Stray cats shouldn't be roaming Miami's neighborhoods, putting birds at risk
Re: the May 22 Miami Herald front page story, 'Miami-Dade sets thousands of stray cats free. Should feeding them be legal?' Miami-Dade County released almost 18,000 cats back into the streets in the past year. Statistics have shown that cats kill about 2.5 billion birds annually in North America alone. Bird numbers are dropping and this is just one of the reasons.
Cats are instinctive hunters. Just because people feed them doesn't mean they won't kill birds. Peacocks and iguanas are everywhere in the county now, but they're not killing other animals.
There is absolutely no valid reason for feral cats to be roaming our neighborhoods killing what's left of our wildlife.
Glenn Huberman,
Miami
Avoiding war
Memorial Day is dedicated to honoring those in military service who gave their lives serving their country. New York was the first state to recognize the holiday in 1873. After World War l, the holiday was recognized for those who died in any war. The poem, 'In Flanders Fields,' brought forth the idea to wear red poppies on Memorial Day. When Congress passed the National Holiday Act of 1971, Memorial Day (observed) moved to the last Monday in May.
Wars are caused by ideologies for control, power and authority. The memory of the military as our protectors and also as family members and the countless civilians who are the victims of war are always in our thoughts.
What must be done is to sit, discuss, debate, communicate, negotiate and mediate to avert war and harm. It can be done.
Louis Cohen,
Vietnam Veterans of America,
Chapter 23,
Tamarac
Keys Memorial Day
Take some time from your busy Memorial Day to honor and remember the sacrifices of our many 'Soldiers Killed In Action' during a ceremony in the auditorium of the Key Largo Murray Nelson Government Center at 11 a.m. on May 26. Doors open at 9:30 a.m.
Plans include a performance by our Florida Keys Community Concert Band, flag presentation by the Daughters of the American Revolution, Scout Color Guard, inspirational videos and insightful veteran and civilian guest speakers.
Immediately following the ceremony, free hot dogs, burgers, fries and discounted beverages will be provided at the VFW Post 10211's new and remodeled restaurant, 'The Armory Speakeasy,' directly adjacent to the Murray Nelson Government Center on the northbound side of U.S. 1.
John Donnelly,
Key Largo
Upholding the law
The Founding Fathers were revolutionaries. They started one, finished one and knew how to avoid another one. One way to avoid one is to not use the military to suppress dissent to enforce domestic law, which is a principal reason the founders rebelled against the British Crown.
Police are monitored by courts, but armies aren't. Although the U.S. Constitution does not prohibit a standing army, it does limit funding one for more than two years. After abuses in suppressing dissent were seen during the Civil War, Congress passed the Posse Comitatus Act in 1878, which prohibits using the military to enforce domestic law.
An exception to the Act's prohibition is that troops can guard military installations, where vital national defense information is kept. In an apparent attempt to get around the Act, President Trump transferred federal territory along the border with Mexico to the military and began using troops to seize illegal immigrants.
Some of the hundreds of criminal trespass cases against those immigrants were thrown out by a federal judge, who concluded that claiming they trespassed on a military installation was a legal fiction and a violation of the Act. While preventing illegal immigration is a laudable goal, so is preventing the army from suppressing dissent, which is why the military is prohibited from domestic law enforcement and why the potential for that should not be permitted.
Fortunately, once again, the courts are doing their job by upholding the rule of law and curbing yet another possible step toward dictatorship, however innocently it may be portrayed.
R. Thomas Farrar,
Miami
Youngest voters
More than 50 years ago, the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted 18-year-old people the right to vote. It was at the height of the Vietnam War and the thinking was that if young people were old enough to fight — even against their will, as was the case with the draft — they were old enough to vote.
Now it's time for a new Constitutional amendment guaranteeing the vote to anyone who has started menstruating. Because if you're old enough to bear children — even against your will, with draconian anti-abortion laws — you're old enough to vote.
Katy Sorenson,
Miami
Jefferson's gaze
There are sincere citizens among us who believe that our founding fathers meant for our nation to worship only one higher being: theirs. Instead, the founding fathers built a nation whose government would be truly neutral on the issue of 'best religion.' They enshrined it in our Constitution.
President Thomas Jefferson championed freedom of religion his entire life. It is ironic that now his portrait hangs in Donald Trump's Oval Office. Jefferson often pointed to himself as someone whose religious views might differ from others, yet would be good for society. He said, 'Ask not of my religion. That is a matter between my God and me alone. If society finds that my life was just and moral, the religion that governed it cannot have been a bad one.'
