Selfish bicyclists

It would be so nice if bikers shared the road. This morning, a group of about 60 took over one of the lanes on South Bayshore Drive. From the Center Grove at Mary Street all the way to the Key Biscayne Causeway, drivers had to drive at 10 mph behind them or try to pass them when possible.

I'm guessing they are not regular riders or they would know better.

We still are a Village despite the changes

I use the term "the Village" often to describe Coconut Grove; basically because we are that and also it's just another way to say Coconut Grove in a story. I have a friend who says he cringes every time I do that because he says that the Grove is no longer a village. We may be on the cusp of being overrun with development, but hopefully we aren't. It's no secret that I am not a fan of these high-rise developers, but as someone told me recently, I should have protested the building of the SBS Building when that first started, now the genie is out of the bottle.

Someone else went further and said that perhaps people should have stopped The Mutiny back in the 1960s or '70s.

There's always been a struggle with this. About 10 years ago I was at a garage sale at a house on South Bayshore Drive and I was amazed that through all the foliage you could see Grove Isle in the distance, the homeowner started  putting down Grove Isle when I mentioned it; now this was 40 years after it was built, and he was still bitter about the development.

I never feel that developers do us any favors. I think it's all about money in their pockets, they aren't building housing for the poor, in most cases they are catering to millionaires and billionaires.

The new buildings going up are pretty, no doubt. But they are out of scale for The Village. Rumor has it that some of the properties are not selling fast enough and the developers are in Mexico drumming up buyers. This of course proves my point that the purpose of building these is to make money for the developers, not to help the Grove out in any way. Importing buyers from foreign countries is not a good thing for Coconut Grove.

Gables Rotary presents inaugural chili cook-off

The Rotary Club of Coral Gables is presenting the inaugural Chili Cook-Off, "Chili Chillin'."  on Sunday, February 21. Members of the South Florida community will compete to see who makes the best chili. The club is hosting this event to raise money for its charitable projects, and to provide a fun event for the community. This will be the very first major Chili Cook-Off held in the City of Coral Gables. 

The event will take place from 2 to 6 pm at Fred B. Hartnett Ponce Circle Park which is located in downtown Coral Gables (2800 Ponce de Leon Blvd.). Contestants from local high schools, restaurants, and even fire departments will join in from around South Florida.

In the Open division, anyone is eligible to compete in two categories, best meat chili and best vegetarian chili. Prizes awarded will be trophies for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, as well as cash prizes. There will also be prizes given for the Best Decorated Booth, as well as The People's Choice Award where attendees may weigh in on their favorites. Winning teams will get cash prizes, and one trophy will be awarded to the best of each division to display for the entire year! Contestants will be judged by local leaders, as well as some local "celebrities."

The Chili Cook-Off is free to attend, and there will be tickets sold for those who want to taste the chili ($5 each). There will be entertainment for the whole family, with live music by "The Stiltsville" and "Funk Pedal," bounce houses, and other kids activities. Come out and enjoy the fun and the food and support the local "chefs". There will also be food and a variety of beverages for sale, including a beer garden sponsored by Concrete Beach Brewery.

To register as a chef and to reserve your booth space, please follow the information on their website: www.chilichillin.com, or call 305-441-8063. Deadline to submit your application is February 10.

FrameWorks reopening party planned

FrameWorks will have a reopening party on Saturday, February 6 from 7 to 10 pm.

They have announced a new artistic alliance with the Williams McCall Gallery of South Beach, the first fine art gallery located South of Fifth. It's become a "must see" for visitors and collectors when they are in town.

Williams McCall, a minimalist gallery, represents a diverse roster of local and international artists creating contemporary paintings, works on paper, fine art photography, encaustic collage and sculpture, which will all be a part of the new FrameWorks gallery now.

Above from left are works by John Dowd, Madeliene Abling and Laurence Young.

FrameWorks is at 3196 Commodore Plaza, 2nd floor. For info: 305-443-4581.

King Mango wrap party at The Taurus

The King Mango Strut Wrap Party is Sunday, January 31 at The Taurus from 4 to 8 pm.

The video from last month's King Mango Strut will be shown and Joe Donato and Mr. Ree are performing live.

Happy hour drink prices and drink specials will be available.

For info: 305-582-0955.

The Taurus is located at 3540 Main Highway.

Water taxis will be part of Boat Show/Arts Festival

The National Marine Manufacturers Association will be holding the Miami International Boat Show on February 11-15 at its new site on Virginia Key. They received final approval, despite the objections of many.

To help people get around, there will be seven water taxi stops in Miami including Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove, the others are Bayside Park; Sea Isle Marina; American Airlines Marina; the Hyatt Regency; the Viceroy Hotel; and the Four Seasons Hotel. There will be 15 to 20 water taxis, each carrying 45 to 130 passengers. 

