RE: R*E*S*P*E*C*T

Dear Editor,

Deerfield Beach Commissioners and Mayor, you need to take action. Stop sitting by when you see a wrong. Allowing a resident during a commission meeting to rant about a woman being gang raped on a pool table in a bar was deplorable.

When only one of you, Commissioner Rosenzweig, tried to say he should be stopped, the mayor shut him down; shame on him and the rest of you for not forcing a stop to the ranting. If the mayor cannot use her gavel, it should be taken away from her and used by one of you who has some common sense.

This is not a freedom of speech issue. It is a respect for a forum issue, a respect for the audience issue. What is legal is not always right, and this was very much NOT RIGHT. For a man who claimed to be giving a lecture on respect, he was outrageously disrespectful to his audience and the commission.

His graphic description in front of an audience with children and possibly people who might have been victims of sexual assault themselves, who would be forced to relive their attack in a public commission meeting, was beyond shameful; it was bordering on actionable.

At the very least, the public is owed an apology from the resident, who should be banned from addressing the Commission ever again. The Mayor should apologize for allowing his rant, and the rest of you should apologize for not standing up for your audience and shutting him down.

Bett Willett

Deerfield Beach

RE: Relay for Life says thanks

Dear Editor,

On behalf of the Relay For Life of Deerfield Beach/ Lighthouse Point & Hillsboro Beach, we want to express our sincere thanks to the Kiwanis Club and Woman’s Club of Deerfield Beach for their support of our efforts to fight cancer. These organizations truly represent the spirit of our community working together.

Kiwanis invited Relay For Life to have a presence at Founders’ Days with a booth, allowed us to have time at two of the concessions, included our first annual “Walk a Mile for a Cure” on Sunday morning and provided the breakfast for the walkers. From these, we raised over $2600 and acquired several new teams and sponsorships for Relay.

We also wish to extend our deepest gratitude to The Woman’s Club of Deerfield Beach for opening their hearts and doors to us on March 8 as we held our very first annual fundraising event entitled “My Big Fat Relay Wedding.” This wonderful mock wedding held a reception of 120 guests. The evening was nothing short of magical with its lavish décor, ambiance and delectable food. The event proved to be a huge success, raising over $6000.

Please join us on April 5, at Quiet Waters Park, Pavilion #10, beginning at 4 p.m. This is our community coming together to Finish The Fight!

Nona Breitenstein,

Event Chair & Ilene Busey, Team Captain of Hope Blossoms Relay Team

Sawgrass Expressway Expansion mtg. TODAY

Dear Editor:

Some of you may have read [in the newspaper] that the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization (M.P.O.) will be discussing expanding the Sawgrass Expressway through 10th Street at their next meeting TODAY, March 13 in the Trade Centre South building, 100 W. Cypress Creek Road, Suite 850, Ft. Lauderdale at 9:30 a.m.

This is being brought forward by the Vice Mayor of Coral Springs, Larry Vignola.

Obviously, this will have a tremendous effect on our city.

Many of you have shared with me your concerns regarding this type of expansion. I too am very concerned with the impact this will have on our quality of life. I recommend to those of you who wish to express your feelings on the matter to contact Coral Springs Vice Mayor Vignola at lvignola@coralsprings.org.

While I encourage you to be passionate in expressing your concerns, and while I recognize that many of you share my passion for this issue, I implore you to be respectful and courteous to Vice Mayor Vignola.

Bill Ganz

District 4 commissioner

Deerfield Beach

Beach renourishment, ELECTION

February was a very eventful month in [Broward County] District 4.

From Pompano’s Unity in the Community event, Lighthouse Point’s Keeper Days, Deerfield Beach’s Founders’ Days weekend, to the many celebrations for Black History Month, it was a great month to be out and about in our community.

While it was great to see so much civic involvement, an issue that continues to be at the forefront of my agenda has been the renourishment of our beautiful beaches.

Our economy relies heavily on the strength of our beaches and critical time passes each day that we do not have the necessary federal permits in hand. The good news is that we have all of our necessary permits and approvals from the State of Florida.

Last year, we received nearly $10 BILLION in our local economy from the 13 million visitors who came to Broward for our beautiful beaches.

As it currently stands, we are awaiting the biological opinion from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Fisheries (NOAA Fisheries).

I traveled to Washington, D.C. earlier this month to advocate for our beaches and returned with renewed hope that they understand the critical nature of our project and are motivated to issue our permit.

