AUG. 31 - SEPT. 6, 2010
Flinn and Bell ready for District 8 runoff BY GARY ALAN RUSE
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ugene P. Flinn Jr. and Lynda G. Bell, who will face each other in the Nov. 2 runoff for the MiamiDade County Commission District 8 seat vacated by Katy Sorenson, are buoyed by their victories in the primary, besting at least four other candidates, and are focusing on the task ahead. Flinn, who is the outgoing mayor of Palmetto Bay, was happy with the outcome and looking forward to continuing. “It was a highly competitive field and it’s certainly an honor to be No. 1 coming out of that EUGENE P. FLINN, Jr. field,” Flinn said. “I’m proud of doing well in so many areas, and I did the best in areas where I’m known, which is where you want to do well. “What I’ll be doing in the runoff is work more in those areas where I’m not as well known so they’ll have a clear understanding of who I am and my goals and what I’ve accomplished, which I think is going to bring me to victory in this race. You can never take anything for granted. We’re going to continue to work hard on this.” LYNDA G. BELL Flinn thinks
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RUNOFF, page 4
Arenas brothers do well in World Pokémon finals
Student’s bat mitzvah project to help Ronald McDonald House BY NANCY EAGLETON
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Juan Pablo Arenas (right) receives his prize from Pokémon CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara in Hawaii on Aug. 15. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
BY GARY ALAN RUSE
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almetto Bay residents Juan Pablo and Andres Arenas, ages 9 and 11 respectively, had done so well previously at the 2010 Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) National Championship in Indianapolis, IN, in June that they both went to the World Championship in Kona, HI, on Aug. 13-15, with their parents, too, of course. They returned in time for the start of school, and with impressive finishes in the international competition. Juan Pablo took a second place, beating the national champions of Switzerland and
France and other world-class players as well. Andres placed 23rd out of the 128 players from all over the world, beating the national champions of Canada, United Kingdom and Norway. “I was kind of nervous, but I enjoyed being there a lot,” said Juan Pablo, who received a $5,000 scholarship and other prizes. “It was really fun.” His brother fully agreed with that viewpoint. “It was a wonderful experience,” Andres said. “I was very happy. Probably what I enjoyed the most was the honor of being amongst so many talented players.
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POKÉMON, page 4
essica Schwartzman, a Palmetto Bay resident and eighth grade student at Southwood Middle School, is on a mission to gather donations for the Ronald McDonald House of Miami. As part of her bat mitzvah project, Schwartzman has chosen to focus on the needs of the Ronald McDonald House in honor of her family friend, Faith Griffin, who lost her life to a brain tumor two years ago at age 5. “The Ronald McDonald House of New York helped Faith’s family so much when they spent time there getting treatment for Faith,” Schwartzman said. Faith’s mother, Sonya Griffin, said JESSICA SCHWARTZMAN ––––––––––––––– See
MITZVAH, page 4
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