uVu had a chance to sit with some of the cast and creative team as they prepared for the opening this week.

You can watch the video clips here.

Waterways is a series of mini-documentaries that explore the natural and cultural heritage of South Florida's public lands. Waterways is a cooperative effort between the National Park Service and the following partners: South Florida National Parks Trust, Environmental Protection Agency and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

This episode: Tortugas Research Natural Area.

Forty-six percent of Dry Tortugas National Park is designated as a “Research Natural Area (RNA)”—closed to fishing and anchoring. Resulting from documented declines in fish catches and the health of the coral reef, and intended to complement the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary’s Tortugas Ecological Reserve, the RNA will help protect the park in a more pristine state.

You can watch more episodes on uVu

After 25 years with Chicago-based Northern Trust Bank, longtime Miamian Edward J. Joyce was chosen to succeed the bank’s longtime Miami-Dade Region President Sheldon T. Anderson.  Mr. Anderson, meanwhile, will stay in Miami and assume leadership of the bank’s Personal Financial Services business in the Southeast US.

As he transitions into his new role, Mr. Joyce said he’ll be drawing on a wealth of experience in different areas of Northern Trust’s business to lead its day-to-day operations in Miami. “For the last four or 4½ years, I’ve been much more exposed to the banking side of our business in a management role than I had been in the past,” Mr. Joyce said. “And I think that experience of the multi-discipline approach gave me a really good background for doing this job.”

The bank continues to see opportunities to attract high-net-worth clients despite a slowdown in population growth in Florida, lagging economic factors and increased competition from new and existing banks targeting the same clients. “There have always been a lot of competitors in that market both nationally and here in Miami and the ones… mentioned will continue to be strong competitors. We welcome the competition,” he said. “We think that our strengths, our safety, our soundness, our customization, our expertise in trust, investment and banking play very, very well to what clients are looking for.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Joyce pointed to the dramatic rebounding of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which recently topped the 10,000 mark for the first time this year, as a leading indicator for the recovery, though there’s still a ways to go. And while that recovery is predicted to move along slowly, Mr. Joyce said the bank will begin to target smaller businesses for lending as a way to bring in individual clients for its personalized wealth-management services. “We’ve seen some opportunities in the foundation and endowment area as well as with some local businesses,” he pointed out. “We think Miami has a lot of small, as Florida does, a lot of small businesses, and we see that as an opportunity for us.”

Mr. Joyce was interviewed in Northern Trust’s Brickell Avenue office by Miami Today Staff Writer Zachary S. Fagenson.

Watch the profile here

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Watch the video here

Watch video from the interview here on uvu

Halloween came a little early in New Orleans, but the unusual is tradition in the town that defined Mardi Gras.  The parade wound its way through the French Quarter and then up and down Canal Street, finishing at the riverfront warehouse of Mardi Gras World.  More than just a whimsical evening of fun however, the parade raised much needed funds for the cities first responders, police, fire and EMS.

Although the beads and cups and stuffed toys were flying, I didn't hear anyone shout "throw me something Monster"

Here is a little info about the parade and the cause it represented:

The Krewe of Boo, New Orleans’ Official Halloween Parade!

Created by New Orleans’ own Blaine Kern Sr., The mastermind producing Mardi Gras for over 60 years, the Krewe of Boo is unlike any other parade in the world. Not only is the Krewe of Boo the official Halloween Parade in New Orleans, it is the first parade with a charitable cause! Mr. Kern’s vision for this unique event was to give back to New Orleans First Responders the best way he knows how…by throwing a party! Every dollar generated by the Krewe of Boo benefits the Greater New Orleans First Responders Fund.

In 2007, Mr. Kern founded one of the most innovative nonprofits in New Orleans, the First Responders Fund. This organization was established because there was a need. Our police, fire, and EMS departments were suffering in many ways post Hurricane Katrina. Official headquarters and offices were replaced with inadequate temporary trailers, order and control replaced with rampant crime, and once stable personnel turned into staggering loss. The working environment within these agencies was hard, and home life for its employees was often harder. Many First Responders were working in temporary offices and living in temporary housing; all while coping with personal decisions that bared difficult solutions.

The New Orleans Police Department was in a particularly critical situation by the end of 2006 when it experienced the loss of nearly 500 officers. With a sound Board in place and direction from Superintendent of Police Warren Riley, Chief of New Orleans Fire Department Charles Parent, and Executive Director of Emergency Management Services Jullette Saussy, the First Responders Fund decided to support these agencies by offering a housing incentive to First Responders that would compliment compensation packages and aid retention efforts. For more on the First Responders Fund click here.

Founded on the belief that by aiding the recovery of our Police, Fire, and EMS departments, we aid the recovery of our entire City, the First Responders Fund publicly announced its mission in July of 2007. Assuring that in 2008 we would see two very important initiatives come to life – the execution of a housing program for New Orleans First Responders and the inaugural roll of the Krewe of Boo Halloween Parade!

You might better know her as Tom Cruise's wife in Mission Impossible III. You know...The sequel where the wife is kidnapped and ends up being the one saving everyone at the end (My version of the movie). If my description is not accurate enough or if you decided not to follow the adventure of agent Ethan Hunt for a third time..Maybe you are a Grey's Anatomy's fan and watch every single movie featuring Patrick Dempsey aka Mc Dreamy, you might have seen Made of Honor, where Monaghan plays the love interest.

If you still cannot picture the actress' beautiful face, one last chance. The Heartbreak Kid? with Ben Stiller? Rings a bell? Well, she is the love interest, once again. If you still don't know who she is, just watch the uVu video below where Monaghan gracefully walked  the Red Carpet of the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival on Oct 23rd, 2009 for the premiere of her movie Trucker. She also received the Star on the Horizon Award that same evening.

The Margulies Warehouse was the place to be on October 16th, 2009. Drumming, dancing, painting, food tasting welcomed each guest who came to celebrate the arts for a good cause: The Lotus House Women's Shelter in Downtown, Miami.

uVu was once again there to bring you a taste of the Fifth Annual Hope Blossoms- An Art Happening Fundraiser in case you missed it. About 500 people came to the event to support the Lotus House. Donations as low as $ 10 were accepted in exchange for a poem writing on old school typewriters. Guests could also buy Lotus House clothing to help the Women's shelter.

Constance Collins Marguiles Founder of the Lotus House explained that the shelter helps about 130 women and children by providing free transitional housing and empower women to improve the quality of their lives on every level.

It was all about arts in every forms at the famous Margulies Warehouse. Between the Margulies Arts Collection, dancers moving and shaking around guests to the beat of their Ipod, restaurants offering culinary treats such as sushi, empanadas, squid salad, cupackes, shrimp cocktail, drummers offering beats of Latin America...Hope Blossoms brought joy, positive energy and inspiration to everyone.

Clients from The Lotus House were also present and shared with uVu their gratitude and happiness. "It is the first time I enjoy myself drug free," said an emotional Cherry during the party.

The evening was a success as Martin Margulies described it, "but not only because of the fundraiser", he insisted, "but because we brought awareness to the women's shelter."

Watch for yourself

While living in South Florida it is sometimes difficult to connect with the people around you. If you think about it, when was the last time you had a conversation with your neighbor? In this new series the uVu crew tries to reconnect people by showcasing the interesting lives of South Floridians; some who could be your next-door neighbor. 

In episode one we sit down with Elijah, a vampire living in Miami. In this clip Elijah discusses how he became a vampire. This episode is part 1 of 4.

Read a uVu intern's perspective of when the crew met Elijah for the first time in his blog post Vampires in South Florida.