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Today's Letters: Parents can't allow kids to grow up in the streets

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published April 15, 2007

Teen charged in 2 sex assaults April 6, story

Jesse Knight was arrested earlier this month and charged with the rape of a jogger in Old Southeast. He had a criminal record that included arrests on charges of aggravated battery, larceny and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. When asked about her son's criminal record, his stepmother, Tracy Knight, replied, "Those are minor things ... just the things teenagers do." Is this the standard of parenting we want in this city?

In recent weeks within 1 square mile of my home, there have been two murders and one rape that I believe could have been prevented.

We need to demand stronger accountability from parents who allow the streets to raise their kids. We have to make changes in the priorities of our police and social services. This needs to be a neighborhood by neighborhood movement until we get organized and demand greater accountability in our great city.

If you support what I'm proposing please e-mail me at scottswift161@yahoo.com and let's get organized!

Scott Swift, vice president, Bartlett Park Neighborhood Association, St. Petersburg

City must take bold step 

Again, a stray bullet kills April 6, story

My heart goes out to the family of Tracey Walker, the latest innocent victim of another random shooting in St. Petersburg. While they struggle through their grief, the community should be thinking about how it can address the problems of the access its children have to guns and the difficulty they seem to have addressing conflicts nonviolently.

These issues are clearly not limited to our small community. It is a national problem, and there should be a national debate to help alleviate this violence. The city of St. Petersburg can and should be having that debate and initiating action. If our state and federal governments refuse to commit to gun control, our city should take that bold step. If our state and federal governments refuse to develop programs designed to maximize the potential of our youth, the city of St. Petersburg should form a coalition to, first identify the social issues that create violence in youth, and then commit to programs that will reduce it.

It is important that we recognize the long-term nature and costs of such programs; there are no quick fixes for such a complex problem. We must ask ourselves if our youth and the safety of our community are our priorities.

Linda Hubner, St. Petersburg

Condo plan defies logic 

Old piano exchange building to make way for condo tower April 8, story

Here we go again. We're being restricted to one-day-a-week lawn watering, you're rightfully editorializing against loosening restrictions on developers, yet here's a paragraph from Sheila Mullane Estrada's story about a new condo tower:

"Developers say substantial landscaping will surround the building and will include a 'significant water feature' at the base of the tower. The roof of the parking garage will become a private deck with a pool for residents."

Substantial landscaping means substantial water use. A "significant water feature" means unnecessary use of much-needed water just for show, and of course there must be a pool for residents.

According to Estrada's story, the Environmental Development Commission even overruled city staff recommendations to deny a request for a setback variance, so the building will "extend right up to the property line."

When will this insanity end?

Paul Cooper, St. Petersburg

High-rise just doesn't fit 

Redevelopment furor twists on April 8, story by Sheila Mullane Estrada

This is to correct the article in the Neighborhood Times regarding the high-rise building being proposed by Westminster Shores to be located next to the Bahama Shores neighborhood. I was quoted as saying the high-rise was "contextually appropriate" for the area. In fact I said just the opposite - that the high-rise is "not contextually appropriate" for the area.

The Bahama Shores Neighborhood very much appreciates the high quality services provided by Westminster Shores to our community. The residents of Westminster Shores are outstanding neighbors. However, I disagree with the proposed high-rise.

The orientation and location of the proposed high-rise building is not harmonious with the character of the adjacent single-family neighborhoods of one- and two-story homes as required by city code.

The article also omitted one of the neighborhood's major objections. This proposed high-rise is a significant component of the previous application filed by Westminster and rejected by the circuit court. In their previous application Westminster presented in sworn testimony before the Board of Adjustment that there were 293 units on this site. City staff concurred with this figure. This figure was again reasserted as recently as January 2007 in Westminster's appeal of the circuit court decision overturning city approval of their last application. City code restricts the current application to 239 units. Westminster is now stating that there are only 189 units on this site. This is a reduction of 104 units from the previous sworn assertion. No explanation has been given by either Westminster or city staff regarding what has happened to cause the loss of 104 units in such a short period.

Kathy Michaels, president, Bahama Shores Neighborhood Association, St. Petersburg

'Tunnel' trees instead

Many beautiful trees, oaks among them, are being cut with a giant "V" or "U" to clear around the electric wires. There's no dispute that wires should be free of branches to help reduce power outages. But there is another, less invasive and just as efficient way to do this called "tunneling." Tunneling works just as well and doesn't leave the trees looking like hell for years afterward.

I've e-mailed and called Progress Energy to suggest this and have yet to receive the courtesy of a response. With the amount of money this company makes from all of us, they can well afford to bid tree work to companies that know what they are doing. Not only does Progress Energy not care, they don't care to discuss it either.

Michele Hughes, Gulfport

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[Last modified April 14, 2007, 20:08:54]