The advantage of the water taxi service for the Grove is that the Coconut Grove Arts Festival is the weekend of February 13-15, so this will help in getting people from one venue to the next. Between you and me, I will take the taxi just for the fun of the ride. It took about 15 minutes for the press to get from Bayside Market place to the Virginia Key site the other day. So it's a nice, fairly quick trip.

There also will be water taxi service to and from the Purdy Avenue boat ramp on Miami Beach, which will be the hub for all Miami Beach hotels. Water taxi service to Dinner Key and Purdy Avenue will be on the hour.

There will be many shuttle buses, too, to help get people around.

Water taxi service will start two days before the show (Tuesday, February 9) and continue until a day after the show (Tuesday, February 16). Operating hours will be 6:30 am to 7 pm on Tuesday and Wednesday; 6:30 am to 9 pm on Thursday; and 9 am. to 7 pm from Friday through Monday.

It would be nice to have these water taxi's on a regular basis, those and regular trolley service would be a big plus for the Grove.

Clearing things up

Please allow me to set the record straight:

1)    I am not a St. Stephen’s Day School parent.
2)    I am not a member of the St. Stephen’s “Board of Directors” though I did serve briefly as a trustee more than a decade ago  -- long before any thought of the present soccer court.
3)    I was never involved in any manner in the planning, promotion, or construction of the Peacock soccer facility.
4)    I was never involved in any manner in the negotiations leading to the school’s lease agreement  with the City of Miami for use of that facility.
5)    The Friends of Peacock Park, of which I am a founding member, never opposed roller hockey within the park and did not “rally” for its ouster.
6)    I am indeed a member of the soccer community, and though I have never used Peacock’s soccer facility, I am happy to report that it appears to be widely available for public use, for free.
7)    The Friends of Peacock Park remains a vocal civic advocate, most recently meeting with city officials to lobby for new policies to protect its grass playing surface from festival-related damage.

I can only speculate as to why my name has been linked with this facility, and so I will. Way back in 2003 The Friends of Peacock Park aggressively opposed a plan -- pushed by former District 2 Commissioner Johnny Winton -- to carve out a section of the park, remove a stand of trees and construct a permanent, concrete roller hockey facility. Paving green space was not progress, we argued. And we won that battle.

A year later, in 2004, the Friends hosted a community charrette for Peacock Park attended by more than 60 people, including at least one irate, disruptive and self-described  “hockey mom” who to this day seems to take pleasure in unfairly distorting my record as an advocate for parks and community space.  The grudge she holds for our opposition to the hockey rink will not die.
This is not the first time this women  has leveled these baseless and vindictive charges in the Grapevine. I’d like to encourage Tom Falco to better screen the anonymous missives within his blog that seem to serve only to damage a reputation and to falsely inflame readers on matters of important community interest.

David Villano
Coconut Grove

Reclaiming Peacock Park

The following was left as a comment to the letter to the editor by the Grove grandmother below. I think it should be seen here so everyone can read it.

Over the past few years, every time I contacted Commissioner Sarnoff's office to ask about the park, I was basically told to shut up and mind my own business. I was told that is was ok for St. Stephen's to lock up the playing fields and basically own them. I was told that it was ok that there was no park attendant and that even though our tax dollars were paying for this park, it was ok that it was a private park now. I was always made out to be wrong or mistaken in my thinking, even though many residents contacted me to ask me about it. I don't know of one person who thinks that selling off the park to the school is a good idea. This locked gate is what most citizens are faced with on a daily basis.

I think the time has come to reclaim the park and everything else that is wrong around here because of greedy, selfish, calculated policies of the past. The sell out of the park is explained in this Miami Herald article from 2012.

This item below came in anonymously, so unfortunately, I can't give credit to the person who wrote it:


A CALL TO ACTION

The locked, gated soccer field in the public Peacock Park is the result of a deal that Marc Sarnoff orchestrated between Saint Stephen's and the City of Miami.

There is a group called the "Friends of Peacock Park" that acts as stewards of the park. The group is led by David Villano and Glen Terry. David Villano is also a Saint Stephen's parent, Board Member and a soccer coach.

The Friends of Peacock Park were very pro-active in moving the popular Coconut Grove Roller Hockey Team (the Tasmanian Devils), a youth hockey team comprised of many African-American boys from the West Grove, out of the exact same area of the park and over to another, less desirable park further away.

When the same section of Peacock Park was then occupied by a very popular skateboard park (free and always accessible to the public) the Friends of Peacock park rallied to shut it down.

That is when the Saint Stephen's Board of Director's Pastor Willie Allen Faiella, and Marc Sarnoff teamed up to orchestrate an illegal deal to take over the very same section of the public park for the sole use of Saint Stephen's Episcopal Day School as a private, gated and locked soccer field.

Saint Stephen's renovated the area to suit their specific needs and the area of public park remains gated and locked at all times.

Developer Jorge Perez, whose son attends Saint Stephen's and plays soccer on the now private soccer field in the public park, helped fund the renovations and is the schools biggest donor.

This is 100% illegal, however Saint Stephen's will continue to get away with this crime until they are challenged in a court of law.

