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Honoring Women
March was Women’s History Month, so I’ll take a moment to recognize our ladies. I honor my mom, my wife and my daughters. And we have some important women that sit on our dais. Katrina Wilson is the only woman who has returned for another term on our Council.
Shannon Ighodaro is the first Bahamian-American Councilmember. Shannon Campbell is a legacy member: her father, Mr. Aaron Campbell, was a Councilperson and Vice Mayor. And Linda Julien is our first Haitian-American Councilmember. I also want to take this opportunity to thank all the women of the world for all the hard work and dedication that you have put in, and to recognize you during the month of the woman. Ladies, you rule! You have been the caretakers and the providers, and I respect you. Thank you.
COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts
COVID-19 is playing a major role in our decisions as to how we go about our business. COVID-19 testing and vaccinations are taking place throughout the City. Many newscasts report that in the Black community, COVID-19 is not being addressed. We are addressing those issues here in Miami Gardens. We’re getting shots into the arms of our residents almost on a daily basis, and we’re proud of that. I have to credit our Vice Mayor who has been an advocate and a champion for vaccination, doing amazing work in the community.
Safety First – Slow Down in Our Neighborhoods
Speeding is a concern in our community as well, so we did a PSA with the Chief of Police to address those issues. We’re not going to tolerate the speeding and “donut riding” in our community. If you are guilty, you will be fined and you will have to deal with our Officers because you’re putting lives in danger. Enforcement is important and we want to make sure that both our residents and the people who are passing through understand this, and respect our community.
We want to make sure our small businesses understand that we’re here to help and ensure that they survive. So on the business front, we’re supporting the program that Councilwoman Linda Julien has in place. There are also other grants opportunities that Miami-Dade County is offering to small businesses that our local entrepreneurs may access.
Please visit www.miamidade.gov/business/business-assistance.asp for more information.
Moving Forward
COVID-19 is mutating into different strains so we don’t want to fully open up too quickly. Other cities might, but we’re not going to do that. Our decisions are going to be based on the recommendations from our medical experts and what’s best for our community.
We all want to get back to normal, but we have to stay vigilant. One of the things I personally miss is interacting with the kids from the STEM and robotics programs. I miss the camping trips we used to go on every year and I hope we can get back to those soon. By June, we’ll hopefully have enough shots in arms and enough vaccinations available to allow our City to embark on the process of fully reopening where people can start going to restaurants and enjoying the City again. We’re already started promoting Jazz in the Gardens 2022. We are looking forward to it and we are getting ready for it.
Looking ahead, we’ll commemorate Earth Day in April, Haitian Heritage Month in May, Caribbean-American Heritage Month and LGBT Month in June. We respect and are proud of all the people we serve. Our City is diverse and inclusive. Everyone has a voice here, everyone can be heard, no matter your origin, race, color, creed or gender. We are Miami Gardens, and we are one.
In the big picture, my recent meetings with our state representatives and legislators included discussions about infrastructure and other things we want to see come out of Tallahassee for Miami Gardens. We’re looking forward to continuously serving the people here, and moving the City in a positive direction.
