Letters: As pandemic continues and flu season rages, families need solid leave policies

More than 100,000 parents and caregivers missed work last month due to child care, according to a November story in The Washington Post. The viral season sickens our kids, keeps them out of child care and destabilizes families and providers alike — because our country lacks solid policies that support families.

Child care is essential to ensuring families can get to work or school while attending to the needs of raising a family. However, that requires child care providers also have the necessary benefits to stay healthy, be cared for when they are sick and paid a living wage. It is also necessary that families be able to find and afford child care wherever they are, whatever their need.

Access to paid leave helps our economy and helps keep people in the jobs they need so they can care for the families they love without jeopardizing their economic security. Yet 26 million workers currently lack access to paid sick days, as reported last month by the National Partnership for Women & Families. That includes 70 percent of the lowest wage workers, including many child care early educators.

Without paid sick time, early educators are forced to go to work when they are ill, and parents without paid leave are forced to send sick kids to school. Also, paid leave boosts employee morale and keeps employees — especially women, whose labor force participation has decreased dramatically partly due to caregiving responsibilities — attached to the workforce.

Nadine Hughey, St. Augustine

Lesson from a Christmas classic

“The Andy Griffith Show” is not only a beloved classic TV series, but also full of wonderful life lessons. In order to celebrate the season, I recently rewatched season 1, episode 11, titled “The Christmas Story.” This episode is a must-watch for anyone, but especially during this time of year.

The episode shows Andy, his family and friends all gathering together to enjoy themselves during the holidays. A grumpy man known as Ben Weaver (representing Scrooge) puts up a persistent front to let others know that he does not tolerate Christmas. He repeatedly utters the phrase, “Christmas, hah!” in disapproval of Andy’s celebrations.

After Ben’s many shenanigans to interfere with other people’s lovely holiday, Andy finally realizes that the older man is putting up this hard exterior only to look tough. Inside, however, he is truly desperate for love.

This is quite a deep lesson from which many of us would benefit to keep in mind. Even the most seemingly hard and uncaring people need and desire love. We should not brush aside people, but instead accept them as they are and invite them into our lives to share experiences. The characters keep saying, “Oh, but it’s Christmas.” However, we need not to only show love during this one season of the year.

This vintage episode is a cheery holiday must-watch while also gently reminding us that love is needed everywhere and in every time.

Elisabeth Pignato, Palatka

Don't wait for politicians to act on monuments

As reported on Nov. 29, once again we are embroiled in delaying tactics and (for some) the fantasy that the Confederate monuments can be re-interpreted somehow. A figure in a Civil War uniform carrying a gun is just not ever going to be a fisherman or a symbol for gun safety.

But the Women of the Confederacy monument in Springfield could well be hauled off to a school or in front of the school board building and simply captioned: “READ,” since that is actually what the monument depicts. The pavilion can perhaps be used as a small bandstand, minus the figure on top.

The sizeable number of people who want those monuments removed do not have to sit around waiting for politicians to act. They can put up their own monuments. Surely the historical society has records that locate where many lynchings have taken place.

Mark those with life-sized black metal cut-outs with the name of the person lynched along with the date. Hang the figures from the trees on private property, on buildings with permission or volunteers could just stand holding them where the death occurred. I suspect very shortly our politicians would propose a trade of one Civil War monument for one lynching memorial.

Sharon Scholl, Atlantic Beach

Rubio, Scott neglect average residents

Once again, our senators — Rick Scott and Marco Rubio — have voted against a bipartisan bill that would help ordinary Floridians. This time it was the bill that protects same-sex and interracial marriages, which have been accepted by the majority of Americans. That’s according to several recent polls from the Pew Research Center, Gallup and Human Rights Campaign.

Earlier this year the duo also voted against three major bills that Florida needs: funds to repair our decaying infrastructure; funds and incentives to reduce man-made effects of climate change that is beginning to ravage our beach communities up and down the state; and common-sense measures on the sale of guns.

Neither man has shown any interest in proposing or enacting legislation that improves the health and welfare of ordinary citizens. They voted for tax breaks for the wealthy and (twice) to acquit a president who tried to overturn an election and shake down the Ukranian president. Unfortunately, we have to suffer through another six years of Mr. Rubio, but we have a chance in 2024 to replace Mr. Scott with someone who will, indeed, represent all of Floridians — as he claims on his webpage.

Roy Goldman, Jacksonville Beach

Fuzzy math on port projects

While I have to admit that my memory is not as good as it used to be, I seem to recall that in the lead-up to the deepening of the St. Johns River to 47 feet, it was said that 15,000 new jobs would be created. Well, the dredging is complete and I really don’t see many new jobs as a result.

