APRIL

   There was no “fooling around” on Sunday, April 1 when, at long last after 13 years of haggling and fundraising, the Curtiss Mansion officially opened its doors to the public. Even though it was termed a “soft opening,” residents of Miami Springs turned out in large numbers for the afternoon events, which entailed free tours of the refurbished mansion and grounds; appearances and speeches by local dignitaries, including Miami-Dade County Commissioner Rebeca Sosa, who helped with more than $2 million of the $4.5 million funding for restoration of the mansion; music and entertainment; and, of course, plenty of eats as the Food Trucks were lined up to satisfy all the appetites.

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    Monday, April 2 turned out to be a rough night for Medley councilman Gerardo Silva Jr. at the town’s monthly meeting. Having taken quite a bit of heat the previous month for what was perceived to be overspending of taxpayer money on a town credit card, prompting a change in procedure in which no councilperson could spend a dime without approval from their fellow council members, Silva still came out and lobbied for approval to attend a workshop called The Good Government Initiative to be hosted at the University of Miami in the fall. Entry fee cost? $1,500. Not only was it shot down, it never even got to a vote as his motion did not even get a second and died on the floor.

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    On Saturday, April 7, former MSSH Golden Hawks football star and current Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Devin Aromashodu once again demonstrated his desire to give back to Miami Springs when he held his second Devin Aromashodu Football Camp at Miami Springs Senior High School
    Thanks to his NFL connections, Aromashodu lined up numerous players from around the league to attend the day-long event, including Miami Dolphins wide receiver Davone Bess, as close to 250 kids ranging in age from 6 to 17 showed up and took advantage of some great football instruction from the Springs High School coaching staff. Among the other notable NFL players in attendance were Houston Texans offensive lineman Rashad Butler and former Miami Dolphins and current Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Travis Daniels.

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    The City of Miami Springs Public Works cleanup crews were out in full force on Monday morning, April 16 and with good reason. Another Springs River Festival — the 2012 version held April 13-15 — was now in the rearview mirror and plenty of cleaning up needed to be done. Once again, the Festival appeared to be a major success. Even though rain on late Friday afternoon may have held things back initially, plenty of folks showed up later in the evening and a pretty good crowd lined Canal Street and the Circle in the late afternoon/early evening hours of Sunday as well.
    Fortunately, the worst of the weekend weather came through on Saturday morning (the Festival didn’t start until noon) and that set the stage for Saturday night when so many people lined the Circle area that getting from one side to the other was a mission. A wonderfully breezy night served as a perfect backdrop as an estimated 10,000 people “dropped by” for some food, free entertainment and socializing with familiar faces.