New Starbucks opening on schedule

The new Starbucks at CocoWalk is scheduled for a July 12 opening. As you know, they are moving from their current location across the street.

The inside is taking shape nicely. It should be a great new place. They're going to have art on the walls by local artists that will be for sale, too.

Volunteers needed for Peacock Park event

The Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce needs help this 4th of July to make sure the Grove's second annual 4th of July Celebration in Peacock Park is a great success. Volunteers are needed to help out as follows:

1) Rum booth (assist with serving drinks and collecting tickets. Alcoholic drinks will be served. No one underage can assist)

2) Information Booth (distribute information about Coconut Grove, the event and different organizations)

There are 2 shifts for each booth
Shift A: 3:30 pm-7:00 pm
Shift B: 6:30 pm-10:00 pm

Volunteers will help with the set-up, execution and breakdown of each area depending on which shift is chosen.

You can also sign up as an alternate and might be called to jump in to help out. Please respond to mcconnell28@msn.com and also send a copy to info@coconutgrove.com
For more info call Richard at 305-444-7270

New bar closing time is 3 am

As of today, tonight actually, the bars close at 3 am, not 5 am. So start drinking early to get it all in.

Miami Heart Gallery coming to Grove

The Miami Heart Gallery is presenting their Miami Adoption exhibit at the Windisch-Hunt Fine Arts Gallery (2911 Grand Avenue) on July 5. The exhibit will run through August 4. The actual installation (hanging) will start today and go through July 4. On opening day, there will be champagne and a sax player for the first hour.

The inaugural showing highlights the faces of children up for adoption. The museum quality photographs capture 70 foster children in the Miami area. Most are of older children who have it harder finding homes. Miami Children's Trust is sponsoring the exhibit which will be open during the gallery's summer hours, Tuesdays thru Fridays, from 6 to 10 pm and Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 9 pm.

For more info, please call 305-455-1049.

Music under the trees

Texas swing band called 18 Wheelers performing at Scotty's Landing through July 10.

Photo by Harry Emilio Gottlieb

Old school Grove

I've been getting a lot of readers lately who are doing searches for old Grove businesses. This week alone, people found the Grapevine by searching for The Taurus Bar, The Hamlet, Lums, Hatties, Ensign Bitters and Honey for the Bears.

I don't know if the people doing the searches are trying to find if the places are still open or if they are just looking for old stories or photos. But it does bring up lots of memories.

Georges in the Grove and Nikki Coconut Grove are getting many searches, too. So they seem to be very popular today.

Catch ZuZu if you can

Here is Zouhir (ZuZu) Bouzit, owner of Trini In Private Hair and Beauty Salon, with two of his staff Anna and Annette. ZuZu's salon is at 3197 Commodore Plaza but you actually can see him all over Commodore. He's usually at Le P'tit Paris or George's in the Grove and actually every place in between. You might even see him on his scooter going up and down the streets.

But for excellent hair care and service, this is the place. ZuZu also owns Women Fitness Lounge, which is right next door and actually connects through a back door. I don't understand much about that except that you work out with personal trainers using a computer program that works with your age and body type. There are red, yellow and green lights on a tv on the wall that tell you what and when to do things and every so often, you'll hear a bong sound, which also indicates something or other.

Stop in and speak to Zuzu, he'll explain it all. He also can be reached at 305-448-8303 (that's the fitness place) for the salon, the number is 305-448-3445.

Mocha Latte

The Cheesecake Factory has these great Mocha Lattes. Here's Angel from Cheesecake, serving Sylvia.

The Mocha Latte comes in a tall glass with a straw and it's hot, where ordinarily you would assume when seeing the glass and straw that is is cold. They also have iced versions, but the hot one is really delicious I've never had anything like it. It's the way they blend it all and the heat with the glass and the straw -- hard to explain, but I am going back again today for another.

A special treat you may be missing

Tanya and Erial run the fresh lemonade stand at at the Mayfair Farmer's Market on Saturdays. This is a little area where you can find some great bargains not just on food, but on clothing, sunglasses, art and even massages.

The plaza usually has something cool going on Saturdays and Sundays. It's a little area that many people are missing. It is worth the walk down to Mayfair to check out. You can't miss the tents and kiosks.

Here's Paul with his sunglasses stand.

And here's some great headwear and clothing.

And lots of nice light dresses for summer are always available. It really is worthwhile to check the plaza area at Mayfair.

Red, white and blue all over the Village

We look like we're in Boston!

City workers were out all day yesterday decorating the village for the 4th. They should be getting the rest of the flags and bunting up this weekend.

I don't think they are missing a light pole or traffic light.

Our Old Time 4th of July is really taking shape. Every street in the Central Business District will be red, white and blue.

Chicken wing cook-off today

Here is Joe Lett, one of the judges. Joe looks like he means business. The wing eating contest starts at 5 pm.

After the chicken wing cook-off, don't forget the Bar Crawl at 7 pm.

Enough talk, lets patronize local businesses

I ran into Victor from Qdoba on the street yesterday. He says that management closed Qdoba on weekends due to very slow business.

I also ran into my friend Louis the other day, in Qdoba, ironically and he says that if all the people who commented on this post went into Qdoba on the weekends, they might be still open on weekends.

True that.

Half Full

The Butter Gallery (3135 Commodore Plaza) is holding a "Celebrate the Half-Way Point" party for ilovemiami365, the daily photo documentary which is ongoing for the rest of the year. The celebration is tomorrow, June 28 from 7 to 10 pm, where you may see the artistic photographs of Alissa Christine.

Alissa's goal is "to photograph and select an image per day for the entire year of 2008 with aspirations of producing/publishing a coffee table book, dvd, calendar, posters, etc., compiled of the images, captions, blogs and experiences throughout the project," according to her website.

167 personalized prints will be on exhibit featuring the April 20th, 1st place photo from Fotomission's South Beach Photomarathon.

First phase approved on Grand Avenue project

The City Commission gave preliminary approval yesterday on the Grove Village Project on Grand Avenue.

And I think hell just froze over. I am actually in agreement with Comm. Michelle Spence-Jones on the project. She would like the developer, Pointe Group Advisors, to put in writing that they will provide affordable housing. She was the one dissenting vote. The others voted 4-1 in favor of the first phase of the project.

She said, "I've become a little jaded when it comes to developers and what they plan to do for people who have lived in a community all their lives." Too bad she didn't feel that about everyone who lived near Mercy hospital when she voted for that 300 Grove Bay Residences monstrosity to be built. A bit two-faced. That I don't care for.

I disagree with Marc Sarnoff who does not want to push for affordable housing in the first phase. If that is not pushed for now, who is to say they will build a second phase? No guarantee.

The Investigation Miami blog has a very interesting take on the whole thing. You may read their views here.

The final vote on this project is next month.

Left hand never knows what right hand is doing

Apparently the meter maids didn't get the memo from Comm. Marc Sarnoff. No, not that one, the one where he declared the street parking in front of the Grove post office free for 30 minutes until the parking lot job is complete.

One irate guy complained to Dave Collins, head of the BIC (Business Improvement Committee) and Dave took the ticket. He said he'd take care of it. If the Miami Parking Authority (MPA) doesn't void it, good ol' Dave will pay the ticket out of his own pocket.

But this should not be happening. The MPA needs to know the parking rules: FREE 30 MINUTE PARKING in front of the post office until further notice.

"Burn Notice" made for an exciting day

Yesterday was exciting in Coconut Grove because Burn Notice was filming. It's not so much that Burn Notice was here, just that there was so much activity.

Hundreds of people took over the area. They turned the old French restaurant in the plaza at Mayfair into a sporting goods store. And all afternoon, into the evening they filmed Jeffrey Donovan, the star of the show, who plays Michael Westen, doing his scene. That's him in the light blue pants.

Above you can see make-up being put on Jeffrey and below is Jeffrey's own dog. He brought his pet to the set. At least that is what I was told.

One of the other empty store fronts was used as a catering room for craft service, where everyone was fed, including the merchants on the block. All up and down the plaza onto Grand Avenue were wardrobe people, technicians, lighting guys and so on, all mixing in with the merchants up and down the plaza. It was a nice change of pace.

Today they are filming at or near Madonna's old house on Brickell Avenue, next to Vizcaya.

If you click on these photos, they will open larger. All photos are copyrighted and may not be reproduced.

Here is Jeffrey Donovan on the set in Coconut Grove.

Here is the story on the Expo Center and Burn Notice

Here are the set pics of Carlitos, etc.

More set pics and stories to come. Read Coconut Grove Grapvine daily.

