Should have been charged

Prosecutors drop charges in St. Pete crash that killed pedestrian, bicyclist | March 12

The police say that the driver involved in this double-fatal crash was going 72 mph in a 45-mph zone when he ran a red light and killed two people. If there is sufficient evidence to prove either that this driver was traveling at well more than 20 mph above the speed limit or that he ran a red light, then the evidence is sufficient to support a verdict of vehicular homicide and, if there is sufficient evidence of both or even only of his greatly excessive speed, then it is sufficient to support a verdict of second-degree murder. Neither of these offenses requires that the perpetrator be under the influence of alcohol or any other drug or that he intended to harm anyone. I practiced exclusively criminal law for more than 25 years as an assistant Florida attorney general, and I do not buy the explanations for not prosecuting this driver attributed to the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney’s Office in this article.

At least one of the victims was Black and the other was homeless, while their killer is a young adult white male whose work ethic is admirable but whose driving judgment appears poor, as evidenced by his recent traffic offenses. The victims’ family members comments are valid; this young man remains free to continue to drive recklessly and threaten the lives of others on the road. The state attorney should reconsider his decision in this case.

Susan Dunlevy, Tampa

Make it stop

Prosecutors drop charges in St. Pete crash that killed pedestrian, bicyclist | March 12

At what point do we say enough? The police say a man with a bad driving record runs a red light, kills two people and walks away with just another ticket. Why? If a man waves a gun and it goes off and kills a police officer, do you think the prosecutor would let him walk because he had no “criminal intent”?

Robert Griendling, St. Petersburg

Run on sun time

Why daylight saving time is bad for your health | Perspective, March 10

Twice-yearly government-mandated jet lag is stupid and dangerous. All living things are naturally oriented to the phases of the sun. Let’s stay on sun time! Many studies have shown daylight saving time increases car crashes and other mayhem. Driving in greater Tampa Bay is dangerous enough without adding cranky, groggy drivers to the mix. As an 8-year-old, I walked half a mile to school alone in the pitch black dark because of FDR’s “war time.” (Mother could not go with me because my 2-year-old brother was still asleep.) Decades later, when we lived in San Jose, California, a girl was raped on her way to high school in the dark. Infants, schoolchildren, parents and dairy farmers will also appreciate a stable clock time oriented to nature. Keep sun time.

Ann Beaman, St. Petersburg

Lock whom up?

Putin’s crackdown: A lonely nerd. A poet. | March 10

I, for one, would love to see a journalist ask former President Donald Trump if he knew who Vladimir Rumyantsev, Artyom Kamardin and Viktoria Petrova were? When he hemmed and hawed and said that from their names they sounded like they might be victims, like he is, of the witch hunts against him, the reporter could politely inform him that they were Russian citizens who just disagreed with President Vladimir Putin and were locked up. The reporter could follow up by asking if the former president agreed with that policy, since it seemed to be his “battle cry” over the years.

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David Lubin, Tampa

The records are public

Record sought; cops called | March 10

Is it an ignorance of public records laws, or an arrogance bordering on entitlement among public officials, elected or otherwise? If Personnel Chief Robbie Northrop’s treatment of a Times journalist’s legitimate request for public records was an aberration, perhaps he could be counseled or even sanctioned by his management, or assigned other duties? This does not seem to be an outlier, however; rather, it’s consistent with other Florida public officials’ efforts to apply an SPF 400 barrier against our sunshine laws. Limiting police citizens’ review boards? Governor’s travel records? Keeping our public universities’ leadership candidates’ identities hidden from the public until the institution decides on three finalists? Against this backdrop, Northrop’s reaction to a journalist’s questioning of his absolute authority is better understood. Thank you, Tampa Bay Times, for questioning authority.

