BROWARD (CBSMiami) – Two people connected to one of the darkest days in Broward School District history are now sitting on the Broward School Board.

At a swearing in ceremony Tuesday, they promised safety will be a top priority.

“We’re broken and but you have to learn how to move forward,” said Debbie Hixon.

With her two sons at her side, Hixon was sworn in as a Broward School Board member.

She’s the second board member connected to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas massacre nearly three years ago that took 17 lives. Her husband Chris, the school’s athletic director, died trying to disarm the gunman.

But Hixon said the tragedy does not define her. She’s been a teacher for 32 years and has a purpose.

“I want to see is a written emergency operation plan in the time of COVID. We would add that so it isn’t just about active shooters, but cyberbullying, you know, mold issues in our classroom,” she said.

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Hixon’s counterpart on the board Lori Alhadeff, who lost her daughter Alyssa in the mass shooting, sees an ally in Hixon.

“Ultimately, we’re going to need additional funding from Tallahassee to make mental health a top priority and to continue to harden our schools,” she said.

The other new face on the Broward School Board is teacher Sarah Leonardi.

“I decided to run and I wanted this job because of the experiences I had as a teacher, you know, walking into portables that were infested with mold, watching my students wait months for mental health services and watching teachers feel pretty demoralized about their work,” she said. “So those are some perspectives that I want to bring.”

Leonardi will share that perspective with that newly-elected chairman of the board, Dr. Rosalind Osgood.

This is a new board that must tackle the pressing issue of rising COVID numbers.

“Definitely having students in school learning is important. You can recover learning, you can’t recover someone’s life,” Leonardi said. “I think we need to start thinking about closing some schools.”

With COVID being a main topic in the weeks and months ahead, along with school safety, the school board is going to have a very full menu moving forward.

2020 has been a difficult financial year for many. Jobs are scarce, incomes and hours are dwindling, while the markets have struggled too.

Working out where and what to invest in has been as tricky this year as any (and as important too). But there are good investments to make out there if you know where to look, so you can feel more comfortable in your finances during such uncertain times.

Looking ahead to 2021, you can plan to put yourself in the best position to withstand any uncertainty that next year brings. Here are some of the best investments to make in 2021.

1. Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrencies have been a volatile investment and remained an unknown world for many. Bitcoin is probably the most famous, but there are loads of others out there like Litecoin, Ethereum, and many more of various sizes.

Is Litecoin a good investment? What about Ethereum? In such a new and volatile market, it can be difficult to work out whether to invest or what to invest in. In fact, 2021 might be the best year of all to invest in cryptocurrencies.

Throughout 2020, cryptocurrencies generally thrived amongst a poor economic outlook. The uncertainty encouraged many people to invest in crypto to hedge against the struggling markets and economy. Decentralized finance has thrived, and it looks like cryptocurrencies will again thrive.

Brexit, potential fallout from the presidential election, and any other further uncertainty will likely lead to further shifts towards non-standard assets such as these. Big hitters like Bitcoin and Ethereum are sound bets for 2021, while Litecoin is also definitely worth considering in 2021, particularly if you invest for the first time.

2. Remote Working Firms And Software

This year has seen a marked turn towards home working as conditions limit how much we can all go to the office. So far, offices have adjusted well with little preparation, and many are likely to continue this practice in the new year. Working from home will likely continue as bosses know they can trust their employees to work from home.

As such, it is more than likely that firms that enable remote and home working will thrive in the coming year. Just think about Zoom. This time last year, the public had scarcely heard of the video-conferencing software, but the name is now a verb and a noun for meeting up remotely, and it is valued at more than the world’s biggest airlines. Just think if you’d invested in Zoom stock last year!

Next year, in preparation, consider buying stock in firms that could benefit from the growth in home working, like video-calling and communications technology and cloud-based software.

3. Crafts

For one reason or another, most of us spent more time at home during 2021, often with time to tend to hobbies old and new. Crafts and hobbies have thrived in this context, and so have sites like Etsy and Pinterest.

Pinterest enables people to share inspiration for home decor and projects and recipes for all those loaves of bread; you see people baking on social media. Etsy is an online platform for buying and selling homemade arts and crafts. Both have seen their users and revenues rise sharply in 2020. There is every reason to suggest this will continue in 2021, making both sites good investments.

Conclusion

During these uncertain times, it is important to think smartly about your investments in the coming year. Even if you don’t choose these three areas, if your investments address a need stemming from the growing uncertainty — as these do — then they are likely a sound bet.

The post The Best Investments To Make In 2021 appeared first on South Florida Caribbean News.

[MIAMI] – Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces is excited to partner with the Miami Dolphins for the Junior Dolphins Virtual Football Camp Library for kids.

The online virtual camp allows the community’s children to enjoy a unique experience and continue cultivating their love of football, from the safety of their homes.

The football series joins other Miami-Dade County Parks virtual camp offerings, providing children in South Florida with recreational options to enjoy throughout the County.

Many tackle and flag football leagues did not compete this year because of COVID. This partnership with the Miami Dolphins allows kids to stay active and play football. The camp sessions are fun and engaging and enable South Florida youth to play football in the safety of their home.

Visit juniordolphinsfootball.com/virtual/ to participate.

“Miami-Dade County Parks is thrilled to team up with our longstanding partner the Miami Dolphins to expand our virtual camp program offerings with exceptional football content,” said Miami-Dade Parks Director Maria I. Nardi. “They share in our commitment to providing more great recreation and sports opportunities that increase the health, well-being and resiliency of youth in our community.”

“The Miami Dolphins recognize the need for our South Florida youth to stay active, safe and healthy during this time,” said Miami Dolphins Senior Director of Community Relations and Youth Programs RaShauna Hamilton. “Our virtual camps are taught by Dolphins alumni and provide participants with an opportunity to improve their football skills and learn the game in a new way.”

 

 

The post Miami-Dade County Parks and the Miami Dolphins Team up for a virtual football camp series for kids appeared first on South Florida Caribbean News.

Gabby Barrett took to the Ellen stage on Monday (Nov. 16) to perform her chart topping hit, “I Hope.”

Despite being in her third trimester of pregnancy, Barrett belted the emotional song flawlessly, as a stormy scene projected on the screen behind her to reflect the heartbreaking lyrics.

“I Hope” peaked at No. 3 at the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated Nov. 20, 2020. The song also has hit No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs, Country Streaming Songs, Country Digital Song Sales and Country Airplay charts.

Watch the performance below.

Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox found love in quarantine, and have been inseparable ever since. In a new interview with Nylon, the couple discussed their undeniable bond.

“Love is not what’s being encouraged now. In fact, it’s exactly the opposite: Everything now is isolation, dehumanization, separation,” MGK said of how his relationship affected his softer, more romantic mindset in recent months. “And f—, dude, you have in your head that you’re this rock star, with multiple women and all that… So finding someone that can take you out of the fast lane and make sure that you’re safe, because at any minute you can crash — I love that it can evolve into that.”

Fox later told the publication that she never tries to “control” her musical boyfriend, though he “looks to me to avoid his own self destructive tendencies.”

“And that’s where I’m useful because on his own and left to his own devices I don’t know how much interest he has in caring for himself,” she continued, before sharing that their connection is of “mythic proportions.”

“Loving him is like being in love with a tsunami or a forest fire,” the actress said of their relationship, noting that “the intensity of merging with him is just overwhelming, and the threat it poses is so powerful but so beautiful that you have no choice to surrender with reverence and with gratitude.”

The couple first met on the set of Midnight in the Switchgrass, and sparked romance rumors when Fox appeared in MGK’s “Bloody Valentine” music video in May.