Last Thursday, Mayor of Miami Lakes Manny Cid paid a special visit to Miami Lakes Educational Center’s Honors Government class where he sat down with the class to talk about politics and government. In an instant, the students became fully engaged in the discussion as Cid spoke of his time working in the government, his road to success for becoming mayor, and his initiative revolving around making Miami Lakes a safer and better place to be.
Government and Economics teacher Mrs. Lourdes Mixco’s stated, “He has a transportation project to relieve traffic congestion and he also plans to build a bridge on 59th avenue.”
This renovation particularly excited students who often times get stuck in rush hour traffic after being released from school.
“Cid also told the class about his plan to re-enforce license plate readers for cars involved in crime, more so in order to find the ones that have been stolen.”
According to SpotCrime.com, there have 45 counts of theft in the Miami Lakes area within the past week alone. These readers track up to 1,800 license plate numbers per minute of any and every car, parked or moving, and they’ll no longer be seen attached to squad cars, but also to utility poles or freeway overpasses. With these readers, police have a better chance of tracking down stolen vehicles, and the act of enforcing them alone will reduce crime rates.
During his visit, Cid focuses the discussion on changing the way in which our town government engages with townspeople by taking advantage of social media to increase communication.
Zamier Nicholas, an MLEC Senior who lives in Miami Gardens, found that there’s an alarmingly small amount of police officers in his area. He was intrigued to have a discussion with Manny Cid on the topic of the current relationship with the African-American community and the police.
Zamier stated, “Manny and I talked about how police in Miami Gardens is different from Miami Lakes. In this community, [Miami Lakes] police officers are more interactive and connected with residents in the area. In Miami Gardens, however, it’s very rare to see an officer interacting with the community unless it’s a crime scene or traffic stop. I believe that teenagers having a bond with officers can bring about a sense of trust and we won’t be as scared of officers like we are now.”
Manny Cid’s visit to Mrs. Mixco’s class meant a lot to her and the students of her Honors Government class as it gave them more of an insight on how our town government works and the goals Cid is achieving for improving the living standards of Miami Lakes citizens.
“[Mr.] Cid encourages us to get more involved in our communities because that’s the first step in change.”
