The misery of measles

The March letter of the month

Editor’s note: The March letter of the month reacted to news of a measles outbreak at a Florida school.

I am 92 years old, and for 86 of those years I have struggled to see and hear following a severe case of measles when I was 6. I am deaf in one ear, the other ear was damaged, and I have diminished sight in one eye. It also affected my balance, and I always have to be careful that I don’t fall down, or in or over something. (I should have bought stock in Band-Aids.) I am a retired university professor with a big family so I have persevered, but it hasn’t been easy. Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo’s advice to parents about unvaccinated kids going to school in a measles outbreak is stunningly stupid and amazingly wrong.

Nancy Hause, Estes Park, Colorado

Pay the teachers

I back the tax for teacher pay | Column, March 30

According to a recent study, Florida has the highest number of teacher vacancies in the United States, and low pay (48th in the country) is one of the main reasons our educators are leaving the state or leaving the profession. While our state leadership continues to dictate to our educators what they can teach, what they can say and what they allow their students to read, along with the privatization of schools and low pay, I don’t see any solution on the horizon other than approving a local tax to help retain our teachers in Hillsborough County. The state is definitely not going to help with teacher pay; they would rather spend taxpayer dollars on transporting migrants to God knows where.

David Burg, Tampa

What an away game

An ‘unforgettable’ weekend | March 13

I recently traveled to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, for the exhibition games played by our Tampa Bay Rays. Upon entering Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal Baseball Stadium, I realized this game was special. While I saw a few traveling Rays and Boston Red Sox fans, it was mostly Dominican natives who packed the stadium. The Dominican Republic offers a rich tradition of baseball, with Major League Baseball continually recruiting its players. Many Dominican league players were in attendance. People wore caps representing every team in the MLB, and loudly cheered on fellow natives who had made it to the show. Jose Siri and other Rays threw out baseballs to friends and family, and many players signed autographs. Big Papi and Pedro Martinez made appearances. Excitement charged the air as the stadium filled long before game time, and a mariachi band played, creating a party atmosphere. It was hot in this open-air stadium! The crowd congregated in shaded areas even after the game started. The highlight of my night was sitting next to two Dominicans, using my Google translator to converse, mostly about baseball, a good reminder that we can always find common ground. The almost perfect night ended with fireworks. In a country where wages are typically low and traffic is the worst I have ever seen, my heart was filled that this country welcomed and cheered our Rays. If you’ve never been to a Rays game, please come support our team.

Melissa Aull, Clearwater

An essential read

Embryos are potential children, not children. Just ask an IVF patient. | Column, March 31

All legislators should be required to read the article by Julia Flagg describing her experience with IVF that the majority of us know nothing about. If embryos are given the right of personhood, what will come next? How about regulating sperm as potential children?

Cheri LaBelle, St. Petersburg

They need the chance

On their merits | Letter, March 31

This letter to the editor, in writing that “too many people assume that those in the target beneficiary groups of programs like DEI or affirmative action must have gotten where they are because of the program and not because of their own talents, intelligence or ambition,” is putting the cart before the horse regarding diversity, equity and inclusion. You need talent and opportunity to reach your full potential. Before DEI, there were plenty of women with talent. But they were denied the opportunity to put that talent to use. In 1919, forget being a governor, a congressperson (with the exception of Montana Rep. Jeannette Rankin) or running for president. Women couldn’t even vote. In 1920, we passed an amendment to make that possible. Even through diversity, equity and inclusion didn’t have a name yet, that was DEI in action.

Women won the right to open a bank account in their own name in the 1960s. Many banks still refused without their husband’s signature. In the ‘60s, there were no women CEOs of big corporations. There were no American women astronauts. This was not because they lacked talent. They were denied the opportunity. It wasn’t until 1981 that Sandra Day O’Connor became the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court. There is a whole history of people with talent, intelligence and ambition who were denied opportunities simply because of their race, gender or their class in society. But society has always been moving to be more diversified, equitable and inclusive. We just didn’t have a name for it. All DEI does is open doors so people can step through. Their talent does the rest.

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Russ A. Johnson, Hudson

Reach out for voters

Hillsborough schools to place property tax measure on November ballot | April 2

The April 2 Hillsborough school board vote on placing a property tax referendum on the November ballot is a major step in determining whether the district is able to obtain the additional funding to pay the competitive level of salaries needed for staff retention and recruitment. Recent years have seen a dangerous increase in teachers leaving the profession and difficulties in recruiting as evidenced by high teacher and bus driver vacancy levels.

On Feb. 27, Hillsborough Schools Superintendent Van Ayres delivered a compelling presentation of the need to pass the tax referendum to help close the staff compensation gap between Hillsborough and other large and nearby districts. The selection of statistics and their illustrations provided overwhelming factual evidence of the critical need.

Outreach will be the key to success. If voters understand the need, the result will be a landslide. Superintendent Ayres is the perfect person to make the presentation to the public as he has a complete grasp of the financial situation and the passion to make the case. In my opinion, we saw again on Feb. 27 the wisdom of the board in making him our superintendent.

Richard Warrener, Tampa

Unbridled growth

Put Hillsborough County’s community tax on ballot | Editorial, April 3

I know I’m considered part of the growing population problem here in Florida and Hillsborough County. Being here just two years, I have seen a monstrous change in growth and traffic. But I somewhat chuckle at this editorial’s opening salvo that the “tax has been instrumental in helping manage growth and bolster prosperity.” Yes, there has been growth and prosperity in new taxes, but using the word “manage” is a stretch. All I see are approvals for hundreds if not thousands of new apartments and houses along busy road corridors that cannot in any way, shape or form be upgraded or modernized. Residents and commuters see this as well and question more tax dollars with no plan in sight to combat these travel woes that only continue to worsen based upon unbridled growth allowed by the county.

Gary Rosenfeld, Ruskin

Wait until the end

Don’t say climate change? | Feb. 10

There’s a joke about lack of awareness that starts with a person jumping from the Empire State Building. They are heard proclaiming “So far, so good!” as they careen past the 44th floor. I think that person is like Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, or the entire dominant party of the Florida House, as they seek to remove mentions of climate change from a bill concerning electricity generation. Renner defends the bill, saying the government is legislating plenty of flood and sea-level measures, and that they are preparing us for climate change. However, creating policies that cause or contribute to climate change which, in turn, causes sea-level rise that will cripple our economy is too much like jumping off a building and not realizing the inevitable harm you’ve done as you fall.

Brad Rosenheim, St. Petersburg