Friends moving on
And Richard Issa is a big time attorney now; or at least on his way to being that. I remember when I first met Richard he was sort of the everyman of Coconut Grove, he knew the village inside and out, working for the Chamber and the Arts Festival and BID, basically doing all the grunt work for all the power offices in town. Now he is on his way to being a power player. As for now they both may be around during Arts Festival time, but they are on their new life paths.
And honorable mention goes to Naomi Evans, now Naomi Alonso. Naomi was in charge of CocoWalk's marketing department and head of the BID marketing committee. I worked a lot with Naomi on Grove projects and she was excellent as head of the marketing department, she didn't take any crap from anyone, and trust me, they tried. Naomi is still living in the area, she's just not involved with the Grove anymore.
And of course Jackie Segedin, marketing director at the BID. The Grove has not been the same since she left.
These four people have always treated me with friendship and respect, when there were times were many others around the village did not.
posted by Tom Falco at 10:00 AM
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8 Comments:
While the Grove bleeds good people, developers fill their endlessly deep pockets.
While the places in Grove memories are closed or demolished, the politicians smiles and asks for your vote.
While the children play in toxic parks named after community heroes they never learn about, the sun is blocked by the newly built condo tower.
While I am writing this, another Grove family is planning their exodus.
Not long ago about 40% of the population of the U.S., moved about every 4 years. According to numerous financial reports this was the norm as folks cashed out on their inflated housing prices. From this story it would appear they "Katherine Phillips Chaplin" and "Richard Issa" " a big time attorney",not the same last name, "and baby boy" moved on "with their lives" for bigger and better things/opportunities. From the kudos it appeared they played important roles in transforming the Grove from what it was to what it is, for better or for worse, depending on your individual feelings, about the old Grove, vs., the new Grove. Yet, the 1st anon comment spun it into a negative, WHY? Sincerely, WHY the negative comment? Jobie Steppe
One of those parks is named for my former boss...,.Florida State Senator Ken Myers....one of the urban reformers who fought mightily against the North Florida Pork Chop Gang to give Miami and other urban communities their fair share of state resources for education, health and social services, transportation, etc. While he lived in the Grove he was not Grove "fixture" because he worked at the state level. And he was very surprised and a bit embarrassed when the park was named for him. He was part of a very different political generation (along with Marshall Harris, Jack Gordon, Bill Sadowski, Murray Dubbin, Bob Graham, Bob McKnight, Alan Becker, and others) who were totally policy oriented and totally disinterested in personal gain
More about Ken Myers......he and the others I named never gave a thought to amassing political power or the perks of office....and would have been astonished to learn that one day City Commissioners would seek to dominate everything in their districts like tyrannical feudal lords and be chauffeured about by sworn police officers in massive city-owned SUVs.
I understand why the negative comments come. The Grove was the place where people came to raise families, now its the place where people come to visit with their families - and not stay.
Mrs. Steppe should remember that the US has been through 3 economic crisis in 20 years and we're probably at the start of another one. It's difficult to start anything in Miami, it's harder still in Coconut Grove (unless you're already here or part of the kleptocracy).
The post reads that Mrs. Chaplin is leaving to raise her family is greener pastures. Mrs. Alonso is also on her way out. No surprise, if you're young, seek a future elsewhere.
Seth Gordon makes an appearance to talk about his former employers and their saintliness who "never gave a thought to amassing political power or the perks of office".
I got an email saying you are behind Ken Russell and I think that its wrong for you to comment about not amassing political power yet that's exactly what you're doing. Please explain.
Sure. I'd be happy to help you understand. And who am I talking to?
Good luck to Rich! I went to lawschool with him and he was a great person there as well!
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