Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is The Grinch who stole Coney Island | Letters
The Grinch has stolen summer fun for the kids of Cincinnati. I am a Mom, swim instructor, and a longtime Coney Island season passholder trying to fight the demolition of a Cincinnati treasure by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Of course, the treasure that I am referring to is Coney Island and Sunlite Pool.
Saving Sunlite is more than saving a piece of Cincinnati history − it is also about saving one of the largest public swimming pools in the country and an important aquatic resource for Cincinnati to enjoy. Sunlite Pool has a first-class swim lesson program that teaches hundreds of kids how to swim each year. Sunlite Pool provides aquatic exercise and community for senior citizens who gather each day under the umbrellas. Sunlite Pool is fully wheelchair accessible with a zero-entry wheelchair ramp, enabling disabled people to enjoy water exercise. Sunlite Pool is an affordable place for people of all backgrounds to cool off on a hot summer day.
Our family enjoyed Sunlite every week last summer, and it was always busy, the pool was clean and cool and the staff warm and welcoming. It truly is a happy oasis in a frenzied world.
In a city that already boasts a professional football stadium, a professional baseball stadium, a professional soccer stadium, three outdoor music venues, a riverfront coliseum, the massive Music Hall, the Aronoff Center for Performing Arts, the Andrew J Brady Music Center and several small to medium music and performing arts venues, the need for another performance venue is questionable. Clearly, Cincinnati needs Sunlite Pool, which serves citizens from age 1 to 100, exponentially more than it needs another music venue, which most Cincinnatians will not be able to afford.
A grassroots effort has sprung up to save Sunlite and preserve the history of the Coney Island property. I have joined this effort with a glimmer of hope that Sunlite can be preserved for future generations to enjoy. The CSO holds a lot of power in our city and has big-money supporters. It is my hope that this letter will reach the hearts of those making the decision about the fate of Sunlite Pool and that their hearts, like the old Grinch, will somehow grow "three sizes bigger" and find a way to save our beloved Sunlite Pool.
Catherine Ampfer, Fort Thomas
Third political party needed to rescue a declining America
As I remember the 1990s, the biggest political fights were over tax codes and government spending. Today, one major political party champions sexual immorality and puts abortion rights on a pedestal. The other makes a lot of noise about a lot of issues but does nothing about anything. It's becoming obvious that we need a third party with a commonsense plan to rescue a declining America.
Fred Nelson, Mason
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is The Grinch who stole Coney Island
