After reading Roberta Morgan's hurricane stories -- and also being a fan of her theater reviews, I know now that you have a gem, another great South Florida craftsman like Carl Hiaasen, Dave Barry, and in her case, perhaps even Hemingway himself. She's the most interesting staff writer you have by far. Her "Snowed In" (September 2) was the best article of the issue and at the highest level of literature. And the "Anster" spoof ("The Anster Is Blowin' in the Wind") proved wit is not dead. Not in her fine mind.
Treat her right. There are few greats left, in our area particularly. I wonder if she is as beautiful as brilliant, since I'm recently divorced and willing to support a creative goddess. I know she is a bit bitchy from time to time, but also a saint when she cares about and writes for the theater community. In fact, let me tote the picture up and title it: "Morgan: Bitch, Saint, Goddess."
Please print this. She deserves the praise. We want her to stay here and stay at New Times.
George Martinez
Miami
MORGAN: FANS FIND HER FASCINATING
I have a great idea! Nominate Roberta Morgan for a writing prize -- and please, give her Navarro's columns. She's a great writer! He's a great runt.
Thanks for the fascinating hurricane tales from Roberta. She has many fans, especially on the Beach.
Rita Ritter
Miami Beach
KEY BISCAYNE OFFICIALS: DO YOU KNOW DEBBIE BRANDT?
I wish to respond to the article "It's A Hurricane: Do You Know Where Your Public Officials Are?" (September 2). Please understand that I love your newspaper and await anxiously each week delivery of the wonderful New Times.
All of us who live on Key Biscayne are so lucky and so thankful that we do have our own government. Our new government of the Village of Key Biscayne made a herculean effort to restore our basic water, power, and phone services. What a joy to the residents of Key Biscayne to have water by Wednesday, electricity by Thursday, and phone service by Saturday. The pride we all feel for our new government is beyond description. These guys are the best!
If Key Biscayne did not have its own government and we had to rely on Metro-Dade County for these services, we would still be without. It's not that Dade County isn't doing the very best that can be done, but Key Biscayne does not have enough votes and therefore not enough power to get what we need done for our own community.
We were so ignored that even as Hurricane Andrew was chugging into town, Dade County took our fire and rescue trucks and services and sent them elsewhere (notwithstanding that we pay big bucks to the county for renting these services). It wasn't until our Key Biscayne government made arrangements with another city north of here and the trucks and personnel were on their way south on I-95 that cooler heads (thank God for Mayor Steve Clark) returned our fire trucks and we could radio the kind firemen en route that we had that under control.
Please don't trash our new local mayor and government. Dealing with the media is a crapshoot at best. It's not clear to me how our elected officials were remiss in getting coverage to the residents of Key Biscayne. When even rescue vehicles were not allowed across the causeway until the service vehicles made sure it was safe, how can one expect our mayor or other commissioners to get out to the island and then organize a press conference when there was so much else to do? I think they made the right choice. They kept at their jobs in the face of difficult times and gave us back our basic necessities, i.e., water, power, phones, safety (rescue and police), road clearance, two free trash pickups, and myriad other wonderful needs which we had taken for granted and are now such luxuries.
This was only accomplished by hard work and daily emergency meetings, time they gladly gave to their community when their own families and property could easily have been first priority. Don't you think this new government deserves a great big hand, our heartful thanks, and a vote of confidence? I do. And so do others with whom I have spoken.
Debbie Brandt
Key Biscayne
RICK AND SALLY: DO YOU KNOW DONALD SANDERSON?
While your nickname for the WSVN Channel 7 news team -- "If It Bleeds, It Leads" (June 6, 1990) -- may have been appropriate some time back, I felt it was a must to say that during the days since Hurricane Andrew, Channel 7's entire news team has gone out of their way to bring South Floridians the best news coverage and information possible.
Notwithstanding the good coverage provided by channels 4, 6, and 10, if I could nominate one of our hometown news stations for an Emmy, WSVN would get my vote.
My hat is off to all of them in the studio and out in the field. Good show! Keep up the great work.
Donald J. Sanderson, Jr.
Fort Lauderdale
ANDREW: ANDREW, ANDREW, ANDREW!
Not long ago you ran a story about Andrew, the Dice man. Then repeated articles about Andrew Morello. Now Hurricane Andrew. Andrew! Andrew! Andrew! Gimme a break!
What next? Andrew Mas Canosa joins the humane society? Rabbi Andrew Teitelbaum hurls charges of anti-Semitism regarding Andrew Navarro's seder review? Enough already!
I for one am totally Andrewed out, so please lay off your Andrew fixation. All this Andrewin' stuff ain't lightenin' up my depressed mood nohow.
Michelandrew Lopardi
Kendall
