[ricki]

I just spoke with Manny the manager at Crandon Park. The Parks Department is heavily involved with Hurricane Katrina cleanup at present and doesn't have a lot of time to deal with kiteboarding access isssues for now. They may respond in a couple of months, maybe.

I asked him what we could do on a proactive basis to work to improve access in the interim. He advised NOT to contact the parks department and see how things go. All things considered it makes sense to me. He also advised that it would be a bad idea to pursue teaching permits for kiteboarding currently given the state of things and the negative aspects of the article.

I wouldn't get in touch with New Times regarding their article either. I don't think they are that concerned about a fair and accurate portrayal of our sport. Nothing that we can say will likely change their outlook on that.

In addition to that, I would say we need to work hard to avoid ANY more negative incidents or accidents in Miami-Dade County, or anywhere else for that matter. ANY negative events like this will only serve to threaten our access. So please try to head off poor practices at your launch as tactfully and effectively as you can.