Treasure Coast Newspapers
Between school board shenanigans, Vero Beach, lots to talk about
A school board considers changing its "rules" to allow a majority of board members to remove fellow board members they don't like.But all board members are the voted choice of the public.Only the voters should have the power to make this decision.It's called "democracy."
Now the individuals who succeeded in removing books from school libraries are arguing they did not "ban" books. Apparently if they only "locked books up" so they could not be read, that's not a "ban."
According to Webster's Dictionary, "ban, banned or banning" means to"prohibit, forbid." Librarians and teachers have protested what they considered to be attacks on public education.
Also, I've been reading about the planned redevelopment of Vero Beach.Density is limited to 17 units per acre.The new density proposed is 60 units per acre.That shouts high-rise buildings to me.
The plan identifies the redevelopment area as "downtown," but the area described as the "epicenter" includes part of 14th Street, with expansion north of the airport, south past Vero Beach High School, east beyond the Florida East Coast Railroad and west to 20th Street. Please explain the exact boundaries.
For a small town like Vero, this is a pretty large "downtown."
"Without a referendum passing (voter approval) this is dead," said the urban planner hired by the city.
I wonder if the redevelopment will be placed on the Nov. 5 ballot, with the cost of this election already in the budget, with voter turnout large.Or will city officials decide the extra cost of a special election they can call for is worth the expense.
Ruth Sullivan, Vero Beach
Battling addiction not that simple
As a certified mental health/family nurse practitioner, I read Blake Fontenay’s column on the substance-use disorder facility proposed for Stuart with a lot of understanding. Not agreement — but understanding.
He makes the common, but all-too-often incorrect, assumption that everyone in treatment arrives ready to leave their former lives behind. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.
While addiction exists across all demographics, detox centers see a predominate architype. People up to age 26 can remain on their parents’ health insurance plans. Heartbroken and exasperated by their adult child’s repeated battles with addiction, such parents frequently turn to detox as a last resort.
South Florida — a popular destination for treatment centers — is especially appealing if you’re battling opioid addiction in a cold, northern climate.
Upon arrival, the substances leaving their systems, desperation sets in. The desire to flee is overwhelming. Despite the best safeguards, patients cannot legally be forced to stay.
Why would someone walk away from the help they know they need? Reasonable question. But there’s nothing reasonable about addiction — especially the substances in circulation today. That reckless pursuit of “relief” makes momentary sense, but often leads to tragic outcomes.
This is known as leaving against medical advice (AMA). The industry standard is about 20% — one in five patients. It’s tough enough to persuade that number of patients from leaving smaller, more intimate facilities. The larger the center, the greater the risks of even more AMAs.
Detox centers in our community are vital. But size matters. Experience in the field of addiction teaches us harsh lessons about balancing hope for every patient’s recovery with the reality of the high rates of recidivism. We learn not to ignore uncomfortable truths.
Stuart commissioners should confront them as well as they consider this matter — and weigh what’s best for our community.
Valerie Ferrara, Palm City
Ensure sewer plant gone before power plant side renovated
In the ongoing coverage of the Three Corners project, some minute details and timelines may not havebeen addressed.
In driving across the 17th Street Bridge daily, it is quite evident that the first priority would be to move the "sanitation facility" on the south because of the ever-presentsmell.Having any outdoor eating ortype of entertainment center adjacent to this operation would severelylimit an individual's enjoyment ... and appetite.
Alan Saeva, Vero Beach
Editor's note: Plans are to have the wastewater treatment plant decommissioned before amenities at the old power plant site are completed.
Stop politicization; celebrate all students at graduation
I went to my daughter's commencement ceremony at Treasure Coast High School and thought it was a very nice ceremony until I learned on the way home that it was marred by the administration's disrespectful treatment of one of the school's top students.
This student earned an impossibly high GPA, an associate's degree from Indian River State College, an Advanced International Certificate of Education diploma and a sports scholarship, all while working an outside job. This young person has earned, and deserves, respect.
However, because this person has embraced a gender-neutral name and pronouns, the school made a conscious decision to not show respect to this young person. They were repeatedly referred to by that "dead" name. The school told the youth it had no choice because it was legally obligated to use the dead name.
This is a ridiculous lie. A ceremony is not a legal document. In fact, new Title IX rules protect students against harassment of gender identity and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ grandstanding anti-woke bill has been challenged as unconstitutional so often it’s become another “Florida man” joke.
As a person from Generation Jones, a fading generation, I’ve learned that it's really none of my business what people call themselves, and it's none of the St. Lucie School District's or Treasure Coast High School's business, either. This is a public school system, not a private school for the right wing.
The “public” is everyone: all religions, all political views, all lifestyles. Our commencement ceremonies should be about celebrating our students' achievements, not to be used as a vehicle for one group's political machinations.
Georgen Charnes, Port St. Lucie
Despite misinformation, Indian River schools on right trajectory, but ...
In what felt like the longest-running Indian River County School Board meeting, Superintendent David Moore felt the need to spend an additional 10 minutes after public input to clarify the misinformation by members of a political action committee in the room who spoke more to an ideology than to their professional members, the teachers.
It’s no wonder the Miami-Dade teachers union is on the verge of decertification. PAC attendees further tarnished their organization’s reputation via a performance titled, “How to Intimidate Your Opponent 101: Wear a T-shirt.”
