Long Beach letters

Get ready for new tax hills to climb

To the Editor:
On May 24, the Long Beach City Council will have numerous hearings on raising many of its fees. These “fees”— another way of saying taxes— will cover every facet of daily life within the city.
They have already raised the water-sewer rates from $3.29 to $3.45 per 1,000 gallons. The new taxes cover daily beach passes, garbage collection, licensing-permits, as well as other services the city provides. It wouldn’t surprise me if less than 45 people attended these hearings. The average household increase will amount to hard-earned hundreds of dollars per year. When you couple these tax increases with the current prices at the supermarket and gas station, the family is in an ever tightening squeeze.

Listen to the Flynns’ message

To the Editor:
There was a time when I thought my family's story was unique (“DWI Tragedy hits TV,” April 15-21). A family that over the years has been devastated twice by DWI-related accidents, one resulting in a death and the second in severe injury. Both were life-shattering traumas that changed our family forever.
But that was then, and today my thoughts have changed. I no longer see our family's experiences as unique, I sadly see them as "everyday news." When I think of the Flynn family, my heart cannot even begin to conceive or process all that they have experienced, which is why I so completely admire their courage and their spirit of heart in all that they are sharing with the public.
So please listen to all the Flynn family is sharing in their public announcements. Please listen to all those who have suffered tragic losses of loved ones as a result of DWI-related accidents. The truth is that it’s not something you or a loved one ever want to experience. It’s pure hell in every sense of the word!
So please listen with your full, undivided attention. It's a message that so desperately needs to be heard and heeded.
Donna Pisacano-Brown
Point Lookout