Pump sand on beaches; IRSC arts super, HOAs not; Trump’s Florida men

Nick Stater’s recent article, “Indian River County continues fight against beach erosion, starts working on next section,” continues the unproven actions of the past.
Adding sand to shore up the dunes, and adding plants on the top, may well slow down dune erosion in the short term, but this process does nothing to reduce beach erosion. Therefore, I fear that such an approach is a Band-Aid at best.
I’m sure many residents have noticed how narrow many of our Indian River County beaches are, especially in Sectors 3, 4 and 5. These beaches are naturally losing sand due to coastal erosion, which in turn contributes to even more dune erosion. Adding several feet of sand on top and in front of the dunes does very little as the waves keep rolling up the beach right to the dune.
A much longer-lasting approach is through the process of beach nourishment. This process involves dredging sand from offshore and pumping huge quantities to the beach, where it is distributed in such a way that the beach is both raised and pushed out into the ocean. Beach nourishment widens the beach, protects structures behind the beach, such as the Jaycee Park boardwalk, helps mitigate sea level rise, increases land value of nearby properties, and grows the local economy through tourism and recreation.
This has been done successfully for over 100 years, starting in Coney Island, New York.
Without raising the level of the sand through the process of beach nourishment, which widens the beach by pushing the ocean out, our dune restoration projects are very short-term solutions and of questionable value. Giving the public a false sense of security is not the way forward.
John Crosby, Indian River Shores
Recently returning to Fort Pierce after being away for the past two years, my wife and I have sought to resume our previous activities, one of which is attending the Indian River State College Performing Arts series.
On Nov. 1, we attended the theatrical performance of “Jekyll & Hyde, In Concert.” Broadway could not have provided anything better. The acting and singing of the students was inspiring and pitch perfect, most notably Julius Morano who played Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Shayna McGregor and Raina Szwarz. Kudos to the entire cast and technical crew, especially Vocal Music Director and Performance Director Alex Kanter and Musical Director and Conductor John Southhall.
With the above said, it amazes me that there were empty seats. Excellent entertainment at a very reasonable price makes this the best value on the Treasure Coast. Twenty dollars per ticket (less with season passes) can’t be beat especially for the quality of the performances. Donna and I are especially looking forward to the performances of “A Chorus Line” and “Murder on the Orient Express.” I hope others will enjoy them, too!
Al Rivett, Fort Pierce
I’d like to spend some time addressing The Economist essay, “The Anti-politics Eating the West.”
In this essay, the editors summarize the findings of research data collected over the past 60 years of U.S. elections. They address this question: What factors contribute to America’s deep political divisions and the resulting fragmentation of warring partisan camps that have ground cooperative government to a halt?
First, we learn that our country is starkly divided into “monocultural Republican and Democratic strongholds.” Because of these sharp partisan divisions, campaign managers “use anti-politics (aka ‘negative partisanship’) to manipulate voters’ emotions” because we’re so devoted to our own self-centered opinions. We’ve become divided into contrasting partisan ideologies with little chance of compromise. 
The editors note that when we allow ourselves “to see politics as a fight over a limited set of resources” (or singular either-or issues, such as abortion), we’re suckered into campaigns that set us against one another. Furthermore, because conservatives are inherently more skeptical about consolidated government programs, they’re more likely to see society as composed of competing rather than cooperating groups. 
The editors also note that new far-right populism has harnessed anti-elite antagonism, allowing the tactic of negative partisanship to flourish. 
“Negative partisanship is not simply unseemly; it can drive politics into a downward spiral,” a dysfunctional politics that leads to one-dimensional, zero-sum thinking (in other words, it’s either this or that, yes or no, right or left and so on), the editors write.
We know good government requires mature compromise. To expect to have everything one way is counterproductive and unrealistic. But if one party believes it’s selling out to give ground to the “wicked people on the other side of the aisle,” little of importance is accomplished.
I hope to address the reasons behind the decline of party cooperation in a future letter.
Cray Little, Vero Beach
As a retired teacher and professor, I am able to make ends meet, and I have lived alone now for over 10 years. Therefore, money is tight, but manageable.
My growing concern as a senior citizen is in Florida, homeowners associations and their boards have too much power over the residents and create unreasonable financial demands (special assessments and maintenance increases) annually. This is because no one person or agency overlooks what they do.
I have requested copies of financial statements, receipts for purchases, etc., because I think there is too much opportunity for illegal activity, especially with money, and that frightens me. By state law, they have to show all financial activity to a resident that requests this. I have been ignored and never received anything I asked for.
Some receive compensation, as board members, usually financial, but do not forget they are all volunteers. They can demand money from residents. How much and how often? Whenever they want to.
They can also play favorites. In one community I lived in, many people never had to pay an increase in maintenance or special assessments.
Board directors make too many decisions that do not benefit the majority of residents. Board members often assume titles for a specific responsibility without a license or training for that position.
