Brightline & 'Blazing Saddles'; St. Lucie sheriff mess; Sunrise Theatre woes; beach waste

Sheriff Pearson baffling; leaves TCPalm no choice but to fight to serve residents

The idea behind Florida's Government in the Sunshine Law is simple:The public has a right to know what its public servants are doing on the public's behalf.This is especially true when it comes to law enforcement. Our society gives law officers extraordinary powers to keep us safe.Along with this empowerment comes accountability.For 25 years, I was the public information officer of the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office. The sheriffs I served, Bobby Knowles and Ken Mascara, understood the importance of keeping the public informed about safety matters.It was, and is, not only good policy. It's also the law.That's why the peevish behavior of Sheriff Keith Pearson regarding public records is so baffling.It's bad policy.It's counterproductive.And it's illegal.I'm 100% in favor of TCPalm and other news media aggressively asserting the public's right to know.Sheriff Pearson needs to change his restrictive policy of refusing to inform the public about many safety matters. Also, he must stop excluding some media members from receiving the information he provides to others.Pearson has given our daily newspaper no choice but to assert the public's right to know through legal means, including legal action.The public deserves no less.Mark Weinberg, Fort Pierce

Brightline reminiscent of 'Blazing Saddles'

Thank you for the articles on Brightline.

For years, I have said that this passenger service is only an excuse to finance the construction of freight tracks and bridges to be paid for by others than the company that will benefit. However, one of the articles omits an important issue: When the passenger service ends, all Brightline has to do is turn over its collateral.

Yes, bonds were issued with actual collateral, the railway passenger cars. Of course, "Blazing Saddles" comes to mind with: "We don't need no stinkin' passenger cars. We already got you to pay for our upgraded tracks to carry our freight."

Dan Vignau, Stuart

Redeploy money for beaches to suing Corps over river destruction

I could not disagree more with your recent headline, "Bolstering our beaches and the bottom line." The figures of the millions of dollars spent to throw sand on the beach illustrates the opposite conclusion to me. 

What is missing is the damage caused by heavy equipment dumping sand in a delicate environment, which just washes away anyway, covers up the reefs and covers up the sand flea nests and other submerged sea life.

You might as well get those millions converted to cash and throw that in the water instead. It would do less damage than constantly adding hard structures to our beaches and dune line and trying to put the sand back every time we get a storm. 

I think the sand is the biggest destructive force on the worm reefs and Bathtub Beach, along with the people which the article says we should "attract."

I have lived in Martin County since 1956, and the beaches were much better back then, because we had not littered our barrier islands with manmade structures. We just had the natural dunes, which moved back and forth with the ebb and flow of the storms and tide. 

We would get a bad storm, and the beach would lose lots of sand. Within a few months or even weeks, it would all come back again through natural means. 

It will still do that if we just leave it alone and spend that money suing the Corps of Engineers for destroying the St. Lucie River, which would create 100 times the economic advantage for Martin County.

Mac Stuckey, Stuart

Sunrise Theatre loses money, but is economic, cultural boon to Fort Pierce

I write with reference to your recent article about Sunrise Theatre finances. I am a member of the theater's advisory board and have been a volunteer at the theater since 2007.

I do not question the financial information stated by reporter, Wicker Perlis. Actually, it should not be a surprise to anyone with knowledge of performing arts centers that this venue loses money. Venues of this type normally cannot solely sustain themselves on ticket sales. They all need outside public and/or private funding to exist.

However, this article does not address the overall social, cultural and educational impact on the community. Moreover, the positive economic impact is significant. If one strolls downtown on the night of a Sunrise show, as opposed to a night when the theater is "dark," the difference is obvious. Restaurants, cafes and bars are all benefitting.

Of course, finances are a problem, and they must continue to be addressed. But let's not let the negativity of this article cause the public to lose sight of the importance of the Sunrise Theatre, not only to Fort Pierce, but to the entire Treasure Coast.

Tony Lella, Port St. Lucie

An azalea tradition helps honor mothers daily

When my mother was pregnant with my brother in 1940, she planted an azalea bush, with the belief that something planted when you were pregnant would live forever, or at least live a very long life. Don was born on Mother’s Day 1940 — surely she would be right.

After the war ended in 1945, we moved from Teaneck, New Jersey, and Mom transplanted the azalea to our new home in nearby Hillsdale, where it thrived so well that in our next move, in 1954 to Darien, Connecticut, she had it divided and planted the two bushes on either side of our front entrance.

Twenty years later, in 1974, before my parents’ retirement move to Vero Beach, she had one of the bushes transplanted to Don’s home in Norwalk, Connecticut. Almost 30 years after that, in 2013, my brother moved with his daughter’s family to Trumbull, Connecticut, transplanting the azalea once again. It may have struggled a little, but with some TLC regained its footing.

After my brother died of COVID in 2020, on the following Mother’s Day and on his birthday, I gave each of his children azalea bushes in his memory. Hopefully the azalea tradition will be carried on with Don’s grandchildren.

Anne Brakman, Vero Beach

School renaming shows CRT, woke, DEI in its glory

I am pleased to have read that in the state of Virginia, two schools are going to revert back to the names of Confederate Army notables.

I believe that this is a positive move, and this action is no different than ― and supports ― the history and educational value of critical race theory, woke and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Ronald D. Roberts, Sebastian

Prevent federal mandates from harming parents, children

As chairman of Moms for Liberty in Indian River County, I am deeply concerned about President Joe Biden's administration’s recent revisions to Title IX. These changes, which redefine "sex" to include "gender identity," not only compromise the safety and privacy of students, but also undermine the very essence of parental rights in education.

