Every day, we’re faced with choices — buy from Home Depot or the guy that owns the hardware store in the Village? Get a cup of coffee at Starbucks or go to the local restaurant?

Buy from a local clothing store or from Marshall’s? In these difficult economic times, to me it makes sense to shop, buy and dine at our local businesses. Buying local strengthens our local economy, can help lower taxes, creates jobs, supports local nonprofits and can serve to help clean up the environment.

With the world economy spiraling dangerously into a crisis, it really is tempting to simply visit the national chain store for our needs and take advantage of what look to be lower prices. But, in the long run, the money saved at Marshall’s or Target may cost us far more in than the immediate gains.

The American Independent Business Alliance, a nonprofit group that promotes communities through strong local economies, lists the following 10 reasons to spend your money at local businesses:

• Buying local supports you and your family — When you buy from an independent locally-owned business, significantly more of your buying dollar stays in the community and is used to make purchases from other local businesses.

• When you buy from local businesses, you’re supporting local nonprofits — Studies show that small business owners give an average of 250 percent more dollars in donations to local nonprofits than do large businesses.

• Buying local keeps your community unique — Where we shop, where we eat and have fun all makes our community home. Local businesses give a distinctive character to a place and add to quality of life.

• Reduce your environmental impact — Local businesses buy more from local suppliers, resulting in less wasted fossil fuel for deliveries from distant sources. And by shopping in the Village you’ll contribute less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution. Walking instead of driving to a store also saves you money.

• Local business creates more good jobs — Small local businesses are the largest employer nationally and the jobs they offer create stronger links to our communities. Would you rather see your son or daughter work at a local store where they might get valuable personal employer referrals, or at an impersonal national chain store checkout counter?

• When you buy local, you invest in community — Local businesses are owned by your neighbors, people who live in your town, and who are more invested in the community’s future. Local businesses provide very important community allies in tough economic times.

• Better service — Local businesses usually hire people with a better knowledge of what they sell and they try to get to know their customers better. Also, a local business owner usually will respond to your complaints more quickly.

• Buying local puts your taxes to good use — Local businesses require little public infrastructure investment, as compared to nationally-owned chains built at the edge of town with taxpayer money for improved roads, water and sewer service.

• You can buy what you want, not what someone wants you to buy—A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales plan but on the needs and requests of local customers, assures a buyer-friendly range of product choices.

• Buying local encourages local prosperity— Economic research shows that entrepreneurs and skilled workers are more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive hometown character.

So, yes, I buy local whenever possible. I may pay a little more for some things and occasionally be frustrated with inconvenient hours or unavailable items. But it’s important to me to support the businesses in my community. I enjoy running into my neighbors when I shop local and I especially like the fact that I know the owner of a business or restaurant and call him by his first name. It’s worth it to me to pay a little more and help out my neighborhood businesses, especially in these trying times.

I found the following story on the Internet. The author is unknown, but I thought the tale and its lesson well worth sharing.

A man came home late from work one evening tired and irritated, only to find his five-year old son waiting for him at the door.

“Daddy, may I ask you a question?” the boy asked.

“Yeah, sure, what is it?” the man replied a bit grumpily.

“Daddy, how much do you make an hour?”

“That’s none of your business,” the man said angrily. “Why do you ask such a thing?”

“I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?” “If you must know, I make $50 an hour.”

“Oh,” the little boy replied with his head down. “Daddy, may I please borrow $25?”

The father was furious.

“If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don’t work hard every day to pay for such childish frivolities.”

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and began to get even angrier about the little boy’s questions. How dare he ask such questions just to get some money? After an hour or so, the man calmed down and started to think about what had happened.

Maybe there was something the boy really needed to buy with that $25, and he really did not ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the boy’s room and opened the door.

“Are you asleep, son?” he asked. “No, daddy, I’m awake,” the boy replied.

“I’ve been thinking; maybe I was too hard on you earlier. It’s been a long day and I took out my aggravation out on you. Here’s the $25 you asked for.” The little boy sat straight up, smiling broadly.

“Oh, thank you, daddy!” he cried. Then, reaching under his pillow, he pulled out a wad of crumpled up bills. Seeing that the boy already had money, the man felt his anger rising again as he watched his son slowly count his money. As he carefully placed the last bill in place, he looked up at his father with a broad smile.

“Why do you want more money if you already have some?” the father grumbled. “Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,” said the little boy. “Daddy, now I have $50, so I would like to buy an hour of your time. Please come home early tomorrow, I would like to have dinner with you.”

The man was crushed. He put his arms around his son and begged him for forgiveness.

This story is a reminder to all of us who work so hard in this modern, fastpaced age that we should not let life slip through our fingers without spending time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts.

Remember to share $50 worth of your time with someone you love. If we die tomorrow, the company we work for will easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family and friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

Grant Miller may be contacted by calling 305-669-7355, ext. 216, or by sending email to < grant@communitynewspapers.com >.

Often high school athletes and their parents become frustrated worrying about things over which they have little or no control.

