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Today In Events: U.S. State Department Rescinds Journalist's Award Over Trump Criticism, José Andrés Is Opening 15 New York Restaurants Simultaneously, Miami Locals File Last-Minute Lawsuit Over Ultra Festival Agreement

1. U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT RESCINDS JOURNALIST'S AWARD OVER TRUMP CRITICISM: The U.S. State Department has rescinded the International Women of Courage Award that was to be given to Jessikka Aro, a Finnish investigative journalist, at a ceremony in Washington on Thursday. Aro says the department canceled her award because of her social media posts and frequent criticism of President Trump. Foreign Policy: “’It created a shitstorm of getting her unceremoniously kicked off the list,’ said one U.S. diplomatic source familiar with the internal deliberations. 'I think it was absolutely the wrong decision on so many levels,’ the source said. The decision ‘had nothing to do with her work.’ The State Department spokesperson said in an email that Aro was ‘incorrectly notified’ that she had been chosen for the award and that it was a mistake that resulted from ‘a lack of coordination in communications with candidates and our embassies.’ Aro received a formal invitation to the award ceremony not from the embassy but from the State Department’s Office of the Chief of Protocol on February 12. … To U.S. officials who spoke to FP, the incident underscores how skittish some officials—career and political alike—have become over government dealings with vocal critics of a notoriously thin-skinned president.” https://bit.ly/2H60PFG

2. JOSE ANDRES IS OPENING 15 NEW YORK RESTAURANTS SIMULTANEOUSLY: José Andrés is about to open not one, but 15 New York restaurants. The Washington-based restaurateur is opening a Spanish food hall, which will be part of the new Hudson Yards development. GrubStreet: “Mercado Little Spain, which will start opening in stages on March 15, as part of the massive Hudson Yards real-estate fantasia, is like someone took all of Spain, and distilled its essence, and then placed that hyperconcentrated version of the country on the far West Side of Manhattan. It is super-Spain. Hyper-Spain. An entire study-abroad semester condensed into 35,000 square feet. … To start, there will be a market, Colmado, for canned Spanish seafood and cookbooks and Spanish dry goods. And a couple of kiosks, for patatas bravas and churros. And also a bar—Bar Celona—with cocktails and snacks. When it’s finished, Mercado will encompass every Spanish thing Andrés has ever done, and more. There are things he wants to do there, he tells me, that are so Spanish, they don’t even do them in Spain yet. It will have his name on it, and a mural of his face, and at least 40 different kinds of tile.” https://grb.st/2EGeD62

3. MIAMI LOCALS FILE LAST-MINUTE LAWSUIT OVER ULTRA FESTIVAL AGREEMENT: The lead-up to this year's Ultra Music Festival in Miami has been rocky. The event didn't renew its lease to take place at Bayfront Park downtown, and then in November the City of Miami approved for the festival to take place at Virginia Key. Now, the Brickell Home Owners Association, which represents 35,000 residents, has filed a last-minute lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of the city and the festival's agreement. Billboard: “The lawsuit is based on a perceived semantic technicality, arguing that the City's agreement to 'license' the land reads more like a lease agreement. It states that, according to Florida law, leases are subject to competitive bidding and more rigorous public approval, while licensing deals circumvent such debate. The lawsuit argues that the city 'approves a theme to avoid the important public protections of competitive bidding by calling the agreement with Ultra a license, rather than a lease, when in fact the terms of the arrangement clearly constitute a lease under Florida law.' The complaint therefore asks a local judge to void the current licensing agreement between the City and Ultra." https://bit.ly/2EHIlaD

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