Ken Griffin and other Miami billionaires can have an impact on animal shelters | Opinion
Cats, dogs, billionaires
The recent influx of uber billionaires has been highlighted mostly by their mega real estate purchases. Ken Griffin, though, has seemingly embraced Miami as his new home and left his imprint on many institutions with his donations.
While there are many worthy causes in South Florida, I would ask Griffin, Larry Page, Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin and Jeff Bezos, among others, to consider publicly giving to our local animal shelters.
Their impact could be monumental, as is the need.
Eddie Friedman,
Pinecrest
Shift gears
Re: the May 29 Miami Herald story, “In South Florida, English-only driver test leads to repeat failures, higher costs.” A driving test does not make a person a good driver. Actually, it will probably make someone a worse driver if they are not comfortable with the information in their own native language.
More than half the drivers in Miami can’t drive anyway — and they are the rudest in the country! If you gave this test in English to most drivers, they would flunk it.
Furthermore, a driving test does not make one a courteous driver. Only good manners do that.
Let’s have a test for that — for everyone.
Kiki Ellenby,
Miami
A special park
As a lifetime resident of Miami, I am familiar with much of this community. For almost two decades, I have enjoyed the west side of Matheson Hammock Park. This is an unofficial park that is undeveloped, passive and produces hundreds of different tropical plants throughout.
In February, Miami-Dade County Parks & Recreation Department announced a temporary closure of the west side, as it needed some restoration. Many people frequent the park to walk, bike, etc. We were told it would be a few months before reopening.
Progress, however, has been slow. The department is dependent on other agencies and this is causing many delays. This is inexcusable.
The east side of Matheson, which does generate revenue through the marina, beach and restaurant, sits on pavement inundated with potholes. The bike path from Old Cutler east to the park is also a mess.
Trying to talk to folks in the mayor’s office, Commissioner Raquel Regalado’s office or the Parks Department to get any answer is difficult. This is most frustrating.
West Matheson Hammock is a gem. Please open our park!
Julie Paikowsky,
Pinecrest
A driving lesson
The worst thing about the Miami area is the traffic. This is no secret. There are simple ways to speed the flow of traffic without violating any laws or regulations. One of the most important is learning how to turn left at an intersection with traffic signals.
Turning left on red is prohibited in most situations. However, according to one Florida Statute, a driver can legally turn left on red only if the driver is on a one-way street and turning onto another one-way street.
Cars waiting to turn left on a round green light should not wait behind the stop bar for a green, left-turn protected arrow. They should pull up across the stop bar, into the intersection to be poised to turn left when the light turns yellow and then red for the oncoming traffic.
A driver is not “blocking the box” with this simple maneuver. “Blocking the box” is getting stuck part-way through an intersection when the light changes before you get across, impeding the path of cross traffic that cannot make it around you. It is caused when the traffic ahead of you in an intersection stops before you get across, so you are blocking the flow of cross-traffic.
The maneuver will allow up to four or more cars to complete the left turn on any signal cycle. If we repeat that at every light across town, traffic will move much more smoothly.
Roy D. Wasson,
Miami
Growing grievance
On Dec. 16, 1773, Americans dumped tea into Boston harbor to protest taxes levied by British Parliament without colonist representation.
In 2026, Republicans are redrawing voting districts to eliminate Congressional representation of Black communities, a blatant power grab. Or, is this rigging of districts blatant racial discrimination?
Two things can be true.
I’m sick of bills favoring taxes for billionaires, of my taxes paying for a ballroom, for gilding the Oval Office and repainting the famous reflecting pool. I’m sick of my taxes paying for President Trump’s private ICE army and for an expensive, inexplicable war with Iran.
How much of my taxes went to the “Rededicate 250” prayer fest on the National Mall, in which the U.S. Constitution’s wall between church and state was violated?
I’m ready to dump something into the harbor and it ain’t tea. My next IRS-issued tax statement may get tossed because of the illegal $1.7 billion slush fund created to pay thugs who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
At what point will decent, law-abiding, taxpaying citizens get fed up with the self-serving corruption of Trump administration?
Dump these greedy tax hogs with your next vote before we all lose representation.
Bill McDonald,
Coconut Grove
A task for Musk
Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, envisions building a human colony on Mars. This is not a practical idea, as the planet has only trace amounts of oxygen. As for water, a reservoir is locked several miles underground.
With all of Musk’s billions, just imagine all the problems he could try to fix on Earth and in America, including: homelessness, the gap between rich and poor, pollution, Social Security solvency, drug epidemic, government corruption and other prioritized social problems.
David Udoff,
Miami
Racial bias
Florida recently sued the NFL, but in whose interests? Gov. Ron DeSantis’? His former campaign manager and unelected (but appointed) Attorney General James Uthmeier’s?
I am not offended by the NFL’s longstanding “Rooney Rule,” which guarantees fairness for prospective NFL coaches and team executives who are members of a racial minority (mostly Black). Only a bigot would be.
Indeed, Uthmeier’s lawsuit bears telltale signs of DeSantis’s instincts and anti-diversity, anti-equality and anti-inclusion mania. I can’t remember a governor in the last 70 years whose biases are more obvious than DeSantis.
One would have to look to the 1960s, when elected officials fought or simply ignored federal court orders compelling adherence to the legal mandate (Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education) that separation of school children by race was unconstitutional.
Floridians know DeSantis cloaks his policies with race bias. Thankfully, he will be out of office in seven months. But Uthmeier will likely ask voters to return him to office to continue DeSantis’ harmful, malignant policies. We can’t let that happen.
David Kahn,
Boca Raton
Legendary Dolphin
I am deeply saddened by the passing of Manny Fernandez, a member of the Miami Dolphin’s 1972 Perfect Team. He was a two-time Super Bowl Champion, Ring of Honor member and an anchor of the Dolphins’ legendary No-Name Defense.
His consistent and selfless contributions in the field were instrumental to the Dolphins’ success throughout the early 1970s, particularly in the team’s three consecutive Super Bowl appearances, in which he produced some of the most memorable defensive performances in the history of the game.
My thoughts are with his family, loved ones and teammates, as we remember one of the best players in Dolphins history.
Paul Bacon,
Hallandale Beach