"Working together we can reduce risk and enhance the use of this critical resource."

While heavy rains in May raised levels in Lake Okeechobee, the drier than usual March left the lake with enough capacity to avoid the need for imminent planned releases to the estuaries.

Col. Andrew Kelly, commander of the Jacksonville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, hands a letter certifying the completion of the Alternate Care Facility the district built in the Miami Convention Center to Kevin Guthrie, Deputy Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The facility provides 450 beds, 50 of them intensive care unit beds, gives the state of Florida medical providers and state emergency managers flexibility as they prepare for a COVID-19 based surge at local and regional medical facilities. Initially, the facility was to be completed by April 27, but the deadline was moved to April 20 after a meeting with the Florida governor identified an expedited need. Even with the shortened deadline, the Corps of Engineers delivered the site early, with the contractor completing construction April 18 and the Corps signing over the facility to the state on April 19.

Leadership from the City of Miami Beach, Mayor Dan Gebler, Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez of Mayor of Miami-Dade, the Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Chief Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite brief the press and the people of South Florida on the current outlook of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the work being done at the Miami Beach Convention Center to convert it to an alternate care facility. When complete, the Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC) Alternate Care Facility (ACF) will hold 450 beds, 50 of which will be isolation units and 400 of which will house regular beds. During emergencies, USACE is the federal government's lead public works and engineering support agency. Given its extensive work in building medical facilities for its military stakeholders, it is uniquely qualified to tackle this engineering challenge.

The Alligator Flea Beetle is tiny but mighty, and is winning the bio control battle against invasive species.