Time to open primaries

Vote in the primaries | Letters, June 28

I would love to be able to vote in primaries, but like hundreds of thousands of other Florida voters, I am not allowed to vote because I am registered as No Party Affiliation. The end result of NPA disenfranchisement is that we are typically left with a choice between a hard-right and a hard-left candidate in the general election. It would be nice if those of us who appreciate centrist politicians actually had a say in who ends up in the election. We could have people running for office that actually care about things the majority of the voters care about.

LeRoy Dennison, Riverview

Lucky to survive

The international lockdown backlash | June 27

Columnist Daniel Henninger uses the word “stupid” in his column about lockdown backlash. Yes, he must think we are stupid to believe his completely out of context conclusions. “The lockdowns just killed these workers,” he ironically states. Hmmm. He gives no regard to all the people who actually died in the pandemic and the many, many more whose lives were saved because of the lockdowns. He also doesn’t mention that the lockdowns were prolonged because of the leadership at the time and because many people, particularly Republicans, refused to follow the CDC advice on mask wearing, social distancing and, later, vaccines. Because he was lucky to survive the pandemic, I guess we should grieve that his investments aren’t doing as well, and he has to pay more to drive his fancy car due to those “stupid” lockdowns.

Michael Lang, Seminole

Need rather than greed

Possible answer to high rental increases | June 27

With so many Tampa Bay residents unable to meet huge increases in rent and rent control likely off the table, perhaps the counties could construct a formula that matches a cost of living percentage that includes landlord insurance costs, property tax increases and building services increases. They could use that formula to set an annual maximum rent increase based on need, rather than greed. This would be fair to both landlords and tenants.

Corie Miller, Indian Rocks Beach

Fought to the end

Lightning fall short in quest for third straight Stanley Cup title | June 26

To our Tampa Bay Lightning: We want to say how very proud we are of you for giving us another exciting season. Right down to the last horn in the final game, you played with determination, grit, sacrifice, heart and a never-say-quit attitude. Though you didn’t get to lift the cup this year, don’t hang your heads in defeat, but stand tall and proud for the great effort you gave. And know that in the hearts of your fans, you will always be winners. Go Bolts!

Denise Hertenstein, Lutz