Photos by Sylvia Rodriquez and Louis DeBorello

Sliced bread on display today

Tamara, Dianne, Priscilla and Elizabeth were outside CocoWalk today with this loaf of sliced bread and an oven mitt, both enclosed in a glass case. They are promoting the items as "art" and part of the Museum of the Obvious website. Which is actually a Duracell battery commercial.

They'll be back tomorrow if you so desire to check them out.

Is Village West ready for change?

I see The Herald picked up on a story I did months ago about the planned project in Village West. While I think the project may bring much needed jobs and businesses to the area (like a supermarket), I am concerned about the residents being displaced and so are the residents.

I took a little tour around Village West recently and this is what I saw. It really is a great community with a lot of history. It would be really great if the place could be cleaned up and the residents could stay in the Grove. The neighbors are concerned and I think they need to be heard. This project looks like it is going to be in the talking stages for awhile so maybe residents will get their say.

"Burn Notice" filming all over the Grove today

Burn Notice will be filming around the Grove today. This morning they are next to the glass house in Peacock Park and this afternoon, into the evening, they'll be filming at Mayfair, at a vacant storefront. This is episode 7, season 2.

Bring your patience when looking for parking today because lots of spots are roped off for the crew on Florida Avenue, Grand Avenue, McFarlane Road and even the little horse shoe parking area at the end of McFarlane by the waterfront.

Here come the wardrobe ladies. Filming can't start until everyone gets dressed right?

Finally, some results

The started cleaning up the post office parking lot this morning. The screen also went up around the work area.

"One Water" to be shown Friday

"One Water" will be shown at City Hall (3500 Pan American Drive), tomorrow, June 27 at 7 pm. Admission is free. The film sold out twice during the Miami Film Festival. There is limited seating, so please show up early.

Access to clean water is one of the things that we take for granted in the Western world. However, in many parts of the developing world, clean water is a luxury and unclean water the breeding ground for disease. In this extraordinary and stunning film, filmmakers Sanjeev Chatterjee and Ali Habashi take a mesmerizing journey through 14 countries to illustrate the value of the earth’s most precious resource.

The project was a six-year-long collaborative project involving the University of Miami School of Communication, College of Engineering and Frost School of Music. Donna Shalala, Professor of Political Science and President of the University of Miami, narrates.

For rent

Looks like the movie people moved out of 2982 Grand Avenue. They were using the place as a wardrobe holding area for all the movies they have been filming in town recently.

It's a great location between FedEx/Kinko's and the Shaq 24 Hour Fitness gym. If it doesn't rent out, I see the costume store taking it over for Halloween. They usually are in that area each year in one of the empty storefronts.

Grove bar crawl this weekend

Alfest 2008 is this Saturday, June 28. It's a Bar Crawl to raise money for Camp Boggy Creek - a year round camp for ill children.

Registration is at the Sandbar Grill. The Crawl starts at 7 pm. You can prepay on line and be sure a guaranteed entry. Their website is here: http://www.alfest.net/

The Mayfair Hotel and Spa is offering discounted rooms for all Alfest Bar crawlers. So you can just crawl over later that night and avoid getting into a car. Contact the Mayfair's in-house reservations at 305-441-0000 or email reservations@mayfairhotelandspa.com and identify yourself a participant of Alfest to obtain the discounted room rates, which are based on availability.

Photo courtesy of Alfest website

Getting ready for the 4th

No, that's not my prom dress. I stopped at the BIC office and Dave Collins showed me the bunting that will be going up all over the Grove starting Friday. It's really going to be an old fashioned 4th of July around here.

New at Flavour -- Glamour Thursdays

Flavour Night Club (2895 McFarlane Road) offers half price drinks from 6 to 10 pm on Fridays for their popular happy hour. Ladies continue to drink from 10 pm to midnight and Bacardi Mojitos are on special until midnight.

Starting this Thursday, June 26 Flavour presents "Glamour Thursdays" with 2 for 1 drinks until midnight. Enjoy the sultry sounds of Paul E and Illmanik. Groups of six girls receive a free bottle of champagne. You need to rsvp for that (786-355-5352 or 305-495-9955.

Photo courtesy of Flavour website.

Did he float in from Cuba?

This guy was floating around the bay this weekend. He was literally just floating around on a barge, yelling things at the shore. As you can see he has a couple of lounge chairs. I looked out a bit later and there was another guy with him then and they were fishing. Weird.

Fitness seminar has a few seats left

There are only six places left for Andy's fitness and nutrition seminar tomorrow. More info here.

Drink up

Lots of free wine these days in the Grove.

As you know. George's in the Grove (3145 Commodore Plaza) is offering a free glass of wine or champagne to anyone with their entrees if they mention the Grapevine. Cefalo's (3540 Main Hwy.) is offering a free glass of wine if you mention the Grapevine.

And now Berries (2884 SW 27 Ave.) is offering a free bottle of wine with every two entrees ordered. (You don't have to mention the Grapevine, they are just doing it).

New trees -- some like them, some hate them

Some people have asked me about the trees on Grand Avenue, you know the news ones they put in up and down the street.

Many don't like them. They feel they are too wide and take up space on the sidewalk, you can see above, there isn't much room to walk. Also, they don't like the little yellow flowers that keep falling all over the place.

These trees along the post office sidewalk are better than the mess left at the post office lot and while they do take up sidewalk room, they do beautify the area.

Many like palm trees. They feel they are prettier and they say Florida, but I can understand that falling coconuts may be a problem and cities like to avoid that situation. But being that we are "Coconut" Grove. Maybe some coconut palms might be in order. Look how pretty this one below is.

In fact, the tree below has its coconuts right there over South Bayshore Drive, just daring anyone to drive under them.

Networker at Jaguar

Don't forget the Grove Chamber of Commerce is holding their After Hours Business Card Exchange and Networking Cocktail at Jaguar Ceviche Spoonbar & LatAm Grill (3067 Grand Avenue) tomorrow,
June 24 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.

Complimentary Cocktail & Hors doeuvres and additional drinks at Happy Hour Prices will be on hand, plus raffle prizes.

$5 Chamber Members, $10 Non-Members
RSVP: 305-444-7270 or info@coconutgrove.com

50,000 cars could have parked for an hour

One issue about the post office I noticed is that a handful of people would like the parking garage built on the spot, while most in the meeting did not care for this idea.

I do hope that a select few with their own agenda don't get involved and try to add more cement to the Grove. We have parking garages that sit empty now. The Grove is a walking village, if people have to park a few blocks away and walk, is that a bad thing?

We really don't need parking garages every other block. If the Grove businesses are suffering, I don't think that parking is the issue. I really don't think adding another parking garage is going to bring the crowds in. South Beach is mobbed with people, they are crazy about giving parking tickets out there, it's almost a cottage industry, and yet people keep going back.

Greenstreet is crowded every day of the week and there is not a parking garage anywhere near them. People do find parking in the Grove, they just don't like paying for it and they avoid the garages and parking lots to find parking on the street.

How about doing away with paying for parking altogether? Maybe only on Sundays as a start. Coral Gables does this. Many small villages and towns do away with parking fees altogether.

That $50,000 that the Miami Parking Authority wasted on the parking garage study could have paid for an awful lot of parking. If money is so tight and every dime is needed from the parking meters, why are we wasting money on things like that? That was 50,000 hours of parking right there that could have been given away.

On a whim, Comm. Sarnoff made 30 minute free parking the rule at the post office. Let's do this everywhere!

"Hiawatha Project" ready for ground breaking

The "Hiawatha Project," actually called the Residences at Vizcaya is cordoned off and ready for ground breaking. A reader wrote me, concerned about Steele Park on the corner.

Steele Park is part of the development plan. They are not building on that actual ground, but there are plans to do work in the park like adding a walk-thru entrance gate onto West Glencoe Street behind it and making other modifications. But the park is still going to be a city owned park. The developers are just making it a nicer park.

They don't want people near the demolition of Chateau Elizabeth for safety reasons. This is at Hiawatha Avenue and South Bayshore Drive and includes Steele Park.

Why is Qdoba now closed on weekends?

Qdoba is now only open Monday thru Friday and closed on weekends. I am not liking this. First off, I love stopping in after the gym on weekends and secondly, I think this starts a bad precedent for Grove businesses.

What if Kinko's next door started closing on weekend and then next the Shaq 24 Hour Fitness gym decided to only be open 12 hours and then some other stores close up on weekends.

I think the Business Improvement Committee or Chamber of Commerce should step in here and ask them to remain open, even at reduced hours.

I know business may have been slow, but it's like that all over. Qdoba -- open, open, open, oh wait, that's Mervyn's. Don't you wish Mervyn's was back in their old spot rather than Home Depot?

