Unbalanced network news; Riverside Theatre; manatee deaths; DeSantis; Trump | Letters

Riverside Theatre's ticketing policies create river of troubles

I have been a longtime supporter of the Riverside Theatre. I have been a subscriber to the Distinguished Lecture Series and full seasons of the theater. I have also been a donor to their campaigns.

I gave up on the lecture series earlier this year. It is just too difficult to know where I will be on four specific dates next year, especially since one was canceled this year, last minute.

But, the theater shows all run for about three weeks, so I can exchange tickets if necessary ... well, that was last month. I went over this morning, (June 6), I got there at 10 a.m. as it says on the internet, but the door says 11 a.m.

I asked about it, and theater representatives said it is Google’s fault and they can’t do anything about it. (I wonder how many people have wasted their time doing that. I called a few months ago, and the theater's phone put me on hold, even though it was not open.)

So I came back a few hours later to exchange my tickets and they told me, as of May 30, they changed their policy so you can only exchange before the play starts. They have seats available for the date I wanted and will sell them for 10% off (whoopee, only $137 more after buying the first ones for $152), but they will not let you use your old tickets as an exchange, as has been the policy for years.

They received my last donation, and I already bought play tickets for next year’s season, assuming I could change the dates, but that will not be the case (wish they would have changed that policy before they sold the season tickets) so, rest assured, I will not renew my season tickets the year after.

Daniel McElroy, Vero Beach

DeSantis like 'immigrant swindlers' of old

We all have heard it said: "What goes around comes around." So it stands to write that Gov. Ron DeSantis is not any different than those immigrant swindlers of the past.

I point out that in 1872, Italian immigrants were swindled to leave their home country, and they ended up in the United States. It is sad the governor is resorting to the same immoral and unethical actions that affected those Italian immigrants.

He is guilty of a serious error of decision-making when he sent immigrants to Martha's Vineyard, California and other places.

Ronald D. Roberts, Sebastian

Boat strikes aren't responsible for most manatee deaths

Recently, there has been conjecture by some folks that the manatee deaths in Indian River County are on the rise. Data from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission does not support that statement for the county or the state.

Since the introduction of the “go-slow manatee zone” after 2019, the number of manatee deaths by watercraft has been steadily decreasing both in absolute numbers and as a percentage of the total. For 2021 and 2022, the percentage of deaths by watercraft across the state has held steady at 9.5%. The percentage in Indian River County is 0.5%.

Preliminary data through June 2 reveals the total number of manatee boat strike deaths across the entire state is 40 (none in Indian River County). The counties with historically high yearly deaths are Brevard, Lee and Pinellas counties.

In 2021, 70.2% of the yearly total manatee deaths had occurred by the end of May. In 2022, the percentage for the same period was 58.8%.

Using those 40 deaths in the first five months of 2023 would give a total predicted death rate by boat strikes of 54 by the end of 2023 for the entire state. If this projection holds, it will thankfully be well below the 104 from 2021 and the 76 from 2022.

Bottom line: Responsibly operated boats are not the enemy.

Mike Johannsen, Vero Beach

Port St. Lucie High School show rivaled Broadway production

My husband and I had the pleasure of attending a performance of “The Sound of Music” at Port St. Lucie High School. I now know that I no longer have to go to New York to see a Broadway play. It is right here in St. Lucie County.

The talent and professionalism of these students was exceptional. We had always heard good things about these shows, so we decided to give one a try. It will not be our last.

It is difficult for me to single anyone out, but the young lady, Alexandria Paxton, who played Maria was talented beyond years and her voice blended so well with Caden Beckham, the captain. The orchestra was brilliant and its timing was perfect.

The choreography was fun and perfectly performed by everyone. We talked about the sets all the way home and how much work went into this performance. There is so much about the entire show we enjoyed. Our congratulations to the students' drama teacher, Patrick Madden, who has directed a real winner with some great talent.

Judy Bopp, Fort Pierce

If we're no longer free to buy puppies in stores, what's next?

"The land of the free and home of the brave."

I remember when those words actually described our country. We've come a long way from when that appellation was appropriate, although some still use the words ― empty of meaning as they now are.

There was a time when you could legally drive cars without insurance, when you could get on a plane without being frisked, searched and detained by hacks, when parents decided what education their children were exposed to, when schools taught reading, writing, science, math and modeled manners and behavior instead of presenting gender choices, a trophy for everyone, equity instead of equality and so forth.

The Bible was allowed in schools, as was God. That's no longer the case. God is disallowed, but gender choices seem to be promulgated. Recently, many district attorneys, bound to uphold laws, instead decided misdemeanors need not count, no matter the number of them a predator has committed.

Here in Martin County, the purchase of a puppy from a pet store has become illegal. During my many years of existence, I have had a number of dogs ― purchased at pet stores, given to me from the dog owners who were pleased to have a way to humanely distribute a number of pups, or bought from a breeder.

