Happy Halloween!

See you in the Grove tonight!

Halloween Coconut Grove-style

Halloween should be wild in the Grove as usual. Hurricane Wilma ruined last year, so this year should be good. From Cocowalk to Peacock Park is usually the best.

I'll be out taking pics, so look for some fun Halloween pics.

Photos from Flickr: Masquerade Pool from a past Grove Halloween.

Costumes

There's a big costume store in the Grove, next to the Shaq Gym. They have a lot of fun items for Halloween. Check it out. The place was buzzing yesterday, and as Halloween draws near, it will probably be a madhouse.

Family Day at Cocowalk

Yesterday was "Family Day" at Cocowalk. This time of year, before Halloween, and running through the Arts Festival in February, is really the best time. There's always something going on and even though it was raining yesterday, the cooler weather and usually bright blue skies make it the perfect place to be.

That's Silly Sue, the clown above, left, with Sally. Below is a scary ghoul who was taking over Cocowalk for the day. There are sure to be plenty more on Halloween night.

You can click on the pictures for larger versions.

To set up a date with Silly Sue and Sally for your party, email us for the phone number. The email address is at the upper right.

Nasty comments

I will be deleting all nasty attacks from people who post comments anonymously.

For the person who called me a "prissy jerk": get a sense of humor. I do this blog to share Grove news, make jokes and poke fun at things. If you don't like it, don't read the freakin' thing.

Clean your hands before you enter

So Miliam's has these handi-wipes right at the entrance now. I guess they want their customers to be clean when they enter. Ironically, they are the ones in bed with Home Depot, they should use the handi-wipes to wipe the stench off themselves.

Grove Farmer's Market and yuppie gossip

I've been going to the Grove farmer's market on Saturdays. If you go, bring a lot of patience. The check out line can be 45 minutes long and I sometimes get tired of all the yuppie talk from over aged yuppies about their summer in the Hamptons and what they caught during lobster mini season and how Marc Sarnoff dropped the ball on not filing the appeal on Home Depot in time. But it does have a lot of incredible things.

I love the Deep Well Water, it is so cold and fresh tasting and the Coconut Water is delicious, too. All the fruits and vegetables are nice and fresh and there are lots of items that you wont' find in the supermarket. There is prepared food and home made canned (actually jarred) items, as well.

There is a new Farmer's Market opening at Mayfair on Nov. 4th -- it will be every Saturday. Not sure why we need two, but I'll report on the new market when it opens. If it is more spread out and less claustrophobic, I'll love it.

Stop destroying the Grove

Someone made this comment on another post:

"I don't agree with the statement that the City of Miami is growing and therefore Coconut Grove must change too. That is a lot of hogwash. Zoning laws are supposed to be protecting us from that."

I have to agree. Every time I post something about leaving the Grove alone, I am put down for being against progress and wanting to live in the old days. I am so glad other cities agree with me or we wouldn't have Colonial Williamsburg, Colonial Boston and Philadelphia, Greenwich Village in NYC, the French Quarter in New Orleans, practically all of New England, St. Augustine, and even parts of Key West. And what about the Art Deco area of Sobe? They wanted to knock that down once, too.

The Grove is very popular with everyone because of its ambiance. We don't need to continue raping it and destroying it. Just because many parts of the County are overbuilt, doesn't mean the Grove has to be. If you want to live in Kendall, then move there. If you want to live on Brickell, it's a few blocks away.

Acoustic Blues

Blue Man Grove is performing "Acoustic Blues", tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 28th at the Pommes & Pane Cafe -- 3015 Grand Ave. (at Cocowalk - facing Virginia St., that small place facing the entrance to the Mayfair hotel). Enjoy the show from 7 to 9:30 pm.

You'll enjoy two great guitar players and one great harp player, all of whom sing.

Experienced musicians are welcome to sit in. Plus beer, wine, & soft drinks, great french fries, and really good deli sandwiches are available at Pommes & Pane Cafe.

Tel: (305) 774-6696

Pub Crawl?

I've been trying to get info on the Pub Crawl which is supposed to take place this weekend. I think it involves Mr. Moes and a few other places of course, but no one seems to have any info. Anyone know anything?

Massive crap

According to the Stuck on the Palmetto blog, Ikea is opening up a 293,000 square foot store in Broward. Talk about massive. Makes the Home Depot not look so bad, except with Ikea, they believe in the environment, they don't pollute the neighborhood and don't have construction workers in and out non-stop, day and night.

