The Our City project is the first in a series of topic specific global journalism experiments committed to solving the most pressing problems of our time through local reporting on global issues. Instead of depending on a strategy of journalists from influential institutions fanning out to hot spots around the world to produce authentic reports, this experiment focuses on enabling local storytellers to report on global issues with training and assistance from the Knight Center for International Media at the University of Miami.
Groundhog Day was popularized in Pennsylvania during the late 1800s during a time when German settlers predominantly populated the region. It supposedly has its origins in ancient European lore wherein a badger or sacred bear prognosticates the end of winter, rather than the groundhog. In South Florida, there are no wild groundhogs or much in the way of winter, so the holiday takes on interesting cultural variations.