There are several precedents for a case such as this, like this one in NYC that was easily won in court by a group of committed neighbors.

http://www.westsidespirit.com/local-news/20150129/taking-back-damrosch-park

Whom amongst us will organize our group of committed neighbors and take back our public park?

Youth Empowerment Summit returns to Grove

The Youth Empowerment Summit (YES) returns to Coconut Grove at Peacock Park on Saturday January 30, from 1-4pm under direction of the Golden and Golden Gates Foundation.

YES will build on its efforts to celebrate leaders of tomorrow by motivating youth of today with conversation stationslead by some youth. Other stations will also be led by community partners such as The State Attorney’s Office, faith based organizations and social groups. Participants will also receive community service certificates.

Though the conversation stations are for youth between the ages of 12-19 , the summit will conclude with a free kickball game from 4-6 pm open to all ages.

YES was originally conceived by Johnny Walker in order to organize youth of the area and encourage their participation in programs and organizations created to serve them. The feedback from the first YES which took place on January 31, 2015, also at Peacock Park, was exciting. Area programming such as One Grove and Striving
To Attain Remarkable Teens (START) provided more than 75% of the attendance for the afternoon. 

YES ranked in the top three programs/events by the Coconut Grove Crime Watch Evaluation and was welcomed back this year. With an improved layout of activities, YES welcomes new partners such as The Miami Fire Department, Cultivate Church and Branches, Inc. Participants can expect free food, live music and a celebration of culture, unity and purpose.

Parks being sold to the highest bidder

I have lived in Coconut Grove for over 40 years and have seen lots of changes, some good, some not so good.

Today, since public schools were closed, I was caring for my 8 year old grandson. He wanted to go to the soccer park in Peacock Park.

We arrived to find it locked, though no one was using it. I inquired of the attendant and he said to come back in the afternoon.

By the afternoon, I had two grandsons with me who wanted to practice in the soccer park in Peacock Park. We arrived at 3:30 pm St. Stephens was using the park and the gate was locked. I was told by the St. Stephens coach to come back at 4:15. He said St. Stephens had an agreement with the City of Miami and paid to use the park during the day until 4:15. There are two soccer courts. One was being used to teach golf(?).  I searched out the park employee and no one could be found. The bathrooms had no water nor did the water fountains.  Where the Chamber of Commerce had resided is now a Wine Bar being constructed. None of the workers could tell me where the park employee could be found.  A parent said, "St. Stephens had built the soccer park so they could use it."

So, my grandsons and I went off and came back at 4:15.  I again looked for the attendant and no one could be found.  The St. Stephen's kids were gone, but the gate was still locked.  My grandsons found a place to shimmy under the fence and I said I would take responsibility if they were scolded for entering that way.  The afternoon was flying passed and I wanted them to be able to play. One of the coaches from St. Stephens  who was locking the gate on the St. Stephen's  side (at 4:45)  was nice enough to open the gate that faces the public park, so two other boys (who had been waiting most of the afternoon) could enter the proper way.  

By 5:30, it was getting dark and I told the boys 10 more minutes. Along came a young man with a bag full of soccer balls. He drew a curtain dividing the two courts and proceeded to set up markers on his side of the soccer courts. I asked him if he taught soccer (as so many of our public parks do now) and he said the Paris Academy of St. Germain practiced there for two hours.  I asked him if the City was renting the court to his school and he said "no."  So there was only one court available to the general public from 5:30 to 7:30.

This is very disturbing to me. I pay high taxes to live in the Grove and so do my children.  It doesn't seem right that my grandchildren can't access all parts of the  parks we support with our taxes, especially when schools are closed.  

That park is public land to be used by the public. It should not be considered a money-maker for the city.  It's part of the services I and others are paying for just like fire and police.  

And what kind of message does having a wine bar in a park send to the children using the park?  Kids playing soccer, baseball, softball, basketball and pre-schoolers are climbing on playground equipment  can look over and watch their parents and other adults getting "buzzed."

Maybe the City Commission had decided that Coconut Grove should be for the rich who can afford private schools or can afford to pay for soccer programs in the parks. Or better still, maybe the Grove has become  more for the affluent professionals or wealthy foreigners without children. So, there is no need to provide space for children to play freely.

Parents and grandparents should raise their voices and demand the City provide access the land which was  set aside for the public.

I hope next time I watch my grandchildren, I won't have to drive to Pinecrest or Coral Gables so they can play without restrictions.

Sincerely,
Karen Ryan-Young
Coconut Grove

'Miami at Night' hits the stores on Thursday

Bill Brothers, one of our regular readers and someone who has contributed photos to the Grapevine over the years, has a new book called "Miami at Night," which is being released Thursday, January 28. The book consists of Bill's incredible Miami nighttime photos - over 70 photos, including over 40 large panoramic photos that capture the essence of the energy that pulsates through nocturnal Miami. 

