Barrier island overdevelopment: Few enjoy it, and many pay for it | Opinion
Coastal development
The Herald’s Dec. 21 front page article about the high cost of barrier island overdevelopment was long overdue but welcomed. The issue, however, is not overdevelopment, but almost any development.
Our shorelines are precious and should be untouched for all of nature’s children, human and otherwise, to enjoy. Construction along our shores was primarily an American phenomenon where the few enjoy it and the many pay for it (such as the cost to repair continuous beach erosion).
I am not an environmental extremist, but where the soil meets the ocean should be protected from man’s cement artistry. And I am not without sin, having bought three oceanfront lots in the 1970s. I built two houses and sold the third lot undeveloped. I did it because it was available to do so. Let’s not allow special interests to influence or decide who has preference to mar our beautiful shores.
Michael G. Merhige,
Kendall
Missed notes
At the Dec. 23 Night of Lights concert at Pinecrest Gardens, the exuberant, talented Mariachi Voces de America group struck up a call and response verse to sample the singing, clapping, happy crowd.
“Cubanos?” An overwhelming cheer.
“Puertorriquenos?” Almost equal — the stands vibrated.
“Colombianos?” More jubilant and perhaps, a bit louder than the others.
“Venezolanos?” Dead silence, though I may have heard a tear fall.
Don Nicholson,
Coral Gables
So long, mayor
As a 95-year-old student of the human condition, I can’t resist expressing my appreciation for the masterful piece of journalism that reporter Tess Riski authored and the Miami Herald published Dec. 28 concerning the tenure and life of now former Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.
I have been a Miami-Dade resident since 1967 and have followed the careers of Xavier and Francis Suarez and have been entertained over the years by the colorful story they both represented. The feature article was so well done I can’t imagine a better encapsulation of that young politician. Great reporting by the Herald.
E. John Kleinert,
Pinecrest
Loose dogs
The Real Estate Counselor column in the Dec. 21 Miami Herald Neighbors section, “Roaming or attacking dogs can hurt people — and homeowner associations,” correctly alerted readers to risks of significant financial exposure on association property if one or more dogs attack.
Every so often, Miami-Dade Animal Services publishes a page in the Herald’s Neighbors section displaying photos of dogs. Each photo shows a former stray dog that has been housed and fed for many months at taxpayer expense, along with a cozy description, urging families to adopt it.
Offering for adoption stray “American bulldogs” and “terrier mixes” is simply not a sustainable policy, however much the soft hearts among us wish that were so. There is no rational basis to continue the unlimited “no-kill” policy.
Potential injury or death to those walking along public streets (like the late Miami Gardens mom) or who are playing within a “gated” community (like the late Volusia County 7-year-old) has become commonplace in Florida. Miami-Dade County must take substantive action to reduce the danger and reinstitute a sensible canine euthanasia program.
Nancy Wear,
Coral Gables
In theory
The Dec. 28 op-ed, “An ugly slogan continues to wreak havoc on Jewish people,” by Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Gil Kapen, suggests that Zionism, a Jewish homeland, is necessary.
Albert Einstein supported the Jewish religion and culture, but questioned the need to encase Jews within borders, defended by its own army. In a letter written in 1929 to Chaim Weizmann, Israel’s first president, Einstein wrote, “If we are not able to find a way to honest cooperation and honest pacts with Arabs, then we have learned nothing during our two thousand years of suffering, and deserve the fate which will befall us.”
Einstein was a refugee fleeing extreme nationalism. His religion was never contained by German borders or protected by German militarism. His flight to a nation that once supported multiculturalism and religious diversity became his sanctuary.
Philip Beasley,
Plantation
Eyes everywhere
Re: the Dec. 23 story, “7-year-old riding bicycle killed by a pick-up truck in Florida Keys: troopers.” I know exactly why that child was fatally struck by a car. I ride my bicycle daily, pedaling about 100 miles and I see it all the time.
A car pulls out of a driveway, business, or intersection and looks left for oncoming traffic. If there is none, they pull out into the traffic lane without ever looking to the right, not expecting a car to be there. Unfortunately, a pedestrian or cyclist could be on the sidewalk, on the driver’s “blind” side.
We teach children from a young age to look both ways before crossing a street. Drivers of all ages must remember that rule.
David Halpern,
Miami
Dade’s money
While Miami-Dade County faces an ongoing budget crisis, we have $151 million invested in several illiquid Israeli bonds, one of which was due Jan. 1. The newly elected Clerk of the Court and Comptroller, Juan Fernandez-Barquin, provides oversight of the county’s assets and has sole discretion in determining where the money is invested.
Whether one condemns or condones Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank, tying our county’s money in the illiquid bonds of a foreign country is indefensible when there are alternative bonds available that support the county’s needs, are liquid, provide a higher rate of return and are less risky.
While the county’s investment policy allows investing in Israeli bonds, it is not a requirement. These bonds should not be renewed. It’s time to bring the money home.
Tom Carney,
Coral Gables
‘Greater good’
Re: the Dec. 19 Miami Herald story, “Miami Judge lifts block on Trump library land transfer.” Kudos to Dr. Marvin Dunn who, while losing his Trump Library/Sunshine Law case, won the praise of Circuit Judge Mavel Ruiz, who said, “How important a member of this community (Dunn) is when they are willing to put themselves, their money and their home on the line for the greater good.”
In a sane world, Miami Dade College would be transferring land adjacent to the Freedom Tower for the development of the “Dr. Marvin Dunn Library,” honoring his academic background as a historian, civil rights proponent and individual of high moral character and courage.
Alas, we live in President Trump’s bizarro world, where the college’s trustees choose to honor a man of precisely zero moral character who also has mainstreamed racialized xenophobia, bigotry and abject corruption.
John Andrew Ise,
Miami Shores
Birthright dilemma
The U.S. Supreme Court will soon deliberate the actual meaning of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, that is, the apparent interpretation that anyone born in the United States is automatically a citizen. The amendment was originally intended to grant citizenship to former slaves after the Civil War.
Today, with its enlarged interoperation, it is a mecca to draw folks into our land and have their child born here. To show the ridiculousness of the amendment’s use, picture a pregnant Canadian woman on a flight from Toronto to Cuba who has her baby on board the plane while over the continental U.S. That child can claim U.S. citizenship.
Hopefully, the Court will correct this amendment’s use and bring some common sense to our laws. Roger Shatanoff,
Coral Gables
Title transfer
There’s a simple solution to U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson’s healthcare plan dilemma. Dust off an old copy of the Affordable Care Act, which the GOP complained was more than 2,000 pages and which the House voted to repeal more than 60 times.
Then, change the title on the first page to “Trumpcare.” It’ll pass the House in a heartbeat.
Tony Chifari,
Miami
This story was originally published December 31, 2025 at 1:29 PM.