Persistence is key to our success and I will not stop until I see the trucks hauling sand to our beach.

We now need your help in contacting all of our federal elected officials in Washington, D.C. Please contact each of their offices and respectfully urge our representatives to do the following:

“Please urge the Secretary of Commerce to ensure that the biological opinion of the Segment II Beach Project is completed as soon as possible.”

You can find your federal representative by visiting www.house.gov and clicking on Find Your Representative.

ELECTION

March is Election month for many of Broward’s municipalities and Tuesday was Election Day. It is often said that the government closest to the people governs most effectively.

For most Broward residents, your city and county elected officials comprise your local government that provides the majority of your essential services.

As a former [Lighthouse Point] city commissioner, I know all too well that voter turnout is key to a successful election.

If there is anything we can do to assist you with your vision for a better Broward, please do not hesitate to contact our office at 954-357-7004 or by email at clamarca@broward.org. Or visit our website www.broward.org/district4,

As always, it is my honor to serve you.

Chip LaMarca

Broward County commissioner, District 4

RE: ‘Walk a Mile for a Cure’

Dear Editor:

Thank you so much to those who participated in the Walk a Mile for a Cure Beach Walk [early Sunday morning, Feb. 16, during Founders’ Days.]

There were 108 participants of all ages and we raised $1,770 for the American Cancer Society (ACS).

The weather was beautiful and I think everyone had a great time getting fresh air and walking the beach, followed by a delicious breakfast of donuts, bagels and fruit … all for such a worthy cause!

Hopefully, this will become an annual event and, for this reason, I would love any comments you would like to share … anything you liked or thought could be changed for next year … your input is appreciated!

Christie McVay

Youth Engagement Chair

Relay for Life of Deerfield Beach/Lighthouse Point/ Hillsboro Beach

RE: “Medical” marijuana

Dear Editor:

The “people” are asking to legalize MEDICAL marijuana at this time and not asking to legalize it as in Colorado and Washington.

To the publisher: I truly see your plight with your workers and with your business.

However, when it comes to medical marijuana:

1) When it is used for people who are having seizures, especially children who have up to 300 a day, the pill they take is a purified Cannabidol.

( www.medicaldaily.com/fda-approves-marijuanabased-epilepsy-drug-usekids-clinical-trials-261998)

It has NO THC in it. It does not get the patient “high.” Children who have taken it end up seizure-free.

2) As for medical marijuana in a rolled form, let me tell you that one of the biggest attorneys in the U.S., name withheld, smokes up to 10 cigarettes of marijuana a day. His disease is then under control and he functions normally without pain or distress. He is not lounging under some palm tree, high as a kite!

Regarding cancer and emphysema, they have tested but four men, who also smoked tobacco and claim it MAY have helped cause, but was not the only cause it. Same went for lung cancer. However, studies cannot be done properly, as marijuana is an illegal substance. Therefore, it is hard to test.

(Statistics www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Causes_of_Death#sthash.pbJretph.dpbs)

Besides seizures, glaucoma and epilepsy, someone’s mother, sister, father, daughter etc. is suffering from cancer.

They receive chemo and lose weight. The more weight lost, the weaker they become and the less the drugs and chemo will work.

MEDICAL marijuana (a different grade, which is watched closely by the government) not only helps these victims of cancer by easing their pain, but helps them with their appetites, which chemo takes away and affords them the chance to GAIN weight, making the chemo and drugs more effective, thus SAVING lives.

This is a medical marijuana issue and NOT one of legalizing it to all.

I urge people to do your research before fighting against it. Your vote could save a human life.

Dana Wade

Deerfield Beach

If you truly have Parkinson’s disease, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis or certain types of cancer (the main “legal” reasons now being mentioned), and your doctor recommends for you to smoke marijuana for relief, be sure to get it in writing from the doctor. That is so that when you suffer the negative consequences of smoking marijuana, such as emphysema or cancer, there is someone else to blame and perhaps sue.

It is shameful how this issue is being manipulated by certain politicians, especially a certain former governor, who is proving again that he has no shame, and will do or say anything to try to “win” an election.

Negatives far outweigh any benefits from people smoking pot, at least based on my experience as an employer. One of my first negative experiences a number of years ago was when I sent three of my young mechanics down to a Caribbean Island to install some of our equipment on a sugar plantation. The job should have taken a week.

