In 2008, supporters of the film industry in Miami and the show “Burn Notice” head back to the Coconut Grove Convention Center at Dinner Key from City Hall.
Miami Herald File
Repurpose city hall
Miami City Hall hijacked Coconut Grove’s historic Pan Am Terminal years ago. I know of no other municipality that provides million-dollar waterfront views to public servants. This travesty must be corrected.
Miami’s mayor, commissioners and administrators must relocate elsewhere, preferably in downtown, where the public will have better access to them via MetroRail, MetroMover, MetroConnect, buses and trolleys.
Establishing City Hall in Downtown will also help our local leaders and administrators become more familiar with the conditions of our streets, traffic, sidewalks, businesses, litter, flooding, panhandlers and those who are unhoused.
Coconut Grove’s residents should determine the future best use of the Pan Am Terminal. Several repurposing options exist. For example, turn it into an air museum and celebrate the history of flight and South Florida’s contributions. Or, turn it into a seaplane terminal that offers flights throughout Florida and the Caribbean.
It could also be turned into a terminal for water taxis and car ferries servicing Key Biscayne, Bayside and Miami Beach, or as a seaplane/ferry terminal combination.
Lastly, as a community center, it could provide more activities in Regatta Park or a farmers market, like San Francisco’s Fisherman Wharf.
Let’s finally bid farewell to Miami City Hall and seek a new and exciting future for our cherished historic Pan Am Terminal.
Harry Emilio Gottlieb,
Coconut Grove
Breaking boundaries
Unions exist because individual employees have less bargaining power than their employer. By organizing collectively, employees gain a stronger voice to negotiate fair wages, working conditions and treatment.
Government may reasonably regulate unions, but a constitutional concern arises when the government is also the employer and imposes rules that determine whether its employees’ union can continue to exist. That goes beyond regulating a union operation; it gives the employer control over the organization created to balance its power.
Public employees do not surrender their constitutional rights simply because their employer is the government. Freedom of association protects the ability to unite to advance common interests, although reasonable workplace restrictions may apply.
The question is not whether government may regulate unions, but whether it can use its authority as employer and regulator to undermine employees’ ability to maintain a meaningful collective voice. When a union is regulated this tightly by its own employer, collective bargaining becomes less like negotiation and more like asking.
Laurel McLeod Nichols,
Coconut Grove
Coddling freshmen
Re: the Aug. 13 NYT News Service story, “Michigan college has solution to first-semester jitter: no letter grades.” Nice. Let’s just keep giving young adults participation grades.
How is that going to prepare them for the ruthless environment they will face after graduation?
When I was in college, I struggled my first year. That struggle woke me up and made me realize that this is my life and I need to take it seriously.
Juan Suarez,
Pembroke Pines
Act of trust
Re: the Aug. 9 Miami Herald editorial, “Anti-Zionism in House race: Dangerous move?” Zionists created a homeland for Jewish people in 1948. They expelled more than half a million Palestinians in the conquest and confiscated the abandoned land. Those who remained were confined to a ghetto enforced by the military.
The United States behaved the same way with our indigenous population. In both cases, the genocide is ongoing.
I don’t support genocide from any nation. Racism and genocide depend on discrimination, allowing a person to dehumanize other humans. I don’t support discrimination.
We have to start somewhere if we want to get away from endless war. It will take a leap of faith.
Lee Jacobs,
South Miami
Any day purchase
The uses of cryptocurrency keep growing beyond sex slavery, arms sales and nefarious drugs. Now we can add the potential for illegal political campaign contributions.
Talk about a store of value helping to explain its explosive (pun intended) volatility.
Richard F. Katz,
Cooper City
Spammed seniors
Do Miami’s congressional representatives know or even care that their senior citizen constituents are being bombarded with “spam” phone calls (20 to 30 a day), attempting to elicit their Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security information?
Do those representatives know there are actual laws on the books to protect against this type of “elder injustice?”
U.S. House members have access to legal opinions, analyses and confidential advice through several internal legislative branch offices, so why hasn’t even one of Miami’s congressional representatives even addressed this issue with attorneys?
Joanne Tomarchio,
Miami
This is greatness
The implication of Make America Great Again (MAGA) is that we were once great but aren’t anymore. Which great actions or policies have we gotten away from that we should restore?
We were great when we defeated Nazi Germany and imperial Japan and then helped them rebuild and reorganize.
We were great when we welcomed people who came here for freedom and opportunity. We were great when we sent food and medicine around the world.
We were great when we recognized the limitations of our forefathers’ vision and ended slavery and extended the voting franchise to women. We were great when we provided a basic income and healthcare to our seniors.
We did what great nations do when we passed legislation to clean up our water and air. We were a great nation when we stopped COVID-19 with free vaccines.
Greatness isn’t boasting. If you must brag about being great, then you’re not. Greatness is what others recognize while you’re trying your best to live up to your ideals. We need to return to that.
Ted Burg,
Pembroke Pines
Dog days
With daily temperatures reaching 90 degrees or more for many days in a row, dog owners must take special precautions. Like humans, dogs can get heat prostration and heat stroke. Hot surfaces can burn their paw pads. Put the palm of your hand on the pavement. If you cannot comfortably keep it there for seven seconds, the ground is too hot for your dog.
Attach the leash to a harness instead of a collar to avoid restriction of breathing. Walk during the coolest parts of the day or evening. Consider walking in your own yard instead of on the street or sidewalk. If you cannot do that, walk back and forth near your home.
Carry extra water. Closely monitor your dog for excessive, loud or frantic panting; heavy drool; dry, bright red gums; lethargy; weakness or stumbling. (Dogs love us but are so loyal and dutiful they will continue walking even if it injures or kills them.)
If you suspect a heat disorder, immediately get them to a cooler place and pour cool water over their body. Call a vet as soon as possible to see what else is required for your canine child.
Robert E. Panoff,
Pinecrest
Young voters
I watched water rise over the tiles of my family’s living room floor during Hurricane Irma in 2017. That’s part of what led me to study environmental policy in college and why I work to mobilize young people to take action on climate and environmental policies.
The candidates on our ballots will decide how much our communities invest in flood infrastructure and whether polluters are held accountable for the harm they are causing. These aren’t future problems; they’re the reason why home insurance bills have surged in recent years and new heat records are being set.
Young Floridians must pay attention to the August and November elections. During Florida’s 2022 gubernatorial election, only 22% of voters aged 18 to 29 voted. Young people can change the outcome of our elections by showing up to vote. We can’t sit around and wait for Miami to become affordable and livable. Vote like our future depends on it, because it does.
Victoria Villamil,
Miami