Talk of the Town: Coral Gables Community News and Updates

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Tower Power

PASTOR LAURIE’S ANNUAL HUNGER VIGIL PAYS OFF

For most Coral Gables residents, the bell tower at the Coral Gables Congregational United Church of Christ is a familiar sight, an elegant vertical landmark standing quietly across from the Biltmore Hotel. Each January, however, it takes on a more urgent role. That’s when senior pastor Reverend Dr. Laurinda Hafner – aka Pastor Laurie – climbs its more than 100 winding steps for her annual hunger vigil: fasting until the community meets the church’s food collection goal to support families facing food insecurity across South Florida.

Now in its 19th year, the vigil began shortly after Pastor Laurie arrived from Cleveland and was struck by the level of hunger in Miami-Dade County. “We needed to figure out a fun but meaningful way to raise food for those who were hungry,” she says. The first year, she aimed for two tons and remained in the tower for almost 10 hours. This year, she came down on January 17 after just four hours, once donations surpassed the goal of 20,982 pounds of food. “We were going for 12,000, but [the parishioners] just blew it out of the water,” she says. “We are going to feed a whole lot of families these next few months.”

Much of the food supports the church’s own food pantry, which serves residents weekly. Donations will also help stock shelves at Mujere in Homestead, a nonprofit supporting migrant and low-income women and children affected by domestic violence. From the tower, Pastor Laurie says she looks out over “a gorgeous, stunning city,” but is mindful that many residents are “one paycheck away from being hungry or homeless.”– Yousra Benkirane

Miami New Times vs. Mayor Lago

A CODE ENFORCEMENT ISSUE GOES VIRAL

Anyone who has followed the ordinances proposed over the years by Mayor Vince Lago knows he is adamant when it comes to the appearance of the city, and the cleanliness of the city’s streets. It came as no surprise then, when at the Jan. 13 Coral Gables City Commission meeting, Mayor Lago put a discussion item on the agenda that referred to “newspaper stands.” In a presentation, he showed photos of Miami New Times’ newspaper boxes, which he called “unsightly” and “outdated.” He then directed city staff to ensure the paper brought the stands up to code. However, what seemed a harmless code enforcement item quickly blew out of proportion. On Jan. 26, New Times published an article that the mayor claimed was retaliatory and “fed to them by a member of [the Coral Gables] Commission.” The article said that video from the Jan. 13 meeting had been edited to remove “parts of the meeting in which [Commissioner Melissa Castro was] speaking.”These only included moments after Lago declared recess, which happened multiple times when he deemed his colleague had gone “out of control.” Castro and fellow Commissioner Ariel Fernandez denounced the video editing as reported in the New Times article, though the removed minutes did not technically show any official proceedings, as the meeting had been suspended.

A day later, Lago used part of the public comment portion of the Jan. 27 Commission meeting to lambast the paper, calling it a “pay for play” publication that would “smear anybody.” He alleged that the publication was trying to intimidate him, and added, “Nobody reads [the New Times]. Nobody cares.”

The paper has pushed back with a series of articles, including one that same day with the juvenile title, “Butthurt Coral Gables Mayor Butthurtedly Denies Being Butthurt” and then another on Feb. 4 in response to a social media PSA video the mayor put out regarding the “broken and neglected newspaper racks.” In that piece, the Times claimed its distribution company “was not aware of any… outstanding issues with our box maintenance in Coral Gables” and that maintenance issues were historically “taken care of.” The mayor says he has spent at least two years trying to force the publication into compliance with ADA and city beautification standards.

The net result: the newsstands, which have looked ratty and beaten up for years, have since been cleaned up and painted. – Kylie Wang

Wild Neighbors

COYOTE SIGHTINGS RAISE CONCERNS IN THE GABLES

A new kind of neighbor has been spotted roaming Coral Gables and it’s causing unease among residents. Multiple sightings of coyotes in recent months, including two captured on video wandering around a backyard pool, have prompted safety concerns in several neighborhoods.
Reports have placed coyotes near Supera Avenue and Alhambra Circle, Panama Avenue and Granada Boulevard, and along Biltmore Drive between Orduna Drive and Riviera Drive. Photos shared on neighborhood apps show the animals moving through residential streets. The City of Coral Gables has issued a public alert advising residents to remain vigilant and is evaluating whether to hire professional wildlife trappers if sightings increase. Residents are being directed to contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to report activity (850.922.1066). The city also reminded the public that feeding coyotes is illegal.

