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Tuesday's letters: Everyone needs health insurance

 
Published April 27, 2015

GOP feuding sends session into stalemate | April 26

Everyone needs health insurance

With all the political fighting over health care in Florida, I wanted to remind everyone how important it is to press forward with reforms and keep making progress.

I moved to Florida to take care of my mother 15 years ago. I came from Spain, where all people have health insurance. Maybe I took that for granted, but not after I moved to America. I tried finding a job that came with health insurance or that paid enough for me to buy it myself. But I couldn't find either.

I worked long and hard for years, for a low income, and all the while without the security of health insurance. I couldn't get care when I needed it, and was worried sick. When things got really bad I had to wait in lines at free clinics and hospitals.

Then came the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare. I enrolled though the marketplace a few months ago with no troubles at all. Most important, the financial subsidy I qualified for finally made it affordable. Now I'm getting the ongoing medical care I need, instead of running to an emergency room when things get out of hand.

Everyone in Florida and America should have that same right and feel that same security.

Norma Fernandez, Brandon

Petraeus gets probation for military leak April 24

Petraeus' light sentence

It is revealing about our justice system that a former general in the armed services and ex-CIA director gets probation and a fine for sharing classified military materials and lying to the FBI, while a corporal or private in the Army can face a court-martial and be jailed for doing the same thing.

Money and power can many times trump justice.

Marilyn Weaver, Tarpon Springs

Unequal justice

One man gave away state secrets for sex. Another man gave away state secrets to show the American people how their government is spying on them. If justice is to be applied equally, then Edward Snowden should be invited home with a plea deal that promises him no more than a slap on the wrist.

April Arnesen, Gulfport

Pier Park points way forward April 25, editorial

Time to get it built

Kudos to the pier committee for finally selecting the top design and moving us closer to a new landmark for St. Petersburg. We should all respect their diligence, defer to their expertise and look ahead with enthusiasm.

Comments like those of City Council member Wengay Newton are not helpful. After all, the survey he cites accessed the opinion of only 6 percent of city residents. Moreover, while Destination St. Pete Pier was tops in that survey, the result could hardly be taken as a mandate.

It's time to move forward. The council should vote yes on Pier Park. This process has been going on far too long, and everyone who really cares about a new and exciting future for our city should get behind this decision.

Norm Schultz, St. Petersburg

No more roadblocks

To Tom Lambdon, founder of Vote on the Pier, a request: Please stop now.

You were correct to champion the voters' right to choose something besides the ridiculous Lens, but now rest on your laurels. Allow the process in place to go forward and build Pier Park.

A lot of people both in our city government and in the private sector have worked very hard to pave a democratic, transparent road to our new pier. Could we now agree it's time to stop digging potholes or constructing roadblocks in this pathway?

Gary West, St. Petersburg

Amendment 1 supporters brace for legal battle | April 25

Breaking trust with voters

I am one of 4.2 million people (75 percent of Florida voters) who voted yes on Amendment 1 in November.

When I voted for Amendment 1, I trusted the Legislature and the governor to increase funding for Florida Forever, land conservation and springs revitalization, as well as secure the purchase of U.S. Sugar land to enable the restoration of the Everglades. They have broken that trust.

The Times article suggests that citizens who voted for Amendment 1 are "fretting" because of the Legislature's procrastination and lack of funding in the budget for land purchases. I am not just "fretting." I am furious. They are refusing to do the right thing for Florida and its citizens.

It is the responsibility of the Legislature and the governor to protect Florida's precious, finite natural resources. These politicians are morally and ethically obligated to allocate Amendment 1 funds as Florida voters intended and to restore funding for land purchases and other conservation programs we know will work.

A deal is a deal. Buy the land — now.

Elizabeth Reynolds, St. Petersburg

Green energy powers jobs | April 25

Energy progress, peril

This article discusses jobs created by green energy. Between 2008 and 2012, almost 80,000 new jobs were green, while petroleum was still No. 1 with 95,000 during that time. Still, it is a major step forward. Texas, where oil is king, had over 10 percent of its electricity from wind and is just starting to build solar farms.

By 2025, New Mexico could be selling over 50 percent of its green energy to other states. Currently, 30 states have passed legislation setting goals with the percentage of green energy their utilities must meet.

Unfortunately, the same edition of the Times had an article on the Legislature about to approve fracking in Florida and the chemical used to be kept secret. So to all my friends in Oklahoma, we will be quaking away with you shortly if the secret chemical doesn't kill us first.

One step forward and two steps back.

Robert Spencer, Dunedin