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, Longwood
Deborah Green is the Orange Audubon Society President and Apopka Birding Park Working Group Chair.
What is Bondi hiding?
What do those Jeffrey Epstein files reveal that Pam Bondi has kept hidden by refusing by testify before Congress? It has been revealed that there are about six million files and Donald Trump is mentioned many times.
Epstein said Trump was once his best friend. But we know that Trump doesn’t make friends.
He uses people to his advantage, only to discard them when they no longer have anything that he wants from them. So what did Epstein, to be known forever as a pedophile, possibly have that Trump wanted?
Is this why Trump was Epstein’s best friend? Is this why Bondi doesn’t want to testify about what the Epstein files revealed regarding Trump?
— William Butte, Deerfield Beach
Pledge of Allegiance has meaning
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
The words to the Pledge of Allegiance have meaning. We all recited it as children in school. It was part of our American story. These words proclaim unity, a sense of pride, and a strength of purpose. We are one nation. We are indivisible. We believe in liberty and justice for all. It is a promise of loyalty to the country’s ideals of freedom and fairness and unity. It is not to one person.
The Trump administration and his family display what look like acts of corruption daily. Trump has consistently upended our constitutional separation of powers to unilaterally control all branches of our government, impose his political agenda on the entire U.S. population, and extort or prosecute anyone who challenges him, his power, or his financial interests. The Republican Congress has seemingly abdicated its role as a branch of government that provides checks and balances and oversight of the executive.
The Pledge is meaningless if the president of the United States lies to us, divides us, bullies us and steals from us.
In this 250th anniversary of our great country, we should be clear on what the Pledge means to us.
— Joy DeBusk, West Melbourne
You can submit a letter to the editor by sending it by email to insight@orlandosentinel.com or by filling out the form below. Letters are limited to less than 250 words and must be signed (no pseudonyms nor initials).You must include your email address, address with city and daytime phone number for verification. Letters are subject to editing for clarity and length.