Friday's letters: High-rise to cast shadow over downtown Sarasota
High-rise affordable housing for the rich
While there is a concern and a need for available, affordable downtown housing, the proposed massive-height skyscraper on lower Palm Avenue would appear to have just the opposite effect.
Not only would this structure change the ambiance of the downtown area, but its location behind Bay Plaza would only afford a maximum of 14 multimillionaires with a view of Sarasota Bay.
Opinion: Luxury downtown condo a bad fit
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To allow this to occur would be, in Woody Allen’s words, “a travesty of a mockery of a sham.”
Steve Sills, Sarasota
Words of wisdom from Buffett, associate
Dateline: Omaha, Nebraska, May 6, Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting.
Topic: Performance.
A tumultuous year for markets still revealed record earnings for what is considered one of the most successful conglomerates in the world, Berkshire Hathaway – which still operated on a daily basis by Warren Buffett and his associate, Charles Munger, 92 and 99 years old, respectively.
Taking inquiries from the audience without notes, teleprompters or prepared questions, they shared wisdom on investing, money and life with quotes that included: “What gives you opportunity is other people doing dumb things” and “You should write your obituary and then try to figure out how to live up to it,” as well as “I don’t think a bunch of bankers, all of whom are trying to get rich, leads to good things.”
And finally, “I’ve never known anybody that was basically kind that died without friends, and I've known plenty of people with money that have died without friends.”
Lee Hoffman, Lakewood Ranch
Insurance premiums out of control
The state of Florida has just thrown the “Welcome” mat in the dumpster.
Folks from other states contemplating Florida as a place to live should quickly reconsider. Property owners here are looking for the “Exit” sign.
What I am talking about is the dysfunctional property insurance market in Florida. Property owners are opening their mail to find large increases in their premiums, some well over 100%. These sky-high insurance premiums are essentially a massive tax increase on Floridians.
The collapse in the property insurance market has happened while Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature have largely stood by and watched as large insurance companies have left the state.
What will fast follow the out-of-control premiums will be plummeting property values as people find that they cannot afford to live here. If the governor fails to quickly fix this problem, it will be an apt demonstration that he is unsuited to state politics, much less the nation’s.
If ever there was an issue that should receive bipartisan support in the Legislature, it is this one.
The governor and Legislature need to take concrete, decisive and prompt action to turn this mess around.
Thomas Haensly, Sarasota
Sensible steps to reduce shootings
On May 9, you published “A blueprint to reduce gun violence,” a letter outlining steps to take to purchase a gun. It made such good sense that I urge all to look it up and read it.
There is no mention of taking anyone’s guns away, just a sensible fix to the ease of purchasing a weapon of war (which is what the AR style of gun was invented for).
It does mention a background check and a couple of other steps that might just turn up a person who is unstable.
Please go online and read this letter and see what you think. Anything to get a conversation going by our leaders is good with me. We must keep hammering on this issue to make something happen.
Every day we read about someone killing innocent people, and this must stop.
Dennis Honeywell, Sarasota
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: 18-story condo to cast a shadow
