March Letter of the Month
The winning letter addresses the proposed demolition of two buildings in downtown St. Petersburg.
Look at buildings behind 'graters'
Once again, in a story about the demolition of the historic Pheil buildings, the Times has chosen to run a picture of the ugly cheese grater facade that was slapped on the handsome bank and hotel that are beneath it. No one can deny that, as it is now, it is an ugly building. But it is not just the cheese grater screen that will be destroyed; it is the historic Pheil Hotel and the bank behind it that will be gone forever.
The city has already shown its understanding of the historic nature of our downtown by saving the facade of the Baptist church across from Williams Park. Perhaps maintaining the facades of the Pheil buildings and developing behind, around and over them would create a win-win situation for the city and the seller. In New York, landmark structures such as the Hearst Building, St. Raphael's Church and Grand Central Station are not demolished but absorbed into new structures while maintaining their historic integrity. With similar sensitivity, St. Petersburg could become the leader of historic preservation and creative reuse in the South.
Faith Andrews Bedford, St. Petersburg
Safe, then sorry | April 3
Hold Spring accountable
As a previous supporter and member of the Spring of Tampa Bay's advisory board, I found this latest incident unsurprising. People struggling with domestic violence have an ear to the ground and know intuitively that all is not well at the Spring.
As reported by the Times in 2010, a revolving door of Spring leadership has attempted meaningful change without success for the past 10 years. To a person, all have struggled with a deep-seated culture of protecting the Spring that includes a lack of accountability and transparency to its residents, donors, supporters and the community.
The current leaders attempts to protect themselves behind a shroud of questionable policies — including privacy, confidentiality and no criminal background screenings — ostensibly to protect the residents.
The Spring has a legal and ethical obligation to its residents and our community to conduct its activities with accountability and transparency while respecting privacy guidelines. It should regularly and openly convey information about its mission, activities, finances, accomplishments and decisionmaking process. Information from the Spring should be easily accessible to the public. The organization should build public understanding and trust.
Elected leaders, taxpayers, the Department of Children and Families and supporters should be concerned that the Spring receives 58 percent of its revenue from government funding without the transparency and accountability required of a nonprofit. We should also question why it failed to deliver on its mission of prevention, protection and promoting change for Taneka Rodman's family.
Trust takes years to build, seconds to break and forever to restore.
Michael Doyle, Tampa
Three teen girls die as stolen car sinks April 1
Life is what you make it
I am very sorry for the teenagers who drowned and their family and friends. It was sad and tragic, but it is not society's fault that these kids had nothing to do and therefore turned to stealing cars for fun.
Did their parents ever teach them that stealing is wrong? Did their parents ever teach them how to be responsible?
To all the teens out there who have nothing to do, here is some advice I read from an article many years ago:
So you have nothing to do? Go home. Do your homework. Help around the house. Learn to cook. Babysit your siblings. Mentor a child. Teach the child to read or play basketball. Go to the library. Check out a book. Actually read the book. Fix up your house or your neighborhood. Volunteer at a homeless shelter, nursing home, day care, hospital. Get a job. Save your money. Work hard in school. Get a scholarship. Go to college. Get a better job.
Society does not owe you a living or entertainment. Your life is what you make it.
Rhoda Jacoby, St. Pete Beach
Generations split on Cuba April 3, Bill Maxwell column
For a liberated Cuba
This column cites a 2014 Florida International University poll showing that younger Cubans favor normalizing relations with communist Cuba and lifting the U.S. embargo.
But how many of those surveyed were U.S. citizens? These are the only ones who have a voice in our representative democracy. This is an important fact since many of the recently arrived, younger Cubans have never known democracy because they were raised in a Marxist-Leninist environment. Naturally, they would favor a rapprochement between the United States and Cuba, with the goal of having a socialist government in this country.
The majority of Cuban-Americans who left the island between 1959 and 1979, and their children, favor keeping a hard-line posture against the communist regime that has oppressed Cubans for the past 57 years. What better proof can you get of this than the fact that Cuban-Americans have elected five U.S. representatives and three U.S. senators who mirror their views?
The real test of how Cuban-Americans feel about communist Cuba is whom they elect into office. And the results have been overwhelming.
Jorge E. Ponce, Trinity