to build a relationship with somebody without ever actually seeing them in person, or at least on video. What causes a person to develop deep feelings for somebody without ever actually seeing that person? Nev Schulman: I liken it to the banks of a river. I don’t know if you did this exercise in science class as a kid, but riverbanks generally start mostly straight with a smaller stream, if you will. Then, over time slight imperfections in the direction of the water create deeper and deeper grooves and the river ends up sneaking its way through a valley, or whatever. I think that is what happens in these relationships. They start out small and innocent and seemingly straight forward, but as the relationship flows and days go by, those twists and turns start to cut their way in, and groove into a relationship. Before you notice, all of a sudden you are months and months into this thing and you’re so far down the river that it’s too late to turn back. I think that’s how it happens, very slowly and you almost don’t even notice it happening. Allison Kugel: Wow, interesting analogy. Where did the term "Catfish" come from? Nev Schulman: We heard a story when we were making the documentary film, Catfish, back in 2008. Our film was a story about a woman who had, in fact, catfished me, the way a fisherman used to use catfish to chase cod around in the tank of these giant fishing boats. In life, there are people who kind of do the same thing, who make everyday kind of interesting and exciting, and kind of just keep us all guessing and on our toes. So, we thought it was a beautiful analogy for Angela, the woman who catfished me, and what an interesting and unexpected name for the film, and subsequently the show. So, it started off as a reference to that story, but it has now become part of the English language. It’s just so wild. Allison Kugel: If that never happened to you, and your film, Catfish, which documented your own journey, had never been made, where do you think you would be today? Did you have any different career plans? Nev Schulman: I was involved at that time in film and photography, but more specifically, in dance. I danced in live performances, at weddings, bar mitzvahs, things like that. While I knew I didn’t want that to be my lifelong career, I wasn't sure what I was going to do next. I had actually flown out to California before Catfish the film was released to interview with an old boss of mine who I had worked for at BMW motorcycles in New York. I thought I would move to California and just get a job in Riverside at BMW and see where that takes me. Who knew this would have happened? But I often think about that. Where would I be? What would I be doing? It’s crazy, because I really don’t know. Allison Kugel: Life is crazy! Do you ever sit back and reflect about how your personal experience with heartbreak and being catfished led to your television career and this pop culture phenomenon of sorts? Nev Schulman: I do. I think about it every time I film an episode, because it gives me a lot of satisfaction to know that the experiences that the people are having on the show might just be the thing that changes the direction of their lives for the better. I always encourage people at the end of each show that when faced with what feels like a heartbreaking and unsatisfying result, to think about the fact that this experience might change their lives. Someone might see it and reach out to them, or any number of things might come of it, and just to keep yourself open; don’t shut down. Let this be sort of an opening of a door and invite new things into your life and see what happens. Allison Kugel: I like that. What kind of feelings come up when you have to break the news to someone, who thinks they’re in love, that the person they’re in love with is not on the level? Nev Schulman: I have developed a combination of maturity and experience that I would liken to when a doctor has to tell someone that a family member is very ill or might pass away. No one wants to hear that, and it’s not good news. But it’s necessary and I think giving someone the truth, no matter how undesirable, is always beneficial. I wish I didn’t have to do that, but at the same time I think there is an expectation and understanding of people on our show, that for them to need to go to this extent and put themselves out there in this way to get this person to finally reveal themselves, they probably aren’t going to get what they are hoping for. I’m really just delivering what they have been avoiding, and probably intentionally avoiding, for a long time. I think they really just want the truth and they know it might not be what they want, but they’re relieved to get it. Allison Kugel: How do you feel about the thrill of the detective work and chasing after the truth? Do you get excited by that aspect of it? Nev Schulman: It is really fun. It's frustrating because sometimes you really don’t get a lot, and you have to kind of rethink your initial strategies and go back and see if you missed something. I don’t know what it is about these remote episodes, but we spent more time looking through comments this season. I think because more people had been home and were actively on social media, people were commenting more. There was more social media content to sift through and pull from on people's pages. That part has been really interesting and fun and led to a lot more breaks in stories and clues than with previously seasons of the show. Allison Kugel: Have you ever, personally, misled or concealed information from somebody you were interested in romantically for fear of rejection? Nev Schulman: The first answer that comes to mind is yes, but probably in regard to the tramp stamp that I used to have on my lower back. Allison Kugel: (Laugh) Nev Schulman: In high school I got this dumb tattoo that I thought was really cool, but quickly realized that it wasn’t, after I had already committed to it. I used to kind of hide it for as long as I could when it came to dating girls because I wasn’t sure how they might react. But I don’t have that problem anymore. I had it removed and feel much better about myself (laughs). Allison Kugel: Okay, that’s pretty harmless… and funny. What is your current relationship with social media these days? Nev Schulman: I would say it's neutral. I haven’t been posting very much. I really have to actively convince myself that I should be posting, because it doesn’t feel like there is much that I can do right now