Letters to the Editors

Suddenly, perspective on tower visit changes

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 12, 2001

We were in New York last week; and on Sept. 6, I was on the 107th floor of a World Trade tower and was able to view the whole of New York City. When I think that I could have been a victim, if those terrorists had chosen that day instead of today to attack. . .

When I was there, there were at least 1,000 visitors in line to go to the observation area. If this had happened even one hour later, the number of lives that would have been lost would have been more devastating than it is. I thank God most of our children are back in school and not in New York or Washington on vacation.

It makes you wonder about the mentality of the people who could do such a thing, but even more, how could they send their own people to their death just to kill others to make a statement? The whole thing is just unbelievable; and no matter what anyone says or thinks, this is definitely a time to ask God for his help. Many, many families have lost loved ones because of this; and they will need our help and God's abiding love to get through this disaster. So let's all make every effort to help in any way possible, whether by prayer or with work or dollars, if needed.

We as a nation must stand united at all costs and with God's help, we will make it.
-- Fran Glaros, Clearwater

Muzzles would minimize injuries from dog attacks

Re: Pit bull attack: "They are not killer dogs,' owner says, story, Sept. 2.

I must be missing something here. In the first place, cats should not be loose outdoors. That's illegal in most Florida counties, certainly in Pinellas. They're to be on leashes just like dogs.

I don't care how "natural" cat owners think it is for cats to run free and kill birds, not to mention spreading disease. I hear no one sticking up for the poor birds that the cats kill. By letting cats run loose, the cat owner has declared that cat to be expendable.

In the second place, in case someone has forgotten, cats and dogs are animals and are unpredictable. They are potentially dangerous, even to their owners. Both dog and cat owners are responsible and completely accountable for these attacks. Vets and responsible pet owners use muzzles on dogs to prevent accidental (or intentional) injury. Muzzles are not cruel and inhumane -- dogs can both eat and drink through the muzzles.

Maybe this is a case where the dogs should have muzzles on, so that when the dogs are smarter than their owners and escape from their fenced yards, especially when the owners aren't home, they won't injure anyone.
-- Paul Hendess, Safety Harbor

Commissioners should air some opinions online

I couldn't believe my eyes and ears during the last 27 minutes of the Sept. 4 Clearwater City Commission work session. The unrealistic and unbecoming conduct was not only unnecessary but very unprofessional and a genuine embarrassment to me as a citizen of Clearwater.

That was mild behavior compared with the 27 minutes of the Wednesday morning budget work session.

After discussing this with a number of Clearwater residents, I stumbled onto a unique idea. I think this whole affair was largely attributable to our infamous Sunshine Law. I certainly don't advocate doing away with or watering down this very important civil protection, but I think there's a way to have our cake and eat it, too.

Why not have a page on the city's clearwater-fl.com Web site devoted strictly to comments to and from each of the commissioners? If Mayor Brian Aungst wanted to communicate with Commissioner Whitney Gray on an issue, he could do it without fear of violating the Sunshine Law, because he would be doing it in the sunshine. Not only that, but the citizens could read such comments on a real time basis right on the city's own Web site. Each commissioner could communicate freely with any other commissioner or combination of commissioners.

This would resolve a major shortcoming of our commission because of the Sunshine Law and would allow free conversation among commissioners. How could such an idea not be a win-win for all concerned -- the citizen, each commissioner, the city manager and staff but, most important, the image of the city? Please give this idea some serious thought.
-- Dave Campbell, Clearwater

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