The post office meeting, part 2

At the post office meeting yesterday, the subject of graffiti kept coming up by Miami's postmaster Jesus Galvez. He was fixated on graffiti, which is a problem businesses have to face. This didn't address the issue of the bombed out look of the parking lot and the filthy mess inside the facility and the massacred trees. I didn't care for this whitewashing of the real issues.

I actually spoke up at the meeting and said that maybe the graffiti artists who usually come out at night, see the closed facility, see the bombed out lot attached and assume it's an abandoned factory or something, so they spray away and tag the stuff with their graffiti. That got a laugh by the crowd.

As for trees being replaced. Martin Petrey, the post office manger of design and construction for the area, was concerned about finding specific trees that residents feel are native to the area. Comm. Marc Sarnoff said he would find them without a problem, so they should strike that concern off their list.

Another thing is the way the trees would be replaced or mitigated. The plan now is to place half of the money for trees in a trust fund for the post office here and put the other half in a trust fund for the post office facility on US 1 and Bird Avenue, you know, that ugly structure across from the car wash. Comm. Sarnoff would like to possibly see trees or foliage block the ugly structure. That is after all an entrance to the Grove and currently it isn't very pleasing to the eye.

Others felt that the post office should stay out of the tree planning and planting, that they should just just fix the parking lot and allow locals to handle the placement of trees.

Keep in mind that there will be no multi-level parking structure put on the location, that never was the plan. It will be a surface lot as it has always been.

Hopefully they will make it nice, with pavers or bricks or something pretty and also some people brought up the building itself, hoping that it can be painted to maybe fit into the area. I don't know if that means certain colors or what. But anything is an improvement.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the federal government is under no obligation to do any of this. They are doing it because of the complaints and maybe shame. But again, they can easily ignore us, turn their backs and go the other way, so I do give them lots of credit for getting involved.

The meeting yesterday went very well. I was pleased to see so many people turn out.

Photo by Harry Emilio Gottlieb

Free 30 minutes of street parking at post office

Comm. Marc Sarnoff is arranging a 30 minute parking courtesy at the post office starting next week. This should be in place until the post office lot is completed. I'm not sure how it will be arranged and I don't know where it would start and end. Probably it would run from 32nd Avenue to the end of the post office property (at the end of the chain link fence along Grand Avenue). I guess those three or four spots around the block on 32nd Avenue will be included, too.

This will help with the parking issue for now. People were upset over having to pay for parking and then getting tickets anyway due to slow post office service because the meter would run out.

This was decided at today's post office meeting at the glass house.

The post office meeting today

Martin Zilber (Village Council), Liliana Dones (Village Council), Miami Postmaster Jesus Galvez (standing), Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Comm. Marc Sarnoff, Gary Hecht (Village Council), Pierre Sands, Pres. of Village West and arborist (standing), David Collins (Village Council, BIC).

This morning all the post office employees were rushed out of the facility, lest Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Comm. Marc Sarnoff see them.

In fact, only two employees remained with some huge menacing guard keeping an eye out. After the tour of the facility, all newly cleaned and washed to impress the Congresswoman and others, all parties concerned adjourned to the glass house on McFarlane Road for the highly anticipated pow wow.

Many post office employees told me they felt shut out and treated poorly and while they were glad the place was finally fixed up inside (the last time they say was years ago when biker Lance Armstrong passed through town for a USPS promotion) they would have liked to be part of the conversation.

Anyway, everyone at the glass house meeting had lots to say. The post office people of course have this arrogance about them, they are all nice people, but too military and government for my taste. But they saw this was a serious matter and the amount of people who showed up proved this. The community should be proud of themselves for coming out in such large numbers.

Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen acted as moderator and did an excellent job. She allowed people to speak and put a stop to people who over-spoke, including the post office people who included Miami's Postmaster Jesus Galvez and Martin Petrey, post office manager of design and construction for the southeast, out of Georgia.

Mr. Petrey (above standing) insisted the massacred trees could not be saved and that an arborist hired by the post office told them this. Experts at the meeting said this was not so and the arborist obviously has no knowledge of trees. Because many things could have been done, including moving them.

Mr. Petrey also stated that the City of Miami has held up the job from proceeding because of permit issues involving new entrance "curb cuts" and other things. While this is true, this seems like putting the cart before the horse. All this time there could have been trees and a usable parking lot while they waited for permits and now that the permits have been issued, destruction of the parking lot (not the trees) could have begun.

But finally permits have now been issued and plans have been drawn which are available to the public. Comm. Sarnoff says he will make them available to anyone.

One thing that concerns me is that the post office was ready to finally commence work on July 14, giving it sixty days, finishing hopefully, some time in September. But now as a formality, the Village Council would like the post office folks to give a presentation at their July 19 meeting. So this puts the job back five days already, and hopefully no one at the Village Council meeting, especially a resident, throws a wrench in the works, by stopping progress because they find a problem with the plans.

One good thing is that the post office will have the blighted parking lot closed off with a screen and they will start cleaning the lot this coming week.

As for rumors: The post office never considered putting a multi-structure garage on the site. The City (the Business Improvement Committee in particular) actually approached the federal government and asked them to do a study on the feasibility. I'm not quite sure why we wasted $40,000 to $50,000 of tax-payer dollars on land that doesn't even belong to the city (the post office owns the land) but by most accounts, the study will find that there is no need for the parking garage and more retail space at this time. So that is lots of money down the drain. The Miami Parking Authority paid for the study.

More on the plans, trees, etc. tomorrow.

In many towns they don't charge for parking

I got a parking ticket recently, even though I had a paid 2-hour parking receipt right in my window and at the same time, I had a friend going nuts trying to find a meter that worked near Greenstreet -- he couldn't find one to take his bills, coins or credit card. Now this from Jane Harris:

"On a recent Saturday evening we headed into The Grove for the Art Stroll. We were running late and there were no parking spots along Grand so we ended up a few blocks away on Mary Street.

"I dig around in my bag for quarters and step up to the meter. It won't take my hard earned quarters. We take a closer look....there is a green paper wrap with white text ordering us call this number to pay for parking. But wait there's a credit card slot...we insert our credit card. Doesn't want it. OK let's call the number....meanwhile we are standing on a side street in Coconut Grove clutching our wallets, credit card in one hand; cell phone in the other...in the darkness. I call the number ...... three tries ... the clock is ticking ..... and I decide to start out without my husband.

"He turns up 10 minutes later. Not happy. Apparently the automated system was not asking him for his tag number nor did it recognize the location number that he punched in on his phone. All this effort and two conversations with a real live person finally got the deed done.

"Apparently it worked in the end because when we returned the guy in front of us had a ticket and we didn't. Did I mention that when you hold your adorable little key chain flash light to the meter screen when you are trying to figure out what's going on it actually says "out of order"..... one should never assume .... but you can assume it will be a very long time before we go into Coconut Grove under these circumstances.

"Besides the sheer nuttiness and inefficiency of this new pay to park system experiment ..... there is something utterly unsafe about being on a side street in the Grove with your splayed wallet and cell phone occupying your appendages and your attention for way too long a time."

Put a tuxedo on a monkey, it's still a monkey

How sweet. They've been preparing the post office all week for Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and the other concerned parties who are meeting today. The meeting is at 11:15 am, at the glass house on McFarlane Road, but I guess they'll swing by the post office before or after to see it first hand. Details on the meeting are here.

They've painted the exterior and cleaned and painted most of the lobby. Too bad the parking lot still looks like a garbage dump, the ceiling is caving in and the trees are still massacred. Guess they feel the new paint job will make people go easy on them at the meeting. I don't think so.

I'll be at the meeting and I'll report back later today.

Photo by Harry Emilio Gottlieb

Dating advice

A reader wrote me for advice. Why me? I don't know, but this is what he emailed:

"I'm thinking of taking a nice young lady out to dinner on a first date. I don't want it to be too fancy or too formal, more like the laid back atmosphere of the Grove. Café Tu Tu Tango was my favorite spot since it had unique food, decent drinks, and a cool atmosphere, but I have to make a change now that it's closed, what do you think?"

I suggested a couple of places but was wondering what others would say. Any suggestions? He wants to stay in the Grove.

Nasty cops and rude NET employees

We have this crazy problem in our neighborhood. Every once in awhile, the police get a bug up their asses and they start ticketing every car on the street, even though the cars are legally parked.

You can see above there is a "no parking" sign across the street. That side of the street cannot have cars. But the sign is twisted, so rather than be parallel to that side of the street, showing that there is no parking up and down that side, it points to both sides of the street, which really, there is no such thing in legal signage.

But yet, the police drive around and start ticketing every car on the street, only get this -- if you are there and tell them not to ticket you, they won't ticket you. So every other car is ticketed. The poor souls who are not there to witness this ticket barrage are ticketed and the lucky ones who are present are not. Is this right?

