News & Notes

December 2019

Story of the Month

Was there any news media in America that did not carry the story of Bruce Bagley, the UM professor who wrote a book on organized crime and was then arrested for laundering some $2.5 million? From the mighty New York Times to the lowly barstoolsports.com, the story went viral. It was just too perfectly ironic. Our favorite header was the Bloomberg tag line “Professor’s Expertise on Crime Didn’t Help Him Duck Charges…” And amazing how quick his Wikipedia page was updated (“In November 2019, he was charged with money laundering.”) In case you want to order a copy, the book he co-authored is “Drug Trafficking, Organized Crime and Violence in the Americas Today.”

Cutting Edge

Not all the UM news that made national headlines was bad, however. A few major media picked up the story that the University of Miami will be the first college campus in the U.S. to adopt AT&T’s 5G+ and Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) technology. What that means, points out Yahoo Finance, is that students will be able to use their Magic Leap One headsets to see and interact with virtual objects in the space around them. Magic Leap, for those behind the curve, is a South Florida high-tech company started by a UM grad who donated his company’s virtual reality headsets for UM students to test. So far they claim 30 applications.

The Other Merrick House

The Merrick House on Coral Way is a city landmark. But the city’s father, George E. Merrick, wasn’t about to stay home after he married Eunice Peacock. For her he built a 3,320 square-foot coral rock cottage down the street, at 937 Coral Way, in 1916. The couple lived there for seven years before moving to 832 S. Greenway. The coral cottage is now for sale for $1.85 million.

Elle’s Splash

Speaking of famous houses, you can now add to the list the Gables Estate’s home of supermodel Elle Macpherson. The interior of her art-filled manse is featured in the December issue of Architectural Digest. The People Magazine article that broke the news, however, kept calling it her “Mansion in Miami.” Sorry guys, the 9,000 square-foot home she bought last year for $8.1 million – two acres with lemon and orange trees and an in-ground saltwater pool – is strictly Gables.

Marble Madness

And speaking of national stories about homes in Gables Estates, the New Haven Register ran one about the home of the Fiorenza family, which built their 13,216 square-foot home using $3 million worth of marble from a quarry in Mexico. The house is now on the market for $25 million.

Mas Moves Forward

Back in the real world, a Miami-Dade County Circuit Court judge has ruled that the lawsuit filed by former banker Raul Mas Canosa, alleging the city violated his rights as a resident to privacy, can go forward. The lawsuit, filed on his behalf by the New Civil Liberties Alliance, says that the license plate readers along the city’s borders violate state privacy laws and the U.S. Constitution. The city had asked the judge to throw out the suit.

A Safer Place?

One of the reasons the city has license plate readers, which photographs cars that enter and leave the city, is to reduce crime. While they may not be the only reason, the latest stats show that the Gables remains a low-crime city. According to a recent four-year study by Gun Violence Archive data, when it comes to per-capita gun violence turning fatal, West Palm ranked ninth nationwide, with Miami and Homestead coming in at 74 and 75. Coral Gables was No. 553.

Taste Test

And as long as we are talking about rankings, just noting here that our very own Bachour restaurant and pastry master was voted by Esquire Magazine as the Pastry Chef of the Year, while Clutch Burger came in at No. 6 for the country’s best burger in a national Yelp review.

Kudos to Withers

As a dog friendly publication (see cover story) we want to give a shout out to former Coral Gables City Commissioner Chip Withers, who supplied much needed pro bono transportation to help bring supplies to homeless dogs in the Bahamas. Two pallets of supplies had been gathered by Miami Pet Concierge in Miami and needed to be delivered to the Tropix Express warehouse in Fort Lauderdale. Withers’ firm, Withers Worldwide Transportation Systems, rose to the occasion in October, supplying truck, workers, and a pallet jack, all gratis. Wag those tails!