Legislators point fingers in wrong direction
I attended the trial detailed in Rosie Manins' recent article regarding the $140 million jury award following the tragic fire at Venetian Hills Apartments. It’s crucial to highlight that the plaintiffs’ attorneys made multiple settlement offers of $1 million, all of which were declined by the insurance company. (“Do huge jury verdicts strain Ga. economy? Not really,” March 16)
The conditions at Venetian Hills were alarmingly hazardous. The complex had over 100 code violations, including the illegal conversion of units into boardinghouses without necessary fire safety measures such as sprinklers and alarms. This negligence led to overcrowding with multiple families sharing inadequate spaces. The owner partitioned the kitchen area in two-bedroom apartments, creating a bedroom for a third family.
In the 2017 fire, residents were forced to try to jump out of windows nailed shut and, tragically, 63-year-old tenant George Hughes lost his life, found in his bedroom, unable to escape.
This case underscores the vital importance of holding property owners accountable for maintaining safe living conditions. The jury’s decision reflects the severity of the negligence and the profound consequences that ensued. Legislators and the governor should restrict insurance companies from insuring businesses with multiple violations recorded at the agency that governs them.
GAIL MELTON, NASHVILLE
Trump’s vindictiveness is deeply troubling
The levels of vindictiveness and sheer cruelty displayed by Donald Trump’s recent words and actions are deeply troubling.
Penalizing law firms who worked against him in his court cases, even identifying individual lawyers by name; voiding Joe Biden’s pardons to permit “investigation” of Liz Cheney and the Jan. 6 committee, which recommended him for criminal prosecution, and Gen. Mark Milley and Dr. Anthony Fauci; his animosity toward the press in general and individual reporters in particular, exemplify his efforts to exact revenge on everyone on his long enemies list, no matter how petty their offense. To show his MAGA base that illegal migrants are being treated “appropriately,” scores of them were filmed boarding their deportation planes in chains with heads forcibly bowed by masked guards.
Actions such as these go far beyond “toddler tantrums.” Instead, and even more disturbing, they could be the product of an unsound mind. Even the possibility of mental problems demands prompt and public investigation, as it might involve the 25th Amendment.
LUCAS CARPENTER, CONYERS
Tax cuts will continue to raise debt
For all of the talk about DOGE cutting government spending, no one seems to be talking about Trump’s plan to extend the tax cuts enacted during his first term.
Those cuts will continue to raise the national debt to historic levels if similar cuts to spending are not also enacted. Cutting discretionary spending will not fix the issue.
MATT WILLIS, LAWRENCEVILLE
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