Fourteen months ago, the Sun Sentinel was kind to publish my opinion essay, “Sign, sign, everywhere a (shoddy) sign.”
City government moves very slowly, but I am happy to report that the city of Fort Lauderdale has followed the recommendations in my opinion piece. They have removed confusing, conflicting signs at beach entrances and replaced them with new signs — an improvement.
This would not have happened if it were not for the power of the press. Your opinion pages and
content are doing a lot of good. Thank you again for publishing my opinion piece.
— John Michael Pierobon, Fort Lauderdale
Editor’s Note: City spokesman Kevin Pulido said city staff decided that “the existing signs were corroded and due for modernization. We heard similar feedback from other sources and from the public. The goal was to create a more welcoming mix of icons and text, reduce visual clutter, and make beach rules easier to understand.”
Your huddled masses
The sentiment inscribed on the bronze plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty always made me proud to be an American (“Give me your tired, your poor …”)
The basic message was that if you wanted to come to America to be free and wanted a better life, we would welcome you. It didn’t matter if your own country didn’t want you; we did. For more than a century, many millions accepted this invitation, and helped make this country great.
The latest Supreme Court rulings cast doubt on those sentiments. They’ve made it easier to deport legal residents and ended deportation protections for 350,000 Haitians. The invitation is still open for white South Africans seeking asylum here, but not to people from what President Trump has described as “shithole countries.”
There was a time when Irish, Italians, Jews and Chinese who came here were viewed as inferior. Luckily for them, former presidents recognized what they brought to this country, and the courts adhered to the rule of law. Unfortunately, Miss Liberty’s plaque needs to be updated.
— Scott Shampaner, Coral Springs
Can’t we all just get along?
As a 89-year-old citizen, it seems to me that some of the world’s leaders want to repeat what occurred back in the 1930s.
Have Hitler and Mussolini come back to life?
Why can’t we all just get along and not demand that other nations abide by our rules?
— Marco Cirrincione Jr., Tamarac
This wasn’t Trump’s fault
Different shades of colors are seen on the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
Just wondering …
Should we blame the president for the mistakes with the reflecting pool in D.C., or the contractors? As homeowners, we face these kinds of mistakes constantly.
There’s no excuse for the disastrous outcome of this very expensive renovation. The contractors should be held responsible.
If the paint color for the pool floor was an issue, it should have been discussed with the president and professionals. It is a perfect example of companies wanting the work and not being responsible for the result.
— Charlene Chitwood, Boca Raton
Of Mr. Hyde, and moving on
Whether it’s an industrial company, service company, school or newspaper, change is inevitable.
Sometimes it’s the process, and sometimes it’s the people. Many readers have written about how much sports columnist Dave Hyde meant to them, and how much they will miss him — including me.
But I’m looking forward to the torch being passed to writers Chris Perkins and David Furones.
My best wishes and thanks for all of Dave Hyde’s articles over the years. As they say, “ya done good,” Dave.
— Ira Gross, Boca Raton
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