Today, everything that happens in the Oval Office is under the gaze of Jefferson. Maybe it will make those who populate the office a little more thoughtful. Maybe nervous?
Anyway, it makes me feel good.
Mac Melvin,
Key Biscayne
Disheartened
No matter how hard they try, Republican lawmakers cannot escape their connection to President Donald Trump's efforts to purge the United States of as many immigrants as possible. While South Florida's Congressional representatives may claim to be 'deeply disappointed,' they cannot afford to step on constituents' toes due to their reliance on the Cuban, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan communities — the last of which were recently dealt a setback by the mostly conservative and Trump-influenced U.S. Supreme Court.
These lawmakers will ultimately behave as 'yes' men and women. They are hesitant to speak out, fearing backlash from their leader and the MAGA faithful.
As a Latino in Miami, I am truly baffled that the communities now facing persecution and deportation previously supported and voted for Trump and his fellow lawmakers. Those votes enabled the government to unleash ICE on immigrant families, mass deportations separating many loved ones, transfers to prisons in other countries, or returned to the places they fled to escape poverty, imprisonment, torture, or even death.
These communities have seemingly turned against their own. The level of hypocrisy is astounding, but the shift to dystopia is fearful.
Nestor Cedeno,
Miami
Medical advice
If Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, feels that people shouldn't take medical advice from him, then he should step aside in favor of someone who is qualified and head the national health agency.
Ted Burg,
Pembroke Pines
Rubio's troubles
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's parents and grandparents would be horrified that he's now in favor of eliminating Temporary Protective Status for Venezuelans and not defending Ukraine against democracy's archenemy, Russian President Vladimir Putin.
I'm sorry to see him embrace our president and behaving more like a puppet. We were cheated. Shame on those who revoked TPS, a legal and democratic law.
Jaime Edelstein,
Pinecrest
Border policies
If former President Joe Biden had kept the border with Mexico legal, we would not have legal challenges today.
Joy Pargman,
Miami
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Chicago Tribune
a day ago
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Today in History: Charles Darwin's theory of evolution published
Today is Wednesday, Aug. 20, the 232nd day of 2025. There are 133 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 20, 1858, Charles Darwin's theory of evolution was first published, in the 'Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society'. Also on this date: In 1862, the New York Tribune published an open letter by editor Horace Greeley calling on President Abraham Lincoln to take more aggressive measures to free enslaved people and end the South's rebellion. In 1866, President Andrew Johnson declared the official end of the Civil War. In 1882, Tchaikovsky's '1812 Overture' had its premiere in Moscow. In 1910, a series of wildfires swept through parts of Idaho, Montana and Washington, killing at least 85 people and burning some 3 million acres. In 1920, the American Professional Football Conference was established by representatives of four professional football teams; two years later, with 18 teams, it would be renamed the National Football League. In 1940, exiled Communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky was attacked in Coyoacan, Mexico by assassin Ramon Mercader. (Trotsky died the next day.) In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Economic Opportunity Act, a nearly $1 billion anti-poverty measure. In 1968, the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact nations invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the 'Prague Spring' liberalization movement. In 1986, postal employee Patrick Henry Sherrill went on a deadly rampage at a post office in Edmond, Oklahoma, shooting 14 fellow workers to death before killing himself. In 1989, 51 people died when the pleasure boat Marchioness sank in the River Thames in London after being struck by a dredger. In 2012, after 80 years in existence, Georgia's Augusta National golf club (home to the Masters Tournament) invited former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore to become its first female members; both accepted. In 2023, Tropical Storm Hilary struck Baja California, killing three and causing $15 million in damage. Today's Birthdays: Boxing promoter Don King is 94. Former U.S. Senator and diplomat George Mitchell is 92. Former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, is 90. Broadcast journalist Connie Chung is 79. Rock singer Robert Plant is 77. Country singer Rudy Gatlin is 73. Singer-songwriter John Hiatt is 73. Actor-director Peter Horton is 72. TV weather presenter Al Roker is 71. Actor Joan Allen is 69. Movie director David O. Russell is 67. Rapper KRS-One (Boogie Down Productions) is 60. Actor Colin Cunningham is 58. Actor Billy Gardell is 56. Rock singer Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit) is 55. Actor Ke Huy Quan is 54. Baseball Hall of Famer Todd Helton is 52. Actor Amy Adams is 51. Actor Misha Collins (TV: 'Supernatural') is 51. Actor Ben Barnes is 44. Actor Andrew Garfield is 42. Actor-singer Demi Lovato is 33.
Chicago Tribune
4 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Lake County museum looking for new home; must vacate old courthouse by Dec. 31
Time travel is a possibility at the Lake County Historical Society Museum. The museum, housed in 4,000 square feet on the second floor of the Old Lake County Courthouse in downtown Crown Point, is filled with donations that go back to the 1800s when both Crown Point and Lake County were in their infancy. Finding new homes for these museum treasures, including diaries from Civil War soldiers, an 1821 Gutenberg printing press and a symphonion music box and cabinet from 1890 that still plays, is now the job of Executive Director Diane Gora and some eight volunteers. Gora herself is an unpaid volunteer. 'We were given notice on July 31 that we have until Dec. 31 to vacate the space,' Gora said. Notice was given from the Lake Courthouse Foundation, owners of the courthouse, who couldn't be reached for comment. 'We can't afford the rent right now,' Gora said. The museum has been housed in the courthouse for 43 years this month. 'We've had a good 43 years,' she said. Gora said the Lake County Historical Society, which operates the museum, is one of the oldest continuously operating historical societies in Indiana. It's still gearing up to celebrate its 150th anniversary with an open house from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sept. 27. 'Our goal is to maintain the society and keep it going for another 150 years. The elephant in the room is taking care of people's treasures,' she said. Gora said the society knew two years ago that they would be asked to move the museum out of the courthouse. During that time period, Gora and volunteers have tried to inventory everything. 'We have been working diligently to do an inventory; none had been done before,' she said. So far, 5,000 items have been logged and can be accounted for. 'We are struggling to get through all the items,' she said. She said part of her group's tedious process, in addition to logging everything, is trying to connect items with their donors. 'It's not a matter of putting things out in a dumpster. We're trying to find paperwork that links items with the family. Do they want the item back or donate it to another place?' she said. Her group is also able to loan or gift items, if pertinent to that community, to other cities or historical societies. The Lake County Parks Department, including Deep River Mill and Buckley Homestead, has taken some of the museum's items, as has the city of Gary and the Old Sheriff's House Foundation in Crown Point. The Lake County Historical Society Museum includes two rooms that are open to the public, plus two rooms used for storage of many items, including 50 bins of military and vintage clothing. On a recent Tuesday, Crown Point residents Alicia and Scott Savoy came to the museum after hearing that it would no longer be located there after Dec. 31. It was their second visit to the museum. 'This is great,' Alicia Savoy said of the items inside the museum, adding, 'It's telling a story.' There's plenty to see, including the astronaut spacesuit Crown Point native Jerry Ross wore on one of his many trips into space; 'technology' from the early 1900s, such as typewriters and adding machines; as well as a German-made silent movie camera patented in the early 1900s. 'We're trying to preserve as much as we can,' Gora said. Gora hopes that the museum can find a new home for all its treasures, and she said she has had at least one offer from a Dyer businessperson who would let them use a storefront for items. 'It (a new location) will never be as right as this is,' she said of the museum's present location. Those with questions about the museum or the society can call (219) 662-3975 or (219) 308-4407. The phone number for the foundation is (219) 663-0660
USA Today
6 days ago
- USA Today
Education Department delays are putting parenting college students in a bind
Applications for millions of dollars in federal childcare funding are delayed, threatening the education of college students with young kids. There are many differences between Carmina Garcia and Mahogany Ann-Fowler. One attends a community college; the other goes to a regional university. Garcia lives in Arizona; Ann-Fowler is based in Pennsylvania. Garcia studies nursing; Ann-Fowler wants to be an architect. But two key similarities have them in tough situations. Both are moms of young kids. And both are unsure what they'll do in the fall if a federal childcare program they've come to rely on disappears about a month into the semester, as their colleges have warned. On the heels of the U.S. Department of Education cutting its workforce in half in March, grant applications for at least a half-dozen federal programs for colleges have been delayed, according to experts. One of those affected is the Child Care Access Means Parents in School, or CCAMPIS, grant. For decades, the grant has helped parenting students at colleges across the country. Created by Congress in 1998, it awards money to higher education institutions to support or establish campus-based childcare services. In addition to hiring staff to watch infants and toddlers, the grant also helps colleges develop before- and after-school programs for older kids while offering childcare subsidies and advising. In fiscal year 2023, the grant provided more than $83 million to hundreds of colleges, federal data shows. The