Get independent analysis of Martin County fire service
The article written by Keith Burbank regarding drastic budget cuts in the Martin County Fire Department was based on pure speculation.
The Martin County Commissions supports the fire chief without question. The only “expert opinion” offered is the chief’s or his staff. Justification for most requests is increased population and number of calls. There are other factors that must be considered.
Structure fires began a sharp decline and emergency medical services calls experienced dramatic growth during the early 1980s, transforming fire departments from fire suppression units into comprehensive public safety and medical networks or ambulances.
National data highlights the call breakdown reverse between the 1980s and subsequent decades:
In 1980: U.S. fire departments responded to roughly 11 million calls, over 3 million of which were for fires. Medical calls hovered near 5 million.
By 2020–2021: Out of roughly 36 million emergency calls, fire calls plummeted to just 1.35 million. Medical aid calls skyrocketed to 26 million, accounting for roughly 65% to 75% of a department’s total workload.
The reduction in structural fires over the past 30 years is driven by building and fire codes, the adoption of smoke alarms and declines in smoking rates. According to data from the National Fire Protection Association, structural fires have plummeted by more than half since their peak.
A peak-load or cross-staffing model should be considered to reduce manpower without compromising service for either fire or medical calls.
It is difficult to present any concept to a governing body that only listens to a single source. So the next step would be to invite a third, independent party to do an evaluation of the Martin County Fire Department. All the facts regarding the MCFD staffing must be made available.
Michael Gilbertie, Stuart, spent 40 years in fire- and life-rescue service.
Florida to survive, prosper despite tax exemptions
It is interesting to read all these articles condemning the proposed tax exemptions. There are all these warnings about how the cities, towns and counties would fail with services for the residents.
Interestingly enough, the first real estate tax exemption was passed for $5,000 in 1934. That is when a house could be bought for $4,000. Guess what: No cities, towns or counties failed. In 1968, it was raised to $10,000. No failures. In 1980, it was raised to $25,000, and back then a three-bedroom, two-car garage cost about $95,000 or less.
In 2006, it was raised to today’s level of $50,000. At all increases, the cities, towns and counties thrived and prospered.
Now a three-bedroom, two-car garage home costs $300,000 to $400,000, so it is time to follow the history and increase the exemptions. All these comments in the doomsday articles published are false prophecy. Florida will survive and prosper.
Edward Marasi, Port St. Lucie
Editorial board errs in Stuart recommendations
I have lived in Stuart since 1956, so I have watched, in person, how overdevelopment has damaged Stuart and how the Lake Okeechobee discharges have destroyed the St. Lucie River.
I am quite surprised and disappointed that your newspaper’s editorial board has recommended three candidates for city commission who would continue this overdevelopment and who did not support hiring our environmental attorney.
That is their track record.
And it is a joke that their PR department got Stuart named “best coastal small town” when it sits on the shores of a toxic, black, dead river. I doubt the promoters put that in their application for this competition.
Any three people could not be worse for the city of Stuart, except maybe the people who Sean Reed and Laura Giobbi defeated in the last city election. Let’s continue the trend of the last elections and remove the people who fight for the developers instead of the local residents and the River.
Mac Stuckey, Stuart
Soccer’s USMNT has major branding problem
Were you excited to gather with other soccer fans at watch parties during the FIFA World Cup to cheer on our U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT)? Did you chant, “Go, USMNT, go!”?
Predictably, our USMNT was eliminated early. Historically, the team has been mediocre, and year-round enthusiasm for it is nonexistent. Why? Theories abound. Here’s mine: a lack of a strong, compelling brand.
Every sports team, from elementary school softball teams to college football rivals, has an identity. Here in Florida, we cheer for the Fightin’ Indians, Sharks, Canes, Gators and Noles. Professional teams are branded as the Dodgers, Knicks, Panthers and Steelers. They have mascots, fight songs, logos and nicknames.
World Cup teams claim names such as France’s Les Bleus, England’s Three Lions, and Spain’s La Roja. These identities help teams market merchandise, satisfy their fans’ desire to feel part of something, put more cheering butts in the seats and send crowds parading through the streets.
The USMNT is occasionally called the Stars and Stripes, a tough sell, or the Yanks. Globally, Americans are already called Yanks. Yet, on the playing field of the world’s most popular sport, our national team still has an image problem.
Shame on us! No, shame on the U.S. Soccer Federation, which operates our national team.
We have two years before we again challenge the world’s best football, or soccer, teams at the 2028 Olympics. Matches will be contested across the country, culminating in the gold medal game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Our heavily favored U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) will be competing as well.
The Lady Yanks, perhaps?
Will we be waving flags and banners, wearing hats and shirts, and sporting every kind of Yanks gear as our teams pursue greatness in 2028?
Let’s hope so.
Go Yanks!
Robert Stanley, Vero Beach
Data centers compatible with communities when …
Data centers can use substantial amounts of water, particularly when cooling towers remove heat through evaporation. But the claim that every data center will drain the local water supply is misleading. Water use depends on climate, facility design, cooling technology and the source of the water.
Closed-loop cooling systems circulate the same coolant repeatedly. Some facilities rely more heavily on air cooling, while others can use treated wastewater instead of drinking water. The Environmental Protection Agency specifically recognizes recycled municipal water as a practical source for data-center cooling. In Quincy, Washington, a reuse project was developed to reduce reliance on groundwater while supplying cooling water to data centers.
