Warning to Martin County taxpayers; help St. Lucie shelter animals: Letters Nov. 9, 2022

Martin County taxpayers beware

Our Martin County commissioners over the past three years have been spending our tax dollars like drunken sailors back at port after months at sea.

First it was the Mooring Field in Jensen Beach — $1.2 million in local tax dollars plus state grants. Now a second Mooring Field in Port Salerno. Although I haven’t seen a price tag yet, (it was probably hidden in the consent agenda as a routine expenditure), but the cost will be very similar to the one in Jensen Beach.

And then there is the Martin County Golf Course. According to an online news source, the cost of our new county golf course is $4.6 million.

With the 2024 election for three of our county commissioners coming soon, the new Fire Rescue Training Center is also under construction.

In a few years' time, the county commissioners could hire another consulting firm to once again claim a need for a fire assessment tax on the taxpayers of Martin County. They will say fires are dangerous, but never mention their outrageous spending habits.

This is what happens when voter turnout remains under 40% in our primary elections when most of the county commissioners are elected. The past primary election cycle voter turnout was a dismal 28% and we got just what we deserved.

Tom Pine, Jensen Beach

The animals remain innocent in budget battle

Olivia McKelvey’s article about Fort Pierce and the Sunrise Humane Society should have included documented communications between the shelter and the city.

These records are accessible on the city’s website. There are communications attached to the city commission meeting on Oct. 3, 2022 addressing the takeover of the shelter. Included is a letter where SHS asks the city to advertise and hire a shelter administrator as a “city position” and the city complied.

Particularly concerning in the article is the comment the city is solely responsible for SHS's financial crisis because it didn't have a "plan for shelter funding when the county left the interlocal agreement... ."

I was astonished that SHS representatives were happy to see the county leave and were eager to continue working with the city. SHS reps accepted a city contract offer of $150,000 yearly instead of lobbying to accept the county’s offer to equally share with Fort Pierce $500,000 a year in funding to continue shelter operations.

I was the only one who attended and protested at the city meeting on Oct. 4, 2021 regarding that $150,000 budget. I then resigned from SHS believing the group would fail due to acceptance of that budget.

There is more, but you need to actually watch and read SHS/city communications. I hold both the city and SHS accountable for what followed.

Regardless, here we are and it's now our shelter. What are you willing to do to help the shelter animals because they remain innocent and want to survive?

Susan Parry, Fort Pierce

Women are the real power in America

To all the women "The View" host Sunny Hostin compares to "roaches voting for Raid" for being pro-life and voting Republican, I say let's show her who has class, intelligence, and love of country and family.

Without us, households would fall apart, children would drift aimlessly, husbands couldn't work.  While those women on "The View" earn millions of dollars just sitting on their duffs and insulting their fellow Americans, we real women are caring for our kids, cooking, shopping, ironing, doing the wash, going to meetings at schools and churches, and being there for our husbands so that they can earn a living.

Women are the real power in America.  Let us show those worthless witches of "The View" that the hand that rocks the cradle is the one that can bring down an entire political party.

I urge all women to vote straight Republican in order to protect our kids from the evil values of the liberal fascists, to practice our power to vote for the party that truly has our well-being at heart and respects women for our class and intelligence. 

Nancy Celano, Sebastian

A nod for sugar-free mayonnaise

Concerning Anthony Napolitano’s complaint about the big price increase of Hellmann’s mayonnaise: It’s made by Unilever, a British company, whose CEO earns $4,894,000 a year.

And sugar is one of the ingredients, which is why I switched to Duke’s mayonnaise, some years ago. Duke’s was started by a woman in South Carolina and it doesn’t have added sugar.

Grocery stores often have “buy one get one free” sales on both brands, and many other expensive products. My very smart father-in-law said paying for a TCPalm print subscription was worth it because of the ads and coupons.

Now we’ve just discovered canned mackerel actually tastes very good and is much lower in mercury than canned tuna. It is also nearly as rich in the nutritious ingredients as canned salmon.

Helen Frigo, Jensen Beach

Not just lawyers responsible for high insurance rates

Let me share a perspective on the topic of the high cost of homeowner's insurance in Florida.

For background, I was an insurance claims adjuster for 11 years, then an attorney, and then an insurance agent. Human nature has everyday people trying to get the most money that they can obtain.

When a system allows for cheating, cheating occurs. In Florida, as elsewhere, the people — you and me — will hire lawyers at times to try and get as much money as possible to settle disputes.

The lawyers, like everyone else, want to make money and file claims etc. The insurance system does need to be "fixed" to minimize fraudulent claims. Premiums need to be sufficient to pay for future claims, operating expenses, and reasonable profits.

You need to be insured for at least 80% of value to avoid a coinsurance penalty. It is simplistic and flat out wrong to scapegoat lawyers as the sole cause of these problems.

And keep in mind when you see these ads on television about some lawyer obtaining million-dollar settlements, it was a jury of we, the people, who made that award.

David Valdina, Barefoot Bay

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Martin County taxpayers beware; help shelter animals: Letters Nov. 9