Three letters

First, on the evolution debate:

Back in the 50s as a young teenager I asked Mom (Dad, the minister, wasn’t home at the time) how they felt about “evolution” vs. the Genesis story. Her answer has stuck with me all these years. “We believe the Bible tells us why we’re here, not how we got here or how long we’ve been here.” Another dear friend, a pretty conservative retired pastor, said he thinks it’s a waste of time for us to worry about how long we’ve been here – instead we should worry about we’re doing while we’re here. Hear hear! -- Paul Cooper, St. Petersburg

Dear Paul Cooper: Good words to live by. I always add the comment that God Almighty, creator of all things, maker of the Universe, etc., etc., certainly could have had dinosaurs if he wanted to, and if anybody claims to know what a "day" is to God, they know more than I do, and ought to set up shop.

Next, a question about conservation land and taxes:

I was wondering if you had heard any news about "A Sembler Bill.   I heard about it on NPR. In case you have not it is a land conservation bill our Florida legislature has passed or is in process of passing to preserve land or partial land (partial being the operative word) to save from development. When I heard the name of the bill I almost choked on my coffee!  I have been trying to find more information about it on the web but find nothing. Have you heard anything? Why would a big developer want to conserve land? Maybe it would make for good reading in the Sunday times? Thank you for listening! -- Julie Goode, St. Petersburg

Dear Julie Goode: I haven't heard it called "the Sembler bill," but there IS one thing going on that might be what you're talking about. We have to vote on it in November. It's a "conservation" tax break for land owners -- if they promise to set aside their land for conservation, they can be taxed less on it. Some people think this idea, which was passed by the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, was meant to benefit big land owners like the St. Joe Co. If you think this is not what you were talking about, or if there's something else I don't know about (which would not surprise me), let me know.

Lastly, yet another question that reveals the extent of my personal ignorance:

THIS WEEK'S SWEETBAY HAS A BIG AD FOR GREEN PEPPERS--$1.49 PER POUND, REGULARLY $1.99 PER PD.  THE REGULAR PRICE MAKES A  HEALTHY PEPPER $I.OO EA. WHILE AT MY ME VEGGIE STORE, THEY ARE 2 FOR $1.00---WHY????? -- ROSE W.

Letter: Two birds with one stone

You know those Truck Nutz that the legislature is talking about outlawing? Why don't we just REQUIRE those people who are leaving their guns in their parked cars at work to shoot them off the pickup trucks when they see them? Wouldn't that take care of the problem without going to all the trouble of passing a law... ? The added benefit is that our friends that "carry" will have extra target practice and will be better shots... -- Jack

Dear Jack: Let's hope the Legislature doesn't hear your suggestion.

Letter: Okay, you're right just this once

On Sunday's column about the huge "energy bill" in the Legislature:

Dear Mr. Trotsky this is a red letter day.  Not Red Communist, but red as in normal sense of color.  I agree with you for the first time in the history of the world... The free market has not had the opportunity to operate due to the politicians inserting their dumb a** lawyer selves into something for which they have no experience, expertise or even a minimal competency in operating a business... Dumping everything into one so called "Omnibus" bill is their way of avoiding culpability when the unintended consequences began to rain down on the citizenry.  I stopped buying your version of Pravda many years ago.  I bought this copy looking for a house to buy in St. Petersburg..  I will not likely see your column again, after I find the house of my dreams or, at least, one I can afford.  -- Bob Steele

Dear Bob Steele: Thanks for the message and good luck with the house search. I would think this would be a good time to buy, since lots of folks have been on the market so long they're finally getting more realistic about prices -- another free-market solution. Don't buy the paper but if you pick one up in a waiting room somewhere you can see the latest idiot thing I am saying for free.

The readers: death penalty, stadium

Re: today's paper: Am I correct that it costs $24 million dollars for a single execution or did I misread the article in today's paper about lethal injections?  If this is the exact cost, can you give me a site where I can see a break-down of this price tag?  I just can't imagine why it would cost this much for one execution or for even a dozen. -- Cbytheway

I saw that figure too and I do not know how they came up with it. That would be a good topic for a column. I always thought it was the wrong focus, anyway. If the death penalty is justice, then we ought to have it regardless of the cost; if we decided not to have it, it ought not to be because we would save money. Just my thinkin'.

Last week Steven Bousquet reported from Tallahassee the State is paying St Petersburg 2 million a year in a sports subsidy, monies which end up paying for Tropicana Field expenses.  These payments have a limited life span. Has the sun setting of these payments been considered relative to the  proposed new stadium financing arrangement? -- Phil V.

My understanding is that the state portion for the Trop, which I think is $2-million a year, basically continues until it's paid off regardless. The plan for the new stadium I described this morning does NOT pay off the state's share of the existing debt, but neither does the state contribute anything to the new stadium -- the old state payment just continues until it's finished...

The mail: An unimpressive Sweetbay response

So tell me please, what am I missing here? Hannaford/Sweetbay shows no remorse for their failure and makes no offer to at least offer monitoring services for our credit card accounts. They feel badly about the data being compromised and suggest that we monitor our credit card statements. This seems to me to fall far short of what they should be doing. Some folks cannot monitor their accounts on a daily basis and must wait for their monthly statements. Then it will be up to them to fix the identity theft mess. Just another example of business as usual and the consumer be damned. As individuals we are held accountable for our failures and businesses should be also. -- J.D. White

I tend to agree about Hford/Sweetbay. It was a pretty major compromise and I would think a company that had subjected thousands of its customers to criminals would be a little more pro-active.

Florida driving e-mail #1: We're not so bad?

I just read your article about red light cameras. I quote you: "It seems to be especially bad here in Florida, where many folks learned their driving skills somewhere else and forgot to pack them."
 
Sir, I have driven in 48 of the 50 states, including Vermont, Hawaii, Minnesota, Florida. I have driven in New York City, San Francisco, Detroit, New Orleans, Dallas, Seattle, and hundreds of cities throughout the U.S.
 
From my observation after 65 years of driving (without a traffic ticket, I might add), I don't find Florida drivers to be any better, or any worse, than anywhere else in the country!
 
Have a good day! -- Don Copler

Dear Mr. Copler: I can't claim to have driven in 48 states, so you have more experience than I do. Maybe my impression is subjective and wrong. But can I at least claim that we lead the nation in leaving the turn-signal blinker on?

Florida driving e-mail #2

I liked this e-mail exchange. Notice the idea that it's OK to keep going if it's "only" a crosswalk and the pedestrian is in "no real danger." I also got a kick out of the follow-up...

