2020-10-22
Hello Key Biscayne!
Itās been raining all week long and then this newsletter shows up to rain on you a little more.
When your mid-life crisis becomes a financial crisis.
Guy was ok. Here’s the video.
Tiny town talk
Called it Halloween is canceled. Not completely, but all official festivities are off thanks to you-know-what. That said, it doesnāt mean you canāt recreate the whole thing virtually by eating a snickers in ten seconds while watching a YouTube video of a door being opened.
Best question ever You ever watch those presidential town hall things and wonder, āwho are these people, how did they get up there, and what kind of question is that?ā Wonder no more.
Key rat Isabella PeƱa (famed national anthem singer at our parades) and her mom Barb got to ask questions at President Trumpās town hall last week at the PAMM. Through connections at NBC6 they got picked and got to ask some inconsequential questions, as everyone has already decided (them included) who theyāre going to vote for.
It aināt too late to donate some of that Halloween candy you wonāt be eating. Share the Boo, started by MAST student Isabel del Valle McGuinness, is collecting individually wrapped candy to hand out to 400 children in Liberty City. Candy can be dropped at the Islander News, Key Colony Botanica security, and the Saturday farmerās market ā
Hermanos de la Calle. They also accept used or new Halloween costumes that will be distributed next year. If you can help, please do. |
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Promote your own thing. |
All wonk, no tonk
Last week we teased about some interviews the Rag sent out to all the prospective candidates, and how only two of them had replied. Well that was enough to get one more to bite. This time Oscar SardiƱas joins the fray.
Hereās an excerpt:
Should we have made the addition to MAST bigger?
Frank Caplan: The purpose behind MAST was to create a good option that did not previously exist. The purpose was not for MAST to be the only public option. At the time, we became satisfied after due diligence and close questioning that the districtās methodology was sound, and had been followed, for sizing MAST (middle and high school) and for space planning the new school to maximize student stations. I recall there were a host of factors including a number of student stations that would support the fullest possible array of electives offered at the new campus. The considerations also included KB demographic projections. Itās easier to look backward than forward to determining adequacy / capacity. Now, Iād be open to a fresh look at everything, taking into account what happened in fact, as distinct from what was predicted.
Matt Bramson: Yes. In general, I think that going bigger, when demographic trends indicate a growing need, is smart. The community center should have been bigger from the beginning and MAST should have too. Itās human nature to resist change and want to minimize it. The problem with this is that the change happens anyway and then buildings are expanded later and are never as optimal as they could have been. Ever been to an older hospital? They are cobbled-together messes of buildings and wings and expansionsābecause no one had the courage or foresight to think a decade or two into the futureāand itās too expensive and disruptive to tear the whole thing down and start again.
Oscar SardiƱas: Would have, could have, should have. We are part of a very small minority that has been able to break into the magnet school ecosystem and afford another incredible educational program to our Key Biscayne children. Could we have done better, possibly, but letās not for a minute dismiss how blessed we are.
Read them in full:
Frank Caplan interview.
Calendar
Someone asked to share this virtual thing
- Tomorrow 10/23
- š¹ Pasta fridays with a little music (In your room)
Last Week's Sales
Location | SQFT | Rooms | Prev | Price |
---|---|---|---|---|
445 Allendale | 7622 | Empty Lot | '19 $1.15m | $1.33m |
OC RV I 506 | 1310 | 2/2 | '15 $955k | $785k |
425 Harbor | N/A | 7/9 | '20 $3.84m | $4.05m |
201 Sunrise 209 | 763 | 1/1 | '92 $120k | $295k |
Island politics depot
Links to information about the upcoming KB election. This section will be updated as new information comes along.
All candidatesā contact info
Islander News candidate introductions
Tropical Rag interviews
Franklin H. Caplan
Candidate forums
Candidate forum 2020-09-21
Other interviews
Anti-Social podcast w/Allison McCormick
Anti-Social podcast w/Oscar SardiƱas and Matt Bramson
Anti-Social podcast w/Frank Caplan
Anti-Social podcast w/Brett Moss and Michael Kelly
Anti-Social podcast w/Reynaldo Figueredo
General obligation bond referendum
Tropical Rag bond FAQ
Village of KB official bond website
Village bond workshop 2020-08-06
Village bond workshop 2020-08-20
The final countdown
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Read past issues in the archive.
Questions, comments, tips, or to skip over puddles together šāāļø, write to hi@tropicalrag.com.
Things just weren’t very funny this week. Maybe next time.
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