You can't see it, but there are about six other cars parked in front of this car and three others have tickets, the remaining don't. The people I asked told me they were able to tell the cops to stop. So the cops stopped at their cars and ticketed the others.

I called the NET office and the lady literally yelled at me on the phone, telling me to call the police and not bother her with this problem. Guess she had a bug up her ass today, too.

Anyway, that is the situation here in the North Grove today. My car wasn't on the street, but the neighbors asked me to make the phone calls. Next time I'll just mind my own business, or better yet, just blog it and not make any phone calls.

Did you take your dog to work with you today?

Today is "Take Your Dog to Work Day." Here is Danny of Revolution Bicycle Services (3444 Main Highway) with Brawney and Freyja. Danny usually takes his pets to work. You'll see Brawney and Freyja there most days. But today, you'll see a lot of pets around town. It's nice, it adds a lot of life and color to the streets. (No not that . . . .)

Chamber's next networker at Jaguar

Please click on image for larger version.

He said it, I didn't

I found this quote on the Rat Radio blog about CocoWalk and the new addition of Lucky Strike Lanes and the new Muvico theater:

"The whole thing is much needed, in my opinion. Cocowalk has become this decrepit place where no one goes except noobs/tourists who don’t know where else to check out. The movie theater now is a derelict shadow of it’s former self complete with weird smells, uncomfortable seats, and poor visibility when there’s a crowd."

Nuff said. Bring on the changes.

Angels in our midst

After a great lunch at Jaguar (where I used my Code 33 card), a couple of us walked to Le P'tit Paris, for coffee and pastries.

A guy came up to us and asked for money, my friend gave him money and said, "You never know if that homeless person is Jesus or not." And I quickly replied, "Or an angel."

And just as I said that, around the corner came this little angel with her dad. And get this, her name is Angelique. :)

Human nature. Very funny

I always have to laugh when people find it necessary to take the elevator one floor down at the gym. This was at the Shaq 24 Hour Fitness gym the other day.

This guy was on the stationary bike for quiet a long time, I saw him there when I entered and when I was walking down the steps to leave, there he was at the elevator ready to leave. He biked for over 30 minutes and then refused to walk the one flight of steps down. Funny.

It reminds me of the people who always try to get the closest parking spot to the door when going to the gym. One other thing at the Shaq Gym is that there is an escalator going up, but none going down. And I always tend to take the escalator up rather than walk the flight of steps right next to it. We humans are strange creatures.

ACS Relay for Life kick-off party

The American Cancer Society's "Relay for Life" is having a kick-off party at Pisco's Seafood Bar and Grille (3310-B Mary Street) tomorrow, June 20 from 5 to 7 pm.

Dinner will be discounted 15% and there will be free hors d'oeuvres. The actualy Relay for Life event will be July 5 at Peacock Park. More info on that here.

Parking for the Pisco's event is available on site at the Oak Parking Garage. For more info, please call 305-960-4670 or 305-461-7063.

New chef introduces "Wine is Fun" series

Los Angeles native and Art Institute of California graduate, Miguel Magaña, is the new Chef de Cuisine at Bizcaya at the Ritz Carlton Coconut Grove (3300 SW 27 Avenue). He comes from the Jer-ne restaurant at The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey, California. He will prepare the “Wine is Fun…. Period!” – wine dinner series with Sommelier Jeffrey Galloway, on the first Thursday of every month.
Next Dinner is July 3.

The highlight of the dinner series, limited to 14 guests, is a Five Card Stud poker with a card dealt at each course. The guest with the best hand at the end of the night wins a Ritz-Carlton prize ranging from a bottle of fine wine to Sunday Brunch, dinner in Bizcaya, treatments at the Boutique Spa and much more.

The schedule: July 3, August 6, September 4, October 2, November 6 and December 4. The cost: $90 per person, includes tax, gratuity and complimentary valet parking. For info, please call 305-644-4680.

Meeting on Saturday, concerning post office

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is holding a meeting on Saturday, June 21, concerning the Coconut Grove post office.

The meeting starts at 11:15 am and will be held at the NET Office (the glass house) at 2820 McFarlane Road), at Peacock Park.

Participants will include Comm. Marc Sarnoff, Miami Postmaster Jesus Galvez and members of the Village Council. This is your time to speak up.

Crazy Pianos coming to CocoWalk

Crazy Pianos, a Netherlands-based "dueling piano bar" and restaurant, is taking over the Tu Tu Tango spot at CocoWalk. They're shooting for an October opening.

The site will be expanded from the current 6000 sf to 7000 sf. Up to $3 million will be put into the place. This will be their first US location.

Nice to see the space fill up so fast. It is a great location and they look like a perfect fit. Check out their website here: http://www.crazypianos.com/

The street name game

Tony Scornavacca, Jr. has this website called YourGrove.org where he is looking for names for Grove streets that are numbers now, rather than names.

Apparently, it isn't that hard to have a street name or number changed if you pay for it. Secoffee Terrace used to be 27 Terrace before neighbors paid $55.00 each to the city for the name change.

To make your suggestions, check out www.YourGrove.org.

I like a couple already, Grapefruit Lane and Mango Way.

Village Council meets on Thursday

The Village Council meets tomorrow, June 19 from 7 to 9 pm at City Hall (3500 Pan American Drive).

Not much on the Agenda, some talk on Miami 21 (isn't that dead?) and the Village West Grand Avenue proposal by the Pointe Group. There is talk of new business, but not sure what that is.

If you cannot make it, you can easily view it on Channel 77 or see it on line at http://videos.miamigov.com

Quiet rainy day

The Grove seems like a lonely place when it rains. There's not much going on. And today we sure had some downpours.

Restaurants are quiet. Here there was just a small group of girls from one of the salons having a meeting, I think they were from Aruj.

The streets are dead. Shiny, glassy and quiet.

Flower power, and information too

Someone mentioned this as an idea in the previous post. Why not? Finally a use for the empty booths and a solution for displaced flower vendors.

What happened to the flower vendors?

Where have all the flower carts gone?

There were about three vendors set up on Bird Avenue from about McDonald to Matilda, now they all seem to be gone.

This was such a nice thing, you could always count on them being there when you needed a quick gift or pick-me-up and they were all nice hard-working people, with very fair pricing.

It's dead on the stretch of street now. We need those colorful carts back. In fact, I would recommend a few in the Central Business District, as well.

It's a start

They are sanding the walls at the post office this morning, I guess in preparation to paint. They really ought to bring the stamp machine back. But anything is an improvement at this point.

Doubletree's Summer Block Party

The Doubletree Hotel (2649 S. Bayshore Drive) is having a Summer Block Party, which actually isn't on the block, but up at their pool. It's tomorrow, Wednesday, June 18 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.

They are actually on that hilly street, Darwin, which would make a cool block party location if it were outside on the street.

Anyway, their famous "Bra Burger" will be back along with 2 for 1 specials. "My City Eats" magazine voted them "Best Outdoor Bar" so stop by and see why.

Foreclosure Prevention Workshop

Join Miami-Dade Commissioner, Carlos A. Gimenez and the Coconut Grove Collaborative with representatives from Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. for a Foreclosure Prevention Workshop on Wednesday, June 18 from 6 to 8 pm. This informative workshop present options available to homeowners concerned about foreclosure.

The event is being held at the Frankie Rolle Community Center (3750 S. Dixie Hwy).

To obtain maximum benefit from the counseling, those attending this event should bring the following items: Driver’s License, Social Security card, and any legal papers you may have including court summons, default notice (if applicable), letters from attorneys and any other mortgage related documents.

To better serve you, please pre-register with Coconut Grove Collaborative, Inc for this workshop: info@cgcollaborative.org or call 305-445-2418

She's a litter bug

This has been bothering me for awhile now.

The girl who works the drive up window at Pollo Tropical off of 27th Avenue throws trash out of the window as if the ground outside is a trash bin. I have seen her do this three separate times already.

One time she took a very long receipt from the cash register, balled it up and just threw it out the window. I don't say anything because she has quite a mouth on her (she yells at the customers) and she is handling my food, so I want to be able to go back without a problem.

She served me tomatoes, too. Should I be scared of her? And when she saw me taking pictures she asked me if I was taking pictures of her, I told her no and put the camera away so I got the photo above, but there was another area with piles of paper that I couldn't get a picture of.

I guess I am scared of her.

US Green Buildings Council to give talk

On Wednesday, June 18, The US Green Building Council's Miami/Keys Branch will talk about sustainability at 6:30 pm at Miami City Hall (3500 Pan American Drive).

