Brightline deaths, hopes; God; Scott; Mast, Alzheimer's; Vero Beach, NYC bridges | Letters

Brightline does not cause deaths; hoping for local station

Unlike others, I am counting the days until Brightline service begins. I maintain hope a local station will be built so I can use the service.

I’ve read letter after letter after letter from folks convinced that Brightline causes, has caused and will cause multitudes of deaths all along the route. Others have written about the lengthy delays caused at crossings.

Brightline does not cause deaths. Those deaths, while tragic, were caused by drivers and pedestrians who were on the tracks at the “wrong time.” Drivers blame GPS directions for causing them to turn onto the railroad tracks. Drivers and pedestrians will bypass the railroad crossing barriers. Folks will walk down the tracks without the ability to get out of the way fast enough.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a difficult concept. It’s rather easy to avoid being hit by the train, and we do not need elevated/raised tracks. We do not need fences along the tracks on both sides.

All we need to do is to stay off the tracks away from railroad crossings and mind the crossing barriers when activated.

As far as any delays at crossings are concerned, here’s something to consider: A Brightline train is made up of four Siemens Venture railroad cars with two Siemens Charger locomotives, one on each end, with a combined length of about 490 feet. A train passing at 80 mph travels 490 feet in 4.176 seconds and a train passing at 60 mph travels the same 490 feet in 5.56 seconds.

Michael Goodfellow, Wabasso

You, your loved ones on your own when it comes to Brightline risk

I appreciate Laurence Reisman's recent Brightline column. Our lives will be threatened when Brightline goes operational with 32 trains per day at 110 mph.

At 89 deaths recorded while only at 79 mph, we have to decide if we want quiet zones with no audible warning, 32 alarms a day. High speed rail (125 mph) is well-regulated, but Brightline is running at 110 mph, avoiding regulations.

Brightline is allowed to travel at road level and don’t have to “close” or fence off the corridor. This saves money, but it costs lives.

As you drive around town, note the various intersections and pedestrian crossings. Consider “Johnny” who’s 16 and just started driving. His parents ask him to go to Publix at U.S.1 and 12th Street in Vero Beach. It's 5 p.m. and traffic is heavy. He’s a conscientious driver obeying traffic laws.

Heading east, he approaches Publix and anticipates being able to get through the intersection/light for his left turn into the parking lot. The car in front of him stops short leaving him on the tracks. The gate drops and a train traveling at nearly 160 feet per second is barreling toward him. He either hears a train horn or does not if we choose quiet zones. He freezes and joins the 89 other victims of Brightline.

There are many intersections and formal/informal pedestrian crossings where 110 mph trains eliminate any margin for mistakes. For Grupo Mexico, track owners, and SoftBank Group, the Japanese multinational holding company owning Brightline, Johnny, as well as anyone else harmed by Brightline, is nothing more than a trespasser, in part due to Brightline's choice to travel at an unregulated speed and unwillingness to apply the safety standards that have been demonstrated necessary to protect our lives.

Be careful out there. Until the Florida Department of Transportation engages in regulating the corridor, you and your loved ones are on your own.

Paul Westcott, Vero Beach

Alma Lee Loy Bridge repairs make sense to anyone?

Let me see if I have this straight.

The state of Florida is going to repair 400 feet of the Alma Lee Loy Bridge. That repair might have taken 2.5 years if the bridge were entirely closed. However, the state gave Vero Beach City Council the option of taking 5 years to finish if the bridge were only half-closed at a time. The council wisely chose that option. But five years?

The George Washington Bridge took four years to build. Its length is 4,760 feet ― almost 10 times longer than the Loy Bridge repair. And it was built 90 years ago.

The Golden Gate Bridge took four and half years to build. Its length is 8,981 feet ― more than 20 times the length of the Loy Bridge repair. And it was built almost 90 years ago.

