Re: Up to her woofers with misery, she sues, Nov. 21.
I am totally sympathetic with Judy Ellis' plight. No one should have to suffer the indignity of the noise that these sociopaths in their urban assault vehicles inflict upon others. The fault, however, lies with enforcement of the St. Petersburg noise ordinance.
I am baffled that Officer Grimberg chose to write a letter to Ryan Jennings' parents rather than serve him with a citation and the accompanying fine, especially since this seems to be an ongoing and recurrent problem. We should all have the benefit of such a nicety when we break the law. Even more amazing is Jennings' smugness. His sticky note should tell him never to pump up the volume regardless of where he's driving.
It's time to compel the City Council to take a closer look at quality-of-life issues such as this, as I agree with Ellis in that we should all have the right to peaceful enjoyment of our home.
-- Ron Eubanks, St. Petersburg
Snowbirds support noise lawsuit
Re: Up to her woofers with misery, she sues.
During the cold winters here, the Tampa-St. Petersburg area was once our seasonal destination of choice. It was a lovely venue with many attractions. I say "was" because three years ago my wife and I stopped going there.
Simply put, the noise of the place had become intolerable. We were literally driven out by rude and obnoxious people who apparently delight in imposing their noise on others. The drivers of very loud cars and motorcycles were among the worst offenders. We marveled that nothing was being done by local authorities about this obvious plague. Surely, all that noise was deadly to everyone's quality of life, not just Canadian snowbirds.
We were, therefore, not surprised to read of Judy Ellis' lawsuit against an alleged noise goon. When political leaders fail the citizenry, desperate people turn to courts for redress. We hope the example of the courageous Mrs. Ellis will galvanize countless others to take back their communities from noise terrorists.
-- Justin Grenville, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Listeners, industry should keep it down
Re: Up to her woofers with misery, she sues.
This young man and his parents obviously do not understand that no matter where he plays his stereo, playing it at such a high volume is just plain rude.
While I agree that he certainly has a right to listen to whatever music he wishes, forcing others to listen to that same music is taking away their choice, violating their rights. Just turning it down in the neighborhood is not the answer. Keeping it at a reasonable volume at all times is.
Perhaps the answer is a need to regulate courtesy. When the electronics industry promotes their products with advertising slogans like "Disturb the peace" as Sony did, it is time to limit the power of the amplifiers they are allowed to install.
-- Charles Hausl, Polk City
Volume so loud it drowns out the music
Re: Up to her woofers with misery, she sues.
Will someone, anyone, please post a response and tell me what the thrill is to have a 5,000-plus-watt sound system in your vehicle? There isn't one day on the local roads that my windows don't get rattled, and not one evening that my house windows don't rattle because of these. What is the significance of having one of these systems? It is by no stretch of the imagination music. It's just noise, and annoying at that. When will it be addressed by the police?
-- Ed and Jeanne Bittman, St. Petersburg
Blasting the radio: a cry for mommy?
Re: Up to her woofers with misery, she sues.
I had to laugh a little when I read the article in last Sunday's Neighborhood Times about a woman suing a teen for blasting his car radio. As an instructor of college students, I occasionally witness young people in their pulsating vehicles on my way to or from campus.
Utilizing my educational background, and as a fan of Dali's works, I use a Freudian-surrealist explanation as a way to determine the motivation behind this act. Obviously, the car represents the womb. The driving beat of the woofers is, by logic, the heartbeat as heard in utero. Therefore, in a most abstracted way, the driver is attempting to return to the womb.
Students who have heard my explanation laugh, but it does make some stop to ponder. I have also observed fewer of my students cranking up the volume as they drive through the neighborhood.
-- Brandy Stark, St. Petersburg
Article pinpoints bureaucracy's holes
As a landlord in St. Petersburg, I've had many a challenging struggle with the bureaucracy of City Hall. Robert Pittman's incisive article Dispute is with city, not ministry (Nov. 10) highlighted so poignantly that someone is asleep at the wheel when the "minions" who are ostensibly civil servants are controlling the "masters."
Just who is running this city anyway?
-- Ralph Oliva, St. Petersburg
Police chief uninvolved, invisible
Re: Police call generates complaint, Nov. 17.
Has anyone else noticed that the "chief" of police in Pinellas Park never seems to be mentioned in these matters? Seldom available, rarely involved, never visible! Why should she be? She has a secretary and other department minions behind whom she can direct orders concerning such petty and mundane matters. That leaves her free to take care of the more perfunctory tasks of her office, such as attending council meetings to assist the mayor in handing out awards.
We have not had a real chief since Chief David Milchan, who was always available, always involved and always visible. (I might add, he rarely wore a uniform.)
-- The Most Rev. John J. Humphreys, Pinellas Park
Buy tree from groups that need money
Once again, every store with enough room outside will be on the warpath for your Christmas tree business. What was once an annual fundraiser for the Boy Scouts, churches and other worthwhile charities has become another attempt by the huge retailers to squeeze every last penny into their coffers.
I would encourage all consumers to take this into consideration when making their purchase. Try to support the sellers that need the funds and avoid those that are just making greed their motivation for the tree sales. If they were doing it as a convenience for the public, then why would they take up their prime parking spaces with the product?
Support your churches and charities. Think of the meaning of Christmas!
-- Ronald Bond, Clearwater
[Last modified November 28, 2004, 00:42:21]
