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Today's Letters: Gulfport should not pursue mooring field

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published April 29, 2007

Mooring field gets a go vote April 22, story

As a native Floridian and 46-year resident of Treasure Island, I am very concerned about the recent vote by Gulfport officials to proceed with plans to install a "mooring field" for boats off their waterfront. I have always been under the impression that submerged land in our bays was owned by the state, and that the waters were public.

If allowed, this will open the door to applications by every waterfront city in Pinellas County and set the stage for what could become the worst local ecological disaster in our lifetime. These untended rafts of vessels would doubtless contain fuel mixes, oil, diesel, propane, holding tanks and other contaminants that would be released if these vessels were driven ashore during a storm or if they caught fire.

In my 25 years as an elected official, I voted in favor of every action that would improve the quality of waters in our local bays. I plan to do everything I can to contact local, county, state, federal, regional and environmental officials to stop this plan.

Julian Fant, Treasure Island

Classical problems

Events deserve support April 22, letter

I thoroughly agree with the writer that events like the one she described in her letter (a concert by the National Philharmonic of Russia and a featured pianist) deserve the support of the community.

However, I think that many of us were deterred from attending that performance for two reasons:

l. The cost of the tickets ($35 was the cheapest), which many seniors and young people would find expensive, and while the young people would willingly pay that for a rock concert, I doubt they would for a classical music concert.

2. The time of the performance. Many seniors are unable or unwilling to drive at night outside their neighborhoods. Had it been on a Sunday afternoon, I think the attendance would have been better.

Having seen pianist Olga Kern perform on television, I would have been delighted to see her in a live performance. Unfortunately, the circumstances were not right for me.

Florence R. King, Gulfport

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[Last modified April 29, 2007, 08:02:44]