For full details on the Sumsun, Can’t Stop, The State Of, Honey Train show at Electric Pickle on Saturday, Feb. 25, visit the Facebook event page. We can’t guarantee that Rubiera will take the stage disguised as Tom Petty, but here’s what it would look like if he did.

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Following cyclist Aaron Cohen's death, local activists are ramping up their effort to make Miami a safer place to ride. -- photo by Robby Campbell

A public forum addressing bike safety in Miami-Dade is being planned following the death of an avid cyclist who was struck by a hit-and-run driver on the Rickenbacker Causeway last Wednesday.

“Lots of people are very upset about what happened — the tragic death of Aaron Cohen, and they are demanding action,” said Hank Sanchez-Resnik of the Green Mobility Network, the civic group organizing the event. “We’re trying to channel all of that energy into constructive solutions.”

At the forum, bike activists will present information about current plans to improve the safety of streets in Miami-Dade County, and attendees will have an opportunity to ask a panel of “relevant elected officials and decision makers” questions about making Miami’s streets safer for cyclists, according to a statement on Green Mobility Network’s Facebook page.

Green Mobility Network has not yet determined the time and location of the forum, which will be called “SafeStreetsMiami”. Anyone interested in volunteering or attending can email GMN at safestreetsmiami [at] gmail [dot] com.

One elected official who has spoken out about bike safety in Miami — and specifically about reducing the speed limit on Rickenbacker Causeway — following Cohen’s death is District 7 county commissioner Xavier Suarez. On Tuesday Suarez released a statement on the topic, which you can read in full below this video from a recent group ride in memory of the late cyclist.

“A Cyclist’s Departure” by Xavier Suarez

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle, quoted at the funeral of Aaron Cohen by his grand-father Ron Esserman

I have only been a county commissioner for about eight months, but already have a deep scar in my heart from a tragedy that seems, in retrospect, so avoidable.

Aaron Cohen has been wrenched from our lives. And the sense of loss is overwhelming, despite the wisdom imparted by rabbis and family members. Because the tragedy happened in my district and because my daughter Annie practices medicine with Jim Esserman (Aaron’s first cousin), the loss hits home in a particularly poignant way.

Was the tragedy avoidable? I don’t rightly know, but I know we didn’t try hard enough to avoid it. We know the Rickenbacker Causeway is a narrow, dangerous, treacherous, alluring, spectacularly located and majestic roadway, rising as it does from the shallows abutting the mainland to bring us all (joggers, bikers, motorists) closer to heaven and then quickly deposit us in an island that is mostly unspoiled — as befits a critical wildlife refuge of some 400 acres.

In between the moments of sorrow, my Annie and I discussed the physics of the problem that led to this tragedy or, rather, the unavoidable elements of the circumstance that make this awful accident likely to happen again in the future.

I refer to the simple variable that physicists call “momentum.” Simply put, a 4,000-pound vehicle, travelling at 45-50 mph, possesses about 100 times the momentum of a biker/bicycle whose combined weight is 150 pounds and who is struggling up the bridge at 12-15 mph. A collision between two objects, one of which has 100 times the momentum of the other, means that the smaller object will suffer, in displacement and consequent damage, 100 times more than the bigger object.

In the short term, there is only one variable we can change in the above equation — and that is the speed limit for cars. I consider that reform a no-brainer that should be instituted without delay. Of course, a reduction in the speed limit needs to be accompanied by traffic management devices (including electronic surveillance) to monitor law-breakers.

The other possible solution is separation. I think, in that context, that we all agree that a simple painted strip (as exists now) is not enough. We will have to consider either rubber cones or well-lit corrugated surfaces which alert and deter the motorist from trespassing on the bike lanes.

Beyond the physics of the problem, beyond the traffic engineering and enforcement, there is the human dimension. And that brings me back to Aaron, whose name technically means, “tower of strength,” but was further interpreted by the rabbi as referring to someone who loves life and who runs for life. Aaron Cohen loved to run more than we can imagine. He loved scuba diving and every kind of water sport; he loved ceramic arts and cycling, and — most of all — he loved his wife and two children.

As described by family and friends, he was special because he found something special to love in everyone he met, regardless of their station in life. He took time, on the way to the airport, to buy M&M’s so that he could pass them out to the flight attendants.

He was, his sister Sabrina told us, like Elijah, the unforeseen guest for whom we keep the door permanently open, with a cup of wine ready, just in case the prophet visits us.

Perhaps the most appropriate analogy was offered by another rabbi who explained that the whole world is like a narrow bridge. We must do our best to co-exist in the narrow space.

