Thursday's letters: Statue ideal Sarasota logo, gas prices, water quality, more

David symbolizes Sarasota’s quality of life

In response to “City of Sarasota plans to revamp its seal and logo,” Nov. 23: Sarasota’s current logo, depicting Michelangelo’s David, is perfect for what it represents, something that the city commissioners and others involved in the update miss.

David represents Sarasota, a symbol of culture, and art, a level of sophistication and an appreciation of a higher standard of living.

David represents a person of tremendous quality, highly held religiously by two religious denominations that make up the majority of Sarasota’s population.

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The city’s criteria require a revolving signboard reflecting an ever-changing popularity contest. It doesn’t fly a flag with only 13 stripes from the past? It doesn’t sing an anthem about an old fort most couldn’t find on a map?

David represents a standard, a model, a goal chosen to reflect our ideals and persona, modeled by Ken Thompson, David Cohen, Tim Siebert, Paul Rudolph and others.

It’s something many local citizens, myself included, have committed countless dollars, buckets of sweat, hours of work and our lives to uphold and sustain for ourselves and our children.

It's about a quality of life, architecture, art and living. It’s for whom we are, for whom we are known and for whom we want to continue to be known.

Wells Purmort, Sarasota

Spurious claims in letter about gas prices

I am compelled to respond to the misinformation in “Biden to blame for jump in gas prices,” Nov. 29. The letter writer blames Joe Biden for the high price of gas, then cites the stopping of the Keystone Pipeline project and the suspension of drilling in the Arctic as causes.

For the record, the Keystone Pipeline was less than 10% complete when President Biden halted this project, which would have pumped some of the world’s dirtiest coal tars across the United States. It was never a factor in the production of oil and wouldn’t have been for several years, nor would any exploratory drilling.

As for the writer’s spurious claim that we were “energy independent” throughout the tenure of the previous president, we continued to import millions of barrels of oil a day from the Middle East. While we did produce more energy than we consumed, it was never produced in a form that would allow us to stop importing oil, and claims of “independence” are just that – claims.

I would think that a medical doctor would be better at interpreting data and not be subject to wild claims he hears from the right-wing media.

Gerald Slack, Venice

Program helps improve water statewide

As is often the case, there is much more to the story than I was able to present in “Lakewood Ranch can lead the way on water quality,” Nov. 16. I am grateful to Robert Hueter and Frances Rippcondi for helping expand on the story in their letter, “The Meadows improves stormwater ponds,” Nov. 23.

Indeed, Florida LakeWatch, a program of the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, monitors the health of our lakes, estuaries, rivers and springs. Our Center for Land Use Efficiency brings together faculty experts from many disciplines to reduce the impact our lawns and landscapes have on our water supply. We have an entire Department of Soil and Water Sciences.

And we have extension agents in many counties, as well as regional water agents who help homeowners, farmers and municipalities reduce water use. I could go on and on, but I hope that begins to make the point.

You need not live in Lakewood Ranch to benefit from UF/IFAS water expertise. Please contact your local extension office to find the solutions you seek or contact me and I will help you find someone who can help.

J. Scott Angle, senior vice president of agriculture and natural resources, University of Florida

Feed good wolf, end nasty rhetoric

I have become increasingly concerned about the nasty and violent rhetoric that seems to emanate from our current governor, Ron DeSantis, and former president, Donald Trump. Perhaps they and their supporters should read the below “Indian Tale.”

“An old Cherokee is telling his grandson about a fight that is going on inside himself. It is between two wolves.

One is evil: anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego …

The other is good: joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith …

The grandson thought about it for a while and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?

The old Cherokee simply replied, ‘The one I feed.’”

Maybe it’s time to feed the good wolf that resides inside all of us.

Randy Kraft, Bradenton

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Logo symbolizes Sarasota's persona, false claims about gas prices