The cost of two deaths

Sentence called “crazy” | Aug. 17

While street racing on Tampa’s Bayshore Boulevard at speeds up to 102 mph, Cameron Herrin hit and killed a young mother and her infant child, resulting in a 24-year prison sentence for vehicular homicide. A family is shattered. Now the offender’s lawyer wants the prison sentence reduced, and Andrew Warren, a state attorney recently removed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, has stated he was “disappointed by the sentence,” one that was “egregiously high.” So, what would be a proper sentence for two deaths and a destroyed family?

Gary West, St. Petersburg

The law is the law

Warren files suit over his removal | Aug. 18

It occurs to me, that if I worked as a mechanic in an auto repair shop, and told my boss that I would not fix flat tires, he’d probably fire me. By the same token, if the state attorney says he will not prosecute laws he doesn’t like, the governor would have every right to remove him. Andrew Warren was elected to enforce/prosecute all the criminal statutes, not just the ones he likes.

Kenneth R. Gilder, St. Petersburg,

An old salt solution

Beating the heat | Aug. 14

I was flabbergasted that this article about physical laborers who suffer working in the extreme heat did not mention an age-old way to handle heat exhaustion: salt and potassium. When I was a child, my mother — a nurse — gave me salt tablets when I got a headache and/or nausea and felt exhausted on a hot summer day. When I went to camp, they did the same. The organizations and officials mentioned in this article only recommended giving workers water, shade and rest breaks. What about salt, potassium and other electrolytes so they wouldn’t be suffering in the first place? Water alone won’t do it when your body is deficient in electrolytes.

Elyse Van Breemen, Clearwater

A full-time governor

From Disney to Andrew Warren, DeSantis shows taste for power — and a fight | Aug. 6

Florida has a part-time governor. These past three years, Gov. Ron DeSantis has spent too much time grooming his image to appeal to the national conservative base for a presidential run than governing in the interest of Floridians. He focuses his energy on punishing the Tampa Bay Rays, Disney, school boards and local officials who have legitimate differences of opinion with him. DeSantis has allowed our schools to languish resulting in thousands of teacher vacancies. Likewise, he has ignored the homeowner insurance crisis in the state. We need a full-time governor.

David Beaven, Clearwater