We must, as another relative said in her eulogy, think “WWAD.” What Would Aaron Do?

For myself, I will strive to reduce the chances that such a tragedy will happen again on the Rickenbacker Causeway — which just happens to be where I myself jog.

I will do it because it’s my obligation as an elected official and also because of Aaron — in his memory.

I never met him, but I already miss him as if he had been my best friend.

This post was produced by Open Media Miami, an independent company that works in partnership with Beached Miami to cover neighborhood news along the Biscayne Corridor. To view more of their coverage, visit the Beached Miami Newsy section.

The Abbey Brewing Company, at 1115 16th Street in South Beach, has reopened. -- photo by Robby Campbell

Many was the night in the last what-feels-like-forever that I wished The Abbey Brewing Company, located in South Beach, would finish its expansion and reopen. Finally, according to Thrillist, it has: “… the formerly minuscule beer haven has returned as a whole new Abbey after the owners tore apart the former digs, then carefully pieced them back together to create a much roomier, refurbished wood-lined interior they claim ‘brings it up to the 21st century’.” The building expansion is welcome news, as is the menu expansion to include whiskey at the previously beer-only watering hole. To learn more about the Abbey’s intoxicating return, check out the Thrillist post.

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– photo by Andrew Foster

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Sumsun: Spearheaded by West Palm Beach native Judson Rodgers, Sumsun creates electronic soundscapes with a chillwave palette that transport listeners to a land where the rain is warm and everyone dances. In 2011, Sumsun opened for Neon Indian and Sleigh Bells.

Can’t Stop: Led by filmmaker and Animal Tropical/PLAINS drummer Jorge Rubiera, Can’t Stop is currently recording a follow-up to its excellent debut LP, Neighborhood, and will be premiering new material at Saturday’s show. The following video is from Can’t Stop’s Neighborhood release show at Sweat Records last year.

The State Of: The Miami duo of Stephanie Taylor (lead vocals, piano, synth) and Nabedi Osorio (vocals, drums) are economical composers with a dramatic sound. Their music bursts with sorrow and anger as it moves across the pop rock spectrum with moody rhythm. In this video, made by David Benhaim, the duo is playing “I Know” in a Los Angeles club.

Honey Train: Newcomers from Ft. Lauderdale, Honey Train rides an old style with authenticity and flare. Their eight-track 2011 demo features a collection of scuzzy garage jams, including “Yo Toad/Deepness”, which snagged #35 on the Top 50 SoFla Songs of 2011 list.

As you can hear, we’re in for a night of damn good SoFla music under the stars. To RSVP for the show, visit the Facebook event page. See you Saturday!

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A demonstration in Montreal in solidarity with the people of Syria. -- photo by M A via Wikimedia Commons

A group of Syrian-Americans and their supporters are holding a protest Sunday against the Syrian government’s bloody crackdown of the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

The protest will occur from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Torch of Friendship in Bayfront Park in downtown Miami.

Dr. Doured Daghistani, of the Syrian American Council of South Florida, is one of the event’s organizers. In a message called “A Small Country Looking Down A Deep Hole”, Daghistani explains his position and invites other South Floridians to join him in protest on Sunday.

Leaders from all over the world agree with President Obama’s words that the days of Bashar al-Assad’s reign are numbered. Unfortunately no one knows how much longer he will remain in power.

The international community has been crystal  clear in denouncing the Assad regime, simultaneously voicing their sympathies  and moral support of the Syrian people that demand Freedom and Democracy.

However, the voice of support has yet to materialize in the form of change on the ground for the Syrian people. People are being killed everyday, according to  Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations more than 5,400 Syrians have been killed, thousands are missing, there are 25,000 refugees in other countries and over  70,000 people that  have been internally displaced.

As a Syrian I appreciate the moral support from the international community, I know the people in Syria appreciate it as well, but when will the international community say, “Enough is Enough” and take real action on the ground? When will the United Nations and the Obama administration change the “vocal” opposition to Assad’s brutal crackdown and relentlessness murdering of innocent Syrians and take action?

The humanitarian crisis in Syria is quickly rising to the level of Kosovo and Rwanda. The International community said in response to these tragedies, “Never Again”, well it’s happening “Again”.

So many Syrians are crying for help, they are pleading with the world, “Help Us”. When will we answer their plea for help? Does anyone care?

We invite those who care to join us in voicing solidarity this Sunday at Torch of Friendship.

For full details on the protest, visit the event page page.

This post was produced by Open Media Miami, an independent company that works in partnership with Beached Miami to cover neighborhood news along the Biscayne Corridor. To view more of their coverage, visit the Beached Miami Newsy section.