Uthmeier is out of place
Attorney General James Uthmeier teaching political science might be reasonable, but lectures on constitutional law and “the implications of executive overreach?” University of Florida students would be better off following Uthmeier’s public pronouncements and reading the law texts (“Professor Uthmeier,” Feb. 19). Uthmeier, who has become more of a politician than a lawyer, does nothing to enhance the reputation of UF Levin College of Law when he should be back in law school as a student in the classes he is teaching.
On the other hand, diligent law students need a class where they can excel by not being awake.
— Jim Armstrong, Winter Springs
Water issues should be handled locally
Florida’s water has always been our shared inheritance — the springs that astonish visitors, the rivers that shaped our towns, the lagoons and estuaries that define our coastal identity. Yet this year, state lawmakers are advancing legislation that would strip cities and counties of their ability to protect that inheritance. If passed, these bills would hand Tallahassee exclusive control over water‑quality rules, wetlands protections, and pollution oversight. Local governments would be legally barred from acting, even when the problems are in their own backyard.
Supporters call this “consistency.” But consistency is not the same as stewardship.
Communities like ours know the truth on the ground. We see the algae blooms creeping into canals. We watch stormwater surge through neighborhoods after a heavy rain. We live with the consequences of septic failures, fertilizer runoff, and unchecked development. These are not abstract policy debates — they are lived realities. And they vary dramatically from county to county, watershed to watershed.
A one‑size‑fits‑all mandate from Tallahassee cannot possibly address the complexity of Florida’s water challenges. Worse, it silences the very governments closest to the problem.
Local officials are often the first to respond when water quality declines. They are the ones fielding calls from residents, coordinating emergency measures, and working with scientists and environmental groups to craft targeted solutions. Removing their authority doesn’t streamline anything — it simply removes the people who know the landscape best.
Floridians deserve cleaner water, not fewer tools to protect it. Tallahassee should not be the only voice in the room. Our cities and counties must remain empowered to safeguard the waters that sustain us — because no one understands their value more than the people who live beside them.
— Carl Scharwath, New Smyrna Beach
Find light amid the darkness
As Black History Month draws to a close and another icon of the civil rights movement, Jesse Jackson, leaves the arena, it is time to remember the words of Jackson’s mentor, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who said, “Only when it’s dark enough can you see the stars.”
These are very dark times in America. Some people cope by leaving the country. Others disengage and hope that “this, too, shall pass.” A few, seeking quick power and easy money, defect to MAGA. But I firmly believe that the majority of Americans now realize the threat MAGA Republicans and the oligarchs who support them pose to the country and are ready to work together to fight for change. As the lives of King and Jackson demonstrated, the journey out of the darkness and toward the light will not be easy, quick, or painless; but we have to try because it is the right thing to do and, if it gets any darker than this, America’s light may be extinguished forever.
— Maggie Culp, Longwood
Andrew is an embarrassment
Perhaps it was entitlement which was the essence of former Prince Andrew’s playboy days (“Former Prince Andrew arrested over ties to Epstein”). The rich and famous sometimes believe that they are above the law. But his wild and carefree past as well as ties to disgraced financier and child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have now come back to haunt him. While I believe the former prince has become an embarrassment to the royal family and the United Kingdom, it appears as though his brother King Charles III is not going to give him any special treatment. And now that the former prince has been arrested there is little doubt that he will bear the consequences of his sordid past.
— JoAnn Lee Frank, Clearwater
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