|
March
2005 - Letters
published
in Coconut Grove Times
Strike
While the Irony Is Hot
Our beloved Grove finally has a battle
where we can all be on the same side. A
great many people feel that the desire
of Home Depot to take over the old Kmart
location on McDonald and Bird Road is
the last straw and our final opportunity
to save what little remains of our once
proud and charming village.
To
the best of my knowledge there is no
Home Depot in Carmel, Sausalito, Cape
Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, The Hamptons,
Sanibel, Captiva or Cider Key. The Grove
has a choice to be more like those
quaint villages or more like Hialeah.
What’s it to be?
The
sad irony of course is that the plan to
increase awareness of our plight
included dispersing over 3,000 signs
throughout our village to declare
“Grove Votes No To Home Depot.” Is
more unsightly signage pollution really
the best answer to our dilemma? I
certainly hope not.
We must remind city and county officials
that we who oppose big box business
moving into our community are their
voting constituency. We must remind them
of the zoning restrictions, the
undesired increase in vehicle traffic
and the potential loss in property
values that will result. We must use the
laws that support our cause. We must
lobby. If need be we must file lawsuits.
Let’s make suggestions for a more
suitable tenant that will service a more
useful need, be profitable for
themselves and the landlord and be a
much-appreciated good Grove neighbor for
many years to come. Let’s prove that
the right business mix will benefit all
concerned.
Harry Emilio
Gottlieb, Coconut Grove
Hiding
Behind Anonymity
Anonymous
letters or emails occasionally surface
to disparage the motives or actions of
others. Such letters make accusations or
demand actions of others without
revealing their own authors, motives or
interests. Honest democratic societies
have no place for such cowardliness.
Such behavior is typical of schoolyard
bullies.
I wish all public figures—elected,
appointed, or those that might one day
seek such positions—had the moral
courage to plainly state what they
believe and what they intend to do.
Those that subject themselves to
examination and stand accountable for
their actions—whether I agree with
them or not—will earn my respect and
if a candidate for office, they will
gain my vote. In the Home Depot matter
we consider today, these principles
still hold true. Our common interest is
best served by knowing clearly and
plainly the positions and interests of
each public official and private
advocate. Those who seek anonymity, hide
their allegiances, hide their positions,
hide their remuneration, compromise
their responsibilities or avoid
accountability fail us. They forfeit
their voice and they cannot lead us.
Anonymous writers, or paid lobbyists who
declare objectivity even though
compromised by their paycheck, should
leave this debate to serious, caring
citizens that thrive in the scrutiny of
their neighbors. My name is Mel
Meinhardt. These are my ideas and I am
not paid for them. I neither hold or nor
seek office or public position. I oppose
Home Depot in our Coconut Grove.
Mel J.
Meinhardt, Coconut Grove
Mass
Media Enterprises ©2005
http://www.massmediamiami.com/March05/letters.html
|
