Wednesday, January 25, 2006

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CONTENTS:
City Task Force Addresses Electrical Service Issues in Coral Gables
City Commits to Priorities for Economic Development
Help Keep the Downtown Area Free of Litter
Looking for Love in All the Right Places
2006 Farmers Market Underway
Mayors Unite to Address Electrical Service Issues in South Florida
Coral Gables Joins New State Organization
City to Host Summit on Citizen Diplomacy
Live Theatre Thriving in Coral Gables
Kellogg School Inaugurates New MBA Class in Gables
Youth Center Looking for a Few Good Men (and Women)
Traffic Watch
Cultural Events Roundup

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City Task Force Addresses Electrical Service Issues in Coral Gables  >>> At its Nov. 22 meeting, the Coral Gables City Commission established the Utility Service Reliability Task Force to serve as an advisory panel in evaluating issues related to electrical service after natural disasters such as the recent hurricanes experienced this past summer. This group will advise the City Commission, as well as the City Administration, regarding service response and communications following a natural disaster, service interruptions and abnormalities, system condition and maintenance, underground versus overhead utility systems, and franchise agreements.
     The Service Reliability Task Force will hold a series of public meetings, beginning on Thursday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. in the City Hall Commission Chambers, 405 Biltmore Way. Additional meetings will be announced in the near future. Coral Gables residents are encouraged to attend and provide valuable input in this important process. The City of Coral Gables looks forward to your participation. For more information, call Asst. City Manager Maria Alberro Jimenez at 305-460-5204, or by e-mail at mjimenez@coralgables.com.
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City Commits to Priorities for Economic Development  >>>  On Jan. 10th, the City Commission approved the priorities developed every two years by the members of the Economic Development Board, as presented by Chairman Richard DeWitt. The City will work with the Business Improvement District to implement Citywide coverage for Wi-Fi wireless access to the Internet, as well as to improve cellular phone service coverage throughout the City.  The Board committed to participating this year in the development of senior housing and related services for the elderly, working in conjunction with the Senior Services Board and other entities. Other priorities include improving educational choices in the City of Coral Gables, and focusing on the implementation of a recently-created Ombudsman position to facilitate permitting processes for new and small businesses in the City. Lastly, the Board will work with the various departments to improve the overall appearance of downtown Coral Gables, specifically with regard to garbage and trash pickup around construction zones. For more information, please call the Development Department at 305-460-5311.
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Help Keep the Downtown Area Free of Litter  >>>  With City officials and advisory boards placing a renewed emphasis on the cleanliness of the downtown area, the City is asking for cooperation in helping to keep the streets free of litter. The City is doing its part by adding 52 additional trash cans in the area and by scheduling more frequent street sweeping, trash collection and routine pressure cleaning of sidewalks. Additionally, officials are increasing enforcement of Citywide clean-up laws, specifically the Ordinance entitled "Streets, Sidewalks and Other Public Places," which requires all property owners, as well as their tenants, to maintain their immediate surrounding areas such as sidewalks, grass strips, alleys, curbs and other rights-of-way, up to the edge of the pavement, free of litter. Failure to maintain these areas clean will result in fines. For more information, call the Office of Public Affairs at 305-460-5205.
