Edison Post Office

The idea about covering the possible closing of Edison Post Office in Liberty City came out when Lauren, one of my classmates, talked about the story that was on the Miami Herald. The Story http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/01/26/1446038/liberty-city-residents-protest.html was about the protest that the residents and some members of the union did to show their resistance to the closure.

Lauren and I went to the post office and we try to get some information. While Lauren was talking to the employee of the office, I was trying to talk with some of the customers. I was lucky because I could talk to two of them.

Kendrell Jackson told me that she had had the box for about three years. She said that she had filled out a survey that asked some questions about the use of the post office. The survey was done six months ago and she expressed that she was worry about the closure. “They need to keep it open, if not I will have to go to the other office that it is far from here.” She said.

We didn’t get much information from the employee who told Lauren that she didn’t know about the situation because she was doing just a replacement for the day. We try to find a flyer or something posted informing about the possible closure but there was nothing around the area.

We grab out things and we went to Martin Luther King Post office. That place is super big but it is kind in the middle of nothing, very shocking because the Edison Post Office is near to many small business and residences. When we asked if somebody could tell us about the closing, they told us that if Edison is close the office that will take their business will be Little River Station. We took the information that the not very nice lady gave to us and we went to the other office.

When we got to Little River, we did the same thing. We search for flyers and we asked for the closing of the nearby post office. The lady who help us, gave us the name and phone number of the contact person in the media department. We called her but we got just her voice mail.

MLK – My First Day in Liberty City

The first holiday of the year was also the day when I visited Liberty City for the first time. I remember that I was very excited because we will have the opportunity to see the community honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

It was almost 11:00 a.m. when I arrived to the MLK Park. The day was perfect, the sun was out and the temperature couldn’t be better. I parked near to the stage and I took my camera a notebook, my mission was to go to all the booths and get as much contacts and information as I could. But before doing that, I walked around the park to see what was going on. People were doing the setting of the tables and the food section was already cooking.

When I finished my brief tour, I went to the first booth that I saw when I arrived to the park. It was one promoting the Census so I started talking to the people who were there.

My FIU sweeter made me be more recognizable, so it was easier for me to let people know who I was. Paulette Darm or better known as Sister Soul Jar quickly introduced herself; She said she was a community leader and that she was proud to volunteer for the 2010 Census Campaign. “We need our community to understand how important is that we get counted.” She said.

Other volunteers from the same table gave me lots of pamphlets and magazines with information about non-profit organizations that were making an impact in the sector, so I took all of them and I also asked them for their names and phone numbers.

I didn’t stay much longer at the park because I wanted to see what else was going on around the area. I went back to my car and I drove to the African Heritage Arts Center located at 6161 NW 22^nd Ave. This place it’s known for educating and promoting emerging talent in the performing and visual arts by providing classes in different disciplines. Even though the arts center was closed I took some pictures of the buildings and one of the neighbors, who is also a Rapp

artist, told me a little bit more about the center and was kind enough to gave me a CD with two original tracks of his music.

I left the African Heritage Arts Center and I ended at 62 Avenue, which is one of the main streets in Liberty City. While I was driving, I felt part of a parade because I had to drive

very slowly behind four customized cars that were jumping on the street. On the sidewalks, people of all ages were dancing and having BBQs next to enormous speakers that were like walls of sound.The experience in Liberty City couldn’t be better and I’m glad that Professor Reisner asked us to get the sense of the community by attending the MLK event. My next trip will be more specific, I want to visit the arts center and maybe attend a class.

When it was Just an Idea

Last semester, I took a class that pushed me and made me taste the bitter/sweet flavor of journalism. Some of the papers that I turned were given back to me with not very flattering comments and many corrections written by professor Neil Reisner.

After the class was done and I was able to move on to the next level, I decided that I wanted to continue the same line of work, so I registered with the same professor knowing that it will be hard and that I will had to put lots of effort.

The semester started and I knew that we would work on a special project, an online newspaper that will cover Liberty City. For many people, that was a deal breaker but for me was a great opportunity and also another personal challenge where I will have to succeed.