This morning a person stepped into busy lanes of slow moving traffic and I happened to be one of the cars in those lanes.  While this person was in no real danger, I took note of both him and the police cars in the cross street nearby. As I passed through this intersection (with no traffic light only a crosswalk), one of the police cars pulled out behind me and pulled me over. I had failed to come to a complete stop while the pedestrian was still in the roadway.  (None of the cars in any lane stopped)
The part that grabs me is I have a pretty clean driving record and when the cop handed me the ticket he said it was to spread the word about pedestrians having the right of way and recently being in a lot of accidents.  He admitted that the point of me receiving a ticket for $120 was to help evangelize this message of pedestrian safety. 2 houses down from me is a known drug dropoff point and the cops have done nothing about that.  But they will ticket me for not coming to a complete stop when a cop jumps in front of my car.  Thanks for the safety tip. -- N.A.

Thanks for the note....  I hope you do not mind if I disagree a little bit. Pedestrians in crosswalks means stop, and this is a part of Florida culture that needs to change ... in fact, there is a bill in the Legislature this year to step up both penalties and public awareness of the rules. Not what you wanted to hear, I am sure, and yes, the cops can always being doing something else "more important." On another day I hope to be of better use to you. Cheers, Howard.
 
Having traveled the U.S. many times and I concur that FL is a very dangerous place.  The question it raises is should cops be jumping in front of moving cars to prove this point?  Do they jump in front of bullets to raise awareness of gun control?  If I had not seen the police man who purposefully stepped into traffic, and had we been traveling at unsafe speeds, I could have hit him.  How would that "Serve and Protect"?  By turning their public service agenda into involuntary manslaughter charge, turning a cop into a martyr, leaving his kids without a father? So what I'm hearing you say is dead cops are the best way to teach Florida drivers about pedestrian safety.  I'll let the folks I know that read your stuff that you feel that way. -- N.A.

Letter: A gratuitous insult to chiropractors

[Sorry for the length of this, but I figured, why not print the whole thing instead of trying to edit it... my brief reply is at the end.]

While it is rare that we agree in context on much that you write, I have always tried to view your column as “just a different opinion” from mine, and tried to look at your point of view with detachment.  However, today you went over the line between opinion and outright bigotry.  I am sure that you will agree that bigotry is hatred or intolerance based on ignorance.  Generally this ignorance is despite obvious and copious amounts of literature that belie the belief of the bigot.

There was absolutely no reason to drag the chiropractic college controversy into your article.  It added nothing to it.  And if you feel that it did, certainly your first reference to it was adequate.  However, when you again had to put “schools of chiropractic and skull reading in our universities” in the same sentence in the last paragraph, you went far beyond your poor attempt to amuse or make a point.  Your profound disrespect for a complete profession of over 70,000 Doctors of Chiropractic Medicine and their multiple millions of patients should be a part of this article.  Surely in an editorial such as this you should be able to express your own opinion, but your profound bigotry and disrespect are appalling.

Red light letter. Red light letter. Red light letter. Red light letter. Red light letter. News media conspiracy letter.

Your article in today's St. Pete Times was interesting but more for the information that was omitted rather than the information it provided.... Unless the police start enforcing the law that all plates be in such shape and position that a camera can readily read them the drivers who want to run a red light will continue to do so. -- Bob Mumm

Dear Mr. Mumm: Good point!

I understand that the St Pete Times has a New World Order Agenda and you are a faithful servant there of, but you are full of crap. You are simply working to try to normalize and justify the shredding of our Constitution and our Bill of Rights... Maybe, the communist writers of the St Pete Times should reread the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights, especially that nasty old 2nd Amendment. I just read that only 10% of the people polled get their news from newspapers. Soon those people will be dead and so will the Times. -- Michael Flynn

Dear Mr. Flynn: You are barkin' at the wrong tree on one point -- I am a big Second Amendment guy and have said so in the paper over the years. As for your closing prediction: Not THAT soon, I hope.

Studies were from various state agencies and in general showed an increase in accidents, perhaps partly caused by reduction in  the on time of the yellow caution light. Article also cited case where software used  to identify car was in error resulting in false accusation of car  owner. Seems to me that if this occurs the state or the company that  supplies and operates the camera system should be required to fully  compensate the wrongly accused person for whatever time was required  to refute the false charge, paying at whatever the individual's normal  compensation rate might be. -- Chuck

Re: accidents: What I've seen so far is data showing a reduction in serious "T-bone" accidents but an increase in rear-end fender-benders. If true, this seems an acceptable tradeoff. Yellow-light manipulation would be entire unacceptable though, and I think the idea of forbidding the government from using cameras to raise general revenue would prevent it. As for software failures resulting in wrongly accused persons, the ID is done by human beings but mistakes are possible, yes indeed.

Actually, there's a fourth and perhaps most important question: Is there a motive on the part of the auto insurance lobby to drive up citations? The penalty for guilty drivers extends beyond the fine you describe. The guilty also are assessed points on their driver's licenses and typically increased auto insurance premiums for an extended period.  Your "rules" do not address this issue. Should they? -- Ben Langer

The proposed state law specifically forbids the use of these tickets against a driving record or for the computing of auto insurance rates. So far, anyway.

Point 1. You are not supposed to pull into the intersection UNTIL you can complete your turn. If you pull into the intersection and wait you are running the red light when it does change. (remember, going thru on the yellow is also a no no) point2. How is company supposed to arrive at a "just" flat fee if they don't know in advance how much the camera will be used? point3. The driver can contest the ticket
question. Can you show any place where these cameras are in use around the world where they have been mis-used? -- Steve Schick, Hudson

(1) That may be true, but they are not going to issue tickets to people who do it anyway. (2) The company knows almost PRECISELY how many tickets will be issued. Before it ever installs its equipment, it does a detailed study of the intersections proposed by the local government. It chooses which intersections will get cameras based on the actual traffic and violations that are occurring there. (3) Yes, absolutely. In multiple places, local governments have realized they could abuse the system and raise more money for themselves if they "cheated" by having unfairly short yellow lights, changing the timing of the lights, etc. -- some links to examples where this has happened are in the comments to my blog item yesterday.

It is very disturbing that the press totally suppressed the near riot at the high-school in Miami Dade. It was live on television Friday... I waited for the six o'clock news to see the cause and results. ~~~~ nothing Nine o'clock nothing. Eleven ~ nothing Saturday morning Times~~~  nothing. Now it seems to me that they could have played it down for obvious reasons, but to suppress it altogether is going in the wrong direction. Ben Franklin said, "When the people don't hear the truth, they live a lie" If it happens again no one will be prepared. It makes one wonder what else is going on??. -- Guy Nash, St. Petersburg

Is it possible, rather than deliberate suppression of the news, that a disturbance at a Miami high school just was not big news in the Tampa Bay area? At any rate, I also saw a follow-up item in the paper yesterday or the day before.