average award to each school was more than $317,000. The need for such services is evident and ongoing: One in five undergraduate students has a child, according to government data, and research consistently shows that students with children are less likely than their non-parenting peers to complete their degrees on time – or at all. Garcia, a 29-year-old with three kids between the ages of 1 and 4, said the childcare program at Pima Community College allowed her to return to school. "I don't know how I could've done it any other way," she said. "If I wouldn't have found this, I don't think that I would be pursuing the education that I'm pursuing." Come Sept. 30, Pima's program will be gone. Phil Burdick, a spokesperson for the college, said the decision was made due to the Education Department's delays in releasing grant money. The CCAMPIS funding at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where Ann-Fowler goes to school, is also set to end on that date. IUP spokesperson Michelle Fryling said the university is "unsure of any personnel changes related to the end of this grant." That uncertainty is already causing parenting students to scramble. Unless something changes, Ann-Fowler and Garcia will lose their childcare support just after the fall semester begins at their colleges. Spokespeople for the Education Department did not respond to questions about the delay in the grant applications. Experts puzzled over grant delays Though the grant cycles for colleges' CCAMPIS programs differ, the funding at many schools will dry up in September. In the past, applications for those schools to renew their grants would have opened in late May and closed by July. This year, the Education Department never opened those applications. "We're still very much on the edge of our seats," said James Hermes, the associate vice president of government relations at the American Association of Community Colleges. Exactly what's causing the delay is still puzzling students, colleges and experts. Some suspect the issue is staffing. President Donald Trump laid off hundreds of Education Department personnel in March and pushed hundreds more to retire or take buyouts. Other onlookers, including Eddy Conroy, a senior policy manager on the higher education team at the left-leaning think tank New America, wonder whether the CCAMPIS program might be a casualty of the Trump administration's next effort to claw back funding already budgeted by Congress. The president's budget proposal, released in May, suggested zeroing out funding for CCAMPIS altogether. 'States, localities, and colleges, not the Federal government, are best suited to determine whether to support the activities authorized under this program," said the proposal, which Congress is considering ahead of a government shutdown deadline (which is also Sept. 30, the day the childcare grant money disappears). But the White House has demonstrated an unusual comfort level with flouting the normal budgeting process. In July, the U.S. Senate rubber-stamped $9 billion in reductions to foreign aid and public broadcasting after Congress had already set aside money for those programs. Russell Vought, the head of the White House Office of Management and Budget, has indicated that education funding might be the next area of focus for Trump's cuts. "Is this a capacity issue?" wondered Conroy of New America. "Or is this a backdoor way to illegally impound funds that have been appropriated?" Hannah Fuller, a 22-year-old student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee who's been a CCAMPIS recipient for three years, said her school is still figuring out how it'll handle the situation. She was told to start applying for state childcare support programs instead. If she needs to look elsewhere for childcare in the fall, she may have to find a second job on the weekends. (She's already a full-time paralegal and attends classes on the side.) But in that scenario, she doesn't know when she'd spend quality time with her 4-year-old son. "He would never see me," she said. One college turns to donors While many schools are warning of cuts or sitting in limbo, one college in a small Massachusetts town has found a way to get ahead of the funding volatility. When grant applications didn't open on their typical timeline, Ann Reynolds, the CCAMPIS advisor at Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner, devised a Plan B. She went to the board members of the school's foundation and urged them to intervene. She asked for $94,000 to cover two years, ensuring all of her currently enrolled CCAMPIS students would have support through graduation. The board said yes. Still, Reynolds is "preparing for the best case scenario" (that the grant applications open soon). "We may not get it," she said. Alyson Koerts Meijer, a student at Mount Wachusett who relies on a daycare program run by Reynolds, said she's seen how CCAMPIS has benefitted her classmates. Though she doesn't participate directly in the program herself, she's been advocating for it because she knows firsthand how hard it is to get a college education while raising a young child. She wishes politicians could see that, too. "They don't see the people," she said. "They just see the dollar signs." Contributing: USA TODAY Graphics Editor Jim Sergent Zachary Schermele is an education reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@ Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @
