Later start times help high-school students

The parent poll about school start times should be ignored (“Survey finds opposition to later time for high school,” March 13). The first error in the poll was including elementary and middle school parents that already start later. The detrimental effects of early start times affect high school students during adolescent development. These harmful effects are permanent and they fall more greatly on lower social economic groups who have difficulty reaching school during early hours if they miss the school bus and don’t have parents who can rush them to classes. Sports injuries are greater when schools start early, grades on standard tests are lower, graduation rates are lower and auto accidents involving teenagers occur more frequently when high schools start early.

The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Florida Medical Association, the Florida Orthopedic Society and other medical groups advocate later start times for high school students. Failing to do this means that we are failing our youth when they need us.

— Charles T. Price M.D., Winter Park

Charles Price is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon with more than 50 years’ experience in Central Florida.

DeSantis insurance reforms are working

The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board’s recent commentary on Florida’s property insurance market (“Secrecy shrouds property insurance market in Florida,” March 10) overlooks important evidence that the reforms championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and implemented by Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworsky are producing real results.

Florida’s insurance crisis did not occur overnight. For years, excessive litigation and legal abuse drove insurers from the market, pushed premiums higher, and forced more homeowners into the state-backed insurer of last resort. Those challenges required meaningful reform.

Today, the results are becoming clear. Since67 2024, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has received dozens of residential filings requesting rate decreases or zero-percent increases. Florida Peninsula Insurance recently requested the largest rate decrease in its history, including an average statewide reduction of 8.4% for homeowners.

Independent data supports the trend. Analyses from the Insurance Information Institute and LendingTree show Florida recorded the lowest average homeowners insurance rate increase in the nation in 2024 — about 1% — while many other states experienced double-digit increases.

At the same time, litigation tied to residential property claims has dropped sharply, and Citizens Property Insurance Corporation has seen hundreds of thousands of policies return to the private market.

Florida’s insurance market still faces challenges, but the narrative that reforms have failed ignores clear evidence of progress.

— Kim Godwin, DeLand

Kim Godwin is president of Professional Insurance Agents of Florida.

Eid ul-Fitr has special meaning for Muslims

What if a holiday could be felt more than it is seen? For Muslims, Eid ul-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan and is celebrated by 2 billion people worldwide. Fasting during Ramadan from dawn to dusk is not just about abstaining from food and drink. It is about noticing the blessings we often take for granted, understanding the struggles of those who face hunger every day, and letting gratitude grow quietly in our hearts.

When Eid comes, as it will this week, many find its meaning through giving. As an Ahmadi Muslim, I offer Fitrana so that families who face hardship can take part in the celebration and experience its significance alongside others. The Holy Qur’an says, “Never shall you attain righteousness unless you spend out of that which you love and whatever you spend Allah surely knows it well” (3:93). Generosity transforms the lessons of Ramadan into something visible, showing how faith can be expressed through action.

Eid morning begins with prayer and the presence of community, where everyone enjoys a meal together and reflects on the meaning that Ramadan has brought into our lives. When the celebration fades, Ramadan’s principles remain within me and continue to shape how I live each day.

— Sophia Mahmood, Miami

New negotiators for Ukraine

Some estimates are that the Ukrainian community in Florida is upwards of 75,000 people. It’s small, but not insignificant.

In February of 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in an unprovoked attack to take over the country. A bloody war has ensued for over four years, claiming tens of thousands of lives on both sides.

The United States is in a position to be an “honest broker” in ending the war. But are we really honest? President Donald Trump’s emissaries to negotiate peace are Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Witkoff is Trump’s golfing buddy and Kushner is his son-in-law. That doesn’t make them “unqualified” to negotiate peace, except that those are their only “qualifications.” Really.

It has been widely reported that Russia is providing Iran with intelligence to assist in attacking Americans and our resources in the war with Iran. If true, this is obviously disturbing. When Witkoff was asked about this after Trump’s recent conversation with Vladimir Putin, he said that Putin denied these reports and that “we have no reason to doubt him.”

We have no reason to doubt him? There are many things widely attributable to Putin, one of which is he is a pathological liar, based on his career as a KGB operative. The most charitable explanation for Witkoff’s response is naïveté. Sadly, the truth lies more in the “spell” that Putin has exhibited over Trump for decades.

If we really do want to see an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine, we need to install seasoned diplomats to negotiate it.

— George Devitt, Maitland

You can submit a letter to the editor by sending it by email to insight@orlandosentinel.com or by filling out the form below. Letters are limited to less than 250 words and must be signed (no pseudonyms nor initials).You must include your email address, address with city and daytime phone number for verification. Letters are subject to editing for clarity and length.