The mail: Taxes, Jim Smith, political moderation & assorted other topics

You wrote that the Legislature last year ordered an actual reduction in  local property taxes. Last year they raised my taxes about 33% on my rental property [which I appealed & Lost] which I bought in 2002 ...they have raised my property taxes 177% since my 2002 purchase which is almost three times the average MLS increase for the same period 65.337%  -- Carol A Cels McCool

The law they passed ordered a rollback in OVERALL tax collections - the total dollars collected. Unfortunately, this still allows the government to stick individual taxpayers with increases, by continuing to increase their appraisals. Amendment 1, just passed in January by the voters, now limits the increase in tax appraisals to 10 percent a year for non-homesteads -- still a pretty big increase, but at least now there's a limit. My own thinking is there ought to be an overall cap on everybody's taxes equally....

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Would you be so kind as to provide either the e-mail addresses and phone numbers for our area state legislators or a web site link to obtain that information. -- Richard Ross, Tampa

Howdy. If you go to the legislature's web site... www.leg.state.fl.us and click on House or Senate, when you go to each member's individual page, there's an e-mail address listed.

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Haven't seen anything in the news lately about the Pinellas property appraiser's land deal. Has the State Ethics Commission issued any ruling on this matter? -- Hal Ward, St. Petersburg

Not that I know of. There was a grand jury report that criticized the whole deal, of course and there was later a ruling from the Florida Bar that the county attorney did not violate Bar rules in the Smith deal. Even if the Ethics Commission "clears" Smith, by saying that what he did was not illegal, it still was a cozy and insider deal that did the public a disservice. "Not illegal" is a pretty low standard for good government.

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If the Republicans want to really move toward the center, or embrace the conservatism of John Paul Stephens or the executive that appointed him. Why not throw Christine Todd Whitman into the VP mix?  It would also, should McCain win, truly set up the election of female president. -- Fred Dearman, Oldsmar

Because lots of Republicans don't want to move toward the center, or embrace the conservatism of John Paul Stevens or the executive who appointed him. Like the liberal Democrats, the more conservative Republicans would rather be ideologically pure than win elections.

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I've got to sound off on all this talk of budget cuts. No one ever says let us cut state legislator's salaries or out of state trips and severely restrict how many trips in the state that are made, right from the governor's office on down!  Of course, the cuts must be made in schools and health (which is in a sorry state here in Florida anyway)! -- P.J. Nette, Jr.

I agree with your spirit, but legislators' salaries and travel are a grain of sand against the state budget -- the cut would have mostly symbolic value.

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May I ask what your reasoning was in concluding that public safety employees should be exempted from [phasing out pensions]?  Why do you believe that carving these individuals out of any revision would in any way serve some purpose?  Where’s the equality or fairness?  Shouldn’t the rules apply to all employees in a similar manner?  Aren’t employers subject to great liabilities because we apply the “rules” inconsistently?  I know, I know, life is not fair...but, the belief that life is not fair is our crutch for not doing what is right for everyone, not just some.  -- John Wever

My thinking in excepting public safety workers from a general phase-out of public-sector pensions was that they spend their careers putting their lives on the line for the public interest, and their salary alone doesn't really compensate for that. Look, I doubt we will ever get the gumption to phase out government pensions in the first place, let alone be able to debate whether to phase out police & fire as well...

Happy Friday and best wishes to all for a good weekend....

Letter: Disrespectful reverse flag?

I have noticed, and I am sure I am not the only one but the right side rear (passenger’s side) of a lot of Saint Petersburg Police cars has a small  American flag sticker backwards. The left side is correct but who’s brilliant idea was this? I am very upset to see that we would let our city officials or city employee’s allow this to be put on the vehicle and be ok with this. I would like to see them removed completely or new flags ordered on the right side the correct way. Where is Mr. Rick when you need him to resolve such issues. What do you think? -- David K., St. Petersburg (Proud to be born and raised here but now starting to wonder.)

Howard here. I think you protest too much. Display of the flag with the stars to the right is not unheard of. In military uniforms with a flag patch on the arm, the stars are worn "closest to the heart," that is, on the right side of the flag on the right arm. Here's a photo of Gen. Petraeus with exactly such a patch. According to the web site www.ushistory.org, there are some people who would like to change the regulations and have the stars always on the left. Here's the link:

http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/flagetiq.html#q57

Two reader e-mails about columns

On Thursday's column (We don't need no dadgum higher ed) about the crisis in higher education in Florida:

May I suggest the following:  Every time you churn out another of your many articles on what the government should be spending more monies on, how about including not only the cost of such programs, but also state exactly where the funding should come from. I would assume you would see nothing objectionable in my suggestion. Lastly, if you were to spend as much time on locating where government is wasting our monies, as you do expounding on more and more government expenditures, we perhaps could afford some of your often mentioned programs. -- John Garner, Treasure Island

Dear Mr. Garner: Okeydoke. I would plug the loopholes in the state's retail sales tax. There are hundreds of loopholes mostly because lobbyists have gotten them in there. That should take care of the university problem and then some. If having a strong university system is a "government program," then I am all for it.

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And a comment in the wake of Tuesday's column, on a proposed state law making it easier for electric companies to run transmission lines:

I am all for letting the power companies cross public lands providing they bury the lines at least four feet deep.  I know, it is more expensive, but they have the money since we have to pre-pay for our power plants now.  And they would help with the "greening" of Florida since the lines would be buried; they need to do something since they do not really clean up all of the smoke from their power plants. -- Gerry Heideman

Dear Mr. Heideman: I am all for it, esthetically speaking, but I hope you do not mind a minor correction. The question is not whether "they" have the money, but whether you and I have it in our pockets, because every dollar of this cost is an above-the-line expense that can be billed to customers.

