Biscayne Boulevard from 54th street to 93rd street is now renamed Athalie Range Boulevard. The community showed its thanks in tribute to Ma Range at an official Renaming designation yesterday in Miami Shores. The photo includes Congresswoman Carrie Meek (in blue); Senator Frederica Wilson (in hat); and Miami-Dade County school board member Wilbert 'Tee' Holloway (tan suit).
Early voting starts tomorrow in Florida and will continue everyday through November 2. Voters are encouraged to take advantage of early voting and vote by mail. During the Early Voting period, you can vote at any site that is convenient for you.
There is far too much at stake this year to wait until November 4 to vote and allow possible obstacles such as weather, illness to prevent registered voters from casting their ballot.
The Miami-Dade County elections site is chock full of information from sample ballots to a listing of early voting sites to a voter tool kit. No one has an excuse not to vote or to know their voting status.
Several community organizations, churches and fraternal groups have worked diligently to get people registered to vote. It's been reported that almost 900,000 new voters registered in Florida alone.
Please click here for a list of early voting sites.
The Obama-Biden campaign will have poll watchers and lawyers on hand trained to help you if you experience any problems voting.
The political world has been abuzz all day with news of General Colin Powell's endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for POTUS. Also as expected, Senator John McCain and the Republican Party have tried to poo-poo Powell's endorsement.
Check out the video below. In a slow and deliberate manner, Powell explains why he chose senator Obama. He did bash Senator McCain but he provided the most straight talk I've heard on the campaign trail in a long time.
After such a profound and eloquent explanation, Pat Buchanan still accused Powell and Congressman John Lewis of tribalism.
McCain is so not the one to be president. Check out his mannerisms and how agitated he becomes when he seems challenged during an interview. It's not the kind of response Americans want for their president or any other politician.
Senator Obama is still campaigning as if he's behind. He can't afford to be cocky at this point. He is a wise man and the person we need as our leader.
Senator Frederica S. Wilson and the 5000 Role Models Project will celebrate and immortalize community icon, M. Athalie Range, through the renaming of a portion of Biscayne Boulevard in her honor.
The official designation of the "M. Athalie Range Boulevard" is scheduled for 10:00 AM, Wednesday, October 22, 2008, St. Martha Catholic Church, 9301 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami Shores.
Thank you to Senator Wilson for recognizing a treasure of the community who has been deeply missed. Ashe'.
It was expected that the congressional races between the Diaz-Balart brothers (Lincoln and Mario) and Raul Martinez and Joe Garcia would be tough. There was even an expectation of some negative campaigning. I don't think anyone expected the level of negative campaigning we've been subjected to and that's in the English-language media. The Spanish language media is far worse.
2008 will be marked as the first real challenge for the political family with strong ties here in the United States and prestige on the island of Cuba before the communists took over.
All of the candidates have some political baggage but the ads targeting each other are particularly vicious. Naturally, the DBs, as Republicans, recognize the vulnerability of the Republican brand in this election. If the golden touch of Obama-Biden prevails, they could be swept out of office on the down ticket.
Congressman Kendrick B. Meek sponsors a free homeowner informational forum for residents with questions on restructuring mortgages, reducing mortgage interest rates and understanding available options. The event is scheduled as indicated below but make sure you call because seating is limited.
Congratulations and thank you to the thousands of people who participated in yesterday’s Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure yesterday in downtown Miami.
The goal was to break last year’s million dollar fundraising amount. We don’t know if the goal was met but the donations will be used to help fight breast cancer that affects far too many women and men in the United States.
Check out the Susan G. Komen site and make breast examination a part of your regular health routine.
I've been volunteering at the Liberty City Office of the Obama-Biden campaign. As a financial contributor to the Obama campaign and campaigning on my own, I knew that I could do more by working with a campaign office. After attending a GOTV (Get Out The Vote) strategy session on October 11, I realized just how much of a citizen-fueled campaign for change that we are in the midst of.
The folks in charge of the local ground effort are amazingly similar in enthusiasm and character to the adults involved in protests and voting campaigns I remember as a young child. In this selfish, materialistic and shallow environment in which we live, the campaign leaders at this office are a welcome and refreshing change.
It was also great that the office was full of volunteers. The group was diverse. There were folks of ages and ethnicities. The significance of this campaign was more evident when folks were introduced from other states and other countries.
Barack Obama will win this election if all of the actions plans of the strategy are executed and executed properly. There are opportunities to inform voters of the Obama plan for this nation through telephone calls and actual door-to-door contact with voters. Pressing the flesh is always effective so having an effective ground team and passionate foot soldiers mobilizes and motivates voters.
I've met some people who are really dedicated to this campaign. I'll share more about them and my volunteer experience in future blog posts. In the meantime,call the office at 305-762-6515 to volunteer for this campaign. Folks are needed for phone banking, data input and door-to-door connecting with voters.
You may be exhausted after working the campaign but you'll definitely feel good about helping your community.
Lupe Yoli was born in the small, rural town of San Pedrito, Santiago de Cuba in 1936. She described her hometown as "so poor that no one knew it existed until I got famous." When she was a teenager, Lupe won a radio contest that enabled her to meet Olga Guillot, a popular Cuban singer in La Habana (Havana), and sing on the radio.
By 1957, "La Lupe" was all the rage in La Habana's competitive nightclub scene. Her first performances at the club La Red in 1958 catapulted her to fame as she urged pianist Homero Balboa to play "faster, faster." Soon, she had a dedicated gay and avant-garde following.
In 1960, her marriage to Eulogio "Yoyo" Reyes ended, along with their musical group, Los Tropicuba. When the Cuban Revolution dawned, La Lupe left the country, like many other Cuban artists at the time. Her performances had been criticized for providing a bad example to the state.
Arriving in New York City penniless in 1962, La Lupe soon befriended and recorded with world-renowned Afro-Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaria. In LA LUPE QUEEN OF LATIN SOUL, Santamaria recalls how he introduced La Lupe to "an American" jazz audience and how Tito Puente stole her from his band once she became the "hottest thing."
In 1964, La Lupe and Tito Puente recorded the Latin classic "Que Te Pedi (What Did I Ask of You)". For the next four years, she recorded and toured the Latin music circuit in the U.S., Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Panama and Spain.
During the late 1960s, Tito Puente started to record with Celia Cruz, and La Lupe struck out on her own, performing and appearing on English language television shows. During this time, the burgeoning Fania Records helped to popularize salsa, the latest Latin music sensation. By 1975, Fania's new rising star was Cruz, and La Lupe's career was on the decline. Fania Records ended her contract, and Lupe became destitute.
By 1985, La Lupe had rebounded from a descent into homelessness. Having been a lifelong practitioner of Santeria, she then became a born-again Christian, preaching in evangelical testimonials. When filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar used La Lupe's song "Puro Teatro" in his 1988 film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, interest in her music was rekindled.
La Lupe passed away in 1992. She was survived by her husband, William Garcia, and her children Rene and Rainbow. In 2002, New York City renamed the Bronx's East 140 Street La Lupe Way.
Senator Frederica S. Wilson and the 5000 Role Models Project will celebrate and immortalize community icon, 
I've been volunteering at the Liberty City Office of the Obama-Biden campaign. As a financial contributor to the Obama campaign and campaigning on my own, I knew that I could do more by working with a campaign office. After attending a GOTV (Get Out The Vote) strategy session on October 11, I realized just how much of a citizen-fueled campaign for change that we are in the midst of.