Dr. Gene Posca’s “apology, not an apology” to Sebastian River teachers went unheard.
With the desegregation complete, Indian River schools are a fully integrated. The 2018 Joint Plan is continuing. Does the NAACP want more or do they not want Superintendent Moore? It is hard to tell.
Another mis-informative talking point was removal of curriculum from the classroom. Books with p*rnographic material are gone from school libraries; thank you Moms for Liberty. Statewide, the district has moved from 24th to 6th place in teacher pay. It continues to move in a direction that is best for taxpayers, parents, teachers and students.
Classical education is a choice parents want for their families. It is commonsense to meet the demand. A one-size-fits-all approach has dominated public education for decades and failed. School choice is an economic driver in the county as more than six private schools offer classical- or Christian-based curriculums. The district can be an outlier of change for today’s learners in public education in Florida and perhaps even nationwide.
Let’s hope at the next board meeting, all members can get behind the vision of more in education and move away from the dated behemoth of federal governance that now defines public education.
Melissa Kells Burdick, Vero Beach
You don't have to be green zealot to feel heat
House Bill 1645 signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis removes “climate change” from the language and “restores sanity in our approach to energy … ”
While the rest of the world grapples with this complex issue and the U.S. population endures smoke from Canada, relentless heat (2023 hottest on record), tornadoes across the Midwest and South, and insurance costs enough to chase us all to Tennessee, the Republicans controlling our state want to ignore the evidence and build, build, build.
I am a registered Republican and veteran and cannot be accused of being a “radical green zealot.”
We face real challenges in our state; climate change is real, sea levels are rising and storms are getting worse. Insurers know this; they have the best data.
If our “leaders” in Tallahassee were adults, they would be focused on solutions for our state; instead, they are using denial as a free pass to build and consume like there is no tomorrow. Perhaps they already have land in Tennessee.
Jim Packer, Stuart
Everyday Floridians suffer under DeSantis' decisions on warming patterns
Recently, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 1645, legislation that will delete most references to climate change in Florida statutes. This decision is a stark affront to the reality of the climate crisis and an insult to the millions of Floridians who are affected by and are demanding action on this critical issue.
For hardworking Floridians, there is no denying reality: Summers are growing hotter, storms are becoming stronger and the cost of property insurance, disaster recovery and utility rates are rising as a direct result of the climate crisis. This provision is widely unpopular among Floridians, yet DeSantis chose to ignore the voices of the people he serves.
Promoting dirty fossil fuels while restricting the expansion of clean, renewable and affordable energy technology is exactly the wrong kind of energy policy for Florida. Instead of offering real solutions to tackle these problems head-on, DeSantis is doing the dirty work of the same corporate polluters driving the climate crisis. This is leading to Floridians being price-gouged on their insurance premiums and workers being forced to labor in record heat.
The people of our state deserve real leadership that prioritizes scientific realities and our freedom to be healthy, prosperous and safe. However, all DeSantis has to offer are political stunts that raise our costs and put our futures at risk. While he caters to the needs of his corporate elite donors, everyday Floridians are left to suffer. Our state becomes more unaffordable, and the shorelines and natural treasures cherished by generations are increasingly destroyed.
We need leadership that acknowledges the climate crisis and takes bold action to protect our environment, economy and future. It's time for DeSantis to listen to his constituents and put their needs first.
Alexis Sturm, Vero Beach
Morehouse College address just more Biden pandering
Joe Biden showed us who he really is in a recent commencement speech at Morehouse College. In an effort to win back Black votes, he told these young graduates and their parents their future looked dim because the country is basically racist.
He went on a rant of despicable phrases, such as, “What is democracy if a trail of broken promises still leaves Black ― Black communities behind” and “what does it mean to be a black man who loves his country even if it doesn’tlove him back in equal measure?"
Rather than heaping graduates with praise for their hard work and success, he handed them a very bleak picture of their future and of our country as he pandered for their votes.
Biden is a career politician in the worst sense of the word. He will do and apparently say anything to remain in power.
Just look at the total dysfunction at the border.After 3 l/2 years, all of a sudden, Democrats care about it.You are asked to forget how they banded together to protect taxpayer-funded flights for illegal immigrants to various states. You are asked to forget that they blocked Sen. Marcia Blackburn's attempt to allow local law enforcement to detain criminal illegals until Immigration and Customs Enforcement can deport them.
But now you are supposed to believe they care. Let there be no mistake about it, Biden has the authority to take action at the border and to do it today, no matter how much he denies it. It’s called executive action and we know he knows how to use it when he wants to. That’s what got 9 million illegal immigrants across the southern border in the first place.
Patricia A. Perrone, Stuart
Murders in Haiti show Biden's incompetence
The tragic and violent deaths of two young American missionaries and their adviser in the capital of Haiti, at the hands of Haitian homicidal gangs, is yet another example of the ineptness of the Biden administration and its State Department.
Once again, the failure of this administration to act and thus protect Americans and their interests demonstrates to our friends and enemies that this president will not act in our best interests and protect basic human rights, even in our hemisphere.
This ineptness once again shows that a regime change in Washington is desperately needed if we are going to continue to exist as the leader of the free world.
Charles Miller, Port St. Lucie