Two reader e-mails on the baseball stadium

Two reader e-mails about baseball stadiums:

Is this government in the sunshine? -- Kathleen Ford

Ms. Ford, a former St. Petersburg City Council member and a skeptic of the baseball stadium plans, sends along a memo of a "briefing schedule" for private sessions on the stadium proposal in January with individual council members, leading up to the council's decision to issue a Request for Proposals. I believe the answer to her question is "no." Here's the memo: Download briefings.pdf

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Here's a comment on the news that Rays ownership is willing to borrow its $150-million of the stadium's share privately, instead of cooking up some new entity to issue the owners' "share" as debt:

It is indeed a losing battle for opponents to the new waterfront stadium to continue any monetary attack they might have planned. The Rays just gained tremendous momentum by announcing they would pay their obligation of $150-million towards the proposed cost of $450-million to the new stadium upfront with a team loan... Jack

Dear Jack: I agree that I would rather see the owners ponying up their $150-million share through their own devices. There still is the important issue of redeveloping Tropicana Field, which is supposed to make up the other $300-million of the stadium's cost. If that deal does not include ironclad protections for the taxpayers, so that we never have to make up any shortfalls, then I don't think the voters will ever approve this deal.

Three reader e-mails not on columns or baseball

You probably don't have time to look at all the junk that gets sent to you.  I quit when you started your blog.  But the attached sounds like its just too much to believe.  If you have time I sure would like your take on this.  I know you cover state and local but probably have friends at the paper that are more familiar with national matters.  Is this truth, half truth of just a lot of hooey? -- John F.

Mr. F. sends along an e-mail that quotes U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as explaining that Congress is going to impose a 100 percent tax on the earnings from owning stock, so that we can give the money to illegal aliens. Setting aside the question of just how nutty Madame Speaker is, she isn't THAT nutty -- it is an obvious hoax. As always, check out e-mails like this at the hoax-busting web site of your choice. My own choice is www.snopes.com, which indeed is familiar with this Pelosi urban legend:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/pelosi.asp

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I entered a song in the contest for the new State Song of Florida.    For some reason....It didn't win. I'm thinking it got lost in the mail or something. Anyhow, I went ahead and made a, um, video:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDgHSVYiq4M -- Grant Peeples

Pretty funny video, actually. Don't watch if you don't want to see occasional swimsuit shots.

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I¹m a Tampa resident who is lucky enough to benefit from the current property tax inequities...  It occurred to me that some citizens in my fortunate position might prefer simply to donate their property tax savings  (or more) back to the City.... My effort to get this information from the City brought a response that, while quite polite and obviously sincere, merely suggested that I send a donation to an independent not-for-profit organization called The Friends of Tampa Recreation.  No doubt, that is a fine organization that does important work, but what I have in mind is broader than that.  Why shouldn¹t I donate directly to the City for, say, storm water control? Or why shouldn¹t I simply contribute to the City generally to spend as it thinks best? -- hi77o

Dear hi77o: I confess to you, that no one has raised the question of directing contributions to specific local government functions. I think it could be a good idea, but at the risk of being cynical, I will point out this -- if lots of folks made contributions to some areas, the government would just cut back the tax revenues to that program and let the donations pay for the normal costs. That's exactly what's happened with the state lottery and education, for instance... I'll put your suggestion on my blog and see what people say!

The mail: ONE man and ONE woman?

On my Tuesday column about the proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage:

If marriage is a union between one man and one woman, does this eliminate divorce and make the subsequent second marriages illegal? -- Bill Duval

Dear Bill Duval: I think they just mean, "one at a time." But of course, this shows how hypocritical the thing is. Divorce and adultery are the true "threats" to the "institution of marriage." But when it is time to find perceived "sin," it's always easier to worry about somebody ELSE's than to condemn any fault in ourselves. For my authority, allow me to quote Matthew 7:3-5.

                                                          

The governor and gambling

Comments on Sunday's column about Gov. Charlie Crist's budget and his reliance on revenue from expanded gambling:

I believe the reality is that he continues to take the easy way out... I also think this is going to catch up with him and us.  I have known Charlie for some time and I have recently noticed that he has lost a lot of popularity with what I would call the more informed voters but his one-liners continue to work on those who aren't necessarily looking for much depth. Your thoughts? -- Rich

If Crist and others were to really get serious about this, why not shape up kindergarten children to gamble with pennies?  They could do this by rigging the system so children frequently won in the early stages. They could have lotteries in all the grades as pupils passed through school---and pay for school costs with the money kids brought in. Eventually, when the kids became voters they would eagerly support bigger and bigger lotteries.  It seems like everyone would benefit.  We would have a huge population of gamblers.  All of it would work ...........until the adults learned how they had been duped. Crist should be shamed for supporting ANY form of government sponsored gambling. -- Darrel Bostow

I don't get it.  In the past whenever the gambling question arose there was a loud hue and cry about how terrible it is to expand or support gambling. Most often cited was the fact that it is the lowest strata of the community who engage in gambling, the lottery being the best example - and proves the point. But now, because it's St. Charlie...all of a sudden it's OK to raise money based on the weakness and ignorance of people hoping to strike it rich while they're "one pay check away from homelessness". What am I missing here and where are the keepers of our "morals" in Florida? Prediction: when St.. Charlie is finally exposed for the $3 bill he is, he will take one of the hardest falls in political history.  Bet on it. -- Dan

Thanks for the e-mails, gentlemen. I agree -- he IS taking the easy way out. On the suggestion that we "train" kids from childhood to gamble to support the state, I have actually heard that idea in more serious terms! But as for the predictions that this will "catch up" with our happy governor, I don't think so. His critics have been waiting his enter career for things to catch up with him. My read is that most Floridians are happy to take the gambling deal if they think it means a couple dollars fewer from their own pockets, regardless of the hidden costs.

The mail: Henry VI, Act IV, Scene 2

Just an FYI:  I was surfing the net and came across a piece you did awhile back (July 10, 2002) about tort reform where you mentioned in closing the "...let's kill all the lawyers." quote came from an anti-government conspirator as being a good way to bring about social discord.  Not true. This bit of sophistry could only have come from the twisted mind of a lawyer... He's talking about bringing about social Utopia, not discord.  It's a lawyer joke that's stood the test of time and like all good humor...it's funny because it's true.

Man, no column ever goes away, it just floats around in the ether... I politely disagree with your counter-claim. The conspirators were taking about seizing power in the state and boasting about how they would make everybody bow down to them. They were going to run things as they saw fit, and the bit about killing all the lawyers -- although always a great laugh line, admittedly -- was part of their vision.  By the way, that column was part of a discussion about there being too much civil litigation in our society.

The mail: Dump the appraisers!

