Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid and Councilman Luis Collazo retained their offices without going through an election after no other candidates qualified to run against them.Cid and Collazo will each serve another four-year term.Councilwoman Marilyn Ruano wasn’t so lucky.Political newcomer Raymond Garcia, 48, an insurance manager and member of the Miami Lakes Neighborhood Improvement Committee, filed papers to run for Seat 3, three months before...

A love for children fueled Celia Cabrera’s career in education for more than three decades.     Her former colleagues at Monsignor Edward Pace High School in Miami Gardens say she was an inspiration to its community.     Celia “Celita” Cabrera, Ph.D, 75, taught Spanish at Pace for 34 years and was chair of the foreign language department when she retired in June.     “Dr. Cabrera, or Celita as she is known by all, has been a beacon of love,...

The town’s culture of compassion and charity continues Aug. 15 during the Mayor’s Back to School Drive-thru held at Miami Lakes Town Hall.  More than 300 brightly colored backpacks filled with a variety of school supplies -- which included masks; hand sanitizer; computer flash drives and headphones with microphones for use during online classes -- were prepared for students in need, said Daylin Garcia of the Giving Gators charity, one of the...

Miami Lakes is among 34 municipalities that have asked Miami-Dade County to share federal aid to pay unexpected expenses related to the coronavirus pandemic.The town submitted a $6.4 million list of expenses, forecasted costs and proposed projects on Aug. 3 and updated it on Aug. 11.The town spent $144,977 from March 1 – June 30 for police overtime to enforce government orders and staff a testing site and ongoing food distribution events.It...

Architect Antonio J. “Tony” Verde was 80 when he died on July 25. Born in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, Verde immigrated to the United States in 1962. He lived in New Jersey, Puerto Rico and Hialeah before building a home in Lake Elizabeth in Miami Lakes in 1988. “He loved Miami Lakes, the hometown feel,” said one of Verde’s sons, Frank Verde. Tony Verde and his wife Margarita, 78, exercised daily in Picnic Park West and were...