After many years of decay recently much focus has been placed on revitalizing Flagler Street to its former grandeur in recent years a renewed investment interest has been placed on Flagler Street and many new restaurants and stores have opened up new landscaping and pavers have been placed as well as enforced security and tourist guides Three new pocket parks opened on Flagler St in 2009 Paul S Walker Park Robert F Clark Plaza and the Joan Lehman Sculpture Plaza These new parks have brought more green space benches art and rest areas to the street, Primera Casa 1969 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, On July 27 2005 former Miami city commissioner Arthur Teele walked into the main lobby of the Herald's headquarters and phoned Herald columnist Jim DeFede (one of several telephone conversations that the two had had during the day) to say that he had a package for DeFede He then asked a security officer to tell his (Teele's) wife Stephanie that he loved her before pulling out a gun and committing suicide This happened the day the Miami New Times a weekly newspaper published salacious details of Teele's alleged affairs including allegations that he had had sex and used cocaine with a transsexual prostitute. !

. . See also: 1968 Miami riot In March 1980 the first black Dade County schools superintendent Dr Johnny L Jones was convicted on grand theft charges linked to gold-plated plumbing His conviction was overturned on appeal and on July 3 1986 the state attorney Janet Reno announced that Jones would not be retried on these charges However in a separate case he was convicted on misdemeanor charges of soliciting perjury and witness tampering and received a two-year jail sentence. .