Yes, a pedestrian overpass would be ideal at the intersection of International Drive and Sand Lake Road. Both vehicles and a large number of people are contributing factors to the congestion bottleneck. However, a price tag of $36 million? A little grandiose, huh? What does it mean that the International Drive Redevelopment District is funding it? Bonds? Taxes? If this isn’t eligible for funding from the Tourist Development Tax, I’m not sure what is. However, I’m certain it won’t qualify due to the complicated expenditure restrictions, which is ridiculous.
Orlando’s Don Duenes
The Sunday letter’s response to the ICE raids serves as a stark reminder that those who are unable to recall the past are destined to repeat it. A different form of vigilance that does remember the past is warranted by the particular context of President Trump’s activities in Los Angeles, even though the letter writer recalls National Guard deployments in the 1960s and 1970s without democracy dying.
Reducing violence is not the issue; local law enforcement is capable of handling it. The use of federal military and Marine personnel against protesting civilians, especially those opposing government agency acts like ICE, is concerning. Andrews accurately points out that the right to peaceful assembly is protected by the First Amendment. It is true that violent or property-damaging acts, such as shattering curbs or hurling Molotov cocktails, are not acceptable. Conflating the peaceful aims and constitutional rights of the great majority of protesters with the despicable acts of a small number of people is a risky misconception. It would be a fundamental misinterpretation of the basis of free assembly to dismiss hundreds of peaceful voices because of the actions of a violent fringe.
The demise of democracy is frequently a slow deterioration of civil liberties rather than an abrupt collapse. Executive power creates a dangerous precedent when it goes too far, circumventing local government and seeming to use military-style force against political dissent. People who are alarmed are not being too enthusiastic; rather, they are aware of this subtle but serious danger. In order to ensure that the spirit of our Republic actually triumphs, true respect for the Constitution entails defending the freedom to peacefully demonstrate against an excessive federal response.
McPherson, JoelIsland of Merritt
An essential detail that highlights the root of the outrage is overlooked in Sunday’s letter regarding ICE raids.
The National Guard’s involvement in significant riots during the 1960s and early 1970s was mentioned by the author. He did not, however, note that the Guard was particularly requested by the governors of those states and was not imposed on them without the president’s consent at the time.
Leatherwood, DaleMary of Lake
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s current wastewater regulations, according to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, are causing water pollution that is killing manatees’ main food source and causing toxic algae blooms (Federal court refuses to halt Florida manatee requirements, June 19).
Given that septic systems are among the documented causes of the lagoon’s present bad health, it is quite unbelievable that our state is battling to obtain permits to install additional septic systems anywhere close to the Indian River Lagoon!
The Cocoa Beach Jim Torpey
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