Editorials
Right choice in independent probe
The Hillsborough County School Board made the right decision by choosing to have an outside firm investigate a whistle-blower's complaints. An internal probe would have lacked credibility and reflected poorly on the school district's commitment to eliminate any fraud or waste discovered in multimillion dollar school construction contracts.
Help children by need, not county
Gov. Jeb Bush and lawmakers are once again sparring over the "local match" mandate in the Healthy Kids program, and the welfare of Florida's needy children rests on the outcome. Retaining the match, under which counties must contribute financially once a minimal number of base slots have been filled, would mean the continuing loss of millions of federal dollars and, worse, denial of health-insurance coverage for thousands of low-income children. While the local match may once have been good policy, its liabilities have come to exceed its benefits. It should be eliminated so that coverage is determined by what our children need, not by which county they happen to call home.
Sneaky slot vote
A House committee approved video lottery, the "crack cocaine" of gambling, in a sneaky sell-out to the parimutuel slot machine lobby without even putting it on its agenda.
Letters
Parents provide accountability in private schools
Re: Voucher schools' unaccountability, by Barbara Miner, Feb. 25.
Bill Maxwell
Leaders need an eye-opener on race
I am fortunate to live in the Tampa Bay area, where racism and prejudice do not exist, where the police and the community work together harmoniously. Here in my paradise, no one is discriminated against because of his or her color, national origin or religion.
Columns today
Robert Trigaux
Awash in gold?
I remember sitting in my piano teacher's waiting room every week, reading and re-reading all the National Geographic magazines . . . As a land-locked Michigan kid with dreams of the ocean, I was always drawn to the articles about underwater exploration, especially shipwreck archaeology.
Ernest Hooper
United foes, patented food, top student
If you can imagine Perry Mason representing Hamilton Burger, or Johnnie Cochran representing Marcia Clark, then you can imagine Tampa attorney Arnold Levine representing fellow legal eagle Jonathan Alpert.
Howard Troxler
Voting a product of where we are
Women are more likely to vote than men.
Bill Maxwell
Leaders need an eye-opener on race
I am fortunate to live in the Tampa Bay area, where racism and prejudice do not exist, where the police and the community work together harmoniously. Here in my paradise, no one is discriminated against because of his or her color, national origin or religion.
