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By Times Staff
Published November 4, 2007

To catch a laptop thief Oct. 28

Publicity will help stop thieves

Great article. Lots of time your team put in and wonderfully educational for individuals as well as businesses. So hard to stay a step ahead of any criminals today, but publicity is the best we can do, I'd say. Thank you.

Robyn Dalton, Largo

Article was clear and concise

The article about laptop theft was excellent. In a time when so many news items are not exactly "news," this article is very clear, concise and very well written. The closing piece about how the article written was a great addition. The author should be commended.

Bill Bierman, Fremont, Calif.

Counseling can help laptop thief

The story on career thief Eric Almly was fascinating. The older Almly gets, the greedier and more immoral he becomes. This guy is smart, with a lot of charm.

To me, the only way this malevolent man who is ethically barren can change is through a change in his inner attitude. Long-term counseling and psychiatric treatment could salvage Almly. Presently, only a flea's hop separates Almly from life in prison as his felony convictions mount.

Robert B. Fleming, St. Petersburg

John Torro's Solutions columns, Personal Technology

Computer help is appreciated

Thank you for your articles in the Times. We appreciate reading up on things we can do with the computer.

Dan and Pat Morgan, Madeira Beach

Policyholders face Poe tab Oct. 31

Lawmakers are out of touch

How much more is the Florida Legislature going to force out of homeowners and auto owners? How do you justify this? It seems that the Republican Party influence is again destroying our futures. I may be a registered Republican, but at this rate will vote for Democrats to see how much they can muck up this state. The "Republican Regimen" has given the insurance companies a wide margin of profit, thanks to rate increases and no storms. Now there will be an additional "tax" as there was for Citizens Property.

Maybe the state of Florida needs to check the hearing, eyesight and reading skills of those up there representing us. They certainly are out of touch with those of us who live here. We could certainly use a few more like Mr. Fasano and Mr. Clegg. There will be more "For Sale" signs going up, and just for giggles, the amount of money we will "get back" will be offset by the increase of their appraised value of your home. When someone is ready to have a "Florida Tea Party," let me know!

Christina Ennist, New Port Richey

Time to get rid of insurers

Once again we are left to clean up the shortfalls of a "for profit" insurance industry. Insurance companies pool risk to protect all of us at a so-called lower price. But when disaster hits, they fold, take their profits, and we pay for it. Let's save a step and just get rid of them now along with their profits and high salaried salesmen.

We seem to fear anything socialized unless it comes at us in an assessment. Is there really a difference? This will continue to happen in all fields of insurance. It should be apparent by now: They will not pay, but we do!

Michael Glennon, St. Petersburg

Where is Sen. Nelson now?

I would like to express my "thanks" to former Mayor Poe and former Florida Insurance Commissioner Sen. Bill Nelson. Mayor Poe was very fortunate to have his underfunded, start-up homeowners insurance company approved by the insurance department. He was then able to build his company based on taking polices out of Citizens Property Insurance, with the state paying a generous bonus for each policy taken out. Later, of course, his company went bankrupt. Do you need to ask, who now pays for the huge volume of claims that Poe's company did not pay? Perhaps then-Insurance Commissioner Nelson would like to let us know who pays and how that fiasco occurred under his watch. But Sen. Nelson is probably too busy solving insurance problems in Washington. It is a shame that we cannot recoup money from these guys. Like many politicians, they just go on with no conscience or financial responsibility.

Robert K. Reader, Clearwater

GM's rebound

The General is alive and well

The recent analyst upgrade of General Motors' target from $24 to $48 is music to the ears of those who have patiently waited for this grossly undervalued stock to be recognized for its true value and fundamental strengths. As a 38-year career salaried retiree who has invested in GM stock since 1965, I have witnessed and been a part of stock highs in the mid $90s in 2000 and the subsequent decline to $18 two years ago when it was widely reported that bankruptcy was imminent and inevitable.

Didn't happen. What did happen was a historic settlement with the UAW that many of us never expected to live to see, which takes tremendous legacy and operating cost out of the structure, greatly levels the playing field and positions GM to again compete with the world. With the stock now approaching $40, hitting the $48 mark ought not to be that difficult and, as the expected, vastly improved earnings begin to kick in, a return to the more "normal" ranges to $60 to $80 is my bet to happen.

The General, reported dead and counted out, is very much alive with a strong heartbeat and serious about competing with Toyota and Honda. Don't take my word for it - do your own investigating and reach your own conclusion. Remember this prediction and where you heard it: $85 GM by end of 2008.

John McBaine, Largo

Early Christmas ads

Won't shop at early advertisers

I refuse to shop with any company advertising before Thanksgiving for Christmas. Wal-Mart, Ross, Hallmark and Big Lots have already been deleted from my shopping list, and it's only Nov. 1.

Peggy Boyer, Belleair

Industry in peril? Time to pick up a bucket, column Oct. 28

Fed needs to protect the dollar

I just wanted to thank you for saying it like it is! With all the propaganda floating around these days, it's nice to hear or read a voice of reason once in a while. Everything is so distorted, covered up and "spun" to death - to hide the truth - it's enough to make anybody nuts!

Guess we'll just wait for Helicopter-Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman to double up the printing press shifts and flood the market with some more worthless paper. Unbelievable.

Isn't it the Fed's inherent responsibility to "protect" the value of the dollar? And if that's not what it's doing, isn't that illegal? When will this all end?

Carolyn Beardsley, St. Petersburg

Losing control of the skies? Oct. 25

Air controllers were driven away

As a recently retired Tampa controller, I would like to commend you on your long-overdue article. Those of us that chose to retire were tired of the misuse and mistreatment we were subjected to under the current regime.

The current contract was thrust upon us with little or no regard for its ramifications. We were made to feel that we were expendable and could be replaced by younger, lower-paid, much less experienced controllers in an effort to save money. Example: If you don't like it, retire! There are many waiting to fill your shoes for less.

So we did retire, and now you're seeing the fallout from our untimely departure. Delays are at an all-time high. NASA did an air-safety study, and its results cannot be released for fear of causing a panic to the flying public as we approach the busiest travel time of the year. Not to mention the impact this will have on the fragile airline industry!

My reasons for leaving were quite simple. First, the FAA froze our pay while upper management went untouched, even though we do the bulk of the work.

Second, I was entrusted with the lives of untold numbers of passengers hourly, but not trusted enough to leave my facility to walk less than 50 yards to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee on my infrequent breaks.

Third, being dictated to as if we were children, under constant scrutiny by management for things other than our air traffic duties, and knowing undue discipline was forthcoming. The list goes on and on.

Bottom line: Do I miss controlling airplanes and being with my peers that aren't able to retire? You bet. Do I miss what my once-beloved FAA has become? Not at all.

Michael Lorenzo, Seminole

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[Last modified November 2, 2007, 21:43:15]