The Cooler

A certain kind of car is attracting lightning in South Florida, it seems. That and more in your Cooler this morning...

A- Herald: Hemingway would have loved it.

KEY WEST -- Key West is hoping to join Miami and two other U.S. cities as ports of entry for travel to Cuba, 50 years after Key West-to-Havana flights ceased when Fidel Castro took power in the island nation.

Key West International Airport director Peter Horton said restoration of the once-popular route is ``long overdue.''

[...]

Cape Air, a Massachusetts-based independent regional airline, said it would like to provide service for the Key West-to-Havana route with its fleet of 57 nine-seat Cessnas. Cape Air already serves Key West with routes to Fort Myers.

``We've been interested in flying to Cuba since we began flying out of Key West almost 20 years ago,'' said Michelle Haynes, director of communications for Cape Air.

Haynes said that if Key West is declared a port of entry for Cuba, Cape Air could quickly begin flights, with round trips costing about $220.

B- Herald: Morin.

C- Sun-Sentinel: Miami is 113 today but you have to read the Lauderdale paper to learn that.

MIAMI (AP) - The city of Miami is preparing to celebrate its 113th birthday with traditional gifts, cake and ice cream.

The city is holding an event Tuesday at the historic Lyric Theater. It will begin with a bus tour, followed by a party for children. Mayor Manny Diaz will speak about coming together as a community.

The city of Miami was incorporated July 28, 1896.

D- Sun-Sentinel: Michael Mayo's tribute to his mentally ill brother is worth a read.

I'll never forget the first time Uncle David met his niece. He held her tiny hand in his, and his face lit up.

David taught me that life isn't fair, but he also taught me to take what's given. He enjoyed the simpler things.

A Marlboro cigarette. A corned-beef sandwich. A hot-fudge sundae from Carvel.

He didn't complain, not even when his cancer prevented him from keeping food down.

E- Sun-Sentinel: Chan Lowe.

F- NBCMiami: Stupid Headlines R Us.

G- WSVN: God hates Chevy Impalas.

NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A driver is talking about surviving a lightning strike while inside his car, marking the second such strike in less than a week.

At about 1:30 Monday afternoon, the bolt of lightning stopped Oscar Fernandez right in his tracks. He was traveling along Interstate 75 when lighting struck his vehicle. "Saw the flash by the window, and I heard the loud explosion," he said.

[...]

Miami-Dade Fire Rescuers responded and checked him out. They determined that he had no injuries, but the bolt left his gray Chevy Impala inoperable and knocked off its antenna.

Oddly enough, Friday night, a little after 8 p.m., another Chevy Impala suffered a another lightning strike. Both cars have their antennae on the roof, over the rear window.

H- WPLG: For the 100th time.

"Usually when we have an El Niño, that cuts down on the number of strong hurricanes in the Atlantic. What is noteworthy, is that NOAA is saying the more sophisticated models are all indicating a moderate to strong El Nino developing,” Mayfield told Local 10.

But don’t place all of your bets on El Niño, said Mayfield.

“It’s extremely important to note that it is not all about numbers. It still just takes that one hurricane over a particular location to make for a bad year," he said.

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