Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Too many cooks spoil the broth

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Do you know how many County Commissioners there are for the 1946 square miles that it covers (larger than Rhode Island and Delaware)? There are 13 County Commissioners.

Do you know how many City Commissioners there are for the City of Miami, which is 55.27 square miles in size? There are 5 City Commissioners.

Now do you know how many members are on the Coconut Grove BID Board? That's the Business Improvement District, which basically covers 4 blocks. That's 4 major blocks in the Center Grove -- Grand Avenue, Main Highway, McFarlane Road and Commodore Plaza. The answer is 19. There are 19 members on the BID board who call the shots around our 4 little business blocks.

And those 19 people, who I like, each and every one of them, does nothing for the village. Nothing. The board consists of landlords who own and rent out property and of course business owners. And yet, the Center Grove is almost a ghost town these days. Empty store fronts line the streets while these 19 board members do who knows what. David Collins, BID director resigned last week, so that office will probably flounder for awhile now.

Their solution to the empty store fronts is to redo the brick sidewalks and take out large bunch of trees in the project. They think, they actually think that redoing the sidewalks will have the rest of the county (and a large group of tourists) flocking to our streets to spend money. They don't see that we need businesses to draw people.

We need someone that can go out and bring business into the Grove, you know, a recruiter of some type. Johnny Rockets is next to go, above you can see them taking the sign down at FYE at CocoWalk, so add music and movies to the list of things that we cannot purchase in the Grove.

Anne Taylor Loft left, two of the art galleries are gone, Hooters, The Burgundy Room, the Beer Garden and Sushi Place, also a shoe store at CocoWalk closed shop in the middle of the night and ran. And the BID board is worried about sidewalks and trees.

While the 19 board members are falling all over themselves with delusions of grandeur at the BID meetings (some are not even business owners, they are neighbors or people that don't even live in the Grove) the Grove is going to hell. The few board members who spoke their own minds were dumped by the board -- which is not elected, but appointed. And so it is basically a puppet board that does the bidding (no pun intended) of a few. The poor, shameless, lame bidding.

And if they think that by tearing up the sidewalks for years on end will help business, I think they are wrong. I think that that is going to be the nail in the coffin because when the place is all torn up and dusty, people will not be able to get to the few open businesses that are operating. That will be the end of it all.

You would think that people who have a financial interest in the village would care. They don't.

Adult sailing classes offered at Grove Sailing Club

The Coconut Grove Sailing Club offers a full schedule of Beginner and Advanced adult sailing classes. Polish your downwind skills on a Flying Scot, get ready for a long voyage with US Sailing Cruising and Bareboat classes. Or get ready to take out a Club Ensign or Sunfish by taking our Basic Keelboat or Learn to Sail Program.

The next class is February 2. Visit
http://www.cgsc.org/ for more details and to register. You can also contact Nick Mansbach, sailing director, with questions at sailingdirector@cgsc.org and be sure to register online.

Beginner Sailing Classes are held Saturdays and Sundays, and run from 9 am to 4:30 pm.

StartUp Florida Anniversary event is tonight

Join South Florida’s top companies, CEOs and entrepreneurs for the Startup Florida Anniversary celebration featuring guest speakers, Abe Ng CEO of Sushi Maki, John Duffy CEO of 3Cinteractive, Zalmi Duchman CEO of The fresh Diet, Davide Di Cillo CEO of Sync Pad, Boo Zamek President of JustAskBoo and more.

Keynotes focusing on entrepreneurs and startups in this region will be followed by small group mentoring sessions with the qualified guest speakers. This is a free event.

Startup Florida is a statewide initiative focused on maximizing accessibility and growth of Florida’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Startup Florida will connect entrepreneurs with a statewide network of resources, mentors and capital sources and in doing so will showcase Florida’s as an ideal location for high-growth, innovative companies that will drive job creation in our state. We are specifically focused on serving established young companies that range from newly launched startups through high growth speedups.

The event is at the Miami Science Museum (3280 S. Miami Avenue) today January 31, from 4:00 to 9:00 pm.
Please RSVP here.

Speakers
4:00 p.m. - John Duffy CEO of 3Cinteractive
4:30 p.m. - Zalmi Duchman CEO of The fresh Diet
5:00 p.m. - Abe Ng CEO of Sushi Maki
6:00 p.m. - Boo Zamek President of JustAskBoo
7:00 p.m. - Davide Di Cillo CEO of Fifth Layer makers of SyncPad
8:00 p.m. - David Lekach CEO of Dream Water

Grove Arts Fest holds popular Sponsors Breakfast

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That's Bruce Siegel, GM of the Mayfair Hotel & Spa, welcoming me to the Coconut Grove Arts Festival Sponsors Breakast, which was held Friday morning at the Mayfair. The Grapevine is one of the sponsors, but I would have been there anyway to cover the event.

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The yearly breakfast is quite popular and the board of directors meets with the sponsors and they discuss logistics of the Arts Festival over a buffet breakfast. At left are Melissa Nobles, from Kiskinis, the BID's PR firm and Brandon Vantuijn, Art Festival office volunteer; at right Monty Trainer, president of the festival board, welcomes guests to the breakfast.

