Before the Festival of Lights and during the annual event presented by The Graham Companies and Main Street Merchants, the businesses partnered with the Giving Gators charity and the Neighbors 4 Neighbors organizations to collect toys for kids who may not have something to enjoy this Christmas.   Many festivalgoers donated toys, as did employees of The Graham Companies. Organizers picked up the gifts from the lobby of The...

First Origin Mortgage Lenders celebrated the opening of their new office at 14100 Palmetto Frontage Road on Oct. 25 with a ribbon cutting. The two-decades old business is growing and needed a larger space. President and Chief Executive Officer Ray Palacios and Vice President of Operations Yaimet Palacios, who are married, were joined by employees, friends and relatives.       “We could not have gotten to where we...

Barbara Goleman Senior High School students watch a police dog search for contraband in suitcases, among the 1,000 attendees at a Law Magnet Fair on Nov. 6.  Personnel from different agencies -- firefighters, police motorcycle and helicopter units and drug enforcement forensic investigators among them -- performed demonstrations and introduced students to different careers they could pursue.  Photo: Ana Soto-Gonzalez, social...

Thanksgiving is a special time of year for one Miami Lakes family, and not just because it’s a national holiday. It’s also the time, 15 years ago, that Juan Chaparro found an injured stray kitten in the Graham Dairy Lake neighborhood. Though she was skittish, Chaparro said he was able to catch the mewing black kitty.  He and his wife Carol Ann Steele got the feline’s ailments fixed at the vet and brought her home...

Installing holiday-themed inflatable characters have been a thing for a while now. The folks who live around Lake Martha have upped their game each Christmas season and dedicate each block to a specific character, such as polar bears, Santas and gingerbread figures.       This year, nearly 90 residents in the Loch Ness neighborhood got into the act by putting up giant dinosaurs that resemble Nessie, the mythological...