Well...this is awkward

So, DeSantis was eager to sign a law allowing drivers to run over protesters.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/04/ron-desantis-anti-riot-bill

But I am assuming that he imagined that would be applied to protesters of the darker persuasion.

I doubt they counted on this...

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/fl-ne-cuba-protests-july-13-20210713-562znz3n7fdkdbro47dp3ugkoa-story.html#nt=pf-double%20chain~top-chain~feed-driven%20flex%20feature~automated~centerpiece~562ZNZ3N7FDKDBRO47DP3UGKOA~1~1~1~8~art%20yes

Meanwhile, in Miami-Dade on Tuesday, a large group of demonstrators protesting the Cuban government marched on to the Palmetto Expressway, shutting the highway down for about an hour.

WSVN-Ch. 7 reports the Palmetto Expressway (State Road 826) was blocked near Coral Way and Southwest 32nd Street. Police on the scene helped managed the traffic and crowd, according to reports.

Interview from Surfside

The video at this Miami Herald link is a moving interview from one of our rescue members (specifically a K9 handler). It helps to show the emotional impact of the rescue and how it affects the rescuers. Especially since this was a hometown event for us and many of the rescuers had personal connections to the victims.

https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/article252661918.html#storylink=hpdigest_opinion

In case you didn't see it earlier, I say "our" because this is my team..https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215607522

Checking in from Surfside Rescue

Many of you know I do structural support for Search and Rescue and was sent to surfside. For those of you new to this discussion, it started here https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215558334

If you have seen the videos of the rescue effort with all of the blue uniforms, I am one of those guys. Most of the guys are specially trained firemen but there are a few positions for civilians like myself. My role is as a structural engineer to evaluate the building, guard against secondary collapse, mitigate dangers and generally keep the rescuers from further harm. I have been doing it for 25 years and have been to 9/11, Haiti Earthquake, Katrina and others. At this point, I figure I have been involved in four of the worst disasters in the western hemisphere in my lifetime. Crazy.

Among the stories you have seen, this was my team https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article252528388.html That was a gut-wrenching night.

Anyway, I am back after spending 14 days on the site. My team is still there but I came home a little early because the structural danger dropped dramatically when the remaining building was imploded.

I had promised to check-in when I returned so I wanted to let everyone know I am home safe and sound.

Unfortunately, I can't really say very much or show any pictures because we are on a very strict public relations protocol.

As to cause, I managed to get pretty involved with the investigators from NIST so I will refrain from laying out my opinions. I will comment on it when the report comes out which could be a ways off. Just try to ignore all the chatter on the internet because too many of them are forming opinions without all the facts. I will say that I think the problems were pretty unique to this building so I wouldn't lose any sleep over living in a high rise building.

Thanks for all the well wishes