Plan to redevelop Miami Marine Stadium contradicts what residents want | Opinion
Key to riches?
The Miami city commission adopted the Virginia Key Master Plan (VKMP) in 2010 to protect and preserve Virginia Key, the Miami Marine Stadium (MMS) and basin from commercialization and to create a public land and water park. In 2015, then Commissioner Francis Suarez created the Virginia Key Advisory Board to oversee and guide island-wide restoration, development and planning in compliance with the VKMP.
In the 1980s, after power boat racing declined and other options were being considered for the MMS, rumor was the city wanted to develop a mini resort around the stadium’s basin. After Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the stadium was allowed to deteriorate, perhaps in the hope of demolishing it and redevelop the site. Efforts by preservationists, environmentalists and activists prevented demolition.
Miami’s commission, aided by Joe Carollo, helped stall the restoration of the MMS for many years with requests for feasibility studies. He wanted a “world class marina” developed on Virginia Key.
It is no surprise, therefore, to learn that new plans are afoot to monetize the Key and contradict the public’s input, as designated in the VKMP. This is all about making some investors rich. It’s not about a public park nor about the master plan. It never was.
Sunny McLean,
Coconut Grove
Top dollar
Re: the June 6 story, “$256 million county office complex is approved for West Dade. Is it a good buy for taxpayers?” Who are the individuals financially benefiting from overpaying?
Basing a price of $191 million on what the location would bring if fully occupied by one tenant is absurd. In today’s office market, that most likely will never happen. The county should have paid much less. This is an excellent example of public officials wasting millions. At worst, it is public corruption.
James Wall,
North Miami
Heroes needed
The 80th anniversary of D-Day gave me pause, as I thought about the patriots who stepped up to save democracy, some even lying about their age to enlist because they believed so strongly in the cause. All of that seems to be falling by the wayside in the insane times we now live in.
Reactions to ex-President Donald Trump’s 34-count conviction have been horrifying at best. Calls for intervention and vengeance — especially from elected officials in the federal government who echo their unhinged Puppet Master’s total disdain for the rule of law and civility — have thrown us into scary, uncharted waters.
Our own Sen. Marco Rubio has refused to say if he would accept the results of the 2024 election. That it would even be a question speaks volumes to where we find ourselves as a damaged nation spiraling quickly downward.
Who will save us? Who will storm the beaches of gross lies and ugly behavior aimed at creating an authoritarian state?
Voters will decide in November, but if you believe in facts and fairness, stand up now. Speak truth to power now. Nov. 5 may be too late.
Paula Xanthopoulou,
Miami
Climate correction
Florida State Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez’s June 5 op-ed, “Florida GOP has a key climate fix: Take on China,” seemed, at first, to reference the bill recently signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, which strips the term “climate change” from much of state law. “If you don’t see it, it doesn’t exist” is a belief system children possess before they develop “object permanence.” Turns out, Rodriguez was referencing something less feckless if equally infantile, namely, blaming China.
This cheap political stunt allows Republicans to bash President Joe Biden while ignoring that America is equally if not more culpable. Since 1850, the United States has emitted 509 billion tons of carbon dioxide. This dwarfs the 284 billion tons emitted by China.
Should we get a free pass on the carbon we added while industrializing?
Moreover, we are now responsible for more carbon emissions than China. The average Chinese contributes 10.1 tons of carbon pollution annually, compared with 17.6 tons for the average American.
Rodriguez celebrates the progress America has made in reducing emissions but fails to acknowledge that these achievements have largely been the result of executive actions taken by Presidents Barack Obama and Biden. Ex-President Donald Trump rolled back more than 100 environment rules instituted by Obama and has pledged to do the same if re-elected.
Perhaps the real climate fix would be to re-elect Biden and vote Republican climate-deniers out of office.
Michael K. Cantwell,
president,
Democratic Club of Delray Beach
Civic crisis
Coral Gables attorney Hugh Culverhouse just donated $500,000 to ex-President Donald Trump’s campaign in protest of Trump’s recent conviction in the hush money case.
Will he donate an equal amount to President Biden’s campaign because the Hunter Biden case is politically motivated?
A settlement had been reached earlier in Biden’s case, but was turned down because, politically, we had to embarrass the Biden family.
In today’s climate, everything is political, from the food one eats to the school one attends. Let’s return some sanity to our country.
Sol Yanowitz,
Miami
Beach fire chief
Kudos and congratulations to the City of Miami Beach. The city made Miami-Dade County history when it hired the first female firefighter, the first female fire marshal and the first Black fire chief.
Now, the city is about to make history again when the pending appointment of Deputy Fire Chief Digna Abello to Fire Chief/Director is completed. Miami Beach can be proud of its accomplishments and those of its employees.
Floyd Jordan,
Miami Gardens
Teacher pay
Re: the June 6 online op-ed, “To keep its workforce, Miami-Dade schools, Jackson unite to curb housing crisis.” To recruit and retain higher-quality workers, a viable base salary is needed that allows them to be homeowners, not eternal renters. Workforce housing, being touted as a community collaboration, shoves essential workers into vertical concrete communities, steps away from their places of employment.
Would CEOs and district leaders like to live where they work?
Unlikely. The op-ed’s word choice of “denser and more established neighborhoods” paints a real picture for those of us who read for meaning. There is available house inventory, but the base salary does not allow for workers to attain it.
Florida’s teacher pay was recently ranked 50th in the nation and the state had a $22 billion surplus last year. Go to Tallahassee, get us our money, pay respectable base salaries and include a teacher in the discussions. Not one teacher was seen or involved in the groundbreaking at the Southside site in 2022.
Katherine Prelaz,
Sunny Isles Beach
Just a number
President Joe Biden’s opponents keep saying that his cognitive abilities are slipping, yet every major address he’s given, such as the State of the Union and his recent D-Day speech in Normandy, were delivered flawlessly and with great vigor.
Meanwhile, ex-President Trump seemed to fall asleep during his recent court hearing. And when he delivers a speech, he is incoherent. Age is not the issue; it’s a person’s physical and mental abilities that are the important factors.
Art Young,
West Kendall
Housing crisis
Miami’s housing costs are skyrocketing, pushing residents to spend more on rent and leaving many struggling. We need immediate action to invest in affordable housing, reform zoning policies and protect tenants from unfair practices.
Miami’s future depends on ensuring that all residents have access to safe and affordable housing. Bold solutions and community collaboration are needed.
Luis Cruz,
Miami
Canadian drought
Imagine how American baseball fans would feel if Major League Baseball’s World Series was won by a Canadian team for 31 years in a row. Without a doubt, they would feel completely forlorn and would certainly rally behind any team with the best chance of beating the Canadians.
This is exactly how all of Canada feels about the whereabouts of hockey’s ultimate trophy, the Stanley Cup. Canada is desperate to witness the Edmonton Oilers defeat the Florida Panthers and bring the trophy back home, where the sport was born.
The grand finish of this series will be the hardest fought battle between Canadians and Americans since the War of 1812.
Garth Paul Ukrainetz,
Edmonton, Alberta