FWC officials say the presence of coyotes in urban areas is not unusual. “We do have them all over Miami,” said the community’s FWC public information officer, George Reynaud, adding that “there is a good possibility” they are in the Gables, as more have also been seen in Pinecrest and other residential neighborhoods. Coyotes are “out at night for the most part” and “usually good at being concealed and out of sight,” with human encounters considered rare. The primary safety concern, Reynaud explains, involves small pets, advising that dogs be kept on short leashes, especially at night. Coyotes tend to gravitate toward areas with brush, vacant lots, or heavy landscaping, and are “generally more fearful of people” than roaming aggressively. For now, officials are urging awareness, not alarm – but many residents are keeping a closer eye on backyard activity after dusk. – Yousra Benkirane

Time To Register

NEXT MONTH: A KEY VOTE FOR THE CITY’S FUTURE

One of the more important votes in the city’s history is coming up next month, in the form of a mail-in ballot that will be sent to all registered voters in the Gables. Among the items that will be on the ballot is whether to change the date of the city’s elections from April to November, in this case moving the next election from April 2027 to this November. Other items on the ballot will be whether to require a vote by the residents prior to changes in compensation for elected officials, whether to require a supermajority Commission vote before the city’s reserve funds can be used (except for emergencies), and whether the city charter should be amended to authorize the use of an Inspector General. We will go into much more detail in the next edition of Coral Gables Magazine; for now, the important thing is to register to vote (if you are un-registered) by March 23. Every voice counts. – J.P.Faber

The Return of Burgerliscious

FOR THE 7TH TIME, PINCHO TAKES TOP HONORS

Last month marked the return of Burgerliscious, the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce’s annual fundraiser and burger competition. The 14th annual event drew more than 1,000 attendees to Alhambra Circle, where 17 restaurants competed for the Best in Bun award, including Kitchen 57, 450 Gradi, Arcano, and Bulla Gastrobar. An impartial panel of judges awarded Best in Bun to PINCHO for its entry, with its jalapeño jam standing out. The award marked the seventh time the Gables-based chain has won either the People’s Choice Award or the Best in Bun judge’s award. The People’s Choice Award this year went to Guayaba Restaurant by Pinecrest Bakery for its Pastelito Burger. The event also featured live music by the Mad World Orchestra, which delivered a high-energy set of alternative ‘80s music near the entrance, where A Day in Miami recorded a podcast with various guests, including Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson and Coral Gables Chamber CEO Jorge L. Arrizurieta. If you missed the event and are dying to try a PINCHO burger, their downtown Gables outlet is at 30 Giralda Ave., in the block just east of Giralda Plaza. – Amanda Martell

Kudos for the City

THE GABLES WINS NATIONAL RECOGNITION

The City of Coral Gables has become the first community in the United States to earn Gold Level recognition through the Communities of Excellence (COE) program — the program’s highest distinction. The recognition reflects six years of measurable, sustained improvement across health and safety, economic vitality, education, and quality of life, determined by a board of independent national examiners. Communities of Excellence is a national nonprofit that helps communities improve quality of life by recognizing and sharing best practices.

The award positions Coral Gables as a national role model for performance excellence – and makes the Gables eligible to pursue the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award under the Community category, the only presidential-level recognition available to U.S. communities. “We are proud of the people, partnerships and systems that continue to deliver meaningful results for residents and businesses,” said Belkys Perez, the director of the city’s Economic Development Department. “What makes this achievement especially meaningful is that it was accomplished by leveraging existing, taxpayer-funded operations — without spending any funds to apply for or achieve the designation.” – J.P. Faber

Gables Estates Mansion Listed for $175M

ATTORNEY JOHN RUIZ GOES FOR THE STRATOSPHERE

In 2020, University of Miami booster John Ruiz purchased a waterfront Gables Estates megamansion for $46 million. In 2026, he’s now attempting to sell that same mansion for a whopping $175 million. At that price tag, the 2.2-acre property at 600-620 Arvida Parkway is the second-most expensive listing in Miami-Dade County and the fifth-most expensive in Florida. The 2017-built estate has 10 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms and two half-baths, a two-bedroom guest house, an eight-car garage, 335-feet of water frontage, and, of course, a pool. It also comes with staff quarters, a dock, gym, spa, salon, wine cellar, speakeasy lounge, and – just in case – a panic room with backup generators. The mansion, designed by famed architect Cesar Molina, was expanded in 2022.

