Saturday: Student-athletes, 'overtourism' and more

Friday
Dec 15, 2017 at 7:00 PM

Local teams win in sports and in the classroom

As a retired classroom teacher and high school football and baseball coach from Monroe County who relocated to Sarasota two years ago, I would like to take a minute to praise the student-athletes and coaches in Sarasota County.

I attended several Venice High School football games, and it was more than a pleasure to watch Coach Peacock and his staff guide a group of inspired Indians to a state championship in Class 7A. The Venice girls volleyball team and the Riverview High swim team took home state championships as well.

For all these accomplishments on the field and court and in the pool, a more important accomplishment cannot be ignored. The FHSAA yearly sponsors an Academic Team Challenge. After fall sports were completed, many Sarasota County high school athletic teams ranked very high in the state.

In Boys cross country, North Port attained a 3.701 GPA and Venice a 3.333, In Girls cross country, North Port attained a 3.690 and Venice a 3.821. In football, North Port achieved a 3.267 and Venice a 3.043 GPA.

While winning championships on the field of play is important, obviously winning in the classroom means a lot to these student-athletes and coaches as well.

Jeffery Meyers, Sarasota

'Overtourism' is wrecking Sarasota's way of life

I'm with Amsterdam, Venice, Rome and Barcelona. As in those cities, "overtourism" in Sarasota — and Florida — is wrecking our normal way of life with clogged roads, impassable and worn out streets, and elbow-to-elbow crowds in stores.

When you can't get into Trader Joe's parking lot — and others — and the  inventory looks like it's been hit by locusts, something is just not right.

Why is the world would Governor Scott need $24 million more for tourism? Put that money into economic development and build a substantial business base with career opportunities.

Then maybe we could keep loyal year-rounders, many of them young, and develop a stable living environment so that restaurants, cultural entities, and retail stores aren't so dependent on "the season."

I'm thinking of going north for the winter.

Marilyn Watkins, Sarasota

Drivers don't obey rules of the road

Would it be possible for citizens in Sarasota, Bradenton and surrounding communities to please obey the rules of the road?

Driving the posted speed limit, using your turn signals when changing lanes or turning, actually stopping at stop signs, stopping for pedestrians, staying in your lane, etc., are not suggestions. These are the laws!

For example, University Parkway has a speed limit of 50 mph. I've seen people going well over 80 on that road! Slow down!

Denise Benson, Sarasota

Ringling depicts skewed image of Middle East destruction

I was disappointed by the Ringling Museum exhibit titled "Aftermath: The Fallout of War — America and the Middle East." The section depicting devastation of Palestinian areas is venomous in its selective, anti-Israel myopia, depicting destruction and bloodshed as a result of the "Israeli offensive" against Hamas-controlled Gaza.

The exhibit presents no image of the thousands of missiles launched from Gaza, the area administered by the terror group Hamas, into the Israeli town of Sderot. No depiction of even one of the many Sderot children who developed PTSD. No pictures of Sderot's wrecked houses. No pictures of Sderot residents killed when they could not reach shelter in the seven to 15 seconds from a red-alert siren to the moment the rockets land.

Not a single image showed any of the thousands of leaflets, or the non-exploding projectiles, dropped by Israeli aircraft to warn inhabitants to evacuate buildings targeted for attack.

What of the human costs of conflict borne by Gazans for the Hamas terror regime? Hamas instructed Gazans to ignore Israeli warnings and forbade Gazans to evacuate targeted areas.

Hamas summarily executed Gazans for suspected political dissent. Hamas threw men off tall building rooftops for suspected homosexuality. Photographs and video are easily found documenting this, but on this the exhibit's "artists" present nothing.

By sponsoring such a skewed exhibit, the Ringling debases itself as a political shill for those who devalue human life. This is not fine art; this is propaganda.

J. Michael Jaffe, Delray Beach

Thanks for standing up for the printed word

Thank you, Carrie Seidman, for your wonderful column about newspapers. Your column reveals the care and concern you have for your printed words.

I am definitely pro-print. I look forward to getting my Herald-Tribune every morning, as well as the Cleveland Press when I am in Ohio.

With my coffee at hand, I enjoy reading the paper from front to back, including all political columns and letters to the editors, albiet with the comics to keep me smiling every day. Long Live The Printed Press!

