Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: Unhinged

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Letters: JTA already failing city’s public transit needs

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) is at it again with a proposed commuter line from St. Augustine to Jacksonville.  

Buses make their way under the elevated Skyway track and under the new JTA headquarters on opening day in May 2020.

This would be adding yet another new project to JTA’s already unfilled commitments to the transportation improvements that they have promised for more than a decade. Has ridership improved on the Automated Skyway Express (ASE)? No, but that did not stop JTA from getting slightly less than a quarter of a billion dollars from the Jacksonville City Council for a dilapidated system that currently costs the city millions of dollars for upkeep a year. 

The council approved these funds for JTA by raising the gasoline tax by 6 cents a gallon, adding to the high prices at the pump, which are choking our working class.   

Duval County residents have tolerated too many potholes on too many streets. When will those potholes be filled? When will resurfacing be done? During my time on the city council, we were told the roads needed to be resurfaced every 10 to 12 years. Instead of completing this necessary maintenance, the council has given JTA some of the funds raised by hiking the gas tax for a mile-long extension on the ASE, which has been a complete failure for 30 years.   

The council should reverse course and focus on projects that will improve the lives of most residents. Instead of throwing more money at the ASE, which few citizens use, most of that $247 million should be set aside to improve current roads throughout Jacksonville.  

The JTA should also be downsized until its primary job — public transportation — is done correctly. We’ve all seen buses in Jacksonville with hardly any riders; Do we really need to throw more money at something that is barely used? Energies should be focused on improving roads before moving forward on anything else. 

Simply put, JTA is clearly failing in its main responsibility. 

Matt Schellenberg, former Jacksonville City Council member  

Delivery driver’s thoughts on ‘loud music’ law

The July 8 edition of the Florida Times-Union included an article on the “loud music” law that prevents music to be heard more than 25 feet away. The implication was that this law has racial overtones.  

I work in the transport and delivery business. On a typical day I cover the City of Jacksonville from county line to county line, north to south and east to west. I also drive much of Clay, Nassau, St. Johns and Flagler into Palm Coast, based on the daily volume of packages.  

While on the job, I go into both the wealthiest and the poorest areas of these counties. From what I can tell, the majority of individuals that alter their vehicles to add huge speakers and components of the loudest music systems are African American males. It is rare to see a Caucasian male add this to their vehicle, but it seems they are notorious for taking a four-cylinder import and adding a single muffler that emits a very loud noise that they often abuse, especially taking off from traffic lights.   

Equally responsible for noise pollution are men (and some women) of all races who buy a muscle car with a V8 engine and loud muffler to do the same as the imports — to roar off at traffic lights. In my opinion, the best-mannered drivers are the males and females driving the Ford Mustangs and the worst-mannered are the drivers of electric cars.  

Finally, the claim was made that police only patrol the poor areas. To me, that is patently false. Every day I see sheriff’s deputies from JSO, as well as Nassau, St. Johns, Clay and Flagler counties spending as much time in the poorer neighborhoods as the affluent communities. We are fortunate to have great law enforcement officers that are committed to serving every citizen and visitor in these five counties.  

Eddie Brown, Jacksonville 

Rubio walks the walk for veterans

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio meets with a group of veterans at the American Legion Escambia Post 340 during a visit to Pensacola on Tuesday, April 12, 2022.

I have served alongside the men and women in our military, built life-saving products to protect them and now work to serve those who’ve served us. Having devoted the last several years of my career to ending veteran suicide, I have seen too many veterans who feel like they have been forgotten.   

Our veterans make serious sacrifices for our country — not the least of which is physical wellbeing, mental health and time with family. All too often, they come home to find that the federal government has fallen short of meeting their needs. Politicians often leave them out when creating policy or allocating funds.  

Marco Rubio, however, has proven many times over that he cares for our veterans, honors their service and will never stop working for them.  

In the Senate, Rubio has worked to pass critical legislation to help veterans learn about, train for and find work in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) jobs. As STEM jobs become increasingly needed, this legislation gives our veterans security knowing they have that option.  

Rubio has also worked to create accountability at the VA. Horror stories about veterans waiting too long for care — or not getting the quality care they need — have become all too common. Rubio’s legislation creates a system of accountability, making sure we don’t continue to hear these stories.  

