“ordering online has never been easier”
www.mealeo.com
July 2012
P. 12 miranda kerr
super woman
The Brickell Reporter | Edition 13
www.BrickellReporter.com
by EMMA ALOIS
SMELL OF ROSES
IN THIS REVEALING INTERVIEW WITH JORGE PEREZ, HIS
PASSION FOR THE ARTS IS BROUGHT INTO THE MIND AND
THOUGHTS OF MIAMI’S #1 DEVELOPER
to make an impact, his structures
Wilfredo Lam – Doble desnudo II
– mujeres recostadas (1937)
are a fresh, spring breeze along the
skyline. They are distinctive buildings
with evocative facades denoting the
presence of an artistically disposed
individual. As it turns out, Perez does
have an intricate knowledge
and relationship with art.
He claims to have always been, “a very visual
person. So even before art, I was a great a
movie buff. I have always loved the movies,
and loved theatre, so whatever was visual was
P. 9 ask your gyn
P. 13 CALENDAR
Diego Rivera – Naturaleza muerta (1908)
Jorge Perez always believed that
“when one builds a collection, it goes
to people for people to look at.”
Time Magazine dubbed him the “Condo King
of the Tropics,” whereas Miami knows him
as the developer of Downtown and Brickell.
Jorge Perez, CEO of Related Group, has
developed striking, high-end buildings like the
Icon in Brickell, the Murano Grande on South
Beach, and the Millocento under construction
near the Mary Brickell Village. Designed
Claudio Bravo – Sidi Moktar (1976))
Wilfredo Lam
– La chevelure (1945)
Continued on page 5
BY KATYA MARURY
HOW ARE OUR SCHOOLS
REALLY DOING?
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
MIAMI FL
PERMIT NO.3236
As civil rights activist Malcolm X once
said, “Education is the
passport to the future,
for tomorrow belongs to
those who prepare for
it today.” Miami-Dade
County Public schools
have budgets to maintain, teachers to pay,
and supplies to provide
to the students. According to Alberto
Carvalho, Superintendent of Miami-Dade
County public schools, “The Miami-Dade
County Public School District faces a $95
million shortfall, including $32 million earmarked for increased enrollment in charter
schools, leaving a deep budget hole for
educating the 300,000 students in the District’s non-charter schools.” This begs the
question of how well Miami-Dade County
Public Schools are managing their institutions. Three schools funded by MiamiDade County Public Schools have been
chosen at random to provide an overview
of how the “budget hole” has affected the
county’s ability to support the high level of
academic standard they promise. The first
is MAST Academy, the
second is the Academy of Arts and Minds
Charter High School, and the final school
examined is Young Women’s Preparatory
Academy. The three facilities provide a
unique atmosphere to its students, and
were created to achieve a certain set of
academic goals. How has Miami-Dade
County Public Schools supported them
thus far?
For starters, distribution and management
of funding given by the Florida Legislature
to Miami-Dade County Public schools will
be discussed Thursday, July 26th, 2012.
The Miami-Dade County public school
board holds the annual meeting to discuss
the “Millage Levy and Annual Budget” for
the upcoming school years. Encouraging
a small administration, stable financial
reserves, and the retention of teachers,
Summer 2012
this budget plan has distinct principals to
ensure Miami-Dade schools perform at
optimum level. The budget plan can be
overridden though, as the current controversy regarding MAST Academy will show.
The Village of Key Biscayne and MiamiDade County Public School Board have
struck a $22 million dollar deal to expand
MAST (Maritime and Science Technology Academy) High School. Stipulations
to expand MAST Academy’s campus and
form a partnership with Key Biscayne’s
K-8 Center School are a part of the deal.
This expansion plan will skirt the original
lottery system children entered to gain
admittance to the magnet school,
and replace it with an automatic acceptance of 1,100 students from the Village of
Key Biscayne. The high school will undergo construction to expand the school,
expected to be completed in 2015.
This decision by the school board has
raised a mix of emotions ranging from
whole-hearted acceptance to utter disapproval. Current MAST students, alumni,
parents, and faculty plan to attend the
July 18th school board meeting to hold a
friendly protest against the school
board’s decision. Those in opposition to the
expansion fear that this will alter what the
school stands for.
Established in 1991, MAST is MiamiDade’s only maritime and science
technology magnet high school. MAST
“has a tradition of academic excellence,
and has three times
BY semira cornejo
happy 4th ofjuly!
now where are
those fireworks
Ever since the liberation of our country from England’s
reign, America has celebrated its independence on July
4th to pay homage to the difficulties, debates, and
fighting that took place. But did anyone ever take a
second to think about why fireworks have been a
constant and repeated tradition during the celebration
of our independence? The use of fireworks to celebrate
the U.S.A.’s independence first began on July 4th,
1777 but instead of the multicolored and extravagant
fireworks customary today, the people of the
newly freed colonies created their own explosive
display of noise and presentation. The citizens of
Philadelphia were the first to participate in this festival
of independence. Their choice of fireworks consisted
of cannons, guns, and bonfires. Ever since then, the
tradition of fireworks became a permanent celebratory
practice, and has advanced as the years pass by.
According to History.com, the use of fireworks in the
first few celebrations of our independence may have
been used as a way to mock