Cuba Earthquake: South Florida feels massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake centered near Cuba

People all over Miami say they felt buildings swaying after a massive earthquake measuring 7.7 magnitude was centered between the island nations of Cuba and Jamaica on Tuesday.

The United States Geological Survey reports the quake began at 2:10 p.m. and was centered 86 miles northwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and 87 miles west-southwest of Niquero, Cuba.

A tsunami warning was not issued for any region, but the National Weather Service says waves up to 3 feet above tide level are possible for Cuba, Jamaica, Mexico, Belize, Honduras and the Cayman Islands.

Miami City Commissioner Ken Russell says those in eight buildings in the Brickell and downtown areas self-evacuated and the building department was onsite. The Stephen P. Clark Government Center has been closed as a precaution.    

Read more at: South Florida feels massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake centered near 

Rail Transportation USA - South Florida: Tri-Rail's new Miami Terminal has a European feel to it

Tri-Rail service into Miami Airport (photo EU-Digest)

The Sun Sentinel reports that if you are catching a flight at Miami International Airport, getting there by train from Broward and Palm Beach counties has become a lot easier.

Obviously this also holds true if you are going in the opposite direction.

On Easter Sunday morning, Tri-Rail began running commuter trains into a $92 million station that's just east of the airport. From there, it's a five-minute ride aboard a people mover to the terminal.

Travelers will no longer have to 'schlep'  their luggage off trains at Hialeah and then board shuttles which must fight traffic to the airport or visa versa.

The change should save between 15 to 20 minutes and usually much  more if there are traffic jams or accidents on surrounding roads.

Taking the train could also save you the cost of parking, which is free at Tri-Rail stations on a first-come, first-serve basis and for as long as you want. The exception is the Fort Lauderdale Airport station, where parking is limited to 24 hours because of space limitations.

The new Miami station has been under constructionnow for nearly four years – about two years longer than expected. It's in the same spot as the old station that closed in September 2011.

Here's what you can expect at the new station:

Tri-Rail trains arrive on the ground level of the station, which is part of the sprawling 16.5-acre Miami Intermodal Center.

Here, you can find Tri-Rail, Metrorail, Miami-Dade's county bus system, Amtrak, Greyhound and a rental car center all under one roof. Think of it as a futuristic food court for transportation agencies.

It's one of only two Tri-Rail stations that feature an "island style" platform, meaning the platform where you get on and off the trains is between the two tracks. This takes the guessing out of which set of tracks a train is arriving on.

Giant canopies provide shade and cover from the elements.

The new Miami Airport Tri-Rail station will probably also be a boost, time and money saver for European tourists, and all other travelers, especially those  visiting the South Florida Tri-County area.

Since Miami is usually a direct - no-transfer -  destination from cities around the world,  the new -TRI-RAIL- service should also attract a lot of tourists and other travelers, who otherwise fly routes with time consuming transfers through other US cities in order to reach South Florida destinations.

This new Miami Tri-Rail airport station certainly has a European feel to it, which all has to do with comfort, convenience and time-saving.

EU-Digest

Venezuela Thousands in South Florida demonstrate for peace in Venezuela

Thousands of South Floridians gathered at Doral's J.C. Bermudez Park on Saturday afternoon to show support for the peaceful protests in Venezuela. 

To view images of demonstration click on link below.

Read more: Thousands in South Florida to demonstrate for peace in Venezuela - Sun Sentinel

Banking Industry: Dutch ING Miami Marathon To Generate Sizable Economic Impact for community

As the Dutch ING Miami Marathon and Half-Marathon® continues to grow, with race entries approaching 25,000 in 2012, the economic impact that the race has on the South Florida economy continues to surge along with it.

The event, set for Sunday, January 29, is expected to generate more than $45 million for the local economy this year in the form of hotel bookings, restaurant spending, transportation, shopping and entertainment.

That milestone would exceed the $41.4 million that the event generated in 2011 according to a report prepared by the Sport Industry Research Center at Temple University. That total was 24% higher than in 2010, or an additional $8.04 million dollars in economic activity.

Event organizers also estimate that the 2012 economic impact will mean that the event is approaching a cumulative $200 million in economic impact as it celebrates its 10th edition, making it one of the top beneficiaries of the local community over the past decade.

For more: ING Miami Marathon To Generate Sizable Economic Impact

Plastic Surgery - Miami the most vain city in the world ?

If you find people who haven’t had tummy tucks, laser facial hair removal and botox to be gruesomely ugly and unkept you might want to consider moving to Miamia, Fl., the area that was most recently called the most “vain” of all U.S. based cities and probably also of the world.

According to a LivingSocial.com survey Miami is the worst city and is then followed by Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Phoenix. Surprisingly Los Angeles didn’t manage to make the Top 5 list.

In Miami 53% of respondents said women are more beautiful in their city while 38% said men were more handsome. According to one female Miami resident: “It’s all about your image, it’s what you’re wearing, the bag that you’re carrying, and the car you’re driving.”

For more: Plastic Surgery - Adult Face

Flower Industry: Free-trade discord takes toll on flower importers - by Mimi Whitefield

Since Valentine’s Day, Miami flower importers have watched their expenses climb, contending with rising fuel prices and surcharges and, most vexing of all, the expiration of an Andean trade program that allowed them to bring in flowers from Colombia and Ecuador without paying duties.

Now U.S. flower importers must pay duties ranging from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent on the billions of roses, carnations and other blooms imported from Andean countries — the source of about 90 percent of the flowers shipped through Miami International Airport.

So it should come as no surprise that those in South Florida’s flower importing industry, which handles around 89 percent of the cut flowers that arrive in the United States, were closely following this week’s maneuvering on the long stalled U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement and an effort to attach renewal of the Andean Trade Preferences-Drug Eradication Act to it.

For more: Free-trade discord takes toll on flower importers - Americas - MiamiHerald.com