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Looking for Love in All the Right Places  >>>  Man meets woman, man woos woman (or, woman woos man) and man and woman live happily ever after. There is no better place for a love story to unfold than the City of Coral Gables, known for its dreamy surroundings and European flair. As part of the City's 80th anniversary celebration, "1925-2005: Eight Decades of Greatness," the City is looking for the most romantic tales of love that have taken place in the City of Coral Gables. Do you know of a Gables story reminiscent of Bogart and Bacall? If so, e-mail your entries, minimum of 50 words, to e-news@coralgables.com or mfallon@coralgables.com, or send them by fax to 305-460-5350. Entries can also be mailed to the Office of Public Affairs, 405 Biltmore Way, Coral Gables, FL 33134.
     A panel of judges will select one story as the "Greatest Love Story of Coral Gables," which will be announced on February 14th, Valentine's Day. Deadline to submit entries is 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10. The protagonists of the Greatest Love Story will receive a one-night stay in a junior suite at the Biltmore Hotel, one of the most alluring and preferred locations to celebrate weddings in the county, a landmark that is also celebrating its 80th Anniversary this year. Winners will also receive a dinner certificate for two under the stars at the romantic 1200 Courtyard Grill in the Biltmore Hotel and a $100 gift certificate for another special dinner at City Cellar Wine Bar & Grill, located at 45 Miracle Mile in Downtown Coral Gables. For more information, call the Coral Gables Public Affairs Office at 305-460-5205.
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2006 Farmers Market Underway  >>> The 15th season of the popular Coral Gables Farmers Market is now underway in downtown Coral Gables. Visit the Market from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday through March 25 for fresh produce, mini-courses on food-related subjects, and entertainment for children, all conveniently located in front of City Hall, 405 Biltmore Way - just west of the intersection of Miracle Mile and Le Jeune Road. Free parking is available at the metered parking spots west of Le Jeune Road.
     This European-style green market offers the freshest produce, flowers and plants directly from Florida growers, along with specialty gourmet foods, prepared foods, fresh fish and baked goods. Not to be missed are the free weekly gardening workshops at 9 a.m., cooking demonstrations at 10 a.m., and children's activities at 11 a.m. The ever-popular Tai Chi classes are held at 8 a.m., thanks to instructor Al Agon of Perfect Balance.
     On March 25, the Farmers Market comes to a close with its traditional Grand Finale Picnic, a culinary treat co-hosted by the American Institute of Wine and Food (AIWF).
The 15th season of the popular Coral Gables Farmers Market is now underway in downtown Coral Gables. Visit the Market from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday through March 25 for fresh produce, mini-courses on food-related subjects, and entertainment for children, all conveniently located in front of City Hall, 405 Biltmore Way - just west of the intersection of Miracle Mile and Le Jeune Road. Free parking is available at the metered parking spots west of Le Jeune Road.
     This European-style green market offers the freshest produce, flowers and plants directly from Florida growers, along with specialty gourmet foods, prepared foods, fresh fish and baked goods. Not to be missed are the free weekly gardening workshops at 9 a.m., cooking demonstrations at 10 a.m., and children's activities at 11 a.m. The ever-popular Tai Chi classes are held at 8 a.m., thanks to instructor Al Agon of Perfect Balance.
     On March 25, the Farmers Market comes to a close with its traditional Grand Finale Picnic, a culinary treat co-hosted by the American Institute of Wine and Food (AIWF).
     To see a complete schedule of events, click here. For more information on the 2006 Farmers Market, call the Coral Gables Development Department at 305-460-5311, or send an e-mail message to: fdawson@coralgables.com.

