Don’t rush baseball

If you want to fix baseball, let’s start with the real problems | March 12

What’s the rush? Do the million dollar players have somewhere to be. I don’t want to spend time driving to the stadium and then spend money on a ticket, parking, a soda, and a snack just to be hustled out after two hours. What about the vendors? Do you think they will keep paying what I’m sure are large sums of money for a booth and lose an hour of sales? If they really want to speed up the game, it’s real easy. Do what they do in softball when you come to the plate the count is already 1 ball 1 strike. Maybe we could all leave before our seats get warm

James Molloy, Pinellas Park

Unfair school rules

Lots of tests, not enough fun.

I am a 9-year-old third grader, and I think that it is wrong to make students sit out of a fun activity because they were absent on a routine testing day. I believe that something like this happened to me recently. I was gone from Lewis Elementary School because I was sick. I was gone Monday to Wednesday, and there was testing on Tuesday. On Thursday, it was field day! I was so exited. I even got my special shoes out. But when I got to lunch, I was taken from my friends to the test. I headed straight towards a teacher’s office. While I missed most of field day because of testing, I also was taken away from lunch (I still got food). But this was not the teachers fault, schools superintendent Addison Davis is the one in charge of monthly testing. We only get field day once a year, but testing happens every other week. This has to change.

Zora Engh, Temple Terrace

Masks save lives

Texas lifts face mask and restaurant rules, joining efforts to loosen virus restrictions | March 2

With certain states now unfathomably eliminating mask mandates, and so many Americans stating that their freedom is impinged upon if forced to wear a mask, I feel like we need to change our collective thinking: a mask mandate has the same purpose as a state-imposed speed limit on our public roads — it is designed to protect ourselves and others around us. Even though there are obviously plenty of speeders out there, no one seems to question the sense of speed limits, and no one is out there protesting against them, even though they are permanent. These mask mandates are only temporary, people.

Sven Dolling, St. Petersburg

Walkers can help

Tampa Bay is the eighth-deadliest metro area to walk in America. That must change. | Editorial, March 10

As a senior, I know that my night vision is not what it used to be. So, when driving at dusk and beyond, I constantly make an effort to look at areas where a pedestrian or cyclist might be. I am amazed at how many are walking with traffic, in dark clothing while looking at their cell phones. Please, if you are walking or cycling after dusk, wear light or reflective clothing, don’t use your cell phone, walk facing traffic and be alert and aware of any danger. It may save your life.

Donald Thomson, St. Petersburg

Trump deserves vaccine credit

Biden boosts U.S. vaccine stockpile as world awaits | March 13

It was good to read in “Biden boosts U.S. vaccine stockpile as world awaits” that the Biden administration ordered another 100 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine. The article states “the new J & J doses ... are expected to be delivered in the latter half of the year.” That timeframe translates to sometime after June — well over 90 days from now. This confirms what I have heard several times that lead time from order to receipt of the vaccine is 60-90 days. That is just for receipt, which does not include delivery and distribution or administration of shots. President Donald Trump’s Operation Warp Speed ordered its final 100 million doses the last week that Trump was in office. That was less than 60 days ago. It is safe to conclude that the many millions of Americans who have received or will receive a coronavirus vaccination through late March 2021 (at least) can thank the Trump administration. One should also thank President Trump and his Operation Warp Speed for the speedy creation of the vaccines. Without his business approach, we would likely be several months away from receiving the vaccine.

Larry Hatton, Valrico