The council seeks recommendations for a regional update that is to be made to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, which encourages the adoption of green building practices.

"It's difficult to reach a point system in South Florida because of heat and cooling issues," said Louise Bendix, branch communications chair. The council plans to team up with Dream in Green, a non-profit that raises sustainability awareness, to expand its Green Schools Challenge to more than 30 schools in Miami-Dade County.

Also, congratulations to Edith McClintock, who leaves he job as Environmental Programs Manager for the City of Miami Sustainable Initiatives (MSI) to become the new Executive Director of Dream in Green.

Chamber's Annual Golden Coconut Awards

The Chamber Annual Golden Coconut Awards Dinner will be September 20th. Want to be in the planning committee? ….
Contact info@coconutgrove.com

Happy Father's Day!

Please continue to support St. Alban's

When the Grove lost one of our true civic leaders, Will Johnson, Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce suggested donations in his memory to one of his favorite causes, St. Alban’s Child Enrichment Center, an institution that has been serving families and children since it was established 60 years ago.

One of Will’s last emails was an appeal to the community so that some champion would take this little school on as a project. Many Grove Chamber members and people from the community did, and we would like to continue to ask for your generous support. The Chamber will continue to take checks in Will’s memory and forward them to Dr. Franklin Sands, the Executive Director of St. Alban’s.

Please make your check out to St Alban’s Child Enrichment Center, and send to Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce, 2828 McFarlane Road, Coconut Grove FL 33133, and they will make sure it gets there.

Cefalo's is making some changes

Today I stopped in Cefalo's Italian Village (3540 Main Highway). They had a nice late lunch crowd. Not too many people, but it was late in the day when I got there. The deli area had quite a few people checking out the delicious delicacies for Father's Day.

I spoke with Mary and Carlos who would like to offer Grapevine readers a free glass of wine with any entree. This offer starts Monday for a limited time. So I say, let's all support them and get some free wine in the deal. They have been making some menu changes and they seem to be very attentive to guests now, meaning better service as far as I can see.

Neon green tent sale

Here's the crew from Coconut Grove Gallery and Interiors: Ed, Joe, Brian, Paulina and Michael. Their tent sale is on today until 5 pm, stop by for some great bargains and check out their newly painted neon green glow-in-the-dark building, too!

They are at Bird and Mary.

Taste of the Summer at The Fresh Market

The Fresh Market (2640 S. Bayshore Drive) has a "Taste of the Summer" buffet today. Here are Judy, Hector and Katie ready to serve you. Stop in for some nice summer treats.

A typical weekend night in the Grove

As I walked around the Grove last night, it was so nice to see a typical Friday night transpiring -- I walked by the karate school to see a bunch of happy students laughing, Blue Man Grove was performing at their usual spot in front of Olav's Pommes and Pane Café, Sylvia was cleaning the beauty shop on Florida Avenue, two guys were sitting calmly outside the cigar store across from The Improv, where they were getting ready for a busy night.

Louis was getting ready to close Hibiscus Hill for the night and Sparkle Plenty and Out of Africa were staying open just a little bit later to accommodate the Friday night shoppers.

The valets at the Mayfair House were greeting guests, while yellow taxis lined up outside waiting for their next fare.The parking guys were already around the Grove, waving visitors into their parking lots with orange flags.

The bars and restaurants were filling up. People were spilling into the streets from the Sandbar Grill and then across the street others were sitting so neatly and orderly at Jaguar. Tu Tu Tango sat dark, quiet and empty, but right above, Hooters was jumping with people, so was Fat Tuesday and The Cheesecake Factory. And every table was taken at Bice. Others rushed by to catch a movie on time.

Greenstreet Café was crowded as usual and so was George's in the Grove and Señor Frogs. Drinkers were lined up at the bar at Mr. Moe's. Others were at the table swings outside enjoying the ribs.

Shoppers were strolling around CocoWalk and people were checking the colorful galleries out. Aladdin's was getting ready for a night of belly dancing, and Le Bouchon had their usual boisterous crowd. The other restaurants on Main Highway were filling up with happy diners. The bookstore had people coming and going, a more quiet, subdued crowd. Virginia Street was open again and cars were driving up and down, trying to find parking (avoiding the aforementioned parking lot guys).

Fuller Street was quiet except for the occasional person going in or out of Barracuda. The usual guys were sitting outside the new guayabera shop across the street. Up the block people were being served at Focaccia's outdoor tables.

Blue lights twinkled on the trees up and down Main Highway and Grand Avenue. The pizza places buzzed, the angel girl was right under the clock at CocoWalk, standing like a stone statue, delighting children; the rickshaw guys were racing around the streets darting in and out of passing cars. The crowd stumbled out of Christabelle's Quarter after another successful wine tasting.

On the outskirts, people were enjoying Pisco's and Cefalo's and even further out, pet lovers were visiting in the dog park on Virginia Street. Monty's, Chart House and Scotty's Landing were filling up with diners along the waterfront and people were getting last minute weekend groceries at The Fresh Market and Milam's.

The clubs were getting ready for their usual crowds -- Flavour,
Oxygen, Cielo . . .

And as all this went on, others just strolled the streets, just taking
it all in.

Just a typical weekend night in the Grove. Everyone doing their own thing, yet so intertwined with each other as part of our village life.

Wet problem

A pipe burst at the Cheesecake Factory tonight and leaked down into The Gap store, right through he lighting fixture. Manager Chris and some other guys from Cheesecake managed to get down there and clean up the mess before the plumber arrived.

It was funny because I was looking for structural problems at The Cheesecake Factory months ago, but didn't find any and when I saw the water coming out of the light tonight, I lit up myself, thinking I had a story, but it was just your average pipe burst, nothing exciting or clandestine.

Wine Tasting is all the rage tonight

Rage and Lori invite you to the Friday the 13th Wine Tasting at Christabelle's Quarter (3157 Commodore Plaza) tonight from 7:30 pm - until . . .

Chase away the Evil Spirits with great wines and Cajun-style nibbly things.

Cost is $15 cash per person. Feel free to join them early at the Steven Anton Rehage Jewelry Boutique for a jump start to evening, right across the street at 3162 Commodore Plaza.

Valet parking is available for $8.00 right in front of Chhristabelle's or you can find parking at meters along the street.

Changes at Baleen

The new chef at Baleen, at the Grove Isle Hotel and Spa, is Chef Jesse Souza. Originally from New England, Chef Souza came to Miami after six years at the Claremont Resort and Spa in Berkeley CA.

Chef Souza’s menu at Baleen is focused on seafood, an appropriate choice for a waterside restaurant.

Lunchtime it's usually not very crowded, which is a good thing, or bad thing, depending on how you look at it, since service is usually lacking at that time of day. But if you like quite, slow and relaxed lunches, this is the place. Prepare to wait to be seated, to be served and to get your car from valet when ready to leave. Prepare to overpay for lunch and the lack of service, too.

At night, the place comes alive and you get what you pay for. So if you like incredible views, good food, good service and lots of people, dinner would be the best time to go.

For more info, please call 305-857-5007 or visit: www.GroveIsle.com

Cops are out and about

The cops are out on the streets of the Grove.

''We are setting the tone for the summer,'' says Grove Police Commander Jorge Martin. Watch out.

Sunday mornings are now hopping in the village

With the opening of George's in the Grove (above) and Le P'tit Paris (below) there are now more breakfast places on weekends.

Sundays used to be kind of quiet --there was everybody's favorite Greenstreet, and not much else. While Greenstreet is the place to be and be seen, there are now other choices.

So now on Commodore Plaza there is George's, Le P'tit Paris and Greenstreet.

And on Main Highway, you can go French with Le Bouchon du Grove and Moulin Rouge. Sunday mornings in the center of the village is now the place to be -- and of course they all serve breakfast the rest of the week, too. (George's only on Saturday and Sunday).

Great news to report on Charlie Brown

Charlie Brown is out of the hospital and doing much better. According to Riley Smith he was out for the first time yesterday with a large group having lunch at Greenstreet.

He does have a place to live and has friends taking care of him. He told Eric, Greenstreet manager, that he didn't remember anything about the incident, so that probably is a good thing. Eric is the one who called 911 that night.

By the way, Riley has a Coconut Contest going on his blog. Winner gets a $50.00 gift certificate to Greenstreet. (See how this whole stories ties in together).

Tent sale

Coconut Grove Gallery and Interiors is have a Tent Sale on Saturday, June 14 at the corner of Mary Street and Bird Avenue. The sale is from 9 am to 3 pm. Save from 20% to 70%. Parking is free.

Presale (inside the store) is Friday, June 13 - 12 pm to 6 pm.

