On Wednesday, May 29, Broward County Commissioner Dale V.C. Holness will hold a community forum for the residents he represents in District 9. The forum promises to be an informative meeting for residents as they will have an opportunity to hear from community leaders on topics such as education, crime and safety, employment opportunities, social services, and more. The event which will be held at The Urban League of Broward County, 560 N.W. 27 Avenue in Fort Lauderdale will begin at 7 p.m. and end at 8:30 p.m. In addition to Commissioner Holness, speakers include
U.S. Congressman Alcee L. Hastings' Chief of Staff, Art Kennedy; Broward County Public Schools Superintendent, Robert Runcie; Broward Sheriff Scott Israel; WorkForce One Employment Solutions President/CEO, Mason Jackson and Broward County Family Success Administration Division Director, Patricia West .
For more information call 954.357.7009

Mayor of the City of Miami Gardens, Oliver Gilbert delivered his first State of the City address Monday, May 13 to an audience of more than 300 including South Florida dignitaries and life-long city residents.
Highlighting the success of the City of Miami Gardens, Mayor Gilbert outlined what he describes as a progressive and ambitious future as the community marks its 10th anniversary.
"This is our moment; our moment to decide whether we want to be as progressive as our thoughts; as prospective as our words. It is our moment to insure that tomorrow's possibilities are more expansive than today's opportunities," declared Mayor Gilbert from the stage at Florida Memorial University.
Mayor Gilbert told residents details of the city's first General Obligation Bond; a 50 million dollar "Decade of Progress" initiative aimed at increasing and improving city services and amenities. Mayor Gilbert laid out a vision to include a new senior center, modernized parks, a science and technology complex, an entertainment/art facility and culinary arts center; all designed to offer improved educational opportunities for city seniors and youths.
"Ten years ago, the incorporators of this city stood firm in the face of critics who said we couldn't, but we knew that we could and we did," exclaimed Gilbert.
Mayor Gilbert touched on key aspects for building a strong fiscal future for Miami Gardens, most notably, the confirmation of the city's A bond rating by New York bond rating agencies. Additional increased economic development includes steps to create the first Community Redevelopment Agency. With the hiring of 11 additional police officers and implementation of new technology, Mayor Gilbert touted continued efforts for crime reduction and described a firm commitment to city youth for increased opportunities in education and recreation.

Community Health of South Florida Inc. (CHI) opened its new Coconut Grove Health Center on May 6.

The new state of the art, soothing, spa-like facility is an upscale medical center that caters to everyone. Those without health insurance and without money for medical attention will be able to receive quality, comprehensive medical care from CHI Primary care, OB/Gyn and pediatric doctors.

For the uninsured, services will be provided on an income based sliding fee scale. CHI also offers complimentary transportation for those needing a ride to and from the center.

"In these tough economic times we see lot of patients who simply don't have the money to seek medical attention and that shouldn't be the case." said Brodes Hartley Jr., CHI President and CEO. "There are times when some people can't even pay the $25 co-pay and we still provide them with top quality care."

The Helen B. Bentley Family Health Center had been serving some of Coconut Grove's neediest patients for the past 40 years but closed recently. That left hundreds of thousands of patients without a place to go for medical care. Now the federal government has awarded CHI a grant to open two medical centers in that region. One at 3831 Grand Avenue in Coconut Grove and a second at 6350 Sunset Drive in South Miami is scheduled to open in June.

Many women know that getting a pap test regularly from their health care provider is a good way to check for signs of cervical cancer, the second most common cancer in women worldwide. What they might not know is that a "normal" pap result does not necessarily mean they are cancer-free.
A recent study involving more than 800 patients in a large health care plan found that about one in three women with invasive cervical cancer actually had normal pap test results. Other research suggests that a single pap test can miss early signs of cervical cancer up to half the time.
While the pap test is valuable, it does not always detect cancer cells early, when treatment is easiest and most effective. By the time a routine Pap test detects abnormal cell changes in the cervix, cervical pre-cancer may already be occurring.
As a result, the American Cancer Society and several medical groups now recommend that women between the ages of 30 and 65 be tested for certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) - the main cause of cervical cancer - along with their Pap test.
Of the more than 100 types of HPV, the most common sexually transmitted infection, most are harmless and are cleared naturally by a person's immune system. In fact, 70 to 90 percent of sexually active individuals will have some type of HPV at some point in their life. But a few types, known as high-risk HPV, can develop into cancer, sometimes decades after a person has been infected.