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Mayors Unite to Address Electrical Service Issues in South Florida  >>> In response to the extended power outages that occurred in South Florida after Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma, the Miami-Dade County League of Cities has established a Mayor's Committee to work with Florida Power & Light on corrective or remedial programs aimed at preventing similar outages from occurring in the future. The mayors have met twice already. On Jan. 9, the group held a two-hour meeting with top FPL officials, including FPL President Armando Olivera. League President Isaac Salver, Councilman for the Town of Bay Harbor Islands, appointed these mayors to the new committee: Mayor Don Slesnick, Coral Gables (Chairman); Mayor J.C. Bermudez, Doral; Mayor David Dermer, Miami Beach; Mayor Manuel Díaz, Miami; Mayor Shirley Gibson, Miami Gardens; Mayor Joseph Kelley, Opa-Locka; Mayor Manuel Maroño, Sweetwater; Mayor Julio Robaina, Hialeah, and Mayor Wayne Slaton, Miami Lakes. The Miami-Dade League of Cities was established in 1953 and serves to unite local municipalities for the betterment of their communities. For more information, call Executive Director Richard Kuper at 305-416-4155, or send an e-mail message to mdclc@bellsouth.net.
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Coral Gables Joins New State Organization  >>> Harnessing the collective leadership skills in the interest of exploring and testing public policy issues, mayors from across the state of Florida have formed a dynamic new organization, the Florida League of Mayors. The City of Coral Gables joins the cities of Belle Isle, Boca Raton, Bradenton, Cape Coral, Delray Beach, DeLand, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Lynn Haven, Melbourne, Miami Gardens, Midway, Miramar, Orlando, Pensacola, Sunrise, Sweetwater, Tallahassee and Tampa. The organization will complement the work of the Florida League of Cities and will serve as a forum for the general studies of ideas and policies affecting municipalities. In a recent poll of 800 registered state voters, Floridians agreed that municipal government is the level of government they trust the most to best respond and meet their needs during an emergency. For additional information, contact the Florida League of Mayors at 850-222-1996.
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City to Host Summit on Citizen Diplomacy  >>> A high-powered exchange on international understanding and cooperation will take place at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, March 30, at the Biltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Avenue. The South Florida Summit on Citizen Diplomacy, "Opening Doors and Building International Relations," includes a luncheon and features keynote speaker Kenton Keith, a former U.S. Ambassador of Qatar, career diplomat in the Arab and Muslim worlds and expert on U.S. foreign policy in Afghanistan. He is currently senior vice president of Washington D.C.-based Meridian International Center, a non-profit institution that promotes international understanding. Other confirmed panelists include Florida Secretary of State Sue Cobb, two former U.S. Ambassadors to Panama, Simon Ferro and Ambler Moss, and former U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States Luis Lauredo. The event is organized by the City of Coral Gables in conjunction with the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, the Fulbright Association, the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Miami Council for International Visitors, the Miami-Dade County Sister Cities Program and the Rotary Club of Coral Gables. Tickets for the summit are $75 per person for the entire event and $45 to attend the luncheon only. The event will be held at the Conference Center of the Americas at the Biltmore Hotel. To reserve seats, please contact Annette Alvarez at agalvarez@miamiciv.org or 305-421-6344.
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Live Theatre Thriving in Coral Gables  >>> Live theatre is alive and well in the City Beautiful, with two Coral Gables theatres capturing 55 out of 120 nominations for the 30th Carbonell Awards, which will be announced April 10 at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. The Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre was nominated 32 times, more than any other company, for productions including Aida, Beauty and the Beast and Songs for a New World. GableStage at the Biltmore Hotel is also a frontrunner with 23 nominations for its productions, including Misery, Brooklyn Boy and The Syringa Tree. The New Theatre on Laguna Street received five nominations. Congratulations to these outstanding theater groups for this much-deserved recognition.
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Kellogg School Inaugurates New MBA Class in Gables  >>> The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University welcomed 42 students in January to its first Kellogg-Miami Executive MBA (EMBA) Program being offered in Coral Gables. This inaugural class meets at the campus adjacent to the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Coral Gables for the duration of the two-year program. The City of Coral Gables was the preferred campus site for Kellogg's strategic global expansion, geared toward better serving business education needs worldwide. Students from Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru represent 52 percent of the class, and many of these international students live and work outside of the United States. Companies represented include Banco de Chile, Caterpillar, Citigroup, Deloitte & Touche, DHL, Dole, Elizabeth Arden, Ernst & Young, L'Oreal and MTV Latin America. The Kellogg EMBA program has been consistently ranked No. 1 by Business Week and U.S. News & World Report magazines for more than a decade.
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Youth Center Looking for a Few Good Men (and Women)  >>> Attention all athletes: the Athletic Department of the Coral Gables Youth Center is looking for dedicated and involved coaches. If you enjoy participating in organized sports and working with children to help them develop self-esteem, then why not join the Youth Center team and get paid to play? Coaches ages 17 and older are sought for baseball, softball, roller hockey, basketball, flag football, and soccer teams. Newbie coaches are welcome to apply, training will be provided if necessary. For more information, call 305-460-5606.
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Traffic Watch  >>> Construction on the Ponce de Leon Median Improvement Project is currently in Phase Three. The following measures continue to be implemented:
> Sidewalk construction is almost complete on the intersections along the west side of Ponce de Leon Boulevard, from Alcazar Avenue heading south.
> Construction has moved to the east side of the Boulevard, moving south to north. Traffic has been shifted to the west side.
> Drainage installations, corner demolitions and underground irrigation systems have been completed on Almeria and Valencia Avenues. Placement of curbing is now underway. Barricades have been installed along the east side of Ponce de Leon Boulevard, from Almeria to Alcazar Avenue, though access to businesses is still available.
> Police are ticketing people who illegally park inside the construction areas.
> Left turns are allowed only at the Miracle Mile and Alhambra Circle intersections of Ponce de Leon Boulevard.
> Left turns at the remaining intersections continue to be restricted, and police continue to enforce the "No Left Turn" signs.
> The Trolley stops along Ponce de Leon Boulevard at Valencia Avenue, Miracle Mile, Alhambra Circle and Minorca Avenue have been temporarily suspended.
> The valet service adjacent to Houston's, at the corner of Ponce de Leon Boulevard and Miracle Mile, has been moved to Miracle Mile.
> Alleys perpendicular to Ponce de Leon Boulevard and within the boundaries of the construction area will be monitored to make sure vehicles are not blocking the alleyways.

