Classified....................................5B-6B Community Events...........................4B The Donoway Center.......................3B Elite Auction.....................................5A
Hallandale Beach.............................4A Health.........................................1B-3B Hollywood..................................6A-7A Lifestyle............................................4B
F E B R U A RY 2 7 , 2 0 2 0 • 1 4 PA G E S • V O L U M E 1 7 • I S S U E 2 2
AVENTURA • BAL HARBOUR • DANIA BEACH • HALLANDALE BEACH • HOLLYWOOD • NORTH MIAMI BEACH • PEMBROKE PINES • PEMBROKE PARK • SURFSIDE • SUNNY ISLES BEACH
Sunny Isles Beach Police Serving the Community
Art and Culture Center/ Hollywood
By George “Bud” Scholl, Mayor Sunny Isles Beach (sibfl.net)
Every day I am reminded why I live in this beautiful city. The weather, views and activities are all driving factors, but the safety of the City of Sunny Isles Beach is unparalleled. Our police department serves the community around the clock and it is no surprise that the city is regarded as one of the safest municipalities in Miami-Dade County. In 2018, our total crime index was 336, down 8 percent from 2017. And out of the 336 crimes committed, 89.9 percent were nonviolent property crimes. The department’s clearance rate, the rate at which a crime is solved, is 29.8, which means we are in the top tier of clearance rates compared to the rest of the county. Led by Chief Dwight Snyder, our police department is composed of 56 sworn officers, 13 non-sworn personnel and 37 lifeguards, all committed to the safety and well-being of the Sunny Isles Beach community. Trained at the highest caliber, our officers assume the responsibility of protecting the city above all. I’m sure you have seen our officers patrolling the streets or at our city events, but they are also active in our community in a multitude of additional capacities. Community, Page 7A
Open Dialogues: Stories From the LGBTQ Community By Michael Rideman
We can all be cut by one knife. Life swings in the balance of acceptance and nonacceptance. Some people are a cut above, some are not. Some people live to tell their story and some die. Some of these strong and tormented individuals tell their stories at The Art and Culture Center/Hollywood current exhibit, Open Dialogues: Stories From the LGBTQ Community. The 7 persons interviewed in the video exhibit at the Arts and Culture Center of Hollywood are a cut above for coming out and telling us their mutually relatable personal stories. The brave 7 interviewed in the Open Dialogs video Documentary were, Christine Walters, Dan Bassett, Franchesca D’Amour, Gary Keating, Julie Marie Wade, Michael Goodman, and Omar
Morales. Dan Bassett’s story speaks loudly. Yes it hurt, It’s still a stabbing pain. Yes, it still hurts to even think about what my dad said to me that night in my childhood bedroom as I went to hug and kiss my daddy good night. My father said to me,”You’re to old to kiss me good night son. No more kissing.” The hurt Dan speaks about stemming from his childhood relationship, a defining moment between Dan and his father is a common pain staking LBGTQ thread. This hurt is also a painful societal thread. It is a deep emotional wound. Dan Bassett, spoke while he sat in a solitary chair. In a vacant atmosphere interview room, Dan Bassett sat telling his story. His story is also our story. In some way, we all share in Dan’s life’s painful struggles. On a different day, alone, in the same exhibit gallery, I sat on
a solitary bench. I watched the 7 Open Dialogs, soul’s haunting interviews bravely crying out. I watched alone, but not in vain. I’m a reporter, remember? A solitude of likeminded provocative heart wrenching art surrounded me while I watched Dan Bassett tell his story about his life and the story of his father rejecting his Innocent childhood affection. Dan articulately memorializes his jabbing story of this emotional knife piercing his childhood. Dan Bassett is not unlike any of us. I met and interviewed Leo Sarmiento (The Arts and Culture Center of Hollywood Communications and Partnerships Director) in person at the Arts and Culture Center the same day that I watched Dan Bassett being interviewed in the video Documentary. Dan Bassett and Leo Sarmiento don’t even know each other, but somehow their stories touch each other.
Their stories touch all of us. It was touching for me to hear Leo Sarmiento’s story also. Leo told me his story while he was touring me through the Art and Culture Center’s carefully themed exhibition galleries. The center’s Curator, Meagan Kent told me that Curators theme artists exhibits to hammer home the distinctive interactive and longitudes and latitudes, if you will, of their subjects universal messages. Yes it hurt. It still hurts. It hurts even now resounded from Leo Sarmiento when he unexpectedly spoke of his personal story about his older brother stopping him from greeting him home from a trip with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Leo Sarmiento is the Arts and Culture Center Director of Development. Leo-dad of 13 year old Ella, spoke of one of his LGBTQ, Page 6A
From MMA Fights To Real Estate Dreams When you are buying a home, it is often the biggest purchase that you will ever make - and for that reason - Karla GuadamuzDavis is someone that you want on your side. As a former south Florida Journalist who has built up positive contacts and a network that continues to grow, GuadamuzDavis understands what we are all dealing with when making that purchase. This full-time professional Broker and single mother of a young daughter, has accomplished so much - and has now channeled her energies into I Love Mi Casa Realty, LLC in Hallandale Beach. While her many clients and co-workers see someone every day who brings an “A” game to the office and wants to succeed in everything she does, this 47year-old is an example of going after something and embracing it.
22nd Annual Artfest In The Pines, 7A
Karla Guadamuz-Davis, founder of I Love Mi Casa Realty, is setting standards as she and her late husband, Howard Davis Jr., did in the MMA cage. Born and raised in Miami, Karla’s parents came from Nicaragua in search of achieving the American dream! In 1995, she graduated from the
University of Miami with a degree in Communications and Political Science. She then became a successful Journalist as an Assignment Editor, Producer and
Acquiring Pure Joy, 4B
Reporter at south Florida television networks for 15-years. “I learned this work ethic from both of my parents and it’s something that I have continued
to live by,” Karla explained. “My mom came here and cleaned houses, my dad worked at restaurants and I saw this all unfold and that inspired me to be the very best I can.” Work ethic is indeed something that many miss out on, but for Karla, who saw her mother sell sandwiches out of a lunch wagon and then become a Nurse after going to night school for years; it was just the motivation and character-building that has been a trademark in her professional life. “When you see people that you love and care about so much, working their fingers to the bone to make a better life, those are the things that stick with you and have for many years,” Karla pointed out. “For me, graduating from college and working in the media really shaped me for the future.” Dreams, Page 5B
Kodner Galleries Antiques and Much More, 2A