The Empire State Building took one year and 45 days to build. It is 1,454 feet tall ― more than 3.5 times taller than the length of the proposed repair of the Loy Bridge. And it was built 92 years ago.

Seriously?

Lorne Coyle, Vero Beach

Why not stop illegal parking in downtown Stuart?

Stuart downtown parking is unbelievable.

Signs are posted that no pickup trucks are allowed. I saw eight trucks parked illegally. I guess people can't read.

Where is law enforcement?

Barbara Nickas, Stuart

Caregiver seeks Mast help in Alzheimer's disease fight

One in two people over age 85 will have some mild cognitive impairment or dementia.

My mother and my husband’s father had dementia, specifically Alzheimer’s. We both watched as they slowly deteriorated before our eyes, robbing them of any quality of life and robbing us of our wonderful parents.

Recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved coverage for Food and Drug Administration-approved Alzheimer’s treatments and will now offer full coverage for Leqembi. This decision is important to me because now my husband has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

Congressman Brian Mast must support all those impacted by Alzheimer’s. He should co-sponsor H.R. 619, the NAPA Reauthorization Act, as well as H.R. 620, the Alzheimer’s Accountability & Investment Act. Both bills would build on the progress made over the past decade by continuing to promote rapid research and improve the delivery of clinical care and services for people living with Alzheimer’s and all other dementia.

We must take action on this terrible disease. The more people we can help maintain a normal life, even if it’s only for a couple of months, the better. My mom and husband have both participated in research.

We need a cure!

Lesley J. Vestrich, Stuart

Blame what's happened to teaching profession on two words

With the start of the new school year and the annual "we need teachers" outcry, I have to comment on teaching specifically.

I am an experienced teacher, although only for a few years early 1990s. I have the equivalent of a master's degree in vocational, one class shy of an elementary education degree and a full bachelor's in history.

When I tried getting hired 1992-1994, there would be almost 200 applicants for every opening. Why? You did not really go into teaching to get rich. You entered the profession either as a calling, or for the benefits. Three years and you had tenure that was almost impossible to break. You could put in 30 years and retire with 48% salary, no matter your age. Plus, if you did not use your paid time off, that accumulated and paid out at final salary. Add in you only worked 1,180 hours a year vs. 2,080 in private industry. (Yes, I know we all worked many extra hours.)

What happened? Two words: Rick Scott.

From day one, he announced he was going after tenure, retirement and benefits. I met and know many teachers who voted for him and now complain about what their profession has become. It's a true example of biting their noses off.

Remember, this is the same person who now wants to "sunset" Social Security and Medicare. We have all paid into these programs specifically, so these are not "entitlements."

I am fortunate enough to have reached a spot where I still have six or seven years to work and will be secure enough. I would consider going back to teaching, but look at what the latest "placeholder" has done to the profession. I would make the immediate mistake of mentioning the Civil War or the Holocaust, etc.

Jeff Hamilton, Sebastian

Beware of how your senators act on issues important to you

With 58 other retirees, I joined a Zoom meeting to discuss Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid with one of Sen. Marco Rubio’s aides.

The topics included cost of living allowances, the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, prescription medicine and other concerns, as well as the future of these programs for us and everyone else who will be where we are now.

The top 1% lies to us about these programs as if we are beggars. Truthfully, we paid for these benefits just as everyone pays for benefits with any other insurance policy, which these programs are. Entitled, we paid to be while Congress borrows from the $2.3 trillion Social Security Trust Fund to operate the nation.

At Zoom launch time, we were advised the aide had a scheduling conflict and would not join us.

You read right.

How many reading this voted for Rubio in the last election? How much damage can he do to our insurance benefits before he runs again in four and a half years? Can he do less for us before then? We must find out. It’s time for everyone reading to spend the little time it takes to see how he voted on what’s important to us, personally.

The same applies to Sen. Rick Scott and for anyone who will be on the ballot next time.