I'm not sure you get it after reading the No Black or White on Property Tax Column: Here it is in black and white: GET CONTROL AWAY FROM THE STATE FOR THIS ANTIQUATED SYSTEM. There is no reason to have appraisers since it opens everyone up to fraud. I can look up home values on the Interent in an instant on Zillow.com, who needs to pay $270,000,000 every year to employ these rude people. Time to boot them out. Im sure we can find a good use for that money. California has had the 1% tax rate now for 30 years and its still the 7 th biggest economy in the world since more companys relocated there because of taxes and weather. Coming from CA, the best plan for Florida is to go to a Flat 1% property tax rate based on when you buy your house: -- rp

Well, SOMEBODY has to set the taxable value of property. I don't think we can just "look it up on the Internet." And the reason we have independently elected appraisers is precisely so the taxing government does NOT have this power. I don't think the appraisers themselves are the problem -- in other words I do not think for the most part they have been abusing their authority or the law. We COULD revisit the standards in our law for how they are supposed to set values, such as the "highest and best use" standard.

The mail: Jaywalkers, Amendment 1, voting

Today our very brave sheriff's department set up in front of that den of crime Sickles High School and gave TICKETS TO CHILDREN FOR JAYWALKING. That is right. JAYWALKING. When was the last time you heard of somebody getting a ticket for that?  1964? You work in downtown right. People jaywalk all the time. Do they get tickets? NO.  Do they teach that at the academy? How do give tickets to children who commit such horrible crimes as JAYWALKING. Do you think they need a taser for that. Sounds dangerous to me.   What a joke. -- Carlos J DeCisneros, Tampa

Dear Mr. DeCisneros: Actually I got yelled at in downtown St. Pete just a couple years back for jaywalking, which is the act of crossing a street in the middle of a block instead of at a crosswalk or an intersection. There's a reason it's illegal -- it's dangerous. I agree there are plenty of things that law enforcement should be doing, but knocking a little extra caution into kids' heads does not seem like such a bad idea. I would think that issuing tickets with warnings rather than cash fines on first offense would be enough, though.

Hi Howard. Does the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission have the authority to put a property tax plan of their design on the November ballot that would essentially override Amendment 1? -- Todd Christofferson

Dear Mr. Christofferson: Indeed it does. The whole point of the commission is to decide on proposed improvements or revisions to Florida's tax structure and put them directly on the ballot. Likewise, we have a Constitutional Revision Commission that serves a comparable function. However, it does not seem to me that the current outfit is going to be very adventurous.

Since only registered Democrats and Republicans voted in yesterday's primary, the 64% approval of Amendment 1 did not include the voice of citizens who are registered as 'unenrolled '. Is it constitutional? -- Suzanne G.

Dear Suzanne G.: The election was not only for Republicans and Democrats. The Amendment 1 question was on the ballot for all voters, regardless of their party or lack or party, as were the various county and city-level elections.

(Follow-up to previous) Thank you for your prompt response. I was 'declared' and thus able to vote.  However, my brother, who is 'unenrolled' in Manatee County was turned away from the polls. In other words, the people manning the polling venue did not tell him he could vote on state, county or municipal issues. -- Suzanne

If you mean he wasn't registered to vote at all... well, he couldn't vote. Some states allow election-day voter registration, but others such as Florida require advance registration (30 days, I believe). Of those who WERE registered to vote, you didn't have to belong to a party to vote for Amendment 1 or various local measures on the ballot.

The mail: MySpace and the school officer

Utterly ridiculous. A travesty of justice, and a waste of taxpayer time and money. This is the kind of crap that kills careers, ruins lives, and destroys initiatives taken on by forward thinking progressives to reach kids where they live and play.... Please focus on this, even briefly. -- Chris Jenkins

Mr. Jenkins refers to the story of a school resource officer who is in hot water because he set up a MySpace page for kids, and one of the "friends" listed on his page in turn had links to porn. Hence we have the claim that the guy was making porn available "just a few clicks away." Since porn is available from ANY web page "just a few clicks away," unless it turns out this guy did something deliberately, I agree with Mr. Jenkins.

The Monday mail: robo-calls, too much Hulk, Amendment 1 bias

Let's start today's mail with a complaint about getting too many political phone calls as the election nears:

These are coming in multiple times per day presently.  Maybe you could suggest in your column, that many folks do this: Keep a tally of recorded political calls you receive, and whoever calls the MOST is the who you WON'T vote for.  And maybe you could pass this along to the candidates' organizations via your column. I'm a single-issue voter on this point.  I hope there are many like me! -- Jerry Kissel

I tend to agree -- they really get annoying. And I am even less patient with the ones telling me to vote AGAINST someone!

I ceased subscribing daily to the St. Pete Times about a year ago (I still maintain a Sunday subscription because my wife likes the ads). I made that decision because I detected what I felt was a marked dumbing down of the paper, as if that TBT level writing was creeping into the Times, and I felt my intelligence a bit insulted. Then again what do I know? The Times is one of the few papers that actually shows circulation gains. Apparently tabloid (maybe that's a bit harsh) is what the people want. But it still is troubling to see the largest newspaper in the fourth most populous state covering the Hulk Hogan divorce as if it were People magazine and seemingly with more vigor than many of the pertinent and important issues you so carefully point out. -- RB

Dear RB: I agree with your opinion that the Hogan divorce story is being over-covered to the point of looking silly. I do not agree that you can therefore conclude the newspaper has forsaken democracy in favor of Britney Spears. We will ALWAYS over-cover some stories. Always have. Fortunately, there's an awful lot of Serious Content still in there too. Good grief! Look at the content and the scope of the news discussed in any single day's newspaper. To say, "Wait! There is a another story about Hulk Hogan -- the Times is ruined!'' seems a little extreme to me. But then, I am playing for the home team.

I just heard a rumor and was wondering if you knew if it was fact or fiction.  I heard that the Governor has a balcony that may have a good view of the proposed site of the next stadium.  Can you tell me what you know on this subject, I would not want to sully someone’s good name on rumor. -- Aquaserpent

Dear Aquaserpent: The governor is indeed a tenant at Bayfront Towers in downtown St. Petersburg. You can get at least a partial view of the existing Al Lang stadium from there, although I don't know if you'd really get a good play-by-play view. I also don't know if his particular place faces the stadium. But at any rate, I don't think he is supporting the stadium just because he could get a good view from his balcony.

I'm a big fan of yours, and of the St. Pete Times.  I'm also sorely disappointed by your coverage of the property tax plan. Today's column was an opportunity to fairly present the arguments for and against Amendment 1, and you failed.  First on presentation:  the "for" argument gets four bullet points and a quote declaring opponents druggies or idiots.  The "against" side is hidden below the fold with no bullets, no quotes, and fewer and less powerful arguments than it deserves. The biggest reason I'll be voting against the amendment isn't included: If it passes, we'll likely lose the current SOH protection as portability destroys the constitutionality of the entire provision.  Should I risk a benefit worth thousands of dollars per year for $240?  I'm not "on drugs, or a total idiot." -- Elaine Ziska

Dear Elaine Ziska: Thanks for the note. I honestly tried to lay out the major arguments for and against Amendment 1. I am sorry if you thought I was slanted to the "pro" side because I am not -- in fact, I SAID in the column I was leaning toward voting no, and said so in a previous column as well. You are right in your criticism that my column did NOT include the possible constitutionality problem, which is even another factor to throw onto the "no" side of the scale.

