Overhead on The Web: Red flag edition

Here is what some people are saying online about stories in the Destin Log.

Should red flags fly in off-duty hours in Destin? — By: destinblond
Amen, amen, amen! Let’s change it so that the red flag means unfavorable swimming conditions, due to riptides, etc., OR that there is no lifeguard on duty. Even on “safe” days, the lifeguard could run the red flag up when he takes the other one down. I have lived here 25 years and never knew that the absence of a flag meant there was no lifeguard on duty.
   
By: leehunter
Other beaches leave flags up (some supplemented with message boards) and detail local law enforcement to stop by and change the flags if needed/indicated. The message boards can be changed from remote locations.

By: myhonestopinion
Since when are the beaches closed when the lifeguards are not there? I’ve never heard this and I’m sure the tourists have never heard it either. One option would be to put up a different flag when lifeguards are not on duty — a color that indicates that conditions are unknown, can be hazardous, and no lifeguard is on duty.
If D’Agostino is chief of Destin Beach Safety Patrol then he needs to be relieved of his duties and get someone in there who knows what they’re talking about! Most people DO pay attention to the flags. They are a valuable tool and should not be taken down just because the lifeguards go home! That is totally ridiculous! They should stay up at least until night.

By: happyfrenchman
I fail to see how some of you people can criticize these lifeguards. They are underpaid. They are overworked. (Although they are on the beach). They saved 500 lives. Now surely some of them would have survived and made it in on their own but if 10 percent would have drowned (a conservative estimate from one who has been in that riptide trying to save a child) they still saved 50 people. The flags are good but apparently they are not enough. These lifeguards are heroes.
   
By: justgottasayit
The comments about taking the flags down equating to a candy store and a business being closed have got to be the dumbest thing I have heard in a long time. So, it’s a red or double red day but because it’s 4 p.m. the flags come down? Why, because business is closed for the day? What a complete disregard for public safety! We have enough problems with people ignoring them when they’re up. Leave them up as a warning. So what if you have to wait until the next morning to update the conditions. No flag at all gives no warning and to me that is totally irresponsible.

By: blindreaper
Not educating yourself about water safety or the dangers of the ocean before going is irresponsible. The government doing what it can with what tax funds it has is not irresponsible. The reason we are so in debt is because of that type of thinking. No one ever wants to put the responsibility on the people. Why is it the governments responsibility if someone decides to go swimming without being educated. You can find the rip current report for a beach from the Weather Service.
I’ll tell you why they don’t leave them up. Condition is low. Two hours later severe rip current, but the low flag is still up. Person A dies, then a lawsuit is filed. Rip currents can change size and velocity very quickly.

By: whinenot
When you post a warning, you have done all you can. You can’t control ignorance or stupidity!

By: nicollemyspace
I agree that you cannot stop people from being stupid, but if the red flags are taken down and the water looks calm, how are you supposed to know that there are rip currents to start with?

By: lilbit22
No one can say the flags haven’t saved lives, because we have no way to track who didn’t enter the water because the flag warned them off. Myself and my family don’t go near the water when it is red flag. What if red flags were put up EVERY night when the lifeguards leave? Red flag equals danger, swim at your own risk. Isn’t that the case when the lifeguards leave regardless of the currents?
   
By: gunitfoyd
I am against any new funding or extra funding to these flags. They do their purpose. They are the beach equivalent of road signs. We have slippery when wet, heavy load, and speed limit signs up along the roads for the travelers safety. People still speed! People still don’t make the turn! We can not help the dumb!

By: grateful
We were a lot safer when the beach service providers also provided lifeguard services. They were close by instead of the constant vehicle traffic and no lifeguards in the tower or on the ground. Oh, and we saved $1 million a year in tax dollars too.
•••
Tier Three development gets tentative approval for Crystal Beach — By: Nightman
Once again Mr. Destin is the only member of the council who did not bow to the developer. Mr. Destin wanted actual proof of a public benefit. Bos gave Seevers a wink and she complied, and Bagby can’t say no to something that may make Destin look more like Rosemary Beach. Kelly can’t vote no or it could raise questions about his own Tier Three development. Wood simply likes the neat cookie cutter look — retired military. Not sure about Weidenhammer and Trammel.

By: SH
I like how Pelican Real Estate is the main proponent of this development and says that Crystal Beach looks like crap.

By: lolly
No, what is “crap” is how our elected officials do not know how to say no to anything. They kowtow to the various developers and are too scared to stand up for those who voted them in. The “tiering” scheme has taken all the power from the council to effectively scrutinize these developments.

By: Sara
Crystal Beach was beautiful before there was a city that allowed overdevelopment. That is the only thing that makes it ugly. The developers came in, made a bunch of money, and left without giving a hoot about the area. And they were enabled by the city to the point that many good people who DID care about the area left. And those who were responsible for ruining the area in the first place sang the same song about “vision.” That is what happened to Crystal Beach.

By: destroyed
The whole city now is crap. You have managed to destroy what was once a beautiful town. There is no way to save Destin. Ugly, crowded, unsafe. Bye, bye.

By: Crystal Clear
These comments are hilarious. Bill Smith and Peter Bos have more vision than any of you yahoos. Crystal Beach is an eyesore and the council can clearly see it.

By: Sara
Dewey is the only council member who actually tries to represent the citizens of Destin. The only real “public good” that I saw at that meeting came from him! He has more character than the rest of them combined!

By: Tony F
Don’t worry. There are some names being thrown around about people who are running for the next election, and at least one I have heard of will be very different than the current crop of misfits.

By: almighty dollar
Sounds like typical politics. Pork and earmarks. Same story, different stretch of beautiful beach sold to the highest bidder. The council members who voted for this are clueless and are blinded by the dollar signs. Dewey is the only one who has the guts to say no to the out of town money man.

•••
A walkable Destin — By: Swanklin
Please tell me my tax dollars didn’t pay for this dope to explain to our city that if everyone rode bikes or walked there would be less traffic. Build a boardwalk, great! Build wider sidewalks, great! But to specifically try to retrofit a city and to force people — which is what he means — into walking instead of driving is foolishly idealistic.

By: Cathy
Some areas might be walkable if the traffic was under control. As for me, I am terrified to walk on the sidewalks in Crystal Beach. It seems that cars in that area have a habit of leaving the road and wrapping around palm trees, etc. that are past the sidewalk. It is SCARY!

By: Buddy
Two accidents in the past year isn’t that scary. Cathy, you are paranoid. Everyone else, get out and walk! That will help with the traffic, and it will be good for you.
•••
Lawsuit against Grand Boulevard hotel continues — By: oldpappy
It’s not just any development that is opposed, it is intrusive, imposing and inappropriate infrastructure-straining development that is opposed. Do you pro-development types not drive on our local roads? It is proper and fitting that local residents be able to fight projects that are out of place in the community.

By: timeforateaparty
It’s their land, let them do as they please.
   
By: heresince1958
Please people we need the jobs, go away! STOP! Move To Val-P! Build it, they will come!
   
By: tricycle
The CAVE people moved from Fort Walton Beach to Sandestin - Citizens Against Virtually Everything.

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