Blogging Black Miami

Miami Herald: Miami-Dade mayor to get state's ear on tunnel project

Posted on Saturday, Apr. 11, 2009

Miami-Dade mayor to get state's ear on tunnel project

By ALFONSO CHARDY

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez and other county officials will travel to Tallahassee on Monday for a meeting with Florida Secretary of Transportation Stephanie Kopelousos in a bid to fast-track construction of the stalled Miami tunnel project.

Victoria Mallette, a spokeswoman for the mayor, said Friday that the meeting is in response to Alvarez's letter Tuesday in which he urged Kopelousos to move more quickly on the tunnel and not rebid the project.

Mallette said Alvarez is expected to be joined on the trip by several county officials involved in or familiar with the tunnel project, including Port of Miami director Bill Johnson and Miami-Dade Aviation director José Abreu.

Read More...

 

 

 

Miami Herald: Jackson Health System narrows CEO finalists to 3

Posted on Saturday, Apr. 11, 2009

Jackson Health System narrows CEO finalists to 3

By JOHN DORSCHNER

The board overseeing the Jackson Health System has selected three finalists for the job as chief executive of Miami-Dade's public health hospitals and clinics, which have revenue of more than $1 billion a year.

The three are Mark Chastang, executive director of the University of Toledo Medical Center; Anthony A. Armada, chief executive of Henry Ford Hospital and Health Network in Detroit; and Eneida O. Roldan, who is currently interim president and chief operating officer of the Jackson system.

The Public Health Trust, which governs Jackson, is expected to interview the finalists at a public meeting next week, but it's unclear when a new chief executive will be selected to replace Marvin O'Quinn.

Read More...

 

 

 

Miami Herald: Miami-Dade County housing chief resigns

Posted on Sunday, Apr. 12, 2009

Miami-Dade housing chief resigns

By MICHAEL VASQUEZ

After less than three months on the job, the new director of Miami-Dade County's long-troubled housing agency has abruptly resigned, county officials confirmed Saturday.

Jose Cintron -- whose résumé includes decades of government experience, much of it related to housing issues -- told his county superiors he wanted to spend more time with family, County Manager George Burgess said.

'He had always had this sense of, `There's a point soon where I just want to step out of all of this and enjoy my family,' and it just came,'' Burgess said. Before leading the Miami-Dade Housing Agency, Cintron served as a liaison between county government and federal housing regulators. Before that, he directed the county's Office of Community and Economic Development. Burgess said there have been no problems with Cintron's job performance and that his resignation was completely voluntary.

Read More...

 

 

 

Legends Tour ~ May 30, 2009

Boynton Beach burglary caught on camera

Here is raw footage from a hidden camera in the home of a woman in Boynton Beach. She had the camera installed after a previous burglary and logged on while at work to see two strange men burglarizing her home.

BBPDMediaRelations

The two in her home were actually part of a team of four of which their other two partners were caught hiding in another home in the neighborhood. One of them is a neighbor. Check out coverage on the Channel 4 website and The Palm Beach Post.

Steven Morales (left), Curtis Williams

 

Jonathan Cruz (left), Scott George

Who feels sorry for these guys? Not I. You know they are going to get razzed about this heist caught on tape. Crime does not pay. You do the crime, you do the time. You know the rest.

Spring Break almost over

Many of us in Miami-Dade County and Broward County have enjoyed a respite from work via the annual Spring Break recess. As of this writing, that vacation is almost over.

The national and local news has been replete with economic news, deaths and usual headlines such as the Somali pirates who tried to hijack an american ship and took the ship's captain hostage.

We are, however, pleased that Big Mama is up to her good works again trying to get donations of Easter baskets for children in South Florida.

This weekend many will celebrate Easter. Let's use this time of resurrection for renewal in our own lives. We are Blessed and can overcome all of the challenges before us. Let us do more and try to help ou neighbors, family and friends. to whom much is given; much is required.

 

 

Steve Harvey book-signing [UPDATE]

Hey, everybody. Here's the latest on the Steve Harvey book signing Friday at Barnes & Nobles at Loehmann's Plaza. Steve is scheduled to sign books between 6 PM and 8 PM. The line to see him will form at 4:30 PM outside the store.

Rigthfully so, a large crowd is expected. A wristband will be given to those with books to be signed and he will sign up to 3 books per person. There will be no holding of spaces for someone else so get there early.

 

Robbery at pool hall

Several gunmen robbed 15 to 30 people at the Hot Shots pool hall last night in Cutler Bay. No one was injured.

The robbers disguised themselves by covering their faces with their shirts.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Universal appeal of world music comes to Miami

Posted on Wednesday, Apr. 01, 2009

Miami to rock the world music scene

By JORDAN LEVIN

Despite its globe-crossing name, the Heineken TransAtlantic Festival is a quintessentially Miami festival, a mix of music at the crossroads between North and South America, Africa and the Caribbean, between throbbing contemporary club grooves and bone-shaking traditional rhythms.

Rhythm Foundation director Laura Quinlan got the idea for TransAtlantic, which starts Thursday, years back as she looked at the audience for her organization's traditional world and folkloric music events and realized they had almost nothing in common with the indie rock and dance music she still loved from her days as a Miami club kid in the 1980s and early '90s.

''The things we were programming didn't really intersect with the music I loved,'' Quinlan says. ``So [the TransAtlantic Festival] was a way to integrate what I felt passionate about and what I was doing.''

Read More...

 

 

Florida Arts Recovery Grants Program

Thank you to the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs for sharing this message with us:

We are forwarding this message to you on behalf of the Florida Cultural Alliance.

  

IMPORTANT -- Florida Arts Recovery Grants Program

(National Endowment for the Arts Federal Stimulus Money to Division of Cultural Affairs to help preserve jobs in the arts sector)

 

This is a one-time, non-recurring opportunity with a deadline of April 13, 2009.

 

Applicants can request up to $25,000 for full or partial salary support for one or more positions.

 

Click the link below to access the Division of Cultural Affairs' guidelines and application form for this one-time opportunity.

http://www.florida-arts.org/grants/recovery/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Email+marketing+software&utm_content=426182464&utm_campaign=Florida+Recovery+Program+Opens+_+hrtdhy&utm_term=Visit+Program+home+page

 

Sherron

Sherron Long, president
Florida Cultural Alliance
Post Office Box 2131
West Palm Beach, Florida 33402-2131
Telephone: 561-848-6231
E-mail: FLCULALL@aol.com
Web site: www.FLCA.net