After three workshops and two late night budget hearings, the Miami Lakes town council raised the millage rate slightly, from 2.0732 to 2.1577, or $2.15.       To get there, they adjusted where revenues went and lowered the general fund spending plan by $1,103,912.      At midnight on Sept. 25, a majority -- Councilmen Juan Carlos Fernandez, Steven Herzberg and Alex Sanchez; Vice Mayor...

     How well do you know your friends and neighbors?      We’re starting a new column called “Who’s that cute baby?” to test readers’ familiarity with their fellow Miami Lakers.      The toddler shown in the photo was about a year old when his picture was taken. He suggested the column and so is our inaugural baby.       This should be an easy...

Residents can now vote for their favorite businesses during the finalist round for the Best of Miami Lakes. Voting for this round is open until Oct. 17, with the winners being announced on Oct. 25. The competition now in its ninth year is run by the town’s Economic Development Committee and spotlights small businesses in the community ahead of Small Business Saturday in November. Small Business Saturday encourages people to...

     Don Bailey Jr., Joe Weber, Rivers Demby and Karyna Cid will be inducted into the Miami Lakes Sports Hall of Fame later this year, after their enshrinements were unanimously approved by the town council on Aug. 19.      They will compose the eighth class in the hall’s history.       Bailey and Demby were selected as community builders, Weber as a coach and Cid as an...

     The Freedom Tower, a Spanish Renaissance-style building in downtown Miami, is a national historic landmark that turns 100 this year.      The 17-story building has been home to two newspapers and from 1962 - 1974, was the site of the Cuban Assistance Center, where thousands of refugees received asylum paperwork, food, health care and money.        “The Freedom Tower, I always...