Opinion: Nursing home industry deals in distortions

By introducing legislation that would place a cap on the compensatory and punitive damages awarded to victims and survivors of even the most heinous neglect and abuse imaginable, the nursing home industry seeks to slither away from responsibility.

The Florida Health Care Association would have us believe that the millions of dollars paid by the individual nursing homes to their rising liability insurance premiums would otherwise go to the improved care of needy patients and residents of Florida's nursing homes. History alone tells us this is a blatant lie. The nursing home industry, as a whole, would have us believe the Academy of Trial Lawyers enjoys an unfair advantage in the judicial process. But how is this so?

Is the overwhelming evidence of abuse and neglect presented to a jury unfairly? Are we to believe the highly paid defense attorneys, who argue the position of their clients, are not afforded the same rights as the plaintiffs' attorneys? Do they not conduct their defense of the industry within the same rules of law? Do the defense attorneys not partake equally in the selection of the juries? Do the defense attorneys not have the same rights to judicial review, to the appellate process?

The obvious fact of the matter is that the attorneys for the industry are losing the arguments they present to juries because they are indefensible. The industry is counting, once again, on a complacent public to accept its simplistic distortions. We must tell our elected representatives, "Not this time." Remember in November!

C.P. O'Brannigan, Dunedin

Quality care is the issu

Quality care is the issue and concern

A facility providing quality care (true quality care) has no cause for concern. A facility that provides less than quality care is, and always will be, the basis for concern by friends and loved ones.

A nursing home should enrich the remaining time of its patients -- not the wallets of executives to excess.

Plain and simple: Quality care is the issue regardless of what the TV spots would have you believe.

Austin R. Curry, Tampa

Animal cruelty should be reporte

Once again, our community is outraged by a violent act of animal cruelty. Two young men are accused of walking onto someone's property and viciously clubbing a llama to death and leaving another for dead. We all ask: Why? Unfortunately, our question will probably never be answered; however, animal cruelty is a common occurrence in our community.

At the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Pinellas County, we investigate more than 1,000 animal cruelty complaints a year. This year, approximately 40,000 animals were turned in to shelters in Pinellas County for reasons varying from "too active" to "moving." We need to recognize that our community doesn't have an animal problem; we have a people problem.

Animal cruelty is an indicator crime, which often leads to violent acts toward children, the elderly and others. There is extensive evidence linking animal cruelty to human violence. The child who grows up abusing animals is likely to move up to increasing acts of violence against humans, including rape, assault, child molestation and even murder. The question is: "What else have the perpetrators of these crimes done?" Surely this is not a first-time offense. They need to be punished for their crime, be psychologically evaluated and receive extensive counseling.

If anyone sees any acts of animal cruelty or neglect, please report them to your local animal shelter: SPCA of Pinellas County, (727) 586-3591 or Humane Society of North Pinellas, (727) 797-7722). Only through reporting and education can we hope to make a difference.

Beth Lockwood, CVT, executive director, SPCA of Pinellas County, Largo

Take these crimes seriously

Re: Llama beatings.

I was sickened and appalled by this story. These crimes need to be taken seriously. People say, "Oh, they are just kids" or that it was just an animal. Animals are God's creatures, and teenagers who do these kinds of crimes generally grow up to be violent adults.

We need to stop this madness now. People who do these crimes pose a risk not just to animals but to the community at large. No more excuses.

Mona P. Kelly, Belleair Bluffs

It's the people not the pets

Re: Put bite on dogs' owners, by Elijah Gosier, Feb. 13.

What a great story. It is about time that someone tells it like it is: There are really no bad dogs, just bad owners. I don't mean that the owners are bad people, but perhaps they are not responsible pet owners. While Gosier is a bullmastiff loyalist, I am particularly fond of the Rottweiler, which also has quite a reputation. While any dog can be taught to be aggressive for the wrong reasons, good breeders seek to insure that their dogs' No. 1 one quality is a good temperament, whether it be show or pet quality. Good breeders are selective in whom they allow to purchase their dogs.

