The Coral Gables Times

2 THE CORAL GABLES TIMES Thursday, October 5, 1961

Fee Controversy Is Sent Back To The Starting Post

The City Commission has put controversy of increased business license fees on the backs of the Budget Advisory Board which recommended them. Latest group to join the list of disgruntled businessmen are the garbage and trash collectors whose fees were doubled from $250 to $500. The collectors this week balked at the increase and threatened to let the City pick up commercial wastes, which it is not equipped to do. The private collectors also talked of refusing to pay incinerator fees. City Manager L. W. Robinson Jr. said this week that he has turned over the complaints to Finance Director Kenneth Allyn, who serves as secretary to the Budget Advisory Board. The board recommended increases in 18 categories of businesses, which the City Commission approved when it adopted the present budget. Several groups, including real estate brokers, exterminators and the Chamber of Commerce have registered protests about the hikes. Attorney Bernard B. Weksler, who represents the exterminators, said that his clients are paying the new fees, under protest. They were raised from $30 to $75.

'Back to School'

Coral Gables High School will have a "Back to School Night" Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. to allow parents to meet their youngsters' teachers. Parents will receive a copy of their children's schedule in homeroom and then visit each class in the same order as the student. Chairman is Mrs. Earle Plano. The PTA, headed by president Mrs. Walter Piper, will also hold a membership drive on "Back to School Night." More than 2,000 parents attended last year.

UM Given Answer By Cameraman It Banned

(Continued from page 1) Week, Parade, etc., on student activities. These stories were suggested to the editors by me. The University of Miami staff felt this was valuable free publicity at the time but I did not receive any mail until yours of September 11th. The Saturday Evening Post story was staff originated and I photographed many more activities, scheduled and nonscheduled at the Post's request, than the type that were selected for publication. I did have permission to photograph the University of Miami for this article. Mrs. McNamara worked with me to arrange for photographs and she accompanied me on the campus and in the classrooms numerous times. I wrote her a letter, dated May 29th, requesting help and permission for The Saturday Evening Post article. We even named the people to be photographed. This letter was sent to Mr. Howland's office. There are certain liberties that college students, like any other American hate to lose. Young people rebel against rules that dictate, when they are accustomed to an individual choice. You might have better success persuading students to your viewpoint with more appeals to their intelligence rather than additional rules. Sincerely, CARROLL SEGHERS, II

Life Around the Gables (c. 1925)

WE DON'T know when precisely this picture was taken except in the early days of Coral Gables. Can you identify the people in it?

Privately Against McLeod, They Can't Decide Publicly

To take a stand on Metro or not to take a stand is the question the Coral Gables City Commission has been trying to answer unsuccessfully for two weeks. All five commissioners are privately opposed to the McLeod Amendment but are undecided whether they should follow the lead of Miami Beach and a few other communities and take a vote on a resolution. Such a resolution was proposed last week, and again this week, but each time the Commission bogged down on the phraseology at its conference meeting. "'Tis not that we love Metro more, but that we love McLeod (Amendment) less," quipped Commissioner Franklin Evans. Commissioners indicated that, although they are not pleased with the implementation of Metro, they fear the radical changes in the proposed McLeod amendment.

How to Live After Bomb

How to survive nuclear attack and disaster will be the subject of two classes to be held at the Coral Gables Country Club, sponsored by the local Civitan Club. The classes are scheduled for Oct. 14 and 21, from 9 a.m. through 3 p.m., with an hour for lunch. They will be conducted by Dr. Leo Boles and Mrs. Evelyn Mader. Persons interested in the course may enroll through Chairman Ray Morrissey. FR 9-6000 or Don Hoffman, HI 8-7464.

DINNER CHAIRMAN

Harold Thurman, of 3801 Riviera Drive, Coral Gables, has been named chairman of a benefit dinner in behalf of Cedars of Lebanon Hospital. The dinner is slated for Nov. 27.

250 at Concert Here on Sunday

The University of Miami Singing Hurricanes, accompanied by Betty Lee Taylor at the organ, sang for an estimated crowd of 250 Sunday afternoon in Coral Gables. The recital team performed free. The concert, arranged by Ed Crowley, was aimed at bringing residents of Coral Gables closer to the University.

We're No Exception Take 25c More to Barbershop

Don't think the haircut price raise in Miami from $1.50 to $1.75 is going to bypass the Gables. It's only a matter of time—perhaps as little as a week—until we follow suit, according to a poll of barbershops here. One has already raised prices to $1.75. A barber said the union members had informally agreed among themselves to a price hike in December when the tourist season begins. "Looks like somebody's jumping the gun." All shops aren't members of the union but prices in a given business area often are standard. Union shops make no distinction in the price of a child's haircut—"a head's a head." Because prices are the same, some downtown Gables shops are concerned about the movement of family customers to the shopping centers where cut rates are offered children. The increase was touched off this week when several of the completer shops—manicurists, pedicurists and the like—went up. Most barbers contacted pointed to increased costs of doing business as need for a raise.

MONEY VOTED

The City Commission voted $7,500 appropriation to the Orange Bowl Committee Tuesday.

Metro Court Squeezed You? Then Read This

YOU MIGHT not read about it right away in the dailies but the Dade League of Municipalities is readying pressure against Metro to do away with the Metro Traffic Court and give the traffic courts back to the cities. AS RECENTLY as last week the League directors huddled and came up with a list of grievances against the Metro Traffic Court system which is thorough, reasonable and justified. IT BOILS down to the fact that the Metro Traffic Court is not doing the job for which it was intended. The League recognizes this. So do most Metro officials. But whether Metro will do anything about it is another matter. PRIMARY AIMS of the Metro Court were to reduce accidents, reduce traffic violations and save the cities money through the elimination of traffic courts in every city. The three-year-old Metro Traffic Court system has accomplished none of these, according to the League report. ACCIDENTS have not been reduced, traffic violations have not been reduced, the efficiency and economy of the system have not come through and still we have Metro Court. Not only this, but a backlog of unserved warrants for traffic violations is causing a flagrant loss of respect for law and order. THE LEAGUE has plenty of ammunition. Here are some more reasons for the abolition of the Metro Court: the mandatory court appearance for all moving traffic violations has hurt traffic code enforcement because so many police officers must be in court. THERE IS no uniformity in the traffic violation penalties. Speed traps have not been eliminated and cities do not have available records of traffic accident patterns for study toward accident prevention. A CONSERVATIVE estimate is that the Metro Court COUNTY LINE with Ed Knight system has cost both the cities and the traffic violators millions of dollars in revenue. The cities get two-thirds of all the revenue for traffic violations tried in their cities. Metro gets the remaining one-third. THE LEAGUE has figures to back up its arguments, too. City of Miami has come up with a figure of $566,000 lost in a year to Metro Court. Coral Gables took in $190,000 the year before Metro Court and $68,505 the year after Metro Court. THE BIGGEST loss is to the little fellow, the guy who commits a minor traffic violation and then must go sit in a Metro Court half the day or night to hear a judge scold other violators who probably never will commit the same error again. IF THE court was doing any good it would be different. The number of accidents is not decreasing, the number of violators hasn't taken a sharp downward turn and t overall cost of the operation has steadily risen to an alarming figure. DADE LEAGUE of Municipalities serves as a watchdog for the cities. It has taken its time with this report, has given Metro plenty of rope and is ready now for the purge. County residents could well benefit by the League's victory over Metro Traffic Court.