America's Cities: The Solution to National Problems

I invite you to read my article in the March/April 2009 issue of FOCUS Magazine, "America's Cities: The Solution to National Problems", where I discuss how addressing the priorities of America’s cities will assure long-term opportunity, growth, and stability for all Americans.
Since 1972, FOCUS magazine has provided coverage of national issues to a leadership audience. Over 18,000 readers, nearly half of whom are black elected officials, value the magazine for its in-depth, yet straightforward features on politics, as well as a broad range of economic and social concerns affecting African Americans and the nation at large. The magazine is a publication of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, one of the nation's premier research and public policy institutions and the only one whose work focuses exclusively on issues of particular concern to African Americans and other people of color.
Read the March/April 2009 issue of FOCUS Magazine (article starts on page 6.)

- Manny

Bike Miami Days in the News

Read The Miami Herald story about Bike Miami Days:

"Event turns Coconut Grove's streets into bicyclists' haven"

Three New Parks for Downtown Miami

Commissioner Joe Sanchez, Paul Walker, his granddaughter Wendy Wills, wife Mary Walker, step- daughter Silvia Pardo, and Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, gather with other members of Mr. Walker’s family in honor of the grand re-opening of Paul Walker Park. Photo Credit: Jorge R. Perez/City of Miami.

Parks are where communities and neighborhoods are built, and today we celebrated the grand re-opening of the Paul S. Walker Mini-Park, located at 46 W Flagler Street, as well as the completion of two additional pocket parks in downtown that are part of the Downtown Development Authority’s beautification program.
The opening of these parks in our downtown is another example of how the City of Miami is investing in our parks, our neighborhoods, our residents and our children.
Joining in the celebration was Mr. Paul Walker, who 32 years ago was recognized by the City for his contributions to downtown with the naming of the park. Mr. Walker was instrumental in bringing Miami Dade College to downtown, was the President of Richard’s Department Store, and the head of a Grand Jury for a term. Upon hearing that renovations of the park were near completion, Mr. Walker’s daughter contacted me to express gratitude for bringing this beautiful park back to life.
To find out more about City of Miami parks, visit our Parks and Recreation webpage.

- Manny

Volunteering in Our Community

Jorge R. Perez/City of Miami

This weekend, my office participated in two important volunteering events. On Saturday, several of my staff members and I participated in National Rebuilding Day. We worked with Rebuilding Together Miami Dade to provide free home repairs to Eugene and Aida Adkins, an elderly low-income couple, who have lived in their Coconut Grove home for 35 years and would otherwise not be able to do the repairs in their home.
Rebuilding Together Miami Dade worked on 20 sites in Coconut Grove. We joined more than 200 Rebuilding Together affiliates nationwide, bringing together thousands of community volunteers, to provide free home repairs and modifications for low-income Americans - the elderly, disabled, military veterans and families in need.
On Sunday, my office and dozens of volunteers participated in the Hands On Miami Show You Care Volunteer Fair during Bike Miami Days in Coconut Grove. Some of the organizations that participated were the Urban Paradise Guild, the American Cancer Society, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Miami Office of Sustainable Initiatives (MSI), the Superbowl South Florida Committee, the Soroptimist International and AmeriCorps VISTA.

Please visit the Bike Miami Days blog for more information on these great organizations and for opportunities to volunteer in your community.

- Manny

Reminder: Bike Miami Days this Sunday in the Grove!

Hi Friends, this is a reminder to please join me for Miami’s Biggest Free Street Party in Coconut Grove TOMORROW Sunday, April 26th. From 9:00 to 2:00pm!

Explore your city in a new way – walking, cycling, skating the streets of Coconut Grove from City Hall to CocoWalk to the Barnacle Historical Park and everywhere in between.

A rally to kick off the festivities will take place at 10:30 am, Peacock Park, 2820 McFarlane Rd., Coconut Grove. Special guest actress Gabreille Anwar of the hit series Burn Notice will also join in the fun.

Family-Friendly * No Bike Required

NO START or END, JUST OPEN STREET -ALL FREE!

Hands On Miami Volunteer Fair * Bike Clinics Live Music * Green Art & DemosKid’s Corner * Orange Parade Buddy Bike Rentals and so much more!

Visit www.Bike-Miami.com for all the details!

Celebrating Arbor Day

Today we celebrate Arbor Day and I was honored to be joined by the members of five consulates for our third City of Miami Arbor Day celebration. The Consul Generals of Israel, Mexico, Uruguay, Haiti, and the United Kingdom, and their staffs, joined me and 140 volunteers at Archbishop Curley Senior High to plant 215 trees in the Little Haiti/Buena Vista area. That is up from 120 trees planted last year.
I am also honored that the Consul General of Israel for Florida, Ofer Bavly, planted a circle of five trees in my honor in Israel, and presented me with a certificate during our Arbor Day celebration.
Using our tree trust fund the city will plant over 3,000 trees this year through events like this, fruit tree giveaways, right-of-way plantings, plantings at schools, and many other efforts.
The vision for the Green Miami Campaign is to restore and enhance the city of Miami’s tree canopy into a thriving urban forest that provides multiple aesthetic and environmental benefits. The long-term goal is to increase the city of Miami’s tree canopy to 30% by 2017.
Through our tree trust fund, city residents can request a free tree by calling 305-960-4NET.

Below are some of the responses volunteers left in our volunteer story box, which began with "I came here to plant today because"…

To support the environment and leave a lasting impression on this planet.

Let’s green up Miami! Giving back to the community is a great way to help out.

It’s important to start in our own back yard and restore what we have taken.

Always a pleasure to participate in assisting the community to grow.

I Love doing something positive to help another—we actually get back ten-fold.

Thank you volunteers!

Watch a video of our Arbor Day Activities.

- Manny

City of Miami is now on Twitter!

Calling all Residents: Follow City of Miami and Receive Miami Tweets

Look out Ashton, Diddy, Shaq, and Oprah-- the City of Miami is now on Twitter. Residents can now receive up-to-date information directly to their home computers and cellular phones. In an effort to better reach residents using new social media tools Miami signed up for a Twitter account and is calling on residents to follow the City of Miami.

City of Miami tweets regarding upcoming events, city services, new projects, and news will be sent regularly to followers.

Anyone interested in receiving Miami Tweets can sign up for a Twitter account on http://www.twitter.com/ , if they do not have one already, go to “Find People” and search for City of Miami.

- Manny