On Sunday, Sept. 20, the Coconut Grove Business Improvement District will present Brunching in the Grove, a neighborhood-wide celebration bringing together the Grove’s restaurants, retailers, cocktails, live entertainment and walkable village atmosphere. And getting there will be easier, too. Visitors can enjoy $5 valet parking from 10 AM–3 PM at four convenient locations, making it easy to come for brunch and stay to shop, sip and explore the neighborhood. Restaurants, retailers, cocktails and live music come together on Sunday, Sept. 20, as Miami’s Brunch Capital invites visitors to brunch, sip, shop and stroll. Recognized as Miami’s Brunch Capital, Coconut Grove has built a reputation around leisurely weekend meals that often turn into an entire afternoon in the neighborhood. Brunching in the Grove invites locals and visitors to embrace that experience by making a reservation, dressing for the occasion and staying to shop, sip and explore. In the two weeks leading up to National Brunch Day, participating Coconut Grove retailers will offer special promotions and incentives designed to help visitors find their perfect brunch look. From fashion and accessories to finishing touches for a Sunday outing, the promotion creates an opportunity to begin the celebration before Sept. 20 arrives. On National Brunch Day, restaurants throughout Coconut Grove will welcome guests with options ranging from neighborhood favorites to special Miami Spice menus. Restaurants that do not traditionally serve brunch will also join the celebration by offering National Brunch Day cocktails, giving visitors even more places to stop as they make their way through the neighborhood. The festivities will extend into the streets, with live entertainment planned along McFarlane Road near Santander. The music will add to the energy in the center of the district and create a natural gathering place between brunch reservations, shopping and drinks. “Coconut Grove has earned its reputation as Miami’s Brunch Capital, but what makes brunch here so special is everything that happens alongside the eating experience,” said Mark Burns, executive director of the Coconut Grove BID. “You can find something to wear, meet friends for an incredible meal, hear music, grab a drink, wander into a shop and suddenly you’ve spent the whole day in the Grove. For National Brunch Day, we wanted to celebrate that entire experience and invite people to make a Sunday of it.” Brunching in the Grove is part of the Coconut Grove BID’s ongoing effort to connect the district’s businesses through experiences that encourage visitors to discover more of the neighborhood. By bringing together dining, shopping and entertainment, the event offers plenty of reasons to come for brunch and stay for the day. Visitors are encouraged to make brunch reservations in advance and follow Coconut Grove for announcements about participating restaurants, retailers and special offers. Brunching in the Grove Date: Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026 Location: Coconut Grove Business District Details: coconutgrove.com By ML Staff. Photos/Coconut Grove BID

Image by DepositPhotos Finding the best commercial cleaning services in Gainesville, FL means sorting from two very different kinds of company. Some are residential cleaning crews that take the odd office on the side; a smaller group runs real janitorial cleaning programs for medical suites, campus buildings, and warehouses. A shared wall of five-star badges hides that split, so a facility manager has to look past the rating to see who is properly trained in commercial cleaning and who will be consistent in providing the commercial cleaning services a business needs. This guide ranks eight of Gainesville's strongest commercial cleaning companies by reviews, reputation, offering and commercial specialization. The table below highlights key metrics such as company specialties and service areas, with each provider’s offerings ranked and reviewed below. Gainesville commercial cleaning companies at a glance Company Google rating Specialties Service area Coverall® of Gainesville 5.0 (42 reviews) Commercial-only, Core 4® disinfection, medical, offices Gainesville, Alachua, Newberry Bosco Cleaning Services 5.0 (30 reviews) Offices, deep cleaning, post-construction Alachua County Shalom Infinity Services 5.0 (23 reviews) Offices, dental, gyms, retail Gainesville, Newberry, Alachua Pro-Care Janitorial Services 4.8 (18 reviews) Industrial, floor stripping, wax, hardwood Gainesville metro CC ProCleaners 5.0 (15 reviews) Janitorial, VCT floor care, carpet, tile Gainesville All Clean Everything 4.8 (12 reviews) Offices, medical, government, churches Gainesville, Ocala, Lake City Benchmark Commercial Cleaning 5.0 (7 reviews) Commercial-only cleaning Gainesville J & J Commercial Cleaning 5.0 (6 reviews) Offices, medical, warehouses, floor care Gainesville 1. Coverall of Gainesville Coverall of Gainesville leads on the one number a buyer can check before signing: a perfect 5.0 Google rating across 42 reviews, with every review rating the team five stars. The support center on NW 40th Terrace trains and backs local Franchise Business Owners who run recurring janitorial cleaning programs for offices, medical and dental suites, schools, retail, and industrial sites across Gainesville, Alachua, Newberry, Archer, Micanopy, and La Crosse. Cleaning follows Coverall's Core 4® Cleaning Process, a system built on CDC and AORN guidance that pairs hospital-grade disinfectants with color-coded microfiber, no-dip flat mops, and HEPA-filtered vacuums to cut cross-contamination. On-Demand and Preventative Maintenance options layer deep cleaning, floor care, and disinfecting on top of routine visits. The model centers on recurring commercial contracts, so a business that wants a one-time house clean should look elsewhere. 2. Bosco Cleaning Services Bosco Cleaning Services carries a 5.0 rating across 30 Google reviews and covers all of Alachua County from a base in southwest Gainesville. The crew handles office and janitorial work, deep cleans, and post-construction cleanup, and pitches itself on leaving a workspace that makes a good impression on staff and clients. That range is also the trade-off: Bosco splits its week between commercial accounts and residential jobs, including move-outs and vacation-rental turnovers, so a facility that wants a partner built around business contracts alone gets a crew with a foot in both markets. 3. Shalom Infinity Services Shalom Infinity Services is one of the few Gainesville shops that cleans commercial spaces and nothing else. The family-owned crew serves offices, retail, dental clinics, gyms, and studios across Gainesville, Newberry, Archer, Williston, Alachua, and Micanopy, with background-checked staff, bonded coverage, and a quote turned around inside a day. Dental accounts get hospital-grade disinfection, a sign the team knows regulated rooms. The public track record is still short, though: 23 Google reviews is a thinner history than the long-tenured names on this list, so references matter before a large contract. 4. Pro-Care Janitorial Services Pro-Care Janitorial Services holds a 4.8 rating over 18 reviews and brings more than a decade of work across Gainesville. Its strength sits in the hard jobs: heavy wax build-up removal and hardwood restoration without sanding, plus industrial facility sanitizing that many housekeeping-first crews won't touch. The company carries multi-million-dollar insurance and workers' compensation, which matters on larger sites. The catch is focus: parts of its service menu read residential, so a buyer should confirm the commercial and floor-care programs fit a full facility rather than a small office. 5. CC ProCleaners Run by owners Carla and Wendy since 2006, CC ProCleaners earns a 5.0 across 15 Google reviews and treats each account with an owner's attention. Daily, weekly, and monthly janitorial service anchors the business, backed by a deep bench in floor care: strip-and-wax on VCT, hot-water carpet extraction, and grout sealing. The team is small, which keeps quality close to the owners but can stretch coverage for a client that needs several buildings serviced on the same night. 6. All Clean Everything All Clean Everything has cleaned North Central Florida businesses since 1983, and the woman-owned company covers a 75-mile radius that reaches Gainesville, Ocala, and Lake City. Its client roster runs deep for a local shop: offices, churches, government buildings, banks, hospitals, labs, and medical facilities, all served by bonded and insured crews. The Google presence understates that history at 12 reviews, so the star rating rests on a smaller sample than the tenure suggests. The menu also stretches into roof and pressure washing, a breadth that suits some buyers and dilutes focus for others. 7. Benchmark Commercial Cleaning Services Benchmark Commercial Cleaning Services has focused on business accounts since 2014 and holds a 5.0 across its 7 Google reviews, with a plainspoken pitch of getting the job right the first time and every time. For a company that wants a dedicated commercial crew without a big-brand overlay, it makes a reasonable shortlist candidate. The public footprint is light, though: 7 reviews and a lean website give a buyer less to verify than the deeper records higher on this list, so ask for commercial references. 8. J & J Commercial Cleaning Services J & J Commercial Cleaning Services ranks first in Gainesville's organic search results and has run as a family business since 2005. The company keeps all cleaners on payroll rather than subcontracting, carries full insurance and bonding, and serves offices, medical suites, warehouses, churches, manufacturers, and schools, plus strip-and-wax and post-construction jobs. Its Google count sits at 6 reviews despite that visibility, a thin public record for a shop this established, and the same crew also takes apartment turnovers, so commercial scheduling can share time with residential work. What's driving commercial cleaning demand in Gainesville Gainesville's cleaning needs track a college-and-healthcare economy more than a corporate office district, and the strongest local providers plan around it. Three pressures stand out in 2026: Campus and student housing turnover. The University of Florida and Santa Fe College, their clinics, and other facilities, push demand toward cleaning companies that can handle turnover work and recurring service on an academic calendar. A dense healthcare corridor. UF Health and the region's hospital systems anchor a large medical market, where documented disinfection between patients marks the difference between a highly trained commercial cleaning company and other providers not equipped to handle these environments. . Heat, humidity, and storm season. Florida moisture raises mold and indoor-air concerns, so more Gainesville facilities ask for HEPA-filtered vacuuming, hard-floor care, and disinfecting on a set schedule. How to choose a commercial cleaning company in Gainesville Confirm insurance and bonding. Florida doesn't issue a specific state