Reaction to the King Mango Strut decision

We hate to get into "he said, she said," over the King Mango Strut, but since we don't have a comments section, it seems only fair to let people have their say on the matter. The following letter came in from Glenn Terry, head of the Coconut Players, Inc. last night in reaction to the story below. Coconut Players, Inc. was originally granted the permits by the City to put on the Strut on December 26, 2010.

The City of Miami is making the King Mango mess worse. Isn't it strange, for instance, that our city's manager said last June, "We have two groups of King Mango parade veterans applying to produce December's parade. We choose to approve the first applicant, Coconut Players Inc."

Three months later (9-9-10) our manager said, "Uhhh, I changed my mind. The other group, King Mango Strut Inc., appealed our June decision and now we're giving it to them."

Why the flip-flop? What went on between the two decisions? Your guess is as good as mine. The city did not open their appellate process to the Coconut Players or the public. Now the city manager, apparently with Commissioner Sarnoff's approval, is choosing a dysfunctional, hopelessly deadlocked corporation to run the Grove's great event. It makes no sense.

The Coconut Players, Inc., is an outstanding group of people who know how to put on a great Grove parade. They have appealed the City's latest choice. I expect come December they'll be producing the Strut.

Our city's leaders sometimes make good decisions but this is not one of them. It feels like George W. Bush got elected again.

Glenn Terry
Coconut Grove