other than support social and political movements I believe in. I think for that function it is invaluable, but I feel very insignificant as an individual up against the current issues that are far more important than myself. Now that I have my kids and my job, I’m happy in my life. I think the more content you are the less you need social media to fill whatever void it might be filling for you. Allison Kugel: I would agree. Nev Schulman: I still find that I like to scroll on Instagram, and I do follow accounts that inspire me, whether it's design accounts for home decoration or architecture. I also love old cars, so I follow stuff on some accounts that post cool cars for sale and I muse about whether I should buy one. It's a nice distraction, but with all of the conflict and misinformation out there, my general feeling is that if we significantly eliminated social media, we might all be better off. But then again, there are such great social changes happening as a direct result of the community that exists through the internet, so it’s really a double-edged sword for me. Allison Kugel: What kind of impact do you think Catfish: The TV Show and your MTV platform is having on adolescents and young adults who watch the show and follow you? Nev Schulman: I can only hope and speak to the sort of things people have said to me, directly. I hope the show is having a positive effect on people, both young and old, because the thing that was most highlighted for me after the documentary, Catfish, in terms of what people said to me was how surprised and relieved and impressed they were in terms of how we handle things. People specifically liked the way we handled the situation with my relationship with Angela, the woman who catfished me. We handled it with so much compassion and understanding. We gave her an opportunity to tell her story, and we took the time to understand, although it's not an excuse, the reasons and motivation that led to the lies she created. I think the show, if it does nothing else, gives people a much-needed respite from the constant judging and cancelling and teasing and bullying that takes place in everyday life. It shows people that even when someone does something that warrants being scolded or yelled at or cancelled, you can still be compassionate. You can take the time to sit down and engage with them in a mature way, and give them the opportunity to explain themselves. You can, both, learn from them and teach them, and hopefully they can learn from their mistakes and everyone leaves feeling better. It’s hard to find things these days where you feel better after you experience them. I hope that is the enduring legacy of the show; how we can all be a little more compassionate with each other and with ourselves. Allison Kugel: How did you know you were in love with your wife, Laura, and how did it differ from your relationship with Angela, the woman who catfished you more than a decade ago? Nev Schulman: The girl I thought I was in love with, the character she made up was called "Megan." In addition to my relationship with Megan/Angela who catfished me, I did have other long-term meaningful relationships starting in college, and all of them had been fantastic. I had been in love. I knew I was in love with my wife, Laura, in a moment that was so special and cinematic that you would only see it in movies or read it in stories. I looked at her and it was only the second weekend that we were together. We were on the beach and we had been laying down for a while hanging out. She just sort of popped up, she ran out into the ocean, she was splashing around and started running back and forth. I just remember looking at her and thinking, "Wow. This is a moment I don’t want to ever forget and I’m in love with this woman." I never had that before. I never felt that moment where your heart just sort of says to your brain, "This is important. Don’t forget this." All of my past relationships have had incredible levels of intimacy and love, but somehow I guess I hadn’t quite met or wasn’t quite ready to meet the person who I would really click with in that way. Not love at first sight, but love at second or third sight. Allison Kugel: It's interesting and worth noting that the special moment you are talking about, there is no way that moment could have happened digitally or virtually, right? Nev Schulman: That is true. Allison Kugel: That was an in-the-flesh moment. Nev Schulman: Yes, that was. Absolutely. Allison Kugel: What is your biggest regret and how did you process and deal with it? Nev Schulman: I had a friend who I met in kindergarten and we became best friends up through middle school and high school. Sophomore year of college we were working on a film project together and got into a stupid argument and ended up getting into a physical altercation. After that fight things just weren’t the same, and it also created some tension because my brother and my friend's brother, we were all friends. Our families were friends. It was just an unfortunate experience and I didn’t really talk to him for a while. It was super important because it taught me an incredibly valuable lesson that I needed in order to understand myself better. It taught me about getting a better sense of control over my emotions and my temper. It forever changed my friendship with him and we're not close the way we used to be, even fifteen years later. It’s a bummer, but it was just like getting catfished, in that a bad experience changed my life and my path in a way that I’m so grateful for, but I definitely miss my friend. Allison Kugel: And, on a brighter note, what is your single greatest sense of pride? Nev Schulman: One version of this answer is everyday there are a million small moments that make up a relationship. In my situation, I would say my marriage and my family. I think my choice to commit to my wife, to start our family. Everyone is going through difficult times lately, but to really be committed to my family gives me a tremendous sense of accomplishment. It’s not easy all the time. Sometimes it’s really hard, but it's something that gets more and more valuable and fulfilling every day. The new season of Catfish: The TV Show premieres with all-virtual episodes, August 5th at 8/7c on MTV. Photos courtesy of MTV. Allison Kugel is a syndicated entertainment columnist and author of the memoir, Journaling Fame: A memoir of a life unhinged and on the record. Follow on Instagram @theallisonkugel and at AllisonKugel.com.

