Page 5 - Florida Sentinel 1-22-21

Editorial
FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN
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Letter To The Editor
Hillsborough County Commissioners Should Vote Against The MacDill Ferry
The Hillsborough County Commission will once again be asked to resurrect a prior agree- ment to consider a ferry between Gibsonston and MacDill Air Force Base that was defeated by a previous County Commis- sion.
The reason the previ- ous County Commission voted down the agree- ment was the enormous cost of tax payer dollars to buy or build the boats and the docks. This project started in 2012 and the agreement has been mod- ified 11 times with an av- erage cost of $2 million each time it is modified. That is $22 million for agreement modifications. Now, they will be asking for yet another modifica- tion at $2 million.
Environmental issues, red tape and funding is- sues stalled this project for years and it continues. Those in support of the Ferry would tell you that the cost to Hillsborough
County is $36 million which is absolutely wrong. The cost to Hills- borough County is much more.
Where would this money come from? It would come from an al- ready strapped County budget that will take a major hit in the coming years because of the Coro- navirus. Commis- sioners will need to figure out how to meet the needs of the citizens of the County without this proj- ect.
Who will suffer the most? The citizens throughout the County that need social services and other services, who have endured the pain of this Coronavirus pan- demic. These suffering citizens would never uti- lize the ferry because the advocate states that the ferry will move only 2,000 cars off of our roads daily. That is a mis- erably meager number considering the number
of cars that use our roads daily.
There are so many other needs that will re- quire far more funds than a ferry. Take under con- sideration that the voters passed a tax for trans- portation needs in 2018 that is still tied up in the State’s Supreme Court be- cause of legal challenges. If the Court strikes down that tax, the funding bur- den on Commissioners will be backbreaking. Spending money on this ferry has no public bene- fit.
Hillsborough County Commissioners must take this ferry project off the table forever. If the pri- vate sector wants this ferry project in Hillsbor- ough County, let them pay for it.
LESLEY “LES” MILLER, JR. SANDRA MURMAN Retired Chairman Retired Hillsborough County Commissioner Hillsborough County Commission
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C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
Law Enforcement Part Of Raid On Capitol
We found ourselves wondering where were the rubber bullets, tear gas and batons used on peacefully protesting Black Lives Matter (BLM) protestors when the ma- rauding white protestors attacked the Capitol two weeks ago?
Millions of Black and White Americans have been asking the same question. We also saw President Donald Trump urging White protestors to march on the Capitol to let their feelings be known. Months earlier he condoned the assault on peaceful BLM protestors so he could go to St. John’s Epis- copal Church for a photo-op while holding a Bible upside down.
There is no doubt that President Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and Congressman Mo Brooks were complicit in the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington, D. C. Investi- gations into the complicity of other members of Congress, Capitol police officers and staff are being undertaken as well. (Complicity is “state of being involved with others in an illegal activity of wrongdoing,” which makes a person part of the problem.).
However, we are most concerned about the involvement of active and retired law enforcement and military persons in the attack of the Capitol. Since the death of George Floyd, we have called attention to the involvement and membership of some law enforcement officers in hate groups, hate group chat rooms, and infiltration of hate group members in law en- forcement agencies.
Indeed, Capitol police officers, sheriff deputies and high- way patrolmen have been identified as part of the group that raided or provided access to the Capitol. Ten years ago, the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned of the problem of white supremacists infiltrating local and state law enforce- ment organizations, which posed a threat to national secu- rity.
While we repeat the FBI’s warning, we are concerned about everyone who participated in the assault on the Capitol. Of persons who have been arrested, there were bankers, re- tired military, real estate brokers, firefighters, senior citi- zens, business owners and CEOs, the son of a county Supreme Court judge and our neighbors.
Though we know the majority of Americans are peaceful and law abiding, we must make sure there will be a forceful response to Americans who even think about attacking elected officials and national monuments.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2021 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY PAGE 5-A