Sunday's letters: Dubious tactics, historic hall, death penalty should remain
Defeat dubious tactics and dark money
Manatee County Commission District 2 voters have the opportunity to vote against the tactics of Anthony Pedicini (‘Meet the man who transformed Manatee County politics,’ Oct. 13).
Pedicini, who is a political consultant, gerrymandered Manatee County districts to include a candidate in District 2 whose campaign is now run by the same Pedicini!
We've heard about politicians choosing their voters; in Manatee County we have a political operative picking the politicians and drawing their districts.
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The job is lucrative too: Pedicini’s firm managed more than $7 million in campaign funding in the 2020 election cycle. Who is paying and what are they getting in return?
Pedicini already whipped two incumbent commissioners, Carol Whitmore and Misty Servia, in the primary, and now he is gunning for a third in the general election.
If the challenger wins, all seven Manatee County commissioners will be beholden to Pedicini, whose tactics stretch back more than a decade to a ghost candidate in 2008.
Robert McCaa, Lakewood Ranch
Historic designation could save hall
I am writing in response to an Oct. 8 letter that compels the community to consider the replacement of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in the wake of Hurricane Ian because of its vulnerable location on the bay (“Ian more evidence for replacing Van Wezel”).
I think that rather than replacing the hall we should develop creative solutions to address the impacts of sea-level rise on our community. Removing vulnerable buildings is not a solution, because with their loss comes the loss of our heritage.
An interesting approach to addressing the threat of sea-level rise was completed recently at Tampa General Hospital, where they installed an “aqua fence” to ensure that the facility was protected from rising water.
A solution for Sarasota could be historically designating the Van Wezel. With such designation, the hall would become eligible for exemption from certain state and federal regulations that could help with the implementation of storm protection.
This action is the only responsible one for our city leaders to take in their service to our community.
Lorrie Muldowney, vice president, Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation
‘Monsters’ deserve death penalty
I could not disagree more with the column Oct. 6 by Ernie Bono, “All should follow Pope Francis’ lead on death penalty.”
Bono wrote, “These men are not monsters, even though they may have committed monstrous acts.” Well, then, what is a monster?
I am a firm believer in the death penalty. I think all states should have executions for convicted murderers like Jeffrey Dahmer and Charles Manson.
Even if a state never sentences anyone to die, the death penalty should be an available option.
Our faith teaches us forgiveness, but some things cannot be forgiven. And faith also says, “An eye for an eye.”
If there is no death penalty, monsters receive no real punishment.
And who pays for a sentence of life in prison? The victims’ families and you and I pay for these killers to live out their lives on our dime. Why would anyone support this stupid idea?
Cassandra Margaritis, Bradenton
Scott should back up high praise of Trump
“Trump is one of the best presidents this country has ever had.” Now who would make such an outrageous statement, totally unsupported by any facts?
One might immediately say Donald Trump himself, but no, it is GOP Sen. Rick Scott, in an email seeking donations.
Maybe Scott should take some of his reported $220 million in wealth and make a substantial contribution himself if he really believes what he says about Trump.
I have no doubt some of the golden parachute payment he got when he left Columbia/HCA came from when the company defrauded Medicare of millions of dollars.
If Scott really believes what he says, let’s see him put his money where his mouth is.
Felton Marans, Lakewood Ranch
Face up to cost of climate disasters
Florida of all states should realize the folly of withdrawing funds from investment managers who avoid investing in fossil fuel companies. We just witnessed one of the worst climate-related disasters in the history of our state.
The cost of climate-related disasters is in the hundreds of billions of dollars and rising rapidly. We are the ones who are and will be paying, whether in higher insurance or inflation costs.
Ignoring the problem is like saying we can’t afford to fix the roof. We need to stop politicizing these issues and look at the reality.
Walter Frank, Longboat Key
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Defeat dubious tactics in Manatee County, save heritage at Van Wezel
