Coral Gables Historical Archive
The Coral Gables Times
Thursday, January 18, 1962, page 4 (of 28)
The page
The text of this pageRead by computer from the scan, so some words may be wrong. The page picture is the original.
THE Coral Gables TIMES
Established Jan. 15, 1926 Published Weekly at 364 Seville Ave., Coral Gables, Fla. | Second Class Postage Paid at Miami, Fla. ROLFE NEILL | Editor & Publisher JOHN T. WATTERS | President Robert Collins | Advertising Manager Murry Evans | Circulation Manager Maurice LaBelle, Raymond Lang | Reporters Mrs. Kay Squires | Classified Manager Miss Helen Reynolds | Society Editor Mrs. Dorothy McCreary | Office Manager Subscriptions: $4.20 year by mail anywhere
From Bird Road, Some Questions
What does the City Commission's turn down last week of a seven-story building for Bird Road mean? It means, for one thing, that the Commission apparently is waiting until its land use report is in hand before stepping very far in granting high rise permits. We see nothing particularly wrong with the logic of this. We're wondering though — from what's circulating on the town grapevine — if plain interested citizens shouldn't be sought out and asked for opinions to include in Rader Associates' study of how best to utilize the good earth hereabouts. The gossip is that Rader may recommend that we stick to Merrick's original plan of Alhambra Circle as a business district. This of course would rule out high rise buildings for Bird Road, Miracle Mile or anywhere else. And if true, as a recommendation, it would be folly to follow it. And it seems also a bit odd that the consulting firm should arrive at conclusions and now be seeking out the official views of various planning bodies of the City. Would it not have been more beneficial to have talked to those people first and then arrived at conclusions? Reports, once they're dressed up in an embossed folder, tend to take on Biblical authority. We don't want this to happen on a matter as important as planning the next 10 or 20 or 30 years of our City. Can't we have some light on the subject?
From Many, Help
Where there is the spirit to do, things get done. That's why a handsome new athletic track is being built at the south end of the Gables High play fields. It was described and pictured last week in this newspaper by our Mr. Lang. The track is a study in community effort. Troup Brothers, working on nearby Le Jeune Road, generously made available equipment at minimum cost. The Boosters Club, composed of a cross section of the community, helped with the financing. Boys from the gym classes themselves cleared the area of rocks in order to save labor costs. The City plumber — working on his own time — donated services. And there were others. Here is an excellent example of the very thing the track is built to show off: teamwork. Makes you feel good to be a part of Coral Gables, doesn't it?
Remember The Times
25 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK Coral Gables Junior Chamber of Commerce voted to take an active part to bring about the establishment of a state police force in Florida by prevailing upon Gov. Fred P. Cone and the legislature. They suggested that money to pay the officers and maintain the force be derived from fees for state driver's licenses. 10 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK Thomas Blout, tax assessor, predicted the net tax roll at 75 million dollars. The figure represented an increase of $10,000,000 over the 1951 roll. New construction based on residential, apartments and duplexes accounted for the increase. Retiring Kiwanis president Harry Shay presented a gift gavel to Byron Sperow, incoming president, at its annual banquet held at the Coral Gables Country Club. 1 YEAR AGO THIS WEEK Twelve thousand women participated in the Mother's March of Dimes in Dade County. Mrs. Herbert A. Kuvin was chairman. Top Coral Gables High School students Sandra Burt, John Curtis, Leslie Gross, Maxine Master, Randy Feigenbaum, Eloise Milson and Bill Zame, qualified to take the Pre-Scholastic Aptitude test which enabled them to compete for scholarships from the National Honor Society.
We Strike Oil in Dade--With Reservations
(Editor's note: The prevailing winds in this area blow from the Homestead region where an oil refinery wants to locate. Because we believe this industrial move an important one for Dade— both as to potential payroll and potential damage to its natural attributes — we assigned our own reporter to sit in on last week's final public hearing on the matter.) By JOE C. MORRIS Correspondent Dade County nodded and smiled politely in the direction of its first heavy industry last week but reserved the courtly bow and warm handclasp of friendship for the future. The final public hearing before Metro's Zoning Board was apparently of little value in swaying board members to change their minds. Testimony in previous hearings had jelled their opinion. What It's All About So the board's 8 to 5 vote in favor of rezoning 2,400 acres in south Dade to IU3, permitted Seadade Realty Co. to begin studies and prepare plans for building an oil refinery. It will cover 360 acres and employ seven to eight hundred people. The first heavy industrial concern requesting permission to operate in this heretofore recreational and agricultural area would have had less difficulty winning the "smile of recognition" if its waste product were not of the nature that may pollute the air, contaminate Biscayne Bay or adversely affect the tourist trade. And before it can go ahead with actual construction, studies and plans must be submitted to the Dade Metro Commission to prove that nothing in the operation will foul the air or pollute the water. Many citizens in this community are eager for heavy industry to find a home here. They say it is a sign of progress and good for the economy. Dade's Chamber of Commerce as well as local chambers in Homestead and Miami Beach, after much deliberation, endorsed the proposed plant along with the Industrial Council of Dade County and the Dade County Planning Committee. Less than a dozen people of the county's one million population voiced objections at this final public hearing. But these few viewed this particular industrial project with alarm and fear. Three major questions were answered by James Bush Jr., a civil engineer and spokesman for the refinery group. He testified "under oath" that: 1) "Air pollution will be negligible and unnoticeable; 2) "That effluent discharged by the plant will not be detrimental to marine life; 3) "And that oil residue from tankers, loading and unloading, will not coat the beaches or shoreline." The 3 1/2-day study in California and Washington State as reported by the Dade Building and Zoning Director, Robert Cook, concluded: "It is entirely possible to design and operate an oil refining plant in Dade County in a manner that will safeguard the health, safety and general welfare of the public." However, Dr. Vass, President of the Zoological Society of Florida, objected on the grounds that "controls suitable for California will not necessarily work for Florida." "The West Coast of the United States," he said, "lacks a continental shelf and the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean, with 14 to 18 foot tides, allows a strong flushing action not found in the two or three foot tides along the bay bottom coast of Florida." Many questions must necessarily remain unanswered until Seadade's studies are complete nine to 12 months from now. And one that is ever present for some is: "How long will it be before the remaining 2,000 acres in South Dade become a target for undesirable industries who, with a variance here and a variance there, will creep into the county?" The proponents of progress would say that "safeguards" will prohibit this. The other side would say, "The abnormal of today will be considered normal tomorrow." Time will tell.
