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Wednesday,
February 9, 2005
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CONTENTS:
Police Department Quickly Filling Vacancies
Coral Gables Building Captures National Award
Majority of Trolley Riders are Gables Residents
Celebration Honors Newly-Restored Mural
Upcoming Senior Outings Feature Nature, Arts
Self-Defense Classes for Women Start this Month
Farmer's Market Update: Feb. 19 Gardening Workshop
Slot Filled
UM's Convocation Center Celebrates Second Anniversary
City Zoning Maps Available on Website
Teens March Against Violence
Celebrate Love at the Village of Merrick Park
Coral Gables Chamber: Upcoming Networking
Opportunities
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Police Department Quickly Filling
Vacancies >>> The
Police Department has successfully used a new, creative and aggressive
recruiting plan to shrink vacancies in the Department from 14 to 9 in
2004. So far this year, four new officers have been hired and training at
the Police Academy will begin in mid-February. Three certified applicants
are expected to be hired in the next few weeks, and the Department has two
other candidates - one certified and one non-certified - in the mid stages
of the hiring process. By mid-March, Police Chief Mike Hammerschmidt
expects to have 178 sworn officers aboard - just one shy of the 179-member
total force. The Chief will continue to monitor retirements so that new
hires are ready to join the force when a vacancy occurs. If you know
someone who is interested in becoming a Coral Gables Police Officer,
contact the City's Employee Relations Department at
305-460-5523.
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Coral Gables Building Captures National
Award >>> The
National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) has
chosen the building at 2525 Ponce De Leon Boulevard as the winner of this
year's Multi-Tenant Office Project of the Year Award of Excellence. The
12-story, 250,000-square-foot building, owned and developed by Hines and
designed by Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates, won
the award for its conservative Mediterranean design and innovative
adaptation to the existing site. Hines, an international real estate firm
involved in developing, acquiring, leasing and managing real estate,
accepted the award on behalf of the building and the design firm. The
building lies one block south of Miracle Mile and opened its doors last
September. Among its tenants: the law firms of Adorno & Yoss, and
Kozyak, Tropin & Throckmorton; Raymond James, a financial services
firm, and Schumann/Steier, an international petroleum marketing
firm.
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Majority of Trolley Riders are Gables
Residents >>> An
informal survey conducted by the City's Public Works Department shows that
the trolley program is providing a meaningful service to both Gables
residents and the general public - and is reducing traffic at the same
time. Late last year, 2,155 trolley riders were surveyed at random. Here
are some of the results: 52 percent were Gables residents; 83 percent
would rather use the trolley instead of their cars; 56 percent used the
trolley to commute to work, and 24 percent used it to commute to school.
An estimated 1,800 vehicle trips per day have been eliminated from City
streets thanks to the Coral Gables Trolleys. For more information on the
survey, call 305-460-5070.
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Celebration Honors Newly-Restored
Mural >>> Come to
the second floor of City Hall at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 22 for an afternoon
gathering to celebrate the restoration of the mural inside the Cupola. The
mural, titled "The Four Seasons," has been painstakingly restored to its
1927 splendor. Originally painted by Denman Fink, uncle of Coral Gables
founder George Merrick, the paintings depict Spring, Summer and Autumn as
the faces of young women wearing laurels, and Winter as an old, bearded
man. The rest of the mural features vegetation, fruit and birds native to
Florida. Through the years, the paintings were damaged by roof leaks and a
1957 project that involved painting over the original mural, but that
layer of paint has been removed to reveal the vibrant colors of the Fink
original. The restoration was done by artist Jed Ellis of Evergreene
Painting Studios, Inc., which has 25 years of experience including a
project at the Hall of Columns at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington,
D.C. For more information, call Betty Perez at the City's Historical
Resources Department, 305-460-5093.
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Upcoming Senior Outings Feature Nature,
Arts >>> The Coral
Gables Parks and Recreation Department organizes year-round outings with
transportation included for senior citizens. Here are some of the upcoming
events: On Feb. 2, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., head out to the Fairchild
Tropical Botanical Garden for a tram ride to study winter plant exposure,
then head to South Beach for lunch at Joe's Stone Crab Restaurant. On
March 2, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., take a ride to West Palm Beach for a visit
to the Norton Museum of Art, followed by lunch at Café 1451 at the museum,
then window-shopping at CityPlace in downtown West Palm Beach. On April 2,
at 2 p.m., travel to the Jackie Gleason Theater in Miami Beach for an
afternoon performance of "The Producers," the biggest Tony Award winner in
Broadway history. These trips will depart from the Coral Gables War
Memorial Youth Center. For more information and ticket prices, call
305-460-5600.