Refreshments will be served. This would be a great place to check out for last minute Father's Day gifts. They have beautiful desk accessories, elegant cuff links, money clips, pens and more.

Fun-filled old fashioned 4th of July is planned

The Grove is the place to be this Fourth of July. There will be an old town feel the whole day throughout the village.

Fireworks will end the fun-filled day at Peacock Park. Festivities are free and start at 4 pm, with a children's activities and play area, and a musical lineup starting with DJ David G at 4 pm, followed at 6 pm with Blue Man Grove . At 7 pm, First October, which includes our regular Grove beat officers Braga and Carpenter, will headline up until the fireworks spectacle begins at approximately 9 pm with DJ David G and a surprise guest.

Celebrations in the Grove begin in the morning, as the Barnacle will once again hold an "Old Fashioned Fourth of July Picnic," from 11 am to 3:30 pm, hosted by The Barnacle Society, featuring lawn games, kite-making, knot-tying demonstrations, and more. The public is invited to join the staff and volunteers by wearing a period costume. Bring a blanket and a picnic lunch and enjoy the day's celebration. The park opens at 9 am. (Please note: Barnacle entrance fees: $5.00 – 12 years and older; $2.00 - ages 6-12; under 6 are free).

The BIC (Business Improvement Committee) will be dressing up downtown Grove in bunting, and musicians will stroll the streets before and after the Peacock Park events, providing music and entertainment and the perfect reason to make this full day in the Grove, as many restaurants will feature special Fireworks dinner menus. In fact, the festivities lend themselves to a perfect 3-day weekend getaway while avoiding gas prices, as hotels such as the Ritz Carlton, Sonesta and Doubletree are offering special rates.

Chamber Board of Directors Installed

The Chamber’s new Board of Directors was installed on Friday June 6 at a festive luncheon at Mayfair Hotel & Spa’s restaurant. Over 55 guests enjoyed 45 minutes of pre-luncheon networking in the hotel’s lounge, then headed up to the dining room for the presentation.

President Liliana Dones, who completed the first year of a two year term, spoke of growing the Chamber by fifty new members this year. The new directors were sworn in by Judge Bronwyn Miller, who stepped in when Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, was called away on a pending court date. Judge Miller quipped that it was she who called the Commissioner away because she so enjoys swearing the Directors, in, having done so on various occasions.

The new directors are Mark Alvarez of MGI Hotels (formerly Grand Bay Hotel), Felice Dubin, The Bookstore in the Grove; Mia Stierheim of Stierheim & Wesson/ CocoWalk, all three are currently serving on the board and have been re-elected for a second two-year term.

Mary MacDonald of MACCI Designs, Ed Prelaz of CB Richard Ellis/Mayfair and Guillermo “Willy” Vega of Oppenheimer & Co., will join as first-time directors on the board, also serving a two-year term from, June 2008 until June 2010.

The six form part of the 17 member board which includes President Liliana Dones of Creative Tools, Vice President Gary Ciuca of Wachovia Securities, Treasurer Anthony Noboa of Coconut Grove Bank, Secretary Carol Hawks, Grove resident, and At-Large Officer Monty Trainer, of the Coconut Grove Arts Festival. The rest of the board which returns to serve the second of their two-year term includes Manuel Alonso-Poch of the Arts & Mind Center, George Cozonis General Manager, Sonesta Bayfront Hotel & Suites, Coconut Grove, Pat Dahne of Pat Dahne Realty Group, Doreen LoCicero of Crepe-Maker, Sue McConnell, long-time Grove resident and Michelle Niemeyer, of Michelle M. Niemeyer, P.A. Rebecca Greer will continue to fill the Past-President, ex-officio seat on the board.

Lots of flavor

Try the chicken soup at Focaccia (3411 Grand Avenue) today. Delicious on a hot summer's day with the hard bread sticks. It's got an onion soup type taste. Really good.

Enjoying friends, drinks and the Grove

I met up with my friends Shannon and Christina at Greenstreet Café the other day. A few other friends joined us and before you knew it, we had a large group.

A couple of guys were visiting from Atlanta on business and they joined the group with another friend of ours, they're staying at the Mayfair Hotel and really are enjoying the Grove. It was their first time here. They like the waterfront the best, in fact they were all excited about going out fishing the next day.

Someone introduced me to the Atlanta guys as "the town scribe." I liked that. :)

Free nutrition seminar

Andy Clark of Fitness Together is holding a nutrition seminar on Wednesday, June 25. The "How to Eat to Lose Weight" seminar is at 7 pm at the Ritz Carlton (3300 SW 27 Avenue).

Learn how to turn your body into a fat burning machine with proven principles. Topics of discussion will include caloric intake, metabolism, deceptive food marketing techniques and how to read food labels. The seminar is 45 minutes.

Space is limited, please RSVP by calling 305-648-2202.

Are we all that stupid? Is this true?

Someone left this comment anonymously on another post. It sort of makes sense. Is it true?

"The federal postal service was in cahoots with a developer before the trees were ever removed. Rather than repair and upgrade the current post office building, it was found to be more profitable to sell the lot as a whole or as parcels, and an interested developer was identified.

"As part of the deal, the post office was to remove the trees under the guise of upgrading the post office parking lot, but in actuality, it was a demand made by the developer before the company would consider purchasing the lot and the post office building. The developer knew the problems a private company would run into when trying to remove years-old shade trees in the Grove, so the process was 'expedited' by USPS, who knew full well of local regulations against such actions, but claimed ignorance on a federal level once it came time to answer for them.

"Now we're paying with local monies for an unnecessary parking study that in the end, will promote the sale of the federally owned building and leave the Grove with more empty parking and retail space."

A good night for strolling and seeing art

A nice crowd showed up for this past weekend's Art Stroll. The Windisch-Hunt Gallery had a good flow of people all night. These photos taken by artist Jeffrey Passage, actually look like pieces of art themselves. I love the movement and all the positions that the people are standing in.

If you click on the photos, they will open larger.

I could be wrong, but I don't think I am

I wanted to step in here before a race war or whatever it is called starts. There are some nasty comments starting on the post I did about Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

First off, I am not anti-Cuban, I am anti-Ileana and anti-Diaz-Balart. I love Cuba, love Cubans and devour Cuban food whenever I can. I have lived in Miami most of my life, so if I was anti-Cuban I think I would have been long gone by now.

If the post was taken wrong, I apologize, but the way I see it, the three politicians mentioned have not really don't much for the county or city or even the state or country. They all have their own agenda, which all politicians do, but I just find that their agenda resides outside the US.

If I am wrong, you can tell me. The comment section is right below.

More on the post office site . . .

There is a rumor that the post office is not being fixed now because it is to be totally knocked down and turned into some sort of garage/retail project and the businesses next door: Kwik Stop, Last Carrot and Subway are possibly part of the plan to go with it.

If that's the case, it would be nice to have that whole long block there made into something nice. But there is a problem in the Grove with those type of structures. Will it resemble CocoWalk and Mayfair? Will the rents be the same? Will the place sit mostly empty?

It would be nice if possibly it could look like some sort of funky Grove village and not a multi-use complex. Like maybe mixed use storefronts that look like a downtown area, not like a mall.

And what about the garage? All the other Grove garages sit empty. People like to park on the street. I know I do. But I suppose if some sort of structure can be managed and retail space could be utilized, what's the difference if a garage sits above the retail floor? It's empty air space anyway. And anything is an improvement over that post office site now.

I really don't see a problem with all this except for the fact that some people refuse to just leave the Grove alone. The elitist crowd is trying to overtake the funky Grove now and won't stop until we are Coral Gables or Bal Harbour. It keeps moving in that direction. But then again, I would say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it and honestly the post office site is totally broken and something -- anything -- needs to be done. It can't stay like it is.

I wish more people could have seen "Moliere"

Bevin Bru (left) and GT Smith were part of the "Moliere in the Backyard" cast this past weekend at the Arts and Minds Center. That is GT in the poster below. He's the guy on left.

They are incredibly talented and should have performed to larger crowds. It seems that in the Grove, you literally have to hit people over the head to get them to attend many events. I don't think they did a complete job of marketing the play and hope that in the future they can draw more people in by doing things differently.

I happened to see these two actors walking down the street just a short time before the Sunday performance. Maybe it would have been a great idea if they had walked around in character earlier in the day, perhaps even at the entrance to the Goombay Festival on Saturday. I think this would have drawn a lot of interest. They could possibly even have sold tickets right on the spot.

Also, many people are not familiar with the Abanico Theater's location and I think their presence on the street would have helped a lot. I really would love to see packed houses for these talented performers in the future.

We don't fit into Ileana's agenda

It's nice to see that US Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has finally gotten off her ass regarding the post office mess. It only took seven months.