Since its inception, Title IX has been a critical framework for ensuring equal opportunities for all students, particularly in protecting the rights and advancements of girls in educational and athletic fields.

Specifically, Title IX states: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

The proposed regulations drastically shift this balance, posing a great risk to the fairness and privacy in our schools. They mandate schools to adopt policies that could endanger the well-being of students and strip parents of their rights to guide their children’s education according to their values.

Moms for Liberty stands firm in opposition to these changes. We are mobilizing parents, educators and policymakers to safeguard our children’s education from these harmful policies.

We will coordinate efforts to oppose this overreach through advocacy and direct engagement with legislators to ensure that the original protective measures of Title IX remain intact.

Please join us in this fight by voicing your concerns to your local school boards, state legislators and Congress. It is only through intentional action that we can protect our children and preserve our rights as parents.

We must fight to keep our schools safe and free from misguided federal mandates that do not reflect the best interests of our children or our country.

Jennifer Pippin, Sebastian

Conservationists bad guys in climate change dispute?

Norman Mailer wrote that “obsession is the single most wasteful human activity because with an obsession you keep coming back and back and back to the same question and never get an answer.”

Those Americans convinced that global warming is, as Donald Trump once declared, “a liberal hoax,” seem to be obsessed with partisan ideology and its attendant obfuscation of facts related to climate change. We’re advised not to label such thinking as stupid; however, what word describes a behavior practiced by intelligent individuals acting against their own and others’ best interests?

(For example, reflect on your homeowners' insurance premiums and the fact that substantial losses attributable to hurricane damage have put tremendous pressure on insurance companies to raise rates significantly.)

While running for president, Ron DeSantis pledged “to end (Joe) Biden’s efforts to combat climate change.” Trump “vows to undo Biden’s wide-ranging (climate) policies if elected,” TCPalm reported.

As Forrest Gump’s mother told him: “Stupid is as stupid does.” While over three-fourths of Democrats believe climate change represents an existential threat to the United States, less than one-fourth of Republicans think the same way.

Point? Obsession with partisan propaganda leads to factual ignorance.

Florida State University climate scientist Jeff Chanton claims that, in some ways, Florida has “gone backwards from 2014” regarding positive state actions to prepare for the challenges presented by climate change. Florida isn’t “really trying to ease the threat” presented by global warming. As governor, Rick Scott, a fossil-fuel industry toady, “ended the state’s carbon-reduction goals.”

Point? Obsession with partisan politics is a “wasteful human activity.”

Henry Kelley, a former Tea Party activist who’s seen the light, said: “I’m a conservative. And conservative and conservation have the same (Latin) root word (conservatio). When did conservationists become the bad guys?”

When some people began behaving stupidly regarding climate change.

Cray Little, Vero Beach

Pro-life or pro-control of a woman's body?

There is something illogical in the rationale that Florida Gov. Ron Desantis and his far-right Legislature, including state Rep. Erin Grall, and U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, use to justify their abortion ban.

The pro-lifers claim life begins at conception and thus abortion is murder. OK, I don't agree, but respect their right to their opinions.

Here is where their argument of life beginning at conception and abortion being murder falls apart. These people make exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. Does that mean that life doesn't begin at conception in these circumstances or is it that they accept abortion, but only when they say so?

If they believe that life begins at conception, there shouldn't be any exceptions.

If there are, it isn't pro-life; it's pro control of a woman to make her own health-care decisions.

Joan Fox, Vero Beach

What's with Biden-Kennedy relationship?

Is there honor among thieves?

We can examine the treatment Robert Kennedy Jr. is receiving from his Democrat brotherhood to determine the answer to the question.

He and his iconic family, Camelot to many, are victims of the assassinations of both his uncle, John F. Kennedy, and his father, Bobby Kennedy. Yet the current leader of the Democrat Party, Joe Biden, refuses security protection to this candidate for president. Remember, Biden and JFK's little brother, Teddy Kennedy, worked together valiantly to try and keep a Black man, Clarence Thomas, off the Supreme Court.

Turncoat? Honorable?

RFK Jr. is accused of being anti-vaccine by the Democrats. He is not. He has done thorough research and contends the “so-called” vaccination against COVID-19 is useless and ineffective. His children are all vaccinated, as most children are against childhood diseases, etc.

Even Jill Biden, who followed all of Anthony Fauci's pronouncements, suffered two bouts of COVID after receiving the shots and boosters. Many believe that a vaccination certificate does not represent protection against COVID, but does validate the receiver is obedient.

The two brothers who were shot to death were the authors of our current immigration policy changes. They severely limited European immigration to our country in 1964, but opened immigration to the Third World. They cannot be blamed for what is happening at our southern border now, since Biden is ignoring the immigration laws in place.

Audrey Taggart, Hobe Sound

Undocumented immigrants really voting in U.S. elections?

Recently on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, the leader of the House Republican Mike Johnson said: “We all know, intuitively, that a lot of illegals are voting in federal elections, but it’s not something that’s easily provable.”

In layman terms, it’s illegals' fault. Deep down in his gut, Johnson must feel like a loser.

Don Whisman, Stuart

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: TCPalm right on sheriff; Brightline not wanted; Sunrise Theatre great