Library of Conflict
Where's the reporting?: So you're letting a former librarian throw a hearsay attack at the library director ("Throwing the Book," Trevor Bach, April 10), accusing him of all kinds of problems? Where are the facts and reporting? The library's financial woes are a very real community issue — why not treat it as such? Barbogas
More to the tale: Julio Granda, the ex-librarian, claims he was berated at a meeting by library director Raymond Santiago, but that's not the whole story and is totally out of context. There were several dozen staff members at that meeting who, if the writer of this article even tried to verify his facts, would have gotten the whole story. This tale is also coming from an employee who quit and moved on, and once he left, many staffers were much, much happier. This employee was completely inappropriate and offensive to staff on an almost daily basis. How he gets off throwing the director under the bus after wanting to be mentored by him and eventually be director himself — well, Julio is just as corrupt as any other politician. Take this little story with a grain of salt. Actually, it's not even worth reading. whatever305
Lack of education: You know the saying "knowledge is power"? Well, it is, and if the library were more of a popular destination that people cared about, do you really think this would even be an issue? Nope. But no one cares. People just choose to blame societal problems on the government instead of their lack of civic duty. I'm not surprised mismanagement happened; there isn't anyone keeping an eye on these people, so it's safe to say they can get away with murder. Mary
Negligent Trolleys
Courageous stand: Congratulations to Andres Gomez, the young, blind public transit user who successfully fought Miami City Hall and won stop announcements for the trolley system ("Trolley to Nowhere," Michael E. Miller, April 10). I hope his achievement inspires more citizens to be active and make this city a better place for all. Grant Stern
Bus drivers suck: Those trolleys are pretty bare-bones. They certainly could use other upgrades apart from this one to make them a bit safer and easier to use. Also, the first time I rode one, the driver started driving off as I was stepping off it. I was lucky not to fall — it took fast reflexes to pull myself back up onto the steps. He was a very badly trained driver with no clue on how to explain to us where to get off. What is it about Miami bus drivers and their outrageous rudeness and terrible driving? ckinsobe
How did they get on the road?: Good for Andres Gomez. These buses should have never been used without being ADA-compliant. DrumRollPlease
Uber Showdown
Old boys' club: To all the taxi drivers complaining about the car service Uber trying to come into Miami: If you don't like it, lower your prices ("Uber Versus Taxis," Kyle Munzenrieder, April 10). That's how the economy works! Florida is all about protecting the old boys in town! Erik Ace Artist
Too much government: Do you know Chicago banned Walmart from even coming into the city? The free market is better for us citizens. Don't let government pick and choose for we the people. Chgo Dave
Snitch, Not Savior
Ben Carson instead: Whether it's Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, or Louis Farrakhan, Uncle Luke is right that there are too many rich black leaders thanks to the suffering of the black family in this country ("The Greatest Snitch," Luther Campbell, April 10). Why not give a guy like the great columnist Ben Carson a chance? He has no coalition, he asks for no money, and he gives a different perspective. He grew up a few miles from me with some brothers and sisters in a one-bedroom apartment with his mother, who worked many jobs just to put food on the table. He beat the odds, got out of Detroit, and before he retired, he was the number one doctor in his field. There is a hero, a leader, and a man. Andrew MacDonald
No sheeple allowed: The latest news about Al Sharpton just shows that you should choose your heroes wisely. Better yet, be a leader and don't follow. Familia Ramirez
Victim peddler: Al Sharpton is not a particularly intelligent racist, peddling the victim mentality to people who want to find ways out of taking responsibility for their own lives. The scary thing isn't that he exists; it's that there is actually a profitable market for his garbage. Nathan Johnson
Correction
Last week's feature story, "Vanished in Iran" (April 10, Allie Conti), mischaracterized the media's approach to the disappearance of former FBI agent Bob Levinson. The Associated Press repeatedly agreed to delay publishing its story because FBI, CIA, and White House officials said they were pursuing leads to bring him home. But in the end, the AP ignored government entreaties for further delay. The New York Times waited almost seven years to publish its story because of concerns about Levinson's safety.
