Legislature must pass drinking water protection bill

Drinking Water in Public Schools (Senate Bill 66) is a Florida state bill enacted because of the documented adverse effect lead can have on the development of school age children.

Several schools tested in a school district in Tampa had lead levels higher than the minimum level allowed by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), even though there is no safe level of lead in blood in children, according to the Center for Disease Prevention (CDP).

A more shocking revelation is that the Department of Education and the EPA do not have the means to test for the presence of lead and there is not a federal policy requirement to test the water in schools.

A survey conducted by the government had found lead in drinking water, especially in schools built before 1986, due to pipe corrosion, and a great potential for lead poisoning.

As health care providers and parents, it is our responsibility to provide our kids the best future; we all agree our kids’ water must be tested for any trace of lead.

Lead in water can be the cause of severe and permanent harm to the brain and nervous system in school age children.

Moreover, it can cause problems in behavior and learning abilities, ADHD and decreased intelligence levels, and anemia and stunted growth. SB 66 ensures that our kids’ water is safe to drink.

We think this bill ought to be supported because it is grounded on sound scientific evidence.

Lead, indeed, is the cause of significant health problems among not only children but also adults.

Thus, the bill will help significantly in reducing such health risks for our future generations.

– Lidiana Dyer, Maday Nuñez and three others, Barry University, Miami Shores RUSSIA IN VENEZUELA

According to administration sources and press reports, on Tuesday Venezuelan despot Nicolás Maduro was about to flee to Cuba when the Russians told him to stay put.

What are Mr. Putin’s military “advisors” doing in Venezuela? What are his intentions? Will more than 50 nations that have recognized Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate president recall home their ambassadors for consultation? Will there not be a price to pay for Moscow’s intervention in the internal affairs of a nation in the Americas?

The Russian troops would not be in Venezuela if Raúl Castro, who still runs Cuba, its Communist Party and its military had not deployed there what Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the OAS has correctly denounced as an army of occupation.

While Western tourists subsidize Raul Castro’s military by staying in their hotels on the island, Cuban agents train Maduro’s henchmen in repression and torture techniques.

Democracies should ask Guaidó’s government for permission to deploy a peace force in Venezuela to protect the Venezuelan people and supervise a peaceful transition to democracy.

Tourism, trade and cultural exchanges with Moscow and Havana should be suspended until their troops are out of Venezuela.

Many are already pointing out the danger of American, Colombian, Brazilian and other democracies intervening,