Renting in ‘cost-burdened’ South Florida | Letters to the editor

Living as a renter in South Florida is hard enough, but seeing the situation reported in print is a painful confirmation (“Renters feel the squeeze in South Florida,” March 21).

Having lived my adult life (a considerable amount of time) in Manhattan, L.A. and South Florida, I find it a bit shocking that Florida is the most unaffordable of the three.

I had to move four times here in the past six years, as landlords raised rents beyond my means. Each time, I downsized to a smaller place. At this point, I don’t even unpack the boxes.

Full disclosure: I’m a senior citizen, living alone with Social Security my only income. I worked my entire life and saved for the “golden years,” but everything goes to rent.

When I look through listings online for what I need at prices I can afford, the cupboard is bare. A lot of somebodys seem to have enough money to rent at these prices. Some work several jobs, I assume, and others have well-paying jobs, but there also appears to be an inordinate number of deep pockets down here.

Tracy Anton, Hollywood

Fear not, Mr. Trump

Donald Trump has nothing whatsoever to fear.

His accusers will never ever see one penny of the monetary damages awarded to them by the courts in New York and Georgia. The district attorneys in both cases shall likely come to regret prosecuting the former president for any wrongdoing, when in fact there wasn’t any.

Erik H. Schot, Ph.D., Lauderdale-by-the-Sea

Tracy Anton, Hollywood

What motivates a person to become a Democratic Party volunteer? Fellowship with like-minded people? Shock at Tallahassee Republicans’ culture wars, their targeting of minorities, their attacks on home rule, on our voting rights, and our bodies?

Or the real chance, especially in Palm Beach County, that we can elect people who put human needs first?

Every volunteer is precious. I hope Mindy Koch, newly reinstated as chair of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party, will return with a mandate to encourage and respect all Democratic volunteers, regardless of their age, “centrist” or “progressive” orientation, or location in the county.

Personal grudges should hold no sway. Name calling and simplistic, inaccurate portrayals of our internal affairs should stop right now.

Our county’s new retirees, formerly a Democratic power source, now trend Republican. The Palm Beach County Democratic Party must make special efforts to accommodate younger members, such as Vice Chair Sean Rourk, who are working or studying and raising families.

We must grow and learn new skills to win. We must welcome all.

I am privileged to know party members on both sides of the Koch controversy.  Even as it played out, we were doing the work together, cooperating and respecting each other. There is joy in the work.

I urge readers to search the Palm Beach County Democratic Party or Florida Democratic Party websites for “Volunteer Activities,” and join us.

H. Joan Waitkevicz, M.D., West Palm Beach

Tragedy at Key Bridge

I have heard no mention about how the bridge disaster in Baltimore could have been prevented.

I have heard only that the incident will have an extremely negative effect on vehicle and shipping traffic and it will be expensive to repair and take a long time. Too often we operate in crisis mode after an event such as this occurs.

The chance of what happened was small, but the consequences huge. An ounce of prevention could have helped.

One idea is to have a tugboat or two stationed at the bridge to steer a ship that, for whatever reason, cannot self-navigate under the bridge. Existing tug owners in the area could alternate coverage and would be paid for that. Perhaps the cost of prevention would have been much less than the cost in lost lives, repairing the extensive damage and rebuilding the economy.

Carl Schneider, Delray Beach