Glenn Weiss
Public Art Consultant
Delray Beach
Plop this, Glenn: Thank you for Edmund Newton's excellent article on pop art ("Plop Art," August 14). He exposes the wordy rationalizations of the art gang, which seeks to justify non-aesthetic, costly assemblages; they cost us, the public, many dollars that could be better spent on human services. Yes, the cash could also pay for art that uplifts the human spirit, not chaos and destruction.
Our environment, and the symbols within our environment, have an enormous effect upon us. The type of junk that masquerades as "art" has a profoundly negative effect upon our mood and our sense of well-being. Edmund Newton and co-writer Rebecca Meiser deserve praise for their acumen, also for their willingness to stand up to the art gang.
Leo Shatin
Boca Raton
Shame on you, free weekly: I'm responding to Wyatt Olson's August 7 story "Catered to Death." Although I was glad to see that you tried to help readers understand how intelligent and generous Mr. Pecora was as a person and look beyond his final actions, I was very upset by your cover page and the tone of the story. I found the blood and gun on a catering tray to be quite distasteful. I can't understand why you could not envision that it would bring tremendous sadness and heartbreak to the catering hall employees (especially those who were there that morning), the employees' families, and the families and friends of the deceased. The employees are amazing people who came together as a group to honor the people that they had respected. And they ran that place without skipping a beat. You refer to the morale being low, and I can only assume that you received this quote from someone right after the tragedy. These people are a family that made it through the storm together. They should be recognized and commended for that.
Candy Korenstein
West Palm Beach
Listen up, Larry! Regarding Trevor Aaronson's story, "No Fare," in the July 31 issue of New Times, I wanted to offer some feedback and a possible follow-up idea. My husband and I own Prestige Limousines, Inc. in Boca Raton. We are licensed in Broward and Palm Beach counties. For several years now, many licensed limousine companies have been struggling with the Consumer Affairs authorities to do something to improve enforcement of regulation in Broward.
We are constantly trying to get business from local (Boca Raton area) hotels, condominiums, and restaurants, only to be undermined by the relationships that the front desk people have built with illegal "gypsy" companies through payoffs, etc. And gypsy companies (or one-man illegal operations) are soliciting at the Fort Lauderdale Airport and are not being ticketed for hanging around baggage claim, waiting for passengers who are looking for a ride.
Gypsy drivers, who have side-deals (payoffs essentially) going with baggage handlers and airline associates, are not ticketed. Nor are they escorted off airport property, fined, and made to appear in front of the committee (at Consumer Affairs). And if they are ticketed, we found out that they merely have to come up with a silly excuse that they were waiting on a "prearranged fare" or were "picking up a friend" or were using an unlicensed vehicle "because their Town Car broke down the day before..." Why is it that we pay so much money per vehicle each year to be licensed (and we have to go through inspections) if the companies that aren't paying are not being punished?
With a serious crackdown once or twice a month at the airport, we should be able to get these guys off the streets, out of the hotels, out of the airport, and back home to look for employment at a licensed cab or limo service.
The people at Consumer Affairs don't care to acknowledge the advantages of not paying the costly license fees, insurance costs, the pricey car loans for luxury sedans and limousines. Maybe if Larry Kaplan, assistant director of the county Consumer Affairs Division, was a chauffeur at baggage claim, eyeing the gypsy drivers, he would feel that more needed to be done.
Staci Garcia
Prestige Limousines Inc.
via the Internet
That couldn't be Road Apple Slough? Thank you very much for Susan Eastman's article on the Everglades ("Paradise Crushed," July 31). It was very nice and informative. I have been biking and hiking the Fakahatchee Strand for the past four to five years and do believe it's just about the prettiest place on earth.
I think you could come up with a similar article about Pond Apple Slough. I certainly would like to know the history of the area.
Brian Hartman
Fort Lauderdale
If a Boy Scout gets an abortion: I recently read Bob Norman's July 10 article entitled "Hangin' with the Church Lady." I must admit it disturbed me quite a bit. I am someone of no consequence, a home-schooling mother of three children, wife, and a Christian. I was not there to hear the interview with Mrs. Hostetter. I sincerely hope Mrs. Hostetter was not as angry as described.
As a Christian, our position is not one of anger or a holier-than-thou attitude. It is one of concern. Maybe I can convey that a little better if I share a recent incident that happened to me. I was driving home one day this week when I was horrified to see some kids beating up another kid. The boy was lying in the middle of the other side of the boulevard covering his head with his arms as a couple of these boys were violently kicking him. I stopped my vehicle and began to yell at them and honk my horn. I could not help screaming my head off at them. I was horrified and very angry at these boys.
This is also my position on sin, not just the sin of homosexuality, but all sin. I see how harmful it is to the individual and to others. I am genuinely concerned. Yes, it may seem that I am angry because I emotionally cry out from concern. The anger may not be the right way to respond. But because of emotion, sometimes I cannot reasonably respond any other way. The Boy Scout issue, for instance, is a serious one. Gay men are using their positions of leadership in the organization to recruit more homosexuals by assaulting young boys. These young boys are unable to stand up and stop the perpetrators -- just as the young boy I saw was unable to stop those who were so violently beating up on him. Unborn children are unable to speak for themselves, so they also need a voice. Please do not silence that voice by portraying the speaker as a crazy fanatical bigot.
Corrin DiPasquale
Via the Internet
