Coral Gables in the Headlines

March 2020

Musical Nominations

The Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre has received eight Carbonell Award nominations, six for “Memphis” and two for “Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash.” The Carbonell awards go to the best theater productions in South Florida. This year’s 2020 award winners will be announced April 6.

Finally, a Fourth Fire Station

After more than a year of wrangling over location, the City Commission has voted to purchase a property located at 1325 Sunset for a fourth fire station. The Fire Department has long identified the need for a station between Fire Station #2 (Riviera Drive and U.S. 1) and Fire Station #3 (on Old Cutler at Red Road) to improve response times to central areas of the city. In order to assuage neighborhood concerns, the new fire station is designed to resemble a single-family home and will include an adjacent park on the north side of the property along San Ignacio Avenue. A previous attempt to locate Fire Station #4 on Old Cutler at Cartegena Plaza in 2018 was voted down by the city commission after objections by neighbors and because of the $4 million price tag for the property. The land on Sunset, a parking lot located between the Cocoplum Women’s Club and the Riviera Presbyterian Church, is being sold by the church for $2.1 million. The purchase is contingent on receiving a state grant of $1.5 million.

Engineering Kudos

Coral Gables City Manager Peter J. Iglesias has been named the 2020 Engineer of the Year by the Association of Cuban-American Engineers. Iglesias is responsible for day-to-day management of the City, but with a background in building and engineering his priority since assuming office has been to rebuild the city’s infrastructure, including the new headquarters for police, fire and emergency personnel.

Flatten Those Boxes

After a year-long education campaign, the city’s ordinance to flatten cardboard boxes for disposal in (or next to) recycling bins goes into effect this month. Citizens who toss empty boxes on their swales or in trash pits can face fines of up to $500.

Save Those Reefs

The City of Coral Gables, which in late January declared a climate emergency, spent the month of February bringing attention to the plight of endangered reefs. Championed by Vice Mayor Vince Lago, the city proposed renaming itself as “Super Coral Gables” for the month, in support of the #SuperCoralPlay challenge for cities to limit their carbon footprint in order to protect coral reefs. City Hall was lit for the month with coral colors to support the campaign.

TV to the Rescue

The Coral Gables Fire Department is now the first fire rescue agency in Miami-Dade County to have telemedicine capacity in their rescue units. Emergency personnel will be able to communicate directly with emergency physicians from Baptist Health Systems and UM Health hospitals, via a secured video system, while dealing with critically ill patients in the field.