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NUMBER 72 - JULY 28, 2018

WHAT GOES ON AT MELREESE GOLF COURSE CONTINUES TO BE A TOPIC OF CONVERSATION, ESPECIALLY SINCE THAT OTHER CRESPO GUY SET FIRE TO THE GOLF CARTS. UNFORTUNATELY, TIME RAN OUT BEFORE I COULD POST PHOTOS OF BOTH THE MELREESE AND MIAMI SPRINGS GOLF COURSES BEFORE THE JULY 18TH SPECIAL MEETING. HERE THEY ARE NOW    

I must admit that until the July 12th meeting I did not know anything about this 1st Tee Program, and its impact and contribution to the lives of several thousand special needs children and adults.

I've never played golf or soccer, and nowadays barely follow any sports teams until the end of the season playoffs or championships, so on the day after the first meeting about the soccer stadium deal I drove over to Melreese unannounced, and stopped the first employee I encountered and asked where this 1st Tee Program was located.

Without hesitation, the guy told me he's dhow me around, and he did.  Below are the photos that I took  as the guy walked me around.

I don't normally find myself impressed by anything I find going on inside the City of Miami, but this place did impress me. It was a modern, clean, stand alone building that was organized, full of kids and staff, and I was actually amazed that I had never heard of this program because in a city full of rat-fuck dirty dealing and chicanery, this was an operation and a program that clearly deserved to be touted as something that any city would be proud to claim as a success.

Why it's never been widely promoted by the city is for someone else to question now, but I think the photos speak for themselves.  (After the photos I have something to say about the Miami Springs Golf Course, the letter that Mayor Francis Suarez pulled out of his ass like a Magic Rabbit, and photos that I took that same day of that facility.)

What do you think?

MIAMI SPRINGS GOLF COURSE

Like most folks, I was surprised when midway through the discussion about the Beckham proposal Mayor Suarez whipped out a letter from the Mayor of Miami Springs that cited the sale of the Miami Springs Golf Course to his city by the City of Miami, and his desire to get the City of Miami to waive one of the deed restrictions.

Here's the letter.

There is no small irony in the fact that the City Fathers of Miami twenty years ago put a deed restriction on the sale that prohibited the property from ever being used for any other purpose other than a golf course, while 3/5th of the City Fathers of today were eager to do away with the only remaining golf course, and to do so by evading the requirements of the City Charter to do so.

After I photographed the Melreese 1st Tee Program, I drove to Miami Springs and spoke to folks at the "Country Club," took photos and then went to City Hall and spoke to the City Manager.

He was polite and acknowledged that there had only been one meeting with Francis Suarez, and that there had been no follow up as of the day that I visited him.  

It's evident from the photographs that the Miami Springs property is not capable of housing any program like the 1st Tee Program without the construction of a separate facility, and that raises the question of who would pay for that.

Certainly not Miami Springs, nor the City of Miami, and contrary to all the vague and unsubstantiated promises made by Jorge Mas, there's no expectation, based on his claims that he wants to keep the program on the Melreese property, that he would pay for a new building at Miami Springs, nor to spend any money to help upgrade the golf course to be on par with the Melreese facility.

HERE'S WHAT MIAMI SPRINGS GOLF COURSE LOOKS LIKE

Perhaps the best way to illustrate the difference between the caliber of the Melreese and Miami Springs Golf Courses is in their Driving Ranges.  

Below is the Miami Springs Driving Range. It's a strip of grass set apart by a rope laid on the ground.  Below this photo is Melreese's dDiving Range.  I don't think I need to make any further comments.

NUMBER 73 - JULY 29, 2018

PHOTO OF THE DAY - THE OFFICIAL PHOTO RELEASED BY THE CITY'S COMMUNICATION'S DEPARTMENT OF THE 3 MIAMI CITY COMMISISONERS WHO VOTED IN FAVOR OF THE BECKLHAM SOCCER DEAL