The book tells a unique visual story of the city (Brickell, Brickell Key, Key Biscayne, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Downtown Miami, and Miami Beach) through photography at angles and vantage points that are rarely seen by the average Miamian or tourist.

Bill has lived in Miami for the past 10 years and is a self-taught photographer. He is the owner of Golden Dusk Photography, which focuses on cityscape photography. The website is at goldenduskphotography.com

Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. is a family-owned, independent publisher of high quality books. Since 1974, Schiffer has published thousands of titles on the diverse subjects that fuel readers’ passions. 

Bill's "Miami at Night" is available at Books and Books, Barnes & Noble, Amazon here, or at Bill's own website here. 

Potholes are a nuisance in the Grove

I had another tire incident recently, where there was a nail in one of my tires and in the end, I ended up purchasing brand new tires. Nails on the road is not surprising with all the work going on around the Grove. But my main problem has always been my car rims, due to potholes in the streets. I've had to have them fixed or replaced four times and is it any wonder with the size of the potholes around here.

I took this picture on Saturday morning, leaving Starbucks, next to Monty's. Look at the size of that thing. It's over a foot wide and quite deep. How many cars were damaged by this? Multi-million dollar condos go up across the street, and this is the scene down on the street below. Makes no sense.

There are too many potholes in Coconut Grove, actually, in the City of Miami. Rather than pave the streets correctly, they put bandaids on the problem, which last about a week. One time I just crossed over from Miracle Mile into Miami on Coral Way and PLOP, I drove right into a pot hole and the tire blew up! That was my welcome to Miami from Coral Gables.

I'm really thinking the City needs to address this problem. They should repay people for all the money they've spent on repairs and replacements. This mess is one of the first things all the regatta people see when they enter the Grove.

There is a 311 Mobile App and you can report the potholes through that, but in most cases it ends up being after you've found yourself in one of the holes.

BINGO at the Coconut Grove Woman's Club

Bingo Night is back at the Coconut Grove Woman's Club for a new year. The first event is Thursday, January 28. The event is open to everyone.

Doors open at 6:30 pm and BINGO begins at 7 pm.

Admission $5.00 Adults – Free admission for children under 12
$1.00 per card with minimum of 5 games
Enjoy free refreshments and snacks.
Gift Certificates are available and there are new and exciting prizes this year.

The last game will be a $1,000 cash prize with full bingo cards of 46 numbers called.

The Woman's Club is at 2985 South Bayshore Drive. All proceeds benefit the club to maintain the historic building. They are now celebrating 125 years!

Bully dogs and their bully owners

The dog park on Shipping Avenue is being taken over by irresponsible owners with mean and/or aggressive dogs.  In my personal experience, they seem mostly to be pit bull or mixed breeds.  But of course I mostly blame owners who let their dogs attack other dogs or else play too aggressively.  If you say anything, the owners usually ignore the comment or else say something like “down, boy,” and leave it at that.  I no longer take my dogs there, and I met an elderly lady last night with two small dogs who said one of them had been attacked the previous evening.  Weekends are particularly bad.

Gary Sullivan
Coconut Grove 

Spasso is all about 'Only Good Food'

The little triumvirate of restaurants at the south end of the village is changing. We were introduced to Ariete last month and now Spasso is taking up residence. The Taurus is the third in the group.

I met with the new owner of Spasso, Chef Gaetano Ascione, who has taken over the Calamari space at 3540 Main Highway. He is back in town after spending five years in Chicago at Gioco Restaurant, which he turned into a Michelin rated hot spot from its former self. He is familiar here in Coconut Grove for being associated with La Bottega in the Grove and in Coral Gables where he had his Gaetano Ristorante in the Hotel St. Michel in 2008.

Chef Gaetano Ascione

Gaetano took me around the space to show me what is new. To be truthful, the menu is really what's new - and the staff. The kitchen is the same, but during my visit, there were about a dozen people turning the old kitchen into a sparkling stainless steel workspace.

The dining room is basically the same, too, they plan on painting and doing a few things here and there, but there is no major reconstruction. It's all about the food at Spasso.

Gaetano would not be specific about the menu, he wants to keep that under wraps until opening (maybe in a week, maybe more), but he says it will all be authentic Italian food, all from the original source and the original recipe. When I asked him what type of food he would be serving exactly, he said, "Only good food!"

If you order spaghetti with marinara sauce, the sauce is not some new fangled sauce, it is the sauce created 300 years ago! Most of the food is gluten free as there is a lot of meat - all from Chicago; items like veal, dry aged beef and lamb. 

Gaetano, who has a wife named Lia, and three children, is a native of Naples, Italy, he began his culinary career in 1970 with a degree in Hotel Training from State Professional Hotel Management Institute in Salerno, Italy. He immediately started working as a Chef de Partie in Italy and continued onto Germany, England and the Bahamas. He served two presidents - Carter and Reagan. This citizen of the world speaks five languages - Italian, English, Spanish, German and French. He has a Master's Degree in Hotel Training.