The following event-related street closures may also impact traffic:
> The Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theater celebrates the opening night of Breaking Up is Hard to Do on Jan. 27, with a performance by singer Neil Sedaka and entertainment along Salzedo Street.
> The Classic Thunderbird Antique Car Show takes place from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 29, along Miracle Mile.
> The Coral Gables Antiques Market, presented by The Globe Café & Bar, takes place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. along the 300 block of Alhambra Circle, from Le Jeune Road to Salzedo Street, on the following dates: Jan. 29; Feb. 15, 19; March 5, 26, and April 2, 30. For more information, click here.
> The Coral Gables Farmer's Market takes place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday from Jan. 14 to March 25 in front of City Hall, 405 Biltmore Way. For more information, click here.
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Cultural Events Roundup  >>> Here is a partial list of upcoming cultural events in Coral Gables. Please call ahead to confirm, as dates and times may change. For a complete list of events in Coral Gables, click here.

Ongoing: The historic Merrick House, the boyhood home of Coral Gables founder George Merrick, is open to the public on Wednesdays and Sundays for tours at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. The tour of this charming home built of coral rock, still home to the Merrick family's artwork and early possessions, lasts about 45 minutes. Tickets are $5 for adults, $1 for children ages 6-12, and free for children 5 years old and under. A discounted group tour rate of $3 is available to seniors, students and special groups. The Merrick House is located at 907 Coral Way. For more information, 305-460-5361.

11 January-11 March: The Actors' Playhouse Musical Theatre for Young Audiences Presents Puss-in-Boots, a musical retelling of the classic children's tale. Tickets for Saturday performances are $12 for children and adults. Discount, 10 a.m. matinees on weekdays are available for school field trips arranged through the Education Department at 305-444-9293 Ext. 606. All performances are held at the historic Miracle Theatre at 280 Miracle Mile. For more information, call 305-444-9293 or visit www.actorsplayhouse.org on the Web.

29 January: Teófilo Babun Sr., a wealthy Santiago de Cuba businessman and logging camp owner sensed that a small skirmish near his sawmill involving a ragtag band of guerrillas and the Cuban military was the beginning of something historic, so he befriended the rebels' leader, Fidel Castro, and negotiated access for his company photographer to Castro's inner circle. Years later, his son, Teófilo Jr., finds these photos in his father's archives. Babun Jr. and Cuban-American historian Victor Triay offer a one-of-a-kind perspective on the complex story of "The Cuban Revolution: Years of Promise," through these images, many of them never-before published. The event is at 4 p.m. at Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave. For more information, call 305-442-4408 or visit www.booksandbooks.com on the Web.

3 February: W. David Lewis discusses his biography, Eddie Rickenbacker: An American Hero in the Twentieth Century, a revealing look at the achievements and vulnerability of this quintessential American hero. Rickenbacker embodied what was new, exciting and romantic about the country in the post-war years. His poignant story also sheds light on the ephemeral nature of American success and the fragility of celebrity. The event is at 8 p.m. at Books & Books,. For more information, call 305-442-4408 or visit www.booksandbooks.com on the Web.

For e-News en español, click here.

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