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Marshall Steingold, of Miami Maps and Arts Festival board member, Katrina Delgado, Special Events and Artist Manager and Alex Cubillos, Marketing Manager from Costco, one of the sponsors. For a bunch more photos, please click here.

Monday, January 30, 2012

A nice way to spend a winter afternoon

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Late afternoon, out in the Bay.

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Meet Jeff Benjamin; at his comedy roast on Wed.

I met Jeff Benjamin the other night at a Chamber event. He's running for City of Miami Mayor in 2013.

On Wednesday, February 1, there is a comedy roast for Jeff at Paragon Theaters at CocoWalk, the roast starts at 7 pm.

The Comedy & Cinema is that same night, but this is separate and in the main bar room, not part of the Comedy Night event. This is gutsy for a politician to put themselves out there for a roast and so far ahead of the elections. Good for Jeff. I like that.

"When I become Mayor of Miami, this City will have a robust economy, no more taxation by representation, no more building empty City high rises, 25,000 jobs in my first year, better graduation rates, safer schools, more police officers, policing our neighborhoods, lower taxes, a balanced City budget and most importantly an efficient public transportation system," says Jeff.

He went on to say, "I will be that innovative progressive thinking Mayor the City Of Miami yearns for. I will cut unemployment in half and create numerous job openings that pay well. I will create a City that is once more admired around the world as a crucible of creative thought, a force for progress, a place where dreams of generations become reality."

For now, you can get out and see the roast on Wednesday and meet Jeff. He's a very likable guy, he came up to me last week, knew who I was and joked around with me right away. He's a very comfortable person to know.

More on Jeff here:
www.jeffbenjaminformayor.com.

Free bootcamp and 1980s party this week

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Each week, 24 Hour Fitness offers a free weekly Bootcamp at Peacock Park. It's for all Grove residents. You don't have to be a gym member to participate.

The bootcamp is every Saturday morning at at 11:00 am. For more info, please call the gym at 305.448.2416. There's a party at 24 Hour Fitness (2982 Grand Avenue) tomorrow, January 31. They are taking the gym back to the '80s with a theme party. And later, at 8 pm, a 1980s celebration will take place at Sandbar with an extended Happy Hour with 50% off food and beverages.

You must RSVP for the '80s party, do that at
CMClub621@24hourfit.com or 305-4482416.

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Photos by Sandy Speier.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Mangoheads throw Strut Wrap-up party

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The Mangoheads held their King Mango Strut Wrap-up Party at The Grove Spot on Sunday afternoon. Lots of familiar faces, and then some, turned up to celebrate another successful year. T-shirts were for sale, photos of the Strut and a movie of the Strut were shown and live music was played along with drink specials. More photos here.

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Theresa Colluori, Olav Smith, Police Commander Richard Gentry. By the way, Theresa has a one-woman show on Saturday, February 4 during the Gallery Walk Night at Dharma Studio (3170 Commodore Plaza), the exhibit is from 7 to 10 pm. Stop by for art and complimentary refreshments.

Dan Bondroff chosen as Art Stroll poster artist




The Gifford Lane Art Stroll is proud to announce Dan Bondroff as the winner of the second annual Poster Artist Contest.

So many great works of art were entered, they had a hard choice choosing this year.

As the winning artist, Dan will receive a free booth space. His winning painting in soft pastel, titled "Grove Morning Sunrise" will be used as the design for the t-shirt, poster, postcard and all promotional materials for the 2012 Gifford Lane Art Stroll on Sunday, March 18.

$1 Million bounty for the Grove SLAM!

$1 million in cash is the prize at this year's Grove SLAM!, coming in May. My friend Tony Albelo tells me it's easy to win. Easy??

They will be tagging 10 dolphin in April with unique id tags. If any of these fish are caught during the Grove SLAM! you'll win $1,000. And if you catch the mahi with the unique $1 million tag, then you win $1 million! It could not be any easier.

Stay tuned to
www.GroveSLAM.com for more details.

The Grove SLAM! is May 3-5 -- it's called the "World's Funnest Fishing Tournament."

Saturday, January 28, 2012

ING Miami Marathon passing through on Sunday

The ING Miami Marathon is coming through town on Sunday, January 29. The race starts at 6:15 am, downtown at the American Airlines Arena and as usual, it will come through the Grove. 25,000 runners are expected this year.

Road closures in Coconut Grove include Tigertail Avenue, southbound; Grand Avenue, southbound to 32nd Avenue; Main Highway, northbound Charles to McFarlane Road and S. Bayshore Drive, northbound.

Water stations are set up at Mile 16 (Tigertail and Atlaka), Mile 17 (Tigertail and Kirk), Mile 18 (Grand and Virginia), Mile 19 (S. Bayshore and SW 27 Avenue) and Mile 20 (Kennedy Park).

You are able to cheer on the runners along the way, they should be coming through between 6:50 am and 11:50 am. For more details on the marathon, I've done a story
at the Examiner here.

France's Damien Seguin wins gold medal at regatta

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France’s Damien Seguin (shown here), the 2.4mR class’s early leader, finished 3-1 yesterday at the Rolex Miami OCR regatta, which has been in Coconut Grove all week. He posted 17 points overall to win a gold medal that he can now hang next to his Paralympic Gold from Athens and his Silver from Qingdao. Seguin’s performance increased his lead over Canada’s Silver Medalist Paul Tingley (with a 2-7) to a staggering 25 points--quite an accomplishment in a fleet of 25 boats.

