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  • Letters to the Editor
  • Interviews of, and Articles about, Sonia

 

  • In its June 27, 2020, issue, the Sarasota Herald Tribune contained a letter from Sonia about the desegregation of Sarasota's beaches resulting from many years of struggle by Sarasota's black community. Read the letter.
  • Sonia's Letter to the Editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune appeared on Feb. 28, 2019. In it, she complains about the fact that schools in Sarasota County don't teach women's history. Read the letter.
  • Sonia's Letter to the Editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune appeared on Mar. 31, 2018. In it, she complains about finding a 2-inch stick in a can of sauerkraut and of the lack of action by the supermarket involved and the Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Read the letter.
  • Sonia's letter to the editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune appeared on Oct. 9, 2017. In it, she discusses the fact that President Trump's attacks against football players who kneel during the playing of the National Anthem goes against the spirit of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision. Read the letter.
  • Sonia's letter was the lead-off letter in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune's "Letters From Our Readers" section on Dec. 15, 2016. This letter congratulated the newspaper for its four-part series called "Bias on the Bench." The paper did a one-year investigative research project that revealed that judges' decisions in Florida were influenced by race, gender and politics. Read the letter.
  • Sonia’s Letter to the Editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune complaining about its publication of a sexist and ageist column by columnist Frank Cerabino, April 26, 2014. Read the letter.
  • Sonia writes in response to the "We Have What It Takes" column in the Aug. 24 edition of SRQ Daily. Read the letter.
  • Sonia’s comments to Rita Henley Jensen, editor in chief of the online Women’s eNews, critical of the July 25, 2013, laudatory and false article about the late journalist and anti-Semite, Helen Thomas. These comments were published in the Women’s eNews on Aug. 6, 2013. Read the letter.
  • Sonia’s letter to the editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune seeking a solution to the low income of Sarasota’s young artists was published on July 9, 2013. Read the letter.
  • In its Sept./Oct. 2012 issue, the Cornell Alumni Magazine contained a letter from Sonia about the need for people to eat a predominantly-vegetarian diet. Read the letter.
  • On July 12, 2012, Sonia wrote a letter to editor Myra Kovary that she published on her Occupied New York Times blog on July 12, 2012. Read the letter.
  • On March 3, 2011, Sonia’s letter to the editor concerning the lack of secular options in substance abuse programs at the Sarasota County Jail appeared in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Read the letter.
  • On Sunday, August 1, 2010, Sonia wrote a letter to the editor to The Washington Post about the July 28 front-page article "After son's birth, a 'horrid' discovery," about an incident at a Virginia hospital. Read the letter.
  • On May 18, 2010, HeraldTribune.com published Sonia's letter to the editor about Kathleen Parker's column, "Gender and Geography". Read the letter.
  • On October 9, 2009, The Forward published Sonia's letter to the editor about paid maternity leave. Read the letter.
  • On August 27, 2009, The New Canaan [CT] Advertiser, published Sonia’s letter to the editor about her dear friend and mentor, the late Dr. Ida Davidoff.  Read the letter.
  • On November 16, 2008, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune published Sonia's letter to the editor about holding president-elect, Barack Obama, to his promises on paid family leave. Read the letter.
  • In its December 3, 2006, issue, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune contained a letter from Sonia about the four months in 1988 she spent working for Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. Read the letter.

Interviews of, Articles about, and Books that Include Sonia

Articles about Sonia are also contained in the section on Belgium.

Sonia Pressman Fuentes

Letters To The Editor

Sonia's Letter to the Editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune appeared on Mar. 31, 2018. In it, she complains about finding a 2-inch stick in a can of sauerkraut and of the lack of action by the supermarket involved and the Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Stick in a sauerkraut can no big deal in local store

This past February, when I opened a can of sauerkraut that I had purchased at a Sarasota supermarket, I saw that it contained a 2-inch stick. I was aghast thinking of the damage to my insides that stick might have caused.

The supermarket told me to bring the can in for a refund, which I did. I was, however, concerned at the damage such a stick could do to others and filed a complaint.

The supermarket later told me that the stick had been identified by the vendor and came from weeds that grow near the cabbage fields; the vendor has an inspector on the line and a sorting machine to look out for these, but aren’t always found.

The supermarket said it would keep the product on its shelves, as it takes no action based on one complaint. The supermarket also told me that I would hear from the vendor, but I never did.

I complained to the federal Food and Drug Administration, which told me it did not handle complaints from individuals.

I then complained to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. A staffer in the Division of Food Safety later told me he had visited the supermarket, and that its reps told him the product would remain on the shelves. That was the end of the Florida Department of Agriculture’s efforts in this matter.

It is disheartening to learn what little protection Florida provides to consumers in food safety matters.

Sonia Pressman Fuentes, Sarasota

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