I totally agree with Gosier's idea for placing the punishment where it belongs. Dog owners should face more responsibility for their dogs' crimes, especially if it is the owner who has been negligent or has trained a dog to be aggressive for the wrong reasons. Owning a dog of any size is a responsibility, and deciding to be a dog owner should not be a decision made while you are standing in front of a pet store window, thinking about how cute those "puppies in window" are. It should be made over time, researching different breeds and deciding if your lifestyle will allow you the time it takes to properly care for a dog. Visit your local shelters. Perhaps seeing what happens to man's best friend will serve as a wake-up call. But most important, make sure that you have what I call "dog love," because a dog gives love unconditionally. Can you?

Nancy Dively, Tarpon Springs

Water crisis calls for leadershi

Re: Playing politics with water, editorial, Feb. 11.

Water is one of my top campaign issues. The residents of St. Petersburg are weary of the lack of leadership in this area. We question why Tampa Bay area elected officials permit unrestrained growth when we do not have enough water for the folks who are already here. Despite drought warnings from the Southwest Water Management District (Swiftmud) last April, little has been done to conserve additional water. And Tampa Bay Water's new water sources will not be online before it will exceed its permission to pump groundwater from its 11 well fields. Demand is about to outstrip supply. Swiftmud officials have indicated to me that they will most likely seek $10,000 per day fines for overpumping. TBW will most likely contest the fines. The whole purpose of the partnership agreement was to avoid lengthy and expensive litigation that produced no new water. That purpose appears to be frustrated if the respective parties proceed as predicted.

All water conserved is essentially new water. Upon receiving Swiftmud's notice last year, I asked the City Council to review the city's potable water use and regulations. Council and the mayor declined to act. The city could have accelerated its toilet replacement program, amended its landscape ordinances, planted trees only requiring reclaimed water, accelerated its pipe replacement system, expanded the reclaimed system and regulated fountain water use. Instead, we just limited lawn watering to one day per week.

The city loses about 1-million gallons per day in line breaks, leaks and flushing (3 percent of 40-million gallons). The current maintenance system replaces 6 miles of pipe per year, The system is about 50 years old and 1,478 miles long. At that rate, this aging infrastructure will be replaced in 247 years. Aggressive line replacement would undoubtedly decrease the roughly 365-million gallons "lost" annually.

My record is clear. I voted for the Governance Agreement. I stated then as I state now, under the Florida Public Trust Doctrine, Florida's water belongs to all Floridians and therefore it should be regulated as a statewide resource. The coastal communities in Florida have the most people living there and chronically face water shortage issues. Water is found throughout the state and not all of it is metered. A statewide authority could manage this state resource throughout the whole state, shifting supply to meet demand and monitoring its use. I consider the regional governance agreement as the first step toward a statewide water authority and thus support the local regional water authority. The Times misstated my position.

I have questioned TBW's support of purified sewer water as a safe source of new water and have gone on record politically opposing this "new" source. I am still concerned about this issue. TBW General Manager Jerry Maxwell referenced "purified wastewater" just this past November. Clearly, Tampa Bay Water has not pulled this option off the table. St. Petersburg residents are willing to do their fair share to conserve but are increasingly frustrated that their efforts are rewarding developers who continue to build during this crisis drought situation. How will any Tampa Bay area community meet currency requirements of growth management in April when we will be pumping water in excess of our well field permit and still issuing building permits? We need a plan that outlines a proportionate response to drought conditions and water development progress. In other words, building permit issuance should be directly linked to the supply of potable water currently available and scheduled to come on line. If we act now, we can avoid the expenses of reacting later.

Kathleen S. Ford, City Council member and candidate for mayor, St. Petersburg

Where is the outrage?

Re: Worker's lawsuit links firing to attempt to report a crime, Feb. 7.

I can't believe I haven't seen one word of the outrage that was generated by the Wal-Mart whistle-blower lawsuit on these pages. I know there was plenty of outrage because I've talked to several people in the last few days who were as furious as I am.

Who is Wal-Mart to tell its employees to overlook probable cause of child abuse?

Who is Wal-Mart to dictate to its employees, or anyone else, when they may or may not avail themselves of the service and protection of the police?

I'll bet if a homeless person were in a Wal-Mart trash container, the managers would want the police there in a hurry. Yet it can overlook probable cause of sexual abuse of a minor?

John F. Ambrose, St. Petersburg

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