Talk of the Town: Phishing with a Poll, A Year at The Biltmore: By the Numbers, and More
A New Look at What We Need
“WE ARE HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR DONORS AND FUNDRAISERS TO ASSESS SOME OF THESE NEEDS AND PROVIDE PHILANTHROPIC DOLLARS…”
The Coral Gables Community Foundation is well known for its philanthropic endeavors, supporting the arts and providing scholarships for underprivileged students. So, it was something of a surprise when, in its recently completed Community Needs Assessment survey, those issues did not top the list.
In a study that began last summer, the Foundation – in conjunction with Dr. Scott Evans at the University of Miami’s Community and Educational Well-Being Research Center – took the pulse of the city via nine focus groups and just under a thousand individual responses. The results “reaffirm what we hear from people who are working to improve the city,” says Mary Snow, the president and CEO of the Foundation.
According to the survey, the top community priorities and needs are:
HOUSING AFFORDABILITY (38%):
CONCERN ABOUT LACK OF WORKFORCE HOUSING
LOCAL GOVERNMENT (36%):
CONCERN WITH CIVILITY AND TRANSPARENCY
BICYCLE SAFETY AND INFRASTRUCTURE (24%):
THE NEED FOR SAFE BIKE LANES
CLIMATE RESILIENCE (21%):
CONCERNS OVER FLOODING, HEAT, AND STORM READINESS
PUBLIC EDUCATION (15%):
TO IMPROVE SCHOOL RESOURCES AND ARTS PROGRAMMING
Snow says the foundation will continue to support education, culture, and the arts, but will make the new priorities part of their future planning. “We are having conversations with our donors and fundraisers to assess some of these needs and provide philanthropic dollars,” she says.
The biggest challenge will be affordable housing, for which “there is no magic wand” but is an issue that “we can bring to the forefront.” Civility in local government will require a more tolerant attitude and unbiased reporting, she says, while improvements in bike safety and climate issues are already underway. As for education, this year the Foundation expects to grant more than $2.5 million in scholarships. – J.P. Faber
Commissioner Cabrera Named Ambassador to Panama
COMMISSIONER, NAMED AMBASSADOR TO PANAMA
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera, who led President Donald J. Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign in Florida as State Director, has been nominated as the United States’ ambassador to Panama, Trump announced in a Truth Social post on Christmas Day. “Kevin is a fierce fighter for America First principles,” Trump wrote. “Few understand Latin American politics as well as Kevin – He will do a FANTASTIC job representing our Nation’s interests in Panama!” Trump endorsed Cabrera’s candidacy in 2022 in his election as Miami-Dade County’s Commissioner of District 6, which represents parts of Coral Gables as well as Hialeah, West Miami, Virginia Gardens, Miami Springs, and other unincorporated Miami neighborhoods. As commissioner, Cabrera has served as the vice chairman of the International Trade Consortium and was instrumental in pushing forward upgrades for Miami International Airport. In November 2023, he was also elected to become a Republican State Committeeman with over 70 percent support.
Cabrera’s political career kicked off in 2014, when he served mas a field director for former U.S. representative Carlos Curbelo’s successful congressional campaign. Cabrera has also worked as a councilman for West Kendall’s Community Council and a field director for the LIBRE Initiative. He is a Miami native born to Cuban exiles, and attended South Miami Senior High School and Miami Dade College before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Florida International University. His nomination as ambassador to Panama awaits confirmation by the U.S. Senate but should face no hurdles. – Luke Chaney
Phishing with a Poll
Last month, many Coral Gables residents received an email from one “Eddy Diaz” of People Count USA, a supposed research and polling firm that doesn’t seem to actually exist. The link to its website goes to an error page, though the domain doesn’t expire until August of this year. The poll itself was full of leading questions asking how residents felt about things like “Miami-style politics being employed by [Mayor] Vince Lago trying to divide the city in order to return to special interest control of the city.”