High school athletes strive for a spot on the swim team, to maintain a .400 batting average, to make the All County team, land a college scholarship or move on to the Big Leagues. Those accomplishments, though, are a product of the process and not a given reward, for athletics are all about the journey and not about the destination.

A young man or woman should participate in athletics to learn the lessons of life — individual striving for excellence, discipline, developing a strong work ethic, dealing with failure and the necessity for resilience.

The reason an athlete works so hard today is to insure having the maximum amount of success and enjoyment possible in life tomorrow. In athletics, the next game is the only thing that is a given and the idea that there is a big payoff down the road is beyond the young athlete’s control.

Hard work in a home training program is empowering. When an athlete steps into the batter’s box in a game or takes the start platform at a swim meet, he or she is empowered with the knowledge that he or she has earned the right to have success. They have a mental edge and know that they worked to achieve the success and enjoyment they will experience today.

The reason an athlete works so hard today is to insure having the maximum amount of success and enjoyment possible in life tomorrow.

As time goes by, a young athlete may find the high school team is overloaded with talent and the coach may not think the player or swimmer is good enough to compete for a position. And college scouts may say no and deny the athlete a scholarship. But the young athlete has no control over those opinions, for today they are on a team and tomorrow they have another game. They may get the opportunity to play and they must work hard to be ready for success tomorrow, if given the opportunity.

But it is important to remember that athletics are all about the journey and not about the destination. Athletes may or may not play to all their dreams, but when it’s all over, they will be the ones who have learned to work and be the best that they can be. And those memories of the journey, shared with family, will last a lifetime.

This economy has got everybody in a crunch, and Miami-Dade County government officials are feeling the pinch just like everybody else. Tax revenue is down sharply and officials are looking for ways to cut expenditures. Mayor Carlos Alvarez has already submitted a budget that slices huge allocations from areas previously sacrosanct –police and fire protection, the arts, education, even after-school care.

And now comes word that the mayor’s proposed budget will sharply curtail the county parks and recreation budget. Hiring will be frozen, the number of parks employees trimmed, the frequency of workers cutting the grass reduced, even basic hours that parks remain open are set to be scaled back.

Hold on there! You can’t see it in the budget, but if the hours that a park remains open are going to be reduced and in the case of our Nature Centers locked up unless a fee driven program is operating, that means there’s going to be a reduction in the number of athletic, recreation and nature programs that are offered to our young people. And if that happens, you can expect to see a sharp rise in the county’s crime rate. And, while it may not be evident to the casual observer, that means there will be a direct negative affect on the quality of life for all Miami-Dade County residents, but particularly for those people who live in the inner-urban areas and less affluent communities.

Athletic programs attract young people who, without sports participation, might otherwise be hanging out on a street corner or joining a gang. The county’s youth sports programs hosted in the county parks are vital to the social fabric of Miami-Dade. They serve as the lid that helps to keep order in our community.

A kid that is seriously committed to playing on a baseball, football or basketball team, or any athletic endeavor, is a youngster that is not going to be joining a gang or getting into serious trouble with the law. Our county parks and the programs they offer in the afternoon and evening serve to give our young people a place to go after school where they can grow and develop their athletic prowess, gain confidence in their ability to succeed within the boundaries of society’s laws, and not gravitate to the bad influences that are always available in this modern era.

With juvenile delinquency at its highest rates between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays, it is clear that a safe and supervised afterschool program is the link between school and the evening optimist style athletic programs that kids need and deserve. And in many communities where there is no evening activity, these programs represent the only physical activity and mentorship these kids will ever receive.

Certainly, declining tax revenues mandate that cuts must be made in the county budget and there are many obvious areas in that budget that should bear scrutiny. But the hours that our county parks are scheduled to be open and the staffing needed to operate, program and maintain them should not be reduced; the programs they accommodate are too vital to the youth of this community. The park hours of operation and requisite staffing should be exempt from the budget paring knife.

In November 2007, just over two years ago, the Town of Cutler Bay decided to pursue a virtual “witch hunt” against long-term residents, Glenn and Nicole Fried. In fact, the manner in which your elected officials have proceeded is eerily reminiscent of a Salem Witch Hunt. Unbelievably, the town has wasted more than $200,000 in taxpayer money to attempt to pursue, and in this instance victimize the Frieds.

This began when the town, without warning, plastered numerous town code violation notices on the Frieds’ front door. The Frieds are a family of community volunteers. They have volunteered by coaching youth athletics, educating school children regarding animals and attending, at the request of the town, multiple functions to display many of their animals to the children of Cutler Bay.

Reminding us that in some instances no good deed goes unpunished, the Frieds did so voluntarily and without ever asking for a penny in return.

The Frieds display of animals is intriguing, educational and simply wonderful. In fact, these animals are so wonderful that the town officials, one of whom was employed by Metrozoo, decided to cite the Frieds for allegedly violating certain ordinances. These violations ranged from allegations concerning unauthorized possession of animals, to illegal electrical work, to maintaining various non-permitted structures.