In 2001, he was a finalist for "The Chef Of the Year" for The World Gourmet Summit in
Singapore and he served as a Consultant to Taj- Mahal Group of Hotel in India, Hilton Seoul in South Korea, Marchese Piero Antinori of Antinori Winery in Florence, Italy.

One of his prized possessions, he told me, is an autographed photo of himself with Nelson Mandela, he cooked for Mr. Mandela, too.

We're looking forward to trying Gaetano's food. We'll keep you posted on when the opening day will be.

Spasso is an Italian word that means enjoyment, entertainment, amusement.

Lucifer Vir Honestus cocktail event

The Coconut Grove Arts Festival and host committee Antoinette Baldwin, Nathalie Kipp, Rebecca Smith and Rosario Kennedy, are holding a special jewelry event on Tuesday, January 26 from 7 to 9 pm to experience the new Lucifer Vir Honestus "jewel box" boutique. Stop by and meet designer Luna Scamuzzi, direct from Italy.

Enjoy bubbly and canapes as you preview her exotic, hand-crafted jewelry collection. Her one-of-a-kind designs are worn by some of the  biggest names in Hollywood including Drew Barrymore, Michelle Obama, Oprah, Scarlett Johansson and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Luna's Medieval time baroque-shaped jewelry features one-of-a-kind pieces. 

The new boutique, which opened in November, is located at The Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove, 3300 SW 27 Avenue.

A percentage of the proceeds will benefit Coconut Grove Arts Festival.

Please rsvp: rebecca@taraink.com.

Women's Happy Hour Monday at Ariete

The Women's Happy Hour is at Ariete tonight, Monday, January 25, from 5:30 to 8 pm.

The last Monday of every month is a time for women of all professional backgrounds to meet, network and share ideas. There is always a guest speaker.

Atchana Capellini, owner of Atchana's East/West Kitchen is the featured speaker this Monday. 

Bangkok born Atchana, is a well-known Grove figure, for 25 years, she ran the popular Thai restaurant Siam Lotus Room in South Miami and for almost a decade, she has successfully brought the cuisine to The Mutiny hotel; Atchana's new location will be at the corner of Commodore Plaza and Grand Avenue, opening soon. 

The Miami Women's Networking Initiative and the Grove Chamber of Commerce sponsor the event.

Ariete is located at 3540 Main Highway. Enjoy a welcome glass of Prosseco, plus happy hour half-priced drinks at the bar.

Save the rare (for Miami) Samanea saman trees

I heard from Elvis Cruiz, Miami activist, about a couple of trees that are in District 2, in the Morningside neighborhood. They are thriving Samanea saman trees but the City of Miami Public Works Dept. wants to cut them down. We know a lot about saving trees in Coconut Grove, so he's asking for our help, especially since they are in our Commission district.

"You’ve probably never heard of that species; it's almost unknown in Miami.  But if you’ve ever been to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, you’ve seen it decorating some of the most sacred ground in America, at the Arizona Memorial," says Elvis.

The two trees are in the median of NE 6 Court, between 57 and 58 Streets. Why does Public Works want to cut down two vigorous, healthy shade trees? Misinformation.  

It’s a long story, but the short version is that these are non-native trees that the city is not familiar with, and there is misinformation about them on the internet.

They make an excellent street tree and shade tree. There are over a thousand of them planted on the streets of Honolulu, Hawaii.  

Extensive research was done before the trees were planted.  Experts were consulted.

Elvis says, "I recently asked Jeff Shimonski, a well-respected local arborist (former head of horticulture for Parrot Jungle, and he also writes the horticulture article for the Biscayne Times), to inspect the trees.  On camera, he says they are vigorous and healthy, and he sees 'absolutely no reason to remove them.' "

Here's a video of Jeff assessing the situation.

Aisa Michel (who lives right next to the median) and Elvis have appealed the proposed tree removal to the Miami City Commission, and it will be heard on Thursday, January 28, at Miami City Hall in Coconut Grove. The item is number 19 on an agenda which will begin after 3 pm.  It will probably be a long agenda, going on into the night.

Please help save these beautiful trees.

Please take a moment to send an email to City Commissioner Ken Russell at KRussell@miamigov.com

You might also CC the Director of Public Works, Mr. Ed Santamaria. His email is  esantamaria@miamigov.com.

Please take a few seconds to sign the on-line petition to save the trees:  http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/please-save-morningsides

Netherlands teams up with Miami for conservation

On Saturday afternoon, The Consulate of the Kingdom of the Netherlands joined the City of Miami for the Dutch Wave Environmental Festival at Peacock Park. Above are Henne Schuwer, Dutch Ambassador to the U.S. with Luiz Rodiruqez, Executive Director of ecomb (Environmental Coalition of Miami and the Beaches).

