For all her years of service choreographing The Santa’s Parade of the Elves for South Miamians young and old, Barbara Acker received recognition from the city at the last commission meeting. “I was very pleasantly surprised and flattered the city would do this. It was very thoughtful,” said Barbara. Thank you again to Barbara for the many years invested in the community to organize the floats, march the elves, brief the police, and rally the board of commissioners. I understand that herding cats is much easier. Hopefully Acker will be back on board next year for the 2012 Parade.
Candidate Forums
South Miami Neighbors (SMN; formerly the South Miami Homeowners Association), a group of residents and friends of the community interested in creating fresh dialogue to improve the quality of life for all, recently sponsored a candidate forum at city hall. In attendance were mayoral candidate Julio Robaina, sitting mayor (who apparently has decided to run for re-election) Philip Stoddard, and running commissioners Josh Liebman and Sally Philips. President of SMN Mari Chael, said they had over 50 people in attendance in the two hour forum. It was designed as an informal conversation to find out more about why the candidates are running for office, positions they hold on certain pertinent issues as well as a chance to take general questions from the audience. More forums sponsored by area groups in the near future. Call Mari Chael at 305-803-7331for more information.
Murmurings and Innuendo
With elections in our fair city just over two months away, those catty claws of the corpulent feline status quos are ready to scratch your eyes out should you express an opposing view to the present commission and administration. According to sources, just last week Commissioner Brian Beasley was telling folks at the Senior Center that they are being investigated by the city police department to see if “they” were directing votes during the last election. Wha—at?? That election was a few years ago but kudos to Brainy Brian for finding a sure-fire intimidation method to keep “them” from supporting anyone during this election.
Try to get your hands on the CAVEMEN (Citizens Against Virtually Everything) emails going back and forth. These primordial hieroglyphic messages are fascinating expositions in the pursuit of denying anyone any authority to do anything. You will surely be delighted in the Neanderthal reminiscences of Bob Welch, Beth Schwartz and Eda Harris. Commissioner Palmer was cc’ed on many of them so try and ask her if she will share with you if you get the silent treatment from the clerk’s office. You will be amazed at how brilliantly they can pontificate.
Bicycling Bob
Persistent rumors remain that Bob Welch may be at it again. That’s right folks he may once again run for mayor. You remember last time when he ran then withdrew a few weeks before election day to throw his undying support behind former rival Horace Feliu who subsequently went on to become mayor. Affectionately known around these parts as Bicycle Bob, he has biked around town in the past going door to door to pass out flyers to the unsuspecting residents of the City of Pleasant Living. This rather simple and primitive method of influencing voters has been effective in the past. It either helped win some elections or sped up the return of candidates to private life; we cannot confirm which. Rest assured that BB and his merry band of busy beavers will be burrowing for the status quo, working hard to keep any opposition away from city hall so they can keep themselves comfortably buried in the past.
Seen and Heard in SoMi
In addition to death and taxes Ben Franklin might have added “change” as another inevitability of life. Alas we must say good bye to Origin Asian Bistro on Sunset Drive which closed recently as well as our dear friends at Gardner’s Market. For years we counted on the fresh produce and gourmet market options Gardner’s kept handy as well as a pleasant neighborhood wine tasting once a month. Thanks for the memories friends, you will be missed. There is another new eatery in the works for the area and the very popular Bougainvillea’s may be looking for a new home.
Enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Khoury’s the other evening and we let Maroun, the top chef and owner, do all the ordering for us. He customized our meal, matching entrees to our unique taste, a delightful gastronomical experience! We are always pleased with the platter perfection he has mastered. Many thanks to Maroun and his impressive team for another pleasurable night out at his family owned and operated restaurant.
“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”
– Ben Franklin
