I want to reinforce Carrie Seidman’s column April 23 on how the property insurance crisis is impacting Sarasota condo residents.
I have been the treasurer of a Sarasota condominium community for over five years and am alarmed at the skyrocketing and out-of-control cost of property insurance and its impact on residents’ well-being.
Most condo associations have just received their bills for next year’s property and flood insurance coverage, and residents are shocked. Costs are up 50% to 100% for many associations.
Opinion:SEIDMAN SAYS: The high cost of ignoring Florida’s insurance crisis
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Even worse, this year’s huge increases have forced many condo associations to levy a special assessment to pay for the unexpected insurance expense. The expected rapid increases in insurance costs will cause significant economic distress to many Sarasota area residents and will reduce housing demand and values.
This existential crisis needs more attention by the Florida state government. It needs to focus on finding solutions to the problem, starting with how to bring large national insurers back into the Florida market.
I’d like to see the governor meeting with the insurance industry to work on solutions rather than traveling all over the world to ready his run for president.
Hans G. Hawrysz, Sarasota
It is really shocking that in 2023 Florida politicians and our own School Board are no longer defending diversity.
Our country was built on the hybrid vigor of people of different religions, ethnicities and colors. We are currently seeming to stifle creativity, change and growth in the name of a type of ultra-conservative retreat to the supposed safety of the past.
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We are the “land of the free.” We believe in freedom for all.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has no reservations. He will force his view of Christianity on the state with the stroke of a pen. Last I heard, Jesus and the pope loved all people, no matter the color or what they do.
Many of us wish love and acceptance to all of you and hope for collaboration and respect in politics and everyday life.
Joan C. Peters, Osprey
My first thought after reading “A blueprint to make New College a true world-class school,” was “You must be kidding.”
Merely change the name, assign grades and address deferred maintenance and, presto, “world-class school.”
I don’t think so.
If you think that folks will feel educationally elevated if “university” is part of the name (Harvard College be damned), or that grades (grossly inflated, no doubt) will magically boost the value of a New College degree, or that fixing a cracked wall or broken sidewalk will suddenly attract more students and heighten esteem in the broader higher education community, you are profoundly deluded.
Opinion:Blueprint to make New College a true world-class school
None of these suggestions in the column by a former New College trustee would add in any meaningful way to the higher education learning experience at New College.
Higher education is all about:
I don’t see any of these characteristics in the author’s “blueprint” – or in the current steps being taken by New College’s interim president and board of trustees.
Kelley Rea, Sarasota
As a Sarasota property owner for 18 years, I have had several occasions where I needed to use the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles office off Clark Road.
It is an absolute joy to go to a new facility, not have to wait and to get treated like a valued paying customer.
I saw in an article April 24 that Florida has the lowest number of state workers per capita of all 50 states and that the DeSantis administration has been approving regular wage increases to keep up with inflation for these workers (“Is DeSantis good or bad for state’s employees?”).
Well, it’s great to see a state bureaucracy that is working for everyone. Dave Voss, Sarasota
The Earth Day article on April 22, page A8, while interesting, missed the most important point of all.
If we don’t get the full cooperation of India, China and many other nations, the USA will simply commit economic suicide and will not save the planet. We are all in this together.
Carroll Williams, Sarasota