Readers comment on protecting neighborhoods from development, empty storefronts and more
Protect existing neighborhoods
Several ideas of Mayor Lauren Poe are obviously delusional to anyone who has lived in Gainesville for the past 50 years and worked in the construction of housing.
One, it didn’t matter if a new subdivision had modest ranch-style homes or monster, expensive homes — as time went on, lots got smaller and smaller. It is land cost (it is not going down) that will prevent low-income families from his well-intended ideas. The solution: Turn Ironwood Golf Course and other city properties into free land for 800-square-foot houses.
Second, the mayor and City Commission were elected to serve the existing citizens of Gainesville, not someone coming here in the future. From my arrival in Gainesville in the early 1970s to recently, the citizen mantra was to protect existing neighborhoods — and also not to have more than two-story buildings, especially on east-west streets routed by neighborhoods. Because of city and county decisions made about traffic routes years ago, it is monetarily impossible to improve traffic flow corridors.
All future candidates should be asked: Are you going to reverse the recent late-night, clandestine decisions to destroy our neighborhoods and to let massive tall, canyon-like buildings line our neighborhood through-streets? Yes or no — no word salads.
Tom Lane, Gainesville
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Leasing challenges
Having arrived in Gainesville during the middle of the pandemic, my partner and I were looking forward to bringing our boutique, The Peace Store, here. We were successful in Key West and set our sights on The Standard and other unrented retail spaces in multipurpose housing near the University of Florida.
After unending attempts to rent an open and never leased space, the deal kept changing to the point where it was obvious that the landlord wanted a large corporate tenant with deep pockets. We are now only online at thepeacestore.net and wish good luck to any small business trying to lease a space in Gainesville.
Valsin Marmillion, Alachua
Where's the outrage?
On April 8, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated. "Americans are, once again, grieving with the Israeli people in the wake of another deadly terrorist attack." The U.S. is closely following developments, he continued, and is in contact "with our Israeli partners, with whom we stand resolutely in the face of senseless terrorism and violence." The U.S. ambassador to Israel stated that he was, "Horrified to see another cowardly terror attack on innocent civilians."
Senseless terrorism and violence? Cowardly terrorist attacks? Deaths of innocent lives?
Since Sept. 29, 2000, 2,346 Palestinian children have been killed by Israelis and 136 Israeli children have been killed by Palestinians, and 10,321 adult Palestinians have been killed by Israel compared to 1,291 Israeli adults killed by Palestine. Israel is stealing Palestinian land by continuing to build illegal (per the U.N. and international community) settlements in the West Bank. Israel continues to force Palestinians living in Jerusalem out of the homes they've had for generations. And the U.S. gives Israel over $20 million a day for their military and Palestine has no military.
Secretary Blinken, where's the outrage and horror over Palestinian lives and their loss of sovereignty? Oh, but then again Palestine isn't our "partner."
Pam Meyers, Cedar Key
Source of advice
If you needed brain surgery, would you take advice from a pediatrician? So why would you take COVID vaccine advice from a person with an MD who has no background in public health or epidemiology?
Dennis Taylor, Gainesville
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This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Letters to the editor for April 13, 2022: Views on development, more
