3 February 8-14, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | Contents | Letters | news | night+Day | CuLture | Cafe | MusiC | MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | ▼ MIAMI-DADE FLY HIGH MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WANTS CBD SHOP FOR “ANXIOUS” TRAVELERS. BY ALEX DELUCA I f your 9 a.m. airport beer is no longer doing the trick, or you need something to decompress after that tedious mile- long trek across Concourse D, Miami International Airport might finally have an answer. The county-owned airport wants to open a CBD shop with hemp-based products like gummies, creams, bath bombs, and serums for anxious travelers and wellness enthusi- asts alike. As first reported by the Miami Herald, Miami-Dade County recently posted a draft solicitation that calls for a CBD retail spot in the international hub, paving the way for a competitive bidding process. “Travelers that are stressed, anxious, and are focused on their wellness are the target market for this shop,” the document reads. Found in cannabis plants, CBD (cannabi- diol) does not get you high but is marketed as a treatment for anxiety, pain, and insomnia. Per state and federal law, CBD products can only contain an extremely small amount of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), which is the primary compound in marijuana that gets you stoned. Florida law allows retailers to sell CBD products that contain no more than 0.3 percent THC, with a permit required for food sellers. According to the county document, the 1,052-square-foot airport shop would provide patrons with a “broad range of hemp-based tinctures, serums, edibles, supplements, topi- cal treatments, bath bombs, sprays, and other beauty products.” The type of CBD products to be sold in the shop are approved by the federal Transporta- tion Security Administration (TSA) — mean- ing you can bring them on the plane. “Marijuana and certain cannabis-infused products, including some cannabidiol (CBD) oil, remain illegal under federal law except for products that contain no more than 0.3 percent THC on a dry weight basis or that are approved by FDA,” according to the TSA. The CBD shop solicitation was posted two weeks after Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who oversees the airport under the county’s aviation department, pledged major upgrades to the hub during a press conference. The presser came just days after CBS Mi- ami reporter (and New Times alum) Jim De- Fede posed the following question in a thread on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Is [Miami International Airport] the worst-run airport in America?” “I’ve seen people in tears because their el- derly relatives are forced to walk a mile from gate D60 to baggage claim,” DeFede wrote. “Where is the accountability?” According to the Herald, roughly seven percent of MIA’s more than 600 elevators, es- calators, and moving walkways are out of ser- vice on any given day. During the press conference, Levine Cava addressed com- plaints over the 13-year- old Skytrain, which brings passengers through Concourse D. The train has re- mained out of service since it shut down in September over structural issues, forcing many passengers to walk as far as a mile to their gates or baggage claim. Levine Cava announced the first repair phase for the Skytrain is slated to be complete by the end of March, which would bring roughly three-fourths of the train system back online. She said phase two is expected to be finished by the end of 2024. “We have been righting the wrongs of the past and stepping up to make this airport the world-class success story it should be,” Levine Cava said. | RIPTIDE | GET MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY AT MIAMINEWTIMES.COM/NEWS Miami International Airport plans to open a 1,052-square-foot shop for CBD products. Miami International Airport photo ▼ SUNNY ISLES BEACH “PLS CHASE” ISRAELI DIPLOMAT’S SON ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY HITTING COP ON MOTORCYCLE. BY ALEX DELUCA T he teenage son of an Israeli diplomat is facing a felony assault charge for alleg- edly striking a Sunny Isles Beach police officer with his motorcycle. On the afternoon of Saturday, January 27, Avraham Gil approached the lieutenant on his mo- torcycle while “weaving in-between vehicles” as the officer performed a traffic stop on Collins Ave- nue, according to a police report obtained by New Times. When the officer motioned at Gil and yelled at him to stop, Gil instead accelerated toward him and “intentionally ran him over,” police allege. According to the report, the officer suffered an “incapacitating” injury to his left leg. Sunny Isles Beach police arrested Gil on a first-degree felony charge of aggravated battery on a police officer and a second charge of resisting arrest. Police say his motorcycle did not have a li- cense plate and that Gil was driving it without a valid license. “It should be noted that Avraham spontane- ously uttered that he was sorry and that he was just driving in between vehicles to cut in front of the line because he hates waiting behind traffic,” the report reads. Wearing a black hoodie, the 19-year-old from Aventura ap- peared to be sob- bing in his mugshot taken over the weekend. Records show he was released on his own recognizance. His ar- raignment is scheduled for February 26. Local 10, which broke the news of the incident, reported that Gil is the son of Eli Gil, a diplomat at Miami’s Israeli Consulate. The outlet turned up video of a prior encounter appar- ently showing the teenager pulled over by Miami Shores police in December, an en- counter in which he refer- ences his dad’s job as a consul and asks the cop, “Would you like me to call him?” While interacting with Miami Shores police during the December incident, Avraham Gil had a license plate on his motorcycle that read, “Pls Chase.” Dashcam video shows that Miami Shores police later encountered the same motorcycle in mid-January and made a note of the license plate before the driver fled and zoomed away. Avraham Gil’s attorney argued at a county court hearing that he is entitled to “consular im- munity” via his father’s role at the consulate. According to the U.S. Department of State, consular immunity provides limited immunity to consular agents, which shields them from criminal prosecution in connection with their official duties but does not provide the same level of sweeping immunity applied to full-fledged diplomatic agents, who generally cannot be pros- ecuted by a host country. The State Department says that “absent a bi- lateral agreement, the family members of con- sular officers enjoy no personal inviolability and no jurisdictional immunity of any kind.” A LinkedIn account that appears to belong to Eli Gil shows that he attended the Hebrew Uni- versity of Jerusalem, a public university co- founded by Albert Einstein, and has been a diplomat since the late 1980s. [email protected] “AVRAHAM [SAID] HE WAS JUST DRIVING IN BETWEEN VEHICLES TO CUT IN FRONT OF THE LINE BECAUSE HE HATES WAITING BEHIND TRAFFIC.” Sunny Isles Beach Police photo Avraham Gil