license for commercial cleaning, so ask for current proof of general liability insurance and a bond, which protect your building against damage or theft. Weigh commercial focus over the star number. A 5.0 built on a few house cleans tells a facility manager less than a steady record of office and medical work. Read review depth, not the rating alone. A score backed by dozens of reviews, like Coverall's 42, signals a track record that a handful of ratings can't match. Check coverage and backup crews. Confirm the company serves your address across Alachua County and can send relief staff when a regular cleaner is out. Choosing the best commercial cleaning in Gainesville, FL for 2026 Gainesville's commercial cleaning market is wide but shallow on verified proof: plenty of capable crews, few with a review record deep enough to settle the question on evidence alone. The right choice comes down to your building and how much checked history you want behind the people who hold the keys. Coverall of Gainesville takes the top spot because it turns that question into numbers: a perfect 5.0 across 42 Google reviews, local Franchise Business Owners, and the Core 4® Cleaning Process delivered consistent across industries. For offices, clinics, and campus facilities that want commercial-grade cleaning with a track record they can verify, Coverall is the clearest pick in Gainesville for 2026. Commercial cleaning in Gainesville: common questions How much does commercial cleaning cost in Gainesville, FL? Pricing depends on square footage, how often the space needs service, and the type of facility. Most Gainesville providers quote after an on-site walkthrough instead of posting a flat rate. Medical and industrial sites that need documented disinfection run higher than a standard office. A free walkthrough is the fastest route to an accurate figure for your building. Do commercial cleaning companies in Florida need a license? Florida doesn't issue a specific state license for commercial cleaning, so there's no single credential to ask for. What matters is proof of general liability insurance and a bond, which protect your business if a cleaner damages property or something goes missing. Reputable Gainesville operators carry both and will share current certificates on request. Workers' compensation coverage is worth confirming for larger sites where crews work after hours. What's included in a commercial cleaning service? A standard commercial cleaning plan covers restrooms, floors, common areas, break rooms, trash removal, and frequently-touched area such as door handles and light switches. Many Gainesville providers add carpet and hard-floor care, window cleaning, disinfecting, and day-porter staffing for busy buildings. Coverall of Gainesville bundles recurring janitorial service with On-Demand and Preventative Maintenance options, so periodic deep cleans and floor work sit under the same agreement. The exact scope gets set in the service contract after a walkthrough. How do you choose the best commercial cleaning company in Gainesville? Start with what you can verify: current insurance and bonding, plus a review record with real depth behind the rating. Match the company's focus to your space, since a crew built around offices and medical suites brings different training than a residential cleaning service. Confirm it covers your part of Alachua County and can send backup staff when needed. Coverall of Gainesville ranks first here for pairing a perfect 5.0 rating across 42 reviews with a commercial-only service model. By ML Staff. Image courtesy of DepositPhotos

To the untrained eye, the Florida scrub ecosystem isn’t much to look at. Scattered in patches around coastal and inland Florida, the scrub landscape is dominated by shrubs and short oaks, all growing out of sandy soil. For decades, the Florida sack-bearer moth was hiding in plain sight among collections of other sack-bearer moths around the U.S. Ryan St Laurent “Scrub” is truly an apt name for it. But this habitat is home to a number of unique plant and animal species, including the threatened Florida scrub-jay, the only bird found only in Florida. The list of specialized scrub animals grew longer this spring when I officially named – and found in the wild – a species of moth unique to the Florida scrub. I’m an evolutionary biologist and entomologist, serving as curator of entomology at the University of Colorado Boulder Museum of Natural History. In March 2026 I, along with my collaborators, Scott Wehrly and Jeff Slotten, published an article in ZooKeys describing this new moth from the Florida scrub. I colloquially refer to it as the “Florida sack-bearer,” but it’s formally known as Cicinnus albarenicolus, Latin for “white sand dweller.” The name “sack-bearer” indicates that it belongs to a small family of moths known as Mimallonidae whose caterpillars make sacklike cases that they haul around, kind of like the way a hermit crab carries around a shell. There are just over 300 sack-bearer species, with only six, including our new one, known from North America. Florida scrub makes up 70% of Ocala National Forest. Ryan St Laurent The discovery The recent publication of our scientific paper was the first time the scientific community learned of the moth’s existence, but it is the culmination of more than a decade of work. I have been studying sack-bearers throughout my professional career, which started as an undergraduate at Cornell University, where I worked in the Cornell University Insect Collection. It was in this collection that a small sample of sack-bearer moths collected in Florida, with a chunky body and pink-hued wings spanning about 1.25-1.5 inches (3-4 centimeters) – medium size for a moth – caught my eye. I began to wonder whether perhaps this moth was a separate species of sack-bearer, because it looked quite different from the more beige-colored Melsheimer’s sack-bearer that is common all over the eastern United States, including Florida. But I did not yet have enough data to substantiate my theory. Then as a graduate student at the University of Florida, I delved into learning more about sack-bearer evolution. Whenever I had a free moment, I spent time in the field looking for wild individuals of the still-unnamed Florida sack-bearer. But still, no luck. Then I spent three years as a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Even though I was primarily working on a completely different group of moths, I had not forgotten about the Florida moth. And there, in the Smithsonian collections, I found a single specimen of a Florida sack-bearer from 1960. Fortunately, it was a recent enough specimen to yield a good DNA sample. This allowed me to get the final piece of information that I was looking for: a DNA sequence to confirm that this moth was distinct from its relatives. The genetic results were unequivocal: The Florida species was clearly distinct, thus confirming my long-held suspicions that this was a new, undescribed species of moth. This was the final piece of information I needed to start writing the paper formally describing and naming the new moth. The author used a special light to attract the moth in the wild. Photo by Jeffrey Slotten Encounter in the wild As excited as I was to describe a new species, I feared that the moth might already be extinct, since no recent specimens existed and the Florida scrub habitat is highly degraded, down to about 10% of what ecologists estimate was present prior to European settlement. But I contacted various moth collectors in Florida to see whether anyone had seen this moth recently, and to my surprise one of them had. The co-authors on the Zookeys paper, Jeff Slotten and Scott Wehrly, helped me discover a small set of specimens from the 2010s and 2020s that Scott had collected. This discovery, in late 2025, allowed me to add some new specimens to the paper and update the text reporting this newly discovered collection of more contemporary samples of Florida sack-bearers. Knowing that all sightings of this moth occurred between March and May, I traveled to Florida in April. I was hoping to see it for myself and learn more about its active times, habitat requirements, diet, mating habits and other aspects of its biology – all still completely unknown. Since the recent specimens were all male, I set the goal to find a female, which would be the first one seen in over 60 years. Finding a female would also be an opportunity to collect eggs. On April 18, 2026, I traveled to a new site that I had scoped out back in grad school, and sure enough, at 8:49 p.m., I found a female at my specialized moth light trap. This female was followed by two others, and I was able to collect eggs. Hopefully this summer these will yield a bunch of caterpillars so my colleagues and I can observe the moth’s full life cycle and learn more about this elusive insect. What makes the Florida sack-bearer so special? Without knowing more about it, it’s challenging to articulate what this moth’s larger role in the ecosystem might be. And that is precisely why this discovery is important. One possibility that is already becoming clear is that this species may be an excellent indicator of Florida scrub health and how different forest management techniques affect the scrub ecosystem. My recent field work indicates that this particular moth may be thriving in areas experiencing more recent and frequent prescribed burns, but this hypothesis needs further study. My hope is that studying this moth will give a better sense of how to manage scrubs in order to protect this and other species with similar habitat requirements. The evolution of the Florida sack-bearer also remains a puzzle. Just how did it get to Florida in the first place? White sand scrubs are thought to be older than yellow sand scrubs of Florida and are formed from ancient sand dunes. Perhaps the Florida sack-bearer is an ancient relic of a time when Florida was very different from today. By studying this moth and its distribution in the state, we may better understand how sack-bearers arrived in North America from Central and South America millions of years ago. The author found a female Florida sack-bearer in the wild. Ryan St Laurent What’s in a name? In total, only 19 specimens of the Florida sack-bearer were known to me at the time of its formal description. Only three of those were collected after 1964, and those all came from locations near Ocala, Florida. The other 13 specimens are from just five white sand scrub habitats scattered across peninsular Florida. While the news that the moth persists in at least a couple of places is welcome, sites that supported this moth back in the 1960s may no longer have enough scrub habitat due to substantial habitat loss. It’s possible that this moth has been discovered just in time to realize it’s at risk of going extinct. But my hope is that by naming this rare moth, our team has enabled conservationists and legislators to fight for its protection. Words by Ryan St Laurent, Assistant Professor of Biology, University of Colorado Boulder. Special thanks for The Conversation. Support and donate today.