The Netherlands is moving closer to an economy where everyone works to minimize the waste of energy and materials. The City of Miami wants to ensure its residents can continue to enjoy a clean and sustainable environment. They are both are keenly aware of the effects of plastic waste on society. From left, Coconut Grove Police Commander Manuel Morales, Jacquelien Nienhuis, Deputy Head of Public Diplomacy, Netherlands' Henne Schuwer, Netherlands Ambassador and Kevin Kerwin, Director of Parks and Recreation for City of Miami.

Plastic if Forever booth, where kids made things from recycled plastic.

A long line of bags that go to the landfill.

The Dutch Wave Environmental Festival was a free event designed to inspire people to take action to reduce the amount of plastic waste in the ocean, their daily lives, and their communities at large. At the same time, Dutch Wave called upon people to use their creativity, innovation and imagination to come up with solutions that can contribute to solving the larger issue of “waste problems.” This "shopper" is wearing 500 shopping bags, the equivalent that each person uses in a year.

Police 

Commander Morales, Kevin Kerwin of Miami Parks, Ana Cristina Carrodeguas-Regalado, Mayor Tomas Regalado, Ambassador Henne Schuwer; Miami Dutch Consul General Nathalie Olijslager-Jaarsma.

The crowd was treated to delicious Voorn Croquettes and cheeses from Dutch Heerlijk! Goodies, both sponsors of the event.

The Dutch Wave Environmental Festival is the Miami Consulate’s kick-off event of the Netherlands Presidency of the European Union. The Netherlands holds the rotating presidency of the EU until June 30, 2016. During its EU Presidency, the Netherlands will lead the focus of the EU agenda on climate and energy policy, international security and migration, and innovation. For more about the Netherlands Presidency of the EU, visit english.eu2016.nl

Photos by Rafael Gutierrez

Marathon comes through town

The Miami Marathon and Half Marathon came through town Sunday morning. My friend Peter sent me these photos, I usually can't get out of my neighborhood due to the street closures and I have stood out on South Bayshore Drive to cheer on a friend (he would text me when he was near), but with 45 degree weather, I just stayed inside.

The streets were kind of quite, I guess due to the cold, usually there are many more people cheering on the runners.

 From the Herald: Benazouzz Slimani, a Moroccan who lives in Italy, crossed the marathon finish line near Bayfront Park in downtown Miami in two hours, 24 minutes and 50 seconds. He is a two time runn-erup and won the race in 2009.

Miami Marathon winner Benazouzz Slimani.
Stephen Njoroge, 25, of Kenya finished the 13.1-mile half marathon in 1 hour, 5 minutes and 8 seconds.
Melchor Surquillo of Peru led the women’s field in the half marathon in 1:13:52, an event record.

The whole story is here.

Photos by Peter Studl

An idea for that eyesore

That Gardner's Market building is just sitting there, rotting, on Florid Avenue. I have an idea for it - a mixed-use restaurant, shared by a few fast food-type places.

What about dividing it into four and having Chipotle, Panera Bread, Au Bon Pain and Chicken Salad Chick (look it up, incredible).  Hopefully Chipotle will clean up their act, literally and we can have the first Chicken Salad Chick in South Florida, I think the closest one is in Naples.

Classic Burlesque Show at Vinos in the Grove

Vinos in the Grove is having a Classic Burlesque Show on Saturday, January 23, starting at 9 pm.

Stop by for an evening of classic Burlesque with the talented and sought out, Sofia Luna. The show will be held upstairs in the Red Room Art Gallery with a $5 cover, and one drink minimum per guest.

Please call 305-442-8840 or email info@vinosinthegrove.com for reservations. Hurry, spots fill up fast! First come first serve at door night of event.

And on Thursday, January 21, Vinos presents a Charity Wine Tasting. Bottle specials all night and suggested $10 donation for wine tasting (all proceeds go directly to Every Mother Counts). Help support the cause in how every mother deserves the ability to receive resources for a healthy pregnancy and childbirth.

Vinos in the Grove is located at 3409 Main Highway.

Is FPL or the new condo developments to blame?

The other night there was a power outage in Center Grove. Apparently this is a frequent occurrence. I find it interesting for three reasons - 1) a friend asked me why the Gap was closed the other night, he assumed that they left CoconWalk; 2) a friend texted me at the moment of the blackout and was upset over it; 3) I just had a conversation with a friend in South Beach who said he had to renew his street parking permit, I told him we didn't have to deal with that here.

We received this from a friend, who addresses these issues:

I would love to find out who should be responsible for the power outages that happen frequently …On the 27th Avenue grid and last night at the movie theater and the Gap were without power - prior to the 4 pm movies …I feel the City of Miami gave permission to these high rises and FPL is responsible for the power - and with these frequent loss of power this cost the tax payers and the theater goers - I live in a ten person home owners association and as our power continues to go out our pump for the a/c goes out as well….We recently had to pay to have the pump worked on - and many were without a/c …I see in my bill FPL would like for us the customer to add an additional $5 a month for surge protection…that is ridiculous a - because if the power stayed on and the new buildings and builders were forced to have generators for the new construction there might be less power outages.

