Editorials
Death and demagoguery
Tallahassee lawmakers haven't given serious attention to reforms that would end the worst inequities of the death penalty in Florida.

Maverick diplomacy
U.S.-Chinese tensions did not prevent the NBA debut of 7-foot Chinese center Wang Zhizhi Thursday night. Despite a nasty standoff between Washington and Beijing over the fate of a U.S. plane and crew detained on a Chinese island, the Dallas Mavericks rookie received an enthusiastic welcome from fans.

Respecting our national symbol
Shining through the dark clouds of recent environmental setbacks is a ray of hope. The bald eagle has made a successful comeback in the United States. By 1963, the bald eagle population had declined to only 417 breeding pairs in the 48 contiguous states. Today, nearly 6,000 eagle pairs produce young, and if Alaska and Canada are included, bald eagles number about 100,000.

Letters
Keep refuge out of energy strategy
Re: An energy strategy, April 1.

Bill Maxwell
I have seen 'kids these days' and they are us
NEW YORK -- I took the subway on W 23rd Street to go to the United Nations complex, where I am participating in a program on international race relations. (The program is unrelated to my work at the St. Petersburg Times.)

Robyn Blumner
Hitting the slopes for an invigorating fun vacation
ASPEN, Colo. -- I learned to ski this year at Snowmass Village.

Martin Dyckman
Judge protects state workers
TALLAHASSEE -- It was poetic justice, though not good law, when Circuit Judge L. Ralph "Bubba" Smith Jr., of Tallahassee slapped a restraining order on the entire Florida Legislature last week.

Philip Gailey
Bush turning back the clock with the Republican right by his side
WASHINGTON -- The polls suggest that most Americans like President Bush better than they like his policies. The same can be said of the Washington press corps, which seems to have succumbed to Bush's self-deprecating humor, recently on display at several major media galas.