Ruiz is an attorney and the CEO of MSP Recovery (formerly LifeWallet), an insurance claims company that was recently the subject of a three-year SEC investigation. Ultimately, the SEC decided against taking any legal action against the company or Ruiz, who has also invested heavily in Miami’s NIL (name, image, likeness) scene, offering more than $20 million to over 100 college athletes at the University of Miami. Whether Ruiz will snag the nine-digit price he wants for his home remains to be seen, with other homes in the high-end neighborhood going for far less. – Kylie Wang

Move Way Over for Waymo

DRIVERLESS CARS ARE HERE

If you’ve looked over lately at the car next to you in traffic and noticed it had no driver, you’re not hallucinating. Self-driving cars have now come to Coral Gables, in the form of Waymo’s driverless rideshare vehicles. The company – owned by Google’s parent Alphabet Inc.– originally tested the vehicles sans passengers, but now the autonomous vehicles can be used throughout Miami, including in Coral Gables, often for reduced fares compared to other rideshare apps with human drivers. Though Waymo claims its AI-powered vehicles are safer by ten-fold than human-driven cars, some customers have complained about the service, citing safety and traffic concerns in the other cities where it operates, like Austin, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Federal safety investigators are particularly concerned about incidents in Austin, TX, when Waymo vehicles did not slow or stop when near school buses; the company says it has already implemented updates to address this issue.

Waymo currently operates within a 60-square-mile radius in Miami, which includes the Design District, Wynwood, Brickell, Coconut Grove, South Miami, and Coral Gables, but so far does not include Miami International Airport. New riders can download the app and apply to join, with invites coming “on a rolling basis,” according to Waymo, which also said it has nearly 10,000 Miami residents already signed up. It plans to open the service to the general public later this year, as well as expand to a litany of other major U.S. cities. –Kylie Wang

Honoring Cuba’s Poet Liberator

A CEREMONY IN THE GABLES FOR MARTÍ

On the north side of the Coral Gables Woman’s Club on East Ponce de Leon Boulevard is a semi-circle of land called Freedom Plaza. At its center is a striped pyramid with a bust of Jose Martí, the Cuban poet, philosopher, and revolutionary leader who died in 1895 during the struggle to liberate Cuba from Spain; the bronze sculpture was dedicated in 2003. The small park is encircled by six royal palms, each one representing a province of Cuba.

At the end of January, the city commemorated Martí’s birth with a special ceremony at the Plaza, entitled “Cultivo una Rosa Blanca – Celebrating Marti’s Legacy of Peace and Humanity.”The event included a reading of Martí’s renowned poem “Cultivo una Rosa Banca,” with white roses laid at the base of his bust and the laying of a wreath by the mayor, vice mayor and City Commissioner Richard Lara. “It is especially meaningful that we gather here at Freedom Plaza, a place intentionally created to honor liberty, memory, and the enduring ties between Coral Gables and the Cuban people,” said Mayor Lago, who addressed a crowd that included former city mayors and students from the nearby Crystal Academy, who shared artwork and reflections inspired by Martí’s message of peace and friendship. – J.P. Faber

A Boost for Camp Mahachee

THE CORAL GABLES GARDEN CLUB CONTINUES ITS DONATION CAMPAIGN

The Coral Gables Garden Club kicked off the new year with a $5,000 gift to the Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida for the restoration of Camp Mahachee. It’s the Garden Club’s first donation as part of their recent $25,000 commitment ($5,000 per year for five years) to build on the club’s long-standing efforts to preserve and restore South Florida’s native landscape.

Nestled in the Gables on Old Cutler Road, Camp Mahachee was purchased in1945 by the then-named Girl Scouts of Dade County for $3,337 with money raised from cookie sales by Girl Scout troops. The 11.5-acre campgrounds, located across from Matheson Hammock Park and Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, features a lodge, full kitchen, bathhouse, eight cabins, campfire sites, meeting spaces, and a hardwood hammock. The beloved campsite has hosted thousands of Girl Scouts since 1948.

Over the years, this richly landscaped site was overrun with invasive plant species, which blanketed the front area. In 2023, through a grassroots fundraising effort spearheaded by the Coral Gables Garden Club, more than $150,000 was raised from numerous community organizations. As a result, 1.5-acres of vines and collapsed forest were removed and replaced with 1,400 native hardwood trees, planted on site.

“We’re thrilled to help the Girl Scouts with the restoration of Camp Mahachee. It holds a special place in the hearts of many of our members, as they or their daughters camped there as Girl Scouts,” said Bonnie Seipp, president of the Garden Club. – J.P. Faber