![\"Ruth](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Ruth20Shack200520EKM.JPG\" "\\"Ruth")
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Ruth Shack in 2016, as she was honored with the Cultural Champion Award as a pioneering leader in foundations, philanthropy and the arts. Shack died at 94 on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Emily Michot<\/p>\n
emichot@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
Lovely remembrance<\/p>\n
I knew Ruth Shack and admired her deeply for her steadfast courage, compassion and public service. She was a true leader \u2014 defying the odds as a woman seeking public office and becoming a pioneer for those too often overlooked, while championing the rights and dignity of all.<\/p>\n
Few people would know that Ruth was also a cherished member of the \u201cVolley Girls,\u201d a group of South Florida women who gathered in the 1990s to play volleyball fiercely and discuss ways to improve our community. Most of us had attended school long before women were welcomed onto athletic fields, so learning volleyball as mature women taught us many of the same lessons young girls learn through sports today, thanks to the passage and implementation of Title IX.<\/p>\n
One of our cardinal rules was never to say \u201cI\u2019m sorry\u201d unless someone was actually injured. We laughed about how women so often apologize for things that are not their fault. We were coached by a legendary longtime volleyball coach at Miami Dade College who was a major figure in Florida college athletics.<\/p>\n
Because our court was in the backyard of one of our members\u2019 homes in Miami Beach, we became a regular stop for sightseeing boat tours. We could hear guides telling tourists that they were looking at \u201csome of the most powerful women in Miami.\u201d In our matching Volley Girl T-shirts and awkward volleyball form, we would wave back at the tourists and laugh at ourselves.<\/p>\n
Ruth has now joined several of her teammates \u2014 Rita Bornstein, Janet McAliley, Mary Doyle, Joanne Bass and Hope Pomerance \u2014 for what I imagine is a heavenly match.<\/p>\n
If one were to trace the history of modern Miami, the names of these women would appear again and again. The arts, education, government, law, philanthropy, hospitality, tourism, development, civic life and the environment all received help from the intelligence, generosity, and quiet leadership of these women. Their legacy may not always be widely recognized, but it will not be undone.<\/p>\n
Ruth touched countless lives, including mine. Her life remains a blessing to this community.<\/p>\n
Kathleen A. Shea,<\/p>\n
Kendall<\/p>\n
Troubled park<\/p>\n
Tropical Park is very dear to me. I live a mile away and bicycle through it almost daily. For many years, I played softball on its fields. During the 1990s and 2000s, I ran numerous 5K races through the park. Daily, I see dozens of people and their pets enjoying the dog park.<\/p>\n
I have counted 114 horse stalls that in the past were occupied by police mounted patrol horses and others. Other than during equestrian events, they sit vacant.<\/p>\n
The stalls do need an upgrade, but why are taxpayers footing $102 million for them while practically giving the facility to the Loud and Live group? What\u2019s in it for us?<\/p>\n
There is something fishy about Loud and Live beyond the A3 Foundation scandal. According to some Miami Herald stories<\/a>, we have ceded almost everything over to the group. Parks are for the people. Everything need not be free. Accessibility is key, affordable and available to all.<\/p>\n Perhaps the last good decision the county made concerning the park was purchasing it in 1974 for $12 million.<\/p>\n David Halpern,<\/p>\n Miami<\/p>\n Open Miami Center now<\/p>\n Re: the May 20 Miami Herald editorial, \u201cA $50 million mental health facility sits ready. Miami-Dade leaders, quit stalling<\/a>.\u201d That Miami-Dade County Commission Chair Anthony Rodriguez would accuse County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava\u2019s administration and facility advocates of \u201cpushing a half-baked\u201d idea is unbelievable.<\/p>\n Having toured the fabulous facility and listened to retired Judge Steven Leifman\u2019s detailed and meticulously thought-through plan for the center\u2019s success, I am incredulous that Rodriguez thinks it is fiscally responsible to continue spending $1 million a year to keep the facility closed. Recycling the same people with mental health issues through the judicial system is incredibly costly and should be tackled immediately.<\/p>\n Rodriguez\u2019s stalling has already cost the center millions in promised grant money that expired before it could be opened. The center must open now. It is already funded for the first three years. That buys much time to procure additional funding for future operations.<\/p>\n Nanci Mitchell,<\/p>\n South Miami<\/p>\n FIU\u2019s \u2018melting pot\u2019<\/p>\n