April is Autism Awareness Month, and it is also Autism Acceptance month, a message shared in recent years to include those in society who are diagnosed with the neurological condition.      The HDS Foundation in Miami Lakes provides school-based programs to students with diverse abilities so that they may become self-sufficient and attend school or vocational training.      Its home in...

     Say hello to Champan, called Boujee by his friends.      He is a 1-year-old Maltese who shares his Miami Lakes home with Mari Carrandi and fellow pup Valentino, 9, a Maltese-Bichon Frise mix.      “He’s really brought us much happiness,” Carrandi said. “He is a lovable terror!”       Boujee “loves” Valentino, she...

     Janaysa Dorcin, 18, from North Miami Beach is a 12th grader at American Senior High School and is its valedictorian.       She is to attend Harvard University in the fall, her college and career advisor Martha Subias-Porro says.      Janaysa is class president and studied in the Cambridge program. She is also enrolled at Miami Dade College, from which she hopes to obtain an...

    The 7th Annual Cars for a Cure auto show drew crowds of onlookers to see more than 200 classic vehicles displayed April 2 along the streets of downtown Miami Lakes, the non-profit organization said. It was all for a good cause, to benefit research at University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.  The fundraiser is a passion of the Alonso family, whose patriarch Roberto Alonso, Sr. was the town’s first...

     Members of Barbara Goleman Senior High School and its National Honor Society and the charitable organization Giving Gators present a $3,000 check on March 14 to benefit children who live in unstable housing and are educated through Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ Project UP-START program. The funds were raised at the National Honor Society’s color run, Giving Gators said.      Shown in the...