Now we are being told that the JEA power lines need to be raised and the result will be 10,000 jobs. I’m not certain if this a compounding effect. In any case, I’m sure the next request will be to raise the Dames Point bridge and create another 10,000 jobs.

Frequently I travel over the bridge and really don’t see any new shipping lines that call at the port. The cranes are generally in the up position, which tells me they are not being used. Now with the volume coming out of China declining, I’m sure port utilization will drop. I’ve got to wonder if good money is being wasted.

Peter A. Baci, Jacksonville Beach

Pandemic déjà vu?

This rampant RSV, COVID, cold and flu season is starting to feel like pandemic déjà vu when it comes to child care. As pediatric hospitals are urging the president to declare a state of emergency amid an unprecedented surge of illness among kids, child care programs and families are feeling the strain yet again.

Right now, child care programs are already struggling to stay afloat after the pandemic amid rising costs and staffing shortages. When you add staff getting sick, lack of supportive benefits and increased illness among kids (forcing families to miss child care), the early childhood sector and families find themselves struggling without critically needed support.

Child care is pivotal to ensuring parents and caregivers can work to support their families. Early educators need benefits and family supporting wages to best care for themselves and our kids.

It’s time for leaders to act before the next emergency -- it’s time for comprehensive child care.

Jeannina Perez, Jacksonville

Monument debate misunderstood

This is in response to a Dec. 3 letter from John Grassell of Orange Park asking "… why anything related to the Confederacy needs to be removed from history and taken down from display." This is inaccurate.

What people actually want is for anything to do with the Confederacy to be removed from places of prominence, honor and gracious remembrance. The Confederacy, its politicians, leaders and soldiers were traitors to the United States. We should no more honor them than we would British colonial forces, the Vichy French or Nazi Germany.

The Confederacy should be remembered for its betrayal, its racism and — ultimately — for its defeat and surrender. Let's also add in how post-Reconstruction Jim Crow laws perpetuated secondhand citizenship and bigotry. After all, as he says "Our history is what it is, good or bad," right?

I'm all for keeping that very prominent in our history books and museums. Can Mr. Grassell say the same?

Richard Thornton, Jacksonville

No trust in DeSantis

I take exception to John Reinheimer’s Dec. 3 letter about Gov. DeSantis. We may not ever agree that there are good things and bad things about both parties. But DeSantis lost my trust when — during the height of the pandemic — his political agenda meant more to him than the safeguarding of our children, so he threatened to penalize school districts that insisted on having mask mandates.

That was where he really failed the children and families of Florida. I will never forget that and he will never get my vote. I’m a registered Democrat, but I have voted both Republican and Democrat for big elections; I will continue to do so based on the character of the person running.

Orchid DeArriba, Jacksonville

Best wishes, Ms. Palka

It has been gratifying to witness a local woman coming of age before our eyes and benefitting from her abilities and strengths.

Mary Kelli Palka followed her passion for quality journalism and creating public awareness of the powers that are in front of, and behind the scenes, in public life. She rose through the ranks and applied herself with acumen from the lessons learned along the way.

We who subscribe and support the Florida Times-Union have enjoyed and appreciated her talent, as well as her tenacity in pursuing excellent reporting of worthy news content. May Mary Kelli be well, happy and prosperous in her new endeavors.

It was a great ride, lady.

Rob Richardson, Jacksonville Beach

Not a good idea, guys

In his latest whine about the 2020 election, Donald Trump apparently wants to terminate the U.S. Constitution so that he can be restored to power. I realize that for diehard Trump supporters this probably sounds like a good idea, but think about it for a moment.

Terminating the constitution means no more freedom of speech or religion. The right to bear arms? Gone. Right to a fair trial? Gone. The right to vote? Gone.

Does this still sound like a good idea?

If Donald Trump really wants to be back in power, maybe he should spend more time focused on the next election and forget about the last one.

Scott Schleifer, Jacksonville

No backbone on monuments

I am writing to praise Mayor Curry for his repeated calls for the city council to remove all Confederate monuments in Jacksonville.

Why is the City Council so hesitant to do this? Other cities have done it with no difficulty. Look at New Orleans or Richmond, Va. It can be done if council members had any kind of backbone or courage.

It is heartbreaking to see the pandering that is being done to those who wish to keep in Jacksonville such reminders of those who fought to keep slavery alive.

M.J. Orr, Jacksonville

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Letters: Families need real leave policies during stronger flu season