Are we a third through this year already? Does anybody else think it’s going
much faster than ever?
Maybe it’s because there is always so much going on.
This week’s Cortadito Calendar seems a little thin, though. I guess people are still pooped from last week, which was a little busier. Or are we saving our strength for next week? Or did Ladra miss something?
If you’re event is not here, you only have yourself (or some lackey) to blame. As always, please keep sending information about your government meetings, candidate forums and political powwows to edevalle@gmail.com and they’ll keep appearing in the Cortadito Calendar.
TUESDAY — March 28
8:30 a.m. — Just in time for the Miami Beach election season! The Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club is back.
Or at least one version of it is (another version is announced for April 11). This version seems more legit if only because it is not tied in multiple ways to a big controversial developer. Tuesday’s breakfast is being moderated by none other than former Mayor Matti Bower. The speaker will be commission candidate Joshua Levy, who is running for one of the open seats. Ladra wants to thank Puerto Sagua Restaurant, 700 Collins Ave., for stepping up to the plate as the new venue for this and subsequent meetings. I recommend la tortilla de platanos maduros.
9 a.m. — It’s gonna be a little awkward at the Coral Gables Commission meeting Tuesday, the first one since every one of Commissioner Jeannett Slesnick‘s colleagues endorsed former mayor Raul Valdes-Fauli in next month’s election. But they’re going to have to grin and bear it as the talk about major changes proposed, once again, for The Plaza project (aka Agave, aka Mediterranean Village, aka Old Spanish Village). They’re also going to talk about opening Giralda Plaza to vehicular traffic. They’ll also consider “piggy backing” off a contract in Aurora, Illinois, for $1.4 million in red light cameras and the corresponding programming. Why Coral Gables would piggyback off a city 1,418 miles away? They will also vote on moving $3.9 million from the “capital improvement fund balance” to the trolley depot/fire station project. And much, much more. See agenda here.
7 p.m. — Donald Trump’s power goes beyond the White House. Everyone is talking about “fake news.” Even the Miami Young Republicans. They are dubbing their meeting Tuesday night “News + Spin: A discussion with the media.” The speakers are Politico’s Marc Caputo, The Miami Herald’s Patricia Mazzei and CBS4’s Jim DeFede (Caputo and DeFede — well, Ladra, too — also once worked at Ma Herald, which shows what a magical place it once was). The “lively debate,” which Ladra suspects will be between the baby Goppers and the top three political journalists in South Florida and not between my esteemed colleagues themselves. It’ll be at CubaOcho Museum and Performing Arts Center, which is a fabulous Little Havana space to go anytime, 1465 SW 8th St. Meet Ladra at Ball & Chain after for a drink.
WEDNESDAY — March 29
6 p.m. — Former Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Gongora has a lot of collegial support. Former Mayor Matti Bower and at least four former commissioners and one current one (Kristen Rosen Gonzalez) are hosting a fundraiser for Gongora’s campaign to get back on the dais. He is running for an open commission seat. The host committee includes former commissioners Ed Tobin, Deede Weithorn, Jorge Exposito and Saul Gross as well as several known longtime activists and preservationists. The shindig is from 6 to 8 p.m. at Poseidon Greek Restaurant, 1131 Washington Ave. And tell him Happy Birthday if you make it.
THURSDAY — March 30
7:30 p.m. — The second of two Coral Gables candidate forums and likely the last official debates before the April 11 
election begins at 7:30 p.m. at Coral Gables Congregational Church, 3010 DeSoto Blvd. Ladra apologizes if anyone went last week. The first hour will go to the two candidates running for commission in Group 3, incumbent Pat Keon and former Commissioner Wayne Withers. The second hour will be for the mayoral debate between Commissioner Jeannett Slesnick and former Mayor Raul Valdes-Fauli (incumbent Mayor Jim Cason has decided not to run again, for real this time). This is where many Coral Gables voters make up their minds and the place fills up rather quickly. Doors open at 6:30 but get there earlier if you want a seat up front. Maybe someone can ask Valdes-Fauli about his disengenuous and negative campaigning.
FRIDAY — March 31
3 p.m. — Miami-Dade Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava will meet with the mayors of the South Dade cities — Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay, Homestead and Florida City — to discuss South Dade issues. Hopefully that includes any movement on the SMART plan’s south corridor of light rail, not high-speed buses. Since Commissioner Dennis Moss may drop by, the meeting has to be held in the sunshine and is open to the public at the Cutler Bay Town Center, 10720 Caribbean Blvd.
The Cortadito Calendar says goodbye to March added by Ladra on
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