We hope to have a Zoom meeting with Scott, but likely his aide. His contempt for us “on the dole” shows when he tells us how he raised himself by the bootstraps from poverty to become who he is.

Who is he? He was the CEO of Columbia/HCA when it made the largest Medicare fraud in history.

His campaign for reelection launches soon.

Richard C. Silvestri, Fort Pierce

Forgiving, forgetting turns the matter over to God

In his letter Aug. 7, Ronald D. Roberts took issue with my earlier letter, in which I said great spiritual attainment is obtained when you not only forgive someone, but you determine to forget the harm they did to you.

Roberts wrote: “By forgetting you are setting yourself up for future harm.”

That sounds wise. Most people operate like that. But what we tend to forget is that when we forgive and forget we are now turning over the situation to God Almighty.

Remember, the Bible teaches that vengeance is the power that God retains. God has not delivered that power to us. By turning the situation over to God, you are putting your trust in God.

I have found that God is trustworthy. God handles things much better than we. Most people don’t believe in the supernatural. They'd rather handle everything themselves.

Look around the world. How well have we done things? In dealing with the supernatural powers of God, it’s like flying a kite. If you keep holding onto the string and never let go of the kite, it cannot reach the heavens.

Putting your trust in God to handle a situation that you forgave and forgot allows God to take over the situation.

Stanford Erickson, Vero Beach

DeSantis vs. Worrell: Save democracy or make America like Florida?

On Aug 8., Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended State Attorney Monique Worrell from her duties in the Ninth Judicial Circuit. Her constituents elected her with 67% of the vote. DeSantis accused her of not doing her job by under-prosecuting criminals in her jurisdiction.

Has DeSantis dismissed another duly elected state attorney as he did with Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren for political gain to earn his party nomination for president? I say yes. DeSantis slogan is: Let’s Make America like Florida.

Does America want to be like Florida? The cost of property insurance in Florida is unaffordable. Florida’s schools face a teacher shortage because of the politicization of education. The governor and the Board of Education have limited students’ ability to take critical thinking courses such as AP African American History and AP Psychology. Now, the teaching of Shakespeare will be limited in public schools.

The culture wars the governor wants to take nationwide are not selling. Is that why he has suspended another state attorney as if he is making wise decisions in Florida’s best interest while campaigning for president? How can he suspend attorney Worrell when he signed into law a paperless permit carry in Florida? Who is soft on crime?

DeSantis needs to confront climate change, affordable health care, education and affordable housing issues. Florida has leprosy and malaria. But yet his slogan reads: Let's Make America like Florida.

I firmly believe DeSantis is trying to jumpstart a failing presidential campaign with Worrell’s suspension. Who is guilty of using his office for political gain, Worrell or DeSantis?

We can’t afford to lose our democracy to a dictator. Will you join me in saving democracy through the ballot box and speaking out?

Valerie Brant-Wilson, Vero Beach

Political game: Ready for a few yes or no questions?

Do you think that a woman who is raped and then finds herself pregnant should be able to get an abortion?

Do you think that all states should have reasonable background checks on all people buying guns?

Do you think that millionaires and billionaires should pay the same taxes as the middle class does?

Despite record profits, 55 of our largest companies paid zero taxes but still received many millions in refunds. Do you think that the tax code on large corporations should be changed?

In 2022, the big oil companies made a profit of more than $200 billion and still received $20 billion in government subsidies. Do you think the subsidies should be eliminated?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then my question to you is: Why would you vote Republican?

Please don’t give me the answer that we could end up like the socialist country of Cuba if we vote for a Democrat. Cuba is a socialist country under a dictatorship.

Other socialist countries that have democratic leadership are like Sweden, Norway and Denmark. And Iceland seems to be doing just fine.

Universal health coverage is such a complex beast that only 32 of the world's 33 developed nations have been able to make it work. Who do you think is the oddball?

Dennis Powers, Sebastian

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Brightline pros, cons; Vero Beach, NYC bridges; God; Scott | Letters