Buc-ee's vs. Dave & Buster's? Choice clear; Vero Beach utility aids Indian River Lagoon

Buc-ee's vs. Dave & Buster's? One clear winner

Shocked! Surprised! Reality?

None of the above.

I read the article that seemed to praise and rave about the new Dave & Buster's coming to Port St. Lucie. Of course, the article discussed the wages as if they will be phenomenal.

A D&B manager can make almost $60,000 a year; servers $8.98 an hour, or $18,000 a year, and back-of-house staff get the same.

Compare that to Buc-ee's, where a general manager can make a quarter-million a year, managers $120,000 a year, and starting pay is $39,000 for all other staff.

As I have said before, the worst of the old Florida plantation mentality is exemplified in St. Lucie County.

Jeff Hamilton, Sebastian

Vero Beach stormwater utility critical to preserving Indian River Lagoon

The Vero Beach stormwater utility, as mentioned in this publication, will return to its originally approved fee of $75 a year for the average-sized home.

Smaller homes will pay less; larger properties will pay more. A temporary subsidy was provided for the past two years through the American Rescue Plan, but that funding is no longer available. It’s important to clarify that this is not a fee increase, but a reversion to the original fee structure that ensures the sustainability of our stormwater infrastructure.

Stormwater utilities are a proven model for managing the costs associated with stormwater infrastructure. They offer a fair funding mechanism based on the burden that the user places on the stormwater system. This burden is based on the amount of runoff from impervious surfaces of a property that carry fertilizer, pet waste, plant debris and other pollutants to our lagoon.

New state regulations will require stricter stormwater control. The alternative to a stormwater fee would be an ad valorem tax increase, where many properties, including some with large parking lots, would be exempt.

The stormwater fee structure ensures that funds are available for flood control, repair and replacement of aging infrastructure, and vital new pollution control projects, benefiting our entire community. It also helps us qualify for matching state and federal grants, maximizing the impact of our local funding.

Protecting the Indian River Lagoon is an issue we should all agree on. The stormwater fees will fund projects that reduce pollution and improve water quality, safeguarding this vital resource along with our economy and human health. Vero’s stormwater utility deserves our full support with full funding as a proactive investment in our future.

Dan Lamson, Vero Beach, is executive director of the Indian River Neighborhood Association and member of the Clean Water Coalition board.

What I think of farmers south of Lake Okeechobee

As someone who has lived in South Florida for more than a decade, I never really knew what went on in the farmlands south of Lake Okeechobee. I had the opportunity to hop on a Raisin’ Cane Tour and was quite impressed by what the farmers and sugar industry leaders do to maintain our thriving crops and water quality ― countless hours of hard work, dedication and pure love is what helps put food on our families’ tables.

From visiting the sugar cane fields to driving through the refinery mill, and learning about every angle of the harvesting and refinery process — their vertically integrated system, sustainability and best management practices are some of the best in the nation.

I take my hat off to these folks who make it their daily priority to not only feed our county, but in return, go out of their way to help preserve our environment.

Larry DeGroot, Jensen Beach

Mental Health Court graduation something to behold

I recently had the pleasure of sitting and watching Indian River County Judge Nicole Menz’ Mental Health Court at the courthouse. It was graduation day for about 15 individuals that had infractions, but they had turned their lives around. As a reward, they would have their infractions removed from their records. They were all ages, backgrounds, ethnicities, etc.

Menz came down from the bench and handed out the certificates. She knew each and every one of them and their backgrounds. She complimented them on their hard work and urged them to continue on their new ways forward and shook their hands.

Vero Beach Police Chief David Currey, Deputy Chief Matt Monaco and Lt. Matt Harrelson were on the sidelines, clapping as each and every one of the graduates received their certificates.

It was an awesome display of class, compassion and professionalism.

Neil Flynn, Vero Beach

Do you also have this traffic signal pet peeve?

Back in 2012, I was living in Palm Bay and driving to work in Melbourne. I noticed the traffic robots began to let left turns go ahead of drivers going straight.

I thought: "That's letting the few go before many. And it is a waste and not safer, either."

So let for straight cars begin the light cycle. Can we go back to the way it was before 2012?

John Devney, Vero Beach

All of us paying for college-loan debt Biden 'canceled'

"Today, my administration is canceling student debt for 277,000 more people, bringing the total number of Americans who have been approved for debt relief so far under my administration to 4.3 million borrowers through various actions," President Joe Biden said.

That's just not true. Why does the media continue to spread this inaccurate information?

Let's be clear, no debt can be canceled. Somebody has to pay in the end, period. Biden is simply transferring the debt to the taxpayers, the same people who paid their debts. And let's not forget Biden is defying the Supreme Court and the Constitution in doing so. Doesn't that make him a dictator? What about "democracy"?

Let's also remember, the Constitution states: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Notice, it states we are created equal, not that we are equal, and everyone can pursue life, liberty and happiness, not be guaranteed happiness. No amount of "equity" will make people equal. Having a college degree paid for by me and my neighbors doesn't make us equal.

We worked and paid for the degrees; some didn't. I worked very hard for many years to earn what I have today and only I'm entitled to it. It's what I earned. This is especially true for those who think the government (the working class) owes them anything and should pay their way.

Jan Alfiere, Hobe Sound

Don't generalize about folks who use marijuana

This is in response to the recent letter from Jeff Hamilton of Sebastian.

