Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart has called for justice and freedom for Cuban protestors on the fifth anniversary of a protest against the Castro regime.      Rep. Díaz-Balart, whose District 26 includes Miami Lakes, spoke out on the anniversary of what have come to be called the J11 protests. The pro-democracy protests, which that took place in Cuba on July 11, 2021, were met with a swift crackdown from the Cuban...

ater-efficient irrigation helps conserve water and also lowers bills.      That’s the message the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department is getting out there in July, which is Smart Irrigation Month.      To help residents do things such as lawn watering as efficiently, the county offers free irrigations through its Landscape Irrigation Rebate Program. Qualified single-family homeowners can earn annual...

   The Town of Miami Lakes is kicking off Parks and Recreation Month with a new play surface at the playground in Veterans Park.      The department unveiled a new, bright teal surface on June 11. Work on the park began June 2 and was completed June 8. The money for the $75,000 project came from the town’s midyear carry-forward.      The improvement is the latest in a series for the park. In...

The Miami Lakes Town Council voted four to three to begin the negotiations for Town Manager Edward Pidermann’s contract. Mayor Josh Dieguez broke the 3-3 tie in favor of negotiations. At the July 21 council meeting, Dieguez presented the item to retain Pidermann for two years under a new contract. “My item is not a clean approval, obviously there is a negotiating stage … ,” Dieguez said. “They would need...

As the Miami-Dade County Clerk of the Court and Comptroller, Juan Fernandez-Barquin wears plenty of hats.      He oversees jury duty and traffic tickets, acts as clerk for the county commission and and works with real estate attorneys to keep a record of the deeds, mortgages, judgements and other documents.      “You want one individual or one office in each county to handle all these deeds if you...