We have no way of knowing how much a “project” costs because there is no communication on these decisions until we vote. And we never see an invoice or a bill.
Some boards refuse to allow residents to talk at meetings and decisions are already in place even before voting.
Why are board members allowed so much, but give so little to their community?
Michele Gigliotti, Stuart
The presidential election is finally over. Unfortunately, here comes the analysis of “what went wrong for the Democrats?” 
It’s simple. Voters trusted Donald Trump’s agenda more than Kamala Harris’ lies. Trump is no threat to democracy, is not a fascist, is not going to outlaw abortions, is not canceling Social Security, and had nothing to do with Project 2025. 
Trump did not cause inflation; it averaged less than 2% during the Trump years and over 6% per year under Biden/Harris. There was no real jobs boom under Biden/Harris; the economy was rebounding from the COVID shutdown when they took office.
Trump had a plan and repeated it at his rallies and interviews. Voters believed him because the plan was consistent with his actions while in office. Conversely, Harris was vague and elusive. There were no interviews until the end, when she saw the writing on the wall. Then she avoided specifics and gave no real answers. 
Harris tried to be the candidate of change, but in her interview on “The View”, she said there was nothing that she would change from the Biden policies. 
Biden/Harris gave us the Afghanistan debacle, COVID mandates, runaway spending and inflation, border problems, thousands of fentanyl deaths, runaway crime in Democrat-controlled cities, EV mandates, the Department of Justice’s phony litigation, men in women’s sports, antisemitic riots and lies about Hunter Biden’s laptop. Is it unreasonable for us to expect some accountability?
Trump met with the people at rallies and town halls; Harris had photo shoots for TV spots. Trump earned his landslide victory by listening to the voters; Harris bragged about the economy and did not sense the desperation of the average worker.  
On Jan. 20, Trump will begin to fix the Biden/Harris mess. As Americans, we should let him get to work and hold Republicans responsible if he fails to produce.
Tom Miller, Vero Beach
Voters who did not inform themselves before selecting Donald Trump and his down-ballot subjects are now about to become informed.
If you think Trump’s tariffs will bring prices down, you will soon have firsthand knowledge of economists’ warnings — rising prices and inflation. Do you think deporting millions of immigrants as well as their U.S.-born children will benefit the economy?
Think “Drill, baby, drill” will make your gas prices go so low that those grocery prices will drop? Did you like having health care with the Affordable Care Act? Too bad, the GOP who would have saved it are no longer.
Think your children will be better off with RFK Jr. knocking off vaccinations from our health programs? How about adult COVID vaccinations — those, too?
Do you think diminishing the Environmental Protection Agency will make your water cleaner, your air healthier, stop the chemicals leaching into the air and ground? Is there a state or country that hasn’t been affected by climate change — no escape there.
And, oh yes, why wouldn’t a president found guilty by a jury pardon his Jan. 6 “hostages”?
If you think we will save money by letting Ukrainians be slaughtered by Vladimir Putin, what will it cost when he goes after our allies? If you think our allies will help us in a crisis, why should they, and why should they trust a country that breaks its promises?
Trump’s alter ego, Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, can now wipe out what remains of Gaza and most of Lebanon and what the heck, Iran, too.
For those who chose not to vote to make a statement about Gaza, remember the saying, “You cut off your nose to spite your face.”
And for those who chose to remain uninformed and voted for Trump, my mother had a saying: “You made your bed; now lie in it.”
Anne Brakman, Vero Beach
Just as in the “Star Wars” saga wherein the Rebel force finally defeat the Empire, we have our Empire (2016 election), followed by the Empire Strikes Back (2020 election) and the recent actions of the Rebel Alliance (Donald Trump, JD Vance) to crushingly defeat the forces of our Empire (Kamala Harris, Tim Walz) to the cheers of the planet’s populace. 
Now begins the process of Reconstruction. The Rebel Alliance is selecting its soldiers to go forth and right the wrongs attributed to the past years of the Empire’s rule. The Alliance forces will work to control rampant crime, illegal Immigration; rebuild a faltering economy to include correcting costly fuel prices, grocery concerns and a stagnant housing industry. 
Anticipation runs high in looking forward to our New Empire. However, the Alliance must be aware that the defeated minions of the former Empire will endeavor to foil these positive efforts to, in future years, again gain power and resurrect their evil actions. 
In common parlance, let’s all give the new Alliance our support and trust.
Ray Mancari, Vero Beach
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (like some others, such as Matt Gaetz) does not have a basic school education and has zero understanding of economic, political and historical knowledge.
There is only one reason why he got selected as Donald Trump’s secretary of state nominee: He is a China hater.
Taiwan belongs to China, and that’s it. Look at the background and political knowledge of all the foreign ministers since World War II.
By the way, my 12-year-old grandson knows the geographical situation of most of the countries around the world.
Walter Nussbaumer, Port St. Lucie