Roger Roach, Pinellas Park

Attending to common sense

Should Pinellas reward average school grades? | Editorial, March 9

Let me get this straight, we need incentives to keep kids in school. Not so long ago, the Times published an article about a veracious young reader. Here’s the kicker, the kid couldn’t read when he graduated high school. I’ll pause while you chew on that for a moment. So the question is: What steps should be taken to keep students engaged? Common sense would indicate a caring guardian should stand on their neck. Or here’s a thought: Give kids free stuff, like pizza and free designer sneakers. Better yet, cash incentives for attendance. When will school administrations wake up and focus their limited resources on the students who need and better yet want to get an education? I wonder if the schools in China or Russia are pushing standardized mediocrity?

Mark H. Campbell, St. Petersburg

The first woman president

Women’s quiet leadership | Letter, March 8

The letter writer is correct about perhaps we may already have had a woman president. For one year and five months, Edith Wilson oversaw her husband’s (Woodrow Wilson) presidential affairs while he recovered from his illness. As the White House website puts it: “After the president suffered a severe stroke, she pre-screened all matters of state, functionally running the executive branch of government for the remainder of Wilson’s second term.”

Carlos J. DeCisneros, Tampa

Not my values

Lawmakers’ long to-do list | March 10

So let’s be sure we understand Florida GOP Legislature’s values. It’s OK for a parent to spend my tax-funded school voucher to take the family to Disney World as a “field trip,” or buy a trampoline for physical education, but not OK for the government to cover the parent taking the children to a doctor because, sometime in the future, it just might cost me tax dollars for their Medicaid policies. Have I got that right? If so, those are some really warped values.

Stephen Phillips, St. Petersburg

Hands off my clocks

Why daylight saving time is bad for your health | Perspective, March 10

Leave my clocks alone!

Michael Hare, Seminole

The victims are dead

Inmates often outlive judges | March 11

Yes, some inmates outlive the judges who sentenced them to be executed. Here’s a more significant fact: All inmates on death row outlive the victims of their crimes.

Jon Russell, St. Petersburg

Mocking is not presidential

What a doctor sees when Biden hesitates | Column, March 12

As a certified speech and language pathologist, I was thoroughly disgusted to hear former President Donald Trump mock President Biden and 3 million Americans who have stuttering issues. Stuttering is a painful speech disorder, and those who stutter can demonstrate tremendous difficulty with communication every day. If a school-age child were caught ridiculing another student for a disability, he would be disciplined. This is not the first time Trump has mocked those with disabilities. If we don’t tolerate cruelty in children why should we accept it from a grown adult who is asking us to let him represent all Americans, including those with disabilities.

Jacqueline E. Farrell, Palm Harbor

My three dollars’ worth

Money in politics

Why is it that money seems to be all that is required to win an election? All day long I receive requests from both Republicans and Democrats saying for just $3 I can help win the next election. I don’t send any of them anything. I want to hear what their agenda is and what they promise to do when they are elected. And if they are up for reelection, I want to hear the promises they made before they were elected and see what their actions were to accomplish these past promises, whether they were successful or not. And if it shows them to be honest, I might send them the $3 they think will make a difference.

E. Seward, Odessa

Can a fool be shrewd, too?

The GOP’s third gamble on Trump | A Wall Street Journal editorial, March 7

The editorial column from The Wall Street Journal made some interesting and accurate points regarding the baggage that comes with having former President Donald Trump as the Republican nominee for a third consecutive time. Additionally, I agree that this country is sturdy enough to withstand the next five years, regardless of the outcome of the election come November. What I take exception with is the lazy aside “especially after the Biden inflation.” The inflation issue is global. It was the predictable result of coming out of a global pandemic. Nothing more, nothing less.

The reliably conservative Wall Street Journal might try to hang that on President Joe Biden, but I have this question for them: Which is it, is he a doddering old fool who can’t get out of his own way or is he the shrewd manipulator who has caused the entire world to suffer inflation, has organized a “witch hunt” encompassing an independent prosecutor and several regional prosecutors not related in any way to the federal government, not to mention the vast “Biden crime family” that evidently there seems to be very little evidence of? Which is it?

Terry R. Arnold, Treasure Island