The case against social media has gotten so well rehearsed that most people can easily merge it into ordinary conversation: It makes people lonely. It sorts them into camps. It hands them a room full of people who already agree with them and calls that a community. A group of regulars meet at the Harford dog park in Radnor, Pa. Kevin B. Johnson, CC BY-NC-SA I’ve given this speech myself, with feeling, having read my phone notifications in the host’s powder room 11 minutes earlier. I am a pediatrician, health communicator and researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, and diagnosing is in my blood. Two decades of research, a surgeon general’s advisory on loneliness and Meta’s recent settlement of up to US$17 billion, pending court approval, all describe the same thing. What we recite are the symptoms. The more interesting question is what these symptoms diagnose. Simply put, our dependency on social media creates a deficiency disease. It’s not something toxic we’re ingesting; it is something our lives online have stopped us from receiving. I figured out that cost while standing in a field in Harford Park with a dog leash wrapped around my ankles. The author sits with Chaz, his soft-coated Wheaten Terrier. Kevin B. Johnson, CC BY-NC-SA A corner bar without the alcohol Harford Park in Wayne, Pennsylvania, is 30 acres of rolling grass and mature trees the township designated for off-leash dogs in 1997. I go most afternoons. So do the same 15 or 20 people, which is how I ended up tangled in someone else’s very long leash on a Tuesday, concentrating hard enough on my own feet that I stopped talking and just listened. Two conversations were running at once. In one, a regular who is having a rough year was getting gently harassed about the weight he’d put on against his doctors’ advice — first by me, then by three other people who piled on uninvited. In the other, someone was arguing about Dr. Anthony Fauci, and the regulars chimed in on both sides. Gossip, complaints and dogs greeting dogs became the backdrop. As I worked to free my ankles, it clicked: The dog park, like the local knitting club or the Saturday pickleball group, does the job a corner bar used to do. There are regulars and running jokes, and once a person is known, a spot in the conversation is reserved for them. What makes these places work is that a shared focus on one small part of a life opens into something fuller. Regulars may share a taste in dog breeds or beer, but they are not colleagues, political soulmates or relatives. They differ on favorite restaurants, income, age, religion, values and beliefs. They are together because a golden retriever and a nervous rescue mutt need to run in the morning, and there is a field nearby. Chance encounters can increase empathy Sociologist Ray Oldenburg called places like this third places and defined them as “public places that host the regular, voluntary, informal, and happily anticipated gatherings of individuals beyond the realms of home and work.” Oldenburg noted the erosion of places that once manufactured accidental encounters, such as main streets, neighborhood pubs, general stores and even the drugstore soda fountain. Off-leash parks have been among the fastest-growing amenities in U.S. city park systems for two decades. A study in the Journal of Urban Affairs found dog park users reported higher social capital and neighborhood cohesion. The park is not a utopia. It’s a corner bar without the booze. Thomas Pettigrew and Linda Tropp’s meta-analysis of 515 studies provides the best evidence for why these accidental connections matter. They found that contact between groups generally reduces prejudice, but the quality and circumstances of that contact matter. The more interesting finding came later, when they tested how it works: The effect runs less through learning facts about the other group than through reduced anxiety, more empathy and more perspective. That is exactly what the park does. The man I disagree with about nearly everything hasn’t changed his mind, and neither have I. What changed is that his politics is now maybe the eighth thing I know and appreciate about him, behind his dog’s bad hip, his sense of humor, the awful year he had and his love of what Philadelphians call “wooder ice.” That shift, from opinions to a person, is why “just show people the other side” keeps failing online. When sociologist Christopher Bail and colleagues paid Republicans and Democrats to follow bots representing the views of the opposite party on Twitter, the Republicans came out substantially more conservative than they went in. Democrats shifted slightly left, though not significantly. Exposure to opinions is not the same thing as exposure to a person. The feed gave people arguments. The corner bar gives people other people. A dog park is a third place, like the neighborhood corner bar, where dogs instead of alcohol serve as a social lubricant. Kevin B. Johnson Making room for tolerance and trust If the places people gather shape their health, as a growing body of research suggests, then the shift from communities set by geography to communities assembled by algorithm creates a slow burn of intolerance and mistrust. There are now decades of research on social media and anxiety, and a growing body of experimental work about what algorithmic curation does to what people see. Almost none of it treats the encounter pattern as a health exposure. Social platforms have mastered what German American sociologist Herbert Gans called selective homogeneity. They sort people by interests, identities, tastes and grievances, then make it easy to stay among people who feel familiar. They are like virtual Levittowns – the postwar suburban developments outside Philadelphia, among other places in the Northeast, where thousands of identical houses went up on farmland and were sold to buyers screened by price. In early Levittowns, covenants barred Black families outright. In 1958, Gans moved into a Levittown in New Jersey and stayed two years doing research on its residents. He found that although original settlers and those who moved in by choice were happy, their rebellious teenage offspring, who had the fewest places to go and the least to do in those communities, were not. This was an early, real-life sorting of the type that algorithms would make all too common 60 years later. By contrast, repeated, low-stakes, in-person contact like the interactions between regulars at a dog park or corner bar creates room for tolerance and trust. People come back. They notice an absence. They share attention around a task, a place or a dog, rather than around presenting themselves or defending a position. Deficiency diseases are easily treatable. Nothing has to be taken away; instead, something has to be given back. Dog parks do more than give dogs space to exercise and socialize, they bring pet owners together, creating opportunities to meet fellow dog lovers and build a sense of community. Check out Miami Living's top 10 dog parks in Miami. Words by Kevin B. Johnson, Professor of Pediatrics, Biomedical Informatics and Science Communication, University of Pennsylvania. Special thanks for The Conversation. Support and donate today.

