The Board of Miami-Dade County Public Schools recognized the Civic Engagement Academy at Bob Graham Education Center on Dec. 15.     Calling the academy a “precious asset” to the board’s focus on civic education, it was praised for its outstanding performance. The academy was founded in 2012 by former U.S. Sen. and Fla. Gov. Bob Graham, for whom the school is named.    ...

The Farmer’s Carry is a full-body movement with weights. 1.  You will use just about every muscle to perform this exercise. 2.  Grasp a pair of dumbbells or Kettlebells or any heavy object that you can carry. Hold one in each hand. 3.  Stand tall with good “military posture,” in other words keep your entire body rigid and tight.  4.  Begin by bringing one knee up to where the leg forms a...

  Ruby, the one-year-old white Standard Poodle on the left, and Ryder, 2, the Standard Poodle/Australian Shepherd at her side, live with the Alvarez-Borrell family on the west side of Miami Lakes.     “Ruby is still just a puppy,” Katherine Alvarez said. “She runs around and loves to play with her toys.”      Ryder is Ruby’s opposite: “He is the lazy one, and loves to be...

Ashley Pineda, Miami Lakes, Barista, Starbucks         “I think my New Year’s resolution is to discover more about myself, to be able to find out what I want to accomplish in this world,” Ashley Pineda said.  “I just graduated high school. I took a semester off from college mainly because I wanted to make sure that what I majored in was something I was passionate about and...

      Miami Lakes resident Apolo Lagarde V, 18, is shown above being pinned by his mother Martha Lagarde during his Eagle Scout ceremony in December as his father, Apolo Lagarde IV, stands with him at the Mary Collins Community Center.       Lagarde received the rank after completing his Eagle Project, which focused on the restoration of Florida’s coral reef.       Because of...