Withlacoochee land swap

Florida forestry official questioned DeSantis-backed swap of state forest to golf company | Sept. 13

My family has been exploring Withlacoochee State Forest for over 50 years. I still have the old canoe my dad bought when I was born. We used it to travel the Withlacoochee River, and still do. From grandparents to grandchildren, we all have experienced the wonders of the state forest.

As a Floridian who believes in good government and protecting public lands, I am outraged that Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet would give 324 acres of the state forest to a company that builds golf courses. The 324 acres would be swapped for land in Levy County that is in pine tree production. Yes, the Levy County land has more acreage. But the land in the state forest has incredible potential for restoration and is part of a valuable wildlife corridor. The acreage numbers don’t tell the whole story. I might try to trick my grandchildren and offer them four nickels for their $1 bill. That does not mean the swap is a good deal.

Public lands purchased with public dollars allocated for conservation or nature-based recreation need to stay public and stay in conservation use. Once we have those public lands, we need to manage them for their highest ecological value. We need to work tirelessly to connect them to other public lands. This land swap does not do that. It is rotten and a step backward. Even my grandkids can see that. They will keep that dollar.

Joe Murphy, Ridge Manor

Floridians support abortion

Florida abortion advocates shouldn’t misstate the current law and exceptions | Column, Sept. 13

While abortion exceptions for rape and the life of the mother exist, anyone who digs deeper knows that legal exceptions do nothing but make abortion bans appear more reasonable than they are. While exceptions might sound good on paper, in practice, they serve to further traumatize women and prevent them from getting the health care they need.

For instance, some states with strict abortion bans — but with exceptions for rape — report very few abortions due to rape. Why? Because rape survivors must provide official documentation such as a police report or medical record as evidence of their rape (even though estimates conclude only around 25% of rapes are reported). And pregnant women experiencing miscarriage have shared their stories of being denied the care they need.

The majority of Floridians agree that abortion should be legal until a fetus is viable. It’s time to get extreme politicians like state Rep. Mike Beltran, R.-Riverview, out of women’s private health care decisions.

Maya Ellis, Tampa

Yes on 4

Florida abortion advocates shouldn’t misstate the current law and exceptions | Column, Sept. 13

I fled Florida to end a wanted pregnancy at 16 weeks. It was a boy. A boy we had prayed and planned for. My husband and I learned at an early anatomy scan that our growing boy had numerous multi-system issues that would consign him to a lifetime of surgeries, pain and confusion (that is if he made it through pregnancy and birth). The pain is indescribable when having to ask yourself: Do I sentence my growing boy to a life filled with so much pain, or do I end the pregnancy before he could feel any pain at all?

My husband and I determined a termination for medical reasons most aligned with our values. Had this happened before the fall of Roe v. Wade, we would have been able to receive care by our trusted doctors, at an in-network hospital. I would have recovered in the comfort of my own home. I would have been able to bring my son’s remains home without the nightmare of the logistics of an out-of-state hospital. Instead, I was forced to leave the state to receive the care I needed to do right by my boy.

Voting yes on Amendment 4 restores the rights protected in Roe v. Wade and allows families to make decisions best for them. Voting yes on Amendment 4 reduces the barriers to care for families like mine. So often we associate abortion with words like “irresponsible, young and promiscuous” and never do we consider words like “health care, mother and crisis.”

Ariel Okhah, Surfside

Stay in your lane

Florida abortion advocates shouldn’t misstate the current law and exceptions | Column, Sept. 13

Old white guy here! Why is it that some of the loudest “subject matter experts” on abortion are elderly white men? There is an anti-Amendment 4 commercial currently airing that has a picture of three old white guys who paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to tell us their position on abortion. On Sunday, the Times published a guest column from a younger Harvard-educated man, but he is still a man. Being an Ivy League grad is not the flex it used to be either. I can rattle off a list of male Ivy League politicians that I wouldn’t follow across the street, never mind consulting them on a health care matter. Maybe men are more qualified to be subject matter experts on vasectomies? We never hear anything about that.

Terrence S. Callahan, Crystal Beach

Heavy-handed response

Dems seek DOJ probe of DeSantis actions | Sept. 13

It’s not surprising that Democrats are questioning Gov. Ron DeSantis’ moves to revalidate the signatures used to put the abortion amendment on the November ballot. They’re the opposition party and feel a responsibility to call out questionable actions by the governor. What is surprising is that many of DeSantis’ party are also uncomfortable with his heavy-handed actions. Using his special election integrity police force to go after alleged fraud at this late date makes no sense, and it’s not a good look when all deadlines to check and recheck the signatures have long passed. At this late date, calling into question validated signatures looks more like political harassment than policing for voting integrity.

Jon Crawfurd, Gulfport

Welfare for businesses?

Let’s have a conversation about food stamps, a great program that provides a supplement to hardworking individuals. Does the food stamp program support the worker or the business that pays the worker?

The food stamp program allows some businesses to pay a less-than-livable wage to their workers, which then allows that business to make more money for their shareholders. Food stamps allow their employees to meet their basic needs, the ones they cannot afford because they aren’t being paid a livable wage.

Taxing workers and using that tax money to subsidize a company’s labor costs is wrong.

Douglas Duncan, Largo