Never did I seek county approval and I wonder why anyone would have to do so in a free state? What gives the Martin County Board of County Commissioners the right to order them out of business?

What's next?

Audrey Taggart, Hobe Sound

Florida governor can make sure his appointments stick

The governor of Florida can get an appointee confirmed (or re-confirmed) to a special district, such as the South Florida Water Management District, if the governor wants to and the appointee is not fatally flawed. The governor of Florida has an extraordinary power with the line-item veto as provided in Article III, Section 8(a) of the Florida Constitution.

This extremely powerful tool can be used to erase the funding priorities of any member of the Florida Legislature, even the Senate president, with almost no explanation. The line-item veto is probably one of the main reasons we see such poor (or non-existent) debate in the Florida Legislature.

Speak out against the governor’s priorities or things that are being conveniently ignored, and that $500,000 for your sidewalk project in your downtown is cut by the governor. If a governor doesn’t get the appointments he or she wants to a special district, it is possibly due to philosophical reasons or incompetence, but more likely it is deliberate or due to indifference.

A governor in Florida has tremendous power to get the appointments he or she makes to the Legislature if it is a priority of the governor.

With toxic algae covering much of Lake Okeechobee, it is a strange time to be indifferent.

Alex Gillen, Stuart

Network news lacks proper balance

Who are we paying to monitor our airwaves? Whoever it is needs to be replaced for dereliction of duty.

The major networks, for the poor who can’t afford cable or those without cable, are not fair or balanced.

They are not showing things that would be important for the poor to know ― much of it involving their health, safety and voting information. The major networks and others seem to all be propaganda and misleading.

Joan Hall, Vero Beach

Trump described the very fate he now faces

The Presidential Records Act: 1) establishes public ownership of all presidential records, 2) requires the president to separate personal records from presidential ones, and 3) establishes that presidential records automatically transfer to the legal custody of the National Archives Records Administration.

Because Donald Trump, his lawyers and political supporters continue to mischaracterize Trump’s rights under the PRA, NARA released this statement: “The PRA requires all records created by the President be turned over to NARA at the end of his/her administration.” There’s no provision to keep these records for the purpose of sorting presidential from personal records for a period of time once the president leaves office. 

Irony, a literary technique first used in Greek tragedy, occurs when the full significance of an individual’s words or actions are apparent to others but not to the individual. Donald Trump is entangled in a tragedy of his own making.

Trump predicted if Hillary Clinton were elected, we’d have a sitting president under criminal investigation, resulting in a “constitutional crisis.” On Oct. 31, 2016, Trump declared: “If Hillary is elected, she will be under protracted criminal investigation likely followed by a trial. This is just what we need.” Indeed we do, except it will be Trump standing trial.

But it’s just one example of irony in Trump’s dramatic downfall. Two months earlier, he boasted: “In my administration, I’m going to enforce all laws concerning the protection of classified information. No one is above the law.” It doesn't sound like he kept his promise.

Former Attorney General William Barr said: “If even half (the indictments) are true, then Trump’s toast. I was shocked by the degree of sensitivity of these documents … and I think the counts under the Espionage Act … are solid counts.”

These are facts, not partisan fiction.

Cray Little, Vero Beach

Selective prosecution by feds fails the country

As the persecution of our 45^th president continues, the mental health, incompetence and the questionable past of the 46^th is a suppressed story. With every report of the Biden family receiving overseas money for apparently no reason, Donald Trump gets indicted.

The FBI has been sitting on the Mar-a-Lago paper mess for some months, but the day James Comer of the House Oversight Committee gets Chris Wray to produce incriminating stuff, Trump is indicted for mismanaging papers. The story the media is missing is the culpability of Sleepy Joe.

President Joe Biden boasted he got a prosecutor in Ukraine fired who was investigating the company Hunter Biden ostensibly “worked” for. Trump is impeached for a phone call. When FBI Director Chris Wray is asked to produce incriminating paperwork they’ve been hoarding, Sen. Chuck Grassley said: “Stop playing games.”

Trying to bust the FBI for being soft on Biden isn’t easy. But keeping information like “10 million from foreign nationals” to the “Biden family, their business associates and their companies,” according to The Federalist website, should make front pages. The FBI held onto Hunter Biden's laptop long enough, because of “Russian disinformation” to get Biden elected, and now the pictures of Joe’s son and business partners prove the cover is lifting.

The oversight committee’s report shows how deeply the feds are backing their man. With the DOJ under the vengeful Merrick Garland, we easily see that this latest round of prosecution is not just about “the law” and who’s above it. The division of the country is at stake, but the lawyers in D.C. would rather nail Joe’s adversary than play fair.

This is not justice. It’s Biden justice.

Norman Grant, Vero Beach

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Unbalanced network news; Riverside Theatre; DeSantis; Trump | Letters