Surf the Net Anytime: www.sibfl.net
By Alyce Hanson, Administrative Services Director

Meet Don.

Retired.

Owns a condo in Sunny Isles

Beach where he lives with his wife in the winter. Lives "up north" in the summer.

Enjoys music and theatre.

Likes attending a major league
baseball game now and then.

His wife enjoys going to the mall now and then to buy clothes on sale for their grandchildren.

They don't like to drive as much as they used to, especially at night and to the busy malls.

Has a computer from his children so they can email back and forth.

They do.

With his computer, Don has taken up a new hobby - surfing! Surfing the net that is at www.sibfl.net, the city's official website.

Don has surfed www.sibfl.net and discovered his favorites.

Cultural Events
Don checks the Calendar for a list of trips to Cultural Events being offered by the city. He finds the dates of events, the cost, and whether or not transportation is included (that's a big plus).

They have gone to the ballet, seen Cirque du Soleil at Bayfront Park, and attended several plays at the Coconut Grove Playhouse. All without driving!

Sometimes the city offers trips to a Marlins baseball game in April, which Don likes. He likes attending a game before traveling north for the summer.

When Don and his wife find an event of interest, they call city hall to make reservations (Contact Information).

Community Shuttle
Don's wife likes the mall sales on Wednesdays. He doesn't like driving there, especially during "the season". Neither does she.

While surfing www.sibfl.net Don discovers that the city has a free bus service that goes every Wednesday and Saturday to the Aventura Mall (Quickfind, Community Shuttle). In fact, he decided to print for his wife the Wednesday and Saturday Community Shuttle schedule.

Don's wife often goes with a girlfriend to the mall on Wednesdays. They catch the earliest bus in front of their building. They catch up on stories about their families.

After shopping for a couple of hours at the mall, they have lunch, and then catch the Community Shuttle back home. She keeps the Community Shuttle schedule in her purse to check the ETA (estimated time of arrival).

Don likes it. No driving. He especially savors his quiet Wednesday morning. He starts out reading, and often ends up with a late-morning nap!

Just last week, with the help of his grandson, Don downloaded Acrobat Reader so he could print for his wife a .pdf map showing the Community Shuttle stops in the city. She keeps the map with the schedule in her purse.

News
Last summer Don bought a computer for his place up north. He had his grandson set it up. In the summer he likes to keep up on the News back in Sunny Isles Beach. Many of the articles in the local Community Newspaper, the Sunny Isles Beach Sun, are on the website.

There was an article about him once in the newspaper. Don discovered it and his picture on www.sibfl.net. He emailed his son in California about it.

Commission Meetings/Agendas/Minutes
Some nights when Don is awake, he goes surfing. He checks out what's happening at Commission Meetings in Sunny Isles Beach. The Calendar tells him when the City Commission Meetings are scheduled.

He watches for the agenda of regular commission meetings (Quickfind, Agendas) to be posted. Usually this is a couple of days before the meeting.

He catches the minutes of Commission meetings when they are on the site (Quickfind, Minutes). This is after Commission approves them at the following meeting.

Concerts
Falling temperatures up north will trigger Don and his plans to return to the city of sun and sea. Pictures of Sunny Isles Beach flood his mind. Memories of dancing with his wife at the oceanfront park last November at a concert make him smile.

Before he makes final plans to return he'll check the date of the concerts on the Calendar of Cultural Events or Quickfind, Concerts. He may not be back in town for the first concert in September, but he'll be there in November.

Don likes dancing and surfing.

www.sibfl.net
Surf by day. Surf by night.

TOP