Junior Honor Society<\/p>\n
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Students selected for Junior Honor Society at St. Agnes Academy are Samantha Paz, Shane Vernon, Katie Stickney, Colleen McMurray, Stephanie Mecozzi, Thomas Moriarty, Cristina Ulvert and Carolina Portela, seventh graders; and Lauren Hunsaker, Jessica Nasser, Max Henderson, Valentina Rodriguez, Colleen McCaughan, Alan Guerra, Claudia Vargas and Mariana Toledo, eighth graders.<\/p>\n
Political Action Committees formed for both sides of referendum issue<\/p>\n
A group of concerned taxpayers has formed a Political Action Committee to oppose passage of the ballot issues in the May 16 referendum. The committee, Sewers for Environmental Safety, is headed by local attorney Paul R. Auchter, who says the organization is attracting a broad base of support from single family and condominium residents across the island.<\/p>\n
“As disappointing as I am sure it is for most voters to face another referendum, it is very important that they go to the polls once again to stop a small special interest group which has forced yet another referendum because they couldn’t bully the Village Council into making the taxpayers of the Village pay for their sewers,” Auchter said. “We believe that all three issues that will be on the ballot must be defeated, because if they are approved, it will effectively strangle the ability of the County to do the job it was elected to perform. This election is costing the taxpayers about $25,000. We had another on sidewalks less than a year ago for $25,000.\u201d<\/p>\n
Property Owners for Fairness, a Political Action Group that supports the May 16 referendum that would require a vote to approve special assessments, is welcoming the participation of neighbors in the campaign.<\/p>\n
“We believe the property owners should have the right to vote in favor or against a project before a lien is placed on their property to pay for it,” explained Adriana Guillen, president of the PAC. Treasurer for the group is William D. Earle.<\/p>\n
Council resolution opposes referendum<\/p>\n
The Village Council in a special meeting, made it clear how they would like Key Biscayne’s voters to vote in the upcoming special referendum.<\/p>\n
By a 5-0 vote, with Councilmembers Alan Fein and Scott Bass absent, the Council approved a resolution urging a no vote on all three ballot questions in the referendum, which calls for amending the charter to prohibit special assessments without a vote of affected homeowners, repealing an ordinance enabling the Council to levy special assessments and rescinding a $7.9 million low-interest state loan for the sewer project. The Council decided to send a copy of the resolution to all island residents, along with a short cover letter written and signed by Mayor Joe Rasco. The Council rejected a longer staff-drafted letter than that one. Vice Mayor Martha Fernandez-Leon Broucek said the Council had a duty to let the public know how Councilmembers feel about the referendum.<\/p>\n
Some protest, close businesses over removal of Elian<\/p>\n
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Protestors gathered on Crandon Boulevard Saturday to voice their disapproval for the government’s action in removing Elian Gonzalez from his Miami relatives’ home.<\/p>\n
Every morning, manual laborers and office workers alike gather at the Oasis to chat, to drink coladas and to eat empanadas. On this sunny morning, the eatery was deserted. As were the tables of La Carreta. According to posted notices, the eateries decided to close as “a sign of solidarity with the Cuban exiles in this moment of pain and indignation (at) the actions taken this past Saturday at the Gonzalez family home.”<\/p>\n
At the behest of Cuban exile leaders, several Key Biscayne businesses closed their doors Tuesday in protest.<\/p>\n
The concept behind the work stoppage was to reflect the exile community’s impact on the economy of South Florida. From conversations with several Cuban business owners, it seems the emphasis was really on unity in a time of grief.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are in solidarity with all of our Cuban brothers on how sad we are about what happened Saturday,” said Elia Tarafa, co-owner of Tarafa and Iriondo Realty.<\/p>\n
By now, the entire world is familiar with Elian’s story. Courtesy of the media circus, we have watched him for the past five months, from the time he was recused at sea, to the INS raid that took him from Lazaro Gonzalez’s home in Little Havana. The raid’s style, with heavily-armed agents busting down doors, caused an immediate outcry among Cuban-Americans. The image of one federal agent, submachine gun in hand as he tried to grab the hysterical boy from Donato Dalrymple, the fisherman who pulled Elian from the sea on Thanksgiving, along with eyewitness accounts evoked accusations of excessive force.<\/p>\n
Thus in protest, the work stoppage was enacted, and took hold throughout Miami, and in Key Biscayne. A stroll through the Square Shopping Center revealed less bustle than usual. A sign posted at Wilfredo Borroto’s architecture firm read the following: this business is closed “in protest of the way President Clinton and Secretary of Justice Reno violated the democratic principles our Constitution stands for by sending the U.S. Federal Marshals to aggressively break into the Gonzalez home and seize 6-year-old Elian.”<\/p>\n
Marilene Borroto, Wilfredo’s wife, said that aside from the raid’s brutality, she was particularly disturbed by its timing. It happened while mediator Aaron Podhurst and Attorney General Janet Reno were on the line negotiating the transfer.<\/p>\n
Exhibition opening<\/p>\n
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Commenoz Gallery recently held a reception for the opening night of the collection of artwork from various Korean artists. Each artist uses different and unique mediums such as oil on sand, mixed media with Korean paper, colored pencils, and inkjet on paper casting. Pictured are Naydu Commenoz, Patricia Romano, Patricia Villa and Rosemarie Baragana.<\/p>\n
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Children’s Art Exhibit<\/p>\n
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SunTrust hosted the most recent reception of Key Biscayne Community School student artists. The students’ works are on display at the bank. Back row: Armando Trabanco, Alberto Velaz and JoAnn Young. Front row: Alissa Elan, first place; Lauren de Falco, second place; and Alan Adekambl, third place.<\/p>\n
Officials pledge to address overcrowding at KBCS<\/p>\n
Parents of children attending Key Biscayne Community School got some good news at last week’s local PTA meeting, as county school officials pledged to help address the school’s overcrowding problem.<\/p>\n
Regional school administrator Larry Feldman agreed to adopt several of the PTA’s suggestions regarding short-term solutions to the problem of overcrowding at the school, which is now at 140 percent capacity.<\/p>\n
“What came out of it was relatively exciting in that we made a whole bunch of suggestions that Feldman agreed with,” said Susan Fox-Rosellini, chairwoman of a PTA subcommittee on overcrowding.<\/p>\n
Fox-Rosellini said the PTA obtained the following commitments from Feldman:<\/p>\n
\u2022 The school will stop accepting any children from off the island, except for those who are already there, whose parents work at the school, or who are needed to maintain racial diversity requirements.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Officials will begin requiring KBCS students entering sixth grade to re-register and prove residency.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0The number of portable classrooms will be increased to five.<\/p>\n
The school has seen explosive growth over the past few years, as the island’s demographics have undergone a dramatic shift. Fox-Rosellini said parents attending last week’s PTA meeting have also agreed to work on fighting the problem of tardiness.<\/p>\n