How to save moneyFebruary 4, 2011Dear Sir,With two weeks left until the Budget release, I have figured out how Government is going to save $150 million. Given the most recent SDO order, which approves of the destruction of woodland reserve and other land zoned as open space, it is obvious that the Government is determined to cover Bermuda in concrete (and we know who benefits from the use of concrete in Bermuda).How does this save $150 million? First we eliminate the Ministry of the Environment and the Planning Department since they are already being ignored via SDOs and similar avenues. We can then disband the Parks Department as we won't have trees and parks to maintain (remember the original hospital idea). Eventually we will do away with the housing initiatives such as BHC since Bermuda will be covered by nothing but houses. Finally we can do away with the Department of Tourism as there will be nothing left for visitors to see. Of course the above is tongue-in-cheek. However, the issues are very real. Government and the rest of Bermuda's stakeholders have to draw a line in the sand.I am all in favour of development/progress but not progress at the expense of long established environmentally protected designations such as Nature Conserve, Woodland Reserve and Coastal Conserve; “Conserve” being the critical word here. Once these areas are gone they are gone forever and I am not sure how you explain that to your children and your children's children. Perhaps we should focus our attention on the numerous hotel properties on the Island that currently sit vacant on already developed land.K. SMITHSt. George'sIt's about the moneyFebruary 5, 2011Dear Sir,I write this letter to put forward my “two cents” all in reference to the latest SDO (Special Development Order) tabled by our Government Environment Minister, Walter Roban. Here we are “grasping at straws once again… cutting our noses off to spite our faces”. What I mean by that is we attempt to draw people here to Bermuda to enjoy what is left of our Islands natural surroundings, its people and their charismatic behavior, yet all these thing are no-longer pursued by the “powers that be” it appears it is all about money.Why can't we occupy the places that are now being closed down, but see it to be of a S.D.O. requirement erecting even more places? Daa! Listen you lot, stop the ignorance, and come together for the betterment of Bermuda and the people of Bermuda and not for a few only. Far too many and too much has been and is still being exploited; we are not thinking outside of the box i.e. the people that profit from developments such as Tuckers Point (or any others) are here in Bermuda for one thing… that's right, money! When they see it no longer showing signs of improving they will do just like many others before them have done, packed-up and moved elsewhere leaving “we-lot” fighting amongst ourselves wondering aimlessly (and as the old timers would say) ”with no pot to pi** in, or a window to throw it out of.”RAYMOND RAYSt George'sMortgage wreckerFebruary 8, 2011Dear Sir,The special development order granted to Rosewood Tuckers Point, could see an additional 78 private residences offered for sale to non-Bermudians. In this writer's opinion, this granting could have a negative effect on Bermudian home owners. As a result of non-Bermudians purchasing these residences, it would have an adverse effect. Currently many Bermudians enjoy the benefit derived from renting to non-Bermudians. These people would be taken out of the rental pool as they would now own their own homes.Many Bermudians currently rely on this added income to subsidise paying for their mortgages or loans to their lender. A situation could be created where the borrower could no longer service their debt resulting in foreclosure of their one main investment, their home. Does the government have any sympathy for these hard working, middle class families or are they only interested in servicing the needs of big business? Please have a rethink on this policy, as many Bermudian families could depend on it.MORTGAGEEWarwickP.s. How about saving some green space for future generations to enjoy or is that too much to ask?Selling you outDear Sir,It's funny how the extremely wealthy seem always to be able to buy anything they want. In the early part of the 20th century, a number of Bermudians were displaced from their homes on what is now the Tucker's Point property in order to facilitate the development of a new industry for Bermuda – tourism. Bermuda Properties Ltd owns the land and for many years made a very good return on their investment as the Castle Harbour hotel flourished. Too bad they didn't plough enough of the profits back into the property to keep it pristine and up to date.Tourism past its earning peak in the mid-1980s and ever since Bermuda Properties has sought to make a new fortune selling their land to non-Bermudians. The United Bermuda Party steadfastly refused to permit this, the land, a large, mainly undeveloped acreage and therefore exceptionally valuable both to Bermuda's ecology and to its tourism product, was acquired and sold to Bermuda Properties for tourism, and only tourism, it was never represented to Bermuda Properties that they could use it to make a killing selling Bermuda's scarce resource off to foreigners in order to make yet more money.Bermuda Properties tried many times, told all sorts of stories, the Government of the day never wavered. Bermuda Properties could redevelop the hotel site, improve the golf course, do what they liked with the developed land, but the undeveloped land was to be held in its pristine condition for the benefit of all. You want the full story, go have a chat with Jim Woolridge.Then came the Progressive Labour Party. One would think that, given that the land was taken primarily from black Bermudians in the first place, this would be a party even less sympathetic to allowing the rape of one of Bermuda's last big stretches of open space so that a bunch of very rich Americans could become even richer, so that the land could be sold to other rich Americans to build big houses that they would occupy for perhaps a few weeks a year and otherwise stand empty, ugly and of no economic benefit to Bermuda. But mysteriously, this was not the case, the PLP hierarchy seems eager to bend over backwards to give Bermuda Properties everything they wanted. Planning rules don't permit it? No problem, here's an SDO! Sell off all the property to foreigners? No problem, we'll give you special permission. Why is this?I mean, here's a party that makes it impossible for a Bermudian family with a foreign-born spouse to own a home in Bermuda without a special license. You can't have an apartment for rent on the property, you can't inherit your mother's house when she dies. No, you, the Bermudian, are a second class citizen, simply because you married a foreigner. Why? To “protect Bermuda land for future generations”. Ha! What a joke. The fact that the Bermudian children of this couple are now part of a more financially stressed household, of course, doesn't matter, Government's getting more taxes to pay for the first class trips, the champagne receptions, the useless jobs for their friends and the like.Meanwhile, Bermuda Properties can do whatever it wants. Sure, they have a sad story to tell, they have bank loan problems. Hmmm, well, a Bermudian developer had some bank loan problems and guess what? He lost his property. Foreclosed. Gone. Owned by the bank. But if you're a bunch of really, really wealthy Americans, oh well, in that case we'll bend over backwards, break all the rules to make sure you're OK. Why is this?Wake up Bermuda, these people are selling you out, I mean really selling you out. There's not much left and after this one goes, there will be noting of any size left, nothing at all. Just a bunch of mostly empty mansions owned by rich Americans and a bunch of flat-broke, over-taxed locals who have watched their future turn to dust and their Island sold out from under them.ROMEO TANGO ROMEOCity of Hamilton