Well it looks like my friend Horace Feliu may not be running for elected office in the city of South Miami this go around. With the election less than 13 months away, he may be headed in another direction and will probably sit it out this go around. But, as the saying goes, “it ain’t over, till its over,” and aside from that, there is another election in 2022.
Speaking of politics, I ran into Mark Lago and family over at Casa Cuba. Lets see who else was there… Dexter Letinehn, Bruce Turkel, Bob Berkowitz, Javy Rodriquez, Miami Dade County Commissioner Xavier Suarez. Dr. Jorge Blanco, Adam Brand,from Frames USA, and the list goes on and on.
Casa Cuba is rockin and rollin, and if you want to see what the heck is going on around town, stop on by. If you show up around 7:30 AM, come say hi and we’ll chat it up.
My goodness gracious, the ever so talented bunch that serve on the CRA, all 5 commissioners, plus 2 others, just hired Calvin, Giordano & Associates to prepare a Land US Plan Amendment to improve the zoning of the property just north of SW 68 St and SW 59 Place, where some 59 2-story townhouses are located. The buildings are 40 years old and just might be coming down in a few years. The county and the city of South Miami seem ready to move forward and dramatically improve the area, including to possibly build 200 brand new units; just one thing to say about it… yippee!
I see the the Shops of Sunset hosted a community get-together to receive some feedback from area residents and local business people. It seemed to have gone ok, but rest assured that it was just more of the same stuff that has been going on between voters, influencers, lobbyists, developers, politicos and of course, most elected officials. It should be interesting to see how they proceed, but they shouldn’t worry too much, because there just might be a couple of new folks in the days to come next February.
What is South Miami Hospital going to do with the empty lots on the northwest corner of Sunset Drive and SW 62 Ave. The healthcare giant owns all that vacant land and it’s just begging for something to be done on it. At one point, a portion of the lot was approved to put up a 5-story medical building, but alas nothing was done. Seems to me that the time is getting much closer for the hospital to start drawing up the plans for a very significant addition to its facility. Folks at the hospital are mum right now, but we’ll continue on our merry way and see if we can get someone to give us the most recent scoop on what will surely be a superb medical facility.
Magicians, card cheats and crooked politicians have one thing in common… they like playing the age old trick of “pay attention to my right hand, while I use my left hand to hide or change something.” “Wag the dog” is another term used when a sleazy politician attempts to divert attention from the cold hard reality of an embarrassing situation, or a plain failure in order to garner public sentiment.
And so it is in the City of Pleasant Living, where there has been a failed taxpayer-funded fight against FPL. The dispute was to prevent a series of large ugly power lines from being setup on US-1, when in fact, there has already been a steady replacement of the smaller poles to enormous power lines going through the heart of South Miami. Anyone who has traveled along 62nd Avenue can’t possibly miss the huge unsightly project, which has no doubt decreased property values. Adding insult to injury, studies have been conducted to determine the effects of living by power lines, and it turns out as an unhealthy situation for those who live close to high tension lines.
The fact remains that one cannot increase population density without increasing the demand for power. For those who believe that slapping a few solar panels on an 18-story condominium or apartment complex is going to somehow satisfy the demand for that building is either delusional, or has simply not done their homework. Many South Miami residents may recall that former Mayor Horace Feliu was always in favor of burying power lines, and now, many cities including Miami have negotiated exactly that. However long it takes, this current predicament proves that once again, sleight of hand cannot compete with the truth.
In brighter news, I had the pleasure of running into Gunther and Shirley Karger at Lots of Lox over the weekend. Gunther is the author of several books, including Thieves on Wall Street and many more publications! As always, the food at Lots of Lox was stellar, and the company was just as good, if not better. The couple has been married for over 50 years and still going strong. On a side note, next time you take a visit to Lots of Lox, for the love of food, be sure to order a brisket sandwich with an order of fries; thank me later.
Thought of the Day:
The essence of the spiritual life is formed by our actions and feelings towards others.
– S.S. Dalai Lama
Aaron Guerrero contributed to this column.
Got any tips? Contact me at (305) 669-7355, ext. 2249, or send emails to michael@communitynewspapers.com
