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Today's Letters: Insurance cost is biggest problem

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published April 26, 2007

I believe our elected officials have lost sight of the real problem facing Florida homeowners: insurance costs. They have shifted all attention to property taxes, when insurance is the real problem.

I bought my house in Clearwater in 2005 because of all the services the city provides. If the city were to reduce my city tax by 20 percent it would save me enough to take my wife to dinner at a fine restaurant. If they reduced my homeowners insurance by the same percentage, that would provide me with a substantial savings.

I urge your readers to contact their state representatives and let them know the real issue is insurance, not city taxes.

Matthew McCombs, Clearwater

Respect authority of our teachers

Re: Mooning discipline to stand, story, April 13, and letters to the editor.

It seems that more letters to the editor have defended the student who impulsively "mooned" a teacher, who was doing her duty in preventing him from entering an overcrowded auditorium, than have stood up for the disciplinary action.

The student's transfer to Clearwater High School is more than fair, protecting the young man's future. After all, being transferred to CHS, a good school, is not like being sent to Alcatraz.

The dignity and authority of teachers must be respected or you will have chaos. The student and his family should be very grateful that he was not expelled.

Henry L. King, Clearwater

No need to keep going over Cho

Re: Pellets fired at occupied school bus, story, April 21.

As our media-crazed society sensationalizes stories of senseless shootings till kingdom come, we are bound to feel the repercussions at some point. For no reason at all, last Friday afternoon, a Pinellas County school bus with 12 students aboard had two of its windows shattered by a pellet gun. Luckily, no one was injured.

Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho, even in death, has received the national attention he had so very much craved. Between the omnipresence of his photographs and his homemade video being broadcast over and over again, Cho may be viewed as a saint among would-be assailants.

While I realize that every newspaper and news magazine wants to have the latest and greatest story in order to sell, what do we do about the wanna-be copycats? There are lots of "sickies" out there just waiting for their own version of fame and glory. While it's important to inform the public, there is no need to ruminate till we choke, nor do we need to conduct a literary autopsy on every killer.

JoAnn Lee Frank, Clearwater

Business makes good impression

My family made the trip to Florida during our spring break to visit family and enjoy the beautiful beach at Clearwater.

We were determined to get some parasailing in before going home. We paid our money and got on the list. Before our scheduled time, the weather changed and the wind and waves were too much to safely go into the water. The business that held our money looked for my family but missed us as they packed up their equipment and left the beach.

A cynic would have assumed that we were out the money we put down. But honest businesses do exist and we found one with High Times Inc. I found the phone number for their business, wrote down all the facts regarding our scheduled ride and called their owner. After verifying that I was the one who remained unrefunded, they took my name and address and promised to get a check in the mail.

I received my refund and wanted to let everyone know about my good experience with a Florida business that caters to vacationers. I will definitely go back to your great state!

Sam Barnes, Jackson, Mich.

Your voice counts

You may submit a letter to the editor for possible publication through our Web site at www.tampabay.com/letters, or by faxing it to (727) 445-4119, or by mailing it to Letters, 710 Court St., Clearwater, FL 33756. You must include your name, address and phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity, taste and length.

[Last modified April 25, 2007, 23:07:01]