"Damien is very good and very consistent and has been at this a long time," said the USA’s Mark LeBlanc (New Orleans), whose finish of eighth overall here (over the 11th posted by fellow US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics member John Ruf) will finally give him his shot at a Paralympic medal. "Hopefully we can train together," he said.

LeBlanc explained that he was in the Paralympic Trials in 2007 and tied for first but, losing out to tie-breaker rules, did not go to the Games, which was heart breaking. "To be honest, looking back now to where I am versus then I can say I wasn’t ready then," said LeBlanc. "I had no idea what was going on and was just going out and sailing, but this time around I’m well prepared and ready to go to the Paralympics."


Medals will be awarded to the top three boats in each Olympic and Paralympic class today.

Regatta Headquarters is located at the US Sailing Center Miami, an official Olympic training center, in Coconut Grove. Event organizers have partnered with the city of Miami to provide world-class venues for competition. Additional hosts for the event include Coral Reef Yacht Club, Key Biscayne Yacht Club, Coconut Grove Sailing Club, Miami Rowing Club and Shake-a-Leg Miami. These sailing organizations host classes onshore, as well as help run the on-the-water racing. The Coral Reef Yacht Club also hosts the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

"Midsummer Night's Dream" playing all weekend

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Laura Ruchala plays Titania, in this winter's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," playing as part of Miami's Shakespeare in the Park. This weekend, the play is being performed at Shell Lumber (2733 SW 27 Avenue). It opened last night and is playing again tonight, January 28 and Sunday, January 29 at 7:30 pm, both nights. It's free and open to the public.

Colleen Stovall, directed this version of Midsummer. It's very funny and the actors are very engaging. They play to each other as well as the audience. As they zoom up and down the center aisle, it's like you are part of the play yourself.

Shell Lumber is very cozy and a nice breeze came in the open ceiling last night, making it quite enjoyable. People brought picnic baskets along with wine and martinis and they settled in for the production. The play moves to the Amphitheater at Young Circle in Hollywood next weekend, it played at Pinecrest Gardens last weekend. Details at their website here:
www.shakespearemiami.com

Below are Mick McGuire as Oberon with Laura Ruchala. For more photos of last night's opening, please go to our Facebook page here.


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Friday, January 27, 2012

David Collins proffers resignation as BID director

I got a call from David Collins. He proffered his resignation as BID director, but IT WAS NOT ACCEPTED YET by the BID board. The executive committee has the letter, but has not responded yet. He would like to say on and finish projects and let the replacement process happen organically.

David told me that he wishes to complete the BID's street scape and trees project and also have something finally done in the way of restoration of the Coconut Grove Playhouse.

He handed in his resignation to Comm. Marc Sarnoff a couple of days ago. I have this long diatribe I am publishing next week on all that is wrong with the BID, but David was not on my list.

According to sources, there will be a nationwide search for a replacement, but between you and me, that is just going through the motions and they will probably hire someone from within Sarnoff's inner circle after the charade of an RFP goes forward. Let's see what happens. But I am also told by other sources that David isn't going anywhere. They will not accept his resignation. Let's see how this plays out. As the Grove Turns . . .

The ineptness of the BID is more than the BID director. As stores fall like dominoes up and down the streets, the BID goes on as if nothing is wrong. They were literally counting bricks the other day at a BID meeting, preparing for their street scape project. It's more important for them to replace the sidewalks (and trees) than to deal with the non-stop departure of longtime tenants. Rumor is that Johnny Rockets is next to go, next month.

David and I have our disagreements, which are almost daily, but we are friends and get along fine. I do hold back stories so as not to hurt his feelings at times. I write about everyone else in town, but they seem to brush it off, David doesn't. But he is friendly enough with me to come up and tell me to my face. So I always respect that. And his door is always open to me, but I do creep around his office when I write something I know he might not care for.

Al Crespo broke the story, as he does with most of this type stuff, so I'll hand over the story from here to Al, where you can read David's resignation letter and more at the
Crespo-Gram Report.

Photo courtesy Al Crespo

Celebrating The Bar, back at Calamari

Jenny Love is performing jazz tonight at La Bottega, but if you want stop by earlier, Calamari, next door, is having an extended Happy Hour from 4 to 9 pm, to celebrate the rebirth of the Bar at Calamari.

They have drink specials and some complimentary munchies. That's at 3540 Main Highway.

We get no respect

I had to laugh when I saw a story in today's Miami Herald, via my friend Sebastian Rusk, from Social Buzz. Traffic is being disrupted today on Miami Beach due to the filming of "CSI Miami." Here in the Grove, our traffic is disrupted by a Home Depot commercial.

Morning Joe will be doing a show from Jerry's Famous Deli on South Beach. In the Grove, we have a guy with a video camera on the corner filming the tour buses as they go by.
Shakespeare weekend

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SHELL LUMBER, 2733 SW 27 Avenue - January 27 - 28 - 29 - 7:30 pm.
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Chamber launches new website and logo

This is the Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce's new logo. It was introduced at a party last night at the Backlot bar at Paragon movie theater at CocoWalk.

