Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
Re: Job fair attracts crowd of 2,000, story, April 1.
Just a few expanded observations on your article about the 2,000 people at the job fair. Some interviewed by the paper were quoted as being surprised at the number of attendees. Could it be that unemployment is a bigger problem than we thought because the Bush administration is underreporting joblessness?
One seeker had lost a job in manufacturing. The Bush administration is escalating the movement of manufacturing and other jobs out of the country. Should the government not adopt policies to reverse that trend? Tax cuts obviously are not creating enough jobs. Should we not be spending tax money to create jobs?
One job seeker graduated from the University of South Florida in 2001. College used to nearly guarantee employability. Furthermore, unemployment is never as bad when it happens to someone else. The scary truth is it can happen to anyone at any time. Is it not to the mutual benefit of all Americans to use tax money to provide benefits to job seekers until they find work and to provide retraining/re-education to help them do so?
Your article describes the frustration of people longing for work. Is it any wonder they are frustrated? The credit card conservatives' policies of spending money the government does not have, while extending tax cuts to the very wealthy, is a failed experiment for thousands of unemployed. The Bush administration has not improved the economy, but it has brought ruin to thousands of Americans who want to work. Seeking work? Thank Bush!
The green open space of Highlander Park in Dunedin is endangered.
The city of Dunedin has embarked on the development of a Highlander Park master plan. Thirteen facilities currently share space in the park. Several organizations have ideas for projects to be developed on 33 acres of the park.
Two proposals being considered are a new community center and the expansion of the Dunedin Fine Art Center. Other ideas for the park include preserving the green space, building a new pool and building a new nature center.
I feel the best solution for the new community center would be to build a multilevel building on the existing site.
If the Fine Art Center has outgrown its space, perhaps it should consider building an additional facility on another site in an area with more room, where it could flourish and grow into the center envisioned.
Overdevelopment will spoil the character of our beloved Highlander Park and diminish yet more of the city's precious open space. The green space in Highlander Park benefits the community of Dunedin in several ways.
It is a passive recreation area enjoyed by snowbirds, tourists and Dunedin residents. It is a gathering place for special events, such as the Art Harvest, Highlander Games and Oktoberfest, among others. It is a place for children to run and play.
This large, open, upland field also serves as an aquifer recharge area - important for our wells here in Dunedin. The large field filters stormwater runoff from neighboring streets, protecting the water quality of nearby Cedar Creek. The mature oaks in the park provide a vital habitat for our urban wildlife and clean air, as well as cool shade on hot summer days.
The open space of Highlander Park provides residents of all income levels access to a special area they could by no means afford to own or lease. It is a quiet neighborhood park and a nice spot to relax from the hustle and bustle of our busy lives.
With foresight and creative planning, Dunedin can meet its current and future needs for community centers and other facilities by building up on existing sites and/or utilizing existing buildings and/or public lands in the city or by multiuse of facilities in the park.
Dunedin is fast approaching buildout. Now, more than ever, we need to preserve the treasured open green space and mature oak trees of Highlander Park for future generations to enjoy. I encourage the mayor and city commissioners to dedicate the existing open space of Highlander Park as parkland, to be maintained, preserved and protected in perpetuity.
The next public meeting will be held Monday at 7 p.m. at the Dunedin Community Center. If you cannot attend or you did not receive a letter/survey or postcard in regard to the public meetings, please call, write or e-mail your elected officials. It is not too late to get involved, and resident input is vital.
Re: Snowbird leaps to the rescue, story, April 2.
In an otherwise well-written article, the headline use of "snowbird," a word that is often used in a derogatory manner, is unnecessary. The use of it in the headline and in the text of the article distracts the reader from the heroics of Kevin Close. Is Mr. Close less or more of a hero because he is a snowbird?
Before I became a full-time Florida resident, I lived half the time up north and half the time in Florida. When my Florida friends used the term snowbird to classify me, I asked them why they did so.
Most of them initially said they did not know why. However, after some reflection, they would admit to several reasons, one being because they wished they could get away from the summer heat and humidity, and they were envious of those who could do so.
Upon further reflection, they admitted to using the term snowbird to indicate that I was something less than equal to them because I could not handle the Florida summer weather. This made them feel superior to me.
This is one of the main reasons people use racial and ethnic slurs about others. So please drop the use of the classification of snowbird for our fellow citizens here in Florida, some of whom perform heroic acts.
We invite readers to write letters for publication. To send a letter from your computer, go to www.sptimes.com/letters and fill in the required information. Type your letter in the space provided on the form, then submit your letter to the appropriate section of the newspaper. If you prefer, you may instead fax your letter to us at 727 445-4119, or mail it to Letter to the Editor, St. Petersburg Times, 710 Court St., Clearwater, FL 33756.
Letters should be brief and must include the writer's name, city of residence, mailing address and phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity, taste and length. We regret that not all letters can be printed.