Rants & Raves

No more Goodwill I used to be an everyday shopper of Goodwill in Sebastian but lately their prices are not so GOOD anymore!! Their annual membership fee went from $20.00 a year to $5.99 a month!! All their prices have doubled. If you claim you are helping the community and all the goods are donated, then why are you raising your prices like you are? There's a lot of people hurting because they cannot afford the gas prices food price increases insurance increases the list goes on and on. This country is in bad shape and the average person needs a break! Sorry Goodwill, no deals anymore!!!! - D.R., Sebastian Local economy Let me start by saying I moved to Fort Pierce from St. Petersburg in December 2019 after living in St Pete since 1980. It was a small city back then with no traffic or major issues of crime or high inflation. You could actually live off a single hospitality job. Fast forward to today, My spouse and I decided to move from St Pete to Fort Pierce for retirement to get away from all the explosive uncontrolled growth that has taken all the charm that we loved.

The continue growth there has causes nothing more than headaches after headaches. Traffic that is so bad no amount of road construction have alleviated the congestion. You don't even go to your own beaches because of the tourist and lack of space to park. Crime has skyrocketed, inflation on all scales including housing is worse than here, if you can imagine that. The point I'm trying to make: the Treasure Coast area is going through growth that if not contained and thought out will be as bad as St Pete is now. Just look at Port St Lucie's growth as an example. Cookie cutter homes going up every where, car washes on every empty lot, and storage units galore. These are just a few examples of just building without any real plan for the future. Growth is good for the community but only if it makes sense. It seems community leaders only care for the dollars and not what the people want. Wake up before Fort Pierce becomes another St Pete. - R.B., Fort Pierce Homeowners insurance, help! The property insurance in FL has gotten completely out of control and placing a financial burden on the seniors and others who own homes. On my home, I owe $165, 000 to a mortgage company and they are payable that amount if the house is destroyed.

However, the insurance company charges me premium based on replacement figure they get from some computer co., this place is $307, 000 which I pay premium on. I don't want to rebuild but would like $25, 000 to be paid to me above to amount to the mortgage co. But guess what? I can't just have a policy that covers my mortgage and a few other dollars. The insurance co. charges me 3% of the policy to pay towards hurricane damage to my roof. They also charge me various deductibles of $1, 000 on other accidents. We have choice on life insurance, car insurance, and other things (burial insurance, etc.). Why can't we have a choice? Their figure also includes the land the house sits on. If the "big shot" insurance commission would give us a choice of payable coverage (after covering the mortgage), it would lower the insurance industry liability by probably 33%. How about some help, Gov.! -J.H., Port St. Lucie