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Mobile home parks deserve respect

By now, you may have started to see the name FAIR Floridians Against Injustice to Residents of mobile and manufactured homes in Florida getting around (www.fairfl.org)

I mentioned in a previous letter that we would form a statewide organization, but so far we have advanced only in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. We will continue to persevere as the clock ticks down to election year.

I attended and spoke at a recent Pinellas County Commission hearing on a county ordinance to have developers contribute to a fund to - now read this carefully - assist and subsidize owners of mobile and manufactured homes in transition from a real home to an apartment.

What they are really saying is to evict, displace and uproot us from our homes and eventually find us living under some overpass, selling the St. Petersburg Times on a median of a busy highway.

The commissioners also went as far as saying, "Well, it is inevitable. There is nothing we can do to stop progress." Again, what they meant to say is, "You're out of here, lowlife."

I think that when we elect commissioners, it is for the purpose of making certain decisions on what is best for the residents of the county - decisions like: Should we put a park somewhere, improve the roads, increase the gas tax for the general good of the people, do a rezoning to allow development of some acreage that is not being used, things like that.

Never did we intend for them to make life-altering decisions about people's lives!

No one can say it is better to overbuild Pinellas or anywhere, then come back like a jackal and attack the acreage populated by mobile and manufactured homes and condoned by the county, just so they can build more!

I am the acting association president for Anchor North Bay Mobile Home Park. Our association name is ANB Mobile Homeowners Association Inc., established in 1996.

Please take a look at www.fairfl.org or www.oicu.com I think you will be amazed at the progress that is under way.

Mobile home owners must team up

It should now be crystal clear to mobile home owners that local politicians and developers are working hand in hand to evict them from their homes.

These residents, from across the county, must join together to target these politicians.

As a group, these residents will gain the support of other individuals and groups that want the brakes put on developers before they have totally ruined Pinellas County. Unless these residents work together to vote, picket and boycott, they might as well start packing.

It's important to note that an article quoted County Commissioner Susan Latvala supporting the developers. Two pages later, a separate article discussed her unopposed candidacy and listed her campaign contributors, including a developer and a lawyer for developers. How nice.

I will provide my money and labor to support anyone who opposes her, now and in the future.

Higher costs hurt those on fixed incomes

Re: Utilities fear Nancy more than Wilma, Dec. 14.

These companies had a hard storm aftermath, but so have their customers. However, the utilities have the state Public Service Commission in their corner.

I live on a fixed income, but my Social Security increase is eaten up before I receive it. I've cut back until there is nowhere else to cut.

Also, my condo insurance will go up in 2006. What can I tack that extra amount onto? My phone bill has gone up $5 a month.

It's true that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It's a no-win situation.

Posh fragrances not a delight to all

Re: Eau de distress of perfume, cologne, letter, Nov. 30.

I, too, have allergic asthma and am often besieged and overwhelmed by perfumes and other invasive smells. Even the ink from new books bothers me, and I have to let them air out before I can read them.

Because of exposure to perfumes and such, I've had to make an emergency visit to my doctor and even to the emergency room.

I hope folks will read - and heed - this letter.

Place offers musical fun for families

Re: Working mothers need "playgrounds" too, letter, Dec. 7.

I would like to let the working mothers of the community know that there is indeed a place that offers activities later in the day that cater to those who work outside the home.

Playtime Express at 6798 Crosswinds Drive in St. Petersburg offers not only morning and afternoon classes for moms and tots, but also holds a 6:30 p.m. "music class" on Tuesdays. It is a fun hour of music, stories, instruments and dance that I enjoy as much as my two young daughters. It gives the working mom (and dad) a fun activity to participate in with their child while meeting other parents.

Area offers evening play opportunities

Re: Working mothers need "playgrounds," too.

I just wanted to alert the letter writer and other moms (or dads) who work outside the home to a few evening "play" opportunities that I am aware of:

St. Petersburg's Main Branch Library offers a family story and craft time at 7 p.m. on Thursdays.

Playtime Express in the Tyrone area has open play on Tuesdays until 6 p.m.

The Ultimate Party and Play Zone in St. Petersburg has open play on Wednesdays until 7 p.m.

Tyrone Mall has its Kidgits play area just outside JCPenney, which is free and open until the mall closes.

Some family-oriented fast food restaurants such as McDonald's and Chick-fil-A boast "play lands" specially designed for kids to burn through some of that (seemingly limitless) pent-up energy after a meal.

Another option is to seek out a working parents' play group via the Internet, or, better yet, start your own.

I am a stay-at-home mom, but I would love to spend some time chatting and trading stories with moms who work outside the home. My children are the main components of my "job," but, boy, would I love to get the ABCs, Blue's Clues and Bear in the Big Blue House out of my head for 20 minutes!

[Last modified January 1, 2006, 00:28:15]