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The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 14, 2008

Customer Wasn't Right

Regarding " 'The Potatoes Had The Thickest Skin' " (Our Opinion, July 7):

Whatever happened to treating others as you would like to be treated? Even my two young sons know that punishment awaits them if they disrespect authority, are inconsiderate to others or throw a tantrum.

This 76-year-old woman managed to do all three. All she had to do was to shift her car into gear and move up a couple feet. No big deal! Instead, she felt the population of Clearwater should be subjected to her special request in the drive-thru lane then refused to move once it did arrive.

Before you think that I'm cold-hearted, both my boys have severe food allergies. We have to carefully consider where, when and what they eat. And when the drive-thru orders are wrong, they are given back, and I go park my car in the designated spot to wait on the corrected order. No big deal!

So, Tribune, this mom thinks you blew it. This case should not have gone this far.

LAURA SHEETS

Tampa

Officer Was Impolite

Officer Matthew Parco should be reminded that he should set an example, not pull rank as an officer of the law. He should politely wait his turn.

When he suggested she was senile that took the cake. I doubt he is educated to make that determination. The man should be fired! I believe the man who is his superior should be as well for standing up for the ninny.

This is ageism and sexism. He and I are both lucky that he did not pull this nonsense on me.

Thank you for addressing this issue.

BETTY DUDAS

Sun City Center

Editorial Wrong On USF

Regarding "Accreditation Trouble Reveals Flaws Of USF Regional System" (Our Opinion, July 6):

By now the Tribune editors have made well known their disapproval of the regional campus model of USF. But your editorial contains two factual errors that are simply inexcusable.

First, President Genshaft cannot be blamed for the regional model. The state Legislature mandated that four years ago. She has no choice but to proceed.

That said, and contrary to your claim, Genshaft is in fact the final administrative authority for all campuses in the USF system. Check the USF general counsel's Web site; you will see that very little authority has actually been transferred to St. Pete officials. Genshaft is in charge - period. Those to whom she assigned the work may not have succeeded yet, but she is not the helpless bystander you portrayed her to be.

Your agenda to squash separate accreditations notwithstanding, please have the integrity in the future to check your facts before you mislead your readership.

ERIC C. ODGAARD

Tampa

Limit Number Of Crabbers

I take exception to your article "Blue Crab Fishermen Are Feeling The Pinch" (front page, July 5). In the article, Nicola White proposes that this year's bad season could be simply that crab populations are cyclical, that perhaps it's due to overfishing and, lastly, that the most prevalent theory is the lack of fresh water affecting salinity of our waters.

A short study of blue crabs will tell you while the larvae have very stringent salinity requirements, adult blue crabs grow increasingly euryhaline or tolerant of widely ranging salinity. That's borne out later in the article where the crabbing is better in Jacksonville, but Jacksonville has not had any more rain than we have. That brings us back to the real culprit, and that is overfishing.

Take a boat ride into most any nook or cranny of Tampa Bay, and you will see crab pot floats everywhere. It's time we limit the number of crabbers in Tampa and more stringently limit their catch.

JOE YARBOROUGH

Tampa

How Much For Hydrogen?

Regarding "Powered By Hydrogen" (Business, July 3):

I read this story with great interest. Where are the facts and figures regarding cost?

The story taunted the cost of regular gas at a station charging $4.59 a gallon. What was the cost of the hydrogen in comparison? It also mentions Chevy and Honda are going to market this type of vehicle, some as soon as next year. Again, at what price?

This vehicle certainly is a great start to get us out of oil dependency, but are we going to be able to afford it?

JAMES T. WOODS

Brooksville

Questioning Electric Cars

Will someone explain to me how much household electricity will be used to charge the electric autos? Where will the energy come from? We do have to generate electricity. Is it from coal, nuclear, etc.? What will my electric bill be? How do we dispose of the batteries? Is there a health issue with the batteries?

The solution is to drill. Cuba and China will be drilling off the coast of Florida soon. Norway is presently drilling in the Gulf. The USA is sitting on the sidelines not willing to solve our own problems.JOSEPH O. PAOLETTI

Tarpon Springs

Street Keeps On Flooding

Upon driving home on Dale Mabry Highway last Sunday night, I wanted to thank the Tampa City Council and the mayor for their implementation of stormwater management. Of course this is tongue in cheek.

After many years of fee assessments and then being told that this time the surcharge on your water bill really will go toward stormwater management, it was amazing to me just how under water Dale Mabry was after a regular downpour. I was not surprised to see some cars off to the side of the road after coming through, even slowly.

When are we really going to do something about this?

L. CAMPBELL

Tampa

The writer is an assistant professor of psychology at USF-SP.

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