Did you know that luxury watches have become much more than instruments for telling time? I’ve always found it fascinating that something created for such a practical purpose could evolve into a form of self-expression, a symbol of status, and, in some cases, even a piece of history. And I thought you might like to know that some of the world’s most valuable watches have stories that are just as interesting, and sometimes remarkable, as their price tags. Take the famous Patek Philippe Supercomplication, commissioned by American banker and legendary collector Henry Graves Jr. in the 1930s. It took years to create and featured 24 complications, making it one of the most complex mechanical watches ever produced. Today’s collectors often look for rare gemstones, exceptional craftsmanship, limited production, and provenance, especially when a watch has an auction history. All of these elements can turn a timepiece into a multimillion-dollar collector’s piece. To give you a closer look, I’ve put together a selection of some of my favorite expensive watches. 10. Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 in Stainless Steel — $17.6 Million Photo Credit: Patek Philippe Steel Watches by John Goldberger Introduced in 1941, the Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 was the world's first serially produced perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch. Only four stainless-steel examples are publicly known. One sold at Phillips in Geneva in November 2025 for CHF 14.19 million, or approximately $17.6 million, making it the most expensive vintage Patek Philippe wristwatch ever sold at auction. 9. Rolex Daytona “Paul Newman” Ref. 6239 — $17.75 Million Photo Credit: "Paul Newman" Rolex Daytona Reference 6239/Fortuna Paul Newman's personal Rolex Daytona Ref. 6239 sold at Phillips in New York for $17,752,500 in 2017. Given to Newman by his wife, Joanne Woodward, the stainless-steel watch features the inscription “Drive Carefully Me” on its caseback. The sale set a world record for a wristwatch at auction at the time, before being surpassed by Patek Philippe's Grandmaster Chime in 2019. 8. Jacob & Co. Billionaire Timeless Treasure — $20 Million Photo Credit: Jacob & Co (Official Media) The Jacob & Co. Billionaire Timeless Treasure combines high jewelry with mechanical watchmaking. Unveiled in 2023 with a reported $20 million price, the unique piece features 425 yellow diamonds totaling 216.89 carats, along with 76 tsavorites. Its skeletonized tourbillon movement is housed in an 18-karat yellow-gold case and provides a 72-hour power reserve. 7. Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication — $24 Million Photo Credit: Hodinkee Commissioned by New York financier Henry Graves Jr., the Patek Philippe Henry Graves Supercomplication was completed in 1933 after years of development. The pocket watch contains 24 complications, including a celestial chart showing the night sky above Graves' Manhattan home. It sold for CHF 23.2 million at Christie's Geneva in 2014, setting a record for the most expensive timepiece ever sold at auction at the time. 6. Chopard 201-Carat Watch — $25 Million Photo Credit: Chopard/Press Release The Chopard 201-Carat Watch is as much a piece of high jewelry as it is a timepiece. It contains 874 diamonds totaling 201 carats, including pink, blue, and white center stones. Three heart-shaped diamonds open with a spring-loaded mechanism to reveal the watch dial, while the reported $25 million value reflects the extraordinary collection of gemstones used in its design. 5. Jaeger-LeCoultre Joaillerie 101 Manchette — $26 Million Photo Credit: Jaeger-LeCoultre (Official Media) The Jaeger-LeCoultre Joaillerie 101 Manchette combines a bracelet covered in diamonds with the brand's historic Calibre 101 movement. Created in 1929, the Calibre 101 is one of the smallest mechanical movements ever made. The jewelry version is reported to contain 576 diamonds and carries a reported value of approximately $26 million. 4. Breguet Grande Complication No. 160 “Marie-Antoinette” — Approximately $30 Million Photo Credit: Breguet (Official Media) Breguet No. 160, better known as the “Marie-Antoinette,” is one of the most famous watches in horological history. Commissioned in 1783 by an unidentified admirer, the pocket watch was completed in 1827 and contains an extensive collection of complications. Its frequently reported $30 million value is an estimate, not the result of a confirmed public sale. 3. Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A — $38 Million Photo Credit: Hodinkee Created as a unique stainless-steel watch for the 2019 Only Watch charity auction, the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300A sold for 31 million Swiss (USD 38 million) francs in Geneva. The watch features 20 complications and a reversible double-sided case, including a grande sonnerie, minute repeater, alarm, and perpetual calendar. Its auction result remains the highest confirmed price ever paid for a watch at public auction. 2. Graff Diamonds The Fascination — $40 Million Photo Credit: Graff / Graff Diamonds The Graff Diamonds Fascination was unveiled in 2015 with a reported value of $40 million. Covered in 152.96 carats of white diamonds, the watch features a 38.13-carat pear-shaped diamond at its center that can be removed and worn as a ring. The reported $40 million figure represents its stated value rather than a documented auction sale. 1. Graff Diamonds Hallucination — $55 Million Photo Credit: Graff Diamonds The Graff Diamonds Hallucination was unveiled at Baselworld in 2014 with a reported price of $55 million. Its platinum bracelet is covered with 110 carats of rare colored diamonds in shades of pink, yellow, blue, green, and orange. The stones were individually selected and hand-set, creating a piece that combines high jewelry with traditional watchmaking. The $55 million figure is a reported valuation rather than a confirmed auction price. By ML Staff.

French fragrance house Parfums de Marly expands its collection with Valero Extrait de Parfum, a woody fougère fragrance that combines citrus freshness with warm woods and aromatic notes. Opening with bergamot, cédrat, and juniper, the scent evolves into a heart of Bourbon geranium, lavender, cypress, and nutmeg before settling into a base of patchouli, sandalwood, and ambrox. The composition is designed to deliver a refined balance between freshness and depth while maintaining a clean, contemporary character. At the center of Valero is ambrox, an ingredient known for adding warmth and longevity, paired with lavender and Bourbon geranium to preserve the classic fougère structure. The fragrance reflects Parfums de Marly’s approach to modern perfumery by blending traditional aromatic accords with a more textured and long-lasting finish. The brand is also offering a complimentary 5 ml scented miniature with purchases of the fragrance in 75 ml, 125 ml, and 200 ml formats. Fragrance Notes Top notes: Bergamot, cédrat, juniper Heart notes: Bourbon geranium, lavender, cypress, nutmeg Base notes: Patchouli, sandalwood, ambrox Fragrance family: Woody fougère Available sizes: 75 ml, 125 ml, 200 ml To learn more, visit www.parfums-de-marly.com. By ML Staff. Images courtesy of Parfums de Marly.