Smoothies coming soon

A new smoothie place is going in next to Johnny Rockets. Good, it will save me the trip to Miracle Mile every day, where I have to go to get my Jamba Juice fix.

Lighting up the Grove

The picture from my cell phone is a bit distorted and dark, but you can see the city workers here (up in the tree) putting up new lights around the downtown Grove area. The place is so pretty lit up at night. I love to drive down Commodore Plaza late at night. Here you can see the lights being installed on Virginia and Main Highway.

Taxpayers do not want Home Depot

We get tons of comments on this blog, but I think this one comment from a previous post, says it all, in the clearest way possible . . . and I quote:

"The person who wants to know if Shell Lumber is afraid of competition needs to stop sniffing glue and look at the facts. Shell Lumber has nothing to do with Grovites not wanting a trash dump in the middle of the highest tax base in the city.

Grovites SUPPORT this city and if they don't want a warehouse in the middle of a residential neighborhood the city should respect that request. The commission was given 13,000 signatures of people who opposed H/D in Coconut Grove. HELLO!

H/D will employ a hundred people in there who probably don't even live in the district and most likely don't vote. It's time the Commissioners stopped serving big business, developers and other flash-in-the-pan Johnny-come-lately's and listened to the residents who pay their salaries, vote and support this city. Marc Sarnoff is standing by his community which is more than I can say for Linda Haskins who is accepting campaign contributions, parties and who knows what else from Home Depot and their lawyers.

Does she really think the residents of District 2 are so brain dead that they actually believe she's not going to vote for Home Depot if she's elected. And as for Frank Rollason, the fire tax was instituted during his watch. Now he's telling the voters he's going to get them a full refund. I'm wondering how he's going to do that when 7 of his cronies have already stolen it. The last thing we need on the commission is someone previously employed in government. And we sure as hell don't need a Home Depot in the heart of the tax district that supports this city. "

Editor's note: Yes, this is a NIMBY attitude, but when the Grove is the neighborhood that supports Miami, the Grove should have a say what goes in its neighborhood. There is an industrial area across US1, that is zoned for this type of project.

New Grove blog

There's a new Grove blog, check it out:
Bridgeport - Coconut Grove.

Home Depot pictures tell the story

A reader sent me these pictures. They were taken Saturday, October 21, 2006 at the Home Depot on SW 8th Street.

As the reader states: "Even if Max Strang had designed the Home Depot on SW 8th Street these pictures would be the same. These pictures are a direct result of the operation and management of a Home Depot Store in the City of Miami and have nothing to do with the design of the store. "

I have to agree, this could be the Grove in a year or so.

Meet Marc this Wednesday

Love him or hate him, you can tell him to his face what you think . . . Marc Sarnoff, Candidate for City Commissioner, District 2, will be at Cucina Creativa, located at the Arts and Minds Center (3138 Commodore Plaza) in the Grove, this Wednesday, October 25, from 6 to 8 pm.

Complimentary wine and hors d'oeuvres will be served and a sneak preview of "Don't Box Me In - Part 2", the revised edition, will be shown at 7:15 pm. Free DVD's will be given out, too. That's the Grove-Home Depot story.

No dogs allowed at Scotty's Landing anymore

Apparently Scotty's Landing no longer allows dogs, or "well behaved dogs" as the sign says said.

The staff says the City is threatening them with a $5000.00 fine for every dog they see there now. I actually approve. I don't think there has ever been a time there that some dog fight didn't break out or a time when the dogs didn't stop barking (talking) with each other.

Marc Sarnoff's Home Depot letter

Here is a letter to the editor in today's "Neighbors", written by Marc Sarnoff:

COCONUT GROVE HOME DEPOT FAILED TO FOLLOW THE LAW

This will serve as a response to the fears that Home Depot will retrofit into the former Kmart and we will lose Walgreens and Milams.

First and foremost, Walgreens purchased the Oil Can Change on the corner of Bird and U.S. 1, so there is no concern for the drugstore -- it will be 150 feet away. Walgreens has always wanted a drive-through pharmacy, and Home Depot never allowed sufficient space for that.

Home Depot will not be retrofitting into the Kmart space because of its failure to comply with the law passed well in advance of the filing of the retrofit plans with the city. The law is plain and clear on this. There is no argument for grandfathering the Kmart Certificate of Use, because the Kmart Certificate of Use lapsed more than six months ago and Home Depot did not attempt to maintain the use.

