TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Letters To The Editor

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 6, 2008

Updated: 01/04/2008 08:33 pm

Undeserved Award

Regarding "Grimaces And Grins" (Commentary, Dec. 30):

You dare to place Sen. Mel Martinez with a caption of "Political Courage" on the same page? Political suicide would be a better headline.

The majority of the voting public is sick and tired of politicians pandering for the illegal vote. We are sick and tired of politicians spending our tax dollars like Monopoly money on illegals.

Martinez represents big business, open-borders advocates and illegals, not the voting public that put him in Congress. There is no excuse for our borders and ports not to be secure and our visa program overhauled to include a national database to identify everyone coming into the USA, where they are and when they should leave.

CRAIG R. McNEES

Tampa

Failing To Deliver

Regarding "For Crist, Sunshine And Storm Clouds" (front page, Dec. 30):

While Governor Crist has been unable, thus far, to deliver rock-dropping taxes and insurance rates, his optimistic, "Never give up, never surrender" attitude may carry him for another year. Seems Charlie's full or at least half-full-glass outlook may be too hard to resist.

However, he will still have to deliver on his ongoing promises to deliver tax and insurance relief. Most politicians quietly set their campaign promises aside hoping the public forgets. Charlie keeps his up front and center with his continued promise that he will get it done for Floridians.

My pocketbook hopes and prays he can and will deliver. If he doesn't, we will not just go broke, but we will lose our own optimism that better days are ahead. It is a tall order, but he keeps telling us he will do it. Promises made must be kept.

GENE WELLS

Tampa

Biting The Hand

In response to Don Leggett's comments in "They'll Keep Coming" (Letters, Dec. 29), I had to laugh at his blaming retirees for the Florida drought, road overcrowding and public service decline.

Where does he think Florida's money comes from? Florida is surely not a manufacturing state. Our income comes from visitors and retirees.

We recently retired here from the north and pay our share of all services. If Leggett wants to see fewer people in Florida, let him be the first to leave!

DAVE ZELLERS

Sebring

Only One Real Story

Regarding "Home Sales Have 2 Stories To Tell" (front page, Dec. 29):

Could it be that there really is only one story - that the bad news that the Tampa Bay metro area is second in the nation for falling home prices - produces the good news of more home sales?

PAUL CARREN

Sun City Center

'Jewel' Needs Polish

Having been a resident of the Tampa Bay area for four years, I have often heard Channelside touted as a "destination" - a "must see" - in Tampa. Those of us who have been there know different.

On a recent Saturday afternoon, patrons were sparse. The few shops that remain are unexciting. Windows at a recently vacated retail store were being painted black, probably to make way for another club. Even the decorations on the Christmas tree looked limp and lifeless. Families roaming Channelside find nothing but restaurants and clubs that open after dark.

I hope something can be done to rejuvenate this area in time for Tampa to host the Super Bowl next year or this "jewel" will not reflect well on our city.

DEBORAH GREEN

Sun City Center

Convenience Factor

Regarding "Maybe We Can Learn From L.A." (Other Views, Dec. 27):

The article is basically flawed because it's comparing apples to oranges.

Anyone who has been to L.A. also knows that the major reason for their smog situation is because the city is basically in a bowl with one open end that faces the sea. The winds come from the sea, so the smog is bottled up against the mountain ranges that border the other sides of the city.

Another glaring fact that the article happily overlooks is that Tampa has nowhere near the population density that L.A. has, and if you want light rail or any other mass-transit system to work, you must have high population densities or few will leave their cars to travel on your system. It has to be convenient or it won't be used, no matter how affordable.

JOSEPH RICHTER JR.

Dover

A Light Rail Proposal

All we hear lately is we need more public transportation such as light rail, so why not start here? For light rail to succeed, you need lots of people going from point A to point B. This is the perfect opportunity to test a public transportation system with lots of people that want or need to use it.

I'm thinking something like the tram at Tampa International Airport. It just needs to go from Sun City Center to the new proposed hospital on Big Bend Road at a reasonable speed and cost to the riders. They could park their carts at the pick-up point and get on the tram with no driving and no danger to them or other motorists. Then if it worked out, perhaps an extension could be built to other places. that a lot of people would want to. Hopefully this would be paid for by the fares from the service rather than subsidized by taxpayers.

JAMES MOLLOY

Pinellas Park

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT