As summer begins….
We know summer is around the corner when the community comes together for the annual Twilight 5K Run/Walk through the streets of South Miami. Thousands show up for this great family-friendly event, started by the late John “Hans” Huseby and Laurie of Team FootWorks. And the highlight of summer fun is the annual July 4th celebration at Palmer Park, with picnics, bands, food and fun activities for the kids (and adults too). To the annual list of fun summer things to do around the area, we’ve added two: the love of mangos and diving for spiny lobster. Make a note to send us on your summertime pics.… We’ll be looking to publish a gallery in our next issue.
This issue is big on Summer Fashion. In addition to our regular feature by our SOMI Fashion Guru, Giancarlo Martell, talking about PVC/Plastic fashion, we welcome contributing writer/blogger Casey Garcia and check out what some of our area’s trendy boutique owners have to say about summer fashion.
And with summertime fashion is summertime wine. SOMI’s contributing wine columnist, Sebastian Velez, “The Wine Guy,” recommends Riesling; you can read his article on page30.
On page 38, you can read up on The Underline; it continues to make news and dramatically expands its base of support. Founder Meg Daly reports on her participation in the El-Space Forum in NYC, which brought together many great and creative urban redevelopment initiatives throughout the country.. SOMI Magazine is pleased to be a founding media sponsor for The Underline, a transformational project for Miami and the greater Miami community.
Our What’s New in Town focuses on the entrepreneurs who are investing in our community: we welcome the Hank & Harry duo: Buzzy Sklar and Richard Booth, Tania and Maria Isabel of Club Pilates, and our own SOMI Shahs: Amin, Farzad and Mohammed-Ali. We appreciate their investment and commitment to our community. You can read about their newly established businesses and others, on pages 40-41.
Speaking of investment in our community, meet Henry Pino of Alta Developers. In my opinion, the first dynamic change and catalyst for others in our community was the approval by the City Commission for a luxury apartment building on the west side of US1. This new project by Alta Developers signals a new direction for our business and retail district on both sides of US1. SOMI Magazine spent some quality time with Henry, a fellow South Miamian and a thoroughly interesting and humble man to get to know. Meet Henry and learn about the project (and more) in our NEWS feature beginning on page 36.
Pedestrian and bicyclist safety has always been a big issue of mine, as many know I have been a commuter cyclist for the past twenty years. Again, a shout-out to County Commissioner Xavier Suarez for pushing forward the landscaped pedestrian median on Red Road. ‘Can’t wait to see the magnificent Medjool Date Palms planted.
I invite you to “Be Part of the Conversation” and weigh-in with your comments in our Readers Survey which is found on page 21 or you can complete online. Your comments are always welcome, especially as we look forward to our fourteenth year publishing the magazine come this October.
Just maybe you can help the SOMI History Detective by finding FOX’S tail; see page 31.
Fun things are happening in SOMI – be part of it!
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there.
Enjoy your summer, and wherever your travels take you, be safe…
See you at the July 4th celebration!