The Max Strang plan, which ''few'' have chosen to call the community plan is the only pending permit Home Depot has arguable rights to for utilization of this site, and it must overcome the zoning board's denial of the city administration's granting of the permit. The Max Strang plan may become the community plan when Home Depot does away with the use of contractors and their day laborers and when they respect the trees intended to be destroyed that were appealed by the Treeman Trust. There are other necessary accommodations that must be made, including the proper storage of inflammable liquids as well as the storage of pesticides and other toxic material next to Bridgeport Avenue. The fire last Sunday morning at Grove Gate, which received little publicity, clearly illustrates the need to protect the neighborhood from the storage of the explosive materials as well as the potentially lethal toxic materials.

What if Home Depot were operating and these inflammables caused a cascade effect and brought toxic materials over the wall of Home Depot? There are moms and dads on Bridgeport with infants and toddlers who deserve a heck of a lot better of this so-called community plan, a plan that fails to address the storage of significant quantities of the toxic substances.

You may remember reading of the fire at a Home Depot in Boston that brought a cloud of toxic material to the neighbors for days. We do not want to risk that in the Grove.

There is still work to be done, but, all of you out there, please take stock that Home Depot failed to follow the law. Why? Those reasons could be anyone's guess.

Keep in mind the Oct. 12 fundraiser for Linda Haskins, which Home Depot lawyers hosted where they raised more than $250,000.

When they began to retrofit, the city failed to make them follow the law. A judge will easily find they failed to follow the law and they will lose their permit to retrofit.

MARC SARNOFF
COCONUT GROVE
Editor's note: Marc Sarnoff is a candidate for the District 2 Miami City Commission seat.

Pumpkin time

They say that there is a shortage of pumpkins this year, but the Boys and Girls Club of Miami seems to have plenty. They have their tent set up, as usual, near US 1 and 32nd Ave. Why not get your pumpkins there, where the money goes to a good cause.

What is a real Grove restaurant?

Some of us were having a discussion the other day and were debating about Grove restaurants. If a tourist asked you which restaurant in the Grove actually says "Coconut Grove", which would it be?

Scotty's Landing? Monty's? Greenstreets Cafe? Logghead? Hmmmm. I wonder. If the Taurus was still around, that is what I would pick. Now I don't know. Monty's is so downhill now, I would almost pick them, but I have not had a fresh or decent meal there in years.

Marc Sarnoff

Is Marc Sarnoff good or bad for the Grove? Please discuss . . .

Letter about Home Depot

Here is an interesting letter about Home Depot from Kathy Harris in "Neighbors". Click here.

Haskins says no to Seth Gordon and Home Depot

'Seth Gordon [who is in Home Depot's pocket] wanted to do fundraising for my campaign, and I told him I didn't want him to do fundraising for me and I didn't want his money,'' Linda Haskins said about her City Commission campaign.

Bitchy but true comment by Ana Menendez in the same article:

"The company has encountered similar opposition in other communities, only to find stores filled on opening day. Home Depot is the big orange monster that many love to hate -- until it comes time to remodel the kitchen."

Story here.

Home Depot Update

The trailer is gone. The signs are gone.

Mango Heads - Fantasy Fest update

The Passion Bus is Full . . .

The Desire Bus still has seats available. For a seat on the magic bus email Glenn Terry at bettermiami@yahoo.com or call 305-448-3775.

Chihuahuas in the streets

Word on the street: Using a real or toy Chihuahua’s in this years King Mango Strut to help mock the Miami Herald and Tom Fiedler.

To help or be in the parade call 305-401-1171 or visit http://www.kingmangostrut.org/ .

The parade is Dec. 31st.

Home Depot spitefullness goes on

It appears as if the Home Depot is allowed to renovate the inside of the old K-mart as long as they stay inside and don't do anything outside, including changing doors and windows. This comes from the city zoning department.

Many Grove residents are still upset, but I say let them go on. If they can't change doors or windows and can't really use the smaller store for their needs, all they are doing is trying to cause trouble. Do you really think they are building a store inside? And if they do, do you think they will use the one small entrance that is there -- and not have a garden center, etc?

They are spiteful bastards. I hate Home Depot more and more because of their obnoxious bullying tactics. Whomever runs their PR really has no clue how badly the whole corporation is coming across. Every day it just makes them look worse and worse.

Give them enough rope people.

Vivaldi's Concerto in the Grove

Guitarist Carlos Molina joins the Alhambra Orchestra in "Vivaldi's Concerto in A Major" at Ransom Everglades tomorrow, Sunday, Oct. 8, at 7 pm (3575 Main Hwy., Coconut Grove). Admission is free. For information, call 305-668-9260 or visit www.alhambramusic.org.

