Letters

Is "Beatrice Puig" a bitter, power-hungry, money-mad monster? Is Jorge Mas Canosa actually a saint betrayed by a commie plot? I wonder. And how much credence can we give to a "good dad" doing time for being a cocaine king? A lot? Not much? Decisions, decisions.

As is often the case, the truth lies hidden in the poetry. If nothing else, the mystery woman is certainly a talented poet. She writes with her heart, and her poems ring true. As Bob Dylan sang a long time ago, "True love tends to forget." I hope all is well that ends well.

All praise to Elise Ackerman. May her word processor continue to hum with the music of her mind. More! More!

James Vilberg
Miami

Mas Canosa: Hormonally Challenged?
I note two interesting excerpts from Elise Ackerman's article about Jorge Mas Canosa's virility: (1) Mrs. Puig states, "[Mas], when he gets threatened, he withdraws." And (2) "After arriving in Miami in 1960, the 21-year-old Mas signed up to fight in the Bay of Pigs invasion. However, the ship he was on turned back without landing, and Mas did not see combat."

Do I see a pattern here?
Darrell G. Ragland
Homestead

Mas Canosa: Fratricidal Misanthrope?
It is crazy for Beatrice Puig to believe that Jorge Mas Canosa will recognize her child. He doesn't even like his own flesh-and-blood brother, and he hates his homeland. What can she expect from such a character? I refuse to read another article about him.

Pedro Gomez
Aventura

Mas Canosa: Moral Vacuum?
If Jorge Mas Canosa had any moral integrity (and if he is so sure he is not the father of "Peter Puig"), he would submit a blood sample for a paternity test.

The idea that a DNA match to an "unloving" biological father would be devastating to the child is pure legal fiction. Did the psychiatrist's expert testimony cover what kind of impact David Puig's incarceration might have on little Peter? Are we to believe that Cuban children are different because they would rather have "loving" convicted drug dealers as fathers than exile freedom fighters? This is another absurd example of how the justice system works for the powerful and politically connected.

Name Withheld by Request
Miami

Editor's note: Owing to an error in the labeling and identification of certain court documents, the photograph of the pseudonymous "Peter Puig," published as part of "Love and Cuba," was actually a photograph of the boy's older brother.

Police Are for Pals
With respect to Robert Andrew Powell's article about the Cuban American National Foundation and Jorge Mas Canosa's cozy relationship with Miami City Manager Cesar Odio ("A CANF-Do Attitude," May 23), I cannot understand why New Times would publish such a story. There is absolutely nothing improper about Mr. Mas calling his dear old friend Cesar whenever he or his elite neofascist millionaire boys club cries for a little police protection.

So Mr. Mas does not live in the City of Miami. So the Cuban American National Foundation headquarters is in West Dade, not Miami. So City of Miami residents are paying for police services that are just outside the city's jurisdiction. Obviously you are unaware that Mr. Odio has recently expanded Miami's Neighborhood Enhancement Team (NET) program. The emperor has created a special mobile NET office designed to respond to every security-related whim of Cesar's puppet master.

However, Miami taxpayers have nothing to worry about. Mr. Mas has pledged to repay every penny of the Miami police officers' salaries spent on him and CANF. The city will be reimbursed from the treasury of the government of Cuba immediately after Mas's election as president.

Jose R. Blanco
Miami

The Manager as Marionette
Your story about Jorge Mas Canosa and Miami police services was interesting, but may not have been very revealing considering the cast of characters. After all, is not Mas the most important Cuban exile leader in the community? Is not the Cuban American National Foundation the most powerful Cuban-American political organization? And is not Cesar Odio the most compromised public official in Miami?

Then why should we expect anything less than overt political manipulation of local government services? After all, does not Mr. Mas control CANF, Radio Marti, TV Marti, the Cuban Interest Section at the State Department, several U.S. representatives, and other local politicians? Controlling Cesar Odio and his Miami police force is mere child's play.

Lilian White
Miami

EPA: Address EMF ASAP
I am writing in response to Robert Andrew Powell's good report on the developments at Riverside Center ("The Buzz About Riverside Center," May 16). When the City of Miami bought the Riverside Center office building from FPL for $16 million, the potential risks of exposure to the electromagnetic fields (EMF) emanating from the powerful transformers at the FPL yard across the street were cause for concern.

The bureaucrats were apprehensive because some areas inside the building were in excess of 2.0 milligauss A the safety ceiling established by a panel of experts under the auspices of the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

So why aren't there federal health standards for EMF? Since researchers predict potential cases of leukemia and other carcinogenic agents from high levels of EMF, why hasn't the EPA allotted money to research this issue? Don't Americans want tangible results that affect the health of everyone?

Consumer groups instill fear in the naive and gullible, and this leads to mass hysteria, making some people believe that things are going from better to worse, with no solutions to the problems. The city employees working at Riverside should leave the potential risks from exposure to EMF to the experts.

Robert Stewart Denchfield
Miami Beach

Powell Way Overcharged?
Was Robert Andrew Powell buzzed when he wrote the article on electromagnetic fields? It contains misleading information. For example, the American Physical Society's statement, based on fifteen years of research, says "there is no significant, consistent link between cancer and power line fields."

