The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida (2024)

November 12, 1997

Publication:

The Miami Heraldi

Location:

Miami, Florida

Issue Date:

Wednesday, November 12, 1997

Page:

114

Extracted Article Text (OCR)

Tvrrr" vw rvp EBUSINESS BROWARD ES DADE S3 STATE 7B-12B FLORIDA 5B WEATHER 33 DEATHS 4B 5 xt v4 4jyAuasr' ifes Eljc Herald as SECTION WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 121997 'ji BRO TTTTT Key Biscayne trail: a hike into history At each of the 33 destinations bronze plaques reveal details about the site's significance LIZ BALMASEDA By YOLANDA BALIDO Herald Staff Writer Using watercolor maps and treasurehunting skills hikers may explore pirate refuges Indian fishing sites ancient mangroves and prehistoric fossil reefs The prize: a wealth of history about Key Biscayne The newly completed Key Biscayne Heritage Trail which consists of 33 bronze plaques affixed to oolitic limestone markers spanning the island was dedicated Tuesday afternoon at the Village Green in Key Biscayne should make us feel closer to those The trail includes No Name Harbor which has served as a refuge for pirates and smugglers as well as for dolphin fish and tropical birds The West Point Mangrove Preserve at Calusa Park is an ancient mangrove forest that throughout the centuries became an important part of the ecosystem At the north end is a protected fossil reef scientists describe as Petrified carbon-dated to about 60 AD At each of the destinations plaques PLEASE SEE TRAIL 2B the Cape Florida Lighthouse built in 1825 and South oldest landmark Blank author of Key Biscayne A History of Miami's Tropical Island and the Cape Florida Lighthouse came up with the idea for the trail She selected the sites that would be highlighted in it for their historic and settlers and heroes who came before local historian and author Joan Gill Blank said at the ceremony Using a vivid brochure that resembles an old treasure map peopie may walk ride or drive through the trail It begins at Bear Cut part of a Tequesta Indian fishing village in the 1700s and named for the Florida black bear and winds through the city to Carollo versus Suarez: Round 2 Miami choosing a mayor again BOTH GAIN IN RECOUNT 3B MIAMI BEACH VOTE FLAP 4B By TOM FIEDLER And MANNY GARCIA Herald Staff Writers On a Wednesday morning 14 months ago federal agents swarmed into Miami City Hall with arrest warrants for the city manager a city commissioner and a lobbyist-turned-bagman Already in custody was the corrupt finance director the architect of attempted payoffs and kick-backs They called it Operation Greenpalm and it was the beginning of "the darkest year in Miami's history" in the words of newly sworn Mayor Joe Carollo who had taken over from the late Steve Clark barely three weeks before It also was the beginning of the 1997 mayor's race the event that has shaped Miami politics since In recent days Miami voters have borne witness to over dead voters fraudulent ballots alleged campaign headquarter burglaries and heightening personal attacks the typical fare of a Miami campaign But those dramatic sideshows obscure the fact that the two candidates Carollo and challenger Xavier Suarez a former mayor stand starkly apart on the major issues affecting the city and how they can be resolved For voters in a city trying to regain its fading glory the deci-' sion Thursday not only will be between two dramatically different men but between two different futures promised by each in their Iengthy-but-overlooked platforms And those futures stem from radically different views of the recent past of everything that has CAMPAIGN 1 ff jm mi DAVID BERGMAN Herald Staff LOOKING GOOD: Angelica Gonzalez of Hialeah shows off her smile after the recent replacement of four damaged front teeth New hires smile their way back to work If only libraries got a government check in the mail When was the last time you got a check from Metro-Dade for a job you do? Yeah me neither Things like that just happen to me never gotten paid twice for the same job never gotten a check in the mail instead of a tax bill although I keep hoping for one attached to a note saying spend it all in one place! Love your friends at the Metro-Dade Water and Sewer Department PS Want some I know about you but I remember a government computer ever erring in my favor And I bet you either unless a politically connected megamillion-buck contractor People like you and me get such bonuses We get the bills it be great if such mistakes like the one that gave more than 1 million to Church Tower of Florida for roadway lane striping work that was never done happened in favor of the working masses instead of the millionaires? Here is a company that won the county contract with a low bid of $21 million then just piled up $58 mijlion in costs $37 million out of our pockets without a public referendum without an apology to taxpayers without anyone even taking notice It would be different if the had been in favor of say the Miami-Dade Public Library system that be refreshing? Never mind that a fantasy indulge me for a second Imagine the headlines of The investigative reports: Metro-Dade Overspends Millions on the Purchase of Great Poems Scores of Computers Upgraded with Mystery Funds Literacy Gets a Historic Boost in Poor Neighborhoods But you know there is no Robin Hood over at County Hall scheming for the book lovers strategiz-ing to acquire obscure volumes on the Civil War Such fortune befall libraries and those who visit them It is reserved for sports arenas and wealthy politically hooked-up contractors After all who does a bookworm know anyway? And therefore on Thursday the matter of purchasing new library books comes before us the voters of Dade County We will be asked to decide whether to spend $81 million on books and computer upgrades for the library system While it may sound like a staggering amount the proposed tax hike translates to $3750 a year for two years for an owner of a 100000 home The property tax increase would be pumped into a Book Trust established by referendum nine years ago That