As well the parking is ridiculous …I see people park anywhere there is not a meter.  I do not want the Grove to become like Miami and Miami Beach but we are heading that way.  With resident-parking areas.  It is not fair to those who live here and are residents.  

Is there a solution to these issues ??? Thank you.

Kibitzing with the politicians

There were some politicians at Thursday night's Coconut Grove Arts Festival party. I had some good opportunities to speak with two of them in depth - Commissioner Ken Russell (right) and Lt. Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who I have known for a long time.

I don't like to bring up serious matters at parties, but I grabbed Ken and asked him about this petition to keep zoning from changing regarding that piece of property on Brickell. He knew about it and told me that he would consider the issue carefully. This is great news, it's nice to see someone with principles in office. Speaking of principles, while most of us left the party and went home to bed, I saw on Ken's social media sites that he went directly downtown from the party, to help do a census of homeless people so that the city can get proper funding to help them. In the process, he found warm places for people to stay, including a family who were huddling against the cold night.

Carlos, my friend for many years, always makes me laugh. He is just as down-to-earth as Ken is and he's a great and honest guy. He was our State Representative for many years in the Coconut Grove district and was termed out and now he is the Lieutenant Governor of Florida, which makes him Vice President of Florida, right under Rick Scott, the Governor. Carlos is running for Marco Rubio's Senate seat. He also Miami-Dade Property Appraiser at one time.

Every time I see Carlos I tell him, "I don't like your boss," meaning Rick Scott, and he just laughs. But last night he caught my ear and was, I think, trying to get me to vote for Marco Rubio for president. He's always been behind Rubio, so this is nothing new, and I find that to be Carlos' only flaw, his unwavering support for Rubio. Other than that, Carlos may not have any flaws.

I told him that I would not be voting for Rubio in this lifetime.

It was a good night and I'm glad we have both of these guys on our side - Ken and Carlos, not Scott and Rubio, who I highly question as being on our sides at all.

NOTE:

This came in from Ken after this story ran:

Hi Tom,

Nice write up in the Grapevine and Huffington Post.

While you probably read between the lines of my comments well, it should 
not be quoted how I intend to vote. I’m picky with my words to make 
sure that I’m not transmitting my voting intention through the press. 

There are still others who want to meet with me about the issue and I 
should not make an official decision until hearing all sides.

thanks,
Ken

Ken Russell
Vice Chair, Miami City Commission
District 2

Car2Go is leaving Miami

Car2Go, that little car borrowing service is leaving the Miami area effective March 1, 2016.

The service was here since 2012, but there was not enough business according to the company. It was an expensive proposition running the one-way car sharing business in Miami.

Miami was slow to adopt to the service unlike other cities.

I can't say I am sad to see them go, as in my eyes, they took up all the parking spaces, often times having as many as 15 cars in a one block stretch, which is a lot for Coconut Grove which is parking challenged on streets (we have plenty of lot and garage parking).

There were only about 300 cars in the fleet and it appeared as if most of them were dumped here and in Miami Beach (tourist areas).

A $1 a day service tax was also to blame for the suspension of the service.

This year's Arts Festival poster unveiled

The official poster of this year's Coconut Grove Arts Festival is “Grove Regatta” by Ft. Lauderdale-based painter Madeliene Abling. It was presented at a party on Thursday night, high above the Sonesta Coconut Grove.

Madeliene was proud to show off her work. It's a different format from many past posters, as it's square. I like that.

Previously a practicing attorney in Orlando, she became an artist after living on a boat, migrating up and down the East coast of the U.S., and consciously deciding to paint professionally. A self-taught artist, Madeliene works from her studio in Fort Lauderdale where she currently lives.


Finding brushes too constricting, she paints with a palette knife which she feels automatically leads to big imagery and strong definitive marks. Her work is figurative, but with an impressionistic twist.

Each of Madeliene’s paintings focus on a single subject, and are always something that bring her joy whether sailboats or vintage cars, musical instruments or cocktail-related objects like martini glasses or shakers. People are never included in her paintings so as to avoid distraction from the inanimate subject matter.  


“I paint because it fills me with a sense of well-being, of belonging, and enables me to totally be in that moment of consciousness,” she said.  “I am never closer to myself than at those moments.”

The sweet goodies and were there, freshly made crab cakes and other food at stations with lots of friends, politicians, artists and such.

Like every year, Roxie Vargas, reporter from NBC6, emceed the event and it was presented live, during the 6 pm news as it is every year. Curtis Crider, Mayor Tomas Regalado and Commissioner Ken Russell were part of the ceremony.


Carlos Lopez-Cantera, Lt. Gov. of Florida; Commissioner Ken Russell and Monty Trainer, head of the Arts Festival. Three big-shot Grovites. 

I got to kibitz with Cris Sweeny and Claire Lardner of FrameWorks, which is having it's reopening party on Saturday, February 6. Claire said I looked stressed. I think it might have been that incredible orange vodka drink they had at the event.

