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The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 6, 2009

Taxing Times Ahead

What is wrong with this picture? Companies are down-sizing products. Cereal companies are making boxes taller, thinner - less content same price. Pretty soon Betty Crocker recipes will no longer be right as sizes of cans and ingredients to be used are not the same as called for.

Gas is up, jobs are being lost, and insurance companies are leaving the state. Insurance rates are increasing, and taxes have increased.

Now they want another tax on water. Pretty soon they are going to ask how much square feet we have in a house and tax the air around it.

JUDITH GURGANIOS

Zephyrhills

Bridge Unwanted

On the proposed construction in New Tampa of a "bridge to nowhere," our mayor and Tampa City Council are ignoring rational argument and basing their decisions on political expediency. The bridge would cost between $14 million and $21 million and would benefit very few. It would create severe traffic congestion within the West Meadows Community, which is already overburdened with several traffic bottlenecks, including access to Clark Elementary School.

The bridge would dump all this traffic into the Tampa Palms community, where drivers will wend their way through residential areas to finally outlet again on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. With the widening of Bruce B. Downs to eight lanes, using the proposed bridge would save very little time or mileage.

The city should divert the funds to complete the widening of Cross Creek Boulevard to Morris Bridge Road to create additional access to I-75 in the event of an I-75-New Tampa blockage.

To construct a permanent bridge to ease a temporary construction problem is a poor solution. The impact of the bridge on residents would be tremendous. Our quiet neighborhoods would be no more. Safety issues for children, wildlife and all residents would be a central concern.

EVELYN ROMANO

New Tampa

Defend Healthy Start

The revelation that the Florida Department of Health has proposed a 22 percent funding cut for Florida Healthy Start is very disturbing.

Healthy Start is a cost-effective program that provides health services to Florida mothers and babies. It has proven to save the state money through the success of its preventive programs, which have played a critical role in increasing the number of healthy births and reducing premature births.

If the proposed cut is approved, it would strip crucial health-related services from 43,000 babies across the state, eliminate Florida's access to matching federal funds and result in the loss of a significant number of jobs. Locally, the health of nearly 750 mothers and babies in Manatee County would be affected, due to the loss of appropriate services for at-risk families.

NELSON CANARIO

Bradenton

JOIN DISCUSSION

The Tribune welcomes letters and e-mails from readers. The text should be original and no longer than 150 words. By making a submission, you agree the Tribune may edit the letter for length and clarity, and publish it in any medium.

Please include your name, address and daytime phone number. Mail to: P.O. Box 191, Tampa, FL 33601-0191. Or e-mail without attachments: tribletters@tampatrib.com.

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