15-07-2025
Trump inherited a mess from Biden, so why so much controversy over Alligator Alcatraz?
Immigration facility
Why do we have a red hot controversy over the detention facility known as Alligator Alcatraz?
Because the Trump administration is attempting to deport illegal immigrants. The administration inherited a huge number of illegal immigrants the day Trump took office. Apparently, there are not enough detention facilities.
If Democrats oppose this effort, why not go to Congress and try to pass a bill to forbid all deportations?
Does Miami-Dade County Mayor Cava have experience inspecting jails?
Gary Sisler,
Cutler Bay
Indoctrination? Insane
Miami Herald reporter Garrett Shanley's July 14 story, 'Florida spends $4 million on new 'ideology-free' college accreditor,' suggests a return to McCarthyism, a period of indoctrination as hinted to by President Trump who said that his 'secret weapon' — using accreditation — 'will force schools to adapt policies favored by conservatives.'
Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke of liberal cartels, Juntas and woke, ideological-laden words used in indoctrination. Threatening academic freedom, replacing it with 'policies favored by conservatives' is indoctrination.
Liberalism is a universal mosaic of neutral principles like constitutional, scientific and legal processes, including human rights. Science demands facts to counter superstition. Human rights, if not applied, become a farce. Courts without due process allow the powerful to put a finger on the scales of justice. The U.S. Constitution, unenforced, becomes a door mat.
Liberalism does not take sides. It requires accuracy when making accusations. Its legal procedures prevent miscarriages of justice by insuring the protection of due process. Its belief in evidence uproots superstitions and unmasks conspiracy theories. Its support for human and civil rights is the bedrock of democracy. Liberalism advocates for free markets, well-regulated, with progressive taxation, just as Adam Smith, the father of liberal capitalism, suggested.
Advocating Floridians to pay $4 million to be indoctrinated is not conservative; it is madness.
Phil Beasley,
Plantation
Playhouse drama
The Coconut Grove Playhouse is not being 'revived.' It is being dismantled slowly, strategically and under the false branding of cultural renewal.
What Bari Newport describes in her July 3 Miami Herald op-ed, 'Why the Coconut Grove Playhouse project is a revival, not a demolition,' is not a bold investment in Miami's future. It is an underwhelming compromise dressed up as progress. A historic 1,100-seat landmark, capable of hosting national touring acts and regional collaborations, is being reduced to a 300-seat boutique venue the public never requested nor was it proven to be financially viable.
The community was promised restoration. What they have received instead is selective demolition, missed deadlines and a decade of delay from the agencies entrusted with stewardship. Florida owns this land and Miami-Dade County was granted a lease with a clear purpose: restore the property as a public theater, with timely progress and proper upkeep.
While the county may have won its case in a Miami-Dade courtroom, the real legal question lies with the state. Whether a breach of lease justifies taking the property back is now supported by mounting evidence. State officials, including those from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Division of Historical Resources, have documented troubling violations, including the penetration of the historic façade through its original window openings. This is a clear indication that the project has veered far from preservation.
World-class performances or internationally acclaimed talent will never be attracted to a glorified black-box theater with 300 seats. It is not viable, not visionary and not what Miami deserves. If this were truly about artistic excellence, we would be having an open conversation about programming, access and impact, not sneaking asbestos abatement contracts through without public review, or clearing parking lots in the middle of legal limbo.
Where are the public notices? Where is the transparency? Why were key architectural voices and preservation experts excluded?
Will voters allow the county to get away with it? Will the state intervene before it is too late?
This plan is being championed by insiders, while so many of the most respected voices in American theater, including Edward Albee, Zev Buffman, Arva Parks, Vic Meyrich, Howard Rogut and countless local artists and residents oppose it outright. They do not oppose progress — they oppose erasure. They know the economic and artistic future of this space depends on a real stage, real scale and real integrity.
This is not about politics; it is about accountability. Miami-Dade residents and Floridians deserve better than this. If the county cannot meet the terms of its lease — terms it agreed to and obligations it ignored — then the state has a duty to step in. The Playhouse deserves its legacy and the people deserve the truth.
Fabián Basabe,
representative,
Florida House of Representatives,
Tallahassee
Quick build
One thing that is particularly striking about Alligator Alcatraz is the speed at which it was constructed. It reminds me of the incredible pace at which the Sanibel Causeway was repaired after Hurricane Ian in 2022.
If only the governor could take over the small bridge project that has been taking forever to complete between Southwest 70th and 72nd avenues along 136th street, a main thoroughfare. I suspect he could have had it done for far less cost, with the prefabricated components trucked to the site in less than two months, in view of the shortness of the span.
Robert E. Panoff,
Pinecrest
Real patriots
In the May 23 Miami Herald op-ed, 'Florida ranks low on patriotism? I don't believe it,' writer Mary Anna Mancuso suggested Republicans are more patriotic than Democrats. I am a reformed Reagan Republican and a patriot who, to borrow the famous saying, 'I didn't leave the Republican Party, it left me.'
Patriots speak up against stupidity, injustice, hate, violence, bigotry and misogyny. We embrace protesting as our right to free speech. We don't ban books. We don't prevent others from choosing their sexual orientation or partner.
Patriotism is not owned by any party. We are liberals, moderates, conservatives, Republicans, independents, Democrats and those slowly waking up politically who have never protested before.
We won't stay silent when seeing due process ignored and people arrested based on their appearance or tattoos. We don't need to wave flags, but our flag waves on our lawns with signage stating, 'Protect Democracy.' We marched proudly in the 'No Kings' protest.
I do not recognize today's Republican Party, which is filled with too many haters waving MAGA hats and flags and deriding those who disagree with suppressive policies. Nope. The party has no right to claim itself as 'more patriotic' than the rest of us.
John and Debbie Dolson,
Coconut Grove
Worthy sacrifice
Every time President Trump wants to show the world how powerful he is by imposing or increasing tariffs, he is really just taxing the American people. His presidency's two biggest legislative accomplishments were giving the ultra rich large tax breaks, paid for by increasing the national debt for future generations.
His loyal legions accept this economic assisted suicide as the price for persecuting the LGBTQ community, controlling women's bodies and putting people of color in their place.
If you ask what would Jesus do, perhaps he would seek residency in Canada, Mexico, or anywhere ICE agents don't profile dark-skinned middle easterners.
Roberto Romero,
Snellville, GA
Fumble or Hail Mary?
Former Miami Dolphins quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has been suspended from his head football coaching position at Miami Northwestern, his high school alma mater, for providing 'impermissible benefits' to his players. These benefits included paying for Uber rides, physical therapy, pregame meals, recovery help, field paint and more.
If that's true, Bridgewater should be celebrated, not suspended.
Paul Bacon,
Hallandale Beach
