The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 26

MiamiHeraldcom THE MIAMI HERALD 26A SATURDAY JULY 26 2008 Al OPINION DAVID LANDSBERG PUBLISHER ANDERS GYLLENHAAL EXECUTIVE EDITOR JOE OGLESBY EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR JAMES KNIGHT 0909-1991) JOHN KNIGHT 0894-1981) THE READERS' FORUM wwwMiamiHeraldcom "1 (The Hfiami Herald I editorials The Miami Herald recommends FOR MIAMI-DADE CIRCUIT COURT GROUP 38 11 his race pits two candi- dates who have never held office before for the seat being vacated by Judge Leonard Glick who is retiring at the end of December and workman-compensation cases She joined the state attorney's office in 1999 where she gained extensive trial experience prosecuting vio The first is Mario Garcia Jr a former Miami-Dade County prosecutor and retired Army captain who runs a small two-city prac-tice (Miami lent-felony cases including for murder armed robbery burglary carjacking drug trafficking domestic violence crimes against the elderly Pay workers more As the minimum wage increases because of what some would call government interference I would suggest that sometimes government interference is necessary to right a wrong There was a terrible wage imbalance for 400 years It was called slavery and government rightly interfered Government is not always right Business is not always right We the people are not always right It is a constant battle to find truth and justice and as a preacher I constantly pray that I can most often find the best of both -REV NEIL WYRICK Miami Conserve don't drill The sentiments in the July 24 letter Drilling for oil urging more domestic exploration and nuclear plans are exactly why we are in trouble To paraphrase its last sentence: If we had started conservation measures and developed smaller vehicles with more efficient engines 20 years ago think of the benefits that we would have now -NANCY PASTROFF Miami A Keys 'character' I thank Miami Herald writer Elinor Brecher for the nice July 24 obituary of John Bajusz Keys volunteer firefighter to receive top honor She did a great job John affectionately known as "Conch Penguins rescued recently by the Brazilian Coast Guard Penguin population decreases and sexual-predator offenses In 11 years of practicing law Ms Glick has earned a reputation for being fair personable and intelligent At the state attorney's office her penchant for working hard having a thorough understanding of the law and always being prepared in court earned her the promotion to Felony Division chief She is active in the community with B'nai B'rith several bar associations and as a volunteer fundraiser for the Diabetes Research Institute For Miami-Dade County Circuit Court Group 38 The Miami Herald recommends STACY GLICK Orlando) that han- GLICK dies criminal defense real estate immigration and family law Mr Garcia's office won a $10 million award for the surviving family of a woman who was killed in an accident in Boston's Big Dig transit project The other candidate is Stacy Glick who is chief of the Felony Division at the Miami-Dade state attorney's office Ms Glick is the daughter of the retiring Judge Glick but she has earned our recommendation for this seat on her own merits A graduate of St Thomas University School of Law in 1997 Ms Glick practiced civil law with a Coral Gables firm handling bankruptcy personal-injury anchovy-sardine schools were decimated or moved off the coasts leaving a scarcity of food This resulted in thousands of dead chicks at Punta Tombo They could not swallow the regurgitated squid the parents caught as a substitute I visited the colony again 15 years later The numbers had been reduced to an estimated 400000 with no explanation for the decrease By this time electronic locators had been attached to the backs of a number of the birds to trace their movements once out to sea at the end of February each year -WILLIAM STERN Deerfield Beach Re the July 20 story Hundreds of baby penguins found dead in Brazil: In January 1984 I joined a station located at Punta Tombo Chabut Province Argentina The project was established in conjunction with the New York Zoological Society as sponsor and Dr Dee Boersma of the University of Washington We 11 volunteers were to map the colony nests measure and weigh live specimens which we captured with a kind of shepherd's crook and Velcro and dissect a number of the dead to examine their stomach contents At the time El Nino had hit both coasts of South America and the Key Johnny" was a Keys character in the best sense Among other things he made a hundred-mile round trip every week to bring his experience strength and FOR MIAMI-DADE CIRCUIT COURT GROUP 50 bajusz hope to the inmates at the Big Pine Key Road Prison Camp who have problems with alcoholism John made that trip every week for more years than I can count He will be missed Thanks for recognizing him and the contributions he made to our As supervising staff attorney for the 11th Judicial Circuit Ms Cynamon 48 attends hearings drafts legal memos researches laws and writes opinions Abby Cynamon a supervising attorney with Miami-Dade courts and Ricardo Corona a lawyer and former banker are both looking to replace Judge Stuart Simons who is retiring at the end of December Only one of them will be successful We think that person should be Ms Cynamon who is our clear that help judges rule on civil criminal family appellate and administrative cases She has wanted to be a judge since she was a 9-year-old unwitting party in her parents' Don't do bailout The government bailout is only going to prolong the agony of the economic downturn and delay the inevitable Worse responsible homeowners will be forced to bail out those who were not in a position to own homes in the first place Many distressed owners probably bought homes at record high prices many did not put money down or have the income to cover their monthly payments Why do we want to subsidize a house of cards? All we will do is delay the unavoidable further collapse of the housing market Once prices reach their natural level perhaps these people will be able to truly afford to buy a home This pointless bailout only will pile billions onto our already humongous national debt -NOEL STEINFELD Surfside Crew a professional Re the July 19 story Candidate