Spotlight 204-260501

Good morning. What we’re covering in today’s Spotlight:

The Opening of a New Pool in West Grove
A Challenge to a Tree Removal Plan
The Vote on Redistricting in Tallahassee
Where We’ll Be: A Grove Event Guide

A Neighborhood Celebrates a New Community Pool

After years of delay and a tense standoff over the design and depth of the pool, West Grove residents will celebrate the opening of a new $13.2 million aquatic facility on Saturday, named for the late educator and community leader Verneka Sturrup Silva.

By Jenny Jacoby

On a warm, rainy day in June 1963, Clarice Cooper, Toni Simmons and a crowd of about 500 people gathered to celebrate the opening of Elizabeth Virrick Park and Pool on Plaza Street in Coconut Grove.

Simmons, a young girl at the time, was barely aware of the role her mother Verneka Sturrup Silva played in securing the park and the pool for the neighborhood.

Like other children that day, Simmons was more interested in splashing in the new pool than thinking about what it meant for the segregated West Grove community.

But the significance of the event wasn’t lost on the crowd.

Tree Removals Challenged for “Temporary” Grand Avenue Project

A hearing before a citizens’ advisory board next Tuesday will reconsider a city-approved plan to remove dozens of trees in West Grove — including some already cut without approval — for a short-term racquet sports facility.

By David Villano

A city-backed plan by Coconut Grove-based developer Silver Bluff to remove 57 trees at a West Grove site for a pop-up sports facility — including 15 already cut without a permit — is facing a formal appeal ahead of a May 5 hearing before Miami’s Historic and Environmental Preservation Board.

The appeal questions whether city officials stretched their own tree protection rules to allow permanent canopy loss for a short-lived racquet sports complex proposed on a tract of mostly vacant land at 3520 Grand Ave.

Early last year, city commissioners approved a special events permit for the facility as a way to temporarily activate the long-dormant parcel while Silver Bluff readies plans for a future mixed-use project at the site. That permit will expire at the end of 2026.

Calatayud, Busatta Split Vote on Florida Redistricting

Two state legislators who represent Coconut Grove in Tallahassee split their vote this week on the governor’s proposed redistricting plan. The Florida Legislature approved the plan on Wednesday by a vote of 21-to-17 in the State Senate and 83-to-28 in the Florida House. The new voting map is expected to help Republicans pick up four additional Congressional seats in November. State Senator Alexis Calatayud (R-38) voted against the plan. Calatayud was one of four Republican senators who voted against the redistricting. Rep. Demi Busatta (R-114), who was profiled this week in the Spotlight, voted for the governor’s plan. The Spotlight reached out to both Calatayud and Busatta for comment, but did not receive a response.

Letters to the Editor

Readers React: A Spotlight reader says the traffic study done for The WELL development in Center Grove may have been based on a “fatally flawed analysis.”

Where We’ll Be – A Grovite’s Calendar

The Grove hits the gas. No brakes.

Just as summer prepares to slow everything down, the fastest guys on four wheels rev up the Grove. This week brings race-week noise, a brand-new neighborhood pool, dogs with social calendars, dancers on the rise, mahjong in the garden, Deadhead moonlight and a street concert for Ronnie. Pace yourself. The engines may be loud, but the calendar is louder. 3