For our four-legged companions, we bring you a few options to explore. From dog-friendly parks to scenic beaches, there’s no shortage of places where both you and your furry friends can enjoy the sunshine together. Dog parks are great spaces for dogs to exercise, socialize, and enjoy fresh air while their owners connect with fellow dog lovers. Here, Miami Living brings you a roundup of our favorite dog parks! Photo Credit: Ron fung/Unsplash 1. Amelia Earhart Dog Park This expansive park offers large open spaces where dogs can run freely. There are separate sections for small and large dogs, agility equipment, and plenty of shade to escape the Miami heat. Amelia Earhart Dog Park is part of the larger Amelia Earhart Park, which features lakes and bike trails. The dog park has ample seating for pet owners and water fountains for both dogs and humans. Location: 401 E 65th St, Hialeah, FL 33013 Size: 5 acres Driving Directions: Google Map it! Open Hours: Daily, sunrise to sunset Photo Credit: Top Dog Parks 2. Blanche Park The park is located in Coconut Grove, and its small size makes it perfect for quick visits. It’s known for being well-maintained, with an artificial turf that keeps the area clean and dry. It's a fenced-in dog park that offers a grassy area for dogs to run off-leash. There’s also shaded seating for pet owners. Location: 3045 Shipping Ave, Miami, FL 33133 Size: 0.6 acres Driving Directions: Google Map it! Open Hours: Daily, 7:00 AM - 9:00 PM Photo Credit: Wen-Ju C./Yelp 3. David T. Kennedy Dog Park Located along the waterfront in Coconut Grove, this park offers beautiful views of Biscayne Bay. It’s part of the larger David T. Kennedy Park, which includes walking trails and picnic areas, perfect for a full day out with your dog. This park has separate areas for large and small dogs, agility equipment, and shaded seating. Location: 2400 S Bayshore Dr, Miami, FL 33133 Size: 1 acre Driving Directions: Google Map it! Open Hours: Daily, 7:00 AM - 10:00 PM Photo Credit: Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau 4. Haulover Beach Dog Park Haulover Beach Dog Park is one of the few parks in Miami that offers dogs access to the beach. Off-leash hours for the beach are 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Be sure to check the schedule for any changes to the dog beach hours. Fenced-in play areas for small and large dogs, complete with water fountains and dog-friendly beach access during specific hours. Location: 10800 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33154 Size: 1.5 acres Driving Directions: Google Map it! Open Hours: Daily, 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM Photo Credit: Urban Dog 5. Margaret Pace Park Dog Park Situated in the heart of downtown Miami, Margaret Pace Park offers stunning views of Biscayne Bay. It’s perfect for those living in or visiting the city’s high-rise areas. Separate sections for small and large dogs, artificial turf, shaded seating, and water fountains. Location: 1745 N Bayshore Dr, Miami, FL 33132 Size: 0.6 acres Driving Directions: Google Map it! Open Hours: Daily, 7:00 AM - 10:00 PM Photo Credit: SYN Lawn 6. Peacock Park Dog Park This dog park is part of the larger Peacock Park, a waterfront area popular with families. The dog section is fenced and well-maintained, with access to nearby walking paths along Biscayne Bay. The park has a small off-leash area with benches and plenty of shade for both dogs and owners Location: 2820 McFarlane Rd, Miami, FL 33133 Size: 0.4 acres Driving Directions: Google Map it! Open Hours: Daily, sunrise to sunset Photo Credit: City of Miami 7. Perrine Wayside Dog Park The Perrine Wayside Dog Park is known for being one of the best-maintained parks in the Miami area. It offers a natural setting with lots of trees and grassy areas, making it a peaceful escape from the city. It has large open areas for off-leash play, separate sections for small and large dogs, agility equipment, shaded seating, and water fountains. Location: 16425 S Dixie Hwy, Palmetto Bay, FL 33157 Size: 3 acres Driving Directions: Google Map it! Open Hours: Daily, sunrise to sunset Photo Credit: RDC Design Build 8. Tropical Park Dog Park Tropical Park Dog Park is part of the larger Tropical Park, which has extensive walking trails, picnic areas, and lakes, perfect for a full day of outdoor fun for your family and your pet. The park has two separate areas for large and small dogs, with plenty of space for running, playing, and socializing. It also includes agility courses and shaded areas for owners to sit. Location: 7900 SW 40th St, Miami, FL 33155 Size: 2 acres Driving Directions: Google Map it! Open Hours: Daily, sunrise to sunset Photo Credit: Miami Kidz 9. West Kendall District Dog Park West Kendall District Dog Park is one of the largest dog parks in Miami. It’s great for dogs that need space to run and burn off energy. It also offers nearby walking trails and recreational areas for humans. Fenced play areas for small and large dogs, agility equipment, and plenty of shaded seating for pet owners. Location: 11255 SW 157th Ave, Miami, FL 33196 Size: 6 acres Driving Directions: Google Map it! Open Hours: Daily, sunrise to sunset Photo Credit: Hachi Dog Grooming 10. Washington Avenue Bark Park Located near South Beach, the Washington Avenue Bark Park is great for locals and tourists alike. Its central location makes it accessible, and it’s within walking distance of many Miami Beach attractions. This park features separate sections for small and large dogs, artificial turf, and water fountains. Location: 201 2nd St, Miami Beach, FL 33139 Size: 0.5 acres Driving Directions: Google Map it! Open Hours: Daily, 7:00 AM - 10:00 PM Photo Credit: Ariel W./Yelp 11. Flamingo Park Dog Park (Bark Park) Located in the heart of Miami Beach, Flamingo Park offers a dedicated, fenced dog area that’s popular with locals. It’s a great option for daily exercise thanks to its central location and well-kept grounds. The park includes separate sections for small and large dogs, shaded seating for owners, and water fountains to help keep pets cool. Location: 999 11th St, Miami Beach, FL 33139 Size: Approximately 0.5 acres Driving Directions: Google Map it! Open Hours: Daily, 7:30 AM – sunset Photo Credit: Flamingo Park Bark Park / City of Miami 12. South Pointe Park Dog Area Situated at the southern tip of Miami Beach, South Pointe Park features a designated off-leash area for dogs during specific hours. The park is known for its ocean views, walking paths, and breezy open spaces. While the dog area is smaller than a traditional dog park, it’s ideal for controlled off-leash time in a scenic setting. Owners should be mindful of posted rules and time restrictions. Location: 1 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139 Size: Small designated area Driving Directions: Google Map it! Open Hours: Dog-friendly hours vary by day and season Photo Credit: South Pointe Park Dog Area / City of Miami 13. Normandy Isle Park & Pool Dog Park This neighborhood park in North Beach includes a fenced dog area that’s quieter and less crowded than South Beach options. It’s a favorite among locals looking for a relaxed environment. The dog park offers shaded benches, open turf for play, and a friendly community vibe, making it ideal for routine visits. Location: 7030 Trouville Esplanade, Miami Beach, FL 33141 Size: Approximately 0.4 acres Driving Directions: Google Map it! Open Hours: Daily, sunrise to sunset Photo Credit: Normandy Isle Park & Pool Dog Park / City of Miami 14. Allison Park Located in North Beach, Allison Park is part of Miami Beach’s Bark Park program and offers a dedicated off-leash area for dogs. Its calm, residential setting makes it ideal for daily visits and relaxed play. The park features a fenced dog area, shaded seating for owners, and water fountains, with the beach just steps away. Location: 6500 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33141 Size: Approximately 0.3 acres Driving Directions: Google Map it! Open Hours: Daily, sunrise to sunset Photo Credit: Allison Park / City of Miami 15. Bayshore Park Bayshore Park is a neighborhood green space in Mid-Beach, ideal for leashed dog walks and casual outdoor time. Its central location makes it a convenient stop for residents nearby. While not a dedicated dog park, it offers open lawns, shaded paths, and seating areas suitable for dog owners. Location: 2402 Pine Tree Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33140 Size: Approximately 1.1 acres Driving Directions: Google Map it! Open Hours: Daily, sunrise to sunset Photo Credit: Bayshore Park / City of Miami 16. Belle Isle Park Situated on Belle Isle, this park includes designated off-leash dog areas within a scenic island setting. It’s a favorite among locals for its quiet atmosphere and community feel. The park features two fenced dog runs, water fountains, walking paths, and shaded seating. Location: 5 Island Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139 Size: Approximately 0.4 acres Driving Directions: Google Map it! Open Hours: Daily, sunrise to sunset Photo Credit: Belle Isle Park / City of Miami 17. Canopy Park Canopy Park is a compact urban park in South Beach that includes a Bark Park area integrated into its landscaped design. Its location makes it especially convenient for nearby residents. The park offers a fenced dog area, benches, and surrounding greenery for a relaxed visit. Location: 701 West Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139 Size: Approximately 0.3 acres Driving Directions: Google Map it! Open Hours: Daily, sunrise to sunset Photo Credit: Canopy Park / City of Miami 18. Fairway Park Located near Normandy Shores, Fairway Park is known for its scenic surroundings and well-maintained Bark Park area. It’s a great choice for dogs that enjoy open space without large crowds. The park includes a fenced off-leash dog area, shaded seating, and nearby walking paths. Location: 1400 Biarritz Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33141 Size: Approximately 0.5 acres Driving Directions: Google Map it! Open Hours: Daily, sunrise to sunset Photo Credit: Fairway Park / City of Miami 19. North Beach Oceanside Park This expansive beachfront park in North Beach offers open green spaces and proximity to Bark Beach, making it a versatile destination for dog owners. Dogs are welcome on leash throughout the park, with off-leash play available in designated nearby areas. Location: 8328 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33141 Size: Approximately 28 acres Driving Directions: Google Map it! Open Hours: Daily, sunrise to sunset Photo Credit: North Beach Oceanside Park / City of Miami 20. Pine Tree Park Pine Tree Park is a quiet neighborhood park with open lawns and shaded paths, ideal for leashed dog walks and casual outings. It’s often used as a complementary stop before or after visiting nearby Bark Parks. Location: 4411 Pine Tree Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33140 Size: Approximately 1 acre Driving Directions: Google Map it! Open Hours: Daily, sunrise to sunset Photo Credit: Pine Tree Park / City of Miami ML Staff. Images credited in each featured park. to GIF by Peace,love,happiness from Pixabay. GIF by Marijana Jakelich from Pixabay

You probably think your commute costs you the price of a tank of gas every week. The real number is closer to $10,000 a year, once you count the depreciation, the repairs, the lost hours, and the quiet hit your stress levels take. That is not a dramatic guess. That is what the arithmetic looks like when you actually run it, and most people never do. So let's run it together. By the end of this piece, you will know the exact dollar figure your drive is pulling out of your pocket, how that compares to the national average, and four ways to shrink it starting tomorrow. You'll also see why that number explains a whole pile of decisions people make about where to live, what to drive, and when to leave the house. Image by DepositPhotos What the Average American Commute Looks Like The U.S. Census Bureau tracks commuting in detail, and its 2022 American Community Survey paints a pretty clear picture. The average one-way commute in America now sits at about 27 minutes, which means the typical worker spends nearly an hour a day going to work and back, roughly 225 hours a year. That is nine and a half full days every single year, just sitting in a seat. And here's the part that surprises most people: the drive is getting longer, not shorter. Working from home pulled some people off the road, but the people who still commute are traveling farther than they did a decade ago. The Census Bureau reported in 2023 that average commute times hit a record high, with travel times rising in nearly every large metro area. That matters because every extra minute on the road multiplies the costs below. A 20 minute drive and a 45 minute drive are not just different amounts of time. They are entirely different financial animals. The Real Dollar Figure: Depreciation, Gas, and Wear Here is where the honest math starts. The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks consumer spending carefully, and its 2023 Consumer Expenditure Survey found the average American household spends over $12,000 a year on transportation. That figure covers two cars, insurance, fuel, maintenance, and public transit, but it gives you a starting point for the scale of what you are dealing with. Break the number down for a single commuter and it looks like this: Cost Category Estimated Annual Cost for a 30-Mile Round Trip Gasoline (at ~$3.40/gallon, 25 mpg) $1,480 Depreciation (15,000 miles/year) $2,100 Maintenance and tires $850 Insurance (commuter share) $1,200 Parking and tolls $900 Total $6,530 See what happened there? Gas is the thing you feel every week at the pump, but it is barely a quarter of the real cost. Depreciation is the silent killer. Your car loses value with every mile you put on it, whether you feel that loss or not. That $2,100 is money you will never see again when you trade the car in. And that $6,530 figure is just the vehicle costs. It does not include the value of your time yet. That is where the number really climbs. The Hidden Cost Nobody Counts: Your Time Here is the part people refuse to calculate because it makes them uncomfortable. Your time has value. Your employer already knows this, which is why they pay you by the hour, but somehow you treat your commute time as worthless. Run the math on a 27 minute average commute. That is 54 minutes a day. Over 245 working days in a year, that is 220 hours. If you value your free time at just $20 an hour, which is conservative for anyone with a professional job, that is $4,400 in lost time every year. Add that to the vehicle costs and you are past $10,000. Every year. For the privilege of driving to a building. This is why the commute shows up in other decisions you might not connect to it. That person who moved closer to work and pays $300 more a month in rent? They are actually saving money. That coworker who hired a Denver car accident lawyer after a crash on I-25? Their commute cost them a lot more than gas money that morning. The distance you drive is not neutral. It is a financial decision you make every single morning. Four Ways to Cut Your Commute Costs This Month You cannot always move closer to work, but you can shrink these numbers without changing where you live. Here are the moves that actually work. 1. Track Your Real Costs for Two Weeks Stop guessing. Log your gas receipts, note your odometer readings, and write down every toll and parking charge for 14 days. You will have a real per-mile number, not an estimate. Most people discover their commute costs 30 percent more than they thought by week two. 2. Rethink Your Departure Time Leaving 20 minutes earlier can cut your drive time by 15 minutes on most metro routes, because you are dodging the peak of rush hour. That saves you gas, wear, and, most important, time. Set your alarm. It is the cheapest fix on this list. 3. Try Hybrid Work's Real Version Even if your employer demands five days a week, ask about shifting hours rather than days. Starting at 7 a.m. and leaving at 3 p.m. often cuts commute time dramatically while still giving the office the same eight hours. It costs the company nothing and saves you real money. 4. Trade Miles for Maintenance A car with properly inflated tires, fresh oil, and clean filters runs measurably more efficiently. The U.S. Department of Energy has long published data showing that proper tire pressure alone can improve fuel economy. That is a $10 fix that saves you hundreds a year. What Experts Say About the Cost of Driving Image by DepositPhotos Economists have been pointing at this math for years, and the numbers are not subtle about it. Speaking on the hidden costs of car ownership, transportation researcher Adie Tomer noted that the full cost of driving includes infrastructure, congestion, and health effects that individual drivers never see on a receipt, meaning the true price of your commute is even higher than the out-of-pocket figure. "When we talk about the cost of a commute, we almost always understate it. The visible costs are gas and parking. The invisible ones, time, stress, and depreciation, are often larger." He is right. The invisible costs are the ones this article has been circling, and they are the ones you can actually do something about. Putting It All Together The honest headline here is that your commute is probably costing you close to $10,000 a year, and the single largest piece of that number is your time. The gas is annoying. The depreciation is sneaky. But the 220 hours you spend in the car every year are hours you will never get back. That realization changes how you look at other driving decisions, too. A 10 minute detour to save $3 on gas is a bad deal. A 40 minute drive to save $50 on a purchase is a bad deal. A longer commute to a cheaper house might be a bad deal, once you actually price it out. So here is the question worth carrying into tomorrow morning: is your current drive worth the price you are paying for it? Not the price at the pump. The full price. And if the answer is no, what are you going to change? By ML Staff. Images courtesy of DepositPhotos

