Appreciate law enforcement

Muhammad Musri,

Orlando is a member of the Strong Cities Network, a United Nations program, to share best practices on countering violent extremism. I was privileged to join a team from Orlando to go on an exchange visit to the country of Trinidad & Tobago organized by the U.S. Embassy there. Our team got to see firsthand efforts by the government there to combat the threats from criminal gangs, drug cartels, and extremist groups. The violence and instability in Venezuela, Trinidad’s neighbor, is spilling over. Central Florida is blessed with great law enforcement that we all should appreciate this holiday season.

Charities must focus on help

Mark E. NeJame,

I’m sickened when charities and foundations exist primarily for the financial benefit of its founders. Often goodhearted and compassionate contributors believe they are donating to a worthy cause when they are actually donating to a founder’s private gain or toward their personal expenses. My wife and I founded Runway to Hope, benefiting children with cancer, and have never taken even a cent in compensation. Nevertheless, the charlatans and cons not only deny help to those they are purporting to benefit, but they also cause others in need to be denied because a skeptical public, hesitant to donate to any cause, is not able to distinguish the legitimate from the illegitimate ones. If one establishes a charity only for their personal gain and it doesn’t help others, expulsion from participating in other charities should be the minimum penalty imposed on such miscreants.

Grant will bring ‘Pompeii’

Cole NeSmith,

The Board of County Commissioners approved a $780,000 grant to the Orlando Science Center. The grant will make it possible for the center to present “Pompeii: The Immortal City” in the summer of 2020. The exhibition will be one of four stops in the U.S. and the only stop in the Southeast. The funds are distributed through the Orange County Arts and Cultural Affairs Blockbuster Fund. The fund is designed to facilitate the presentation of blockbuster arts and culture experiences that will attract 100,000 visitors or more. Blockbuster funding comes through the tourist development tax, a tax levied on hotel rooms in the county.

Corcoran and state education

Matthew Peddie,

Former House Speaker Richard Corcoran was confirmed unanimously by the state board of education as Florida’s next commissioner of education. Corcoran’s been an outspoken advocate for charter schools, and his appointment was greeted with concern from critics, who were calling for a nationwide search for the next commissioner of education. Those critics will be watching closely to see how Corcoran shapes the state’s education policy. The president of the Florida Education Association, Fredrick Ingram, said he was disappointed by the selection, but the union also invited Corcoran to visit classrooms to see the work that public school teachers do.

Solid state economy

Larry Pino,

This week’s report by the Florida Retail Federation that holiday shopping has not only been robust, but has even exceeded its own expectations highlights how strong the Florida economy actually is with unemployment at a 10-year low, tourism at record levels, consumer confidence high, and a strong housing market to boot. The Federal Reserve’s recent action increasing the benchmark federal funds rate yet again with another two rate hikes planned for next year accentuates that strength on a national level. While the markets may continue their ongoing temper tantrums and volatility, the good news is that economic fundamentals appear to remain solid, at least through 2019.

Helping ‘Stat Man’

Ed Schons,

In this season of giving, all other stories last week seemed unimportant compared to the one eloquently told by Orlando Sentinel columnist David Whitley about Orlando Magic fan Jim Schmidt. “Stat Man,” as many of us remember him from Scott Anez’s show on WDBO, stands as a symbol of all those who by no action of their own have found themselves on hard times. Kudos to the Orlando Magic and sensitive Central Floridians like advocate for the homeless and founder of Change Everything, Andrae Bailey, who started a campaign to help Schmidt. In the same spirit of giving, each of us ought to ask, “Who can I help this week?”