Guess she finally sees the writing on the wall and I don't mean the post office graffiti. Guess she knows she is on her way out like the Diaz-Balart brothers and the rest of the politicians who only take care of their own selfish agendas.

They remind me of the three monkeys -- see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. If it doesn't concern Cuba, they don't want to be bothered.

Maybe in their retirement they'll all finally get a clue. Maybe when Cuba opens up, they can be the first to move there since they are so obsessed with it to the point of shirking their real duties in the county.

Graphic by Harry Emilio Gottlieb

TREEmendous job done with tree planting

A lot of hearty souls were up bright and early this weekend for the TREEmendous tree planting project.

I actually went looking for them, but could not find the group, I circled the block many times and drove up US1, but apparently I missed them.

Luckily Harry Emilio Gottlieb was out there and he got these photos.

They planted some nice hearty trees along the highway, alongside the elevated Metrorail tracks.

Down at the Sandbar Grill

A nice way to end a hot steamy weekend is with some nachos, fish tacos or fajatas and drinks with friends at the Sandbar Sports Grill (3064 Grand Avenue). I think their staff is one of the friendliest I have encountered in the Grove. I can almost hear Don Henley singing "Sunset Grill" when I walk into the Sandbar Grill.

Could 33133 be left without a post office?

Harry's photos have people talking -- not really acting, mostly talking -- and still there are no concrete plans for the post office. No pun intended, but many would love to see a parking garage go onto the torn up lot. Others fear that the post office is leaving altogether and many feel that trying to get the federal government to actually move fast is a waste of time, although they sure moved at lightening speed when people tried to stop them from cutting down the large trees last year. They literally sped up to spitefully kill the beautiful shade trees before anyone could legally step in.

City permitting issues of course is the easy way out, that's the excuse they are using now.

And according to Art Noriega, executive director of the Miami Parking Authority, there is a $40,000 study being done, still in the preliminary stages, on whether a garage on the location would be a good idea. They want to include retail space on the ground level, too.

Isn't Mayfair leasing its retail space as office space now? Why add more retail space to just sit empty? What are all the games about?

Does this study that is in the "preliminary stages" mean many more months, if not years, of waiting for the study, debating the study, having meetings after meetings, etc? Look at the Waterfront Master Plan, Tuesday's meeting (yawn) was postponed (what else is new), and the 27th Avenue Plan and the Playhouse Charrette and every other plan -- they take many long years to study and debate. In the meantime there is no place to park, the place is falling apart and the whole neighborhood looks like a bomb went off.

It must really have made some impression on all the visitors who came into town this weekend for the Goombay Festival and it looks like an embarrassing mess to those who come in for the Art Stroll and other events every month.

Nice, unique items at Designer Trunk Show

The Designer Trunk Show is still going on this weekend at the Commodore Gallery of Art and Design (3162 Commodore Plaza -- inside Commodore Centre) from 1 to 5 pm.

They have lots of great one-of-a-kind items on sale right from the designers themselves. There's very nice jewelry, clothing and art.

And there is some pretty nice beachwear which would be a hit at any pool, boat or beach. Unfortunately, there were no live models, just the mannequins.

It's a hot day for Goombay

There's lot of partying going on down Grand Avenue at the Goombay Festival today. It's hot out, but there is plenty to drink and eat.

It's just pure Goombay from 32nd Avenue to 37th Avenue. (McDonald Street to Douglas Road).

The food and drinks seem to be the most popular -- especially the drinks -- beer, frozen lemonade and bottled water are the most craved -- and also the snow cones, which there seem to be plenty of this year. Above is one of the very popular conch salad booths -- it's nice and cool food on a hot day.

My favorite was this seafood you see above. For $12.00 you get a nice portion of lobster and shrimp (I've never seen shrimp this large before), with dirty rice and a delicious green salad (tomatoes and lettuce), in a nice Creole or some kind of tasty sauce.

The booth is right in front of CVS drugstore. They also have ribs, fish and jerked chicken. You can actually take the food and sit on a bench right outside CVS on the sidewalk. It's probably shady right about now.

With all the food they sell, they really ought to have a seating area to make it more enjoyable, but I guess the best part of a festival is standing and eating and dripping and just making a mess of yourself in all the delicious flavors.

Lots of nice things were for sale -- many African items and many Obama t-shirts.

The Goombay Festival runs until 8 pm and if you want to taste some good Bahamian food and enjoy lots of tropical music, including some jazz (there are stages at either end of the festival), get out there and party until the sun goes down. I'm going back for dinner before the
Art Stroll tonight. :)

Lots going on in the Grove this weekend

There are a lot of things going on this weekend in the Grove. Aside from the usual park, restaurant, shopping, art gallery and bar scene, there are these fun things to do:

1) The Art Stroll
2) The Goombay Festival
3) The "Moilere" play at the Abanico Theater
4) The TREEmendous plantings
5) Caribbean Calypso Day at CocoWalk
6) The Fashion Designer Trunk Show
7) The Royal Poinciana Festival
and so much more with all the new restaurants and stores opening.

Don't forget -- FREE CHAMPAGNE AND WINE at George's in the Grove. Just mention the Grapevine (to George himself) and enjoy a free glass with any meal.

Taking care of the thirsty, and hungry masses

I went out to get pictures of the crew setting up for the Goombay Festival, but it must be too early, not a soul is stirring.

But you'll be happy to know that the rest of the Grove won't go hungry or thirsty this weekend. It looks like almost every lane of traffic is blocked today by beer and Sysco food trucks -- if you plan on driving up Grand Avenue, bring some patience. And Main Highway and Commodore Plaza are no better.

Royal Poinciana Fiesta offers tour

The 71st annual Royal Poinciana Fiesta begins June 8 and as part of the event, The Kampong (4013 Douglas Road) is hosting a picnic lunch and tour. A trolley tour of Coconut Grove and Coral Gables will leave The Kampong at 1:45 pm to show the trees and their fiery splash of color. Poinciana Punch and cake will be served after the tour.

The cost is $20.00 per person. Reservations are required by calling 305-258-1086 or going to to www.tfts.org.

Refunds for the "Fire Fee Case"

The "Miami Fire Fee" refund notice went out this week. The refund is for those who owned property in the City of Miami during the fiscal year 1997-1998 through and including the fiscal year 2006-2007.

For info, you may call 1-800-981-7567 or visit www.MiamiFireFeeSettlement.com -- those of you who do not know what I am referring to, should also visit the website for FAQ. There are important documents there, too, if you did not receive yours in the mail.

The refund should be about $583.00 for a single family home and $1166.00 for a two family home. The form must be postmarked by September 2, 2008

Getting some results on the post office mess

Looks like Harry's photos which we ran here last week struck a nerve. US Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen wants answers.

Comm. Marc Sarnoff wrote a letter to Ros-Lehtinen. I love Marc's quote: "The condition of this property could be described as deplorable, but that would be elevating the condition of this property."

True that.

More here.

Ironically . . .

Ironically, after posting the last story, I noticed that I was quoted in this week's New Times about the black information booths.

It's on page 8, but you can also see it here.

Grants given to businesses; some turned down

A few federal grants have been given to Village West businesses and non-profit groups to help them out. About $200,000 of a $5.3 million grant will be given to the selected Grove organizations. This is good news for the struggling area.

The City wisely rejected one large grant to fund more black information booths along Grand Avenue. I can't believe after all the controversy over the first three that someone would have the nerve to ask for thousands of dollars for more.

I would love to know the person or people who had the kutzpah to ask for money for this. Talk about throwing money away -- grant money at that. Glad the City Commission used their brains this time.

Goombay Festival is this Saturday

It's Goombay Festival time again. This Saturday, June 7, the 32nd Annual Goombay Festival is being held on Grand Avenue, from 37th Avenue (Douglas Road) to 32nd Avenue and it sometimes stretches up to Fuller Street. It starts at 11 am and runs until 8 pm.

Come out and experience and celebrate Bahamian heritage including art, culture, music and food. If you haven't been, you're in for a treat. It's one big party.

The official parade starts at noon. Caribbean rhythms featuring Pirates of the Bahamas, stilt walkers, and the colorful costumed Junkanoo All Stars will take over the streets.

Highlights of the festival include: Special Caribbean Culinary demonstrations with organic foods, fresh fruits and vegetables by Chef Creole shot on location for a television airing on BET J.

For the first time ever, a Caribbean Arts Fair with Fine Art, Posters and Prints from emerging and master Artists from the Caribbean will be featured. All Tingz Caribbean Marketplace is bringing the best native hand crafted items, native books, calendars, Abaco ceramics, woodwork, spicy and exotic foods such as Jamaican Beef Patties, Fish Fry, Conch Fritters, Doubles, Empanadas, Conge, Sugar Cane, Coconut Water, and tropical refreshments by Don Q.

