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For Florida's sake, save the sea grass beds in Taylor County

It is critical that we save the sea grass beds off Taylor County. These areas are nurseries that provide young food fish and shellfish with the protection that is needed for them to mature and reproduce. Anyone who enjoys fishing, or dining on the mature product that these areas foster, should oppose any activities that would injure these species.

For that matter, the Big Bend area proved in a March 1992 storm that it is especially fragile. This area, generally north of Cedar Key, is especially prone to damage during storms because it does not have any offshore barrier islands that could help protect, for example, mainland condominiums from flooding. A Big Bend condo would be on the storm's front line - vulnerable to any hurricane that turns east out of the gulf.

I would urge anyone who cares about the ecology of Florida to urge their state lawmakers and their water management agencies to nix this development.

Martha J. Marth, Branford

Could we subsidize 'real Florida'

Re: Profit & loss, June 11.

I feel for Chuck Olsen's desire to pull Taylor County out of poverty, but why destroy the environment for the sake of a tax-based income for the county?

Maybe it is time for the state to start subsidizing those counties that maintain a "real Florida" so that they can pull themselves out of poverty and preserve the natural environment. Maybe those funds could come from the counties that are collecting huge property tax windfalls and have recklessly overdeveloped and destroyed their environments (i.e. Pinellas, Hillsborough and Miami-Dade). Either that or have those counties absorbed by counties that have a huge cash flow and put a "do not touch" clause in there. Florida is quickly become something other than Florida through uncontrolled development. It has to stop somewhere.

One thought that keeps bugging me, as I watch my yard turn brown because of water restrictions, is where is all the water going to come from to support these new huge developments we keep hearing about?

T. W. Funari, St. Petersburg

Return power to voters

Re: Profit & loss.

The huge development planned for Taylor County is but another example of how the developers run Florida.

There is a way to take the balance of power away from the politicians and give it to the people. The Hometown Democracy Amendment initiative would allow voters to decide whether their local land-use plans should be changed.

Those citizens who are sick and tired of the Florida Legislature refusing to listen to them and too often allowing lobbyists for big money special interests to write our laws would be interested in going to: www.floridahometowndemocracy.com.

This initiative has the politicians coming out like angry bees from a hive. It is time we had government of the people and for the people.

Isabel Spindler, Beverly Hills, Fla.

Where was Pruitt's view?

Re: Profit & loss.

I found Diane Roberts' article about Dr. J. Crayton Pruitt and development very interesting. Dr. Pruitt was never quoted or interviewed. I found this is very sad. I have known this very moral and ethical man for many years. I would have liked to hear his thoughts.

Cindy Ninis, St. Petersburg

Look at education's basic facts

In the current debate on education issues (June 4 and 11), this year's Pinellas County public schools' graduation rates should have been a more important part of the discussion. How many ninth-graders who started high school in Pinellas County four years ago walked at graduations this year? The percentage seemed less than 50 percent, but no cumulative totals were offered. We were just able to read the individual school numbers in the articles about each school's graduation ceremony. Are Hillsborough County's graduation rates similar? Better? Worse?

Should we hold superintendents and all other levels of administration accountable for graduation rates and school scores? Or just teachers?

The Pinellas County superintendent suggested the ways to solve No Child Left Behind problems and pacify "veteran teachers" were "pacing charts, common assessments, scripted lesson plans, and more frequent assessments systems." Don't we have too many assessments now?

The Hillsborough superintendent said she intends to use "everything in her power to support teachers," while her counterpart in Pinellas said his county's morale problems were from teachers who "vent some level of dissatisfaction on an anonymous survey," will just have to work "longer hours each day," and will have to feel "the pain of these necessary cost reductions." Certainly the tone and content of the two superintendents' messages gave significant clues about why Hillsborough County's teachers' morale is rising and Pinellas County's teachers' morale is ebbing.

When will we engage in a substantial discussion about the bottom-line facts: graduation rates and the percentage of students adequately prepared to enter the work force?

Art Gray, Gulfport

A driving motivation

Re: FCAT and graduation.

It's simple: Tie the above items to getting a driver's license. If a student doesn't pass the FCAT and graduate from high school, then he can't get a driver's license until age 19.

If you can't set a policy like that, then quit complaining.

D. Davinroy, Orlando

Entertained and gratified

Re: Oh, for a sex scandal, June 11.

Please tell editor of editorials Philip Gailey "Thank you" for this column.

I was highly entertained by the beginning paragraphs, then highly gratified that he pinned things down so well in the remaining portion of the article. "Prescott is an embarrassment; Cheney is a threat to fundamental constitutional principles." Right on!

Also, did you notice both he and Thomas Friedman (The fallout of getting Zarqawi) used the word "incompetent" regarding our government?

Roberta Gibson, Bradenton

Motivating the GOP voter

Re: Philip Gailey, Robyn Blumner, et al.

Do all of your writers hate all Republicans or just the president and Republican members of Congress? Not once has any Republican done anything right! This type of opinion writing gets old and makes Republicans want to go out and vote Republican!

Charles A. Seibel, Weeki Wachee

A low blow

Re: Friday's F-Minus comic strip.

So two days before Father's Day you print a comic depicting a man lying on the ground after being struck in the crotch with a kid's baseball bat. I can safely assume, since this appeared on the comics page, that this is supposed to be funny. This event has been depicted numerous times on TV's America's Funniest Videos with a studio audience with plenty of men laughing also.

Perhaps someone can explain to me why this is funny. Perhaps there are not enough men who would stand up against this. I would never think a woman being struck in the breast is funny.

God bless all the fathers this Fathers' Day. Men, respect yourself. Take care of your health in all respects. Take your place among your families and convey in a respectful manner that you are to be respected personally, in our media and in public.

Ron Skidmore, Largo

[Last modified June 18, 2006, 05:14:21]