However, three weeks went by and we had not heard from them. This was before cell phones. Therefore, I called the customer, who checked on them and complained that my guys were just sitting around smoking “pot.” I ordered them back home, fired them immediately and sent a supervisor with some others to finish the job. That one incident cost us tens of thousands of dollars and lost a multi-million dollar customer. Lunch time started becoming a problem as some of our folks began indulging themselves in their pot smoking during lunch and came back to work causing accidents. Our workers compensation rate doubled, then doubled again before we figured out what was causing the accidents and took proper action with drug tests, etc. However, just one of the after lunch “accidents” put a man in the hospital for several months and cost over a million dollars in medical costs.

As a final example, a few years ago thousands of brochures on our products had to be thrown away when our man in charge got high on pot and changed the instructions to the printer to weird colors which made them unusable. We fired him, of course, but thousands of dollars were lost, as the brochures had to be corrected by others and reprinted.

These are just a few examples, and we are just one small company. The Florida Supreme Court recently agreed to put the issue on an upcoming statewide vote requiring only 60 percent approval. Certain special interest entities who will make big money are positioning themselves already to finance pushing it through. If it passes, and I’m being told there’s a good chance it will pass, many people will lose their jobs as many employers will simply “throw in the towel” and invest elsewhere.

—David Eller, Publisher

RE: Charter changes

Dear Editor:

The mayor of Deerfield Beach wants to do away with the codes that protect the beach from over-development, codes that were overwhelmingly voted in by the residents.

She seems to think that allowing larger development on the beach will eliminate drug rehab and “sober” houses, in her words, in last week’s Observer, “what is being proliferated in the beach area today” on the barrier island.

These establishments are a protected use, according to the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Blaming the current code for this is beyond absurd. The argument that property owners are being forced into selling their properties to the rehab folks just doesn’t hold water. No one can be forced to sell or rent to someone if they don’t want to.

The mayor wants the commission to “step up and create its own new ordinance to deal with the changes in the beach area.” She doesn’t say what she wants in the ordinance. She may have forgotten, but the city attorney, and the commission, put in place all the legal restrictions they could in regard to group homes.

Allowing codes that would allow higher and wider development on the beach goes against everything the residents of Deerfield Beach want. As a witness, the 75 percent vote count in favor of the referendum on building codes. Beach property owners are able to build 55 ft. tall buildings, which should be enough for anyone to make a big profit in 2014, as well as in 2002.

Far from threatening development on the beach,Charter Section 11.01 is protecting what we have and allowing rational building, as witnessed by the new hotel on the beachfront, which is built to code.

Bett Willett

Deerfield Beach

RE: Charter changes

Dear Editor:

It is time to clarify what I was proposing with the rescinding of Ordinance 11.01. For those who vehemently oppose eliminating that from the City Charter, it is time to take a look at what is being asked.

The reality is that what was good in 2002 is not adequate to protect the beach development in 2014.

Are these same people happy with what is being proliferated in the beach area today? Or are these same people unaware of what is threatening the development of our beach under the current restrictions inaugurated in 2002? Time for this commission to step up and create its own new ordinance to deal with the changes in the beach area.

I sat through multiple protestations at the Jan. 28 commission meeting.

I am not too old to realize that change is inevitable, and what was deemed acceptable in 2002 does not hold water in 2014.

Jean M. Robb, Mayor

DeerfieldBeach

RE: North Pavilion

Dear Editor:

I am writing concerning the disappointing new change to the sticker parking locations.

My family frequents the beach 4-5 times a week. We park at the pavilion lot north of the pier using our Deerfield Beach parking sticker because it is a short way to walk when my three kids are carrying their surf board and beach items. Furthermore, there is a restroom, showers and cover if a storm decides to roll in.

One of the perks of being a local is being able to park at this most convenient parking lot using our annual sticker. However, because the beach is so crowded with tourists and people from other cities who come to visit our beautiful beach, it is practically impossible anymore to find a spot there without waiting for someone to leave.

But to make matters worse, now the city has decided to take that little local perk away from us and change this lot from a sticker/meter lot to a meter only lot.

Because of this change, I, a Deerfield resident, can’t even park there unless I am willing to pay the $20 it would take to cover our beach time for the afternoon.

Furthermore, Deerfield has made the rule that there is no surfing on the south end of the beach.