Along with the logo, the Chamber's new website was introduced and launched. Check it out at
www.coconutgrovechamber.com.

It's good looking, fresh and up-to-date. There's an events calendar and news and listings and info on all Chamber members.


A few of us, that are the Chamber's media partners talked a bit about what we do and how we help promote the Chamber, I, along with Sebastian Rusk from Social Buzz and Gene and Fabiola from Fabulous Miami gave little talks to the group in one of the movie theaters.

It was a fun, and intimate night. Photos here at Facebook.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Commercial shoot on SW 17 Avenue

Bully Pictures in association with Home Depot is shooting a Home Depot commercial at 3305 SW 17 Avenue, Friday, January 27, from approximately 6:00 am to 10:00 pm.

The crew says they are parking away from the property on Micanopy and Halissee and will shuttle people back and forth in vans. Hope so. That is a main artery, between that and those guys who pick up the tree cuttings, that may be a difficult street to navigate tomorrow.

The filming will primarily contained to private property and streets will not be closed and traffic will not need to be redirected.

One foot in the Grave?

Fearghal O'Reilly, "an Irish chap now living in Miami" according to his Twitter profile, tweeted me his blog post from his "One foot in the Grove" blog which sort of should be called, "One foot in the Grave."

With the closing of so many places in town, it's getting worrisome -- Hooters, The Burgundy Room, the Sushi place, the Beer Garden, AC Fine Arts, American Apparel, Anne Taylor's The Loft. Does anyone care? Is anyone out there selling the Grove? I know that from various events I attend around the City of Miami, I don't see anyone out there selling the Grove. Coconut Grove is usually not represented at many events -- not at Chamber events outside the Grove, not at art walks outside the Grove, not at various social events outside the Grove. Shouldn't someone be out there talking us up and selling us? Hmm, maybe they should hire my PR firm to promote the Grove outside the Grove.

Fearghal talks about the sorry state of affairs around here. He's only been coming to the Grove since 2009, imagine if he had been here during the heydays (probably anything before 2000).

He says in is blog, "What is Coconut Grove’s brand now? What is it known for? In my opinion, Coconut Grove needs to get back to basics. Covent Garden Market is a small sub district of London, yet everyday, tens of thousands of people converge on that area to visit the stalls and enjoy street theatre. Throughout London there are designated places for buskers and street theatre. In Dublin’s Temple Bar district, there are buskers and street theatre. Activities are the reason people visit an area. At present there are none."

Please read what he has to say
in his blog here, it is eye opening.

Take some time to stop and smell the village

I had such a nice time in the Grove the other day and it's all because I know people and know the neighborhood and maybe that is how we need to promote Coconut Grove -- as a place where everybody knows your name.

I popped into the Antique Market at Mayfair and kibitzed a bit and then stopped by Johnny's jewelry kiosk, next door, to chat. After that, I met up Gigi and we went to the Cheesecake Factory, where we had a long leisurely lunch. Our waiter Allan was very patient with us, we could get loud and crazy at times. But we all had a good time, including Allan.

After a long lunch, we brought Louis, the Grove Ambassador, a slice of cheesecake as a little surprise and then walked down to Commodore Plaza, where we hung out at The Loft, with Yvonne, for awhile. People would go in and out of LoKal, the burger joint, next door, and we visited with them, Brian, from Barracuda, pulled up on his motorcycle to say hello, and the guys from LoKal come out and spent time -- the owners, the chefs, the staff -- it's a lively little corner these days.

From there we went across the street to one of the hair salons (for the girls, not me), where they spent time getting their "hair did." As I hung around, I met a fan, David, from The Brickell Reporter, who was going door to door, selling ads. Alas, he got no play, no one in the Grove seems to want to advertise these days. Not even with me. But we visited for awhile. I also stood outside a bit and talked with friends who walked by. It was a nice day, one of those coolish, overcast days, that looks like it might snow.

After the girls were through, we walked back towards CocoWalk and checked out the new Tervis Tumbler store, Gigi liked the Charlie Brown stuff. From there we went to the Coconut Grove Arts Festival Gallery and visited Monty and crew who were getting ready for next month's big event. People came and went from the gallery and we visited with them. From there we finally called it a day, it was about 6 pm by then. It started with lunch at 1 pm and ended at 6 pm. We ate, shopped and visited in all that time and it's shame that most people don't do that.

People stop me on the street all the time and they want to talk about the trees, store closings and various things going on around the village, so they do care about what's up here, but they also don't really take the time to savor the village. Maybe they do, but not enough do.

Yvonne kept asking me, "Aren't you lucky to be spending this time with us? Look at all the fun we are having!" And I had to actually remind her that I do this almost daily, with a few meetings thrown in like Bed Race, 4th of July, Mad Hatter and so on. She is the one who is usually cooped up in her store and I am usually out and about and doing this. If more people took the time to enjoy the village and leave their stores and homes and just explore, it might change the complexion around here. Maybe not. Who knows?

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Grove featured on Color Splash this weekend

Riley Smith tells me that one of his client's homes will be featured on the HGTV show Color Splash this weekend.

