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The Times reported last month that Pinellas County commissioners denied a developer's request to build more houses than currently permitted near an area occupied by bald eagles. I realize that the bald eagle is this country's national bird - and a rare bird at that - and should be protected whenever possible.
But the domains of human residents of the county deserve every bit as much protection, and a disturbing number of land purchases affecting senior citizens and their homes shows that such protection isn't always available.
Specifically, area developers are buying up mobile home communities by making seemingly supergenerous, impossible-to-refuse offers to the owners of those communities - that is, the mobile home parks that are not co-op or fee simple.
The only alternatives for the residents of those communities are to: 1) match or surpass the developer's offer and take ownership of the land on their own, or 2) make arrangements to move to who knows where. Either solution is expensive and difficult for most senior citizens.
Florida has long been known as the place to retire in the sunshine and live out the rest of one's years. These mobile home-dwelling seniors worked and saved for many years to assure the fulfillment of their retirement dreams.
The housing situation facing these citizens is surely as deserving of Pinellas County Commission attention as the nesting place of the bald eagle.
Re: Amendment jeopardizes manatee protections, guest column by Patrick Rose, Oct. 27.
In his guest column, Pat Rose states, "Conservationists say the introduction and passage of (U.S. Rep. Adam) Putnam's amendment is a blatant attack on manatees, especially since boat strikes continue to be the largest known cause of manatee deaths in Florida."
There are two things wrong with his statement.
One, watercraft strikes, getting caught in a lock or gate, and "other human" causes are the only known human causes of manatee deaths. All other causes are considered natural or unknown. Watercraft-related deaths have averaged 25 percent of total mortality over the past quarter of a century. The trend line is flat.
Two, the cause of vessel-manatee collisions is not due to docks or even more boats, but rather that manatees have a hearing limitation that makes it very difficult for them to hear slow-moving vessels, and in Florida's murky waters the manatee relies on acoustical cues to detect boats. This science has been clearly demonstrated by Dr. Edmund Gerstein's research.
Pat Rose, as a lobbyist for the Save the Manatee Club, is hardly a credible source of information on this subject. If the manatee isn't considered endangered, then perhaps Rose's job and the Save the Manatee Club are.
The manatee population has flourished over the past 30 years at an average of 5.5 percent annual net growth in spite of a large increase in the number of boats and docks, yet those facts are ignored by the club in its effort to keep the manatee cash cow from slipping away to the status of the alligator.
Re: Firefighters union demands apology from leaders, story, Oct. 22.
The public has for some time watched the ongoing dispute between the city of Clearwater and its unionized firefighters as it spirals down to the latest: intimidation and threats from the chief as well as the city manager.
In an albeit brief barrage of e-mails before the vote of no confidence, fire Chief Jamie Geer writes to his men threatening and intimidating comments including, "I will use every means at my disposal to finally hold these firefighters accountable. We cannot advance to the next level until we cleanse our organization of the disgraceful and incompetent behavior of these representatives. Their credibility has declined to nothing."
City Manager Bill Horne not only condones the activity, he states in an e-mail: "The scheduled vote of no confidence on Chief Geer, regardless of the outcome, will generate unintended consequences for your IAFF Local 1158 members."
The firefighters have for some time felt threatened, and remember, if the recipient of the threat perceives it as such, then that it is.
Chief Geer and City Manager Horne, I am not sure what it was that would have possessed you to print and distribute such e-mails, but it clearly wasn't your professionalism. Now you both share a space in the proverbial litter box.
To the Clearwater City Council: As your political aspirations dwindle, clearly a result of your poor choices and refusal to act, look closely at what your chosen leaders have been reduced to: the actions of thugs and hooligans who threaten and intimidate your city firefighters because they don't like the union leadership. The result of the actions has now involved the Public Employees Relations Commission, which found sufficient evidence to warrant a full investigation.
I'll pull quotes from the profound thinkers when I ask, whose "credibility has declined to nothing," and whose actions "will generate unintended consequences"? I know.
I am a veteran of the U.S Army and recently was at the Veterans Administration Bay Pines facility where my fellow veterans told me that I could go to dinner on Veterans Day Nov. 11 at Red Lobster, Sam Seltzer or Golden Corral. These particular veterans had in the past eaten at these fine restaurants on Veterans Day.
When I got home on Friday, I called these businesses in Clearwater to make a reservation and see if any of them were serving free meals to veterans. They told me that they were not, except Golden Corral, which said they were very busy Friday and they would serve veterans a free meal again on Monday, Nov. l4.
I did go with my group from the Homeless Emergency Project and they fed about 18 of us and thanked us for our service to our country and allowed us to eat as much as we wanted.
My hat's off to Golden Corral for its patriotism and going "above and beyond the call of duty," as we old soldiers like to put it. I would like to put out a call for all veterans to patronize this establishment for being so kind to so many of our brothers and sisters in arms nationwide.
I am 50 years old and a 15-year veteran.