DeSantis’ visit is about politics, not people
On August 21st, I saw our Governor come to Sarasota to “help” people during his press conference.
Funny enough, he didn’t meet the people who needed help the most.
Why weren’t the storm victims DeSantis came here to help included in the press conference?
DeSantis’ grand new plan to help people who have lost everything seems to be a talking point. When asked about it, he said Debby’s victims should contact their city and county. In other words, it’s not his problem.
Why was he here?
People, wake up: if your neighbor is under water, do something – unlike our governor, who was not there for the people.
Steve Matthews, Sarasota
Show Arroyo and the developers the door
It’s time for Sarasota’s voters to speak. City Commissioner Erik Arroyo has amassed an unprecedented $90,000 war chest, filled with developer money, to defeat his challenger, Kathy Kelley Ohlrich.
Arroyo made promises when he first ran to get our vote over his developer-funded opponent. His actions and his votes clearly show that his true alliances are not with his base, but with the elite group of developers who fund him.
Some examples of Arroyo’s actions include:
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The Bobby Jones project, which is already completed, is being unnecessarily delayed, costing taxpayers money.
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Abusing his power to promote his own mayor’s ball organization, without any accountability or approval from the committee.
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Proposals to annex Siesta Key and other idiotic ideas that are a waste of time.
Arroyo proposes to defund neighborhood organizations, is absent from District 3 neighborhood meetings and activities, and has an auto-reply on his municipal email (what kind of elected official does that?).
We need Ohlrich, who has served this community for many years on the City Planning Board and the Coalition of Neighborhood Associations, to give District 3 the representation we so desperately need.
Let’s show Erik Arroyo the door and tell his special interests that our city is not for sale.
Virginia Hoffman, Sarasota
Another nail in New College’s coffin
I appreciate the attention the Herald-Tribune has given to this scandalous activity at New College of Florida.
As a retired librarian with 35 years of professional experience in various libraries – Georgetown University, the Library of Congress, and the U.S. Department of State – I was shocked to read that books from an academic institution are being “weeded” out of their collections and thrown into a dumpster to end up in a landfill!
More: New College of Florida Book Purge: A Horror Story of Secrecy, Incompetence, and Stupidity
This is never done by credible institutions that want to throw books away. There are many ways to recycle books. To name a few: used book sales on campus and donations to local “friends of libraries” bookstores, Goodwill bookstores, and local corrections facilities.
This news from New College is yet another nail in the coffin of what was once a remarkable institution of academic excellence.
Margaret Melun, Sarasota
Audie Murphy held off German attack
My wife and I just returned from a wonderful Viking River Cruise through Germany and France.
We opted for an afternoon tour to the Colmar Pockets in the hills outside Colmar, France, where some of the fiercest fighting of World War II took place. There we visited the tribute to Audie Murphy, our most decorated combat soldier of the war.
When the Germans forced his soldiers to retreat, Murphy climbed onto his tank and single-handedly held off the German attack for over an hour, firing his machine gun and reloading constantly as his Allied soldiers regrouped.
At age 19, he was awarded the U.S. Army Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery. He later starred in more than 40 films after Hollywood embraced his good looks and screen persona.
Former President Donald Trump recently said that the civilian Medal of Freedom was “much better” than the Medal of Honor, which is absurd and deeply disrespectful to anyone who served in the military. Trump gave the Medal of Freedom to Miriam Adelson for her multimillion-dollar campaign contributions.
But what can we expect from a man who reportedly called troops “losers” and “suckers” — and dodged the draft by claiming he had bone spurs?
Tyler Cassell, Nokomis
Firefighters save the (wet) day
Thanks to all the people who helped us evacuate our house during Debby, when we had to go by boat because of the floods.
The firefighters who came to our house were so friendly and happy to help us, they made the bad situation a lot better.
Marilyn Amick, Sarasota
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: DeSantis uses flooded Sarasota as political tool to bash Kamala Harris
