- April 18, 2024
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Bicycle Art & Poetry Show was a great success
Dear Editor:
Kudos to the Gargiulo Art Foundation for hosting the Bicycle Art & Poetry Show at Hollingsworth Gallery, City Marketplace. The show opened with a reception for foundation members, attended by my wife and me. We were greeted by a ground level whimsical dual sculpture created by Wesley Cackler, Abe Alam playing classical guitar, a champagne bar and a beautiful hors d’oeuvres table to complete the ambiance. A bass player friend of the young guitarist joined him to the delight of the guests in attendance.
Colorful balloons and bicycles lined the sidewalks, directing foundation guests and the general public for openings at the Hollingsworth and Flagler County Art League exhibits. The large galleries were filled to capacity with a great diversity of the bicycle theme and more. Wine sampling, poetry readings, children’s art show and an impromptu harmonic jamming session with the musicians were other highlights of the evening.
There was a very emotional moment of silence for Richard Schreiner, beloved friend of the Hollingsworth family of artists and all who knew him. Richard died just two days before the opening of this show. Portions of his recent Retrospective Show at Hollingsworth will continue to run at least through August.
The city, county, Chamber of Commerce and those in charge of tourism should provide more support to these Palm Coast art venues. The foundation’s CEO, Tom Gargiulo, quoted a recent article in the Smithsonian Magazine stating in part that: “A small town of 700 people swells to more than 7,000 on weekends because of its bicycle trails, art center and one art gallery.” We have more than that in Palm Coast, he states.
I would recommend attending the gallery openings on the second Saturdays of the month for a most enjoyable evening.
Stephen and Ruth Spicer
Palm Coast
Do not diminish honor of those who died to give us the right to vote
Dear Editor:
Your opinion piece in the Saturday, July 21, issue of the Palm Coast Observer was eye-opening, to say the least. Perhaps Venezuela is more your cup of tea.
Specifically, I was troubled by your statement that "normally, I would say that elected officials need to do what the community needs and not be swayed by small groups of vocal residents. However, we don't need to rely on a small sampling of residents this time."
I understand the overall thrust of your editorial being in favor of putting this tax issue on the ballot. Amen. But to imply that, somehow, politicians know what's best for us or ultimately rule over us is a chilling testament to the ignorance of your history/political science teacher.
The "small groups/sampling of residents" you refer to are called citizens of the United States of America, who legally vote. Because others choose to not exercise their duty to vote, does not lessen the value of the citizens who do vote.
It may well be that county officials can independently enact this tax after the fact. However, thanks to the Founding Fathers and the Constitutional Republic they created, we, the "small groups/sampling" (people) can then throw these bums out if we so decide!
Greater men and women than you and I have shed their blood and died in agony for our Republic. Please do not diminish their honor.
Timothy Hall
Palm Coast
Editor’s Note: As you said, we are fortunate to live in a republic, which is a representative form of government; therefore, the Founding Fathers intended that we trust our elected officials to represent us. It is not practical to have a true democracy, where a referendum determines every issue.
In most situations, elected officials have to make the tough decisions. My point was that in those cases they shouldn’t allow a small group of residents (i.e., a special interest group) to sway their votes; rather, they should weigh all the data and vote for the good of all residents.
In this case of the half-cent sales tax, however, a referendum is an available tool to know the will of all the citizens. Therefore, the County Commission should use that tool.
There was once a reason for unions, but no more
Dear Editor:
In response to the article, “Unions serve important purpose in Flagler schools, community,” I am confused.
Employees of the government at all levels enjoy benefits that exceed those afforded to the private sector, and over the last 15 years, salaries of public employees have equaled or exceeded those employed in the private sector. Now that we are still in the midst of an economic crisis, these same public employees feel they are entitled to salary increases, while those in the private sector have taken pay cuts to maintain their employment. Where do these public employees believe the money is going to come from?
It is not just the teachers, but all government employees. Where is it written that public employees should not be subject to fluctuations in the economy? Is there a law that says government employees should be guaranteed employment, benefits and salary increases, while employees in the private sector bear the burden of these costs?
I am not sure what the Republicans, or Democrats for that matter, are spending on the 2012 elections has to do with unions or the “purpose of a union.” Yes, it is obscene how much money is spent by politicians seeking re-election, but that has nothing to do with unions. I think more to the point is we are supposed to all be working together to make a better life for everyone, and making demands for more money in a time when most families are struggling to make ends meet is equally obscene.
It seems the “me” first attitude of unions has clouded the thinking of their representatives and members. I believe there was a time and a place for unions many years ago, but I also believe that time has passed. I think these government employees should be grateful they have a job to go to each day, there are a lot of people that don’t.
Jay Wooldridge
Palm Coast
Cutting government is not they way to promote growth
Dear Editor:
The half-cent sales tax is not renewed, it will be a tax cut. A tax cut will reduce the revenue the county needs to provide essential services. The conventional wisdom is that a tax cut will inspire the government to become more efficient, but this view is unrealistic. A tax cut will simply reduce the services the county provides to its citizens.
Reducing revenue to any government entity is counter-productive to the goal of growth. We are seeing the result of reducing government spending around the world, and what we’re seeing is economic stress that is hurting the objective of growth and the people in those geographies.
On a micro-economic basis, we see successful companies like Intel and Apple increasing their investment in research and development and infrastructure to grow. They know that growth cannot be inspired by continuous cost-cutting. Yes, sometimes entities get “fat” and a period of cost cutting is required to re-balance. But continuous cost cutting leads to failure of the organizations.
Despite the popular Reagan line, government is not the problem. Nor is it the solution to all problems. We need government. Some problems can only be solved by we, the people, working together — the role of government.
Our stormwater problems, education, police, firefighters, libraries, parks and recreation, etc., are legitimate government functions. The government needs money to perform for the people. Without sufficient revenue, our community will shrivel and you can forget about growth. Who will choose to move into a seedy neighborhood?
The goal must be growth, and growth comes from revenue growth in both the private and public sectors of our economy. Our population and economy are growing, and most people would like to see even faster growth. This will not happen if we starve our investments in infrastructure and people. Let us now stop the emphasis on even more cutting in our necessary government services and provide the revenue we need to accomplish this. Let us look to maintain the revenue the government needs to provide baseline services, but look closely at any attempt to increase services until our growth rate increases.
Albert R. Tetrault
Palm Coast
Bands should be an integral part of community celebrations
Dear Editor:
I really enjoyed the Flagler Beach parade in spite of the heat but was really disappointed that our local high school bands do not participate. It seems that these groups, supported by our tax dollars, should be an integral part of community celebrations like July Fourth, as well as Memorial Day, Veterans Day and others. What’s up with the school bands?
Gary DeKay
Palm Coast
