Letters to the Editors

Saturday's rain serves as a wake-up

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 19, 2000

Were you unprepared for Saturday's weather? For those who lost power, were you able to put together a meal from your "hurricane supplies"? Did you have tools and other materials at hand to cover or fix a broken window and cover a leak in the roof? Did you have towels handy for blocking blowing rain from getting through doors or windows? Was your vehicle full of gas in the event of a serious situation?

The flooding in Pinellas Park after only a few hours of rain was an inconvenience to many. And Anna Maria Island was closed. What if you had been stuck either on or off the island? What would you have done? Was your battery radio or TV ready to function as your lifeline for emergency information? Are all of your medications in one place for easy quick access?

If Saturday was at all stressful for you, you should have an agonizing reappraisal of your hurricane preparedness. Saturday was nothing compared to what we might encounter in the path of a hurricane. Get a grip, and get prepared.
-- Judy Lavaron, St. Petersburg

Good Samaritan appears during storm

I had my faith in humanity restored on Saturday. During the rain storm, my car became stuck in one of the many "lakes" blocking the roads. I was pushing my car off the road when a woman pulled her car over and came to help me. The amazing thing was that this woman was in a dress and high-heel shoes. I thanked her and off she went.

As I was walking to try to find a pay phone she came back around the block and pulled off to let me use her cell phone. I could not get to a pay phone because of all the blocked intersections. What a wonderful example of humanity she was to her three children in the car. The world would be a better place if there were more people like her.
-- Sandra Cochran, St. Petersburg

Newspaper should list city codes

Re: Code Department, mayor take beating, July 16.

Did anyone ever suggest educating the residents of Pinellas Park to let them know what code enforcement is all about?

I bet theman on 78th Avenue doesn't know the boat in his front yard must display a current Florida boat registration decal and that it cannot be stored on blocks. How about the man on 80th Avenue? My guess is he doesn't know that an inoperable auto or pickup is only allowed in the front yard when it's in a fully enclosed, operable trailer or on an operable trailer and completely covered. Do residents know you cannot store household appliances, furniture, building materials, lawn maintenance equipment, automobile parts or junk in any residential district?

This information can be found at the public library, but for those who do not have the time to seek these regulations, how about printing them in the newspaper?

Code enforcement obviously does not have the time or the manpower to educate our residents. We need to educate ourselves, and code enforcement should cite those violating the rules.
-- Peggy Duncan, Pinellas Park

'Webb's City' needs to be kept alive

City: the Musical. The people of St. Petersburg need to know this is far more than just a local play about their city's history.

No doubt, if people lived in St. Petersburg from 1926 to 1973, those "locals" will enjoy the references to the landmarks and local customs that existed in St. Petersburg at that time. And further, no doubt, the people who traded with Doc Webb and Webb's City will find a lot of nice references to the time and the history in St. Petersburg when Webb's City was at its prime.

But that is not the best focus of the entire musical. This is a first-class musical that could hold its own with any other musical on Broadway, in my opinion. One need not know the history of St. Petersburg or the special items involving St. Petersburg to enjoy this outstanding musical play. The writing by Bill Leavengood and the lyrics of Lee Ahlin are so poignant and so filled with meaning that this play has a enduring quality which would stand it in good stead if it ever makes it to Broadway or some other venue outside of our city.

Therefore, I think the people of St. Petersburg and the government of St. Petersburg have a duty to promote this play beyond just our boundaries. I would also like to see the play put on again when the winter visitors return to St. Petersburg -- sometime in the fall of this year or the spring of next year.

The writing can take you all the way from ecstasy to tears in a matter of seconds, and that is the mark of a good writer. And the music and lyrics are so good that they can lift the spirits and give people something to live by, far beyond the boundaries of the play.

The themes that I took home after seeing the play on its limited run at the Bayfront Center are that "a dollar does not measure the man" and that determination and persistence are the qualities that make a man or a woman. These themes need to be etched in our memory and in the minds of our youth. I also believe that the promotion of this play to other venues will help St. Petersburg and the Pinellas County area.

Bill Leavengood and Lee Ahlin have given us a first-class Broadway production in Webb's City: the Musical. We should somehow find a way to nurture it, to promote it, to produce it again and then to send it to other venues around this nation so that people will appreciate both the man and the place.
Dale MacKenzie Gross, St. Petersburg

Solution is more dog parks, not police

Re: City pursuing stronger leash rule, July 11.

I find it typical that the city of Largo would seek a remedy through police enforcement rather than addressing why the problem exists in the first place. We have many wonderful city and county parks in Pinellas County with many acres of land. They have trails, playgrounds, shelters and even boat ramps. Isn't it about time they also had three to five acres of fenced land designated for dogs to be leash-free?

There are dog parks from New York to California, and many in Florida. Having visited several of these parks with my two dogs, I can attest to the fact they are wonderful. It is just as enjoyable for "dog people" to be able to let Rover and Fluffy run and play with their friends as it is for our children to unwind at a playground. (It's a lot quieter than a playground.)

These parks are basic and inexpensive: some fencing and double gates, a water fountain, a few shade trees, a couple of picnic tables, trash buckets, and poop bags. I have also noticed that people who bring their dogs to these parks are much more apt to pick up after their dogs than people just walking their dogs down the street or trail -- peer pressure.

Maybe we don't need to give the police more to do, we need to accept the fact that dogs are here to stay and they need a place to play. We seem to have a lot of "Pennies" for many recreational projects in Pinellas, the most densely populated county in the state. Maybe we should start barking to get some of those pennies making dog parks.
-- Diane Ochs, Largo

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