David Zambrana, second from right, president and CEO of Jackson Health System, participates in a panel discussion on the proposed Homestead property tax exemption during the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Trustee Luncheon at Parrot Jungle in Miami on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026.
Carl Juste
cjuste@miamiherald.com
Cost of care
Re: Michelle Marchante’s Sept. 17 article, “Property tax cut could cost Miami’s public hospital $64M. What it means for care.” Although reducing property taxes could provide financial relief for homeowners, we must consider the effect these cuts could have on public healthcare and other essential services.
One major concern is that Jackson Health System could lose about $64 million in annual tax funding. Jackson provides important services including emergency care, behavioral health, organ transplants, labor and delivery. It also provides care to people regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay.
Losing that much funding could force Jackson to make difficult decisions about its programs, staffing and services. People who rely most heavily on public healthcare may have the fewest alternatives if services are reduced.
Effects of the proposed cuts will be felt throughout our communities and beyond Miami-Dade County. Broward Health could lose more than $100 million over three years, while Palm Beach County’s Health Care District could lose about $66.5 million. Florida voters and lawmakers must make sure a realistic plan exists to replace lost healthcare funding before making major tax changes.
Property tax relief can benefit homeowners, but those savings must be considered alongside the public services the taxes support and the cost of healthcare access for those who need it most.
Danielle Weisberg,
Florida Atlantic University,
School of Criminology and Criminal Justice,
Boca Raton
Fund housing
Re: the Sept. 30 story, “Major college coming to Miami with $3B boost from billionaire Griffin.” Regardless of whether it ends up having the intended impact, Ken Griffin’s bold thinking and putting his money where his mouth is — developing the new Carnegie Mellon Miami campus — should be applauded.
One of the second- or third-order effects, though, will likely be that housing (and other) costs continue rising even more for all Miamians.
Griffin should use equally bold thinking to try to tackle Miami’s housing affordability crisis. Our city cannot function and grow into the finance and technology capital he envisions without becoming an affordable place to live for as many people as possible.
Evan Gilbert,
Miami
Fiscal fiasco
Two Miami Herald front page reports on Sept. 30 had one thing in common: James Uthmeier. Florida’s attorney general played a key role in hollowing out the state’s safety net through his involvement in the sophisticated Hope Florida charity scheme, which diverted $10 million to a political dark-money operation. He is also “credited” as the brainchild of the Alligator Alcatraz immigrant detention fiasco that wasted hundreds of millions of federal and state tax dollars.
Just imagine the public benefit had the same effort and funding been directed toward restoring Florida’s failing Department of Children and Families. Now Uthmeier seeks reelection. Remember his name when you vote.
Bob Ross,
Pinecrest
Wake-up call
Ken Griffin brought his company to Miami and likely realized our state’s private and public universities were not producing the kind of talent Citadel, his hedge fund, needed to continue its growth. Our State University System and the Board of Governors (BOG) that run our public universities have failed our state — too many unqualified, termed out politicians promoted to lead five of our universities and significantly interfere in our pre-eminent universities.
As a graduate of University of Florida and past chair of the UF Foundation, I have served on its board for 35 years. In the last eight years, the DeSantis administration has installed in UF’s Board of Trustees leadership that interferes with academia traditions, including questioning tenure, requiring UF to hire unqualified personnel and forcing UF to staff a new department that will look more like Hillsdale College, a superconservative institution well known to Christian conservatives but not highly ranked academically.
I am hopeful Griffin’s generous gift will awaken our soon-to-be elected politicians and the BOG to return to true academic standards and keep politics out of higher education.
Juan A. Galan Jr.,
Coral Gables
Skip this Stone
The Haitian government’s hiring of Roger Stone for $65,000 a month to do who-knows-what seems immoral and indecent. Haiti is the poorest country in the Caribbean.
The Sept. 23 Miami Herald reported that Haitians experience daily violence and chaos, poverty, lack of food and at least 3,000 people have been killed by gangs. Haiti deserves a complete re-do.
Yet Stone, a political ally of President Donald Trump known for his racist comments, is being rewarded. In the right hands, his salary could do so much to help Haiti.
Teresa Fernández,
Miami
Commuter woes
Miami is one of the most vibrant cities in the country, yet getting around it without a car remains a daily struggle for thousands of residents. Students, service workers and seniors often spend more time waiting for buses than they do at their destinations.
Other cities have shown that reliable public transit pays for itself in economic activity, cleaner air and less gridlock. Miami-Dade already has the ridership and the need. What it lacks is consistent investment in frequency and reach.
I urge county leaders to prioritize more frequent bus service and better connections to the Metrorail. A city this dynamic deserves a transit system that keeps up with it.
Elena Barrera,
Miami
Putin in Miami
Re: the Sept. 30 story, “Miami-Dade’s Democratic mayor blasts Trump for Putin invite to G20 in Doral” and the Sept. 30 op-ed “Rubio should be ashamed of welcoming Putin to Miami.” Mayor Cava and op-ed writer Fernand Amandi do not appear to understand the strategy of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer.
Russia has the most nuclear weapons of any country. Any opportunity we can create which allows us to gain better insight on the Russian president is invaluable. If the intent is to punish him by not inviting him, that will not work. Putin is many things, but he’s not a child.
What concerns me is the security required to make the occasion safe for everyone involved, including our community. If Putin accepts the invite, I hope local, state and federal agencies will cooperate. I also hope local Democratic leadership won’t deploy obstructive tactics.
Robert E. Panoff,
Pinecrest
Men only?
According to a recent Miami Herald report, Byron Donalds, GOP candidate for Florida governor, said that “young girls are supposed to grow up to become women and mothers, young boys are supposed to grow up to become fathers and leaders.”
Are young girls not supposed to be leaders as well? Really, Byron?
Lily Murphy,
Kendall
Voting tradition
I remember being a little girl and walking into a polling place with my grandmother. I didn’t understand every name or issue on the ballot, but I understood something important: my grandmother believed her voice mattered.
Voting has become more than a civic responsibility. It is a family tradition — one generation teaching the next that our voices have value and that participating in democracy matters.
Every election finds its way to our kitchen tables. It affects our schools, public safety, housing, transportation, jobs, neighborhoods, businesses and opportunities for our children.
Florida’s 2024 primary turnout was 22.4%, compared with 78.9% in the general election, according to the Florida Division of Elections. Those numbers should make us pause.
Why do so many people participate in some elections but not others?
We should listen and make voting part of our culture. Parents can bring children to the polls. Grandparents can share their stories. Teachers and community leaders can help people understand when, where and how to vote.
My grandmother took me to vote. Now I take my son. That is how civic engagement becomes a family tradition — one generation at a time.
Shan Rose,
city commissioner,
Orlando