His latest efforts (on legislation for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits) just came to fruition in the Senate and the bill is now headed to the House. These are men and women who have served our nation honorably and they deserve to have presumptive benefits from this exposure.   

As a veteran myself, I’m grateful that Marco Rubio has prioritized the needs of our community in the Senate and I know we can trust him to continue to do so if re-elected.

Nick Howland, Jacksonville City Council at-large member 

Don’t reverse trapping rules 

A raccoon sits in a live trap set by the USDA Wildlife Service in Vermont.

When you or your neighbor hire a wildlife trapper, you generally expect that a box cage live trap will be used — not a dangerous steel-jawed leg hold trap, a body crushing trap or a strangulation snare cable cord device. Until now, those brutal animal torture devices were not allowed in Florida unless you first asked for a Special Use Permit from Florida Fish & Wildlife (FWC).   

Such a process ensured we could trust that our FWC officials knew exactly where these dangerous devices were being set and who was setting them. This safety-net process will vanish forever if the FWC Commission approves pending changes. These brutal torture devices will be allowed permission-free and they can be used anywhere in the state, taking us back to a pre-1972 era when Floridians had clearly rejected this cruelty.  

This is a reckless and dangerous policy, as thousands of Florida pest control companies will use them anywhere and unbeknownst to the public, if they are set a mere 100 feet from a home. Most children can throw a ball that far.  

Science clearly shows that removing or killing “nuisance” animals does not resolve more than 90 percent of the conflicts the public complains about today. Science is also abundantly clear that attractants must be mitigated to resolve these conflicts. Removing animals should always be a last resort.   

The FWC thoughtfully includes this science and practices on their own website. Let’s urge them to adopt more scientific and humane trapping rules for the public and for our wildlife.  

Jessie Miller, EPIC Outreach, Jacksonville 

Act to support Peace Corps volunteers

Thank you for the July 7 article featuring Katherine “Kaydee” Gavron, who is among the first Peace Corps volunteers to return to service overseas since the global COVID pandemic forced the suspension of operations in March 2020.  

The past two years have been an emotional and tragic time for so many. Kaydee’s willingness to join other Peace Corps volunteers in returning to service in Costa Rica is a ray of hope in this difficult period in our recent history.   

Peace Corps volunteers have now returned to more than 20 countries and many more are expected to follow in the near future.  

One way we can all support Kaydee, and other citizen ambassadors of American friendship is to urge members of Congress to support the Peace Corps Reauthorization Act — bi-partisan legislation that is advancing in the House and was recently introduced in the Senate. This legislation provides many provisions to further support volunteers with improvements to ensure better health and safety while honoring their important work once they complete their service with distinction.  

Rep. John Rutherford co-sponsored similar legislation in the last Congress and we hope he will do so again. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Marco Rubio will soon have the Senate version of the legislation before him. We hope he will co-sponsor this bipartisan legislation and see that it passes. The new generation of Peace Corps Volunteers — like Kaydee — deserve no less.  

David & Bernadette Miron, First Coast Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, Atlantic Beach 

Founding Fathers likely spinning over SCOTUS direction

Regarding Jordan Peterson’s guest column of July 10 (“Dobbs doesn’t spell the end of gay rights”), I can’t share his optimism and unjustified trust in the conservative majority. Despite their reassuring pronouncement after overturning Roe — and contrary to Justice Thomas’s unsubtle request to reevaluate precedent-setting cases protecting same-sex intimacy, marriage, and contraception — we can’t be certain they are not targeting those rights.    

After all, Justices Kavanaugh and Gorsuch essentially lied under oath at their confirmation hearings regarding respect for precedent, such as Roe; Barrett was evasive at best. Justice Alito has also not hidden his judicial activism (for which conservatives constantly skewer progressive judges), as he offers a wish list of cases for re-evaluation. 

Thomas’s hypocrisy is further revealed by his dismissal of substantive due process (except for gun ownership) as justification for the protection of abortion rights and by clear inference of same-sex intimacy and marriage. He joins Alito in positing a new interpretation of church-state separation: Failing to support religious activity financially is now equivalent to unconstitutionally discriminating against religion and public funding is required for overtly religious private schools in Maine. The Founding Fathers are likely spinning in their graves.  