They chose Peacock Garden Cafe as their inspiration. The show airs Saturday night at 9:00. More at
Riley's blog here.

Jenny Love's Bolero Jazz at La Bottega

La Bottega's Rhythm & Wine series is back on Friday, January 27, presenting Jenny Love, with Bolero Jazz.

Born and raised in a very black beans and rice culture, it was here in Miami that Jenny Love developed her musical tastes and interests. Jazz was one of her major musical influences and at 13 she began classical and jazz vocal training while also performing with her father’s 6-piece Latin band. In her teenage years Jenny sang in gospel choirs throughout Miami and with this experience, later created her own blend of Latin funk with a twist of powerhouse-southern soul. Her candid readiness to experiment with musical genres has had a profound influence on the direction her musical journey has taken and her unique style is the result of a lifetime of musical influence.

Jenny has been the first and only Latin artist ever sponsored by Peterson's Harley Davidson and in 2007 she was Billboard Latino’s House Band Musical Director as well as a performer. She has taken stage with Jazz Masters Arturo Sandoval and Michael Orta as well as Bobby McFerrin, Gloria Estefan, Nicole Yarling, Julio Sabala, Nicole Henry, the Luis Espindola Latin Jazz Band and Negroni's Trio .

Jenny has made appearances on television shows such as Sabado Gigante, Mega TV's La Descarga con Albita and Maria Elvira Live.

Shows are 8 pm and 10 pm. Reservations are a must. Please call 305-444-3493. Cost is $30 per person, which includes a wine reception before the show. It's free for La Cava Club Members (La Cava is their wine club).

Enjoy Chef Carmen Trigueros' new Pintxos and Tapas menu. Plus the wine and bar service during the show.

La Bottega is part of The Grove Garden Trilogy: La Bottega by Carmen Trigueros, Calamari & Taurus, Another Round all at 3540 Main Highway, Coconut Grove. 305-444-3493.

A thrill after lunch

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A friend and I went to lunch last week, he rode his bike into the Center Grove from his house a few blocks away. He locked it up and we went into the restaurant.

He was thrilled when we came out after lunch and his bike was still there, locked up at the bike rack. It's a thrill these days to see your bike where you left it in Coconut Grove, home to constant bicycle thefts.

I am sure the police know what they are doing, but my friend suggested that they lock up a couple of decoy bikes around town with sensors or tracking devices and then when the bikes are stolen, and they will be, they could track down the thieves.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Dave Barry featured at Lauren's Light benefit

Lauren’s Light, a non-profit charity that empowers and supports families with young children in which a parent has cancer, presents: "Family Matters: an Evening with Dave Barry,” Saturday February 18, at 7:00 pm, 3390 Mary Street.

Family Matters will be a light-hearted conversation with syndicated humorist, author and Pulitzer Prize winner Dave Barry, his wife and Miami Herald sportswriter Michelle Kaufman and moderator, Books & Books owner Mitchell Kaplan.

Food donated by Town Kitchen & Bar, drinks by Bacardi USA, and wine selections donated by Milam's Markets.

Evening will include a live auction featuring an Azamara Club European Cruise for 2, and silent auction items feature hotel stays, restaurants, jewelry, sports, gifts and personal items.

100% of all proceeds will go to Lauren’s Light, a public charity founded in Coconut Grove.
Tickets are $75. Group Discounts available - Seating is limited
.
Purchase tickets at
www.laurenslightfundraiser.com or for group discounts, call 305.285.1202.

Lauren’s Light, headquartered in Coconut Grove, is an innovative program to empower families with young children in which a parent has been diagnosed with cancer, through resources and information, to better address medical, psychological and administrative challenges. Lauren’s Light provides educational resources, arranges for professional counseling for the families, cancer patient, spouse, and children, and provides other important services; and has already made a huge difference in the lives of numerous families in South Florida in which a parent of young children has cancer.


For more information, please visit www.laurenslight.org.

Heavy lifting in light air; Rolex OCR gets fine start

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2.4 MR Fleet.

The Rolex Regatta people felt that yesterday was a perfect day in Coconut Grove -- weatherwise that is. They loved the sunshine and there were 12 knots of breeze, but by late afternoon, light winds blew in just as three of the Paralympic classes were trying to finish the opening day races.

At the end of the day, Canada’s David Wright took two first-place finishes in the Laser Blue Fleet, putting him in second place overall and three points ahead of his prime competitor Chris Dold. Dold, in third place overall (behind Great Britian's Paul Goodison) with a 2-3 in the Yellow fleet, is duking it out with Wright for Canada’s berth at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

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Laser Radial, Marit Bouwmeester (Netherlands)

“This is the second part of our Olympic championship qualifiers, and he (Dold) is leading me by three places, so I have to outperform him,” said Wright, adding that Dold was in a different fleet from him today, because the Laser numbers were so large (78) they had to be split into two racing groups, then combined again for the purpose of overall scoring. “When we are in a split fleet like that we have to just make sure to finish with little points. I did it today, so hopefully I can do it again tomorrow.”

“It was a good day—light, but good,” said Chris Dold adding that he has been training against Wright for about five years. “I’m excited and sticking to my guns; if there’s any match racing between us it’s going to be later on in the week.”

