Letters to the editor

+ Government should help move forward with ideas
Dear Editor:
I agree with the March 10 letter regarding the lack of cell-phone towers on Longboat Key. It is criminal the way we are treated! Study upon study of various systems and types of towers have been done, without ever gaining a consensus and moving forward. There are options out there, but we can’t seem to agree on one to use … therefore, we don’t do anything. Meanwhile, cell-phone reception continues to be spotty, especially on the north end of the island, and that’s unacceptable.

We get turned down for other things, as well. Example: I understand the past owner of Whitney Beach Plaza went bankrupt (saying he could not understand and/or comply with the unending lists of needs and requirements of the several parts of our governing body) while trying to improve the plaza.

And, now, I understand the new owners are looking at a national pharmacy to anchor the plaza. I hope they don’t get discouraged trying to satisfy requirements and questions of our P&Z and commissioners!
Give them (us) a break!
Carolyn Pol
Longboat Key

+ Cell-phone tower needed on Key
Dear Editor:
Longboat Key is paradise? Longboat is not as good as a Third World country without proper cell-phone reception. Let’s bring Longboat Key into the modern world and out of the Dark Ages and finally erect a cell tower.
John Ciko Jr.
Longboat Key

+ Time to move forward
Dear Editor:
Dr. Murray “Murf” Klauber has been vindicated of unfound accusations, professionally and personally.
It’s time to move forward and focus on the preservation of The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort.

I have lived here with my husband, Murf, at the Colony for 24 years, and such glorious ones they were! We were devoted to making every day extraordinary for our guests.

Incidentally, I lived on Longboat Key for 10 years previously with my late husband, John Bassett. The Bassett family love affair for Longboat Key began in 1968, when we walked the beach daily with our young children from the Far Horizons to the Colony, visiting Toronto friends who were seasonal guests.
This was the same time more than 40 years ago when the Klauber family began operating the Colony.
Later, like so many others on Longboat Key, our family vacationed at The Colony, then bought at Beachplace before building The Players Club. And all this time we watched with delight The Colony flourishing under the direction of Dr. Murf Klauber.

No one in his right mind could have ever conceived of the demise of this truly beloved world-renowned resort. I can’t help but ask: Is there any justice left?
Sue Bassett-Klauber
Longboat Key

+ Unkind remarks blighted evening fundraiser
Dear Editor:
My friend and I attended an evening fundraiser in downtown Sarasota Saturday, March 5. I had a wonderful time until I had the unfortunate experience of sitting next to a man who said he lived in Sarasota.

I said that I lived on Longboat Key. He vehemently stated that he would never live there. Curiously, I asked why, and his answer was that “too many ethnic people live there.” I questioned what he meant by “ethnic people.” He responded non-Gentile!

Uncomfortable and nervous I asked if he meant Jewish, and he replied yes.

Because I am a Jew, I told him I could not continue to sit and talk to him. I explained that one should not judge a group of people, just an individual.

His lady friend was embarrassed and apologized to me and admonished him. My German friend also came to my defense.

Unfortunately, anti-Semitism is alive and well in Florida.
Sherri Gaynor
Longboat Key

+ Anti high-speed rail letter writer got it all wrong
Dear Editor:
One recent contributor wrote that he was grateful to Gov. Rick Scott for averting the high-speed rail project. Nearly everything he stated was incorrect. What about the 25,000 jobs this project would have created? Under former Gov. Jeb Bush, the Legislature was overwhelmingly in favor of the rail system. Of course, that Republican governor was also dead wrong about this venture and promptly vetoed it. The rail system would have benefitted thousands of Floridians and countless tourists. It certainly has nothing to do with any alleged socialist agenda by our present administration in Washington.

It is only common sense to install a high-speed rail system that has the majority of our citizens’ approval, which would create thousands of jobs and benefit countless Floridians. It is a real shame that our right-wing governor believes he knows more than the vast majority of voters. We shall see how he fares. I have no doubt that this is only the beginning of a long line of terrible decisions by Gov. Scott. He will see in four years when he is overwhelmingly voted out of office.
Brad Gabler
Sarasota

+ Beethoven concert critic gets the critic treatment
Dear Editor:
June LeBell’s review of last weekend’s all-Beethoven concert at the Van Wezel simply astounds me. She characterizes the Yevgeny Sudbin playing of the C Minor Piano Concerto as “lacking character and color.” I don’t know what planet LeBell was on during the performance.

We’ve heard this concerto played by some of the best (Rudolph Serkin, Murray Perahia) and have never heard it performed better. Sudbin’s performance was absolutely superb!

I guess LeBell was so busy with her “critique” that she probably didn’t notice the enthusiastic approval of the orchestra players at the end of the concerto. But what do they know? It takes a real critic to evaluate a performance. Hopefully, she will find herself less “bored” at her next concert.
Lolo and Abner Delman
Longboat Key