Not all people who use marijuana are imbeciles.

Jane Klein, Port St Lucie

One word key when considering a second Biden term

Don't.

I can only imagine Ronald Reagan and JFK are rolling around in their graves.

The leader of the free world has a one-word response to one of the world's leading sponsors of terrorism threatening our strongest ally: Don't.

From the time this administration took over, our country has become a weak and frail laughingstock to all our major adversaries. Joe Biden, from day one, has failed on any and all foreign policy decisions.

On his first day in office, he reversed all the executive orders Donald Trump had put in place to secure our southern border. He invited one and all to come to America. We now have more than 8 million illegal aliens swarming our country, many of them with bad intentions.

Biden canceled the completion of the Keystone Pipeline, causing us to break from the energy independence Trump had created. In order to try to curb the out-of-control inflation caused by some of Biden's decisions, he depleted our strategic oil reserves, further weakening our stature on the world stage.

I contend that if the United States had continued to be the leading exporter of oil, that Vladimir Putin would have not attacked Ukraine and Iran would not have been able to finance Hamas' attack on Israel.

Biden's exit strategy from Afghanistan was a disaster, leaving 13 Gold Star families and hundreds of Americans behind, not to mention thousands of Afghans sympathetic to our cause.

This is just a short list of Biden's decisions that have weakened our position on the world stage.

In closing, I would only say that when considering to vote for Biden in November: Don't.

Jim Wilson, Port St. Lucie

Was paid PR guy working against FTC?

This paper recently published a guest column by James Davis. The submission complained about the activities of the Federal Trade Commission in seeking to block certain proposed mergers. Davis claimed that those actions did not aid American consumers, but actually hurt them.

Placing this submission (originally published in USA TODAY) seems like a clear error. It is more than likely this was not the opinion of Davis, who is described as the president of Touchdown Strategies in Virginia. A simple online search reveals that his is a paid public relations company, describing the company as: "We will partner with you to create a gameplan that leverages your strengths and establishes a purpose-driven narrative."

Was he paid to denigrate the actions of the FTC? This shouldn't have been published as an opinion of his. It's likely the opinion of someone, or some political group, but not his.

Jonathan Rose, Vero Beach

Trump shuts out Biden in support for Israel

Last Oct. 7, Iran-trained Hamas troops from Gaza invaded southern Israel and raped daughters in front of their fathers, beheaded babies and committed other barbaric atrocities with a final death toll over 1,400. They also took 200 hostages and promised to conduct future raids.

After dropping leaflets warning non-combatants, Israel retaliated against Northern Gaza and gradually moved south. Meanwhile pro-Hamas demonstrations broke out in Dearborn, Michigan, and they became antisemitic as well as anti-Israel.

The Biden administration was generally pro-Israel until it became clear that Israel would seek a final solution; that is, wipe out Hamas militarily to preclude future raids. The demonstrations broadened to eastern college campuses, accusing Israel of genocide against the Palestinians.

Sen. Charles Schumer called for a regime change in Israel. Biden wanted a cease-fire. Then Israel took out a couple of Iranian generals via a missile strike in Syria. Biden urged restraint. Iran shot 300 drones and missiles at Israel, all of which were intercepted. Biden urged restraint. In retaliation, Israel sent a couple of missiles, taking out the defense system at a key site near Tehran. Israel proved 1) it can defend itself and 2) it can strike Iran at will.

Depending on how far back one goes, we are all Jews. So I resent antisemitism in any form. It really is not a matter of religion, because Israel has good relations with Jordan, Egypt, the Emirates and Saudi Arabia, all of which are Muslim countries and despise Iran.

These facts make one wonder how Jews can support Biden over Donald Trump. Our enemies pay no attention to Biden, and he has wasted years trying to make nice with Iran. Trump 1) moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, 2) placed meaningful sanctions on Iran (which Biden has ignored), 3) promoted the Lincoln accords.

Trump 3, Biden 0.

Tom Miller, Vero Beach

Increasing war debt helps Democrats

Each person in America was just asked to pay $288 to support two ongoing wars, and one future war — the $96 billion aid package just passed in support of Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

Why didn't we ask the Russians to pay for them? The United States is holding more than $300 billion in frozen Russian assets. Why then didn't Congress use these assets to fund the wars? The answer is simple: Using Russian funds would not benefit the Democrats. Passing the bill helps make Congress look like it is governing. It strengthens the Democrats' position and gives a boost to Joe Biden. It weakens the Republicans, needlessly adds to the debt, does not strengthen our borders and only extends the wars.

Bart Hollobaugh, Jensen Beach

Letters comparing Trump to Hitler off base

How disgusting of this newspaper to print Anne Brakman's letter likening President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. Apparently, neither she nor the editors of this publication have knowledge of the atrocities committed from 1935 to 1945.

Trump's speech may be boisterous at times, but it does not come close to the barbaric "Final Solution" or "Eugenics" policies of Nazi Germany. Her letter and your publishing it is an insult to the entire Jewish community.

Survivors of the Holocaust had numbers indelibly marked on their bodies. Families were forever separated. To infer that Trump inflicted anything close to these acts of savagery is ignorant at best.

Anthony Napolitano, Jensen Beach

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: St. Lucie: Dave & Buster's vs. Buc-ee's? Red light peeve; pot dummies?