Heritage Tours, exotic flowers and plants, and tropical and native apparel will be available, and a Kulture Kidz Korner, featuring Junkanoo headdress and mask making, drumming workshops, steel pan demonstrations, Trickster Tales, games, prizes and more.

And there is a contest to see if they can break the record for the most people doing the "Electric Slide" at once. So put your dancing shoes on if you would like to be part of the record breakers!

For more info, their website is here: http://www.goombayfestivalcoconutgrove.com/

Come out and meet the artists

Artists Jane Harris, Linda Apriletti, Hans Feyerabend

This Saturday is the Coconut Grove Art Stroll. The Art Stroll is held every first Saturday and covers the central Grove -- mostly Mayfair, CocoWalk and Commodore Plaza.

From 7 to 11 pm, come out, meet the artists and see the special presentations that the galleries are providing. This is a great thing for our community. It's an enjoyable way to see what's new in the Grove.

Come out, spend time with the art and artists and spend some time at the Grove restaurants and bars. There are lots of new things in town. It's easy. If you are planning on visiting the Grove, just park your car and you can walk to everything.

TREEmendous needs help planting on Saturday

TREEmendous Miami is seeking volunteers to help plant trees to beautify and restore the roadside by the US1 corridor. Your help is essential to getting this important job done and is a great opportunity to help beautify your community. Students can earn Community Service Hours, too.

A variety of native and flowering trees and shrubs will be planted and if you've never planted, come anyway, they’ll teach you how to properly maintain, plant and care for trees.

Volunteers will meet at 8:30 am for an orientation session and work until noon. Look for the signs at the Coconut Grove Metrorail Station near 27th Avenue and US1. Please make sure to report to the volunteer sign in.

Bring sunscreen, lots of water and a shovel/rake/gloves (if you don’t have any, they will be provided). Recommended attire includes closed toe shoes, lightweight long pants & long sleeve shirt and shade hat.

For more details and/or questions or to join in, please call or email Amy, the Program Coordinator at (305) 378-1863 or treemendousmiami@mail.com. You can also visit their website at www.treemendousmiami.org.

Live theater returns to the Grove

The Academy of Arts and Minds presents "Moliere in the Backyard," a romance, temptation and intrigue that will delight audiences of all ages at the Abanico Theater (3138 Commodore Plaza).

The play is a charming farce from the 17th Century Baroque period. In luring Dorimene the beautiful marquis, Monsieur Jordain hires an entourage of musicians, dancers, a philosopher and a fencing teacher who will instruct him on "how to behave in front of quality people." Dorante, his best friend, also in pursuit of the marquis, will try to stop the course of Jourdain's intentions.

This new adaptation of Moliere’s “Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme” (The Bourgoise Gentleman), is directed by Larry Villanueva. It runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 6, 7 and 8 at 8 pm. Tickets are $15.00 and may be purchased at the door or you may order by calling 305-448-1100, ext. 7.

Chicken soup, ceviche and jazz

This from Liliana Dones, Chamber of Commerce President:

We went down to Pisco's Seafood Bar and Grill (3310B Mary Street) with my mother-in-law because she was not feeling too well and we wanted to get her a chicken soup (they make great chicken soup). It was Joe Donato night. We had a great time and Joe and company (his very talented wife, plus the Brian Murphy trio and special guests Jack Siegel (with a mini-me trumpet -- actually called a pocket trumpet) and vocalist Daniel McLoud, and another fabulous musician from Brazil (by way of Sicily), performed so that we ended up staying until 11 pm, mother-in-law included.

I urge any jazz lover who has not been there to go, in fact, any ceviche lover who has not been there to go, and even if you do not love ceviche, there is plenty of generic fare -- from pasta to filet mignon, to keep any palate happy. Owner Alberto has great staff -- very attentive. Best of all you can enjoy the music and not have your ears blasted off.

All those people who complain about the Grove going the way of noise culture with intelligible heavy bass music blasting from cars, needs to know that if they want to take back the Grove, they have to get out there and do it, and Thursday nights at Pisco's are the way to go. Go out there and support Alberto at Pisco's, and support Joe as a thank you for promoting the jazz lifestyle we love. We should aim for this to be the norm in the Grove not just Thursdays, but every night!

Caribbean Calypso Day

Please click on the image for a larger version.

Spring 2008 Designer Trunk Show

The Spring 2008 Designer Trunk Show is Saturday and Sunday, June 7 and 8 at the Commodore Gallery of Art and Design (3162 Commodore Plaza -- inside Commodore Centre) from 1 to 5 pm.

If you are in the market for one-of-a-kind, locally designed art, jewelry and fashion, stop by. There will be refreshments, too.

Designers include Steven Anton Rehage, Carolann Wachter, Lucy De La Vega, Deborah Zwayer, Jennifer Scalfani and Ximena Alfaro.

RSVP at coconutgroveart@comcast.net.

It's cheaper to buy gasoline

As you know, I hate to complain, but guess how much I just paid for this sub at the Quizno's on 17th Avenue?

$11.53, including .75 sales tax.

I didn't get a drink or chips or anything else, just this one sub to go. It's their Prime Rib sub, which they are promoting all over the store with posters. I don't really even eat that much red meat, but the signs were so enticing that I ordered one.

When they rang me up and said, "That will be $11.53 sir," I thought I heard wrong. I asked again and she said, "That's how much they are, here I'll throw in some napkins." I never did like her.

Neat-Knots -- the new summer accessory

My sister-in-law, Laura, has a new business called Neat-Knots. It started when she made a few macramé bracelets for her kids. They wore them to school and before you knew it, the whole school wanted some.

So to make a long story short, Neat-Knots was born. Laura creates bracelets and other great items, all hand-made and unique, none of them are the same. I went over one time and left with an armful, literally wearing them all at the same time.

Anway, if you're in the market for a small gift or two, check them out here: www.Neat-Knots.com. They are well-made and you'll probably want one or two for yourself, they're a fun item -- very Grovey in fact, if I do say so myself. You can even have them custom made, including your school or club colors.

Free champagne at George's in the Grove

I stopped in George's in the Grove (3145 Commodore Plaza) the other day and had a Mimosa. Delicious. George's is turning into quite a nice hang-out spot -- with gourmet food.

George had a great idea -- to celebrate their new lunch menu, anyone who mentions the Coconut Grove Grapevine will receive a free glass of champagne or wine. This will apply to the dinner menu, as well. You must mention this to George himself and he actually wants you to, so don't be shy. He wants to see how many people from the Grapevine will show up. So please don't hesitate. Ask!

So whether you stop in for lunch or dinner, mention the Grapevine and enjoy a glass of champagne or wine on them.

It's a great fit since the champagne actually originated from a grapevine anyway.

Chamber's luncheon to be held at Mayfair Hotel

The Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce is holding its Installation Luncheon of the new Board of Directors, on Friday, June 6 at the Mayfair Hotel & Spa Restaurant (3000 Florida Avenue).

11:30 am - Meet & Greet Networking
12:15 pm - Welcome & Swearing-in of Directors by City of Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff
12:30 pm - Luncheon

R.S.V.P. - 305-444-7270 or info@coconutgrove.com

$28 Chamber Members/$32 Non-Members

Riley Smith holding Real Estate Town Meeting

The Grove's favorite realtor, Riley Smith is holding another Real Estate Town Meeting at Greenstreet Café (3468 Main Highway) tomorrow, June 2 from 6 to 8 pm.

Join Riley for topics covering everything from Grove market statistics, foreclosures in the Grove, pricing your home in this market and Riley will be glad to answer any general questions you may have.

Complimentary appetizers and beverages will be served.

By the way, Riley has a new blog related to Coconut Grove real estate called, "The Real Estate Coconut." You can read it here.

They glow in the dark

Coconut Grove Gallery and Interiors wants to be seen apparently. You can't miss them with the new neon green color. As you drive by on Bird Avenue (and Mary Street), the building jumps out at you.

Meet Tibetan artist Karma Phuntsok

Dharma Studio (3170 Commodore Plaza) is presenting "Light of Compassion," paintings by Karma Phuntsok. This one is called "Liberation."

Born in Lhasa, Tibet, Karma Phuntsok and his family followed the Dalai Lama into exile in 1959. He was educated in the Tibetan refugee schools of Dharamsala and later apprenticed with a master Tangka painter. Tangka is Tibetan iconographic painting, which Karma combines with his contemporary experience to create extraordinary transcendent works of art.

The exhibit is going on now through June 17, but from now until June 7, you may see the artist painting at the gallery. For info, please
call 305-461-1777.