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Wednesday's letters: Crash's aftermath and its lessons

 
Published Oct. 22, 2014

The trial that left its mark on us all | Oct. 18, Sue Carlton column

Crash's aftermath and its lessons

For those of us who lived on the Intracoastal Waterway near the Indian Rocks Bridge on the day William LaTorre smashed his boat into a boat full of teenagers, it is not the trial we will remember forever. It is the horrific aftermath of that crash.

It is the sight of the much larger, powerful boat bobbing in the water next to the small, broken ski boat. It is the sight of divers, wading in the mud flats at low tide, practically in our back yards, searching for days for the last missing bodies of those young people. It is the police boats and the Coast Guard boats out there in the dark, the voices carrying over the water into our bedrooms.

In the two years we lived in our waterfront dream house, we came to realize, as did our neighbors, that it was inevitable that one day a large cigarette-type boat was going to run over a smaller craft. We assumed it would be a hapless jet boat operator or a water skier. Each weekend, we witnessed these large, powerful boats, with bows up on a plane, their owners gunning the engines as they cleared the no-wake zone. As anyone who's ridden in one of these boats knows, it's very difficult to see what's in front of you when the boat is on a steep plane.

No one can know what was in LaTorre's mind, but my guess is that his life was never the same, despite the not guilty verdict. If reading about this tragedy 25 years later makes me sad once again, just imagine what he lived with.

I always believed that this accident should have been a learning experience for everyone who operates a boat on our waters. Carelessness on the sea has the same consequences as on the road. And it changes forever the lives of everyone involved. Our lovely waterfront view was never the same after that day.

Christine R. Vaughn, Harbor Bluffs

Unions legal in Arizona | Oct. 18

Honoring marriage for all

It has been amazing to watch as more states become marriage-equality states. The reaction of the LGBT community has been heartwarming. Watching young, middle-age and senior same-sex couples rush to get married says a lot about the institution of marriage.

Opponents of marriage equality argue that recognizing same-sex couples will somehow harm the institution of marriage, but when you look at this response from the LGBT community, I see the institution of marriage being strengthened and celebrated like never before.

As a heterosexual, I took marriage for granted. I knew that my wife and I could get married in our local community, in our home church, with relatives and friends celebrating with us. However, living in Florida, it pains me to see my gay and lesbian friends having to travel hundreds of miles, far from family and friends, to get married.

Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi should let Florida join in this celebration of honoring the institution of marriage by making Florida a marriage-equality state.

Richard Feigel, St. Petersburg

Red snapper

Protect public access to fish

Our nation's game animals and fish have always belonged to the public, not the privileged few. However, a move being considered by the council that manages fish in the Gulf of Mexico aims to change that time-honored tradition for red snapper.

Amendment 40, set for a vote this week, would separate the charter fishing fleet from the general public when it comes to snapper harvest, giving charters more days to fish and private anglers virtually no access to red snapper in federal waters. This move is not based in sound science or good economics. It is an effort that will benefit just a select few and restrict public access to a public resource.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission expressed these very concerns in a Sept. 18 letter to Gulf Council Chairman Kevin Anson. Citing the overly divisive nature and shortsightedness of Amendment 40, FWC Chair Richard Corbett asked the council to listen to the overwhelming majority of anglers in the gulf and state agencies siding against the move.

Preventing recreational fishermen from access to a healthy fishery because of a shortsighted amendment is not a remedy for bad management. FWC recognizes this and the Gulf Council should too.

Scott Deal, Fort Pierce

Ebola didn't have to kill my uncle Oct. 17, commentary

Health system failure

As concern about Ebola reaches irrational levels, often propelled by partisan politics, we are failing to see one of the fundamental problems with medical care in this country.

As pointed out in Josephus Weeks' article, Thomas Eric Duncan's initial emergency room visit was botched. If he had had insurance, he would probably have been admitted, providing greater opportunity for more timely diagnosis and treatment. Texas, like Florida, snubbed the Obamacare Medicaid expansion, which may further explain why Duncan was initially released.

Weeks is in error on one point. We do not have a medical system in this country. We have a collection of mostly private enterprises whose primary goal is to make money.

Joe Crites, Clearwater

Comedy and tragedy in good voice | Oct. 19

Peerless production

The opening of St. Petersburg Opera Co.'s Neapolitan Festival on Friday with Pagliacci was an uplifting and joyous evening of pure pleasure.

The company on stage was bursting with an enthusiasm that spilled over into the responsive audience. This production of Pagliacci was probably the most engaging I've ever seen, and the actors embodied their roles thoroughly.

Maestro Mark Sforzini and his orchestra were near perfection. This is the kind of evening's entertainment that will ensure the long-term future of opera. It's one more example of the growing and glowing arts environment in cosmopolitan St. Petersburg.

Mark T. Groutage, Tampa