You have limited the surf area to the north side of the pier. So the only group of people who have limitations are the ones you make walk the furthest?

I can assure you, many of the local surfers have stickers and this makes no sense.

Please reinstate the pavilion as one of the sticker parking lots. We are losing so much. What a shame to lose this too, the one little perk we have left.

Yes, a city runs on money.The city will get its money from all the meters at the beach. But a city also runs on its people. Happy people, happy city. Trying to squeeze more money out of its residents is just causing dissension and, frankly, is unnecessary.

This may be a small, petty thing to you, but I can assure you, it is VERY important to those of us who call that lot our home.

Carrie Patten

Deerfield Beach

RE: North pavilion

Dear Editor:

Hope this letter finds you well. I know you have more pressing issues than worrying about this beach goer who has been a well-respected voter of this community for more than 20 years.

I have been faithfully going to the north side of the pier ever since I attended Deerfield Beach High School (in 1985). As a teenager, my friends and I would ride our bikes up to the beach and hang out there all day long.

I grew up, got married, had children — and my children grew up north of the pier as well.

I adore my town. I want to grow old here. I spend most of my mornings walking from the pavilion to the Boca jetty and back as way to exercise my mind, body and soul. On days where I can spend the entire day there, I boogie board, play Kadima, hit the volleyball around and sometimes paddle board … all the things that I CANNOT DO south of the pier!

I say all this because, every year, I faithfully buy my parking sticker, but on Monday morning when I pulled up to the North Pavilion and parked in my usual space, I noticed a new sign that NO ONE ever said anything about!

My heart was deeply saddened that someone decided to cast aside us faithful, voting, tax paying, city residents … and for what? For [money]? Did you even think about us when this decision was made? Why didn’t you create maybe one or two spots just for us, like you have at the Main Beach Parking Lot?

Please, I don’t want to hear that we can drop off our stuff with someone and then walk from where we can park. I don’t want to hear excuses or rationalizations for a very poor decision made by the ones I voted for. I am not one to put you down, threaten or be angry about something that we, together, can create a solution for.

As a voting, tax paying, upstanding citizen of Deerfield Beach, I [make a] motion that whoever is in charge of this situation take time to discuss and vote on creating 1 or 2 spots at the North Pavilion for faithful sticker-buying beach goers like myself. I know there must be more of us out there! Can I get a second?

Thanks for your consideration and for your service to this constituent!

Diana Santiago Rice

Deerfield Beach

North Pavilion Beach Sticker Parking

Dear Editor:

A LOT of residents are very upset and passionate about this.

My husband and I have been property owners in Deerfield Beach since 1981. We decided to stay here when we had our 3 sons because we loved that the city was family-oriented, and we all love our beautiful beach.

When our boys were old enough, they started to enjoy all our beach has to offer, they skim board and surf whenever possible.

We have always purchased beach parking stickers so that we could park in the North Pavilion parking lot, where it is the only part of our beach that surfing and skimming is allowed.

Imagine my surprise when I went to City Hall on Jan. 2, purchased my 2014 sticker (which is in the 700s; almost 1,000 stickers issued as of 1-2-14) proceeded to the beach, waited 45 minutes for a spot to open up in the pavilion, only to find a parking ticket on my windshield when I returned to my car!

Never was I advised we could not park there. I did not look at the signs, as I had no clue the commission changes the “rules.”

It is bad enough that the “snowbirds” can now buy stickers in 2014, which I accepted; after all, they do pay taxes. But now there are enormous numbers of stickers being issued and yet, the commission decides to take away one of our stickered parking lots.

It was also bad enough that restaurant patrons take our spots, both sticker and hourly beach goers, when they have valet service for them to utilize with their own lot.

Is the city SO desperate for money, they take our $100, take away a parking lot (the ONLY lot for surfers, skim boarders and wind surfers!), AND raise the hourly rate at peak time at the pavilion? Forget our families and our surfing community, really?

It was suggested to me to drop off my surfers, go park almost a mile away, and walk back to the beach (AND that is IF a spot is open) … are you kidding me?

What if one of my boys drives my car by himself? He has to park far away and walk with his boards and beach stuff? Please, I am asking you (the commission) to reinstate our sticker parking at the [North] Pavilion.

After all, you were elected to make decisions on our behalf. This was not a good decision for the people you represent.

Dee Sleight

Deerfield Beach