Every day I hear that Deerfield Beach will no longer be safe unless we re-sign with the Sheriff’s Office for police and fire-rescue service. It’s not true.
Most Broward cities have their own police departments and are safe and have excellent response times. Fourteen of 31 Broward cities use BSO, according to the sheriff’s website.
The city hired a consultant to evaluate creating its own agency or staying with BSO. Services such as emergency 911 calls, SWAT teams, and helicopters are paid for through the county and will still be available either way.
Many people are not aware that the city owns its police and fire substations and fire trucks and ambulances used by BSO in our city. We’re responsible for all that equipment either way.
Ask city commissioners to wait until all of the relevant information is available and brought up at a public meeting. Your taxes may increase. As a former commissioner, I waited to hear all the facts before voting.
On the question of BSO’s future in Deerfield Beach, two commissioners jumped the gun (Ben Preston and Dan Shanetzky), and you should demand to know why.
Bernie Parness, Deerfield Beach
The writer is a former Deerfield Beach commissioner.
Is this a war crime?
Blowing up boats in the Caribbean has nothing to do with stemming the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. The boats may not be headed to the U.S., and the actions by our government may constitute war crimes.
Why kill everybody on the boats? Shouldn’t survivors be interrogated so information could be obtained about their operations and action could be taken against those running the narcotics trade — the kingpins?
Are we not interested in halting such operations? It’s time that the important task of preventing the influx of illegal drugs into the United States is handed back to professionals.
J.D. Hirschel, Highland Beach
A bike that’s not a bike
Electric bicycles are an important and positive part of our transportation landscape.
They make cycling accessible to people of all ages and abilities. Unfortunately, a growing number of high-powered electric vehicles are mislabeled and marketed as “e-bikes.”
They create risks, especially for children, and are causing a backlash against legitimate cyclists. It’s time to draw a clear line.
If a vehicle exceeds 750 watts, reaches speeds over 28 mph, operates primarily with a throttle or resembles a motorcycle or dirt bike, it’s not an e-bike. It’s an electric motorcycle — often called an e-moto.
These electric motorcycles are increasingly driven by underage riders, creating serious risks. They accelerate quickly, reach motorcycle-level speeds, may require licensing and registration, and are often illegally ridden on streets, sidewalks and bike paths. A helmet does not make a 40-mph electric motorcycle safe for a child.
Helmets should always be worn, especially by children and teens. Speed increases risks. Head injuries are the leading cause of serious cycling trauma.
E-bikes are not the problem; electric motorcycles, marketed as e-bikes, are. Parents deserve
clear information, communities deserve safe public spaces, and cyclists deserve not to be
blamed for machines that were never bicycles.
If it goes faster than 28 mph or exceeds 750 watts, it’s not an e-bike. It’s an electric motorcycle, and should be treated as one.
Richard Garrett, Bradenton
The writer is president of the Florida Bicycle Association.
A nation of immigrants
When letter writer Terrence O’Loughlin wrote that Archbishop Thomas Wenski is “simply wrong” about illegal entry into the U.S., Mr. O’Loughlin was — well, simply wrong.
Under federal law, 8 USC 1158, it is legal for immigrants to request asylum at the border. An immigration judge will hear their plea and decide whether to grant asylum.
Let us remember, we are a nation of immigrants (we called it a “melting pot” when I was in grade school). We ought not slam the door on persons seeking a better life here, just as our ancestors did before us.
Daniel M Cook, J.D., Boca Raton
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