Will Florida’s Scott and Moody support Haitians in the U.S. Senate? Time is short | Opinion

Support for Haitian TPS

On June 25, the Miami Herald’s editorial board correctly asked, “Up to 350,000 Haitians now in limbo. Where are Florida’s two Republican senators?” In Florida, 158,000 Haitians are losing Temporary Protective Status, mostly adults whose employers will have to fire them. Goodbye, nursing home attendants. They’ll be unable to pay bills or support their kids. Florida businesses will lose billions.

U.S. Sens. Ashley Moody and Rick Scott should immediately support Senate bill 4814 to preserve Haiti TPS, the same bill the House passed in April with the support of U.S. Reps. Maria Salazar, Mario Diaz-Balart and Carlos Giménez.

“To say that it’s safe in Haiti is absurd,” said Ohio’s GOP Gov. Mike DeWine. Gangs rule in Haiti, millions are starving, health care’s virtually non-existent, people die from illnesses easily treated here. Thousands of our to-be-deported neighbors will succumb to those conditions.

Is this what moral people do? Is this what it means to do unto others as you would have them do unto you?

Thousands more Haitians will die from the sudden curtailment of hundreds of millions in life-sustaining remittances that TPS holders have been sending them. Nor does Haiti have jobs, food or services for 350,000 new deportees.

Countries have lost TPS 18 times, nine of them predating President Trump’s first term, when conditions have permitted. The issues are whether Haiti is safe for returnees today — it isn’t — and whether ending Haiti TPS makes sense for Florida and Floridians. It doesn’t.

Will Moody and Scott support S. 4814?

Given the economic and human impact on Florida businesses and communities, on our neighbors, on our souls, I hope so.

Steve Forester,

Miami Beach

Salt life

I assume the people interviewed in the July 7 front page story, “Living aboard is a way of life in Miami-Dade,” use county and municipal services.

Are they off-grid or are they considered residents of the county and municipalities near where their boats may be located? If they are registered to vote, what address do they use? Do they pay other taxes besides sales taxes?

Does the law require them to keep their live-aboard boats well maintained, safe and insured? Are they subject to annual inspections by any local, state or federal entity? Are they required to file a hurricane plan with the relevant municipality and/or county agency, indicating what they’re going to do with their boat if one approaches?

Many boats broke loose during Hurricane Andrew and floated ashore. Quite a few landed on South Bayshore Drive, the yards of people living by the water and in mangroves.

Robert E. Panoff,

Pinecrest

Playhouse deserves better

As a Coconut Grove resident and Chairman of Miami-Dade’s Cultural Affairs Council, I urge the city of Miami Commission to support the county’s appeal regarding the Coconut Grove Playhouse zoning application. The city’s Zoning Board previously approved this application in 2018, but that approval expired while naysayers filed baseless lawsuits that the courts rejected many times over the past eight years.

This Playhouse plan honors its legacy by preserving the historic Gateway Building while introducing a new 300-seat theater, open air plazas and a garage building with dining and office spaces. This plan gives the Playhouse a second life, provides needed public parking, invites local businesses to thrive and produces ancillary revenue to sustain it for generations to come.

For too long the Playhouse has sat dark, a symbol of stalled progress and missed opportunity. We must reclaim a cultural landmark that has shaped the identity of Miami and Coconut Grove for generations.

Brian May,

Miami

Toll system errs

Our justice system is founded on the principle that citizens are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Yet, because of government bureaucracy, that principle often seems reversed. Citizens are expected to prove the government made a mistake.

After relocating from Florida, I received a Toll-By-Plate invoice with a stated due date. Before that date arrived, I attempted to pay online, only to discover the account had already been sent to collections. I disputed the matter with SunPass, the collection agency, the Florida Attorney General’s Office and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Consumer Protection Division. Instead of receiving answers, I received six invoices with increasing fees before finally paying the balance.

This was never about the money. It was about the principle. Government agencies should provide clear notice, honor their own due dates and give citizens a meaningful opportunity to dispute administrative actions before imposing collection activity.

Until that happens, “The Free State of Florida” is little more than a slogan without substance. A state cannot truly claim to value freedom while its citizens are forced to prove the government wrong before the government is willing to prove itself right.

Jon Lands,

Greenfield, IN

Belgian statement?

We thank the president of the United States for giving our Belgian team the motivation and impetus to put it in your face!

Allen Lundy,

Cooper City

Trump’s red card

There is no public evidence that President Trump has extensive knowledge of soccer’s rules, yet he appeared eager to weigh in on decisions that belong to the sport’s governing bodies. That suggests a lack of respect for the game’s independent processes.

The very idea that a U.S. president would use the influence of the office to try to affect FIFA’s disciplinary decisions is deeply troubling. Throughout his life, Trump has faced repeated accusations of trying to bend the rules to his advantage.

Delia deVarona Garcia,

Miami

ICE’s excesses

Miami Herald columnist Mary Anna Mancuso’s July 1 op-ed, “Miami wants to end ICE program. Here’s why it doesn’t matter,” argues that ICE might as well stay in Miami because “public policy must account for how a program actually works, not just what it symbolizes.”

Surely, Mancuso, whom I assume places her hand over her heart when pledging allegiance to the flag, understands the power of symbols. She further states that “Miami’s partnership [with ICE] has been implemented far more narrowly than critics portray.”

I am curious as to what percentage of terror, fear of kidnapping, jailing, deportation and the shooting of protesters would be too much for Mancuso?

Steve Kronen,

South Miami

Music and memories

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Dade County Public Schools Superintendent’s Honors Music Festival. Someone special, Juanita B. Wilson, overextended herself to make sure her students’ after school activities were rich with living culture.

I remember “Mrs. Wilson” as a short, kind-spirited choral teacher in North Miami Junior High School. She was boisterous and animated, arms like wings flailing when directing us on many outings, including the first Honors Choir Program in 1976. She made it possible for many students to be in the right place at the right time.

With the nation’s bicentennial in full swing, the rooms filled with assorted hymnals, including Battle Hymn of the Republic. Many junior and senior high school bands and choirs met to practice on the University of Miami campus.

I can’t remember some details of the frequency and logistics of how we were able to make these sessions and performances to the public, nor the personal sacrifices made. I can only remember how she and others like her made it happen, the true nature of the very best this nation offers. My thanks to all like her.

John Bloomfield,

Palm Coast