Views: Spend BP money wisely + Make climate change a priority
Coast must have priorities for BP money
A recent article in the Sun Herald laid out a strategy for the Coast to leverage the BP funds. Community sustainability has to be part of the decision-making process.
5G will be great, but our current foundation is crumbling. Currently, only low internet speed is available in parts of Gulfport and Biloxi.
Our roads and bridges are in dire need, but we hire contractors in many cases unable to complete the contracted tasks timely and on budget. Drainage systems are in need of maintenance to reduce flooding potential. Blighted property abounds throughout the coastal counties.
The Coast needs to demonstrate its growth will not only be good for future residents but current residents who vote now. 5G is a business decision for telecommunication companies. Apparently, it is not a good business decision at this time.
Returning Howard Avenue back to the 1940s and 50s is novel, but the monies could have improved the east end of Biloxi. The monies being spent on wavy culverts could have gone to improving the quality of the water that runs into the Mississippi Sound.
There is no mention of improving the education system so all existing students can be more competitive.
These endeavors rarely include residents who have an investment in the existing communities? Cities referenced failed to mention the degradation to those neighborhoods not in the “economic development plan.” Our existing communities must be a priority in our future economic development.
Rick Brown
Gulfport
Silly sports, stop wasting my time
Don’t get me wrong. I love American sports, but I have problems with some of them.
Let’s start with the NBA. I can almost get sick when “Sports Center” shows a dunk as a Top 10 play. A dunk?! Really? Most of the players are almost 7-foot tall with a wing-span of 8 feet. They only have to jump 6 inches.
Here’s the cure for your falling attendance and viewership over the past five years. Raise the basket to 12 feet. Do away with dunks and make players use their shooting skills. Do away with these 150-180 point games.
And the reason the MLB is called America’s favorite “pass-time” is because most of the fans in attendance are passed out from boredom. A 20-second pitch-count is needed. Keep looking forward to losing money, MLB. Besides the pitch-count, your season is way too long.
Don’t even get me started on the NFL. Why do the refs feel the need to insult my intelligence? It really ticks me off to hear a ref say … “Before the snap, false-start.” Really? Can there ever be a false-start “after” the snap? And then there’s the worst one of all … “Illegal block in the back.” Is there such a thing as a “legal” block in the back? Um, no.
So why do sports teams insist on insulting me and wasting my time? This is the year NFL refs will decide who will win it all. Why don’t you all wave and say, “Hey Mom?”
Rene Ross
Biloxi
Make climate change a priority
America is concerned about climate change. Citizens are concerned about climate change.
According to the Iowa caucus, “Iowa is looking at those presidential candidates who are concerned about climate change,” according to CBS News.
Please let’s make climate change a priority. The time is now!
Carmen Venney
Gulfport