One team who doesn’t have to worry about snagging an Olympic berth is Miami’s own Mark Mendelblatt and Brian Fatih, who finished a solid 3-4 yesterday in the Star class to take second overall on tied points with Sweden’s leader Fredrik Loof/Max Salminen. They were named to the USA’s 2012 Olympic Sailing Team after they recently finished third in their World Championship. “This is not a major regatta for us in the same regard, but we definitely want to train and improve our standing in the World Cup,” said Fatih, adding that this will be his first time to the Olympics after four times trying and Mendelblatt’s second (in Laser class).

US Sailing’s Rolex Miami OCR, established in 1990, is open to boats competing in events chosen for the Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Competitions. The 10 Olympic classes for 2012 are: Laser Radial (women), Laser (men), Finn (men), Men’s RS:X, Women’s RS:X, 49er (men), Men’s 470, Women’s 470, Star (men) and Elliot 6m (women). The three Paralympic classes are: 2.4mR (open), SKUD (mixed) and Sonar (mixed).

Medals will be awarded to the top three boats in each Olympic and Paralympic class on Saturday, January 28.

A complete roster of competitors can be viewed at the event website
http://rmocr.ussailing.org, where real-time racecourse blogging, commentary and fan interaction, regatta results, photos and news updates have been integrated into a live coverage platform.

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Laser race start.

Photo By: Rolex / Daniel Forster

Dogs on the loose, on leashes and not

I hate writing about pets, especially dogs, because people then make me into a dog hater, which is far from the truth (I'm a cat hater, but that's another story).

This letter came in from a reader and I held onto it, but after yesterday's lunch at the Peacock Garden Cafe, where some woman brought this huge dog that wanted to bark and fight with every other dog in site, it got me to wondering, when is enough enough?

We all love our dogs. But do they need to be in restaurants and running loose all the time? Here's what a reader from the North Grove sent in:


I thought this might be an appropriate forum to discuss the increasing number of off leash dogs that have attacked other dogs (leashed) in the North Grove area. Personally, I was walking my 3 dogs about 6 weeks ago around 7ish am when a neighbor from another street had her lab mix offleash -- a lab mix that has attacked other dogs in the past. Her excuse? "She never gets to run" and "I didn't see you". She said she'd never let the dog "off leash" again. I am not so sure I believe her. Thankfully, although the lab went after one of my 3, all were fine.

Over the weekend, another neighbor was walking her dog when a pitbull mix came out of nowhere and attacked her leashed dog. The incident threw my friend to the ground causing her road rash and tremendous pain (she's going through radiation and chemo) and almost caused her dog to lose an ear. The responsible party simply said "Sorry" and "she has attacked my bullmastiff too". I have been in the Grove for some years now and the "rare" occurrence of a dog attack has turned into a common one. Why aren't people leashing/gating their dogs properly? Have you heard similar complaints?

Megan Renze
Coconut Grove

Monday, January 23, 2012

King Mango Strut Wrap-Up Party is Sunday

The Mangoheads are partying to celebrate this year's successful King Mango Strut (here's our slide show). You're invited to the party on Sunday, January 29 at 3 pm at The Grove Spot (3324 Virginia Street). There will be music, the straight-to-DVD premiere of the 2011 Strut, a slide show of King Mango's Paparazzi Photos and t-shirts.

This year's t-shirts, designed by Theresa Calluori, sold out by the time the parade started so they have ordered more. There will be a few shirts available in each size/color and long-sleeved as well. King Mango did not forget his fair ladies this time, they've ordered women's tees, tanks and spaghetti straps.

At 4 pm, the 2011 Strut video by Orlando Santos will be shown in the back bar room. The 45-minute video will also be shown at 5 pm, 6 pm and the last showing at 7 pm. If you are in the Strut, this is your chance to see your crazy self and your crazy friends strut their stuff. Critics are already claiming the video is better than the book!

For more information: follow the Strut on facebook, email the King at
kingmangostrut@gmail.com or call the Mango Hotline at 305-401-1171.

The Body Countour opening this week

The Body Contour Company is having a grand opening event on Thursday, January 26. The body sculpting place is at 3403 Main Highway. 5 pm.

Services include face and body treatments, La Biosthetique Skin Care products and Power Plate training.

For more info: 786-223-2029.

A test for sailors at the Rolex Miami OCR

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Second overall in men's 470: Mathew Belcher, Malcolm Page, AUS 11

When US Sailing’s Rolex Miami OCR returns to Coconut Grove this week for its 23rd annual edition, top athletes from around the world will be using it as an opportunity to jump-start ambitious sailing goals for 2012, not the least of which, for some, is participation in this summer’s London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

With racing scheduled from Monday, January 23 through Saturday, January 28, the six-day Rolex Miami OCR is the second of seven 2011-2012 ISAF Sailing World Cup regattas and features elite-level competition in the classes selected for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. At the close of registration last week, 532 sailors representing 44 countries had registered.