William Rivas, GM of CocoWalk and Margaret Nee VP of Development at Sabal Hill (the Pointe Group) and Pia Clemens with her neighbor Jack Feldkamp.

Old friends, Atchana Capellini, Richard Issa and Gigi Leyva. Atchana is opening her Atchana's East/West restaurant on Commodore Plaza, below FrameWorks, but they won't be open at the same time as the FrameWorks grand opening on Saturday, Feb. 6.

The Coconut Grove Arts Festival is Saturday through Monday, February 13-15, 2016, in downtown Coconut Grove. All info is at cgaf.com. 

Stop the greed; sign the petition

There is a petition regarding over-development in Brickell. I think that ship has already sailed, but in this case it's about Brickell Bay Drive, that quiet area behind Brickell Avenue between 14 and 15 Streets.

Seems our own Grove neighbor Arquitectonica wants a variance against Miami 21, to build a 60 floor tower, where only 12 story high rises are allowed now. Arquitectonica should be applauded for their handling of the renovation and renting of spaces at the Engle Building in Center Grove, but I think most residents in Miami have had enough with spot zoning and loopholes and over-development.

So the petition to Ken Russell and the rest of the City Commissioners, to uphold a denial by the city's planning board is an important message to send. As developers creep into the Grove more and more, it's important to stop spot zoning and variance agreements now.

More info on the petition here.

Our area's Underground Railroad connection

The Key Biscayne Historical & Heritage Society will start the new year programs with a special public reception for “Voyages of Freedom: The Underground Railroad History & Legacy,” a lively and informative presentation by nationally, regionally, and locally recognized historians and scholars in remembrance of the 19th century Underground Railroad, its Freedom Seekers and the Abolitionist Movement. 

You might ask, “What does this have to do with Key Biscayne history?” 
         
Art Yerian, the new Manager of Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park on Key Biscayne commented, “Not many may realize that our State Park is designated as one of the earliest Underground Railroad Stations in the nation by the National Park Service for its historic NPS Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Project,” he said, adding “That acknowledgement in 2004 was before my time here, so I’m excited to attend this coming commemorative event with everybody else to learn more about Florida’s fugitive slaves and Seminole Blacks who fled from our beaches to freedom in the 1820s.”  

Co-chair for the event and the Founder of the Florida Underground Railroad Project [FURP], Kristopher Smith has said, “Through the individual presentations and panel discussion in “The Florida Underground Railroad and Its Legacy: Linking the Past to the Future,” we will tell about the early Freedom Seekers who arrived on Key Biscayne seeking passage across the Gulfstream to freedom in the Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti and the Caribbean. We will recognize others whose work continued the legacy and we will share transformational stories that may resonate in today’s world.” 
      
Joan Gill Blank, co-chair and KBHH member, said the event will address and bring to life the meaning and historic role of the UGRR and the Abolitionist Movement—sometimes called the first Civil Rights Movement—as it relates to American and Florida history, past and present. “Exploring history can often offer insights to contemporary situations,” she said, and continued, “Might our deeper understanding of the UGRR provide a model for working together in our communities, and across borders?”

Please join the KBHH Society at the Community Center for a Public Reception to kick off the event at 6 pm on January 22. During the reception, meet and mingle with the distinguished speakers and guests, view informative displays and video and enjoy refreshments including spirits. Presentations begin at 7 pm.
             
For questions or sponsorship opportunities, please contact The Key Biscayne Community Foundation: 305-361-2770 or info@keybiscaynefoundation.org. 

What's the story with the Grove parks?

Just an observation - Peacock Park is a mess after torrential rains and trucks and trailers mixed together in October for Grovetoberfest and the results are still being seen as the torn up lawn is being replaced (by real grass, not by the rumored AstroTurf, hopefully those days are over).

But there is talk about not having festivals in Peacock Park anymore due to this problem, which to be honest, is not a usual occurrence. There are plenty of events in the park and the lawn is not torn up during them.

I find it interesting that such an uproar was heard over this and now Regatta participants are tearing up the lawn in Regatta Park. There are boats, trailers and trucks driving across the lawn daily.

I am told by Kevin Kirwin, parks director, that it is only one section of the park and that the whole purpose of the park was for this reason - to house boats on trailers. I just find this strange. First we are selling off Peacock Park to St. Stephen's so they can have sports fields and now Regatta Park for the Regatta people. I know it's Regatta Park and Regattas, but last time I looked, the Regattas were a money-making business and we are giving them public land for their events.

UPDATE: Guys, before you start leaving nasty comments - I am NOT against the Regattas or the boaters, I am trying to figure out why City leaders are making such a fuss over Peacock Park when the same thing is going on at Regatta Park. I would hate for them to stop all events in Peacock Park using this aberration from October as the reason for ending events in Peacock Park when they are condoning it at Regatta Park, that's all. I think events in Peacock Park are important for the Grove.

Photos by Santiago Villegas