purchase fund contain nearly enough money to continue to supply books and up-to-date computer services to the ninth largest library system in the country The $52 million Book Trust funding was expected to last 10 years and that time is almost up Now that fund contains about $15 million a paltry sum for a system that serves more than twice as many people as in 1988 With its funding cut by $800000 and no new county funds earmarked for the purchase of books the library faces a kind of dilemma that is alien to the rich and connected And so they turn to us It would be nice to believe that some Robin Hood over at Water and Sewer will simply provide the funds that will stack the shelves with books establish preschool learning centers and homework centers at 30 libraries expand Project Jump Start for day-care children and so on But we know that going to happen However something bigger can happen By approving the funds Dade voters can send a message about what is truly important to those who pad the pockets of the powerful ommeemiim The theme of Suited for second annual treasure hunt gala is "Rebel With a Cause Guests will get a chance to win a 1998 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy motorcycle valued at $20000 Other prizes include travel packages and designer fashions Entertainment will include a performance by rocker Roger Clinton brother of President Clinton The fund-raiser will be held at 6:30 pm Nov 23 at the new at Aventura Mall 19555 Biscayne Blvd Tickets are $100 For information call Suited for Success at (305) 669-4245 By CONNIE PRATER Herald Staff Writer A good smile can take you far even help land a job Ask Gloria DeCardenas A year ago this month she was shot in the face during a robbery attempt The bullet shot through her teeth shattered her lower jaw and is still lodged in her throat Before the shooting the mother of two had been a receptionist at a Miami company a job where a pleasant greeting for customers is crucial have to smile all the DeCardenas 26 said She is one of 50 women aided in getting reconstructed palates removing gold teeth replacing missing incisors and filling in gaps left by broken or chipped Macdonald Foundation Barbara Tifford program director for Suited for Success said clients have better chances of making positive impressions on potential employers if they don't have missing or damaged front teeth With the dental work comes self-confidence and higher selfesteem a boost in the effort to move up from welfare and into jobs what happened to DeCardenas She lost her receptionist job after the shooting and relied on welfare benefits to help feed herself and her two children When she looked in the mirror at her still-healing face chances PLEASESEE SMILE 2B teeth Recognizing that making a good appearance at a job interview is about more than wearing a good suit a Coral Gables job-readiness program began the dental service this year targeting Dade's welfare clients Sponsored by Suited for Success the Smile for Success dental program is funded through a $25000 grant from the Dr John PLEASESEE RUNOFF 38 i I Dade trust wants cuts to arts center restored Vink" tep i i Jy MENTOR: UM Assistant Professor Janette Klingner second from left discusses ideas with Elizabeth Lane left Robyn Bronfman and Emilio Miralles at Flamingo Elementary in Hialeah 4 PATRICK FARRELL Herald Staff By GAIL MEADOWS Herald Staff Writer Performing Arts Center Trust voted Tuesday to ask the Metro Commission next week to approve changes in its financing formula to restore cuts that were previously made in the proposed 1 98 million center the largest privatepublic building project Metro has ever undertaken The trust recommended that $545 million in deferred equipment facade finishes and other items be restored and also proposed that an additional $26 million be spent on developing cultural facilities in Hialeah Cutler Ridge and at Florida Memorial College The moves were made possible by recent calculations by KPMG Peat Marwick and Metro-Dade Finance Director Rachel Baum that an additional $89 million is available from various funds including $716 million in convention development taxes the backbone of the financing structure In addition the Performing Arts Center Foundation charged with raising $482 million in private contributions for the complex is expected to announce several new significant donations Monday The vast portion of the found money $44 million would restore hand-set stone as the exterior facade reinstate 20 percent that had been trimmed off the proposed height and permit glass entrances and reinstate awnings exterior lighting and a plaza fountain The proposed facilities in North and South Dade long discussed by the trust as part of its mission to develop arts venues are intended to increase cultural activities in what is regarded as undersened areas Program helps pupils by teaching teachers Klingner is the soul of the 3-year-old Professor in Residence program that brings together Dade County Public Schools and the University of Miami Klingner splits her time between School of Education where she teaches undergraduates and Flamingo where she supervises interns and associate teachers and offers afternoon classes and certification seminars By MARIA A MORALES Herald Staff Writer a little after 2 pm at Flamingo Elementary in Hialeah Classrooms are empty as is an open-air courtyard that bisects the school The kids have gone home for the day yet classes are just starting: The teacher has arrived Forming a circle with a dozen desks in the library UM Assistant Professor Janette Klingner will teach Flamingo teachers how to share abstract concepts like democracy and justice and how to improve communication in a class full of foreign-bom students who know much English children learn things like language almost by Klingner tells the group have to work on their comprehension and communication through role play and other activities that are fun and low in anxiety leam despite themselves" PLEASESEE KLINGNER 4B.

About The Miami Herald Archive

Pages Available:

9,280,725

Years Available:

1911-2024