Letters to the editor: Dangerous multitasking

Letter to the Editor

Dangerous multitasking

My son and I could not believe how many people were on their cellphones last Wednesday in rush-hour traffic, and then they have the nerve to be allowed to "cut in" while still chatting away. If they want to chit-chat on their phone, they can wait for the traffic to clear on its own.

Soon, I suppose, heart or brain surgeons will be allowed to chat away on their cells while performing delicate surgery. What's the difference? Both could kill someone.

Dianne Rothenbuehler

Tampa

Cleaner cars

By setting strong mileage and pollution standards for new cars, the Obama administration is taking a historic step to tackle global warming and get us off oil — all while saving Americans money at the gas pump. It doesn't get much simpler than this.

Strong standards will spur innovation, boost our auto industry, save families money and help cut climate-disrupting carbon pollution.

Your help will go a long way to ensuring the Obama administration implements a strong 54.5 mile-per-gallon standard. Spreading the word shows the administration that we care about cleaner cars.

Christy Borriello

Wesley Chapel

Save Hillsborough Correctional

Can anyone tell me why our governor and the Department of Corrections are so determined to close the most successful prison in the state? Are they anti-women or pro-recidivism?

By closing Hillsborough Correctional Institution, female inmates will have to be transported to the northern end of the state, which removes them from families and local ties. National research has shown that male/female inmates recidivate less when they have regular visits from family, friends or mentors.

Hillsborough CI has the lowest recidivism rate in the state, and maybe in the United States. It has more than 65 programs to provide rehabilitation and has in excess of 400 volunteers who give of their time, talent and treasure. I am one such volunteer. We are a community of staff, volunteers and inmates who are about changing lives.

Hernando Correctional was quickly designated a women's "faith- and character-based institution" in the fall to meet the letter of the law. But it does not have the volunteers, programs, community support or the classification to house certain security levels of inmates that Hillsborough CI has.

Women who have waited for years and applied and came to Hillsborough CI are being unfairly uprooted. It's cruel and unusual punishment.

A 10-year-old plan to make Lowell CI the largest women's prison in the nation needs to be rethought in light of current research. Big isn't always better. In large facilities there are fewer opportunities for betterment classes, jobs inside and outside the community, and one-on-one mentors. Idleness reigns. The old saying about "Idle hands are the devil's workshop" has some truth to it.

We are asking Gov. Rick Scott and the DOC to reconsider their decision and redesignate Hillsborough CI as facility that will test new programs, assist in training officers for other faith- and character-based facilities, and work to make us more cost-effective. If we could increase our count and work together, we could make Hillsborough CI the model for women's prisons. And we'd save the state millions in the end.

Sharon Whiddon

Sun City Center

Government snakes

Regarding "Pythons taking over Everglades" (Metro, Jan. 31): I read the article with interest. It seems like these monstrous invasive snakes are multiplying and growing so rapidly that they are wiping out the smaller original mammals of the area by as much as 99 percent. This could disrupt the food chain and also upset the environmental balance in ways difficult to predict. If this continues, soon there will be no species left in the Everglades, but thousands of these hungry 26-foot pythons. And then how would they be able to survive?

Can you correlate this situation with the rapid growth of the U.S. government, which is not only growing way too large but also trying to force us to be subservient by taking control of practically everything? I can.

Betty Bishop

Sun City Center

American write-in

Regarding "Many Americans won't accept census race labels" (Nation & World, Feb. 1): I was one of the 21.7 million people who did not choose one of the census forms' standard race classifications. It was not because they did not have my particular gene-pool structure properly classified. It was because I believe that if by law we are not to be judged based on our race, religion, sex or who we choose to love, then why are they asking?

That is why I chose "other" and wrote "American."

John McGourty

Seffner

Monopoly continues

The Florida House of Representatives' Insurance and Banking Subcommittee recently sent a message to Florida's municipalities when it voted to not allow credit unions to accept public deposits. House Bill 669 by Rep. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, would have allowed qualified public depositories to include credit unions, thus allowing municipalities a choice of where to do business. Now banks will continue to enjoy a virtual monopoly.

Banks argued that credit unions should not serve local government because they "don't pay taxes." This is not true. Credit unions do pay tangible personal-property taxes, real-property taxes and all employment taxes, like any bank. Credit unions' tax exemption lies in their not-for-profit structure — including cooperative ownership and volunteer leadership — not because of their size or the types of services they provide.

Credit unions are 100 percent locally owned and return all profits back to their memberships in the form of lower fees, better interest rates and better returns on deposits. There are 40 "Subchapter S" banks in Florida, which, like credit unions, receive an exemption from corporate income taxes yet are allowed to serve the state as qualified public depositories.

Reps. Rachel Burgin, R-Riverview, and Janet Cruz, D-Tampa, voted in favor of HB 669, agreeing that municipalities should have a choice of where they deposit their funds.

Leadership isn't about doing the easy thing; it's about doing the right thing for the people you represent. We thank Burgin and Cruz for taking a stand for their constituents and putting special interest aside.

Patrick La Pine

Tallahassee