Miami Living’s picks for performing arts from September 15–22, featuring live performances including plays, ballet, musical theater, comedy, storytelling and more across the Miami metro area. Photo Credit: Debby Ledet/Unsplash The Moth StorySLAM: Nine to Five — September 17 Purchase Tickets First jobs, career ambitions and workplace adventures provide the material for The Moth’s Nine to Five StorySLAM at Sandrell Rivers Theater. This live storytelling competition invites participants to share true, personal five-minute stories, creating an evening shaped by the experiences and voices of the people onstage. Sam Jay — September 17 Purchase Tickets Sam Jay takes the stage at Miami Improv in Doral. Known for HBO’s Pause with Sam Jay and her Emmy-nominated writing on Saturday Night Live, the comedian offers an opportunity to catch a familiar television talent in a comedy club setting. Candlelight: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons — September 18 Purchase Tickets Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons anchors a candlelit concert at Hotel Colonnade Coral Gables. Performed by the Listeso String Quartet, the program offers an intimate setting for the composer’s vivid musical portraits of spring, summer, autumn and winter. Zoltan Kaszas — September 18 Purchase Tickets Zoltan Kaszas performs at Fort Lauderdale Improv in Dania Beach as part of his Worldwide(ish) Tour. Known for his observational humor and widely shared comedy about cats, the Hungarian-born comedian turns everyday experiences into stories that have earned him an audience through live performances and his Dry Bar specials. René Vaca — September 18 Purchase Tickets René Vaca appears at Miami Improv in Doral for an evening of stand-up. The San Fernando Valley comedian won the 16th annual StandUp NBC competition and appeared in Netflix’s Introducing lineup at the 2024 Netflix Is a Joke Festival, making this a chance for fans familiar with his online clips to experience a full club set. Nikki Glaser — September 18 Purchase Tickets Nikki Glaser’s The Stunning Tour stops at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood. The comedian and Golden Globes host is known for candid, adult-oriented stand-up and celebrity-roast appearances, making this a notable booking for readers seeking a major comedy headliner. Ada Vox: The Music in Me — September 18 Purchase Tickets Ada Vox presents The Music in Me at Gray Box Theater in Wilton Manors, pairing live vocals with stories about the songs and artists that shaped her career. The American Idol alum connects classic and contemporary selections with personal memories, giving the evening the feel of a musical autobiography. Pundonor — September 18–20 Purchase Tickets Argentine playwright and performer Andrea Garrote stars in Pundonor at the Arsht Center’s Carnival Studio Theater as part of the 40th International Hispanic Theatre Festival of Miami. The play follows a sociology professor whose return to the classroom exposes a personal crisis and raises questions about authority and power. The production is performed in Spanish. Daddy’s Home But My Husband Ain’t! — September 19 Purchase Tickets Family secrets, hidden relationships and divided loyalties collide in Daddy’s Home But My Husband Ain’t! at Sandrell Rivers Theater. Starring Arrington Foster, the stage production mixes comedy and domestic drama as unexpected revelations turn a family gathering into a confrontation with uncomfortable truths. Bedward The Musical — September 19–20 Purchase Tickets The Louise Bennett-Coverley Heritage Council presents Bedward The Musical at Lauderhill Performing Arts Center. Based on Louis Marriott’s work, the production explores Jamaican preacher Alexander Bedward’s life and movement through drama, choreography and music connected to Jamaica’s religious and cultural traditions. Diva Royale Drag Queen Show — September 19 Purchase Tickets Diva Royale fills Revenge Nightclub in Miami Beach with celebrity impersonations, elaborate costumes and theatrical drag performances. A rotating cast and South Beach nightclub setting make the show an option for readers looking to combine live entertainment with a lively Saturday evening out. By ML Staff. Photos courtesy of each performer

How do renters actually search for apartments today? Most prospective tenants move between several digital channels before ever scheduling a tour, comparing floor plans, checking reviews, browsing listings, and looking at a property's online presence. For multifamily marketers, that shift means a good website and a single ILS listing are no longer enough. Communities need a consistent presence across the channels renters actually use, with accurate information and messaging that makes it easy to move from initial interest to a property visit. Understanding where renters are looking is the first step toward building a stronger leasing strategy. Just How Spread Out Is the Renter Search Actually? It helps to ground this in real data rather than assumption. According to research covered by Multi-Housing News, 79% of surveyed renters visited a property's website during their search, while 75% visited an internet listing service. The survey also found that 71% checked a property's ratings and reviews, making online reputation another important part of the rental decision. Social media mattered too, with 42% of renters checking a property's social media profiles. That spread across four distinct channels is exactly why a single-channel marketing approach leaves so much potential reach on the table. A renter who never sees your Instagram presence but does check Google reviews is still a real prospect, just one your strategy needs to reach through a different door. The Core Channels Multifamily Marketing Needs to Cover A handful of specific digital touchpoints consistently show up in how renters actually search: The property website — often the first genuine impression a prospect forms, and the place they expect to find floor plans, pricing, and availability without friction Internet listing services (ILS) — platforms like Apartments.com and Zillow Rentals, where a huge share of renters start their search before a property's own website ever enters the picture Reviews and ratings — Google, Yelp, and ILS-embedded reviews that renters treat as a genuine trust signal, not an afterthought Social media — a smaller but meaningful share of renters check a community's Instagram or Facebook presence to get a feel for the property's personality and current residents Email and digital communication — useful channels for scheduling tours, answering questions, and staying connected with prospects Treating each of these as a genuine, maintained channel, rather than a box to check once during initial setup, is what actually captures the renters searching through each one. Why Consistency Across Channels Matters More Than Any Single One This is really the middle of what separates strong multifamily marketing from a scattered approach. A polished website paired with a neglected ILS listing, outdated photos, no floor plans, stale availability, sends a genuinely inconsistent impression, since a prospect comparing both will notice the gap immediately. The same applies to reviews: a community that responds thoughtfully to feedback on Google but ignores its Yelp presence entirely is only doing half the reputation work that actually matters to renters. To see how this comes together in practice, visit https://premieronlinemarketing.com/industries/multifamily/, which offers multifamily marketing strategies that combine SEO, paid media, content, creative, and web development. A coordinated approach across these channels can help property teams strengthen their online presence and make it easier for prospective renters to find and evaluate their communities. Making the Website the Anchor, Not an Afterthought Given that nearly 8 in 10 renters visit a property's website directly, that page deserves to function as the genuine hub tying every other channel together, not a static brochure updated once a year. Real-time availability, accurate floor plans, and current pricing matter enormously here, since a renter who finds outdated information on a website quickly loses trust in everything else the community claims elsewhere. Video and photo quality also carry real weight, since interior photos specifically influence renter decisions more than almost any other single piece of content available during a search. A website that treats visual content as a priority, rather than a formality, tends to hold a prospect's attention long enough to convert genuine interest into an actual tour request. Turning Reviews Into an Active Marketing Channel Reviews deserve more active management than most communities give them, given how directly they influence renter decisions. Encouraging satisfied residents to leave reviews, rather than only hearing from people motivated by a negative experience, helps build a review profile that actually reflects the overall resident experience. Responding to reviews, both positive and negative, signals to prospective renters that the community is genuinely paying attention, which matters considerably to someone deciding whether to trust a place they've never physically visited. ConclusioN Renters today move fluidly across a website, an ILS listing, a reviews page, and often a social media profile before ever picking up the phone or scheduling a tour, which means multifamily marketing built around a single dominant channel is missing a meaningful share of genuinely interested prospects. Building a consistent, actively maintained presence across each of these touchpoints, rather than treating any one of them as sufficient on its own, is what actually captures renters wherever they happen to be searching. For communities trying to fill vacancies faster and more predictably, meeting renters across the range of channels they already use has become an increasingly important part of a competitive digital marketing strategy. By ML Staff. Images generated with OpenAI.

