Spotlight 188-2600306

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

A Grove Centenarian Looks Back
E-Bikes and Public Safety
A New Tree Plan for Leafy Way
A Protest by Cocowalk Janitors
Where We’ll Be: Free Tix for Seniors

Lucienne Sanchez-Resnik at 100: A Coconut Grove Life Rooted in Service

As she marks her centennial year, Lucienne Sanchez looks back on a remarkable life of global travel, humanitarian work and neighborhood leadership that helped shape the Coconut Grove she calls home.

By Mike Clary

In 1952, Lucienne Sanchez was working for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan when a monk showed up to present a slide show on West Africa, part of an effort to recruit volunteers to serve in a Liberian mission.

“By the end of that slide show,” recalled Sanchez, “I said, ‘When can I go?’ It was an epiphany. It changed my life. I was supposed to go to Africa.”

Advocates Say E-Bikes Should Be Better Regulated

State lawmakers in Tallahassee are weighing new rules for e-bikes on public sidewalks and shared pathways, but critics say the changes don’t fully address the dangers that e-bikes pose to pedestrians and other bike riders.

By Don Finefrock

In response to growing public safety concerns, state lawmakers in Tallahassee are moving to limit how fast electric bikes may go when sharing a sidewalk with pedestrians.

The Florida Senate voted unanimously last week to impose a new speed limit on e-bike operators statewide. Anyone riding an e-bike on a public sidewalk would have to slow to 10 mph or less when a pedestrian was within 50 feet.

Lawmakers in Tallahassee have embraced the measure (Senate Bill 382), but critics in Miami, including a Coconut Grove couple who were hit by a teenager riding an electric dirt bike, say the new rules don’t do enough to protect pedestrians.

Leafy Way Tree Plan Approved After Major Revisions

A new landscape plan for the construction of a new home on Leafy Way – a plan that developers claim will actually enhance the tree canopy – was approved after nearly a year of deferrals and controversy.

By Jenny Jacoby

A radically revised plan promising to preserve 90% of the tree canopy at 3939 Leafy Way — where an earlier proposal would have removed 90% of the property’s trees — was approved Tuesday by the city’s Historic and Environmental Preservation Board.

Developers were seeking the city’s approval to demolish an existing 1925 home and replace it with a two-story, 9,000-square-foot house with a pool and hardscape, a construction plan that required the removal or relocation of a number of trees on the property.

This week’s decision comes after 10 months of deferrals and significant opposition from residents and tree advocates who claimed the property owner’s original plan would have reduced tree canopy well beyond what should be permitted for a home on Leafy Way, inside an Environmental Preservation District with special protections.

Cocowalk Janitors Allege Intimidation, Poor Working Conditions

The workers staged a demonstration this week with union leaders, supporters and a Mariachi band to call attention to their grievances.

By Don Finefrock & Kelly Keough

A handful of Cocowalk janitors, union leaders, and their supporters demonstrated late Tuesday afternoon in downtown Coconut Grove to protest what they described as unfair labor practices by the cleaning company that employs them.

The janitors, who have met with organizers from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), say they have been interrogated, surveilled, and intimidated by AK Building Services of Fort Lauderdale because of their organizing efforts.

The company’s owner and CEO refuted those claims, saying the cleaning service values its employees and promotes a workplace culture that is respectful, transparent, and professional.

Where We’ll Be – A Grovite’s Calendar

A Golden Ticket…and a Symphony of Music

Wait — what? A real golden ticket? And not the Willy Wonka kind. Miami-Dade County created something that feels almost too good to be true: a Golden Ticket Arts Guide that opens the doors to a huge lineup of cultural venues — museums, concerts, theater performances, galleries, even the zoo — free for county residents age 62 and older. Yes, free as in walk-right-in free at places where everyone else is happily buying tickets. The drill is simple: check with the venue about two weeks ahead, download and print a Golden Ticket, show up with ID proving age and Miami-Dade residency, and in you go. New events keep popping up all the time, and group visits or accessibility needs are happily accommodated. The whole thing is hiding in plain sight online, or a quick call to 305-499-8755 will connect with someone who can walk you through it. Your tax dollars at work, or play!

Early Spring has shifted the Grove’s cultural order — the symphonies have taken the high ground. Orchestras in churches, gardens, concert halls, and tucked-away arts sanctuaries — youth ensembles, community orchestras, chamber players, opera, and a symphonic band are all in the queue. Tucked in between are the Barnacle’s moonlight concerts, candlelit choirs, and even a Latin American musical tour. Spring in the Grove, apparently, now comes with a full orchestral soundtrack.