Maybe the Wheel Is Yet To Turn Further
By PHILLIPS RUSSELL Correspondent The appearance of signs lettered "Impeach Earl Warren" borne by apparently respectable persons in prominent places, is a new thing in American political life. Although Mr. Warren as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court is specifically named, it may be assumed that it is the Court itself which is under attack, and that behind that attack is criticism of the so - called liberality of the Court. The Court has been fiercely assailed not only for its views, but for its frequently divided opinions, five judges to four having become common in recent years. Critics demand that the Court be unattimous or shut up. Yet the opinion which has drawn the most raucous protest — that of 1954 in which the Court ruled against statesupported racial segregation — came from a solid front of nine judges to 0. For many years the Supreme Court ran along without much attention from the public. As long as its opinions were predominantly conservative there was no outcry. But the Court's opposition to the favored measures of President F. D. Roosevelt and the public criticism of FDR's so-called attempts to "pack" the Court with liberals brought it sharply into the limelight, where it has remained ever since. The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land. But it would seem that the Court's privilege of saying what the Constitution means makes it a kind of oligarchy occupying a lofty position floating above all documents and instruments. At any rate, we cannot expect the court to be flexible and rigid at the same time and in the face of the same questions. Mostly it has been rigid. Are the would-be impeachers sore because it has been lately flexible? Let them wait, the wheel might turn again.
NY Times Writes Us Up Nicely
Coral Gables' snazzy South Dixie Highway fire station got a good play in the Jan. 7 edition of the New York Times. The Times was impressed by the modern architecture which has made our station not only the talk of the town but a tourist attraction too. Photos of the station and also of University of Miami's new engineering school were featured in the article.; Also mentioned prominently were the Gables' Guided Tour Map, Miracle Mile and the Veterans Hospital. Venetian Pool got special plaudits for its beauty as did such recreation places as Matheson Hammock and Fairchild Tropical Gardens. The Times also liked our beautiful homes, the University of Miami and plentiful parking space.
CG Library Will Loan Pamphlets
The Coral Gables Public Library has available copies of the pamphlets on free enterprise used in the course currently being offered by the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce. These pamphlets may be borrowed by individuals interested in our free-market economy and how it operates, or in any of the special subjects covered, such as "The Mystery of Money," "Taxing, Spending and Tax Management," "Prices, Profits and Wages," and others.
NEW METHODISTS
The First Methodist Church of Coral Gables added three new members to its fellowship. They are Mr. Loxley L. Horner, 116 Alhambra Cir.; and Mr. and Mrs. Hiram R. Leary, 9745 SW 56th St.
MAILBOX
EDITOR: It was most gratifying to this subscriber to attend the meeting of the Metropolitan Charter Review Board and see the Mayor and our Coral Gables Commissioners do a most commendable job in presenting the Coral Gables viewpoint on metropolitan government. They're representations indicated that they came well prepared, studiously understanding the subject matter on the agenda, Mayor Searle, and Commissioners Murphy, Dressel, Nelson, and Evans deserve our applause. They were ably supplemented by our City Attorney Ted Semple and former Mayors Phillips and Hartnett. It is good to know that our community is in most capable hands. NATHAN W. WINOKUR 256 Miracle Mile
Studio M Offers a Hit Headed by J. Robinson
If you enjoy superior talent go to see "Caligula" which opened to a black tie audience at Studio M here this week. Jay Robinson, who superbly plays the mad Roman emperor, obviously can't be long for these parts. More distant stages are going to demand the kind of theater he can put across. For Robinson, it's a return toward a professional crest he has already ridden, having enjoyed a substantial part in the movie "The Robe" as well as several Broadway plays. Under Ruth Foreman's direction, he takes you out of your seat — out of yourself. One of the directing problems in a one-star play is how to give some value, and interest, to the supporting cast. I'd say this has been well achieved. Eric Dunlop as Cherea, Natalia Keffer as Caesonia and Fred Papia as Scipio particularly met the challenge of Robinson's art. Albert Camus' script is a bit weighty. It's hard to swallow so many heavy doses of philosophy in such rapid order. But it's a good way to brush up on your Roman history, circa 40 A.D. Perhaps the "M" of Studio M stands for "magic"?—RN