CARIBBEAN TODAY LWW-crbbatoa.co WOMEN'S HISTORY LUNCHEON Pioneering women interred in the Miami City Cemetery will be honored during the ninth annual Women's History Luncheon noon Mar. 19 at City of Miami Legion Park 6447 N.E. 7th Ave. in Miami. During the event, present- ed by The African American Committee of Dade Heritage Trust in Florida, the women's lives will be portrayed in a skit written by Leome Culmer and performed by members of The Singing Angels a community group under the direction of Dr. Richard Strachan. The 2007 honorees are: Margaret Gilbert Amason, Vera Parks Albury, Monica Hanna, Bessie Forbes, Arlean McKenzie, and Olive F Scavella. For tickets and more information, call Enid Pinkney at 305-635-5130 or 305-635-5800. SERVICE AWARDS The Consulate General of Jamaica will present its first Community Service Awards Ceremony and High Tea at 3:30 p.m. Mar. 25 at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida. Jamaica's Governor General Kenneth Hall is the guest of honor. For more information, call the consulate at 305-374- 8431. KNOWING GOV'T Starting this month, resi- dents of Broward County, Florida are being invited to participate in a new program that offers them an opportuni- ty to learn about the county's government. During the free eight- week program, called the Broward County Academy, residents will learn how coun- ty government delivers servic- es to enhance and promote the quality of life for resi- dents, businesses and visitors. The goal is to raise public awareness about county pro- grams and services, and to increase community involve- ment and participation in local government. The academy will run through Mar. 29. All county residents age 18 or older are eligible to apply. There is a limit of 25 students for each academy, and two academies will be offered each year. Acceptance will be granted on a first come, first serve basis. There is no registration fee or cost to participants. Applications for the Broward County Academy are available on the Broward County web site www.broward.org/ academy, by e-mailing publicinfo@broward.org or by calling the Broward County Public Communications Office at 954-357-6990. PASSPORT REMINDER The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) took effect in January. The WHTI requires all those United States citizens traveling by air to the Caribbean to have a passport. For information about applying for a U.S. passport, visit http://usps.com/passport or call 800-ASK-USPS. PASSPORT APPLICATION The National Passport Information Center (NPIC), the United States Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information, is offer- ing a toll free service and has expanded its service availabili- ty/options. Persons with questions or need status checks on pending passport applications can call FALLING IN LINE 1-877-487-2778. Customer service representatives are available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. Automated information is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For e-mail access, visit: npic@state.gov Website of passport and other interna- tional travel information is available at travel.state.gov 'GREEN CARD' FILING The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that aliens must mail applications to renew or replace permanent resident cards, commonly known as "Green Cards", directly to the Los Angeles Lockbox. The Lockbox is a process- ing facility used by USCIS to accelerate the collection of applications and petitions. The announced change allows the agency to improve the processing of Form 1-90 (Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card) by electronically capturing data and images and by performing fee receipting and depositing from one central location, rather than at the local district office, service center, or appli- cation support center (ASC). Aliens filing a Form 1-90, regardless of their state of res- idence, must mail those appli- cations with an application fee of $185 and a biometrics fee of $70 to one of the following addresses: For U.S. Postal Service (USPS) deliveries: Call for Bids or Proposals For a listing of available Broward Community College (BCC) open procurement solicitations visit: www.broward.edu/purchasing/ bids or contact 954-201-7455 BCC strongly encourages participation by minority and women- owned business enterprises (MWBE firms) MIAM W CKiens' Indepmndunt Transportation Trust (CITT) The CITT Nominating Committee is now accepting applications from cizens who wish to serve as CITT volunteers. The Nominating Commitee will consider applicants countyide for the Mayors selecli without regad to District specic residency. Additionally, the Committee will screen applications for Commission Districts 6,10,11,12, and 13. To maintain an ample pool of inteestd volunteers, applications wil be accepted countwide for all Commission Districts and will remain on fle for two-years should an additional vacancy become available. The CITT is a 15-member board created in 2002 to monitor, oversee, review, audit aid invesigate the implementation of the transportation and transit-related projects listed in the People's Transportation Plan and all other projects funded in WAe or in pat with the Charter County Transit System S es Surtax (Surta proceeds. Members serve without compensation for a four-year term. The MiamiDade Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, upon recommendaon n of the Nominating Committee, will make their appointment to the CITT Applications may be obtained online at ww.miamidade.gic or by cing 305-375-1357. Al applications must be received by the C W of the Board, at 111 NW 1st Street Suite 17-202, Miami, FL 33128, no laterthan Monday,Apil 2,2007, by 4p.m. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, P.O. Box 54870 Los Angeles, CA 90054-0870; Or for non-USPS deliver- ies (e.g. private couriers): U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Attention: 1-90, 16420 Valley View Ave., La Mirada, CA 90638 Applicants should not include initial evidence and supporting documentation when submitting the Form I- 90 to the Los Angeles Lockbox. Applicants will receive a notice for a biometrics pro- cessing appointment at an ASC and will submit their ini- tial evidence during that appointment. Applicants will receive their biometrics appointment in the mail. PAGEANT ENTRY Partners for Youth Foundation is accepting appli- cations the "Miss Jamaica Florida 2007 Paglin to be held on June 24 at the Coral Gables Center for the Arts. The pageant is open to Jamaican-born females or those of Jamaican parentage. The categories are "Little Miss" (ages five to eight); "Junior Miss" (nine to 12); "Miss Teen" (13-16) and "Miss Jamaica Florida" (17- 21). The deadline for applica- tions is April 30. For more information, call Marcia Baker at 954-600-0334. 0 Photograph by JIS/NY With the recent implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), mandating all air travelers returning to the United States to have a valid passport on arrival at all ports of entry, the Jamaican Consulate has seen a sharp rise in the number of persons applying for passports at its midtown, Manhattan, New York location. The rise in applications may also be attributed to those persons traveling to the Caribbean for Cricket World Cup 2007 which begins this month. Here, walk-in applicants wait in the crowded lobby area of the passport/visa section of the consulate to turn in paperwork for a passport that now takes anywhere from four to six weeks to be processed. INVITATION TO BID RFB 600000083 CANAL SIDE SLOPE MOWING SERVICES The South Florida Water Management District will accept bids from qualified firms to provide side slope mowing services of canal embankments located in the Ft. Lauderdale Field Station service area. Bids shall be submitted to the Procurement Department, 2nd Floor, B-1 Building, 3301 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, Florida, 33406, on April 6, 2007, at 2:30 P.M. local time, at which time bids will be opened and publicly read. An optional PRE-BID CONFERENCE will be held March 16, 2007, at 10:300 A.M. at the Ft. Lauderdale Field Station located at 2535 Davie Road Davie, FL 33317. All bids must conform to the instructions in the Request for Bids and include a properly executed Contract Compliance Disclosure Form. Solicitation documents will be available March 2, 2007 in the SFWMD Procurement Department at the above address, by downloading a copy from the District's website at www.sfwmd.gov, or by calling (561) 687-6391. Interested bidders may also call the 24-hour BID HOTLINE 800-472-5290. The public is invited to attend the RFB opening. Information on the status of this solicitation can be obtained at our web site www.sfwmd.gov. For more information, please contact Don Hill, Contract Specialist at (561) 682-2045. March 2007 r FY I