Letters to the Editors

Dunedin should make an effort to keep Jays

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 14, 2000

Now that details of the proposed agreement between the Blue Jays and Dunedin are being made public, it's time to take a hard look at the terms. To make the arrangement work, there are two important and basic elements.

First is the marketability of baseball as a product in Dunedin. National news accounts report that both Miami and Tampa Bay are having poor attendance and their franchises are losing money. Dunedin, with a total population of 38,000 to 40,000 and a dwindling number of Canadian winter visitors due to a 67-cent Canadian dollar, has had trouble filling its stadium.

The Tampa Bay area has five professional sports products from which the consumer can choose: football, baseball, hockey, arena football and soccer. In Tampa Bay, baseball has to share its market among a year-round major-league team, three spring-training events and four minor-league teams. Just what effect increasing the size and amenities of Dunedin's stadium will have, without more fan support and in such a competitive market, will have to be carefully evaluated.

Second is the debt that will have to be serviced over a 15-year period. It is proposed that the city and the team contribute $3-million, the county $3-million and the state $6-million during the next 15 years. One would assume that these funds will be budgeted by the county and the state annually.

It has been my experience that a lot of funny things happen on the way to putting a budget together each year at the county and state level. What assurances does Dunedin have that during the next 15 years these funds will escape budget cuts? The bondholders will want their money and because Dunedin would issue the $12-million in bonds, would Dunedin have to pay?

Nothing is accomplished without taking risks. As long as our community can continue its long and successful association with the Blue Jays and minimize the financial risks, we should make a strong effort to keep them here.
-- Robert Tharin, Dunedin

Commissioner remains loyal to Dunedin

Re: How could commissioner withhold Jays letter? letter, July 25.

In response to this letter on Commissioner Cecil Englebert and the rest of the Dunedin city commissioners, first, you have to know that this man has a love for Dunedin and would never do anything, putting himself in harm's way, to jeopardize that feeling.

I have known this man for over 35 years -- as a person, friend and commissioner -- and firmly believe that what he has done was in the best interests of Dunedin.

There was no personal gain to be made and, if anything, he should not have to take heat from people who do not understand his position or love of Dunedin.
-- Ed Smith, Oldsmar

Ignorance of the law is not a defense

Re: Oldsmar mayor documents gift late, Aug. 9 story.

If Oldsmar's city attorney, Tom Trask, didn't inform Mayor Jeff Sandler and the Oldsmar City Council members of their legal responsibility when they took office, they are all negligent. The way the rest of us have always understood the law, ignorance is no defense.

If (architect David Wallace) were truly a friend, he would not put his friend in a position where there was any appearance of impropriety.

The public is getting very tired of these lame excuses: "I didn't know," "I can't remember," and "I can't recall." If they are senile, they should not be in office.
-- Bob Clune, Palm Harbor

Stop blaming the voters of Clearwater

As a lifelong resident of this area, I have heard enough of the bashing of "the small-minded people of Clearwater." We took a vote, and the people who gave a care voted, so let's get over it now and move on!

I happen to love this area and want to see it prosper as Clearwater, not Miami. Can we stop the name-calling and move forward with the majority, or will we be stuck like children playing in the sandbox: "You did it!" "No, you did!"
-- Susan Bush, Clearwater

Articles show bright side of foster care

Human nature is funny. The tendency is to focus on the bad rather than the good, the one rainy day that ruined the picnic rather than the 29 days of sunshine. You know, "the glass is half empty versus half full" way of looking at life.

The St. Petersburg Times has risen above this tendency. After seeing yet another article in the newspaper about the negative side of foster care, I was prepared to write an angry rebuttal questioning why we rarely see anything positive written about foster care.

And then you surprised me with not one, but two encouraging and positive articles about the foster care-adoptive system, the children who have come through it and the good things that happen within it.

Congratulations for telling the other side of the story. There are lots of loving families who need to be recognized for the amazing and wonderful things they do for the special needs children in their care. And there are children who need and deserve to grow up, not in an institution, but in a home of their own.
-- Ellen Smith, family recruitment coordinator The Children's Home. Inc.

Stop signs solve traffic problem

I feel obligated to respond to the complaint about the stop signs on 82nd Avenue between 125th and 131st streets in Seminole.

We have lived on 82nd Avenue for over 28 years, when the main traffic consisted of 16-year-old boys riding their mopeds and 16-year-old girls riding their horses, and we loved it.

In the past five years or so, 82nd Avenue was being used as a main thoroughfare. Between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., there was a constant line of 10 to 15 cars backed up in front of my house, waiting for the stop sign on 125th Street. It was difficult trying to get my car out of the driveway in the morning. I never complained or attended any meetings, but the stop signs solved the problems. Thank you, Department of Transportation.
-- Arthur Neuer, Seminole

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