Watching Miami’s city commission meetings shows bad behavior | Opinion

Miami’s troublemakers

I recently watched the final City of Miami Commission meeting of 2024. Over the course of this year, I have attended or watched every meeting and there are two consistent issues in each: Commissioner Joe Carollo’s behavior and Commissioner Christine King’s inaction.

As the commission’s vice chair, Carollo repeatedly bullied, threw tantrums and belittled fellow commissioners (with the notable exception of King) and the Miami taxpayers who took the time to attend and speak.

As commission chair, it is King’s responsibility to maintain order and control. However, in every meeting, she remained silent while Carollo carried out his disruptive tactics. Even more concerning, earlier in the year she referred to taxpayers who did not always agree with her as “M&Ms” (mean and miserable).

After writing my first email to Carollo in May 2019, following his alleged role in creating the homeless crisis at Maurice Ferre Park, I vowed to continue fighting for his removal from the Bayfront Park Management Trust until my goal was achieved.

Now, I have added a second goal: I will not rest until King is removed as chair and the mayor appoints a competent replacement.

Michael Feuling,

Miami

Teacher pay

In June, Gov. Ron DeSantis was regaled when he announced an overdue increase in teacher pay — $1.25 billion! This was a long-awaited step toward erasing decades of neglectful salaries and a solution to fill the thousands of vacancies felt in every school across the state.

Six months later, however, that $1.25 billion budget increase has trickled through the oolitic limestone that is the Florida economy and is now reflected in my pay stub. My daily rate, as a Miami-Dade County Public School teacher of more than 30 years, increased by … $11.50. Unacceptable on so many levels.

Was that the intent of the raise? To toss pebbles at veteran teachers?

That’s not how to retain and recruit highly qualified teachers in our local community or state. That’s not how one supports public education. That’s surely not how we build world class schools.

Elected officials at all levels and community leaders must collaborate on a real solution to this very real dilemma. Our educators deserve adequate pay; not to survive, but to thrive.

Katherine Prelaz,

Miami

Too much OT

Re: the Dec. 13 Miami Herald story, “Who earns the most overtime pay in Miami-Dade government?” I wonder who’s watching the time sheets in Miami-Dade County?

Lenard Davis, a maintenance supervisor in Miami-Dade’s transit system, reportedly earned the most overtime pay, $204,000, working an average of 58 hours of overtime a week. Add in the “regular” 40 hours and that equals to 98 hours per week.

Let’s suppose that as a super-dedicated worker, he works six days a week and takes one day off to deal with the regular things life brings (doctor visits, car repair, etc.) That means he worked on average 16.3 hours each work day. At that pace, a person would likely burn out in about three months.

Someone in the county must take a closer look at this list of overtime winners and separate the wheat from the chaff — for the sake of our property taxes.

Javier Berezdivin,

North Bay Village

Guns in America

Another day, another mass shooting, this time in Wisconsin, America’s heartland. Gun advocates cling to the Second Amendment, preventing any rational response to this American constant.

Could any sane person think this is what the founding fathers had in mind when the amendment was ratified in 1791?

Eddie Friedman,

Pinecrest

More daylight

Re: the Dec. 15 story, “Trump to urge ending daylight saving time.” Just pick one time and stick to it. People will adjust. There are only 24 hours in a day, just so much time is sun and so much is darkness. Changing the clocks won’t give us more sunshine.

Switching the clocks twice a year wreaks havoc on the mind and body. For days after a time change, accidents and heart attacks go up and people are “out of sorts” getting up earlier or later. For many people, like myself, it can take weeks to adjust to doing things, like eating at an abruptly different “sun time.” Let’s make the change just once more, or not at all.

Malcolm Brown,

Parkland

RFK is wrong

Sen. Mitch McConnell had polio, as did 16,000 children annually in mid-20th century. My husband had polio at age five, was in an iron lung with his stuffed Rudolf by his side. Now in his 70’s, he suffers from post-polio neuropathy.

My mother drove to small town armories when I was seven to receive the new sugar cube dose which prevented the paralyzing disease. It was the pink miracle of 1955. Thousands were spared this highly contagious scourge.

Now, a know-nothing about science comes along and debunks these miracles, the alleged worm inside his head denying the effectiveness of vaccines.

In the 16th century, when inoculation was unknown, half the population on earth died from the plague. Before flu shots, 675,000 Americans died of the Spanish flu in 1918. Hundreds of deadly cases of measles occurred annually in the last century.

Of all the educated experts available, an unqualified Robert F. Kennedy has been selected to lead our health agenda.

When the eradicated childhood diseases once again maim or kill our children, will their parents wonder why?

Floridians, tell Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott to consider the future well-being of their own grandchildren. Do not confirm RFK.

Johnnie McDonald,

Miami

State insurance

Perhaps it is time to look back at the original legislation that created Florida’s Citizens Insurance and then realize that every Republican-led legislature has tried to dismember it. Makes it kind of hypocritical to see today’s Republican-led legislature crying alligator tears about how bad things are and how they are going to fix them.

The easiest remedy would be to tell every insurance company operating in Florida that if they want to do business here, they must provide all types of insurance. The idea that companies can cherry-pick and only provide insurance that is profitable for them is abhorrent. Other states do exactly the same thing and do it for less.

The Florida Legislature must try something other than taking money from insurance companies.

Patrick Michael Reilly,

Pembroke Pines

Dreamer tuition

Re: the Dec. 17 Miami Herald story, “Top GOP leader: Phase out reduced tuition rates for Dreamers in Florida.” Florida State Senate President Ben Albritton, who hails from the “cosmopolitan” town of Wauchula, also represents an agricultural community where Hispanics are 49% of the population and whites are 44%.

Perhaps this is why he wants to withhold education from the children of undocumented immigrants, many of them Dreamers, so he can continue to mislead many of his constituents and say that the children of those who work on our farms are not as smart as the children of those who own the farms.

Shame on Albritton. I sure hope Florida House Speaker — and Cuban American — Danny Perez will let him know that the House will never agree to his disgraceful proposal.

Juan A. Galan Jr.,

Coral Gables

Buried story

The front page of the Dec. 17 Miami Herald had an article about Christmas trees from North Carolina. Meanwhile, on page 7A, was a startling report about Alexander Smirnov, a former FBI agent, who pleaded guilty to a felony charge related to a fabricated story about President Biden and his son, Hunter, accepting bribes.

This country has been salivating on the Bidens for years and this story is buried.

Sally Alshouse,

Fort Lauderdale