News

Letters from the Issue of January 24, 2008

"Norman Braman should reserve his outrage for those who trash our rights and liberties."

Heroes All

So proud: Thanks so much for Janine Zeitlin's "Frogmen" (January 17); it's such an amazing article. I'm so proud of my father, Andy Pruna, for being one of the heroes in this article. I read this great story to my kids so they could hear the truth about what really happened. And now the world can hear it too. No more silence.

Elizabeth Pruna Reyes

Coral Gables

Never forget: As the son of a brigadier, I want to commend Janine Zeitlin on "Frogmen." The courage and tenacity of the men who opposed Castro's regime should never be forgotten. Firsthand accounts of events are crucial to understanding how things really happened. Kudos!

Alex Estevan

Via Web commentary

But the story needed more museum: As a veteran of the Bay of Pigs, I think Janine Zeitlin's article "Frogmen" seems very fair, readable, and factual. As executive director of the Bay of Pigs Museum, I think most of your readers would be more interested in how the new museum will reflect the past 50 years of Cuban and Miami history, in which most have participated in or been affected by. That seems to be lost in your article. This museum is going to be one of the biggest tourist attractions in South Florida, as well as one of Miami's most recognizable buildings.

William D. Muir

Miami

Those Were the Days

Give advertising its due: I remember some intimate moments other than the ones mentioned in Chuck Strouse's column "Happy 20th, You Gutter-Sucking Reporters" (January 17), such as the time we on the sales staff were physically ejected from several "conservative" establishments because of the content of the publication. Or when several newspaper boxes were set on fire. The bottom line is that the paper would probably not have survived those early days had it not been for us on the sales staff. The saving grace was that we made a fucking fortune selling ads at a flat 15 percent commission. No regrets there.

Ron Mann

Via Web commentary

Let us also praise great hoops: Your 20th anniversary story, "Happy 20th, You Gutter-Sucking Reporters," has one noticeable omission: the legendary New Times Intramural Basketball Team that dominated the Miami YMCA league in the early Nineties. The team was made up of both writers and sales reps, and featured Frankie "The Franchise" Tomasino, Kirk "Blood and Guts" Semple, Steve "The Weave" Almond, Greg Baker "The Head Faker," Pat "Choirboy" Flood, Rich "Shuck and Jive" Santelices, and Todd "The Mad Bomber" Anthony.

Patrick Flood

Via Web commentary

Sweet and Sour

Eighty-six the cornbread: I can readily attest to the positive conclusion of Lee Klein's review of Bonefish Grill ("Bargain Bait," January 17). But the article proved bittersweet when I found out the Fishbone Grill — especially the one next to Tobacco Road — is kaput. No more jalapeño cornbread. Damn!

Glenn Suarez

Coral Gables

Heads Up

Thanks for the tip: Thanks for Francisco Alvarado's great story "Wet Foot, Dusty Foot" (January 10). I was wondering if you are aware of the labor rights protest that has been going on downtown for some time. There are daily demonstrations at the Wachovia Financial Center (200 S. Biscayne Blvd.) by construction workers protesting nonunion conditions. I think it would be an interesting story.

Jason Myers

Miami Beach

No Mincing Words

Tell us what you really think: Lee Klein's review of Michael's Kitchen, "Michael's Kitsch-en" (January 10), was gracious. Here is my review: It's crap.

Keep up the good work.

Natalie Longurl

Venetian Islands

FTAA Power Play

Braman's all wrong on Timoney: In his recent letter (November 15), Norman Braman praises Miami Police Chief John Timoney, dismisses ethical and police union complaints about him, says he was "outraged" over a recent New Times article, and then states that "under Timoney's watch, the City of Miami suffered none of the outlandish riots and property damage that Seattle and other places saw. I believe the precautions taken were directly responsible for the relative order maintained during the FTAA."

Thanks to Timoney, a few other police chiefs (most notably Broward County's discredited former sheriff, Ken Jenne), and many of their officers, the damage we suffered in Miami was far worse than any rioting and property damage that occurred in Seattle. In fact it was a wholesale suppression of constitutional rights. Stores were warned in advance not to display anti-FTAA materials. Innocent demonstrators and bystanders were beaten and tear-gassed. Reporters were arrested, including one of yours, who was at least a mile from the conference. Groups who had been assured of the right to peacefully assemble in assigned areas were turned away. Personal vehicles were blown up. One photographer was permanently disfigured and suffered partial facial paralysis when a rubber projectile the police fired at his head lodged in his cheek. In one horrific incident, a young woman named Laurel Ripple, demonstrating more than a mile from the conference site and attempting to disperse when ordered to, was doused with toxic chemicals and then publicly stripped naked.

As a proud board member of the Greater Miami Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, I am honored to have had the opportunity to participate in authorizing funding to litigate a number of cases filed by some of these victims. Unfortunately our effort to view Timoney's plan to suppress peaceful demonstration during the FTAA has been unsuccessful.

Mr. Braman should reserve his fervent outrage for those who trash our most treasured rights and liberties, the ones supposedly guaranteed by the Constitution.

Richard Rosichan

Miami Beach