Are the Villages next?
Vote goes against Disney | April 22
The Village Community Development Districts are special purpose districts under Florida law. I think it’s time for The Villages community to lose its “special” district status since it would only be fair to the rest of us Floridians to have the GOP-heavy Villages district share in our tax misery.
Pete Barton, St. Petersburg
Work on what matters
Florida Senate OKs DeSantis map | April 21
Please help me understand why our governor and Republican state legislators cannot find the time to address the needs of everyday taxpayers in this state. Instead of seeking ways to increase health care for the uninsured, reduce skyrocketing rents for soon-to-be homeless Floridians and address property insurance costs, they are busy attacking Disney and creating voting districts that favor their base. Yes, they are holding yet another special session in May (at taxpayers’ expense) to talk about property insurance, but where were these concerns in the regular legislative session. I suspect they were buried under the scripts of political theater designed to feature the governor. I guess I should be thankful that when I am homeless and uninsured at least I do not have to worry about textbooks in schools that might talk about the economic and racial divide in Florida or that teachers might accidentally launch into a sex education class in kindergarten. That is a solution looking for a problem.
Robin Frank, Tampa
No comparison
Who’s the real Mickey Mouse in DeSantis vs. Disney? | Editorial, April 21
Please do not compare Gov. Ron DeSantis to Mickey Mouse. Mickey has done more for Florida than DeSantis can ever hope to accomplish.
Kenneth W. Branch, Gulfport
Profile in courage
State senator’s response goes viral | April 21
As reported in the Tampa Bay Times, Michigan Sen. Mallory McMorrow offered a spectacular 5-minute defense against a hateful attack by fellow Michigan Sen. Lana Theis. She accused McMorrow, among other things, of wanting to groom children for pedophilia. McMorrow’s bold, forceful defense, which went viral on the internet, should serve as a perfect example of how to respond to a malicious attack by a colleague.
As McMorrow stated, Theis’ hateful agenda of scapegoating and deflecting attention away from fixing the real issues impacting people’s lives will not work as long as there are bold defenders of the truth like Senator McMorrow, who are willing to publicly and courageously speak out against disgusting behavior. I hope more representatives will follow her lead to call out their colleagues when they have been likewise victimized by them.
Stephen Feldman, Apollo Beach