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Brazil's Robert Scheidt is the lead skipper in the Star fleet after 7 races

With 82 boats registered, the Laser class promises not to disappoint as the typically largest fleet at the Rolex Miami OCR. “It’s going to be fun to watch these guys fight it out for their Olympic Trials,” said Rob Crane (Darien, Conn., USA) who is coming off a jam-packed 2011 schedule that culminated with him winning an Olympic berth for the U.S. team after pulling off amazing 1-2 finishes on the last competition day in Perth to beat out his teammates for the spot.

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Dutch Laser Radial sailor Marit Bouwmeester

As always, the Star class is shining with world-renowned champions, and perhaps the best-known names attending are two-time Olympic gold medalists Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada (Brazil), who just wrapped up 2011 with their second straight title at the Star World Championships (as part of the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Perth).

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Canadian Laser sailor Michael Leigh

The Rolex Miami OCR is organized by the United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for sailing, which provides leadership for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US Sailing offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics.

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470 Men's Fleet racing in front of the Miami skyline

Photos By: Rolex / Daniel Forster

Sunday, January 22, 2012

24 Hour Fitness offering Free Weekly Bootcamp

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24 Hour Fitness is offering a Free weekly Bootcamp at Peacock Park. It's for all Grove residents. You don't have to be a gym member to participate. About 27 people attended the last one. Some were frisbee players in the park, who saw the bootcamp and walked over and joined in. The bootcamp is every Saturday morning at at 11:00 am. For more info, please call the gym at 305.448.2416.

And later this month, they're taking the gym back to the '80s with a theme party on January 31 at the gym (2982 Grand Avenue) and later, a 1980s celebration will take place at Sandbar with an extended Happy Hour with 50% off food and beverages.

You must RSVP for the '80s party, do that at
CMClub621@24hourfit.com or 305-4482416.

How about a chocolate festival for Coconut Grove?

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I went to the chocolate festival yesterday at Fairchild Tropical Gardens and between you and me, it was not much of a chocolate festival and more of a food festival. There were many food booths on the grounds and lots of food trucks. The chocolate was sort of hard to find and when found, it was for sale. There were not many samples.

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People paid $25 each to enter the festival and it reminded me a lot of the Taste of the Grove. Why not do a chocolate festival here or just have it be part of the Taste of the Grove, which is coming up in April?

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This Fairchild festival brought so many people out. It was very crowded and there was lots to do. Children made chocolate and there was a children's play area and people bought lots of food and chocolate. Even though there was not much to sample, people still enjoyed themselves.

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As a stand alone festival in Peacock Park, or as part of the Taste of the Grove, chocolate apparently brings in the crowds. I wrote a review for the Examiner and also put up a little slide show with about 20 or so photos. You can see that here if you like.

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Saturday, January 21, 2012

A little contest . . .

I posted a little contest on our Facebook page today. It involves winning a pair of Coconut Grove Art Festival tickets. It also involves the Chocolate Festival at Fairchild Tropical Gardens.

Check it out.

Delray String Quartet returns to St. Stephen's

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The Delray String Quartet will be performing at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church (2750 McFarlane Road) on Sunday, January 22 at 4 pm. This is the start of the eight season for the popular quartet.

From left, Tomas Cotik, Mei Mei Luo, Richard Fleischman and Claudio Jaffe will present, "Hayden, Schubert and a world premiere of Kenneth Fuchs' String Quartet No. 5, "American," composed for the Delray String Quartet.

Featured: Joseph Hayden, "Quartet in E flat major, op 64, no 6; Franz Schubert, Quartettsatz in c minor, D. 703; Kenneth Fuchs, Quartet no 5, "American" and Gershwin, Excerpts from "Porgy and Bess."

Tickets may be purchased at the door for $20 each.

Party like it's 1891 at the Old Time Dance

The Old Time Dance is back at The Barnacle on Sunday, January 22. So if you wanna party like it's 1891, this is the place to be.

Gates open at 6 pm, the dance goes to 10 pm.

Under the Micco Pavilion on the big lawn out back is the dance floor. Wear comfy shoes and clothes and come ready to learn to dance the traditional American way. There are contras, squares, waltzes and so much more.Keeping It Reel will provide the music and Lou Dow will call the steps.

Admission: $10.00 per person; children under 10 - free. Picnics welcome. For additional information contact 305-442-6866 or visit
www.TheBarnacle.org.

The Barnacle is at 3485 Main Highway.

Friday, January 20, 2012

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Faculty Concert at MCM Recital Hall

LoKal Burgers & Beer celebrates grand opening

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If you weren't at the grand opening of LoKal, the Burger & Beer place last night, you were probably the only one. It seemed like the whole village was out, and then some. Hundreds showed up to celebrate LoKal, which actually has been open since December 24. Here's our story about their opening day, with more details about the menu.

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Politicians and the movers and shakers of Coconut Grove came out last night to enjoy burgers, chili, beer and wine, which were all handed out throughout the night. Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado gave LoKal a proclamation and then cut the big ribbon. We had suggested he cut into a burger, but they didn't go for that plan.

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We have a ton of photos on our Facebook Fan Page. Check 'em out and tag yourself if you're there! And "like us" and become a fan while you're there! We plan on putting most of our photos there in the future, it's more social media-ish. You don't have to have a Facebook account to see the pictures, just click the link.

(To share this story, just click on the time under it and a permalink will open, where you can copy that URL for this story only, works with all stories).

