Readers comment on a forum for local candidates, preventing COVID-19 and more
Hear the candidates
The League of Women Voters of Alachua County and the University of Florida Bob Graham Center for Public Service, both non-partisan organizations, have coupled to produce a primary election virtual candidate forum. The virtual forum will take place today at 1:30 pm.
Qualified candidates who have an opposing candidate have been invited. The forum will include candidates for Gainesville mayor, City Commission, Alachua County School Board, District 2 County Commission and the Eighth Circuit Court judge position. The League has prepared questions regarding local issues for those who seek to serve on commissions. Although the event is free, registration is required, which may be accomplished at https://bit.ly/leagueprimaryforum.
The forum will be recorded and posted online. Go to the League’s YouTube channel (https://bit.ly/alachualeagueyoutube) or the Bob Graham Center YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/user/BobGrahamCenter) to watch at a time of your convenience. Posting on YouTube will be accomplished as soon as possible.
It is the League of Women Voters’ mission to empower voters and protect democracy. We are pleased to be co-presenters of this forum, which may be voters’ best opportunity to see and hear the candidates for this important election. Please attend.
Janice Garry, president, League of Women Voters of Alachua County
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What happened to responsibility?
Over the past few years, we have politicized our positions on many subjects — vaccinations, policing, truth, parenthood, what history can be taught in school and more. We have brought a lot of emotion into these arguments. Because of that, over a million Americans have died from COVID-19 and its variants.
What happened to the idea that it is “responsible” to keep from getting sick and spreading that sickness to our family, our neighbors, or our friends and co-workers — especially if that disease may prove deadly to ourselves, our family members, or our friends and co-workers? Even simple steps like wearing a mask and social distancing, while not 100% effective, are good steps to take.
Isn’t it responsible to consider getting proven and effective preventive vaccines to help curb the spread of the disease? It is your “right” to not do these things. You have the “freedom” to not do these things. But is it responsible?
Ronald Bauldree, Gainesville
Wear masks when possible
COVID-19 has changed how we live, and the notorious virus will not be going away anytime soon. The past few years have shown us how a tiny virus can fundamentally change every aspect of our lives.
Effective vaccines, safe distancing and policy measures have thankfully curtailed the worst outcomes of COVID-19, yet we cannot remain complacent. This is a good time to remind people about the important role of masking as an effective preventative measure.
Numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of simple masking in drastically reducing community transmission rates of COVID-19. Gainesville should encourage and incentivize its citizens to use their masks whenever possible to minimize the risks of another COVID-19 surge.
Simple preventative measures like masking, though sometimes cumbersome, may avoid much more detrimental and unpredictable changes in child care, schools or workplaces.
Sean Kwak, Gainesville
Wrong Issue
There is anger in America. The anger comes from misled parents who believe the lies told to them that “others,” the "left," the “woke" and the "gays” want to indoctrinate their children into becoming something undefined, but otherwise awful. They write letters, and go to school board meetings and rallies of right-wing governors and candidates who spew this misinformation.
They scream at and protest the officials in their communities to protect their children from these atrocities. They demand a greater say in what their children read, hear and learn. The irony is that little of what they do will have any real effect on what their child learns. The reality is that the parents are addressing the wrong issue.
You want to keep your child safe from adverse ideas and concepts you may not agree with? First, you need to start with actually protecting them while they are in school. Use your power, your anger and your voice to demand that every child has the right to go to school and come home every day.
Demand of your politicians that they do everything in their power to make sure your children are not slaughtered while learning their ABCs. Use your powerful voices to demand that legislatures and Congress pass sensible gun requirements and laws. If they don't or won't listen to you, vote them out.
Kurt Baumgartner, Gainesville
Change is needed
I am in my late 80s, and I am alive today because a team of doctors is taking care of me. If it were not for the first responders, doctors, nurses, etc., I would have certainly died five years ago when I had stopped breathing.
I am not a celebrity; I am just an ordinary citizen and yet I am receiving so much attention. And yet 40,000 persons or so are dying every year in the U.S. due to senseless gun violence and no one is worried about it.
Our vision has been clouded by the Second Amendment and the members of our Congress have been lured by the contributions of the National Rifle Association. Therefore, even after unending tragedies, they are sitting pretty. Do not blame the members of Congress. Unless we are prepared to change ourselves, no gun control measure will ever pass in Congress.
People say that Congress has failed to enact any sensible gun control law since Columbine. I ask them, "How many elections have taken place since Columbine?" Like everyone else, the politician is working for his bread and butter, which in his case is the votes of gun lovers. Morals, ethics and virtues no longer mean anything.
Nand Sharma, Gainesville
Act on Alzheimer's priorities
I just attended the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement Advocacy Forum with fellow advocates from across the country and had the opportunity to meet with Congresswoman Kat Cammack.
I urge her to support the bipartisan NAPA Reauthorization Act (H.R. 7775), and the Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act (H.R. 7773), to ensure the nation continues to prioritize addressing Alzheimer’s and other dementia. There is also an opportunity for a $226 million increase for research funding at the National Institutes of Health on Alzheimer’s disease and $30 million for the continued implementation of the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act (P.L. 115-406).
As the number of older Americans grows rapidly, so too will the number of new and existing cases of Alzheimer’s. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, by 2050, the number of people age 65 and older with Alzheimer’s dementia may grow to 12.7 million. We must prioritize Alzheimer's and other dementia.
Julie Roca, Gainesville
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