Local governments should not approve a project based only on promises. Before construction, the developer should disclose expected daily and annual water consumption, identify the source, explain drought plans and demonstrate that existing residents and agriculture will have priority. In water-stressed areas, reclaimed water or closed-loop cooling should be required whenever technically practical.
Land use also deserves careful review. A large data center may occupy many acres and require substations, transmission lines, roads and backup generators. That does not mean every project destroys valuable habitat or farmland. A facility built on previously industrial or degraded property presents a very different impact from one placed on wetlands, prime agricultural land or environmentally sensitive open space.
Communities should favor brownfields and existing industrial zones, require setbacks and landscaping, and protect wetlands, flood plains and wildlife corridors. Developers should also be responsible for restoring disturbed land and removing obsolete equipment.
The right approach is not an automatic yes or no. It is site-specific planning. Protect drinking water and valuable land, require conservation and reuse, and reject unsuitable locations. A well-designed project can coexist with a community; a poorly planned one should not receive final local approval.
Jim Harter, Palm City
Simple solutions would help fix Social Security, but …
For years there has been concern about the Social Security program. Now it is projected this program will be in trouble in approximately six years.
This should be a major concern for millions of Americans, especially for those depending on the system and those who will need the system in the future.
To prevent problems, let us first establish some facts. Social Security is not an investment or a retirement program. It is a plan in which the government helps the elderly who are not financially independent. Lets make the system viable for the long term. We Americans are living longer and are healthier now and so we must make a change in the retirement age.
First, change would be to understand we are healthier and living longer. What if over a period of time we add one year to the present retirement age now, and thereafter, every five years, add an additional year to the total? This makes it a grand total of five years.
Second, a person with the income of $30,000 a month should have no need for government financial aid. Remember, it is not a retirement plan, this is a Social Security plan for the well-being of our elderly.
Third, a big change would be to eliminate the income cap where there is no longer a Social Security deduction. This cap can and does increase from time to time.
Our senators and representatives are not willing to address these problems. Why are we as a nation of civilized people letting our seniors often go hungry and cant afford housing?
What is the government doing to address these problems?
Give your senators a call and ask them.
Charles Davis, Stuart
Why not target companies culpable for immigration abuses?
On March 6, 2007, 300 federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided the Michael Bianco Inc., textile plant in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and arrested 361 undocumented workers. The company manufactured backpacks and military vests for the U.S. government.
I heard a niece, whose aunt had been arrested, say, “They are not taking jobs from Americans. No American would do that job for $6.45 an hour.”
New Bedford is a close-knit community and the most lucrative fishing port in the United States. Residents are closely connected to their faith and cultural heritage. There was an outcry from the community as we watched the cruelty of family separation.
So what is the difference between what happened at the Bianco plant and treatment of immigrants today?
The company was charged with knowingly hiring undocumented workers, and the owner pleaded guilty to federal charges of harboring and concealing undocumented immigrants and was sentenced to 12 months in federal prison. Bianco settled a multimillion-dollar federal civil lawsuit against the company for $850,000 to pay both undocumented and legal employees for unpaid wages, overtime violations and other labor abuses.
Fast forward to Tom Homan, today’s acting ICE director, who said when he was looking for a company to do work at his home, he had to make several calls before finding a company that did not have undocumented workers. I waited to hear Homan say what action he took against those companies that had identified themselves as having paperless workers, but curiously, nary a word was said.
Why do we shoot the hungry fly for getting tangled in a spiderweb?
We have a serious labor shortage in this country, and our political leaders are extremely shortsighted. While the flies get eaten alive, the spiders go on to build more very profitable webs.
Cecile Scofield, Palm City
Governments must work together to fix housing affordability crisis
In 1968, the world population was 3.5 billion; today it is over 8.3 billion. No wonder affordable housing is a worldwide problem. But in Washington, the administration cut 13% of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Purchasing a house is the most important investment people can make, and it helps them start accumulating wealth. A homeowner becomes a part of a community and meets his neighbors. As the owner pays property tax, he becomes aware of the town government, schools, fire and ambulance service. Home ownership is an important part of the American Dream, and it is important for our towns and suburbs.
Young people used to be able to buy their first home in their 20s; now the average age of first-time buyers is 38. The median price of a family home in the United States is $440 000.
The 21st Century Road to Housing Act was passed as bipartisan legislation despite the president refusing to sign it. Among its benefits is stopping institutional investors from purchasing small family homes and reselling them at a higher price. The act gives renters credit for purchasing a home. It encourages building factory-built modular homes to reduce prices and it creates a pilot program to make available small mortgage grants to pay for down payments and closing costs.
It is time for the young people working at Walmart and other low-entry jobs to be able to buy a starter home. The Florida Housing Finance Corp. provides funds to local governments as an incentive to create partnerships to produce and preserve affordable homeownership. The National Low Income Housing Coalition says there is no state in the country with adequate affordable rental housing.
We need our federal, state and local governments to work together to resolve the affordable housing crisis we face.
Lizbeth Piel, Stuart
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This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida fire department needs review. Stuart needs help | Opinion
Reporting by Letter writers, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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