Teach for America is a good program but a bad fit for Florida | Letters

Not a good fit

Teach for America coming to Hillsborough | June 30

While head of a teacher preparation program at a New York college, I worked with Teach for America for 10 years. Though an admirable organization, it is no solution for Florida’s teaching shortage; think of its “fellows” as long-term substitute teachers, not professionals who will commit long-term to our schools and children. Many join the program to get free or reduced-rate master’s degrees or to pause earlier student loans. Others think Florida may be a wonderful place to spend three or four years, then return home. Many are graduates from elite universities and have little in common with the students they will teach. They and the program are to be commended, but they are no substitute for decent salaries (not just decent starting pay) and professional respect, things our Republican legislators and governor refuse to provide.

Stephen Phillips, St. Petersburg

June letter of the month

Watch this Guard

Editor’s note: The June letter of the month reacted to the headline “Woman was sexually harassed in Florida State Guard, records say.”

I was an instructor at the U.S. Army Ranger School. Ranger School is a small-unit tactics and leadership school. The technical term of what is allegedly going on in the Florida State Guard is what is known as “jackassery.” The Urban Dictionary defines jackassery as “a large quantity of stupid, asinine behavior; typically referring to a group of people exhibiting poor judgment.” Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Florida State Guard is a political stunt, fraught with leadership issues since Day 1, and it has wasted millions of Florida taxpayers’ money. I know there are some Guard members who enlisted with good intentions. However, nothing will change in this unit unless there is leadership and accountability. Since transparency seems to be a foreign concept to this administration, I thank you for keeping this story in front of the taxpayers.

Terrence S. Callahan, Belleair

On track for a mural?

Why are there so many murals in St Petersburg? | June 30

If “taggers” will not spray-paint graffiti on murals, perhaps CSX Transportation should be encouraged to commission a mural for its trestle over 38th Avenue North in St. Petersburg. The current ongoing mess on the bridge and abutments is an eyesore, and some real art on the steel and concrete would be a welcome improvement.

Stuart McKinney, Gulfport

A red meat issue

Lab-grown meat maker hosts Fla. tasting party | July 1

The new Gov. Ron DeSantis-backed law to ban lab-grown meat in Florida may not sound like a big deal. It’s a niche issue with little impact on the general population. There is, however, a subtext under this new ban, and that is the slow but steady demise of true conservative thinking in our Republican-controlled Legislature. In this case, Florida is mucking around in the private sector removing choices that should be left to the free market. If there were a public health issue with lab-grown meat, which is not the case, it would be a different matter. Instead, this ban is the direct result of heavy hitters in agriculture getting their way with government officials. Conservatives famously wave “freedom flags” and warn of government intrusion in our lives. In reality, they are the kind of politicians they claim to be protecting us from.

Jon Crawfurd, Gulfport

Keep your eye on the ball

It’s the bottom of the ninth inning and the score is 5-3 with the Rays-Hines team winning. The winning score of 5-3 is the likely vote tally of the St. Petersburg City Council. Unless something radical emerges, that is the only thing that matters now. Congratulations to the team and, eventually, the city of St. Petersburg, Pinellas County and Tampa Bay.

Now, my cautionary tale. On a 20- to 30-year project, the decision to move forward will outlive the city’s administration, all elected bodies and even Rays and Hines management. Where will the institutional memory be to see that the vision is realized and that contractual obligations are met?

The challenge now is for the city administration to devise a structure to effectively monitor and enforce the multitude of agreements that made the deal possible. This won’t be as easy as one would think, because each subsequent administration will have different priorities and management competencies to see that the interests of the citizens are well protected.

Promises were made to residents of the Historic Gas Plant District when they were moved from the properties that later became the stadium, promises that were summarily discarded. Mayor Ken Welch has pledged to right those wrongs, and he is well on his way to doing so. Let’s ensure that a system is installed to ensure that the new long-term vision of the Historic Gas Plant site is truly realized.

Scott Wagman, St. Petersburg

Let the marketplace decide

Socialism believes government can plan the economy better than the marketplace, which insists revenues exceed costs over the long run. Many St. Petersburg leaders believe in giving the Tampa Bay Rays-Hines partnership a sweetheart deal that will, in effect, subsidize the ticket price for anyone attending a game. They are practicing a kind of socialism. But this doesn’t work in the long run. You need a free market to price tickets to cover the true costs and see if people are willing to choose it over competitive entertainment. Will as many electric cars still be purchased when the $7,500 federal subsidy is eliminated? Are EV subsidies mainly helping the well-off Tesla driver? Is it the same with baseball? There is nothing wrong with government subsidizing a new concept that may make a profit, but it shouldn’t last forever. Baseball, like EVs, must eventually stand on its own or die out. Once government officials start using taxes to subsidize a pet project, it is very hard for them to admit they made a mistake. It is time for the Rays to stand on their own in the marketplace — or not.

Peter Kent, St. Petersburg

More than numbers

NoHomeRun’s math on the Rays deal is off | Column, June 29

Few cities have the opportunity St. Petersburg has to accomplish multiple downtown development goals with the stroke of one pen. First and foremost is to fill the gap of the basically vacant and undeveloped Historic Gas Plant area with a comprehensive mixed-use project that will bring more equitable and economic prosperity to its current and future residents.

Secondly, it maintains the character of our city by preventing us from becoming another sprawling Florida city of ugly and dense high-rise buildings that will certainly limit the benefits for any lower income residents.

As Jay Miller clearly points out in his column, this is more than a numbers game. This is an investment, not a land deal for high-rise condo and office space developers. The Hines project will continue to enhance what makes St. Petersburg among the most beautiful and desirable places to live and work in our state.

It would have been easy for Mayor Ken Welch to turn his back on this plan based solely on immediate and relatively short-term financial returns. But, to his credit, along with other city leaders, and as a multigenerational resident, he sees and understands the longer-term vision and results this project will deliver. Not only for baseball, but for a more diverse and dynamic city well into the future. To do otherwise is shortsighted and not in our and our future generations’ long-term interest.

Jay Gross, St. Petersburg

I want to know

Why does DeSantis keep trying to hide public records? | Column, June 30

Since taking office, Gov. Ron DeSantis has worked diligently to hide much of his and his administration’s activities from public scrutiny. For a state that brags about its historic in-the-sunshine laws, our top GOP officials sure do try to avoid being seen in the light of day. The more our governor tries to shield his administration’s actions from the public view, the more I want to know what he is up to. Maybe the citizens of Florida should call for a forensic audit to find out where every penny of state funds has gone since the current administration took over and see what washes out.

Brian Valsavage, St. Petersburg

I remember when

How to recover from that horrific presidential debate | Column, June 30

As a child in the early 1940s, I loved to go to the Saturday movies. In those days the movies usually ran a black-and-white news reel as a bonus. I can remember watching Mussolini and Hitler ranting to their respective citizens. Even to a 7-year-old, they sounded quite crazy. As I advanced in school, I learned that those two men, using lies and bluster, convinced their citizens that they should lead their countries, with horrendous results for the world. All my life I’ve thanked God for allowing me to be an American, the most admired country in the world. I often thought about those two countries, thinking something like that could never happen here in the United States. But I was wrong. It is happening. Former President Donald Trump is leading in the presidential polls. History does seem to repeat.

James Stuart Emery, Clinton Township, Michigan