At the March 3rd Village Council Meeting a special moment came at the beginning of the session when Officer Alejandro Rodriguez, who serves in the Palmetto Bay Policing Unit, was recognized for 30 years of service with the Miami-Dade Police Department. Village Police Commander Greg Truitt presented Officer Rodriguez with a certificate honoring the achievement in a ceremony conducted at the podium with Mayor Shelley Stanczyk. Sharing the moment in the audience and later outside the council chambers for a photo were Rodriguez’s wife Diane and children Nichol and Alex. Congratulations to Officer Rodriguez, and thanks for all those years of dedicated effort protecting our residents.
Earth Week is coming soon! We hear from Village Communications Manager Bill Kress that the 2014 edition of Earth Week will take place April 21-26. “The Village of Palmetto Bay continues its tradition as one of the greenest cities in all of South Florida by celebrating Earth Day for an entire week,” Bill tells us. All the favorite events will be back, with more than 75,000 ladybugs released into Village schoolyards, a bike ride and BBQ, a student poster contest, tree plantings, a free tree give-away for residents, and a green-themed Movie Night. In fact, the Village staff is asking for residents to help pick the movie to be shown on “Green Movie Night,” which takes place on Friday, April 25 at Coral Reef Park. Got an idea which film you’d like to see? Something family oriented that fits the theme of Earth Week? You can give ‘em your input. Just check the village website for details at <ww.palmettobayfl.gov>. Bill also points out that if there are any area businesses, groups or individuals interested in sponsoring this event, now is the time to secure a spot on the roster by calling Special Events Director Mary Fernandez at 305-234-6383.
What a week for young Palmetto Bay resident Leia Schwartz! Not only did she win first place in the Musical Genius reality show competition that recently concluded, she also sang with the special chorus of fellow students that welcomed President Barrack Obama and First Lady Michele Obama to Coral Reef High School when they visited on Friday March 7th. Then Leia did volunteer work at the Trump Golf Tournament in Doral the following Saturday and Sunday, since golf is one of her other interests and talents. If the coming weeks ahead are slower, will she get bored? Congratulations, Leia!
What’s in a name? Many of us who are listed on the Community Newspapers website routinely receive press releases from PR firms from all over the place touting things, many of which aren’t local enough to be included in our editions. But one thing that caught our eye was a release from Paris, France, of all places, about a new hotel there with a quirky style. Since the name of the place is Eugène En Ville, we couldn’t help thinking it might be an appropriate vacation spot for our own “Eugene in the Village,” former mayor Gene Flinn. Anyone who wants to check it out can visit their website, www.eugeneenville.fr.
Thought of the Day:
We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.
—Anais Nin
Gary Alan Ruse contributed to this column.
Got any tips? Contact me at 305-669- 7355, ext. 249, or send emails to Michael@communitynewspapers.com.
