FROM THE PUBLISHER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR JOHN EDWARD SMITH
MASKS COMING OFF AND LIFE RETURNS TO OUR HOMETOWN
Welcome to a new appreciation!
Our Spring issue kicks off with new life coming back to town. The 37th annual South Miami Rotary Art Festival attracted thousands to our “hometown’s main street.” As the COVID-19 with its variants wane, this fittingly comes at springtime as life begins to return to some normalcy. Over the weekend of February 26 & 27, visitors to our hometown enjoyed the days to roam around the booths and mingle with other art-goers. A very refreshing site indeed!
We’re returning to a regular seasonal fashion article. Style writer Casey Borrero reached out to some dozen boutiques to get their take on Spring Fashion. Casey reports on her visits with six boutiques in this Spring Cover Feature which starts on page 15.
As we go to press, I wanted to bring our readers the latest NEWS on business openings and major development projects in town. Read about What’s Cookin’ in town, meet some new business owners and catch up with development news around town. It all starts on page 29.
As I reported in the last issue, the Winn Dixie site redevelopment is on target and is in final stages of approvals from the City of South Miami with construction drawings literally on the drawing board. And a little south of our “town center” a new development is being planned for the corner of US 1 and 62 Avenue. Read about it on page 33 and as we follow the project in subsequent issues of
SOMI Magazine.
The magazine has provided public service space for a regular full-page ad in support of Save the Manatee organization. In watching several recent TV news casts, I wanted to get a further message out to readership. We have dedicated major editorial coverage in this issue to bolster support for the plight of Florida’s gentle manatee populations. Read about this on pages 21 and continuing online in an article published by the University of Miami and reprinted with permission.
With that, let me wish you an enjoyable SPRING INTO SOMi.
As always,
Read the latest SOMIMag. here.
