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SEPTEMBER 20, 2010
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TRIBUNE
Biscayne Bay MDC officials break ground for new Student Support Center BY TERE ESTORINO
Verizon, FHP launch campaign to stop texting while driving
M
iami Dade College (MDC) officials broke ground Aug. 30 for the new Student Support Center on the Wolfson Campus, 300 NE Second Ave. in downtown Miami. Upon completion, the six-story building will house classrooms and labs, student life areas, a state-of-the-art wellness center, food court, and permanent home for the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives. These amenities will allow the Wolfson Campus to meet the growing demands of this fast-growing urban campus and at the same time continue offering an accessible, affordable, high-quality education to its students. The improved student life facilities will help provide students with new opportunities for cultural enrichment and community involvement.
BY CHUCK HAMBY
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Pictured (l-r) are Dr. Penny Shaffer, chair of the MDC Foundation Board of Directors and market president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida; Jennifer Sotolongo, SGA president; Dr. Mercedes Quiroga, Wolfson Campus president; Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón, MDC president, and members of the Board of Trustees, Helen Aguirre Ferré, chair; Marielena A. Villamil, and Armando J. Bucelo Jr.
Race beds fill Grove streets during Labor Day Weekend BY MISCHELLA REED
T
he 1-800-411-Pain Great Grove Bed Race was a huge success this labor Day Weekend with more than 35,000 people in attendance. Grand Avenue and Commodore Plaza replaced cars with beds and welcomed visitors, residents and fans of bed racing to the streets of Coconut Grove. Sunday, Sept. 5, events started with a packed Family Pajama Party on Virginia Street at 11 a.m. featuring music, storytelling and an interactive obstacle course from Inferno’s Challenge. The attention turned down the block at 1 p.m. as a 27-member Flanagan High School Marching Band led the Pit Row Parade of decorated beds. Finally, the main event, a 2 p.m. green flag waived as race Grand Marshal Tony Kanaan, Indy 500 professional racer, called out “ladies and gentleman, tie your shoelaces and prepare those beds” and with his “ready, Sandbar team members raise their arms in victory as the women take first place in their division.
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BEDS, page 2
erizon Wireless and the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) recently announced the launch of the “Danger Thumbs” campaign to make the state’s roads safer by urging young Florida drivers to stop texting on their wireless phones when behind the wheel. While texting drivers of any age can create a hazard on the roads, the campaign targets young, inexperienced motorists who also are generally the most prolific users of wireless text messaging. The campaign is kicking off with a series of presentations by FHP officers at high school driver’s education classes across the state. “Driving and texting is clearly unsafe and one of the most important lessons we can teach to young drivers as they hit the roads to start a new school year,” said Captain Mark Welch, FHP’s chief of public affairs. The “Danger Thumbs” Florida initiative complements a more general “Don’t Text and Drive” public service campaign by Verizon Wireless that includes billboards, public service announcements (PSAs), advertising, brochures and other traditional communications aimed at all drivers. In addition to school visits, “Danger Thumbs” will present safety messages in a variety of Web-based and social media
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TEXTING, page 2