Hundreds of people attended last week's Miami-Dade County Commission meeting in support of moving the Urban Development Boundary and proposed projects. In addition, there were 6,000 signatures on a petition. Thankfully, commissioners heard and responded to the residents.
The Kendall application is filling-in a small notch between the 1,200-unit Vizcaya development and Kendall Drive. It provides a new four-lane roadway to eliminate traffic on neighborhood roads. This road, according to the fire department, is critical in responding to emergencies in those neighborhoods.
This site is in the Master Plan Urban Expansion Area. In other words, the county had already planned to allow development here. Staff at the meeting said that water supply and traffic are not an issue.
There is a real need for commercial uses near the homes in this area. There are no marshes, wetlands or intrusion on the Everglades. The unquestioning worship of ''the line'' is foolish. There is nothing sacred about its present configuration, and we should be able to make reasonable adjustments from time to time to correct past errors or obvious flaws in its alignment, without the rancor or overblown rhetoric found repeatedly in The Miami Herald.
PATRICIA SHANNEN DAVIS, West Kendall
Stellar student concert
I congratulate all the students in the 37th annual honors concert band for the concert held at the Wertheim Performing Arts Center at Florida International University recently.
The band was composed of the best music students from Miami-Dade County and, despite the fact that they had only three days to practice as a group, they put on an excellent concert. It was flawless.
This was a reflection of the students' dedication, love for music, and support of teachers and parents. It's amazing to see how much talent we have in our schools.
Let us hope that they can continue nurturing this unique gift of music and that they receive all the support they need. Unfortunately, when our government is slashing education funds, the first programs to go are arts programs. Let these students pursue their dream. Let them know they can accomplish something through music. It will help them become better people. Let's keep the music alive.
MILITZA MALDONADO, Palmetto Bay
Intemperate remarks
On Tuesday, my family and I attended our youngest daughter's graduation from Florida International University. We were surprised when one of the guest speakers used the occasion to reveal his political opinions on the war and our country.
My family and I were offended by many of his comments. We shouldn't have been subjected to this on a day when we went to see an important event in our lives. We resent that FIU President Modesto Maidique allowed this to happen.
There were families with different views and opinions present, people with relatives fighting in Iraq, some who are against the war, but others who are not.
Families came together to enjoy a special day and were not prepared to have listen to how the world hates the United States.
MARTHA SECO, Miami
