Letters to the Editors

Street numbers, good directions can save shoppers

I was moved to write to compliment Jim Hacker for his letter concerning street signs and numbers (Help traffic by posting street numbers, April 8).

In April 1997, I wrote all the then-county commissioners on the same subject as the representative of 41 members of an AARP driving class. None of us being idiots and all of us experienced drivers, we realized that readily visible street numbers and business location numbers on killer U.S. 19 and Alt. U.S. l9 would prevent accidents and, inevitably, save lives.

I got three responses from the commission with allusions to the crossover signs, which have since appeared -- and in some cases disappeared -- and very nice they are when there. Commissioner Calvin Harris said then-County Administrator Fred Marquis would "investigate the situation" so he could better respond; I heard nothing more.

The problem still exists, of course. I see the issue raised in your columns and elsewhere from time to time. I do wish we could elect a commissioner with a grandmother or son-in-law in the sign business; that would help.

Of course, business owners with the wits of an alert 12-year-old would help, too. They usually omit street numbers, but frequently paint their phone numbers in sizable letters. That also probably kills a few people as drivers try to note the phone numbers as they hurtle past.

I think business owners ought to inform themselves and their help, assuming they are intelligent enough to manage it, what nearby cross street would be helpful to navigators and which cardinal compass points are relevant. I have many times called for help and the result is always some doofus yelling, "What street is near here?" and subsequently, "Are we on the east or the west side?"

God forbid that shopping centers be compelled to spend a few extra dollars to put a street number on their gaudy welcoming signs. Or that the county commissioners interrupt their confabulations for the few minutes it would take to insist on the observance of existing regulations and require that all businesses do themselves the considerable favor of clearly identifying the structures they are in.
-- Ray MacDowell, Tarpon Springs

Florida Power lines pose hazard

A large part of the new extension of the Pinellas Trail will be constructed in the Florida Power right of way next to high-voltage transmission lines. For health reasons, the public should not be exposed to the electric and magnetic field that exists in these rights of way.

To protect the public from this hazardous environment, a Florida code establishes limits of EMF at the outer edge of the rights of way. This code states "there is evidence of biological effects and a potential for adverse health effects on the public" from EMF based on "present scientific data."

Florida Power management hides behind the statement that "there is no conclusive evidence that there is any danger or hazard to public health." There are hundreds of well-researched scientific reports from around the world that prove otherwise. Many of these reports show a correlation of cancer with EMF levels lower than those found in Florida Power rights of way.

More than 50 years ago, I wrote a paper on electric physiology in which I pointed out the potential detrimental effects of EMF on the human body. I agree with the World Health Organization, which recommended that governments and industry offer the public "suggestions for safe and low-cost ways to reduce exposures" to power lines.

Pinellas County government is moving ahead to entice people into an EMF hazardous area with this new recreational trail.

Our National Academy of Sciences has concluded that at very high levels, EMFs can have serious biological effects, and there is an association between proximity to high-voltage electrical transmission lines and childhood cancer. This conclusion was reached after reviewing more than 500 studies.

Burying power lines in Pinellas County will expose the public to higher levels of EMF if the cables do not have expensive EMF shielding. Even most of the skeptics preach prudent avoidance of EMF from transmission lines.

Florida Power should return $200,000 to the taxpayers that the county paid. This portion of the trail should be relocated or the money used to build bike paths in school areas.
-- W.C. Snipes, Clearwater

Other priorities reign on Sunday

Re: Volunteers can stretch rec center hours, letter, April 15.

Yes, it was a wonderful evening when we honored Mr. & Mrs. Countryside at the Countryside Recreation Center. The whole country would be a better place in which to live if we had more good people like winners Karen Aungst and Bill Jonson, who do more volunteer jobs than anyone I know.

Letter-writer John Wiser, who catered the affair, also is a great volunteer, as well as a server of great food; however, when he wants to have the rec center open on Sunday if they can find more volunteers, I disagree -- and it's not even the area where I live.

Sunday should be a day for God, church and family, not another day for recreation. Parents work all day weekdays and children are in school. They see each other a few hours in the evening when they are all tired. Saturday is needed to get the household in order and all the yard jobs done. Let's leave Sunday to God to attend the house of worship of our choice, then come home and spend some quality time with our family members.

We have seven days in each week, and God only asks that one day be set aside to honor him. When there is a national crisis or even a family crisis, we have no trouble calling on him, but the rest of the time we choose to ignore him. This is not right. Will Sunday at the rec center improve our relationship with our heavenly father? I don't think so.
-- Fran Glaros, Clearwater

TIMES RECOMMENDS

The St. Petersburg Times recommends a "no" vote on today's referendum in Oldsmar. The single referendum question asks whether an ordinance creating an affordable housing density bonus should be repealed. A detailed explanation of the recommendation was printed Sunday.
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