A defining moment for the Rays – and Tampa Bay | Column, March 25

Will Weatherford’s support for approving the Rays’ request to build in Tampa is based on two hollow arguments: timing demands quick approval and the ownership is connected to Tampa. Neither addresses the critical issue: using the public’s money to help underwrite the cost. Why privilege the wishes of owners and players over the will of us taxpayers? How about taking time to find out what our priorities are by asking voters in the November elections?

Mark Amen, Tampa

A defining moment for the Rays – and Tampa Bay | Column, March 25

According to an excellent article in the latest edition of Sports Illustrated, the Rays just need to stay put. The headline — “Be it ever so humble, and the Trop is soooo humble, there’s no place like home” — highlights how much the team missed much-maligned Tropicana Field during the 2025 baseball season. And since St. Petersburg spent over $60 million upgrading the facility, the team should just plan to stay there for another decade or so. It would save a lot of us a lot of money.

Joseph Brown, Tampa

Democrats are at fault for TSA delays | Letters, March 25

The letter writer states that the Democrat are at fault for the TSA debacle at our airports. That argument conveniently misses the fact that the Democrats have offered to fund TSA and other government organizations while continuing to negotiate reforms to ICE, which are sorely needed. President Donald Trump wants no compromise. So who is really at fault? The Democrats for creating the shutdown or the Republicans for saying, “my way or the highway”?

Ralph Sica, Tampa

Democrats are at fault for TSA delays | Letters, March 25

It’s unfortunate that one of the Times readers continues to spread misinformation. The Democrats have gone to the table eight times now to get TSA funded. The president has shut it down. Stop blaming the wrong people when you know it’s about more than just the TSA. Ignorance won’t solve our problems.

Suzanne Connelly , Candler, North Carolina

DeSantis criticizes sheriffs’ comments on immigration enforcement | March 20

Reading about Ron DeSantis criticizing sheriffs over immigration enforcement almost felt like satire writing itself. There’s no shortage of issues Floridians could use a little attention on — gas prices with “no simple fix,” ballooning war budgets, an insurance market shrouded in secrecy, and tax burdens that seem to rise faster than the temperature. But apparently, the real concern is a sheriff speaking out of turn.

Which brings us to Grady Judd, hardly a wallflower when it comes to tough-on-crime credentials. When even one of Florida’s most reliably hardline sheriffs hints that immigration policy might require something resembling pragmatism, you’d think that might warrant a pause. Instead, it earns a public scolding. It does make one wonder what changed. Perhaps the economic realities of places like Polk County — where industries quietly depend on immigrant labor — have a way of cutting through political theater. Even the most enthusiastic culture warriors eventually run into a payroll.

And for those keeping score, it’s worth remembering that Ronald Reagan—still treated as gospel in many corners—signed legislation granting legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants. That wasn’t seen as weakness then. It was called governance. So yes, it’s amusing to watch outrage over a sheriff acknowledging reality. In Florida, even a small step toward it can feel downright rebellious.

David Burg, Tampa

As Dreamers are getting deported, some wonder what comes next | March 17

When conversations around immigration come up, I inevitably encounter the argument that people should come here “the right way.” But “the right way” is an arbitrary result of chance.

I am an immigrant who moved here when I was seven. I am also a U.S. citizen, but not by birth. I did not personally fill out paperwork. I did not make the decision to move to the U.S. Every decision and privilege of my nationality and status before I was 20 was not anything I did or earned. So did I come here “the right way”?

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients — sometimes referred to as Dreamers — were also children. The difference is that I got lucky and was given citizenship, while DACA recipients have a multitude of stipulations and restrictions. You had to have been under the age of 16 when you came to the U.S. and under 31 at the time of the policy. It doesn’t even apply to anyone who hasn’t continuously lived in the U.S. since 2007 and, of course, you have to apply and renew, with no clear path to citizenship.

If Dreamers don’t belong here, what about me? How am I different, other than a piece of paper that was filled out decades before I even became aware of its existence? We can hem and haw about general immigration policy and balancing various interests, but we’re talking about kids. Laws and policy debates should be about the best way to achieve shared values. Our laws should not undermine our basic morality.

Masa Mochizuki, St. Petersburg

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