Port St. Lucie airport? Brightline bust; bad call in Fort Pierce; don't upset Vero Beach
Fed up traveling elsewhere to fly? How about PSL?
It's time we start considering an airport here in Port St. Lucie.
With thousands of people and businesses moving to Tradition and west, there is a desperate need to be able to fly in and out of here.
An airport located somewhere between Midway and Becker roads would be able to accommodate hundreds of thousands of people in our growing area.
If you agree with me, please express your opinions.
Gerald Freedman, Port St. Lucie
Seasonal resident gets it wrong on Brightline
If guest columnist William Coulson had read the news in the Palm Beach Post before thumping his chest, he wouldn't have sounded so ignorant about Brightline and the Treasure Coast. But coming from Chicago, I understand.
Front-page headlines: "Brightline curbing South Florida rides as it profits more on Orlando."
Brightline is raising prices and restricting available capacity for short-distance trips. Brightline is refusing to sell seats to South Florida passengers to ensure seats are available for Orlando passengers. Further, Brightline has significantly increased the price of passes for those who might use this train for commuter purposes. Due to these increases, many passengers will now be back on the roads; thus, no vehicle reduction.
Coulson then opined from his previous missives about economic, environmental and transportation benefits from this train. I would like him to provide factual data on these benefits. I was unable to find any.
Coulson then opined on other communities similar to our Treasure Coast that have thrived with Brightline. I would like him to point out one similarity other than we all have a big old, noisy train running through. Name one benefit.
He wrote: " ... and the Treasure Coast thankfully has also learned and grown." I'm not very thankful, and neither are many others.
I have no idea what alternative universe this man is living in, but it's not the same one I inhabit. We don't want to end up like Chicago, we don't want its filth, crime, corruption, pollution and way of life.
I was repulsed by his statement ― "I'm delighted that you (Treasure Coast) have seen the light" ― like we are a bunch of bumbling idiots. Yes, indeed we have seen the light, from the numerous trains ruining our lifestyle.
Jan Belwood, Palm City
Imagine if Fort Pierce selected Brightline, not Audubon
I am concerned about the column by Blake Fontenay blaming the Fort Pierce city manager for the King's Landing debacle. How short his memories are.
When the original proposals for the development of the vacated utility property were presented to the city in June 2019, there was an outpouring of public support for Audubon and very little support for the offer from Brightline. If the offer from Brightline had been accepted, we would now have a thriving hotel and a train station instead of a derelict empty lot.
We would also not have the risk of potential claims from defaulted condo depositors into an Audubon bank account.
Marcia Baker, Fort Pierce
Old Indian River County courthouse nice downtown as it is
I've been reading with interest about the plans for downtown Vero Beach and the proposal to move city hall downtown.
Nowadays, city halls have more business going on than 50 or 80 years ago; ergo, more parking would be needed, more in-and-out traffic that's not desirable for the street by the old courthouse.
I have been in the building during some historic walking tours. It's kept up very nicely.
Let's keep it for meetings, weddings, special performances (live or movies), and the offices, of course, should be used, inhabited 9 to 5 or part time, for some special services and/or with clients, but with less foot- and car-traffic.
Beate Hunton, Port St. Lucie
Old power plant project bad deal for regular Vero Beach residents
What a snow job the people of Vero Beach are getting with the old power plant property.
It won’t be for the common folk to go in and enjoy. Who among us would pay $500 for a hotel room in the old power plant, no matter how nice it is?
The developers have used up all the land I thought was going to be public playground, so to speak. Why do we need a village with many units right in the middle of it?
The cost is unbelievable for the whole project.
Pat Stewart, Vero Beach
Here's a great way to learn about Martin County, if you can hear OK
This is to alert those who are unaware of a program, Martin CARES, run very competently by Martin County employees. It takes citizen-taxpayers behind the scenes to get a close-up look at our county government and its enterprises.
Participants get to meet, listen to and ask questions, starting at the county administrator's office, the library, communications, county attorney and constitutional officers. And that is just the first day of a six-day program.
The sessions start at 8 a.m., usually at the administration building on Monterey Road, with a light breakfast: coffee, tea, breakfast bars. On our tour, we then traveled to the airport, field operations, old schoolhouse and general services.
Another day, environmental concerns were on the agenda: public works, water quality, utilities, solid waste, county commission chambers.
We traveled next to fire-rescue, with outdoor examples of firefighting on the sheriff's compound and a talk by the sheriff.
On Day 5, we visited information technology, community development and budget management. We had lunch provided each day.
On the sixth and final day, we heard presentations from the Office of Tourism and Marketing, enjoyed a talk and lunch at Sailfish Sands, the restaurant on the county golf course, and saw an exciting “rescue” at Stuart Beach supervised by the head of the Ocean Rescue Department.
The major criticism of the entire program is that the acoustics are very poor and the retirees (which seemed like most participants) had difficulty hearing speakers who, even if they had a microphone, did not have familiarity on its use. A major exception was the mike used at the ocean. A purchase of a few more would enhance the entire experience.
Audrey Taggart, Hobe Sound
Amendment 4 should relate to personal decisions, not political ones
In his "No gray areas on abortion amendment" letter, Kevin Pierce proselytized that “abortion is a moral wrong” and that Amendment 4 “would attempt to make this a (horrible) right“ (his words). Apparently, Pierce sees “no gray areas” surrounding the heart-wrenching and life-threatening decision a woman, her family and her doctor may need to make to terminate a pregnancy.
