Letters: Residents see no good trade-offs with Jaguars stadium renovation plans

As Mayor-elect Donna Deegan hires expert consultants to help negotiate the taxpayers’ deal with the NFL, I trust that they will help the public understand not only how we finance this “stadium of the future,” but exactly what we will be giving up.

At roughly $1 billion, the Jaguars’ eye-popping audacious ask will no doubt require us to say no to projects we simply cannot ignore.

What else might we buy for $1 billion? Public swimming pools, completion of the Emerald Trail, replacement of septic tanks, investments that transform Jacksonville into a high-tech hub, funding our pension obligations, the Laura Street Trio, adequate funding of public service grants, the Kids Hope Alliance, the Cultural Council — those are just a few examples.

And what will be the shelf-life of this stadium?

Deegan’s administrative appointments are refreshing and offer the tax-paying public an opportunity to better understand our city’s finances. It’s not just property tax rates. It’s about investing to address our long-term systemic challenges — not to enrich a few folks and entertain ourselves on Sunday afternoons.

Sherry Magill, Jacksonville

Stadium plan does raise questions

What if we don't build a new stadium in Jacksonville? Might the Jaguars leave for another city? Our city budget is around $1.5 billion per year. Can we afford to spend billions on a new stadium that benefits mainly the football team? If the team decides to leave Jacksonville in the future, would we be left with an expensive albatross?

Think of what the city could do if that money was invested in infrastructure — like better roads and sewers — that benefits everyone, not just football fans.

Even with a new stadium, only 100,000 people could attend a game there, out of a population of nearly 1 million in Duval County alone. I would like to know how keeping the Jaguars here is more beneficial to our community at large.

William V. Choisser, Arlington

Missed opportunity with stadium

I saw in Gene Frenette's June 11 column that a reflective material will be used on the roof of the new stadium. However, nothing was said about any photovoltaic ability of the roof to capture sunlight and create electricity, like many stadium roofs throughout the world.

It is a tragedy that this very expensive stadium will not spend the same amount of money to create hundreds of millions of kilowatt hours of electricity to power the stadium and surrounding buildings. It is also a tragedy that no effort has been made with the stadium plans to help Jacksonville reduce its carbon footprint.

Global warming? That’s not Jacksonville's problem.

Peter Bishop, Jacksonville

Is the roof hurricane-proof?

Just looking at the drawings shown on television of the inside of the proposed stadium roof, I just cannot believe that such a structure could handle a Category 4 or 5 hurricane. The Superdome in New Orleans couldn’t, and it looked really strong until Katrina hit.

Even insured, if the stadium takes a direct hit, it would then be unavailable for another two to three years.

Jon Haas, Orange Park

Amendment needed to protect abortion rights

People from all walks of life and from all political parties believe that the government should not interfere with a person's ability to make their own reproductive choices, nor should it obstruct a person's ability to get excellent medical care.

As we stated in our April 16 guest column, the Jacksonville chapter of the National Organization for Women agrees with most Americans that abortion should not be illegal. We believe the privacy clause in Florida's Constitution protects our right to abortion, but that didn't stop Gov. DeSantis from signing a bill in 2022 that limited abortion rights.

A dozen groups have filed “friend of the court” briefs on behalf of the plaintiffs, who argue that the 2022 law violates Florida’s constitutional protection of individual privacy rights. The high court in 1989 declared the privacy clause protects the right to abortion, but if the court reverses course and decides the state constitution's privacy clause doesn’t protect abortion access, the six-week abortion ban will be triggered automatically and take effect 30 days later.

Please help us get a proposed amendment ― sponsored by Floridians Protecting Freedom — onto the 2024 ballot by signing the petition, which you can find on our website at JacksonvilleNOW.org. Let’s make it clear to the courts that Floridians want abortion rights protected. We need about 1 million signed petitions to get the proposed amendment on our 2024 ballot.