Gloria Zuber, Sarasota

Friday
Dec 15, 2017 at 7:00 PM

Local teams win in sports and in the classroom

As a retired classroom teacher and high school football and baseball coach from Monroe County who relocated to Sarasota two years ago, I would like to take a minute to praise the student-athletes and coaches in Sarasota County.

I attended several Venice High School football games, and it was more than a pleasure to watch Coach Peacock and his staff guide a group of inspired Indians to a state championship in Class 7A. The Venice girls volleyball team and the Riverview High swim team took home state championships as well.

For all these accomplishments on the field and court and in the pool, a more important accomplishment cannot be ignored. The FHSAA yearly sponsors an Academic Team Challenge. After fall sports were completed, many Sarasota County high school athletic teams ranked very high in the state.

In Boys cross country, North Port attained a 3.701 GPA and Venice a 3.333, In Girls cross country, North Port attained a 3.690 and Venice a 3.821. In football, North Port achieved a 3.267 and Venice a 3.043 GPA.

While winning championships on the field of play is important, obviously winning in the classroom means a lot to these student-athletes and coaches as well.

Jeffery Meyers, Sarasota

'Overtourism' is wrecking Sarasota's way of life

I'm with Amsterdam, Venice, Rome and Barcelona. As in those cities, "overtourism" in Sarasota — and Florida — is wrecking our normal way of life with clogged roads, impassable and worn out streets, and elbow-to-elbow crowds in stores.

When you can't get into Trader Joe's parking lot — and others — and the  inventory looks like it's been hit by locusts, something is just not right.

Why is the world would Governor Scott need $24 million more for tourism? Put that money into economic development and build a substantial business base with career opportunities.

Then maybe we could keep loyal year-rounders, many of them young, and develop a stable living environment so that restaurants, cultural entities, and retail stores aren't so dependent on "the season."

I'm thinking of going north for the winter.

Marilyn Watkins, Sarasota

Drivers don't obey rules of the road

Would it be possible for citizens in Sarasota, Bradenton and surrounding communities to please obey the rules of the road?

Driving the posted speed limit, using your turn signals when changing lanes or turning, actually stopping at stop signs, stopping for pedestrians, staying in your lane, etc., are not suggestions. These are the laws!

For example, University Parkway has a speed limit of 50 mph. I've seen people going well over 80 on that road! Slow down!

Denise Benson, Sarasota

Ringling depicts skewed image of Middle East destruction

I was disappointed by the Ringling Museum exhibit titled "Aftermath: The Fallout of War — America and the Middle East." The section depicting devastation of Palestinian areas is venomous in its selective, anti-Israel myopia, depicting destruction and bloodshed as a result of the "Israeli offensive" against Hamas-controlled Gaza.

The exhibit presents no image of the thousands of missiles launched from Gaza, the area administered by the terror group Hamas, into the Israeli town of Sderot. No depiction of even one of the many Sderot children who developed PTSD. No pictures of Sderot's wrecked houses. No pictures of Sderot residents killed when they could not reach shelter in the seven to 15 seconds from a red-alert siren to the moment the rockets land.

Not a single image showed any of the thousands of leaflets, or the non-exploding projectiles, dropped by Israeli aircraft to warn inhabitants to evacuate buildings targeted for attack.

What of the human costs of conflict borne by Gazans for the Hamas terror regime? Hamas instructed Gazans to ignore Israeli warnings and forbade Gazans to evacuate targeted areas.

Hamas summarily executed Gazans for suspected political dissent. Hamas threw men off tall building rooftops for suspected homosexuality. Photographs and video are easily found documenting this, but on this the exhibit's "artists" present nothing.

By sponsoring such a skewed exhibit, the Ringling debases itself as a political shill for those who devalue human life. This is not fine art; this is propaganda.

J. Michael Jaffe, Delray Beach

Thanks for standing up for the printed word

Thank you, Carrie Seidman, for your wonderful column about newspapers. Your column reveals the care and concern you have for your printed words.

I am definitely pro-print. I look forward to getting my Herald-Tribune every morning, as well as the Cleveland Press when I am in Ohio.

With my coffee at hand, I enjoy reading the paper from front to back, including all political columns and letters to the editors, albiet with the comics to keep me smiling every day. Long Live The Printed Press!

Gloria Zuber, Sarasota

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