Letter: Times coverup of Romney juggernaut!

Why is the St. Pete Times showing such bias in reporting the news? Gov. Mitt Romney was hardly reported to have won Nevada. It was a small paragraph if you happened to look at the fine print at the bottom on one of the pages! Why is it that St. Pete Times has not reported the delegate count so far?
Seventy-two is the number of delegates that Romney has quietly assembled in finishing consistently high in all five primaries to date. Seventy-six is the number that all other GOP candidates have COMBINED. -- Gerri Wilmer

Dear Ms. Wilmer: I suspect it's one of two things. Either we are slanting the news to try to cover up the existence of a Romney juggernaut, OR, it's the fact that the early delegate count is pretty much irrelevant and always has been. The point of Iowa, New Hampshire, S.C. Nevada and so forth is not as much the actual delegate count at stake, which is a minuscule percentage of what's needed to win, but to try to gauge the relative strengths of the campaigns.

Since the pack is being roughly handicapped at the moment as Romney, McCain, Huckabee, Giuliani and Paul in that order, I don't think there's any denying or any downplaying of the fact that Romney is at the front of the pack. It'll be interesting to see whether McCain gets past him in Florida and by how narrow a margin.

Schauer-enfreude? Or, a letter rejoicing in my bitterness

Thank god for the heels. Otherwise Maryland couldn't win a game at  all! ;-) -- Dave Schauer

Dear Dave: Those pesky Terps! And no rematch this year, unless in the tournaments. The Heels were flat as could be. Hope they learned something.

Strong letter from a man about to lose a leg

As I must go to VA surgery this week, my comment to you will be brief.  In regard to some idiot who last week wrote a letter to your paper, declaring the United States to be unabashedly "capitalist" in nature, I say "Bravo!"  Now I know why so many one-legged men sit at the VFW bar each day, pining for the good-old-days.  Now I know why I'm losing my leg.  And, at last, after Ap Bia Mountain, I know what my leg is/was really worth: the price of my homelessness for this guy's pud-pulling ambivalence.  I pray the jerk drinks his latte with like minded folk.  I pray they won't mind if the spit of my blood flavors their quaff.  I was a steelworker once, before capitalism intervened.  There are no steelworkers anymore: capitalism broke their unions  There are no unions worth speaking of anymore, capitalism sold them to China.  And there are no men anymore, only the boys of a once-proud breed - choking, in their own petard, at even the mention of my leg. -- anonymous

My favorite e-mail of the day (so far)

There was a Troxler in my flight school.  He was stupid like you. Any relation?

Well, glad I cleared up THAT problem...

My Tuesday column on untrue Internet rumors (Pass this along to all your friends) got a lot of response. But perhaps not everyone got the point:

Read your column Tues Jan 14/08 and I agree as i also get those E mail.   I will not accept the dollar due to slogan in  god we trust is mising. [Name withheld by me out of mercy]

Then there's this counter-argument about the "In God We Trust" on the edge of the coin still being disrespectful to the Almighty. (Quick, how many coins in your pocket have their edges worn away?)

I have gotten that e-mail also and deleted it because I found the "In God we trust" on the outside of the coin.  On the other hand I still refuse it as change because that, to me, is just a peace offering because what wears off the quickest on any coin.  That will disappear after about a year of circulation and it will pacify the athiest who wanted it left off in the first place. -- Donna Herrick, Port Richey, Fl

This guy liked the column, and reminded me of an example that I forget to mention -- please don't be shocked that Lee Marvin and Captain Kangaroo weren't in the service together:

Wow, perfect…in the last week I got the Obama email and one about Lee Marvin, Capt. Kangaroo, and Mr. Rogers all being military heroes (Bonus cookie; Lee Marvin apparently did earn the Purple Heart).
How about: -Kentucky Fried Chicken being forced to change its name to KFC because it no longer served what could be genetically called chicken! - The great American Gas Out!!!. “Don’t by gas on such and such a date” Really just too, too many to list. The really annoying thing is when you call sone out on it they go and try to defend it. -- Papia Jim

Jim: You know it!

Mail from Cooter, MO

I just read your column from August 10, 2004 about the word cooter. I want to thank you for mentioning my town of Cooter, MO. I was born and raised there and now live in the neighboring town of Steele, just across the Interstate. Though this area was once a swamp and there was a thriving trade in turtles that were sent to restaurants in New Orleans, Cooter (founded 1850) was named for a prominent New Madrid merchant family, the Coutres. Pronounced Koo-tray, the French name was soon "Americanized" to Cooter by the residents who were mostly from Tennessee.   We, of course, have taken a lot of abuse for the name for many years but that's okay. The 450 people who live here say thank you for your support. -- Charlotte Miller Winstead

Dear Ms. Winstead: I was delighted to see your message, and delighted that that old column is still of any use! Best wishes from Florida to Cooter, MO...

... and these other Friday letters

Mr. Troxler- It is upsetting to see Gov. Crist acting as both a lobbyist and politician in regards to Amendment 1. As lobbyist do, Gov. Crist went out and solicited money to pass on to a politician to promote legislation. Gov. Crist then gave the money to a politician, himself, to spend promoting his cause. This is enough to make me vote NO on January 29th. I am surprised the various media, newspaper, tv, and radio have not been calling him on this unseemly practice. -- Joe Hagan

I have a slight disagreement with the concluding observation. We've had a big, critical editorial, a column by me, and ongoing day-by-day news articles about Crist's campaign and who is giving him money -- most notably Florida Power & Light Co. of Miami. Here's the link to the editorial. Here's the link to my column. 