Then we’ll need more than 60% of the voters voting YES on the proposed amendment in 2024. We need your help. Most agree that the government, legislators and judges are not the people we want to make health care decisions for us.

Dr. Kim Elmore, president, National Organization for Women - Jacksonville

Wrong definition of ‘weaponization’

Gov. Ron DeSantis apparently learned no history at Yale, as evidenced by his attempt to ban books or teaching that would expose students to the facts regarding the racial and social history of Florida, as well as the United States.

Now it looks as if Gov. DeSantis learned no law at Harvard. Apparently, he thinks it’s perfectly fine for former President Donald Trump, now a private citizen, to possess documents related to national security and (1) not return them when asked; (2) hide them in a bathroom and other accessible places; (3) exhibit them to others without clearance; and (4) lie about everything.

Obviously, it shows that the governor himself should never be trusted with classified documents. Any other person who had done these things would have been arrested and tried months ago.

An educated person, much less a Harvard lawyer, should find the presented evidence worthy of indictment. Instead, like other Republicans, he called this “weaponization of the Justice Department.”

No, Ron — it is “weaponization” of the government when you threaten to fire teachers, superintendents and attorneys general for taking positions with which you don’t agree. It is “weaponization” of the government when you ban books and edit math or social studies textbooks to conform to your own narrow world view.

Finally, it is certainly “weaponization” when you allow people without a permit or training to carry a concealed weapon. Once again, Gov. DeSantis has shown himself unworthy to be the chief executive of Florida, much less an aspirant to the office of president.

Roy Goldman, Jacksonville Beach

Fox downplays health risks — again

Fox News recently challenged me with their negation of the ecologic and health risks of the Canadian wildfires. They offered an anecdote praising host Sean Hannity’s self-proclaimed fitness while belittling public health advice for the public. The network politicized the resulting smog when they had a duty to provide valid information about the lethal effects of toxic air contamination.

Fleetingly, I had to balance my political and personal ethics in response to their reckless newscast. After all, eliminating gullible voters, along with those who died unnecessarily because of COVID denial, could shift the electorate away from the political agenda espoused by Fox News.

However, those thoughts undermine my fundamental obligation as a physician and as a decent human being. I believe that a valid democratic process demands validated facts. Thoughtful voters should decide among the issues and vote. A majority wins.

Distorted news reports upend the electoral process. No one should applaud the sacrifice made by those who absorb false and irrational health messages proffered with a political agenda.

Shame on those who put our citizens in that position.

Steve Entman, Jacksonville

DeSantis’ campaign challenge

If Gov. DeSantis winds up in a second-place primary position (or worse), how does he make a win out of the situation? He has positioned himself as David against Donald Trump’s Goliath. He has reportedly said he is the only one who can beat Trump … and President Biden as well.

If he is talking about Florida, that is certainly possible. But if he does not win on a national level, he may be destined for more than a primary loss. His capacity as governor of Florida could be diminished for the remainder of his term, making him an early lame duck.

Working against DeSantis is the Biden Administration that suggests they are seeking justice; yet every time they try to convict Trump, it falls short. That then makes Trump even more difficult to beat ― for both his Republican primary opponents and Biden.

Few know if DeSantis is going to need an exit strategy, but if he does require one, it better be really good.

Bert Watson, Jacksonville

What if it was Hillary?

Some of my friends will be upset when I suggest we should have elected Hillary Clinton. This is in spite of the fact that she might have mishandled some sensitive documents.

I doubt we would be learning years later that she showed them to anyone willing to pay for a peek, as we will most likely learn that Donald Trump did. We are now discovering the lies Trump told about how he would act if elected. Regardless of this fact, we hear arguments (from some running for president) that defend Trump’s violation of handling classified security material.

These politicians promote lying as a way to secure votes from those they have fooled and deceived. Let’s not make another colossal mistake.

Joseph Grimes, St. Simons Island, Ga.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Infrastructure, other programs may suffer with Jaguars' stadium deal