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Vote for February's Letter of the Month

 
Published March 6, 2015

Editor's note: Letters to the editor offer a significant contribution to the discussion of public policy and life in Tampa Bay. To recognize some of that work by our most engaged readers, the Times will select a letter of the month and the writers will be recognized at the end of the year. We will choose the finalists each month based on relevance on topical issues, persuasiveness and writing style. The writer's opinion does not need to match the editorial board's opinion on the issue to be nominated. But clarity of thinking, brevity and a sense of humor certainly helps.

Help us choose the letter of the month for February by reading through the three nominated letters and voting on the ballot at the bottom of the web page.

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Gulfport Casino earns historical recognition

Feb. 6

Historic landmarks

Nice to see that the Gulfport Casino has earned historic recognition. Any news on when the traffic construction cones on Ulmerton Road will get that designation?

Bill Vaughan, Indian Shores

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Cubans migrating amid policy fears | Jan. 28

Cuba policy overdue for a change

It is time for the U.S. Congress to start doing what is best for the American people. Congress needs to promote a 180-degree change in policies toward Cuba. The first step would be to end the Adjustment Act; 50 years have passed, and the situation has changed. As the report indicated, "There is no reason for Cubans to be the chosen people of U.S. immigration policy, with automatic admission, residency and financial benefits regardless of need or circumstance."

Also in the report Sen. Marco Rubio said, "If you come to this country and say you are in exile, fleeing oppression . . . and you travel back to Cuba 20, 30, 40 times a year, it really undermines that argument." Congress needs to end this abuse and stop spending hundreds of millions of dollars on these individuals.

The second change that is needed is for Congress to end the embargo. This would benefit not only the people of Cuba but also Floridians. Establishing economic relations would bring thousands of jobs and would give the opportunity for entrepreneurs in Florida to establish businesses in Cuba.

Third, it is time to end the restriction on travel to Cuba. I was pleased to see in the Times that there is a bipartisan group of senators, including Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, promoting the end of the restrictions. The president's proposal does not end all restrictions.

We must remember that we are dealing with a new generation of Cubans, more than 50 years after the Castro revolution. There is no doubt in my mind that a change in Cuba policy will result in a more democratic Cuba.

Arnulfo Silva, Palm Harbor

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To start, we must care about one another

Feb. 1, Bill Maxwell column

Power of the ballot box

Bill Maxwell has it right when he says education is the key in convincing blacks and whites that black lives matter. But he could have taken it a step further by saying black votes and black voters matter.

In Ferguson, Mo., where 18-year-old Michael Brown died in August from a police bullet, only 6.7 percent of eligible African-American voters turned out to vote in the last municipal election. The key is not only formal education, but educating the public collectively to realize that their ballot is a tool for change and that votes do matter and votes change lives.

Marie Cunha, Hudson