Here's an e-mail excerpt on the boring but important topic of no-fault auto insurance. Remember that the Legislature allowed no-fault to expire last fall, but then renewed it as of Jan. 1:

the pile up and devastation on I-4 should be a reminder of just how accidents can happen to anyone at anytime.  no-fault pip insurance is a cheap way to keep your body covered.   just think if that major pile up happened prior to 1/1/08, when no-fault was not mandatory?  if you rememember no-fault pip lapsed from 10/1/07 to 12/31/07, so Floridians were NOT required to carry it.  -- Dr. Christopher Williams, Tampa

Here's a baseball e-mail from a dissatisfied customer

You think there's any chance at all that the Times can or will say something positive about the proposed stadium ?? The e-mail that I sent a few days ago I originally intended to send to the Times - but I decided instead to send it to the Mayor and the Chamber of Commerce.  My reasoning was that they might not be quite so biased. It would be nice to see the Times mention that our Chamber of Commerce web site has a picture of the proposed stadium - along with quite a bit of "positive" information.  It might also be helpful to provide a chart or graph showing how the Rays' proposal stacks up against other cities stadiums - or give your readers the websites of those other ball club's stadiums. What I didn't mention below, but will here is that a major league city deserves a major league newspaper, not one that pushes it's bush league attitudes on it's citizens. -- David Good

Dear Mr. Good: Speaking for myself, I have described the proposed stadium as beautiful and exciting, and the concept of the new "downtown west" on the existing Tropicana Field site as "gracious." Indeed I also have been critical of City Hall for keeping the proposal for a new stadium secret for most of 2007. I also have expressed the opinion several times that any deal needs to provide iron-clad protection for taxpayers on the front end. If this is a "bush league attitude," then so be it.

We have lots of information about the proposed stadium, renderings, virtual tours, etc., and related topics gathered on our web site in a single location.

Lastly, as I said in a reply to a reader the other day, it is kind of refreshing to be accused of being a negative nabob, since most of the time the newspaper is assume to be in the tank for City Hall, in bed with boosterism and so forth...

Assorted other baseball comments

On Wednesday night's public input session on what to do with the Tropicana Field site IF it were redeveloped: [Times photo | Edmund D. Fountain]

My wife and I attended, as well. We were separated, sent to different tables. Probably a good thing, because we came away with two totally different experiences. At our table, there was adamant expression of our frustration with the guidelines for the meeting – that nothing should be said regarding the “new” stadium... The gentleman next to me called the entire process “a scam” because we were playing right into the Rays’ hands by proposing development ideas based on the stadium being razed. That’s why we were united in our recommendation that any new site development include a stadium. Ain’t St. Pete politics fun? -- Paul Cooper

Most of the tables I visited included "keep it as a stadium" as an option. But, even that was a little rigged, since "keep stadium" was only ONE out of all the options that got "votes." But really, that's the first decision to be made -- keep it as a stadium, or build a new one? Then and only then do we decide what to do with the Trop! So, it was kind of a fake weighting of the "keep as a stadium" option. If they try later to claim the event was some sort of proof for support for change, I think we should blow the whistle big-time. But I suppose until then we should have good faith that they would simply include the public comments as the "what if" the way it was pitched.

Like it or not, I suspect you are being anointed as the Keeper of the Castle when it comes to protecting the taxpayers from the owner and management of the Rays.  To say that the Rays would love to pull the wool over the taxpayers eyes, would certainly be a major understatement. -- John Garner, Treasure Island

I don't know if I am cut out for being keeper of the castle, though. Really, all I keep saying is that I want to see the numbers up front, and for the taxpayers to have iron-clad protection. Without that iron-clad protection, there ain't no way the city should enter into this deal. On the other hand, there are lots of other folks are opposed to the stadium because it's waterfront, outdoors, because of environment, parking and all that kind of stuff  -- I'm not. Heck, I'm a fan, I'll go if it's there.

So now this losing franchise wants a shiny new stadium. The owners haven't put a winning (or even a substantially improved) team on the field for ten years now yet they pine for this new stadium which will hold only 34,000.  I suppose if they must watch a loosing team at least the yuppies pushing for this stadium will enjoy the waterfront view. This is not about honoring a commitment to produce a competitive team, this is about procuring a new toy to solve a problem. -- J. Blomgren

And also, along those lines:

Why don't the owners of the Rays take the money to be used for the stadium and buy some good athletes like George Steinbrenner does? Maybe if the Rays would win some games and become contenders for the World Series, people will start going to the games at the Trop! Then they could talk about a new stadium and the public would embrace the idea. -- Jim Thurmann

Well, sure, that's ONE way...

If the Trop's for sale and worth potentially $300M+, then theoretically 1/2 of the site could be sold for $150M+ we could PAY OFF the Trop! The premise of the downtown proposal is voluminous parking is not required - therefore, 1/2 of the site is extraneous and can be sold. Now, the benefits - we keep baseball, the City and County budget requirements and public subsidy are eliminated, the Trop with considerable remaining value is preserved. -- Dave Shanks

I dunno, Dave, whether the magic wand that is supposed to make the parking problem nonexistent would still work west of, say, 4th Street...

A reader e-mail unrelated to baseball, #2:

On the idea of a state law requiring slower drivers to move out of the left lane, mentioned in my Sunday column:

There are certain people who believe they have an inherent RIGHT to drive in the left hand lane at speeds below the flow of traffic.  Having talked to some of them [friends and relatives], it appears they exercise this "right" for one of two inconsiderate and self-absorbed reasons. Either, one, they do not want to bother with traffic merging into the right lane from entrance ramps.  Or, two, THEY don't exceed the speed limit, and they don't see any reason why anyone else should, either. -- Patrick Seery, Ruskin

My own thinking is that anybody who deliberately clogs up traffic in the left lane for any length of time longer than necessary for safe traffic maneuvering is a $#$%. Do you think I should spend a print column in the newspaper on this topic? I bet it would get a million responses... (this is a constant struggle in choosing column topics. I got zero, nada, zippo response to Tuesday's column about the EPA overriding state clean-air standards).

A reader e-mail unrelated to baseball, #1, or, 'Illegitimi non carborundum'

Do not take this as a criticism of you. However, I am outraged by the status of things in this country---and wonder why the knowledgeable and brainy people are not stepping forward to change things ---even if  they only wrote pamphlets showing ignorant people --such as me --how they could expedite change. I am a lowly ex-school teacher who has no money,power, position.or legal education, and don"t know what to do ---other than vote --which is a cry in the wilderness. So many of our public officials are not doing the jobs they were hired or elected to do.  What's the answer?  I dream of the vigilante , but the power is in the hands of the corporations, the corrupt, and the stupid, who follow like sheep. Sorry to say but,  I would join in a French style revolution!! I will soon die and the same :rat race will continue-- I am strated!!!!!!!! -- Tom Baer

Well, Mr. Baer, I have often wondered, if there were a French style revolution today, whether I would keep my head... Yep, I tend to agree with you, the folks with the most money and power have pretty much convinced Americans to go along, as long as everybody can have iPods and American Idol and credit cards. Meanwhile, the gap between management and labor grows, real income falls, it's considered "conservative" to say that rich folks don't have to pay taxes while we rack up a huge, ruinous national debt. Oh, yeah, and oil is over $100 a barrel and gasoline over $3 a gallon.

