You want a permit? I'll give you a permit. A permit to shut down: Thank you for picking up the Delray-Boynton pipe topic and running with it ("Reef Madness," Wyatt Olson, August 10). I can understand the reluctance of the Delray Beach commissioners, who all sit on the sewer board, to change this horrific practice. Once this outfall goes, all the other outfalls will have to go in South Florida.
[Robert] Hagel, director of the Delray Beach water treatment plant, just announced at a recent board meeting that the plant will begin testing the water in cooperation with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It is possible the plant will receive a permit to operate the plant even though it has not successfully proven that it is not degrading the receiving environment, which is still a violation of the Clean Water Act. Please keep monitoring this critical situation and keep blasting the public with information.
The solution would be to revamp the sewer plants to 100 percent reuse [so that none of the effluent would be sent into the ocean] and establishing more wetlands. It doesn't seem to bother the policymakers that we will run out of water if the waste doesn't all stop getting pumped into the ocean. Let's get the public more disgusted and outraged enough to demand change, and let's get the politicians disgusted and outraged enough to make that change.
Jayne King
Delray Beach
Ahh, smell that soupy air! Hollywood and Highland Beach are prime offenders, with the most reef damage. I've been told that Hollywood's sewage system is so taxed that, at times, raw sewage is dumped into the ocean off our beach.
I wonder if anyone from the city would ever admit if that is true. I also wonder if Hollywood would spend $100 million on fixing up the beachfront so that tourists could come here and take a swim in the brown lagoon. Stranger things than that have happened in South Florida!
Asa Boynton
Hollywood
Eminent Profane
You can actually cast your vote against it: I really appreciated reading the article regarding Fane Lozman ("Witness for the Intimidation," Bob Norman, August 10). It's so awesome that he is standing up regarding eminent domain, something I am wholeheartedly against.
Six state legislatures have put constitutional amendments on their ballots this fall to let voters restrict eminent domain. They are Louisiana, Florida, Michigan, South Carolina, Georgia, and New Hampshire.
I got that information from a news article in USA Today about an Ohio eminent domain case in which the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the City of Norwood cannot take property by eminent domain to give to a private developer. The Norwood case is the first major eminent-domain case to reach a state supreme court since the Kelo v. New London decision last year in which the Supreme Court ruled that a Connecticut city's taking of property for economic development was not unconstitutional — but made it clear that state constitutions could set different standards.
An attorney said of the Ohio decision, "It is a total victory for home and business owners in Ohio and across the country... It will set an example for courts across the country to reject the Supreme Court's disgusting decision in the Kelo case."
I hope to get the word out about the constitutional amendment on the ballot this fall [requiring that private property taken by eminent domain must be retained for five years before it may be transferred to another private entity] to let Florida voters restrict eminent domain.
Jill Folgate
Via the Internet
Mayor Brown, get outta town: That was certainly interesting reading on Lozman and Riviera Beach's redevelopment scheme.
Especially the cast of characters involved — makes you wonder at times. I take it you had a photographer with you — good shot of what Riviera Beach's administration is up against. More interesting yet is that this person, who you say quickly became well-known in Riviera Beach, has had virtually no mention in local newspapers covering the Riviera Beach mess. Not even from the gossip columnist, if I recall correctly.
Hmmm. Michael Brown may have met his match. Thanks for another insightful article.
Cynthia Plockelman
West Palm Beach
Cyberuniverse Nailed
Trevor dug really deep: I liked Trevor Aaronson's August 3 article, "Buy My Rock!," very much — most of all because of the "multiple angles" in the story. He did a very thorough job on the research. He has plowed deep and far to get that information. This is by far the best article I have read concerning Entropia Universe and the infamous Jon Jacobs.
Kristoffer Håskjold
Via the Internet
This playa knows the game: I want to commend Trevor Aaronson on an amazingly well-written article. It is by far the best piece of writing I've found on Entropia Universe and the Real Cash Virtual Economy.
It had perfect balance and showed no bias, as true journalism should. It showed the problems and the benefits and let the readers form their own opinions.
I have been "playing" Entropia Universe for almost three years now and have loved the experience, despite its ups and downs. It truly is an adventure into a different world.
Sean Goertzen
Hamilton, Ontario
Correction
In a calendar item August 3 describing an event at the Funky Buddha Lounge, the bar's policy of charging a cover was described as dependent upon alcohol sales. In fact, there's a $3 entertainment fee every night at the lounge except for Wednesday, when the fee is $1.