For more than three decades, Joseph Ari’el Towne has occupied a fascinating space where performance, psychology, and human potential intersect. A high-performance coach to Olympic athletes, NFL players, Hollywood creatives, and Fortune 500 executives, Joseph has built a career helping people navigate the fears, pressures, and invisible barriers that can stand between where they are and where they want to be. Now, he is bringing the stories and lessons gathered along that journey to the page with The Better Mindset, a deeply personal exploration of why becoming “better” matters more than chasing the elusive ideal of being “best.” The book releases globally on September 29, with season two of Joseph’s popular podcast of the same name premiering this fall. In this exclusive interview, Joseph shares the experiences, ideas, and human stories behind his philosophy – and offers a glimpse into the person who has spent much of his life helping others move forward, one percent at a time. Miami Living (ML): Joseph, after so many years of working with people through their own challenges and transformations, what made this the right moment to bring those stories and lessons together in The Better Mindset? Joseph: What I keep seeing with clients are that people are falling into the same traps over and over, and it’s keeping them stuck. The pathway to a Better Mindset is trainable and implementable. The practices and principles allow us to get Better at the things that matter the most. I knew that I couldn’t have the conversation individually with everyone who needed it because there simply isn’t enough space on the calendar for that. I knew that it would be easier if it was contained in one place. I kept being asked where the book was, but felt I just didn’t have the time to pause everything else to write it. That was the client side of it. On a personal level, the timing mattered just as much. Some backstory is that about five years ago, my work was expanding, but in my private life things were falling apart. I was living two lives, and I felt lost, in the dark, without a map. I knew a direction, and that direction was better. And in the dark, sometimes a direction is enough. Last year, when I lost my father and uncle in the same five-week span, I felt this renewed urgency to step into a greater role in my son’s life and in the lives of my clients. So I committed to carving out time from coaching and from parenting this year. And I wrote the book so I could help get it in the hands of people that need it the most. It's the same trainable tools I use with my highest-performing clients – actors, athletes, executives – distilled into something anyone can start using tonight, no stage or spotlight required. ML: You describe the “one percent” principle as getting a little better, again and again, rather than trying to reach a final destination. Where have you seen a seemingly tiny change create a surprisingly big shift in someone’s life? Joseph: I have noticed the impact of interrupting worry, anxiety, and complaining through the act of practicing being more grateful. The ‘Three Good Things’ practice came out of UPenn under Dr. Martin Seligman, who is often considered the father of positive psychology. You cannot actively focus on gratitude and worry at the exact same time. In just seven days, his study showed huge improvements that last for months or longer. In fact, Harvard researcher Shawn Achor proved that just 30 days of this tiny cognitive shift can permanently reprogram a lifelong pessimist into an optimist. Specifically, not just scanning for three good things, but making sure they are new and specific every day. After a few weeks of this habit, the effects can be felt for six months – and the brain changes can become permanent if the habit is maintained. We need to be optimistic to be gritty. And to be resilient enough to get better at things over time. ML: You talk about the “giving state” versus the “getting state.” Can you remember a moment when shifting from one to the other changed the way you approached a situation? Joseph: Absolutely. I used to go into a lot of rooms: auditioning and interviewing. In each and every one of them, I had my metaphorical hand out and wanted them to pick me and give me a job. I heard from my good friend Yogi Roth that his former boss and mentor, Pete Carroll, once challenged him to just focus on adding value. He took that on as a personal challenge. Whether it was making a chai tea or stapling the plays for the week for all of the other coaches. Yogi later relayed that to me as seeking to not be transactional in his relationships, but instead to be transformational. That distinction stayed with me: transactional versus transformational. I interpret this as a focus on being about people, and that relationships are an important part of our core values. It’s not that I was like that in my friendships, but I had a different unconscious program when I was in those rooms. I didn’t make the connection cleanly enough until he said it. So I started to go into the rooms with clarity about who I was and what I was bringing instead of what I could get. It changed everything in business. And of course the principle holds true for everything else in life. I care about the person sitting in front of me; I want to find ways to add more value. And then the results start taking care of themselves. ML: You’ve worked with people who seem to have everything figured out from the outside. What has tended to surprise you about what they’re actually struggling with? Joseph: Of course. From the outside, everything is a highlight reel, and this isn’t just with celebrities or successful athletes and coaches. Everywhere on my social feeds, people are showing the greatest hits from their lives. And in private, everyone is carrying a burden. Everyone is working on something. And we are just, as Ram Dass puts it: "walking each other home". It can be incredibly challenging for people to maintain the image they have created. It might be the very thing we are celebrating them for. And for them, it is an identity that needs to be defended. This moves us from a challenge state, which is empowering, into a threat state where we have something to lose. When we start playing with the fear of losing our identity, our sense of belonging, our very livelihood – it can be incredibly scary. We need a framework and tools that root us into what matters most so we don’t get lost in all of the noise. ML: You’ve performed both onstage and in front of the camera. Do you remember a particular moment when you learned to turn nerves into something that actually helped you perform, and how did that experience eventually shape the way you coach others? Joseph: Absolutely. For me personally, I would say starting to do media interviews. Because with a play, I’d have several weeks to prepare. For a film and TV job, it could be a few days to a few weeks. I knew the map. But for interviews, so much of it is unknown. So I tended to feel underprepared. And in feeling underprepared, I started to tell myself I hadn’t done enough, which activated a fear that I wasn’t enough. I couldn’t do anything extraordinary while simultaneously running a tape that I wasn’t enough to meet the moment. It was learning that nerves aren’t the enemy – they are like fuel for our vehicle. If it was an actual car and we wanted to go on a road trip, we wouldn’t be mad at that. We’d be excited. Everything we need is inside of it. And similarly, everything we need to begin is inside of us, too. And then I heard this phrase from a sports psychologist who works with athletes. He invited them to say to themselves, the moment they felt their nerves kick in: “Oh cool, my body is switched on now.” I then remembered something that my old voice and breath teacher used to say, "the only difference between fear and excitement is whether you’re holding your breath". Between those two things was the key to embracing nerves and having a protocol that sets me up to allow my better self to be present in those rooms. ML: Your work also explores how our surroundings affect our state of mind, drawing on your background in Feng Shui and spatial synergy. Have you ever changed something small in a room and been surprised by how much it changed the way you or someone else felt or behaved? Joseph: Oh yes. That’s one of the secrets in feng shui: a little bit goes a long way. Sometimes hanging a piece of art on the wall becomes my focus. It inspires me and is the place my attention goes. Sometimes clearing out a drawer and some clutter makes the workspace feel completely different or helps someone sleep better. It can be as simple as vacuuming. Or wiping down all of the surfaces. Or lighting a candle. Feng Shui, and more specifically Spatial Synergy, showed me the power of being intentional about small things. Mindset has taught me that the way we do small things is the way we do all things. Being intentional is the most powerful game changer, and it can start with a breath before speaking or a moment before a meal. ML: In the foreword to The Better Mindset, NBC Sports’ analyst Yogi Roth writes that book “made me a better human being” and that its truths resonate whether you’ve “shined on a stage or been booed off it.” How did you learn to translate what you’ve witnessed in your work with people into truths that feel so personal and universal at the same time? Joseph: To me, our humanity is the part where we connect with one another. We recognize the struggles that each other goes through, and through that recognition we feel less alone and have more belonging. In this way, vulnerability is a superpower. I started out doing this work with actors, and I knew it worked for me, and for my students. But then Yogi actually took a Mindset class years ago, and he felt this work was directly applicable to athletes. Which, it turns out, it is. And then over the last eight years I’ve been able to share this work with executives in charge of teams, teachers supporting students, and coaches making teams better. It doesn’t matter if I am working with performers at the highest levels of their craft or someone who doesn’t consider themselves a performer who wants to get better. I started to realize we cannot only practice on ‘game day.’ To practice once a week or several times a month will simply take a much longer time. Much longer than most of us have to get the results we are seeking. So I started to take my daily practice habits and offered it as a program called the "Everyday Mindset". It was inspired by my daily practice routines. Whether that is morning or evening. Or something woven in between. Our daily practice habits are the great unlock for our work to shine. This allowed us to find ways to practice things daily because this is how we train: "how we do small is how we do all". This is the piece that showed me, unequivocally, that this work is open source technology. It works no matter what you are seeking to get Better at. And so in these last few years I used it to up level every aspect of life. And I know firsthand what’s possible. ML: After a lifetime of helping other people become better, what is one thing you’re still learning about yourself? Joseph: I’ll give you an example. Right now, with the launch of this book, and bringing the podcast back, and traveling all the while seeking to grow the company, coach at a high level, and show up for the people I love, I noticed there were so many days my habits wanted me to say that I was overwhelmed. Likely that is because, in the past, I was. I paused. And then asked myself, "am I actually overwhelmed?" Because it doesn’t feel like it. What I discovered was, I’m not. My nervous system isn’t dysregulated. I just have a lot to do. So catching the stories we tell ourselves isn’t a nice idea. It isn’t for other people. It starts with me. And I know the story I am running is impacted by the state I am in. And the state I am in is affected by the things I put on my calendar, the people I surround myself with, and my living and working environments. So instead, my focus is moving away from managing my time and instead on managing my energy. To be intentional with each day. And to work my way through these lists with clarity of purpose and a sense of play. Some days I do better than others. And I am continuing to seek better at what matters most to me. I’m definitely not perfect. I am, however, committed to excellence. Pre-sale link to The Better Mindset can be found here: https://istoria.com/the-better-mindset-book/. To keep up with Joseph, follow him on IG @josepharieltowne and @alwaysbetter.co and listen to The Better Mindset podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. By ML Staff. Images courtesy of Storm Santos

New World Symphony will open its 39th season with a pre-season concert on Saturday, September 19, featuring guitarist JIJI and the 2026–27 class of Fellows at the New World Center in Miami Beach. The program includes Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, with JIJI as soloist, highlighting the palace gardens that inspired one of the most frequently performed guitar concertos. The concert offers audiences a first look at the 2026–27 New World Symphony Fellows, a group of 87 early-career musicians in residence who train, perform and collaborate with visiting artists throughout the season. Tickets are offered on a pay-what-you-wish basis starting at $10, and are available online. Additional information about the New World Symphony Fellows and upcoming events can be found at nws.edu. By ML. Photo(s)/New World Symphony