Poppa is gonna have to keep waiting

According to Christine Dolen at The Herald, Neil Simon was to have premiered a new play at the Coconut Grove Playhouse this winter. "Waiting for Poppa" was to have run from Nov. 24 through Dec. 10th. Now he is looking for a new venue. :(

Mayfair relief

This is one of the reliefs that are all over The Streets of Mayfair. They give the place character.

Last night I noticed that all of the handprints are gone from the old Planet Hollywood days. Did those idiots at Mayfair actually cover up Bruce Willis and Woopi Goldberg and Stallone and all the star prints that added character to the outside wall?

Why?

'Magdalene's Dreams' performed by new Grove theater group

"Magdalene's Dreams" is being performed by the White Orchid Theater group at their new home: The Abanico Theater at 3138 Commodore Plaza, part of the Arts & Minds Center in the Grove.

The first performance is tonight, October 6th and there are performances every Friday and Saturday night for the rest of the month.

For info, please call 305-331-1233 or visit http://whiteorchardtheater.com/

Now that the Coconut Grove Playhouse is in trouble it may be time to start supporting Grove theater. Hopefull the Playhouse will come back better than ever and hopefully The Abanico Theater and the White Orchid Theater can survive, as well.

General admission is $25.00 per person and students pay $15.00. Let's suppor them.

Playhouse's inept board needs to go

Documents obtained by The Miami Herald show the Coconut Grove Playhouse's inept board was aware of serious financial troubles nearly two years before the theater shut down. Story here.

Too bad they don't have Carl Hiaasen on the board. He would have been the first to tattle tale on everyone like a little spoiled baby.

Don't compare Home Depot to K-mart

Many people are comparing Home Depot to the stores that were there in the past from K-mart to Mervyns and Zayres.

While these stores may be considered "big box" stores in some locations, the Grove location is not really big box. It is smaller than most of the new K-marts and a fraction of the size of many Mervyns.

There was never a traffic problem at these stores and the parking lots were never full. The store management did not try to knock down every tree in the parking lot to make way for more cars and they didn't antagonize the neighbors.

They gave jobs to neighbors but didn't consume the whole area with their presence. These stores did not have a dozen or so huge 18-wheelers delivering merchandise daily. And traffic patterns were not disturbed on US1. In fact, SW 27th Ave. currently has more traffic problems than SW 32nd Ave. ever had.

Gables is a big part of Grove's traffic woes

A reader sent me this email:

Home Depot is not alone in exacerbating the traffic condition in the Grove. Our dear neighbor, The CIty Beautiful itself, Coral Gables, should also be cited. Gables over-zealous actions of positioning "traffic calming circles" on every other intersection has caused the Grove to become an unofficial artery for vehicular communters into downtown every morning between 7:15 am and 9 am. South Grove residents in particular cannot exit their driveways and the bumper-to-bumper traffic has now spilled over to Douglas Road and Grand Avenue up to Tigertail.

Like it or not Grovites, but we are in an undeclared war for control of our streets because the adjacent municipality Coral Gables is insulating its' roadways for their residents to the detriment of Coconut Grove.

Isn't it time for Grovites to petition the City of Miami to re-install and/or enforce the "NO right turn" signs on Le Jeune Road (begnning at Cartagena Circle) or must we wait for a tragedy to occur?

Disturbing real estate trends

I got an email from someone who is moving to Miami, who particularly wants to move to the Grove. He told me something disturbing. He says that various realtors have been showing him the same units in the Grovernor House and Ritz Carlton and asking various prices for rent. One will ask $2800.00 per month and another will ask $5000.00 for the same exact unit.

Is this a common practice? Is this what new arrivals to Miami and the Grove are subjected to in this crazy real estate market? I hate massive development and now I hate these greedy realtors even more.

Any comments?

Comm. Linda Haskins upset with Home Depot

There is going to be a special commission meeting to discuss the Home Depot issue. Apparently they opened a can of worms when they started construction, angering many people, including Commissioner Linda Haskins, who represents the Grove.

''When I ... saw the construction work proceeding it made me sick to my stomach,'' she said.

Her predecessor, Johnny Winton, would probably have been there with a shovel in hand and a big smile on his face, helping out the Home Depot in the dark of night.

The City of Miami's code enforcement office, has issued warning letters, not citations, for the large spite signs, the construction trailer and the chain-link fence.

The Home Depot has until tomorrow, Oct. 2, to get a permit for the sign and until next Monday, Oct. 9, for the fence and the trailer.