What’s up, Westchester? Our reporters want to know, and we’re coming to visit

What’s happening in Westchester?

Is there something you think the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald should be covering? Someone we should spotlight? Perhaps you have a question for our education reporter, our sports editor, our bosses or even astrologer Alina Rubi.

We’ll all be at the Westchester Regional Library on Nov. 16 and 17, and we hope you will join us.

A team of Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald reporters and editors will be ready to speak with you at the library from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Rubi, who writes el Nuevo Herald’s weekly astrology columns and hosts the newspaper’s weekly astrology podcast, will be there on Thursday starting at 1 p.m. to discuss all things astrology.

This pop-up newsroom is the first of many listening tours we plan to do across the neighborhoods we cover. Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald Executive Editor Monica Richardson said the mobile newsroom initiative will provide a “unique opportunity for our journalists to further our public service mission and connect with current and potential readers.”

“We will be there to share more about the work that we do. But more importantly, we will be there to listen,” said Richardson. “It’s not just about what our reporters may need for a story, or what journalists think they need from our communities – it’s about what communities need and deserve from our journalists.”

Some of us grew up in Westchester too, bowling at Bird Bowl, shopping at Target and checking out books at the Westchester public library.

“I can’t think of a better way to connect with communities than to be physically present in some of the places that are important to them, such as libraries,” Richardson added. “Libraries are an important part of the fabric of different generations and this is also an opportunity to partner with them as a public service institution. I believe such partnerships, and our pop-up mobile newsroom, can further our efforts to build trust and exchange knowledge.”

We know people like to get their cafecito fix at the ventanita of La Carreta on Bird Road. And just like at Versailles, many gather outside La Carreta to rally for important political matters. We know that the Starbucks on Coral Way gets crowded with teenagers after school, and that the Miami-Dade County Youth Fair at Tamiami Park can sometimes cause a traffic headache on Coral Way.

Tropical Park, which is like a Westchester landmark, has also played an important role during the COVID-19 pandemic serving as a COVID-19 test and vaccine site, and at one point, a site for monoclonal antibody treatment. There’s always a food truck fiesta at the park on Fridays, and now, it’s home to the recently opened Westchester cultural arts center too.

We’d like your feedback. If you can’t see the form below, click here.

Westchester continues to grow. And we hope you’ll come tell us your curiosities or if you know the next Pitbull (he’s a Miami Coral Park Senior High grad, you know.)

The Westchester pop-up will be held in the library’s first floor auditorium and will include reporters who cover schools, health, real estate, sports, local government, food and entertainment.

We’ll also have reporters available who can discuss el Nuevo Herald’s Miami Oculto podcast and the Miami Herald’s Curious305 community-powered reporting series. Miami Oculto looks at Miami’s oddities, curiosities, abandoned places and urban legends, including at the Biltmore Hotel, Tower Theater and the Freedom Tower. Curious305 answers questions about South Florida that are submitted by readers.

Mostly, we want to hear from you. What should we know about your community, what stories are we missing, what news do you have to share?

We can’t wait to see you there.

If you go

What: el Nuevo Herald / Miami Herald Pop-Up Newsroom

When: Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 16-17, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Alina Rubi at 1 p.m. Thursday

Where: First Floor Auditorium, Westchester Regional Library, 9445 Coral Way