Re: A city’s spectacular One Stop Flop | Editorial, May 10
Our Fort Lauderdale leaders have finally woken up! In March 2022, they voted to turn over a pricey piece of land to a private developer for up to 100 years for a concert venue and marketplace.
At the time, the Sun Sentinel reported, Commissioner Steve Glassman said: “They have to show us proof of financing within 90 days … In this market, we’re not going to have a white elephant. This has to be completed in three years. If it’s not done we take it over. We own it.”
City of Fort Lauderdale
The 90-day provision is Section 4.1 of the city’s comprehensive agreement with One Stop FTL, found on Page 9.
Fast forward: After three years, the site remains vacant, fenced and undeveloped.
One would think that our city leaders long ago would have terminated the agreement and sought alternatives for the 3.3-acre site. Wrong. Instead, they now want to give the developer even more time before calling it a day.
This despite incomplete, nonsensical statements by the developer regarding financing.
Not only wasn’t financing obtained within 90 days, but the project is not complete after three years.
Elected officials owe it to their constituents to adopt two fundamental principles: Actions speak louder than words, and say what you mean and mean what you say. It is time, perhaps, for the Fort Lauderdale City Commission to consider pulling the plug.
Howard A. Tescher, Fort Lauderdale
Defeat the SAVE Act
I write to express my concerns regarding the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which has passed the House and is under review in the Senate.
As a voter, I believe it’s crucial to stand against this bill and its unnecessary barriers to voting. The SAVE Act would require voters to provide documentation proving citizenship when registering to vote. While the integrity of our voting process is crucial, the SAVE Act would create unnecessary barriers to voting, particularly for marginalized communities.
Americans who register are already required to affirm citizenship, as mandated by the 15th and 19th Amendments and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which sought to end racial discrimination in voting.
The SAVE Act unnecessarily burdens citizens who may not have required documentation, such as married women who have changed their names, military families who move often, and people affected by natural disasters who have lost vital documents.
This bill disproportionately affects communities of color. Research shows that Blacks are three times more likely than whites to lack essential forms of ID such as birth certificates, passports or naturalization certificates. The costs and logistical challenges of obtaining documents will create significant voting barriers, particularly in historically marginalized communities.
Senators, reject the SAVE Act and ensure that the right to vote remains accessible to all eligible citizens.
M. Theolene Johnson, Fort Lauderdale
Save the basketball courts
Please save the beach basketball courts in Fort Lauderdale.
I’m so sick of knee- and ankle-destroying pickle ball courts everywhere.
Jim Guarino, Sunrise
An inconvenient fact
In his Viewpoint essay, Shervin Pishevar’s effusive praise for how Donald Trump’s rollback of Biden administration regulations allows Florida small businesses to flourish conveniently leaves out a crucial detail that undermines his case.
Tariffs.
Trump’s ill-conceived, misguided tariff policy is strangling thousands of small businesses across the country. Many have their products made overseas and can’t afford to pay what are now exorbitant taxes, wrought by Trump.
Leaving out this inconvenient fact torpedoes his argument.
Scott Benarde, West Palm Beach
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