calls for elected superintendent: As if things were not already bad enough with the state Legislature reducing education CYNAMON Menendez missed I read with sadness Ana Menendez's July 13 column Paper's woes make farewell even harder Her departure is a profound loss to all of us who have been inspired by her intellect sensitivity insight honesty and above all the courage to speak truth to the powers-that-be in this community and beyond The liberal majority is never as vocal as the conservative minority in this city So we too often let our heroes and heroines "hang out to dry" without our support I regret now that I didn't write all those letters I meant to write in support of some of Menendez's more controversial positions -LINNEA PEARSON Miami Obama can mend fences Some say that Barack Obama should be speaking in the United States and not overseas However Obama's speech in Berlin showed his ability to connect with Europeans and that he is a worthy leader who can restore America's image in the world and repair relations with our allies -PHILIP LEITMAN Miami A domed stadium With all the problems around the financing of a new baseball stadium why in the world is the cost inflated to include a retractable roof? Why not just build a domed stadium? The cost would be reduced by millions Since we live in South Florida the retractable roof will be closed for 95 percent of the events anyway -TED JAFFEE Boynton Beach community -LARRY MURRAY Big Pine Key Bush does damage President Bush and Vice President Cheney have taken the most powerful country in the world and turned it into a laughingstock They have ignored the Geneva Conventions putting our military at risk of retaliation They got us into a war where even a deposed tyrant's victims want us out and they have made the rich richer and the poor unable to afford the basics: homes food security Let's get them out of office now with no chance of being pardoned -JOAN GAIPTMAN Miami Cindy McCain inspires Michael Gerson's July 24 Other Views column on Cindy McCain Behind the wall of reticence was like a breath of fresh air She is a real lady and could be an inspiration for so many -SOL PITCHON Miami Beach I was fascinated by Michael Gerson's column on Cindy McCain's incredible humanitarian efforts I don't recall ever reading anything like that about her I certainly agree with Gerson that it would be wonderful to see her in the White House and hope President Bar-ack Obama appoints her to a position in his administration -ELLIS BER6ER Miami divorce A Miami-Dade judge questioned her gently and kindly teaching Ms Cynamon a lesson that she has carried into adulthood Ms Cynamon was placed in a foster home as a 12-year-old after her mother died She devoted herself to hard study and hard work which won her scholarships and hardscrabble jobs that allowed her to earn a law degree Ms Cynamon is active in Foster Care Review the Mental Health Association of Miami the Cuban American Bar Association and other groups For Miami-Dade County Circuit Court Group 50 The Miami Herald recommends ABBY CYNAMON choice in this race Law is Mr Corona's second career A graduate of the University of Miami School of Law he has practiced since 1997 He previously was a businessman and banker In the 1980s Mr Corona 54 was an officer of now-defunct Sunshine State Bank which was embroiled for years in a fight with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation over allegations that the bank was being mismanaged Mr Corona and his family ultimately prevailed when a federal appeals court ruled that the family's remedies for the troubled bank "did not constitute abuse of discretion" funding now a candidate for the Miami-Dade School Board wants to make things worse He suggests having an elected! superintendent Superintendent Rudy Crew has been CREW FOR MIAMI-DADE CIRCUIT COURT GROUP 51 accountable and responsive to the residents of our community and more important to the children he must educate He is a professional proven and tested educator He has shifted the paradigm which is not easy in large government organizations and had to do it with little support from the people who hired him -LARRY SPRING Miami Ci ircuit Judge Douglas Chumbley was appointed to the bench by former Gov Jeb Bush in June 2006 He is running for his first full term on the theft to aggravated battery He has also served on appellate panels of the 11th Judicial Circuit hearing appeals from the county court Judge Chumbley says I that he has learned 0 MiamiHeraldcom Is campaign coverage getting on your nerves? Why? Why not? Go to Opinion then Speakup Online bench and is opposed by Marcia Caballero Ms Caballero 46 has amassed a lot of experience in nearly 20 years with small firms that deal with almost every to look at each case with an objective "wide-angle lens" so that he can decide it "solely on the evidence and facts presented and on the law" 1 CHUMBLEY mm Like most judges in Florida he is concerned about underfunding of the state court system "The judiciary is one of the three separate but equal branches of government" he said "In order to be separate equal and fully independent we must find a way to fund the judicial branch adequately so that the system works for each and every person in Florida" We couldn't have said it better For Miami-Dade County Circuit Court Group 51 The Miami Herald recommends Judge DOUGLAS CHUMBLEY aspect of the law: criminal civil probate guardianships family and real estate Judge Chumbley however has had a more-expansive legal career and two good years on the bench which makes him the better candidate and our choice in this contest Judge Chumbley 51 was a civil-trial attorney for 24 years He specialized in litigating product-liability claims and class-action lawsuits Judge Chumbley is assigned to delinquency court where he deals with everything from juveniles charged with misdemeanor 3 (7) fa-) COMING SUNDAY: The Children's Trust ballot question CWS'NYTS MiamiHeraldcom To read previous recommendation editorials click on Opinion -aii HeraldEd a MiamiHeraldcom Fax: 305-376-8950 or The Readers' Forum The Miami Herald One Herald Plaza Send your 150-word letter to Miami FL 33132-1693 Include your name address and a daytime telephone number Letters may be edited for grammar style brevity and clarity.