Another described the hiring of former city manager Amos Rojas, Jr. as the “appointment of City Manager with over 29 years of senior government leadership experience, without impacts to city services” despite Rojas’ lack of any municipal, financial, or engineering experience. Particularly egregious was a question which asked whether a City Manager should be removed for refusal to “complete resident projects assigned by the City Commission,” a thinly veiled justification for Commissioners Ariel Fernandez, Melissa Castro, and Kirk Menendez’s firing of Peter Iglesias, despite his completion of the Streetscape project and the Public Safety Building under budget and on time.
Even more worrying was the fact that the “poll” was allegedly tracking residents’ data instead of only collecting it anonymously, as political polls are supposed to do. How this data may be used is unclear, though according to political newsletter Aesop’s Gables, at least three residents who took the poll and answered “incorrectly” – i.e. not in support of Commissioner Kirk Menendez, who is now running a campaign against current mayor Vince Lago – were visited by Menendez volunteers within two days of taking the survey. “These volunteers allegedly arrived armed with knowledge of how these women answered the survey,” the Aesop’s Gables newsletter claims. After Aesop’s published its findings, the phishing poll mysteriously vanished. – Kylie Wang
A Year at The Biltmore: By the Numbers
As we welcome 2025, the Biltmore Hotel reflects on a year marked by milestones that highlight its role as a cornerstone of Coral Gables. From hosting over 100 weddings to welcoming more than 55,000 guests to its Fourth of July celebration, 2024 was a year filled with memorable moments.
The hotel’s culinary success stood out, with 21,369 pastries, 47,304 gourmet coffees, and 59,232 cookies enjoyed at its Posto Dolce cafe. Sunday brunch continued to be a favorite, with 17,926 guests savoring 506 kilos of caviar and 5,200 pounds of Alaskan king crab. Afternoon tea also attracted 5,044 guests, solidifying its place as a timeless tradition.
Beyond the dining stats, the Biltmore’s amenities stayed busy. Golfers played 48,000 rounds on the historic Donald Ross course, while the spa provided 18,159 services, offering guests a luxurious escape. The hotel’s event spaces also saw significant use, hosting over 40,000 meeting attendees throughout the year. Meanwhile, 200 new members joined the Fitness & Wellness Club.
From champagne bottles popped – 11,829 to be exact – to the many guests who walked through its doors, the Biltmore’s numbers prove one thing: no one does cookies, caviar, and celebrations quite like Coral Gables’ favorite landmark (just ask the more than 100 couples who were married there last year!) – Amanda Martell
State of the Arts
At the annual State of the Arts panel this year, cultural leaders came together to discuss not only the current state of the arts in Coral Gables, but also what can be done in the future. The panel was moderated by Coral Gables Community Foundation CEO Mary Snow and included: Books & Books Founder Mitchell Kaplan, Coral Gables Art Cinema Programming Director Brenda Moe, Coral Gables Museum Executive Director Elvis Fuentes, Actors’ Playhouse Executive Producing Director Barbara Stein, the City of Coral Gables’ Director of Historical Resources and Cultural Arts Anna Pernas, philanthropist Ray Corral, Sanctuary of the Arts Principal Managing Director Rafi Maldonado, former President and CEO of the Broward Center for the Performing Arts Kelley Shanley, Mayor Vince Lago, Chamber of Commerce CEO Mark A. Trowbridge, and Carolyn Donaldson of the Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Coconut Grove.
Each cultural leader discussed what was going on at their own institutions and highlighted some of their achievements from the last year. Of particular focus was getting younger people more involved in the arts, increasing city grants funding to support cultural programs (especially considering Gov. DeSantis’ cuts to arts funding statewide), the role of public art in attracting visitors to the Gables, and connecting art leaders and events to broader community goals.
Several of the speakers, including Maldonado, emphasized the economic impact of arts for the community, with Corral calling for more funding for the arts from the private sector. In that regard, guest speaker Kelley Shanley spoke particularly about his work with the Florida Chamber of Commerce’s “Six Pillars” economic development plan, where his team “put the arts into the context of that plan and showed that, for three different pillars, the arts are making significant contribution to building a better community and… being connected to goals that made the community better.” He also talked about the educational benefits of the arts, focusing on third-grade reading scores (considered a primary indicator of a student’s trajectory into adulthood) and the work that has been done to improve those. – Kylie Wang