The latest Gallup poll shows that public confidence in the court is now at 25 percent — a historic low. That speaks for itself on the issue of trust.  

Michael Miller, Ponte Vedra Beach  

Brush up those resumes, gentlemen

With more horrific shootings reported over the Independence Day weekend, I’m reminded that neither of our two senators, Scott and Rubio, nor Congressman Rutherford, voted for the minimalist gun control legislation that was recently signed into law.   

Of course, this law is not going to prevent all gun violence, but it will clearly save some lives. After all, we have laws against murder and drunk driving, but people still commit those crimes. In addition, none of these men voted for the bill passed last year to provide needed funds for repairing Florida’s infrastructure, and they continually vote against any bills that would improve health care access to Floridians.  

Why did they run for office if they are not going to help improve our health and welfare? Maybe they can find other work after this November’s election.   

Roy Goldman, Jacksonville Beach 

Business owners should help fight litter, too

Why does it seem like so many places of businesses appear to have very little concern as to how their storefront looks? Every day I walk into various Jacksonville stores, passing dirty cups, napkins, masks, cigarette butts and more along the way.

It wouldn’t take long for an employee — or even store owners — to get out there and pick it up. This seems true for large box stores, grocery stores, chain pet shops and the various boutiques around Jacksonville, including Riverside and Avondale.

There are many of us who volunteer our time to pick up litter on a weekly basis. Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone did their part? We can all do better.  

Margo Easter, Jacksonville 

Back to the past on abortion

Being a high school student in the 1960s, before Roe v. Wade, I can attest to the fact that young ladies of means who found themselves in a “family way” went to see grandma for the weekend and all was quietly handled. Young ladies of lesser means were forced to quit school, take on motherhood totally unprepared and often found themselves looking to a future of limited opportunities and often poverty.  

Here we are, 50 years later, and this scenario is destined to repeat itself.  

Rick Mansfield, Ponte Vedra  

Loud music maybe OK in daytime only

I don’t know about everyone else but I don’t like being vibrated out of my bed by someone playing loud music in their vehicle in the middle of the night. I don’t care what kind of music it is — everyone has a right to enjoy some peace and quiet. 

Maybe a compromise would be a requirement to turn it down from dusk to dawn?  

Steve Anderson, Jacksonville 

Black women’s association convening in LR

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Rajula: My epic journey through America

… the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture … Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture … of discrimination and systemic racism. The focus is … that looks into the African American’s interaction with law … RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News

Henrietta Napier Health Expo in Waco

The event commemorates Napier, the first black nurse in Waco, providing resources and other health care needs.

WACO, Texas — Today in Waco, the community had access to a number of health care amenities all under one roof at the Henriette Napier Health Expo.

The event commemorates Napier for being the first black healthcare provider in the city and also offered healthcare resources, COVID vaccines, back to school vaccines and other health resources that Waco residents need.

“The reason why we did this health expo is one to honor Henrietta Napier. She was a pioneer,” Event Organizer Tre Baldwin said. “She’s the first African American registered nurse here to be able to give shots and things of that nature. So we wanted to honor her and what better way to honor her than to do a health expo and celebrate all the resources that we have here in Waco?”

Napier’s daughter Walrietta attended today’s event and was pleased to see the abundance of resources Waco has to offer. She said her mother would’ve felt the same.

“She would be so happy,” Napier said.”Her mission in life, her passion was to take care of people. And you know now at the helm, given all these different ways that they can be given access to healthcare, they give out the resources and all the people have to do is grab all of those resources and she would be so pleased. I am absolutely overwhelmed and know that she would love this event.”

Baldwin says he wants the health expo to become an annual event. Providing health necessities to families is important to him and many others and he says the best way to keep people in the know about their resources is to make them frequently available.

“We just want to continue to provide community advanced and provide health and equity and just provide events to people to understand the resources that we have in Waco. I don’t think people understand the wealth of knowledge and resources that we have healthwise in Waco. So we want to continue to provide those resources and get those things in people’s hands so they can be able to grab the things that they need to have health equity in their health care.”

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