Our seats at the Florida Grand Opera will be empty until the opera Board of Directors removes Chairperson Tina Vidal-Duart (“A DeSantis political appointee starts to squirm, Steve Bousquet” column, Dec. 7).
As reported by New Times, Vidal-Duart is a profiteering contactor who works with the state of Florida’s notorious detention facility, “Alligator Alcatraz.”
She benefits from dubious state contracts through her family business, CDR Health.
Consequently, we planned to not be in our seats for Silent Night on Saturday at the Broward Center’s Au-Rene Theater.
We intend to sit out the rest of the season and we encourage others to do the same. We further urge the Florida Grand Opera staff and its Board of Directors to show Vidal-Duart the exit door.
It’s humiliating for audiences to support FGO when it is associated with a notorious facility known for its cruel and inhumane treatment of people unjustly detained and for its environmental threats to sensitive wetlands.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued an order finding the facility was causing significant damage to the Florida Everglades, giving the state 60 days to effectively shutter it. (The judge’s order is on hold pending a state appeal to a higher court.)
FGO must close this shameful chapter and move on from tainted Vidal-Duart money.
Until then, Florida Grand Opera will be viewed as unworthy of an audience.
Ali Vazquez Hitchins and Elly du Pré, Fort Lauderdale
(Editor’s Note: The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board emailed the Florida Grand Opera for comment on Dec. 2. We received no response.)
Understanding Trump
Let’s see if I’ve got this right.
The president calls respected journalists stupid. He uses National Guard troops to invade American cities. He has unleashed 5,000 ICE agents to round up hardened criminals, but who instead are harassing all manner of U.S. citizens including children, and he has turned the people’s house into a crumbling catastrophe to host parties for his billionaire friends.
And yet he’s upset with FBI Director Kash Patel for drawing unfavorable attention to the administration.
I understand completely.
Richard Schuster, Oakland Park
Time to rethink resilience
Your news article about coastal residents abandoning condos due to surging insurance and assessments underscores a truth: Resilience cannot survive on towers alone.
What if redevelopment embraced low-rise, self-powered habitats? Imagine neighborhood blocks exporting energy through solar courtyards, easing monthly costs, while ground-floor businesses and shared living hubs circulate value.
Broward County needs new models of affordability — not just new buildings.
One inland pilot could lead Florida in rethinking coastal resilience.
Conrad Heiderer, Glen Arbor, Mich.
Was it RFK’s brain worm?
The Democratic Party would have nothing to do with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but he found a home in the Republican Party.
An obviously sick individual now heads the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He ultimately will be responsible for thousands of unnecessary deaths in our country.
Was it that brain worm that ruined his ability to see facts clearly? Will so many of the diseases that we have gotten under control make a resurgence?
Will he take us on a path to cause the longevity of Americans to decline? Will we head back to the dark ages? The answer is obviously yes.
Measles, Hepatitis B and polio will all make a resurgence.
I fear for my family and friends and for the U.S.A. Science has taken a backseat to fearmongering and highly credentialed physicians are being stifled.
Wake Up, America!
Howard Olarsch, D.D.S., Boynton Beach
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