Todays Letters: Incinerator better than alternative
By Letters To the Editor
Published December 5, 2007
Extra incinerator is a health hazard Dec. 4, letter
I have to vehemently disagree with the anti-incinerator expansion opinion voiced recently by Clearwater resident Jerry Kissel in which he cited increased air pollution statistics as his main concern.
What does air pollution from ships have to do with garbage incineration? What about the effects of toxins leaching into our water supply, water that we drink and in which we wash our dishes, bath and swim? What about the air pollution from rotting, stinking garbage? What about the waste of land which could be better utilized for recreation and the preservation of some of our county's natural beauty?
When my wife and I relocated here three years ago, we had almost daily need for using the citizens' dropoff during the renovations to our 25-year-old house, and we marveled at the efficiency of the Shady Hills facility.
The controlled and regulated burning of garbage to be used in the generation of electricity and safe landfill for new construction seemed to us to be a no-brainer and the most creative solution to the garbage problem.
At this juncture in time, why scrap a brilliant solution in favor of the old-fashioned and unsafe digging of another big hole in the ground?
Perhaps Mr. Kissel should get a whiff of the air pollution caused by Red Tide, which is directly related to the algae that feeds off the pollutants and phosphates in polluted water.
Richard Back, Port Richey
For lower taxes, get to the polls Dec. 3, letter
What guarantees do we have?
One question for letter writer Bill Bunting: If we vote yes on the increase on homestead exemption, are you going to guarantee that they won't increase the assessment value of my home?
Alfred Gioielli,New Port Richey
Red light cameras a dangerous plan
I wanted to comment on Port Richey's unwise plans to use red light cameras.
According to two state attorney general opinions, they are illegal. In fact, the ACLU went after them in Minnesota and won over the very same questionable logic Port Richey is trying.
They are causing more wrecks. Long-term studies are showing this to be true. Some called them a safety detriment.
Most violations can be better reduced by increasing the amount of time for the amber light, according to a U.S. congressional report.
Red light cameras require a constant revenue stream to be profitable. This very vendor's operations in Lubbock, Texas, needed 20 a day (10 per 12 hours).
When cash disappears, so do the cameras. In North Carolina, when the Court of Appeals stated that 90 percent of the camera revenue had to go to the school district, multiple towns shut down their cameras.
For the city of Greenville, N.C., "this created a problem for the continuance of our program because it made it economically infeasible to continue," City Attorney Dave Holec stated in a published report.
Even the group pushing them, "The Campaign to Stop Red Light Runners," was founded and funded by a camera vendor. Should we be taking safety advice from a group funded by vendors that profit financially from this?
Red light cameras need to be banned. Their purpose is more about money than safety.
As former state Sen. Tom Lee said about red light cameras, "It's all about profits, under the guise of public safety." Very true words.
Steve Donaldson, Dade City
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