[Dr. Sam Milham's] equating electromagnetic field emissions with tobacco smoke is laughable to most physicists.

The article states that an outside consulting firm reported measurements for EMF at the city building but made no recommendations "because the effects of EMF have not been clearly defined or accepted by the scientific community or regulatory agencies studying them." As Powell admits, there are no federal standards on exposure levels. So why quote the consultants?

The count of 6.0 milligauss measured in the northeast corner of the building's lobby loses its shock value when you learn that an electric can opener emits 280 milligauss.

Anyway, Powell should be congratulated for his science fiction skills.
Barbara Brodbar
Miami

The Strife of Brian
In the interest of keeping the record straight, I would like to bring to your attention some information that wasn't entirely accurate in Judy Cantor's wonderful story on Kanpech ("Touching Up Haiti's Roots," May 16).

Kanpech was brought to my attention by Brian Rochlin, who later became product manager of the Coconut Grove Recording Company. Brian has been a long-time supporter of Haitian music, and remains quite active in the local music industry. He is also a close friend of Lolo from Boukman Eksperyans, who had given Kanpech's demo to him. Brian worked tirelessly to bring this project to light, and deserves recognition for the work he did.

Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to clear this up and for publishing such a compelling story about a band that has truly touched my heart.

Peter Wetherbee, general manager
Coconut Grove Recording Company
Coconut Grove

We Print News, Dave, Not Petitions
Put up or shut up. Jim DeFede has written an eye-opening series of articles on the proposed new arena ("Micky Arison Is a Greedy Corporate Pig," April 25, May 2, May 9). Quite convincing, in fact.

Now why not go that extra mile and offer to print Dan Paul's petition in the paper so that New Times readers can sign it, mail it back to Mr. Paul, and the issue can be placed on the November ballot.

Dave Copeland
Miami

Alms to Armani
Regarding "Micky Arison Is a Greedy Corporate Pig," as usual, Jim DeFede is right, and as usual, Miami Heat vice president Mark Pray (vice president of what A kissing Micky Arison's ass?) is wrong ("Letters," May 16).

Micky Arison is a greedy corporate pig. The proof is the 28 percent rise in the cost of my season tickets, from $39 to $50 A on top of the rise last year. Averaging more than twenty-points-per-game losses to the Bulls, and then raising ticket prices, is outrageous. Jim DeFede misled no one, Mr. Pray.

Mr. Pray and his Heat cronies ought to pray to the god of Armani that Pat Riley pulls something out of the free-agent market besides stiffs we don't need. Otherwise the Miami Arena will look like Love Canal next season: empty, but still a dangerous place to be.

Harvey Slavin
Hollywood

A World-Class Park Right Under Your Nose
John Tripp's letter (May 2) about Miami's need for a "great city park" [instead of a waterfront arena] makes an important point. Anything that will encourage locals and visitors to spend time in our history-filled, multicultural city will be a boon to our economy and our self-image. Miami, though, boasts an attraction that no other major metropolitan area in the nation does: a national park less than five miles outside the city limits.

Talk about "a world-class park on the bay." Nearly 180,000 acres of mangrove forests, gin-clear bay waters, the northernmost Florida Keys untethered by roads and bridges, and the beginning of one the largest and most visited coral reef tracts in the world make Biscayne National Park one of our community's crowning glories. Just ask any of the half-million or so people who come to visit the park each year to boat, snorkel, fish, dive, hike, picnic, camp, and watch wildlife. Check with the folks who make their living harvesting the bay's bounty, or the ones who sell that bounty in fish markets and restaurants. Ask the ones who carry tourists from all over the world to ooh and aah over its beauty, or the hotel owner who lodges those people.

Yes, it is true that New York has Central Park and Boston has the Common, but it's also true that those same New Yorkers and Bostonians are all coming here, gnashing their jealous teeth over what we South Floridians take for granted.

Gary A. Bremen
Miami

Pookie Power
John Floyd rips up the WVUM-FM morning shows ("Reverb," April 11), which are nutty and play the theme from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. But has he listened to the Monday and Friday WVUM morning shows with John Pookie? He'll find his precious Pavement and Superchunk there -- as well as some other happenin' stuff. And yes, he may hear groups or people who are hip on other stations, but he won't hear their big singles. On WVUM he will hear the other snazzy tunes from the albums that aren't being played all across the Earth.

And mind you, there are other shows on WVUM that do this as well, such as I Like Mondays from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. (on Monday A neat, huh?). Try it out. And yes, John Pookie does have mindless banter every once in awhile. But at least it is alternative banter.

Clint Koltveit
Miami

More Jailhouse Rumblings
After reading Jim DeFede's March 21 article "Jailhouse Rumble," I was totally confused. It seems that Mr. DeFede gave credence to Charles Felton's impeccable credentials by stating that he is "a leader with no one to lead." In view of this fact, it stands to reason that he should be the man to serve as director of Dade's Corrections and Rehabilitation Department.

It's a disgrace that we have public officials who seemingly cannot make a distinction between right and wrong. We who can must demand a stop to the blatant misuse of power exercised by many public officials. Clearly it is not Mr. Felton's position that should be in limbo.

Theresa Harris
North Miami