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Tuesday's letters: It shouldn't be this hard to fly

 
Published March 19, 2018

Tampa International Airport

It shouldn't be this hard to fly

I've given the train two tries now from economy parking at Tampa airport. It's a lot of work. How silly to go down one bank of elevators, then take a good walk to the next set of elevators to go back up to the train.

I invite Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn to park on the purple side with two bags, then take the walk on the moving sidewalks to the train elevators. When he gets to the terminal, see how far it is to American and Delta to check a bag. It sure doesn't seem like the designers of this ever consulted with someone who travels for a living.

O'Hare, LAX and Hartsfield don't make you work this hard to fly.

Eugene Peace, Redington Beach

Too young, or not? | March 16, letter

Working for a better nation

It's unfortunate that the letter writer chose to characterize the effort of the students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School as fitting a liberal agenda rather than what it really was — a powerful message to our Florida and U.S. legislators that the gun control measures currently in place are not strong enough. Gun control is an issue that affects all citizens and as such needs to be addressed in a bipartisan manner. If we resort to the old "liberal vs. conservative" narrative, nothing meaningful will ever be accomplished.

These amazing young people should be commended for their beliefs and passion as they want to make our country a better, safer place. Their views should be respected. Castigating them with sarcastic rhetoric serves no purpose other than to further divide our great nation.

John Honoski, Trinity

Commit to affordable housing | March 17, editorial

Zone for more housing units

According to the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies at the University of Florida, 170,000 of Pinellas County's 900,000 residents are "cost-burdened" when it comes to housing. The amount of the proposed housing subsidy — $82.5 million — is impressive, but it does not come close to providing relief for this number of people.

The way to really change the game is "upzoning," or increasing the number of units allowed to be built on a given parcel. The vast majority of our county is zoned for single-family residences only. Changing those regulations to allow single-family homes to be reconstructed as duplexes or four- to eight-unit apartments would increase the value of the land overnight and incentivize developers to quickly build many new units.

Increasing the supply of housing lowers the cost, on a much larger scale than subsidizing units does. Upzoning should be done with stringent flood zone regulations, good architectural design standards, and higher utility impact fees. Even with those protections, most local zoning officials and existing neighborhood associations still won't find multifamily zoning palatable. That can't be helped. If commissioners are serious about solving affordable housing, they should recognize the gravity of this problem, take a stand, and change the zoning codes to fit our growing population.

Jillian Bandes, St. Petersburg

Greyhounds race toward uncertain days
March 18

Let greyhounds run

Thank you for the most objective article on greyhound racing I have ever seen in the Tampa Bay Times. Some time ago you gave the Humane Society a forum on the op-ed page that urged the end of greyhound racing in Florida. Their ridiculous contention that dogs' "lives are one of abject misery" prompted me to write.

One of the anti-racing arguments involves the fact that greyhounds spend most of the day in a crate. As humans, would we enjoy being confined like that? Of course not. But to a greyhound its crate is its home, where it feels secure, content and comfortable. The dogs are turned out several times a day to relieve themselves, to exercise or to do whatever they want.

The kennel owner/trainer who runs my dogs told me that in his many years in the business he has never had a greyhound show any resistance or reluctance to going back into its crate after the turnout. Does that sound cruel or abusive?

Also, a greyhound recognizes when it's about to run that day because it gets just a snack instead of a regular meal that morning, and its kennel muzzle is replaced by a racing muzzle and hung outside its crate. These two cues get the dog excited, enthusiastic and "rarin' to go." Does that sound cruel or abusive?

These are just two responses to racing opponents' use of anthropomorphism — the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to an animal. The phrase "abject misery" used by Humane Society as a description of a greyhound's life is totally unjustified. It is a desperate attempt to turn the focus from allowing greyhounds to continue doing what they love, and at which they excel, to a misguided emotional appeal that ignores reality.

Bottom line — let greyhounds do what they love. Let them race.

Dick Adler, Lecanto

Chip Bok cartoon | March 17

Disgraceful decision

Your decision to publish this cartoon was shameful. Your complete and total disrespect for the office of president of the United States is an embarrassment. Had anything as egregious as this been printed during the last administration, the cries of racism would have echoed across the land. Your editorial board should be ashamed.

Eric L. McShane, St. Petersburg

McCabe fired days before retirement
March 17

Hypocrisy in high places

Does anyone in the Justice Department see the irony of the statement by Attorney General Jeff Sessions on the firing of Andrew McCabe? "McCabe … lacked candor — including under oath — on multiple occasions." A cynic (such as myself) could substitute Sessions' name. What hypocrisy.

Ellen Palmer, Zephyrhills