Wednesday's letters: Student art show, COVID cruise, baby formula shortage, more
Talented students in Spring Art Show
We recently visited the Art Center Sarasota, at 707 N. Tamiami Trail, to observe student paintings and sculptures in the Sarasota County Schools Spring Art Show.
What an incredible display of talent and instructional skill! The show is free (donations welcome) and you will not be disappointed.
Works will be on display through May 21.
Evie and Stan Mitchell, Sarasota
COVID cruise a horrible experience
In your May 5 edition, an Associated Press story quoted a passenger on a Carnival cruise stating that more than 200 people aboard the ship were affected by COVID (“Cruise ship ‘overwhelmed’ by COVID-19”).
More: How to send a letter to the editor
I just returned from a 15-day luxury cruise on the Queen Mary. It was a floating petri dish.
The cruise originated in England. All passengers had to test negative before boarding.
The first stop was New York City. All passengers disembarked for testing; more than 70 were positive and could not reboard.
The next stop was Fort Lauderdale, where more than 60 passengers tested positive and had to deboard.
I boarded in Florida after testing negative, as was required. I was not informed about the outbreak of COVID-19, so I did not have the option to cancel the cruise.
Believe me, I would have canceled: I contracted the virus on the third day and was quarantined for the rest of my cruise.
It truly was a trip from hell. I had no human contact for 10 days.
Cunard’s indifference was outrageous, especially for me as I am a senior citizen in poor health.
Shame on you, Cunard.
Kathleen Keppler, Venice
Teachers work for School Board and us
James Call’s article on a school principal caught by the “gotcha police” completely misses the point, as USA TODAY and this paper too often do (“Lawmaker calls for principal’s firing over ‘stupid bills’ comment,” May 14)
Neither our great governor, Ron DeSantis, nor the parents nor the public is – or should be – denying an adult teacher or parent the right to free civil expression outside the classroom.
It wasn’t the Facebook comments so much as the lack of respect for her employer's policies that caused the problem. Teachers work for the elected School Board and they all work for the people of the community who pays them.
If they can’t follow their employer’s rules and wishes, they should find another job. We the people set the policies.
David R. Kraner, Palmetto
Don’t blame Biden for formula shortage
Vern Buchanan’s weekly insta-poll has again crossed the line. This week’s question was whether President Joe Biden is doing enough to alleviate the baby formula shortage.
Anyone who is inquisitive can find out that the Abbott Labs processing plant in Michigan was closed due to bacteria found in formula. Abbott, which makes four different brands of formula, had issued a massive recall of formula from store shelves.
Declining birth rates have also contributed to companies making less formula than in years past.
Combined with COVID-related shortages of raw materials, closing a manufacturing facility that makes 43% of infant formula is the reason, not the president and not Congress.
Vern, stop putting this problem at the foot of the president.
Alan Boorstein, Sarasota
Skipping debates makes GOP look bad
Republicans running for all kinds of offices this year are planning to skip debates, showing contempt for voters and our democracy.
Are they afraid of being fact-checked and want to continue presenting alternative facts?
This reflects poorly on the Republican Party and its confidence that its candidates can withstand questioning regarding solutions to daily problems facing voters, such as affordable housing, living wages, education funding and clean water.
When you have no position to defend, all you have to offer is being anti-everything – anti-choice, anti-education, anti-democracy and anti-transgender – and you’re not likely to be popular and win over voters.
This November, when we all go to the polls, we should consider choosing candidates with the courage to discuss issues in public.
Steve Johnson, Punta Gorda
No ‘news’ in newspaper
The Herald-Tribune’s printing schedule makes sure there is no “news” in the newspaper.
The stock information is two days old. The sports scores are two days old.
And now the horrific shooting in Buffalo, on a Saturday afternoon, had absolutely no mention in the Sunday paper. Really?
Richard M. Stern, Sarasota
Editor’s Note: Our deadline schedules occasionally prevent us from publishing late-developing news in time for the following day's print edition. You can always visit our website, https://www.heraldtribune.com, for up-to-the-minute news and more.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: See work of talented students in Spring Art Show, cruise from hell
