Central Florida College

3.3.1 Downtown Miami Center Homestead-Miami Speedway Further information: Elections in Florida Politics of Florida Political party strength in Florida and United States presidential elections in Florida. The Mariel Boatlift of 1980 brought 150,000 Cubans to Miami the largest transport in civilian history Unlike the previous exodus of the 1960s most of the Cuban refugees arriving were poor some having been released from prisons or mental institutions to make the trip During this time many of the middle class non-Hispanic whites in the community left the city often referred to as the "white flight" in 1960 Miami was 90% non-Hispanic white but by 1990 it was only about 10% non-Hispanic white; Airboating has become a popular ecotourism attraction in the Everglades The Miami-Dade Aviation Department(MDAD) operates Miami International Airport Miami Executive Airport Opa-locka Executive Airport Homestead General Aviation Airport and Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport. . . ; Miami Florida Business directory, Contents Lamme and Oldakowski identify several demographic political and cultural elements that characterize South Florida and distinguish it from other areas of the state Many of its differences appear to be driven by its proportionately higher level of migration from the northern U.S states and from the Caribbean and Latin America particularly in the densely populated Miami area Politically South Florida is more liberal than the rest of the state While less than 10% of people in either North or Central Florida felt their area was liberal over a third of South Floridians described their region as such 38% characterized the area as conservative; 26% as moderate This tracks with South Florida's demographics and Lamme and Oldakowski's findings parallel Barney Warf and Cynthia Waddell's research on Florida's political geography during the 2000 Presidential election the economy in South Florida is very similar to that in Central Florida Compared to the more diversified economy in North Florida tourism is by far the most significant industry in South and Central Florida with a much smaller but vibrant agricultural industry, Miami Florida Business directory; Following this period of rapid development and environmental degradation the ecosystem began to receive notable attention from conservation groups in the 1970s Internationally UNESCO and the Ramsar Convention designated the Everglades a Wetland Area of Global Importance the construction of a large airport 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Everglades National Park was blocked when an environmental study found that it would severely damage the South Florida ecosystem With heightened awareness and appreciation of the region restoration began in the 1980s with the removal of a canal that had straightened the Kissimmee River However development and sustainability concerns have remained pertinent in the region the deterioration of the Everglades including poor water quality in Lake Okeechobee was linked to the diminishing quality of life in South Florida's urban areas in 2000 the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan was approved by Congress to combat these problems to date,[when?] it is the most expensive and comprehensive environmental restoration attempt in history but its implementation has faced political complications!

. Industry By the early 1940s Miami was still recovering from the Great Depression when World War II started Though many of the cities in Florida were heavily affected by the war and went into financial ruin Miami remained relatively unaffected Early in the war German U-boats attacked several American ships including the Portero del Llano which was attacked and sunk within sight of Miami Beach in May 1942 to defend against the U-boats Miami was placed in two military districts the Eastern Defense Command and the Seventh Naval District, Superintendent of schools Reconstruction era and end of the 19th century. . ! .