WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT UNEMPLOYMENT
The latest Florida unemployment number came in at 1,012,000, which is an 11-percent rate. The number doesn’t tell all the story because it doesn’t include the people who have been cut back to part-time and those who have given up looking for work, which would push the rate much higher.
I doubt if there is one person who would disagree that as companies start hiring, any new hire should be a citizen or legal immigrant. As it stands though, there is no real deterrent to employers hiring illegal alien workers when they do start hiring. I find that outrageous and hope you do as well.
On the 30th of October, I took a bill titled, "Florida Citizen’s Job Protection Act of 2010" to Rep. Doug Holder’s office to request he sponsor the bill in the upcoming session. The bill was written by attorneys very familiar with state and federal laws regarding employment. Unfortunately, Rep. Holder was out ill so I met with his legislative assistant.
The bill, if passed and enacted into law, would require all Florida licensed businesses to use the E-Verify verification system, which determines if a new hire legally is qualified to work in the U.S.A. It is a very accurate federal program run in partnership between Social Security and Homeland Security.
The result after enactment would be all new hires in Florida would be legal workers, as they should be.
Arizona passed similar legislation in 2008 and its unemployment rate is at 9.1 percent, almost 21 percent lower than Florida’s unemployment rate.
In Arizona, every new hire is a legal worker. Since the law was passed in Arizona, one-third of the illegal alien population self deported to states without E-Verify or out of the country, according to a very recent report by the Center For Immigration Studies.
If you agree with me that all new hires in the state should be legal workers, please contact Rep. Doug Holder at his office (918-4028) or Doug.Holder@myfloridahouse.gov and tell him you would like for him to sponsor the bill that will require all new hires to be legal workers.
Currently 5,000 patriotic companies in Florida already voluntarily use E-Verify. We need for all other licensed businesses to do so as well.
Please call Rep. Holder now and tell him you want legislation passed to ensure all new hires are legal to work. With your help, we can make a dent in the unemployment of legal workers.
George Fuller
KUDOS TO SIESTA ON HALLOWEEN EFFORT
Last night was Halloween and for the seventh year in a row, my family and my friends and their children all toured Siesta Cove.
I must commend the residents of Siesta Cove. Every year it is never a disappointment. They work so hard to provide a fun and safe environment for our children to enjoy Halloween.
In this crazy world, as a parent, I wanted to take a minute to thank Siesta Cove for opening up their neighborhood and making Halloween a fun and safe time for all – not to mention all the money they must spend on candy.
Thanks so much!
Lisa Bouillerce
GOOD WORDS FOR POLICE CHIEF ABBOTT
As president of the Downtown Sarasota Condominium Association four years ago, I served as a standing member of the Police Chief’s Advisory Board (PCAB) and Chief Peter Abbott and I both served as standing members of the Downtown Partnership’s (DTP) board.
In PCAB meetings, I heard firsthand what the police department was up against from fellow PCAB members from high crime neighborhoods. Notwithstanding comments to the contrary at city commission meetings, I heard only supportive remarks of police conduct from those living in areas where law enforcement is a challenge, to say the least.
At DTP board meetings Peter Abbott was a voice of wisdom and caution – yes, caution. When our directors would occasionally veer in an ill-advised direction, Chief Abbott would nudge us back on track.
A chief of police has the challenge of leading an organization tasked with being tough when called for and a good guy in general. Peter Abbott is both. I clearly have come to both like and respect this guy, and if in position to do so, would hire him in a heartbeat.
John Moran
TIME RUNNING OUT FOR COMMUTER RAIL PLANS
The column by Paul Roat in the Oct. 29 issue was interesting. This is because the federal government recently gave the State of Florida until the end of the year to fund commuter rail systems, such as Tri Rail, the one proposed by the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority, which would use tracks for commuter rail service and Sun Rail.
If the state does not do this, the billions of dollars in federal transportation money the State of Florida wants would go to other states such as Ohio, California, Virginia and North Carolina, which are preserving their rail lines and actively promoting passenger trains and not buses.
Finally, the attempt by Mr. Anthony Beckford, the general manager for SCAT, to dress up his buses to make them look like trains is quite funny.
Walter Diem
KUDOS FOR A GREAT RENOVATION
Now that the renovations are complete and the landscaping in place, kudos are due the principals of 1100 South Tamiami Trail, LLC, and John W. Meshad for their careful and thoughtful restoration of the Jack West-designed building at the corner of Bahia Vista Street and U.S. 41.
This prime example of the Sarasota School of Architecture was almost lost to the wrecking ball as has so much of our community’s architectural patrimony, and now serves as the home office of Gateway Bank of Southwest Florida.
After a decade of greedy speculation, it is reassuring to see that members of the local business community are willing to reinvest their resources in Sarasota and save a local icon.
We in the Avondale neighborhood look forward to a long and enduring relationship with our new neighbor.
Brian H. Fitz-Harris