JUNE 29 -JULY 5, 2010
Acting City Manager Witt’s challenge: Amy on Sunset To lead South Miami out of chaos Bicycles
BY JASMINE BERRY
A
n alleged stabbing, accusations of rape and extortion… South Miami residents have watched in consternation as a series of strange events have led to a series of resignations and firings, including the removal of Acting City Manager, Roger Carlton. Enter interim City Manager, Buford ‘Randy’ Witt, a retired Air Force general and former Miami-Dade Chief Information Officer. Witt applied for the position last October when the City of South Miami was seeking a replacement for former City Manager, Ajibola Balogun. Witt’s name was brought up at a special meeting on May 5 and commissioners voted him into office unanimously, with the exception of Commissioner Velma Palmer, who left City Hall before voting took place. Witt’s time as a general is painfully evident in his stoic expression, his robotic movements and his self-containment. He says he is ”sort of short on hobbies,” the closest thing being flying airplanes. Witt is a native of Memphis, Tenn. and a
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WITT, page 5
Calling all 1980 SMSH grads
BY AMY DONNER
I just returned from a family holiday to Rome and all parts of Israel. At one of the hotels we stayed at in Israel, we were offered free access to bicycles, and in Rome a “by-member” bicycle sharing system was in place all over the city. Last summer, while staying at the Kimpton Hotel in Portland… bicycles. None of these towns are as bicycle friendly as SoMi. All are busier and more congested and yet based on how many bikes I saw coming and going,
Gee! Don’t they loo great for being nearly a half century old? The SMSH Class of 1980 Reunion Committee: Juan Comendeiro, Ulises Manzano, Veronica Birch Flores, Frank Carreras, Joe Fernandez and Mario Vicente .
(See story, page 5)
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AMY ON SUNSET, page 3
Steve’s Hair & Wigs restores confidence in cancer patients BY LEE STEPHENS
A
strid Nicastri sits patiently awaiting the return of her freshly cleaned wig to her nearly naked scalp. A scar about three inches in size hugs the base of her neck, a constant reminder of the disease she has struggled with since age 12 and (See details on page 7)
on Sunset
a constant reminder of her triumph over it. Nicastri, a three-time cancer survivor, has been a client of Steve’s Hair and Wigs in South Miami for four years. Owner, Steve Berman, got his start with hair at age 14, sweeping the floors of his parents’ Forest Hills, New York salon. He went on to own a string of salons in New
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WIGS, page 7
Steve Berman offers the latest styles, cuts and colors in wigs at Steve’s Wigs & Hair, located on 62nd Ave in South Miami.