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Letters to the EditorsPortables serve education just fine
© St. Petersburg Times, Re: Approve a tax to get rid of portables, letter, Aug. 15. The letter writer is eager to increase property taxes so the schoolchildren in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties no longer have to put up with these "dehumanizing" and "squalid little boxes." I find it interesting how tax-and-spend liberals don't seem to see the light for the trees (or the boxes, in this instance). No. 1: The boxes are placed where needed for temporary classroom use. With the constant shift in student demographics, the school system is wise to maintain the ability to shift a percentage of the classrooms as needed. Kudos to the individuals who devised this idea. No. 2: Many families live in boxes (the proper name is modular or manufactured homes) and most likely find the fuss over temporary classroom boxes silly. No. 3: It isn't the amount of money spent or the type of classroom our children attend that determines how well they do in school. It goes way beyond that! I can still remember seeing the one-room frame buildings on block piers in our history books that the likes of Washington and Lincoln attended school in. One wonders if they were called boxes back then.
"Bubble' is accident waiting to happenRe: Treasure Island to alter "bubble,' Aug. 12. As a Treasure Island resident, I am in full support of the city's downtown beautification and traffic controlling efforts. However, the time is now, not later, to correct a very poor design of the "bubble." The design should be "softened" now, not later. Unfortunately, in this day and age of hustle and bustle it's not realistic to expect residents and non-residents to slow down to 20 miles per hour. The severe and unnatural driving pattern of the bubble is an accident waiting to happen. Let's not wait until injuries or fatalities occur before taking the proper corrective action. Swift action by the mayor and commissioners to soften the curve and leave our downtown with the beautification and traffic control efforts in place would earn the respect of all Treasure Island residents.
Investigate police, fire departmentsWhat's wrong with St. Pete Beach's Police and Fire departments? First we have a report that a Police Department employee has been stalking a female resident for years, and now we have an allegation that kiddie porn has been found on the Fire Department computers. Since the main purpose of the departments is to protect the health and safety of our residents, I believe that an independent investigation of both departments should be conducted.
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From the Times South Pinellas desks |
