Readers comment on President Joe Biden and development in Alachua County

Give Biden credit

Thank Joe Biden and his Democrats for Gainesville’s $6,981,322!

On April 21, the city’s public information office informed us that the City Commission awarded $6,981,322 in funds from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act to support 36 area nonprofit organizations. That’s commendable,

Why weren’t we told the whole story? The president of the Community Foundation of North Central Florida thanked only the city ( “…We are thankful to the city of Gainesville for making this possible.”).

Unfortunately, the Foundation that decided which organizations will receive these funds left out an important detail you should know. This Rescue Plan is a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package proposed by President Biden to mitigate the severe economic effects of the pandemic and resulting recession.

But guess what? All Republicans in Congress voted against this law, including our three elected U.S. legislators: House District 3 Rep. Kat Cammack and our two U.S. senators.

I urge Gainesville’s public relations office to inform our citizens that thanks should go to Biden and the Democrats, not only to the city. Also, we all should ask why U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Scott as well as Rep. Cammack voted "no” on this Rescue plan with its resulting funds to Gainesville. No thanks are due to them!

Harry Mangle, Gainesville

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Biden avoiding blame

With hapless Joe Biden, the buck stops somewhere else. He never takes responsibility for the shape our country is in and, frankly, he doesn’t care as long as the far-left agenda keeps moving.

We are exceeding over 200,000 illegal immigrants a day crossing our border. Young Americans are dying more from fentanyl than from guns, but who's counting? Before Biden became president inflation was at 1.5.%; it is now over 8%. Mortgage rates are going up fast putting many out of reach to buy a home. Our country is rich in clean natural gas and our own government has put a stranglehold on the energy industry.

Biden is weak in response to the Ukraine; Vladimir Putin is dictating the terms. Afghanistan was a disaster with 13 soldiers dead and many Americans still left behind. Americans on fixed incomes are struggling mightily and Biden wants to forgive student loans. Whatever happened to personal responsibility? Hunter Biden’s laptop gives us pause with possibly compromising Joe in dealing with the Russians, China and Ukraine.

Joe, the bucks stops with you and the deliberate destruction of all that is good and rich in America. Vote wisely.

Eileen Maren, Gainesville

Paved over

The people of Alachua County need to wake up and realize the County Commission does not serve them.

We live in Alachua and received a notice of neighborhood meeting from CHW. The notice indicated a rezoning request was being sought. The change requested is from Agriculture (A) to Commercial Intensive (CI). I looked up the parcel numbers and found it to be Tomoka Hills Farm — a 329-acre horse farm that will be turned into a commercial property.

Alachua County is being paved over one project at a time. Look at Newberry Road and 122nd Street as an example. All the commission sees is dollars.

The people will have to get involved on a personal level if the rapid development is to be stopped. If we continue to sit back and watch it is our own fault when we leave nothing behind but concrete.

Mitch Mallard, Alachua

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This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Letters to the editor for April 27, 2022: President Biden and more