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Self-Defense Classes for Women Start this
Month >>>
Statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice show that in 2002, there
were 247,730 victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault. To help
women defend themselves against a possible attack, the Coral Gables Police
Department will hold a series of self-defense classes from Feb. 8th to
Feb. 19th. The classes, known as "R.A.D. for Women," are designed by Rape
Aggression Defense Systems and the National Self-Defense Institute.
Instructors aim to teach women how to reduce the risk of being attacked,
and what to do if it does happen. At the end of the program, participants
will be able to test their new skills in a simulated attack staged in a
controlled environment, and wearing protective gear. The program costs $65
and is open to women only. The classes will be held at the Coral Gables
Police Department. For a schedule and more information, call the Coral
Gables Police Department's Community Affairs Unit at 305-460-5401, or
e-mail Sgt. Michael Frevola at mfrevola@coralgables.com.
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Farmer's Market Update: Feb. 19 Gardening Workshop
Slot Filled >>> On Feb.
19, the 9 a.m. gardening workshop will be: "Patios and Pathways,"
presented by Ted Baker, a landscape architect. The Farmer's Market runs
from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday through March 26. For more
information, visit the City's website at www.coralgables.com,
or call the Development Department at 305-460-5311.
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City Zoning Maps Available on
Website >>> The Coral
Gables Comprehensive Land Use Plan and Zoning Maps were added recently to
the City's Web page under the section titled, "Planning Department." A
reference map at the top of the web page divides the City into 18 areas
that can be viewed separately and enlarged. To view the maps, click here.
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UM's Convocation Center Celebrates Second
Anniversary >>> Since the
Convocation Center at the University of Miami opened its doors to the
public in January 2003, the spotlight has been on great entertainment.
From basketball hoops to hip-hop groups, from family shows to spiritual
and political prose, visitors to the 7,000-seat multipurpose entertainment
facility have seen it all. The Convocation Center held several
high-profile events in 2004, including a visit by His Holiness the Dalai
Lama, and the first Presidential Election debate between President George
W. Bush and Senator John Kerry, which captured an audience of more than 63
million people. For more information about the University of Miami
Convocation Center, visit www.UMConvocationCenter.com or call
305-284-8686.
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Teens March Against
Violence >>> Students
participating in the Non-Violence Project kicked off their "Hello"
advertising campaign on Jan. 24 by marching along Ponce De Leon Boulevard
carrying signs that stated their future aspirations. The teens, students
from South Dade High School, carried signs that read, "I want to be a
doctor," or "I want to be a teacher" - the organization's way of showing
children the importance of pursuing their dreams and choosing alternatives
to negative behavior. The Non-Violence Project aims to reach out to
at-risk kids, especially, and is working with the Miami Ad School and AD2
Miami, an affiliate of the Advertising Federation of Greater Miami, to get
more children involved and to raise funds for their mission. The
advertising campaign is scheduled to run until late February. For more
information, visit the organization's website at www.nvp-usa.org, or call
Executive Director Diane Landsberg at (305) 663-1733, or via e-mail at info@nvp-usa.org.
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Celebrate Love at the Village of Merrick
Park >>> While
Cupid sharpens his arrows in preparation for Valentine's Day, the Village
of Merrick Park will help set the mood by offering a weekend of romantic
movies, music and dancing ----- all free and open to the public. On
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 11-13, bring a blanket and plenty of
tissues to the garden at the Village of Merrick Park for the 6:30 p.m.
showings of the following romantic classics: "Casablanca" on Friday, "Love
Story" on Saturday, and "Sleepless in Seattle" on Sunday. On Saturday and
Sunday, visit from 2 to 5 p.m. and get a free picture taken with your
sweetheart, courtesy of Kodak. From 3 to 6 p.m. both days, enjoy live
music and entertainment from the Acapella Group and UM Ovation. On Monday,
Valentine's Day, come "Dance Under the Stars" from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. to
the tunes of the Gold Coast Society Dance Band. Many of the Village's
shops and restaurants are offering Valentine's Day specials as well. For
more information, call the concierge at
305-461-2311.
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Coral Gables Chamber: Upcoming Networking
Opportunities >>> The Coral
Gables Chamber of Commerce will be holding a "Wind Down Wednesday" at 6
p.m. Feb. 16 at the Biltmore Spa and Gym, 1200 Anastasia Ave. The event,
organized by the Chamber's "20/30 Group," aims to give its members between
the ages of 20 and 39 a chance to socialize and discuss business
opportunities. Admission is $10 for Chamber members if they pay for the
event by Feb. 11. Members who pay after Feb. 11 will pay $15, the same
price of admission for non-members. At 7:30 a.m. the next day, Feb. 17,
the Chamber holds its monthly general membership networking breakfast,
also at the Biltmore Hotel. The breakfast is sponsored by Commercebank and
will feature Florida Marlins President David Samson as the keynote
speaker. The breakfast is free to Chamber members and $25 for non-members.
For more information, call the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce at
305-446-1657 or visit their website www.coralgableschamber.org.
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