Your Evening Sift

It was a gorgeous day here in South Florida. Hopefully, everyone got to enjoy a little bit of it outside. Enjoy your Sunday evening Sift...

A- Restaurant Gal shares her touching story [no pun intended] of helping someone "see" on Duval Street.

I gathered Rouletta in my arms and reached toward the woman. The man pushing the woman’s wheelchair took her hands and placed them on the top of Rouletta’s head. The woman slowly moved her hands across Roulettas’s ears and around her muzzle.

“Oh, this is a very nice dog,” smiled the woman.

“She’s brindle and white and has a round spot on top of her head,” the man said.

“Is her face as cute as it feels?” asked the woman as she stroked Rouletta’s brow.

B- The new Publix at Fifth and Alton is very special, according to Miami Beach 411.

Publix is going green by using low LED lights, storing milk behind a glass door, and using motion detector lights -if no one is in the frozen foods isle its dark, but walk down and they all turn on just for you! If you’re not sure whether those grapes have been sprayed with pesticides, look at the shelf and if you see a green leaf border, rest assured they’re considered all natural or organic. I was impressed that they even carry organic wine!

C- South Beach USA gets some feedback from a Spanish couple who recently completed a vacation on South Beach.

However, we feel you might like to know, or may be able to redirect our comments, about some of the frustrations europeans have in Miami. It begins with U.S. Immigration – a far from efficient procedure, in fact, one which can be quite frightening for some people. Then there is the continual ‘harrassment’ by restaurants, bars and clubs on South Beach. Having people run alongside you offering ‘free drinks’, ‘two for one dinners’, etc. etc., is actually quite annoying. We know the world is in a financial crisis but a holiday on lovely South Beach is not as lovely with constant reminders of desperate businesses. Europeans also need to know about ‘add ons’. In Europe, the price quoted is the final price. In the U.S., low prices become a joke when taxes and automatic gratuities are added. It’s a cultural difference but can become an expensive one. And to have restaurants adding onto their bill unordered items doesn’t help either – it would appear that this is a frequent happening requiring careful reading of bills.

D- Besides being subscription challenged, it appears that the Miami Herald is also math challenged, as South Florida Lawyers points out.

E- What $19.5 million gets you on La Gorce Island, from Miamism [who could use some sharper photos.]

The home is impressive to say the least – contemporary, simple, austere and phenomenal. With over 20,000 square feet of living space, sitting on a 48,000 square foot lot, guest cabana, elevator, 5-car garage, amazing landscaping….what else could you want?

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