Councilmember Marilyn Ruano automatically kept her seat on the Miami Lakes Town Council when no candidate challenged her by the end of last week’s qualifying period for an August special election. Ruano, who was appointed to replace former Councilmember Tony Lama who moved to Seattle, will serve her first full term in political office. Ruano created the Miami Lakes Special Needs Advisory Board and recently sponsored an ordinance...

  Miami Lakes has partnered with the Florida Department of Emergency Management and Everbridge to launch its Emergency Management and mass notification system in the town. The system will enable the Town to reach its residents and visitors effectively in the case of an emergency. It will also help the Town to contact citizens, staff and emergency personnel with the right messages at the right time, integrating the communication flow...

  The new Miami Lakes council should pick the next town manager and the city may hire a professional recruiter to assist a committee tasked with recommending candidates for the job, as council members hope to get someone on board to run the day-to-day operations by January. At their June 5 regular meeting, council members learned that the Miami Lakes Town Manager Selection Committee was proposing suggestions of their own for the...

  Miami-Dade County Commission Chairman Esteban Bovo Jr., the county’s Parks and Recreation Department, and local residents took park in a recent ribbon cutting ceremony to unveil playground improvements at Norman Jean Reach Park, 7895 N.W. 176 Street and Country Lake Park, 19525 N.W. 87 Avenue. Besides the new playground equipment, new trees were planted in the parks and canopies over the playgrounds to protect kids from sun...

  A foreclosed home in Miami Lakes operating as a drug treatment center has heightened the concerns of residents living in the same neighborhood as drug addicts. A group of residents turned to council members for help, as they fear for their lives while recovering substance abuse patients were allegedly prowling around on their properties and searching the cars for money and expensive merchandise. The neighbors also claimed alleged drug...