Letters from the Issue of Thursday, December 29, 2005

My view of the past twenty years is that a subtle but vicious bureaucratic war is being waged to culturally cleanse the South Florida swamps of the very citizens who have sought to protect the land from the real problems of bulldozers and draglines. The cumulative destructive impact on the culture has been devastating over the years.

The remnants of our South Florida culture must be protected at all costs. Americans deserve better from their government and bureaucracy.

Frank F. Denninger
Hialeah

Miami New Times assistant calendar editor Patrice Elizabeth Grell Yursik took one of two honorable mentions in the Trinidad Theatre Workshop's Derek Walcott Competition for Writers. Her short story, "Cookie," was chosen as second best in a field of 39 entries. The honor was presented at a ceremony December 19 in Port of Spain. Walcott, who presided, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992.