Reader views: City of Gainesville drives people away with social engineering
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Letters to the editor present the opinions of readers on news stories and other pieces published by The Sun.
Social engineering
The city of Gainesville wants to be a place where people want to live, but they continue to demonstrate the exact opposite through various forms of social engineering. Here are a few examples:
• Eliminating single-family zoning, which is not exclusionary and exists so people can choose the type of neighborhood they prefer. It’s not racist or controversial — it’s people buying housing where they want to buy it.
• The ordinance designed to “eliminate solid waste” is just a feel-good ordinance that puts unreasonable restrictions on businesses, which will increase costs to consumers.
• The city sent the mayor and a commissioner to their “sister city” in Iraq a few months ago! This is the most ludicrous spending of money by a city that claims to want equality for women and the LGBTQ+ community, since Iraq continues to be an oppressive country to both groups. Why not have a sister city in the U.S.?
• Violent crime is increasing, and the city’s answer is to hire “violence interrupters?” The idea of sending civilians to meet with potentially violent offenders is ridiculous. Instead, police officers should be heavily enforcing all laws regardless of the race or social status of the offender. Putting bad guys in jail reduces crime — period!
Ed Van Winkle, Alachua
More letters:
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Consider utility costs
My Gainesville Regional Utilities bill for August was $767, more than $250 higher than any previous one. That is for an 1,800-square-foot, single-family home with two residents.
A GRU representative indicated the bill was accurate, not due to increased usage but to a fuel surcharge — and, somehow, to a shortage of meter readers. He also said future bills should be more like we are accustomed to.
My wife and I are fortunate. We paid the bill without sacrifice to our standard of living. Many are not so fortunate.
Consider the prospect of you and your loved ones having to live disconnected from utilities. It happens.
Tom Morris, Gainesville
Support crisis care
September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. As a volunteer advocate with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, I am calling on my members of Congress to pass legislation to prevent suicides and support crisis care.
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline must be sustainably funded so that confidential, voluntary services by trained counselors are accessible. H.R. 7116, the 988 Implementation Act, would provide federal funding and guidance to states for 988 crisis services across the nation.
An alternative to 911 for mental health crises, 988 connects callers to Lifeline centers. These centers de-escalate 98% of crisis calls without dispatching emergency services. Well-resourced crisis support systems can connect callers with local resources, including someone to talk to (call centers), someone to respond (mobile crisis teams), and somewhere to go (crisis stabilization centers).
We must ensure that every state has the capacity to provide comprehensive crisis response services to help save lives. For more information, go to afsp.org/988.
Join me in urging Congress to take action to #StopSuicide!
Peggy Portwine, Alachua
Beyond disgusting
A recent letter defended and admired Rep. Kat Cammack because she always votes against Democrat legislation. She also voted against certifying President Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election, defending Trump's great lie. Sadly, she is a 100% Trump Republican.
Cammack's current political ad is beyond disgusting, with all Democrats being labeled "bird brains" and Cammack standing with a gun over her shoulder. Obviously bipartisan legislation will never happen on Cammack's watch. Please do not vote for her.
Linda Whitman, Newberry
Intellectual dilemma
I have been having an emotional and intellectual dilemma in listening to reports on the trial of Nikolas Cruz, the young man who killed all those people at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas school in Parkland.
Part of me says that he should be sentenced to death for this horrific crime. Another part says, why should the taxpayers pay to keep him in prison for the rest of his life?
Interestingly, I don't know where I stand at the moment.
Denny Gies, Gainesville
Veiled threat
Sen. Lindsey Graham's assertion that there will be violence if Donald Trump is indicted is a clear invitation to the riot makers to be prepared for taking up arms. It is also a veiled threat to the prosecuting authorities to not to go too far.
Instead of criticizing Trump, Sen. Graham has chosen the path of violence. What a shame. It is difficult to understand GOP's unflinching support for Trump even in the face of mounting evidence of wrongdoing.
Nand Sharma, Gainesville
Join the conversation
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This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Letters on city of Gainesville, suicide prevention, Kat Cammack, more
