On Wednesday, April 16, Mater Gardens Academy held an award ceremony in honor of the students who placed in their classroom spelling bee competitions, as well as the students who moved on to compete against other schools. The spelling bee competitions begin at the classroom level. Students compete against classmates for first, second and third place. These finalists then move on to compete against other classrooms in their grade level...

  Coaches and parents of the South Florida Sluggers, a 12-Under AAA baseball team with many players from Miami Lakes, are looking for community support to send the team to tournaments in Gainesville and the Bahamas this summer and fall. The team began playing together four years ago under the direction of Regino Rodriguez, Robert Arroyo and Abnell Melendez, a trio of fathers who love the game and love their players. It’s their...

  The only disappointment in David Michael Sirois' play Secrets of the La Croix is the wasted cranberry sauce that litters the floor in a Thanksgiving food fight amid unraveling secrets and sibling rivalry. Secrets of the La Croix, which runs one more weekend at the Main Street Playouse, perfectly portrays the tension and dysfunction of families during the holiday season, and every other season between. Playwright and director, Sirois...

  Miami-Dade County Commissioner Esteban L. Bovo Jr. is the guest speaker for the Miami Lakes Chamber of Commerce membership luncheon, where he will discuss events and programs for District 13 residents and business owners and the state of the county, as Miami-Dade is preparing to balance a difficult budget for the next fiscal year. The event is scheduled for 11:30 a.m., Wednesday, May 7, at Don Shula’s Hotel. County Mayor Carlos...

  Anthony Alfonso, president and CEO of Nutri-Force Nutrition, has received the 2014 Top Minority Business Award in the Executive of the Year category from the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. The Miami Lakes-based business is a cGMP leader in the contract manufacturing, private labeling and branding of nutraceuticals, vitamins, and nutritional supplements. “It is an honor to be named Executive of the Year and be recognized...