Don’t spoil Leu Gardens
Thanks to Ryan Gillespie and the Sentinel for shining a light on the impending harmful changes to Leu Gardens (“Will renovation plans spoil Orlando’s Leu Gardens?” March 14).
There is a vast difference between a park and a venue. A park, such as historic Leu Gardens, was intended as a reprieve amidst the concrete chaos; It greatly enhances our neighborhoods and is a citywide treasure. By contrast, a venue is purposed to provide entertainment and make money.
What’s wrong with that? It is going to discard everything that has made our beloved Leu Gardens and surrounding neighborhoods unique, loved and valued for decades. Most critically, it will ignore and toss aside the Gardens’ original mission.
How? Specifically, after-hours noise, light pollution, traffic, trash, expanded concrete footprint and less green space. Do we really need to tear down the Leu House, currently the Visitor’s Center? No citizens, much less residents, are asking for this. City Hall, are you listening?
It’s simple: The proposed master plan with its “over-the-top” schematics, lakefront restaurant, music venue and 300-car parking lot is a flagrant mismatch with the beloved natural assets of Leu. Solution? Full stop.
— Yvonne Rausch, Orlando
Juries are there to follow the law
The screed in Monday’s paper by InsideSources contributor John Fredericks about jury nullification was eye-rolling (“Jury nullification is the left’s clear option to blow up justice”). Jury nullification is when a jury in a criminal trial ignores evidence and the law to find a guilty defendant to be not guilty. Firstly, Fredericks’ argument was a classic straw man, claiming that the left is openly advocating such a practice to protect anyone who investigated or opposed Donald Trump from criminal prosecution.
It’s really not possible for defense attorneys to directly advocate for jury nullification in a criminal trial and only the prosecution presents evidence to a grand jury. So how exactly is the “left-leaning legal intelligentsia” calling for juries to ignore evidence and law? Opining that justice may be better served on occasion by elevating justice over the letter of the law is indeed part of the American tradition, but not a strategy that will let actual criminals go free or crumble our justice system. But you know what could? Blanket pardons to 1,500 convicted for the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Now that is some serious nullification of the law.
— Jeff Henderson, Belle Isle
Please conserve water for our springs
Have you been to one of our Florida springs lately? Algae coats the native eelgrass. According to the Gainesville-based Florida Springs Council, most Florida springs are impaired by nitrogen pollution coupled with declining spring flow. Eliminating septic tanks and ground application of wastewater byproducts seems beyond our control. But we can help in our own landscapes by reducing or eliminating fertilizer use and using less water. Household water largely comes from underground, the same aquifer that connects to the springs.
This year we are experiencing drought conditions, with most of Central Florida classified as in severe drought. The maxim “April showers bring May flowers” doesn’t apply here. April is typically Florida’s driest month, and as temperatures increase, rainfall lags behind plants’ water needs so people tend to crank up their irrigation. Ways to help are: To water only when necessary (when plants are wilted). Use a shutoff hose nozzle when hand watering. If you have an automatic irrigation system, follow St. Johns River Water Management District watering restrictions. Restrictions help by keeping people from watering daily, which plants do not need, and avoiding high evaporation hours. Also use a rain sensor device or turn the system off when it rains, something to get in place before the summer rainy season. For irrigation tune-ups, choose a contractor who is a certified member of the Florida Irrigation Society. Please, let’s all do our part.
— Deborah Green, Apopka
Deborah Green is the Orange Audubon Society President and Apopka Birding Park Working Group Chair.
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