Letters to the editor

Tennis Center is a crown jewel

Dear Editor:

I was pleased to read that some town commissioners and our town manager finally recognized a crown jewel of our town — the public tennis center. 

Without a doubt, it is a strong draw for people who choose to live here, visit here, retire here. 

Clearly, the town spends considerable money on the other parks and recreation facilities, without any returning revenue. The tennis center deserves support from this commission. It is long overdue.

John S. Beeman 

Longboat Key

It’s obvious: Support the tennis center

Dear Editor:

A fall on the court; rotator-cuff surgery; I can’t play tennis, can’t swim; I can’t do a lot of things I want to do, but none of that will stop me from speaking up for that which is so obvious, because unless we all do, the obvious
will be obviated and the need to expand and support the Longboat Key Public Tennis Center will be listened to but not heard, or is it heard but not listened to?  

Please print all the letters of support.

Beverly Shapiro

Longboat Key

Tennis center is second only to the beaches

Dear Editor:

We are concerned that the non-tennis-playing residents of Longboat Key may not appreciate the added value the public tennis center provides for all residents.  

If tourism and its subsequent influence in real estate appreciation is an objective, as David Gutridge mentioned, the appeal and availability of a tennis facility is probably second only to the beaches as an attraction and benefit. And with the demise of the Colony, the tennis center is the only game in town.

Bonnie & Neil Marcuson

Longboat Key

Tennis center actually a small cost to town

Dear Editor:

You reported that the Longboat Key Public Tennis Center had operational expenses of $173,313 in 2013-2014. But this is only part of the story. The revenue has seldom been reported in stories about the tennis center. 

It is understandable that past stories would not report revenue because it was hidden away in the town financial report. So the whole story is this: In 2013, revenue was $561,221, with expenses of $573,353, resulting in a net cost to the town of $12,130. 

This a great deal compared to the parks department budget that cost the town $213,471 in 2013.

Many thanks to the town manager for bringing both the revenue, expenses and true cost of the Tennis Center to light.

Bill Vancelette

Longboat Key

Tennis deserves to be preserved

Dear Editor:

As a former member of the Longboat Key Public Tennis Center who has recently moved off of Longboat Key, I am encouraged that some of the elected officials of the town are considering helping the tennis center to continue to thrive.  

My husband and I love this facility, and our decision to leave Longboat for a home in Sarasota was made despite the sad fact that we will be farther away from the tennis center. We may very well join the ranks of friends who commute onto the island to play at the center. 

The friendliness of the staff and players and the well-maintained courts have certainly added much to our time on Longboat. We consider it one of the jewels of the island, deserving to be well preserved and certainly an enticement to visitors and residents alike.

Jean Goetze

Sarasota

We need to spread ‘parallels of history’

Dear Editor:

Thank you for “The Parallels of History” (see April 23 and April 30). They were succinctly written to put forth and explain what our current world threats are to our free democratic world and the evident murders and threats to Jews, Christians and Muslims.

It frustrates me that so many of our friends and even relatives just don’t get it and bury their heads in the sand, despite the historical lessons of failed diplomacy, failed leadership and indifference.

Your articles give us the strength and facts to spread the word and warnings.

Marilyn Shuman

Longboat Key

‘I hope and pray  history does not repeat itself’

Dear Editor:

Thank you for an informative reminder of an important piece of history that maybe some have forgotten and a new generation may know nothing about (see “The Parallels of History,” April 23, April 30). 

I was born in 1947 in a displaced persons camp in Salzburg, Austria. My parents are Holocaust survivors. They both lost their spouses and families and started a new family in the DP Camp, which included myself, my twin and my brother. 

We migrated to the United States when I was 4 in 1951 to a shelter and then to a tenement on the Lower East side of New York. We were and always will be grateful for the gift of freedom and the many opportunities America had to offer. 

Every day I shake my head at the news. Today I am grateful to you for using your gift and right of freedom of expression. The parallels are amazing, and I hope we can connect the dots so our children and grandchildren don’t have to pay for our mistakes.

Thank you for putting political correctness aside. I hope and pray history does not repeat itself.

Ida Zito

Sarasota