Florida keeps limiting higher education
Steven Walker’s excellent Wednesday piece on Florida’s plan to bar our universities from hiring faculty using the H-1B visa for the upcoming year speaks to one of the many ways in which the state is controlling decisions that need to be in the realm of academic governance. By restricting our universities from hiring the best talent available worldwide to tackle the complicated issues facing our society, Florida would be damaging their capacity to excel in research, especially in fields where talent pools in the U.S. are limited and scholars from other parts of the world can bring fresh insights, methods and data. This proposal, coupled with the disincentive at the federal level that increased the price of the visas from $215 to $100,000, shows a parochialism that does not foster open and productive inquiry.
A report by the League of Women Voters of Florida and the American Association of University Women of Florida goes into detail about the effect of government actions on Florida’s universities. On this particular subject, the report speaks to the harmful effect of another restriction — the ban on recruitment of graduate students from certain countries — that also denies the importance of global cooperation in research.
The next State University System Board of Governors is now putting the proposal out for comment. We urge all to advise the Board of the damage that restricting the use of the H-1B visa in faculty hiring will do, if enacted.
— Nancy Van Note Chism, Naples
ICE is making up for open-border policy
Has it occurred to all the anti-ICE protesters that none of the actions taken by ICE would be necessary had the Biden administration not allowed millions of people the opportunity to cross our borders, many without proper vetting? By protesting and objecting to their removal, you are sanctioning and endorsing open borders. As Thomas Sowell stated, “If you don’t control your borders, it doesn’t matter what immigration laws you have.” Either one is for the rule of law or not. For four years, the law was ignored to the detriment of our nation’s sovereignty. Adherence and enforcement of the law will help to restore it.
— Mark W. Needham, Clermont
We are not powerless vs. ICE
On Jan. 27, 1945, Soviet troops liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi concentration and extermination camp. The horrors revealed within its gates woke up the world to the atrocities committed by a country whose leaders had completely lost their moral compass. Jews and good people vowed “Never Again.”
Eighty-one years later, the United States is waking up to a government which shoots its citizens in the streets and, in my opinion, covers up their crimes by spouting propaganda in which “Don’t believe your own eyes” has become a mantra.
Just as we honor the memories of the six million Jews and five million other victims of Hitler’s reign of terror, we need to honor the memory of Renee Nicole Good, Alex Jeffrey Pretti and Silverio Villegas González, all killed by federal agents.
We are not powerless. The people in Minneapolis are using their feet. Until we can march, we can use our voices. Download the 5Calls app on your phone to access your state’s Congress members. Find the names of Republicans who are willing to vote against continued funding for ICE. Call your own Congress members and tell them, “This must stop now!”
— Marilyn Shapiro, Kissimmee
Alzheimer’s awareness
Alzheimer’s is a growing threat in Orlando.
I am the seventh child of 12 born to JoeDee Staple Manson. Mommie was a professional cook and we noticed that she was burning herself and did not know it. One day she was talking to me on the phone and then started talking about me in the third person. I began to cry.
Mommie was eventually diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2005. She was active in her community in Indianapolis, loved to quilt and kept a garden in her backyard. This disease took all of that away from her.
We did not know the signs of Alzheimer’s and did not know how to get the diagnosis for what was happening to her. Early detection and treatment might have helped her to keep doing the things she loved.
Florida is the only state without a statewide public health awareness campaign to help residents like me understand the signs of Alzheimer’s and take action early — when it matters most.
That is why Senate Bill 578, introduced during the 2026 legislative session, is so important. This bill would fund Florida’s first-ever statewide public health awareness campaign focused on Alzheimer’s disease. Supported by the Florida chapters of the Alzheimer’s Association, this campaign would educate residents about early detection, risk reduction, brain health, recent research and available community resources.
Now is the time for leadership. I urge Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis to help Floridians take action on their health and support Senate Bill 578.
— Rubbie Brooks, Apopka
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