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Letters To The Editor

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 6, 2007

Applauds Effort

As a long-time resident of Temple Terrace, I support Tampa City Councilwoman Mary Mulhern's challenge to the dysfunctional status quo of our county. I refer to her efforts to reform the Environmental Protection Commission.

The commission protects the natural resources - water, air, soil and wildlife - of Hillsborough County, yet only county commissioners comprise the board. The municipalities of Tampa, Temple Terrace and Plant City have no representation.

Currently, the City Councils of Tampa and Temple Terrace (Plant City is considering it) have endorsed the effort, as have many of our state representatives and senators. Even members of the County Commission support it. Sadly, Mulhern's logical, common-sense effort to safeguard our natural resources is not without challenge.

Let's stay focused and deal with the Machiavellian efforts of a few later. Our three county municipalities deserve representation on the EPC.

GRANT RIMBEY

Temple Terrace

How About A Rebate?

The hurricane season is nearly over and the catastrophic predictions that the insurance companies used to jack up our homeowner's policy rates to stratospheric levels did not materialize. I'm wondering if they are going to refund to all of their customers some of the windfall profits they reaped this year. Probably not.

Also, are they planning to raise the rates again next year based on a prediction that a 500-year catastrophic storm will hit? Absolutely.

Here is my proposal on insurance reform. As long as the insurance companies insist on raping us with outrageous rates based on the worst doomsday predictions they can find, they should be required to refund to each policy holder 50 percent of the hurricane/windstorm damage portion of our homeowner's policies for every year that the companies do not pay a claim on the individual property due to hurricane or storm damage.

In this way, if a storm does hit and they pay out, they are covered; and if not, their customers, the people who keep them in business, get a break. I think that is only fair.

BOB O'DONNELL

Valrico

Defending Realtors

Regarding "Good Proposal - Maybe" (Letters, Oct 23):

Skye Cotton stated that she didn't recall Realtors being concerned about the increases in property taxes during the boom years and that they were happy making the 6 to 7 percent commissions on all the sales. I want to interject a few comments to defend the profession.

During the boom years there was a massive increase in the number of real estate agents. These agents jumping on the bandwagon created a lot of competition and commissions were averaging somewhere between 2 and 4 percent.

There was tremendous concern over the escalating taxes. The Realtor associations mandated that all buyers' agents inform their clients that the taxes they would pay would be higher than the seller's. The buyers were required to sign an addendum acknowledging that they were informed of that issue.

TOM PERKINS

Tampa

More Reform Needed

Equal justice under the law still remains elusive for 20,000 people serving federal sentences for crack cocaine, despite the U.S. Sentencing Commission's long-awaited reform of federal sentencing guidelines for crack, effective Nov. 1.

These prisoners are currently serving sentences so harsh that they will no longer be imposed on future defendants, but they are ineligible for relief because the new guideline is not yet retroactive. People serving mandatory minimum sentences for crack cocaine under the very laws that created the 100:1 sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine are also not affected by the new guideline. Only Congress can change mandatory minimum laws.

The Sentencing Commission should make the new guideline retroactive and Congress must act decisively and now to reform mandatory sentencing laws.

BRENDA H. SNIPES

Riverview

An Unworthy Event

Regarding "Refusing To Pay For Woodstock" (Our Opinion, Oct. 29):

Thank you for the editorial on Woodstock. Thank heaven someone has the good taste to deny funds for the Woodstock museum. The only things you could put in it would be piles of trash, drugs and pure filth.

I was a medic stationed at Stewart AFB in Newburg, and we had the sorry task of supplying a doctor and two medics each day. They had to fly in by helicopter because of the jammed roads.

I was supposed to go up there on the second day, but one of the medics called, by radio, the hospital commander to tell him, "Do not let Katie come up here. This is no place for a lady." The gentleman had seen combat in Korea and he was shocked at the behavior of those attending the festival.

My neighbor had a 14-year-old daughter that she let go to Woodstock unaccompanied and when I left New York a year later, the kid had still not come home.

I think that the reason so many people did not think Woodstock was so bad was because they stayed at the farm instead of trashing the town.

KATHRYN L. ROBINSON

New Port Richey

Execution Stayed

I see the courts have stayed another lethal injection execution because it may cause pain. I've had several major operations. Once they put me to sleep, they could cut my heart, which they did, and I felt nothing. What is the problem?

CHARLES KELLY

Plant City

The writer is president of Citizens for the Revitalization of Temple Terrace. The writer is a Realtor.

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