Thank you, Bob Graham, for helping save this important slice of Miami history | Opinion

Thanking Graham

I never had the opportunity to meet former Florida governor and U. S. Sen. Bob Graham. If I had, the first thing I would have said was, “Thank You!”

I served on The Barnacle Society (TBS) Board for many years. TBS is a Citizens Support Organization for the five-acre Barnacle State Park in Coconut Grove. It was because of late Miami historian Arva Moore Parks and her good family friend, Graham — a state senator at the time — that the descendants of Ralph Middleton Munroe made the wise decision in 1973 to sell their waterfront homestead to the state rather than to a developer.

For the past 50 years, South Florida residents and visitors from all over the world have had the opportunity to visit The Barnacle to discover what this bay front area was like in the late 1800s — before the city of Miami, before Main Highway and well before the hustle and bustle of Coconut Grove!

Visiting The Barnacle is walking 100-plus years into the past, to a simpler time and a glimpse of what life must have been like for the hardy and resilient Florida pioneers.

A big thanks to Parks and to Graham for saving this slice of Florida history for us all.

Marlin Ebbert,

Coral Gables

Gables accountability

The Gables Good Government Committee (GGG) was formed to advocate for accountable and responsible government in Coral Gables. Cities rely on established processes, precedents and policies to uphold the integral democratic tenets of honesty, transparency and trust to guide government decision-making.

Recent actions by the Coral Gables City Commission — made in urgency and with little opportunity for public input — regarding significant pay raises and the sudden firing and replacement of the city manager, have raised concerns among voters and the GGG. These actions appear to circumvent established processes that ensure fairness, transparency and public participation.

Why were established procedures bypassed?

No apparent emergencies or circumstances indicated immediate action was necessary. Politics, rather than urgency, may have driven these decisions. These recent commission actions disregard the principles of ethical governance and responsible decision-making.

The GGG questions why established processes were not followed and why the public was excluded from these decisions. As concerned and engaged citizens, we expect accountability and adherence to established procedures and processes that provide transparency by our elected officials.

Susi Davis,

Gables Good Government Committee,

Coral Gables

Better days

Re: the April 18 front page story, “Bob Graham, former Florida governor and U.S. senator, dies.” What happened to the Florida that elected open-minded politicians concerned about the less fortunate and less powerful, like Graham, former Govs. Lawton Chiles and Rubin Askew and former U.S. Sen. Claude Pepper?

Today’s Florida has elected scalawag Sen. Rick Scott, cliché-mouthed and empty Sen. Marco Rubio, “mini-Trump” Gov. Ron DeSantis and their minions who, when they accomplish anything, do the bidding of the wealthy and corporate interests.

L. Gabriel Bach,

Key Biscayne

Gables underbelly

Re: the April 18 story, “Coral Gables mayor wants forensic audit to prove city isn’t a ‘cesspool’ of corruption.” I am proud to call Coral Gables my home and also proud of our Mayor Vince Lago and our Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson. They have done a tremendous job for our city. If there is a “cesspool of public corruption” perhaps we should look at the three new commissioners who, without public input, awarded themselves a 101% raise, including a car allowance.

Commissioner Melissa Castro, who runs a permit runner business (40% of it within Coral Gables), has been given carte blanche by the city’s ethics panel to continue operating with the city.

I guess we will not see Commissioner Ariel Fernandez in his golf cart anymore, now that he has a more than $8,000 yearly car allowance.

Cesspool of corruption?

Maybe, but we are looking at the wrong culprits.

Rosa Maria Hanchett,

Coral Gables

Even treatment

Former President Donald Trump has expressed his unhappiness about not being able to attend his son’s high school graduation due to the “hush money” trial in New York. The judge in the case has not ruled on this issue yet, as Barron Trump’s graduation ceremony is not until May.

Notably, there are many people now in prison who may be unable to attend graduation ceremonies for their loved ones. We should all feel sorry for them. Perhaps some of those inmates were wrongly convicted and it is indeed unfortunate they will be unable to attend happy family events.

While Trump does remain innocent until proven guilty, he has caused his own problem by allegedly falsifying business records to cover up his indiscretions and delaying the trial, which may potentially conflict with Barron’s graduation.

Peter M. Brooke,

Doral

Party crashed

Without a doubt, the governing student body of any local middle school could do a better job running this country than today’s Republican Party.

The GOP is a useless group of non-leaders.

Priscilla Fregger Adler,

Cutler Bay

No jail time

Being a card-carrying Democrat like (probably) most of the Manhattan jurors on the trial against Donald Trump, I predict they will not convict the former president.

In 1990, a New York jury of similar or equal makeup did not convict Imelda Marcos, former first lady and wife of former Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos, for the misuse of government money to fund a lavish life style. Ferdinand died before trial, but the U. S. attorney did not remove his name from the indictment.

Her famous Wyoming lawyer, Gerry Spence, did not call a single witness and just argued that the government couldn’t get the “old man,” so they went after the “widow woman.” The jury had lunch, then returned with a “not guilty” verdict.

No jury in America is going to convict a former president for misreporting funds, regardless of their political preferences.

Trump’s lawyer just has to ask, “Are you really going to be the jury to convict a former president of the United States of America of what amounts to, at most, a misdemeanor?”

No one wants that legacy.

John H. Schulte,

Coral Gables

Trouble ahead

Are we sure that the highest court in the United States should be called “Supreme”?

First it takes away a woman’s right to protect her own body. Now, it is casting doubt on the obstruction charges against those who vandalized our nation’s Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

What’s happening to our democracy?

If I was 30 years younger, I’d seriously consider moving to Tuscany.

Diane Goodman Dolcourt,

Pinecrest

Nonsense opinion

Stephen Moore’s April 18 op-ed, “Biden on the economy: I don’t feel your pain,” is replete with the language of propaganda. Biden never said, “I don’t feel your pain,” nor did he call Americans stupid.

Moore’s descriptors, “stooges” and “sycophants,” are clearly biased terms for Biden’s “supporters.” He also refers to those satisfied with the economy as ”...nested inside college faculty lounges,” as if they were non-productive recluses.

I suspected the source when I read that Moore is a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative organization. The Miami Herald should offer a platform to all views of issues, but readers must beware of biased sources.

Joan Kasner,

Coral Gables

Measure of a man

Bob Graham was a great governor. I wonder how Florida politics descended from such a lofty level then to such a low point now.

Imagine if we had Graham as governor today. We certainly would have expanded Medicaid and we would not have sacrificed thousands of lives to COVID-19, just so a politician could yell “freedom!” We might disagree with opposing views, but we would respect them and not seek retribution.

Graham was a man of stature whose memory makes us realize what a small man we have sitting in the governor’s mansion today.

Martin Kleinbart,

Aventura