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Action
Creating manatee safety zone is involved process
By SUZANNE PALMER
Published June 18, 2006
I live on Smacks Bayou, which separates Snell Isle and Eden Isle from Shore Acres in northeast St. Petersburg. Although the bayou is bounded by sea walls, there aren’t any “no-wake” signs posted anywhere and dozens of boats go zipping through at full speed, day and night.
My neighbors and I regularly spot manatees in the bayou. Just this evening, I saw three swimming close to the sea wall, seconds after a motorboat passed at top speed. Each manatee had scars on its back; one had more than a dozen slash marks from boat propellers.
What does it take to get a manatee warning sign posted or a no-wake zone established?
— C.R. Harrison
Nanette Holland, public outreach coordinator for the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, tells us that those who live on a canal by definition live in a slow speed zone.
If you have concerns about public safety or property damage caused by speeding boats, contact the St. Petersburg Police Department Marine Unit at (727) 893-4950. Its two officers are responsible for monitoring activities and enforcing laws on the city’s 142 miles of coastline.
Creating a manatee protection speed zone is a much more involved process. Scott Calleson, an environmental specialist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said manatee zones can be established by city, county or state governments. Establishing zone regulations is based on criteria set forth in the Manatee Sanctuary Act. These ask if a significant number of manatees are frequenting the area in question and if regulations are required to protect them there.
Requests for regulation are based on different sources of distribution data that include aerial surveys, mortality rates and tagged manatee studies. While the manatee’s listing status has been downgraded from “endangered” to “threatened,” Calleson said speed zone regulations are implemented independently of the manatee’s listing status, in accordance with the Manatee Sanctuary Act.
FWC is in the process of posting new zones approved for Pinellas County during a review in 2004. Most of them are in the Safety Harbor area. Recommendations for manatee protection speed zones for St. Petersburg were rejected by the local rule review committee. It convened in 2003 to evaluate and provide local perspectives on new zones in Tampa Bay proposed by the FWC. Its report said the city “has several local speed zones in place that the committee deemed adequate for manatee protection.”
Paper is hard to retrieve
My 83-year-old father has been a subscriber to the Times for 50 years. When he became frail, I asked that the paper be delivered to the window sill on his front porch. The carrier followed through until several months ago, when a paper was missed.I called, and it was promised for the next day. However, the paper was thrown on his lawn. My father had to walk down three steps to get it, and he fell. Luckily, a neighbor was outside and was able to help him. My father was so upset he asked that I cancel his subscription. The customer service representative I spoke with never even bothered to ask why. When I related what had happened, she never asked how we could resolve the problem.
Since my father is mostly homebound, the paper is a good way to keep his mind alert. I decided to try ordering another subscription a month or so later. I explained what had happened before and was assured that the special delivery would not be a problem. I asked that the paper be placed on the sill of a new safety ramp I had installed.
First the paper was delivered at the end of the ramp. Then my father did not receive a paper, and I was told it would be delivered the following day. Two papers were thrown on the front lawn. My father asked me to cancel again.
It seems that a big corporation like the Times could solve this little problem for a loyal, longtime customer. He really misses the paper. I have done everything possible to have his paper delivered with his safety in mind.
Any assistance you can provide to help him get his daily paper again would be appreciated.
— Faye Ford
We are sorry to hear that your father’s health was compromised by the improper delivery of his newspaper. It is never the paper’s intention to disregard special delivery instructions.
Nancy Krainz, standard of accuracy coordinator in Circulation Customer Care, addressed your service problem. The independent contractor who acts as carrier on your father’s route and his manager have been notified, Krainz said. Service was monitored until it met with your satisfaction.
We’re glad to hear delivery is going well now.
Concerns sent to retailer
I have been trying since February to get someone from JCPenney customer service to respond to my two letters concerning a comforter I purchased in January.
Pulled threads created a small run, like in a nylon stocking, and I’m afraid it may get worse when I wash it.
I am hoping that you might be able to help.
— Judy Wingate
JCPenney supervisor JoAry Hampton said you would be contacted by Lynne Smith, manager of the JCPenney store at Crystal River Mall, to resolve the concerns with your comforter. Let us know if you don’t hear from her.
Action solves problems and gets answers for you. If you have a question, or your own attempts to resolve a consumer complaint have failed, write Times Action, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or call your Action number, (727) 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 8171, to leave a recorded request. Requests will be accepted only by mail or voice mail; calls cannot be returned. We will not be responsible for personal documents, so please send only photocopies. If your complaint concerns merchandise ordered by mail, we need copies of both sides of your canceled check. We may require additional information or prefer to reply by mail; therefore, readers must provide a full mailing address, including ZIP code. Names of letter writers will not be omitted except in unusual circumstances. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.
[Last modified June 17, 2006, 11:39:31]
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