In his position regarding voting “no” on Amendment 4, Pierce made no mention of, or distinction for, the women or girls, some as young as 10 years old, whom have been “victimized” due to rape or incest. Nor did I read concern by Pierce, who professes to be “pro-life,” for girls, women and their families who will be “broken” when the mothers and/or the babies are irrecoverably damaged or die during pregnancy or childbirth, due to medical complications.
Pierce claimed women and young girls dealing with unwanted pregnancies will be just fine if they are simply given “hope and love and support” and if they are “shown they can be mothers.” As if it were that simple.
Pierce opined that if you are pro-life, “you must equip yourself to speak for life” and vote “no” on Amendment 4, as there “is no neutral” on this issue. I see a “no” vote on Amendment 4 as a vote to run over women’s and their families’ rights to make their own health care decisions. A vote of “no’ on Amendment 4, like the reversal of Roe vs. Wade, takes us backward to laws written in different times and places women’s and girls’ lives in danger.
Read Amendment 4 carefully. Vote “yes” on Amendment 4 to protect women’s and their families’ right to make this difficult decision. This is a personal and private decision, not a political one.
Kathryn Edwards, Palm City
Be more than FAST to get quick treatment for stroke
FAST is not enough.
There was a recent letter to the editor written by a stoke survivor. She urged people to apply the FAST test if they want to determine if someone is having a stroke. This is not enough.
On Dec. 11, 2019, I was at my weekly Bible study, and I thought I might be having a stroke. A friend, who was a nurse, assured me that I was not. She used the FAST test.
I had none of these symptoms, but I was having some vision problems. I thought I might be having ocular migraines. I had these in the past and they went away quite quickly. Instead, the visual problems got worse.
Finally, I called the eye doctor, and he told me to come in for tests. After doing several tests, he said that mine was not an eye problem. It was a brain problem. So, he sent me to the emergency room, where it was determined that I had had a stroke.
From the time I noticed the original “eye” problem until I was admitted to the hospital, about seven hours had elapsed. Had the stroke been diagnosed sooner, I wonder if the visual loss would have been less. I don’t know, but I still feel that you should be aware of the new acronym.
(Cut this out and keep it with you. It may save a life. You can make one that is wallet-sized.)
Kathleen S. Dunlop, Orchid
Training mental health providers more important than ever
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and our collective post-COVID experiences make it clear this issue is more important now than ever before.
Depression, anxiety, suicide and substance abuse are at never-before-seen levels, especially among teens and young adults. In Florida, we are choosing to take bold steps toward being a national leader in addressing the critical demand for mental and behavioral health services needed to address this crisis.
This past legislative session, I sponsored SB 330/HB 1617, along with my Senate partner Sen. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, establishing behavioral health teaching hospitals in Florida. The bill had the strong support of Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, and was and recently signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The initiative establishes new designations for four hospital and university partnerships, including Tampa General Hospital, in affiliation with the University of South Florida; UF Health Shands Hospital, in affiliation with the University of Florida; UF Health Jacksonville, in affiliation with the University of Florida; and Jackson Memorial Hospital, in affiliation with the University of Miami, to train incoming medical students in behavioral health treatment and create a highly skilled mental health care workforce, with professionals in psychiatry, psychology and counseling services.
This law will allow our state to recruit, train and retain the next generation of behavioral health providers while simultaneously increasing our ability to treat acute mental health care needs of children, teens and adults across the state. It is a common sense, pragmatic approach to a challenge that demands our attention.
State Rep. Sam Garrison, R-Fleming Island, chairs the House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee and sponsored House Bill 1617/SB 330.
No foolproof way to stop non-citizens from voting?
Too many folks missed the point at the recent Indian River Taxpayers Association Meeting.
During the nuts and bolts of the session, the question of illegal immigrants getting Social Security numbers popped up. One resident, apparently an election security activist, tried to alert people about the ability an illegal immigrant has to get a driver’s license, then an SS card. Non-governmental organizations help illegal crossers translate letters into many languages to enable “newcomers” to do both.
Joanne Barnhart, former Social Security commissioner, stood to say non-citizens can’t get Social Security income numbers, and the taxpayers applauded. In fact, one can go to the Social Security Administration’s website and see that a "qualified alien” can acquire a SS card. The last four numbers of any SS card can be used to register to vote online, no driver’s license required.
“Qualified aliens” includes some surprising groups. You’ll see Iraqis, Afghanis and Ukrainians in refugee status. Haitian and Cuban refugees qualify under laws from 1980. Most intriguing is someone may be “deemed a qualified alien if … you … were subjected to battery or extreme cruelty while in the United States.” Frightening.
Leslie Swan, the Indian River County supervisor of elections who spoke that afternoon, continually assures voters that non-citizens can’t vote, but we see how it’s possible to get an ID as a Social Security card holder. It’s one step closer to being a voter.
When an alien goes to the voter registration application online with a date of birth, the last four of their new SS number, Florida driver license or ID and checks the box for “I am a citizen,” how is that verified by the state Division of Elections?
Non-citizens can get Social Security, get prepped to vote by outside “helpers” and vote by mail. Who’s checking? And who’s checking the checkers?
Norman Grant, Vero Beach
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Don't change Vero; add Port St. Lucie airport; Martin CARES; Brightline
