Letters to the Editor

+ Get rid of Obamacare
Dear Editor:
I am in favor of getting rid of Obamacare. It is a nightmare.

• The U.S. Congress who passed it when the Democrats were in charge exempted themselves.
• Nancy Pelosi, who was then Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, exempted businesses in San Francisco, her hometown.
• The Internal Revenue Service, which is enforcing it, is exempt, or they are working part-time.
• Many unions such as the Teamsters and electrical workers (IBEW), who supported Obama originally, are against Obamacare because it would weaken their own heath care.

Those are the facts. 
John J. Clancy
Sarasota

+ Save Beer Can Island?
Dear Editor:
I have walked from Whitney Beach to Beer Can (Greer) Island along the Gulf since 1992, and in the last 10 years or so have seen most of the beach and Australian pines wash away due to sand erosion.  I am writing you now in response to a recent letter to the editor in a recent Longboat Observer paper.

I’ve been following the beach renourishment and Beer Can Island problem for years. Many residents and visitors walk and enjoy the unique natural habitat of Beer Can Island. Do many residents and visitors want to save the rest of the beautiful, natural north end of Longboat Key? I think so.

A year ago I wrote a letter to a local newspaper about the success story of adding a second jetty to the Barnegat Inlet in New Jersey. The jetty totally solved the inlet and erosion problem there, including saving the Barnegat Lighthouse.

There are some local residents and some Longboat Key and county commissioners who are against a second jetty on the south side of the Longboat Pass, saying that it would not work and would destroy the “natural” environment. I’m not a jetty fan, but if a south jetty is not installed soon, there will not be any natural environment or Beer Can Island left to see! It will be washed away. 

In a recent local newspaper article against jetties, a long list of “experts” stated that jetties don’t work. My comment: There are hundreds of two jetty inlets built and operating successfully in the country and just as many organizations that report on their success.

There have been many studies done by private companies and government agencies regarding the pros and cons of single and double jetties. From my reading and actual observation of the success at Barnegat Inlet and the failure at Longboat Key, and as a practical engineer, a second jetty stabilizes the channel and protects the adjacent barrier islands.

I hope logic prevails and we move swiftly toward following the recommendations of our town consultants and install a second jetty at Longboat Pass and save Beer Can Island. 

I also hope the commissioners follow through and renourish the beach in the future with white sand, regardless of cost. 
Herman Kruegle
Longboat Key

+ Sept. 11 tribute thank you
Dear Editor:
Many thanks to Longboat Key for all the time and energy put into the beautiful display of patriotism on Sept. 11! What a pleasure to drive down Gulf of Mexico Drive. Thank you to everyone involved in making that tribute happen each year.
Trudy Mahoney
Longboat Key