In my own line of work, which is writing columns in the newspaper that deal mostly with state and local level issues, I try to work in a little justice now and then, or at least, to the extent that the market will bear... And I also take the long view, and say that it has often been this way but that the worm always turns sooner or later. In the meantime, if it is any consolation, and I hope that it is, there is still some happiness in the world, and fine weather now and then, and also there are dogs, who, despite all of our idiocies and flaws, for some reason like us anyway. Don't let the bastards get you down too much.

Question: Does Amendment 1 repeal Save Our Homes?

I've been getting this question a lot...

I have been trying to find out if the new law they are trying to pass in January to double the homestead to $50,000 (which most of us don't need) also includes the provision of the 3% cap per year.  No one seems to mention this and it is important because I don't think anyone will vote for an increase if it takes away the tax cap of 3%.  I would appreciate an answer on this.  After reading your column yesterday I figured you'd know.  -- June Walsh, Treasure Island

Dear Ms. Walsh: The proposed amendment does NOT take away the 3 percent cap under Save Our Homes. The earlier version, the first one they passed last spring, gave voters the option of keeping Save Our Homes, or taking a new, "super homestead" exemption. But that it is the one that was thrown out by the courts.

Question: Obama's church

I remember reading at the top of one of the paper issues where it stated that Obama was sworn into office (senator?) with his hand on the Koran instead of the bible.  If this is correct is he a muslim?  After spending a month in Nigeria years ago I know there are good ones and bad ones just like christians.  Hopefully he is one who when he says Allah akbar, Good is good, that is what he means.  -- SB

Howard here. He is a member of that church, and it does emphasize African descent.

It is not Muslim. He took the oath of office on a Bible, not a Koran.

Here are links (one, two) from our Politifact web site...

And here are links to one of my favorite sites on the web, Snopes.com, which tries to figure out the truth and falsity of Internet rumors:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/church.asp

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp

Silly Internet rumor: 'In God We Trust'

Here's another silly Internet rumor I'm happy to debunk. Beware of capital letters and exclamation points.

You guessed it -- 'IN GOD WE TRUST' IS GONE!!! If ever there was a reason to boycott something, THIS IS IT!!!! DO NOT ACCEPT THE NEW DOLLAR COINS AS CHANGE. Together we can force them out of circulation. Please Send to all on your mail list !!! -- Diane

Sorry to burst the bubble, but "In God We Trust" is on the new coin, printed around the edge along with the national motto. So, there's no godless conspiracy after all. Here's the link to the facts on snopes.com:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/dollarcoin.asp

Question: 'Below-waist underwear'

A question about Sunday's column, mentioning various bills filed in our state Legislature:

I guess I'm too old to know, but what are below-waist underwear? -- George Newlin 

Dear Mr. Newlin: I am not in much better shape than you, when it comes to keeping up with the latest, but I believe that they are talking about young men who wear their PANTS way down below the waist, hence exposing a big part of their underwear. So technically a more correct term would be "below-waist pants."

The readers: BayWalk, property taxes, City Hall

Happy Friday to all. Here are some excerpts from reader comments, either via e-mail or posted here on TroxBlog...

By the way, consider this the first announcement of the return of the weekly live chat next Tuesday at noon. Plenty to talk about!

On the BayWalk violence and my blog post:

Another Harmon letter (or was it written by Rick Baker?) using carefully pruned statistics.  He forgot the record murder rate, stolen car epidemic, and the high number of calls that don't get processed because there's no officers to respond.  When many neighborhood leaders pushed for using the Broken Window Theory to attack problems in their infancy, Baker and Harmon poo-poo-ed that.  Now the city is realizing the results of not solving problems when they were small.  New chief and command staff, from the outside, please....and then fix the morale, staffing, and "can't do" attitude problem.  Or just hire the sheriff to police St. Pete and save millions of dollars. -- Harmon the Puppet

Dear H. the P: I doubt the city or its power-brokers would ever want to give up its own Police Department to the sheriff. However, I do wonder how long we can maintain this weird pretense that Everything Is OK. The folks I talk to in the department say the citizens don't realize how bad things are.

On Tuesday's column on the Jan. 29 property-tax amendment:

My two top reasons for voting no. 1.The clowns that masquerade as our legislature say "Trust us, we'll find the money for education somewhere." 2. I can go along with the 10% cap for small  businesses but not for non-homesteaded homes. Anyone who can afford to have two or more homes can afford to pay full boat on taxes. Save Our Homes is there so people don't get taxed out of their homes. If you can't handle the taxes on your second home sell it. -- Al Harhay

Dear Mr. Harhay: Good reasons.

I don't understand how you can say that this tax cut would give the least help to those who need it the most.  I am a 75 year old single woman on a fixed income.  Increasing the homestead tax exemption would really help me no matter how small the realized benefit.  Do you realize how many others there are in approximately the same position?  We are the ones who need it the most, not the people who have winter homes in Florida and summer homes in the northern states. -- Bonnie

Dear Bonnie: It is true that homeowners have been socked with higher property taxes -- but because of their 3 percent cap on assessments, they have NOT been socked with higher taxes as much as non-homestead properties. I am less concerned about owners of second homes (see Al Harhay's comment above) as I am about business, and especially mom-and-pop businesses who have gotten totally screwed. (Can I say "screwed" in a blog if I can't say it in the newspaper? If not, pardon my vulgarity.)

Now, for something entirely different:

Hey either of you [Sue Carlton or me] seen the mess in front of city hall? Piles and piles  of personal items, shopping carts, bicycles, blankets, sleeping bags, etc. Not many people, just piles of crap. I called code enforcement and was told they are "aware" of the mess but have not done anything 
about it. When asked why nobody was being cited or at least sanitation was not cleaning up the mess I was told they can't remove personal items from public property. They however seem to have the power to remove personal items from PRIVATE property and send the owner a bill for services. No comment from the mayors office has been received yet. What a great day in St. Petersburg it is indeed. Winter over here and store your stuff in front of city hall for free! -- Jim

Dear Jim: In fact I walked by there today. Looks like lots of folks are stashing their stuff during the day; others might have been sleeping amidst all the blankets and such. Maybe the city is afraid of another PR disaster like last year's tent-slashing. But I agree, it does look pretty tawdry. Maybe the folks choosing to be there are trying to make a point, since there is nothing otherwise comfortable about the curbside around City Hall.

Meanwhile, these baseball stadium comments (#1)