Thursday, January 19, 2012

The Best of . . .

Congrats to my friend Riley Smith. This marks the second consecutive year that his team at The Riley Smith Group has sold the most number of homes in Coconut Grove!

I run into Riley almost daily somewhere in the Grove, I am all over the place and apparently so is Riley, out there, selling homes!

More on Riley at: http://www.rileysmithgroup.com/

More congrats to the Sandbar Grill, who won "Miami's Best Sports Bars" in Miam New Times' recent Best of Miami contest. Here's the list of bars.


The New Times has been spreading out the awards over the past few months.

Tavern In the Grove came was in the Best Dive Bar category.

Le Bouchon du Grove was one of the best in Best French Bistros.

The Grapevine got honorable mention in the Blog category. The Crespogram Report won Best Blog. Here's the list.

People don't want to pay to park

So many places are closing in the Grove because people are not visiting. The main reason I hear is lack of parking or problems parking, even my friends who live in the Grove complain about parking. I don't think it's the fact that people can't find the 4800 spaces all around the area, I think it's the fact that they do not want to pay to park.

I was at a couple of arts festivals over the weekend and I didn't have to park at either one. I went to the Miami Beach Art Deco Festival and parked at a lot without meters and I went to the Pinecrest Gardens Fine Arts Festival and again, we parked for free.

But then again, Brickell and S. Miami are thriving and you do have to park in lots, at meters or in garages there, too. So maybe the parking issue is not the problem, although that is the top reason I hear from most people -- lack of parking (or the idea that they have to pay for parking).

But then I see a lot of restaurants on Commodore Plaza that are packed to the rafters -- Bombay Darbar, LoKal, Lulu and Greenstreets are usually mobbed, especially on weekends. So I guess people will find and pay for parking when there is somewhere they are interested in being. Go figure.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

STOP CENSORSHIP.
We're on Strike today - read this.
Help Stop SOPA/PIPA -
read this.
Explanation in Washintgon Post here

Olympic Gold Medal night in Coconut Grove

Olympic Gold Medalist Magnus Liljedahl and US Sailing Team members will talk about what they did as teens to train in their sport at an open house event at MCA Academy on Friday, January 20. Sponsored by SailLaser and the MCA Academy, the reception will also have student sailors from around the world who are in Miami for the Rolex Miami OCR Regatta.

Liljedahl, who won the Gold Medal at the Sydney games, overcame many obstacles in his drive to achieve greatness in his sport. His appearance will enlighten young athletes and others who have talents outside of school and need to know how to balance education and the demands of their passions. The open house is ideal for student athletes, and students who are pursuing other activities like acting or the performing arts but desire a high-quality education.

After the talks by the Olympic team, prizes including a $500 Sail Laser Summer Camp award and $500 MCA Tuition Vouchers will be given away at a reception that also includes music, refreshments and raffle prizes for sailing gear. The US Sailing Team and the Olympic Sailors will mingle and talk with guests at the party. A 14-foot Sail Laser Olympic boat will be on display.

The event is free and open to everyone. It will start at 5 pm at MCA Academy at 2911 Grand Avenue, back by the fountain, off of Florida Avenue.

Was that trip necessary?

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Sandy and I were at Pinecrest Gardens over the weekend for the annual arts festival. As we were walking around the lush, winding paths, she tripped on the uneven bricks, she didn't fall, just stumbled. We both laughed and imagined that they would have to possibly change the bricks out at the park and in doing so, remove all the trees, just like the plan in Coconut Grove.

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Remove the bricks, take all the trees with them. As if. I'm sure if anyone tried to remove one limb of one tree in Pinecrest, their heads would be served on a platter. Here in the Grove, it's the plan on the books.

Coconut Grove TreeWatch has filed an appeal to stop the removal of two trees at the corner of SW 27 Avenue and US1. They were slated for removal as part of the renovation project, then taken off the plans for removal, now they are back on the plans to be removed. There was no notice given and now TreeWatch has filed an appeal. You can read the appeal here at the TreeWatch Facebook page.

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Monday, January 16, 2012

Save up to 77% at Dharma Yoga Studio

Our friends at Dharma Yoga Studio are featured on Groupon today. Get up to 77% off as part of the deal.

You can get five yoga classes for just $17 (a $75 value) or one month of unlimited yoga classes for just $35 (a $155 value). These are great deals for beginners or more seasoned yoga vets.

Anusara sessions are included, where instructors teach sequences of poses that focus on proper spinal alignment and focused concentration to increase body awareness. There are also Vinyasa classes and Yin yoga.

You can purchase a groupon for yourself or purchase them as gifts. This is what one City Search reviewer said about Dharma: "It is perfect: Friendly, knowledgeable and a serene environment. It is everything that I imagined a real yoga studio should be."

And while I don't do yoga (and I should), I do like to stop by and hang out with Natalie and Loree, who are great people and fun to be with. I stop in at almost during almost every Gallery Walk when they change the yoga studio into an art gallery for the night, too.

Dharma Studio is at 3170 Commodore Plaza, they may be reached at 305-461-1777. The groupon may be
purchased here, under today's Miami special. The deal is only today, but the groupon is good until next January. So you have a year to use it.