{"id":367488,"date":"2026-08-10T14:32:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T14:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/367488\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T14:32:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T14:32:10","slug":"wilton-manors-needs-two-way-talk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/367488\/","title":{"rendered":"Wilton Manors needs two-way talk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wilton Manors Commissioner Michael Bracchi is right<\/a>: (\u201cLocal elections often decide what matters most,\u201d Another Viewpoint, July 30). Local elections matter, but voter turnout is often dismal.<\/p>\n

But at a recent city budget hearing, after Bracchi laughed off residents who complained about their utility bills and claimed the city has no control over water rates, I took my three minutes and asked him directly about those charges.<\/p>\n

His answer: The commission doesn\u2019t respond during meetings. He still hasn\u2019t reached out.<\/p>\n

Maybe the city can\u2019t control what Fort Lauderdale charges at wholesale. However, it absolutely controls the City Hall overhead it pulls from water and sewer funds and sweeps into the general budget.<\/p>\n

By the city\u2019s own state filings, close to $30 million has been drawn from our utility funds over two decades. I filed a public records request for the math behind these charges. It\u2019s still unanswered. Now the city is borrowing $28 million to repair the very pipes it underfunded, which will be paid back by raising utility bills.<\/p>\n

Bracchi wonders why people don\u2019t vote. Here\u2019s one answer: When residents show up to speak and get silence, they learn the loop runs one way. Accountability is what officials owe voters.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Boyd Corbin, Wilton Manors<\/p>\n

The writer is a four-time candidate for mayor of Wilton Manors.<\/p>\n

Stop bashing Trump
\n\"Harold<\/p>\n

Courtesy<\/p>\n

Harold Brown, a Vietnam War veteran living in Delray Beach, wrote a letter to the editor.<\/p>\n

Instead of the constant bashing of Donald Trump and his administration, who are only trying to clean up the mess left by Biden and Obama, imagine if all those immigrants did not come here, how this country would be today.<\/p>\n

On Iran, you all should be on the side of our military and the president. I do not agree that Iran should be given so many opportunities to sign an agreement (and they won\u2019t abide by it).<\/p>\n

How many Sun Sentinel readers served in our armed forces? How many of you carried a dead soldier off of a helicopter or put a tourniquet on someone who just lost a leg, or both, while fighting and doing what the oath required?<\/p>\n

While you dine in fancy restaurants and complain about everything, our soldiers are in harm\u2019s way. They are not watching Netflix, like you are. They are fighting for peace and to end war.<\/p>\n

As a 20-year-old, I fought in the jungles of Vietnam. I carried more than one deceased brave soldier off helicopters. I did my duty with honor. I stood by the oath I took when I joined.<\/p>\n

Stop hating Trump so much. Pray that the Iran war will be over soon \u2014 and hopefully in Ukraine, too. Pray for America. Many died to protect and give us the freedoms we all enjoy.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Harold Brown, Delray Beach<\/p>\n

Shame on Congress<\/p>\n

Trump may be my least favorite president of all time. That has to be stated right up front, but look at who ran against him: Kamala Harris. We were forced to choose. Some of us used logic, others used emotion, including a strong dislike for Trump, to vote for his opponent.<\/p>\n

Every day in every way, the news media has been ripping Trump apart. Some of it was true and it is sickening. At the recent White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner, Trump gave it right back to them (in my day, that was called an eye for an eye).<\/p>\n

Patriotism must start in Congress, where the members are only in it for themselves. It\u2019s disgusting. If you ran a business with that attitude, you would file for bankruptcy. I\u2019m ashamed of them. We need leaders and patriots, but look what we have on both sides of the aisle. Shame on you, Congress.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Earl Strugger, Boynton Beach<\/p>\n

The damage pythons do<\/p>\n

With so much damage that invasive pythons<\/a> create in the Everglades, why does the state limit the hunt to 10 days a year?<\/p>\n

They should be hunted for 365 days a year.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Mike Weymouth, Fort Lauderdale<\/p>\n

Please submit a letter to the editor by email to\u00a0letterstotheeditor@sunsentinel.com<\/a> or fill out the online form below. Letters may be up to 200 words and must be signed with your email address, city of residence and daytime phone number for verification. Letters will be edited for clarity and length.<\/p>\n

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