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What a hurricane like Ian would do to Tampa Bay’s waterfront homes | Letters
Here’s what readers are saying in Monday’s letters to the editor.
 
Aerial drone photo of possible neighborhood flood zones in the St. Petersburg neighborhood of Shore Acres.
Aerial drone photo of possible neighborhood flood zones in the St. Petersburg neighborhood of Shore Acres. [ LUIS SANTANA | Times ]
Published Nov. 28, 2022

The water is coming

Few in area sought shelter during Ian. Why? | Nov. 6

The Times has been publishing many pictures showing the destruction of numerous dwellings that Hurricane Ian caused on the southwest coast of Florida. One showed the numerous homes on fingers extending into Tampa Bay. They have seawalls that are restricted by building codes to maybe 4 or 5 feet above mean tide. I worry that even with the current protections, if a hurricane like Ian ever came up the bay, probably most of these homes and maybe the fingers they sit on could all be gone. This would be a tremendous burden for those homeowners, but it would also be one for the other homeowners in Florida when future increases for their flood and wind insurance policies come due.

John Peterpaul, Clearwater

An officer and a gentleman

Trump 2024 rivals court his donors as primary season begins | Nov. 19

Gov. Ron DeSantis is an officer and a gentleman, a model husband with a model family. He is a strong and highly effective governor. His presidential pedigree is nearly perfect, sans one thing: patience. He should not run for president in 2024. The primary field will surely be filled with others woefully less capable than he is. With great fanfare, each will announce a presidential run, each more fervent and filled with bravado than the last. Would he prevail in this ugly spectacle of primary politics? Possibly, but to what end? To vanquish a hugely popular former president? Enough! Former President Donald Trump’s endorsement helped him win a razor-thin victory in 2018 to become Florida’s governor. Now the governor should please set his ambitions aside for our nation. DeSantis should be patiently selfless and throw his invaluable support behind his former friend and confidant. It would defang the bloodthirsty press, and it would create a Republican landslide in 2024.

Jim Hines, Tampa

Speaker Pelosi’s legacy

Nancy Pelosi’s lesson in power for House Republicans | A Wall Street Journal editorial, Nov. 19

This Wall Street Journal editorial is an interesting take on the strength of outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s talent for getting things done. There are many lessons that can be learned. The more successful her leadership, the higher the temperature of the oil they try to boil her in. She will be missed by those of us who like to get things done, but she will be even more missed by those responsible for her defamation. As the Journal editorial notes, there is a lot that Republicans can learn from her success.

Jon Crawfurd, Gulfport