The town’s claims were so frivolous the it could not even call a single neighbor of the Frieds to testify in this witch hunt.

Realizing that they had not violated one code provision, the Frieds decided it was time to take a stand — and that they have done. It is a true David vs. Goliath the town, with apparently endless resources in the form of your tax dollars, versus a hard working and long-time family of the Town of Cutler Bay.

The Frieds requested a hearing in order to present their defense. The town, in response, hired a powerful law firm to prosecute the Frieds. The hearing, which commenced in April 2008, unlike the overwhelming majority of municipal hearings, did not take 15 minutes. Rather, and because of your elected officials and their legal counsel, the hearing lasted nearly two years.

The hearing was conducted before a special magistrate who was interviewed by the town, hired by the town, paid by the town and now, following the hearing and on the virtual eve of this special magistrate rendering his decision, fired by the town.

After the evidence and the presentations, one need not imagine very hard why the town has done so — again just prior to the decision being rendered. Unbelievably, the town has wasted over $200,000 in pursuing a frivolous legal proceeding which did not even result in a decision.

The Frieds were able to establish, among other things, that the town has no jurisdiction to regulate wildlife. Such jurisdiction, as is set forth in the Florida Constitution, belongs to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Further, the Frieds established that the alleged structures that they were cited for did not constitute “structures” under the applicable building code. The town did not realize this, as they never observed these structures in their entirety, before issuing the violation notices.

These alleged structures simply were animal cages that do not constitute “regulated structures.” Further, the Frieds established that an alleged illegal electrical apparatus was, in fact, nothing more than a small birdcage with no electricity.

The town’s harassment and victimization has left the Frieds virtually penniless and has taken a tremendous emotional toll. The town’s actions, in our opinion, were frivolous and constituted nothing more than harassment and gross governmental waste at its absolute worst.

The question of whether Palmer Trinity School should be allowed to expand its facility on its property in Palmetto Bay is in the news again.

Back in April 2008, the Palmetto Bay Village Council denied Palmer Trinity’s zoning change request for a 33-acre mango grove owned by the school by a vote of 5-0. A lower court ruling supported the council’s decision, but now the Third District Court of Appeal has overturned the lower court and the village council saying that the Miami-Dade County Code and Comprehensive Development Master Plan should not be applied on zoning changes.

The Third District Court of Appeal told Palmetto Bay that it cannot deny the zoning change, but that it can apply the standards for “special exceptions” and “site plans” and the council members have the authority either to approve or deny the expansion, or any part of it, as they wish. There is a Special Exception Hearing on May 4 at Christ Fellowship Church, at 7 p.m.

Like just about everything, schools are governed by zoning rules and those rules should not be affected by hysteria. I hope the council is experienced enough by now to know the difference.

Palmetto Bay likes to think of itself as the Village of Parks, but it could also be called the Village of Schools because there are so many excellent ones located there. Look at Southwood Middle School (18 acres), with 1,664 enrolled students located right in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Even with the expansion, Palmer would only have 1,150 students on a larger piece of property (55 acres). If a public school can have that many kids there, why can’t a private school? It’s also important to note that quality schools do not downgrade property values, they increase them. Just up the road in Pinecrest there are three private schools within a mile of each other — Gulliver, Beth Am and St. Louis. The surrounding areas are primarily single-family residential and considered very desirable neighborhoods in which to live.

In Palmetto Bay, we also have Westminster Christian, Alexander Montessori, Christ Fellowship and many more, along with Palmer Trinity. Good schools make a community a more desirable place to live.

There’s a 2009 Florida statute called the Bert J. Harris Jr. Private Property Rights Protection Act, which allows for relief and payment of compensation when a new law, rule, regulation or ordinance of the state or a political entity in the state, as applied, unfairly affects real property. Palmer Trinity could call this into play, too. Palmer Trinity attorneys will base their appeal on a case that went to the Florida Supreme Court in the middle of the last century, a case pitting Ida R. Lear and her husband against the City of Miami Beach.

The Supreme Court ruled that “a zoning ordinance prohibiting private schools in a multiple-family district, while permitting public schools, is invalid because it had no relation to the public safety, health, morals, comfort or general welfare.”

Palmetto Bay reportedly has spent $250,000 already in legal fees defending itself against lawsuits as a result of the expansion denial. Continuing to block the expansion could easily cost the village — really its tax-paying residents — $500,000. Pleasing the residents on the perimeter of the school property is one thing, but should the rest of the village residents have to foot the bill for it? For the record, yes, I do have two kids of my own currently enrolled as students at Palmer Trinity, but they will have graduated from there and be in college or beyond long before the expansion could be complete (about 15 years), so they certainly would not benefit from the new facilities.

The rumors are flying on this issue, so if you have questions the best thing to do is call Village Hall and check with staff members there. Because this is a quasijudicial hearing, council members are not supposed to talk about it. However, the council members need to ask themselves what is best for the village as a whole.

Frankly, Palmetto Bay representatives should sit down with Palmer Trinity’s people and settle this matter before it gets any deeper into the courts.