Lady Gaga launches "Gaga Radio" on Apple Music! The inspiration for Lady Gaga's hyperactive NUMBER ONE ALBUM Chromatica came from one magical place: the dance floor. Now, every Friday on her brand new GAGA RADIO show on Apple Music, she honors the larger-than-life genre of dance music by speaking with the DJs, divas, and producers who inspired her and who helped bring Chromatica to life. And each episode will include an exclusive DJ mix from one of Gaga's guests. It's a celebration of dance music when we need it most. "The last few weeks I've been figuring out different ways at home that I can be of service to what I would call the singular global community, one that I believe to be kind in nature, one that I believe to be very special to my heart and I believe to the hearts of many," Gaga said. "And so I've been thinking of all the ways that I can be someone that contributes to the society and the world. I'm super thrilled, excited to have this show and this opportunity to play an incredible mix of music every week..." Lady Gaga: I felt a much more like mental, emotional release with that record where I feel like I kind of was like, goodbye. Like I love you and goodbye, and everything that I've put inside of you, all of the thoughts, all of the music, all the sound, everything that I've left inside of you, I'd like for you to go out into the world, and I would like you to never come inside of me again. BloodPop: Yeah. It was definitely on some level, like an exorcism. Lady Gaga: Chromatica for me, was the portal that you and I opened in the studio where we would open the portal and I'd go, "Okay, talent, creativity, voice from above, sign from above, come inside me, tell me what to say, tell me what to do," and most all of it was what I was truly feeling. There was really only two things that could happen to me on any given day. I could either write a song and you'd be there to capture it, or I'd be upstairs on the porch and I wouldn't write the song. I would just stare into the open sky and chain smoke cigarettes and cry. (silence). Lady Gaga: What's your favorite memory on making Chromatica with me? Even though I feel like we're still making it BloodPop: I think maybe the first time we played you Rain On Me with the new bass line. Because you had come to the point where you're like, "The name of the album is Chromatica. I'm finishing it. I'm doing this, I'm doing that," and you were just fully geared up ready to go to Chromatica. Then we did this major change. We weren't sure if you were going to ... Because it was quite a big change and ... Lady Gaga: It was a huge change. BloodPop: I just remember you playing it super loud and you're like, "That bass line. The bass line" That was a good day, and you and Ari cutting Rain On Me and you're like, "What if you tried this take with some dancing?" She was like, "Huh?" Lady Gaga: She was like, "Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Gaga, Gaga, Gaga. Oh my god, Gaga." BloodPop: That was amazing too. By ML Staff. Courtesy of BB Gun Press

As students head back to school virtually, in person, or both, Westfield Broward is asking for the public’s help to ensure that those who need school supplies will be well-equipped! With its Stuff the Bus School Supply Drive and Tax-Free Weekend Shopping (including a gift with purchase), Westfield Broward is pleased to support the local community. Thousands of Broward County’s most in-need students are at risk of starting the new school year without the critical supplies they need to be set up for academic success. During the unprecedented circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, support for students is needed now more than ever. WHO: Stuff the Bus School Supply Drive: Westfield Broward will partner with The Pantry of Broward and Y100 to conduct a month-long drop-off supply drive. Items needed are backpacks, paper, tissues, hand sanitizers and masks, calculators (regular and scientific), folders (binders and prongs), USB flash drives, protractors and compasses, tabbed dividers, index cards, highlighters (yellow), pencils and pencil sharpeners, crayons and markers, and headphones. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/309HI5K. Tax-Free Weekend (gift with purchase): During tax-free weekend (Aug. 7–9), shoppers will receive a $25 Westfield Reward Card when they spend $250 at Westfield Broward. Westfield Reward Cards can be used for future visits to H&M, Francesca’s, Foot Locker, Hollister, Cajun Boil, Buffalo Wild Wings and The Whole Enchilada. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/30X4o8y. Tax-free weekend allows shoppers to save Florida’s 6% sales tax, plus local tax, on the following items: Clothing and apparel costing $60 or less per item School supplies and related items costing $15 or less per item The first $1,000 for personal computers and related accessories (non-commercial use only) For more information, visit: https://bit.ly/336sRuB. WHEN: Stuff the Bus School Supply Drive: Friday, July 24–Monday, Aug. 24; 11 a.m.–7 p.m. every day Tax-Free Weekend: Friday, Aug. 7–Sunday, Aug. 9 WHERE: Westfield Broward 8000 W. Broward Blvd. Plantation, FL 33388 By ML Staff

We are thrilled to announce that the greatest tennis player of all-time –Roger Federer– graces Miami Living's latest issue, his first South Florida publication. The tennis superstar holds the historical record of 20 Grand Slam singles titles, numerous records, and is considered the most powerful sports star in the world. In this interview, Roger reveals his new business collaboration, his thoughts on COVID-19, his current rehab progress, and more. We have loaded this issue with a list of inspiring interviews. Dive into our intimate interview with the most successful Olympian there is, Michael Phelps. The most decorated swimmer of all-time, holding 28 medals, talks candidly about his struggles during his career, emotional health, fame, and his HBO documentary, The Weight of Gold. We also have interviews with actor-producer Sebastián Zurita, Grammy-nominated artist Cassadee Pope, and celebrity stylist Micaela Erlanger. Also inside, fashion, travel, luxury living, hot products and more. Click to launch and read Miami Living Magazine