Since The Daily News weighed in on whether golf carts ought to be cruising the streets of Galveston, readers have been calling.

Some say the city has no business regulating golf carts. One reader said she’d paid $8,000 for hers. Would anyone pay that kind of money for a mode of transportation if they had known the council was even thinking about regulating it? she asked.

Others, citing concerns raised by Police Chief Charles Wiley, told of near misses on the road. One reader told about almost mowing down a cartload of presumably tipsy fellows on Stewart Road. Others told stories about kids driving golf carts on FM 3005.

I’ve heard from more people who are concerned about public safety than from people who are concerned about too much regulation. But I’m curious about those who read online. Any views on this debate before the council takes up the discussion on Oct. 22?

Some readers have suggested that state Rep. Craig Eiland plans to move to Austin and does not intend to run again. It’s an interesting theory. But I don’t buy it.

The last time I talked to him, Eiland said he was planning to run at least two more times. That’s how long it will take to put the University of Texas Medical Branch on an irreversible road to recovery from Hurricane Ike. The work of rebuilding the medical branch won’t be done after two more sessions of the legislature. But if the medical branch has two more successful sessions, the work of recovery will be too far along to derail.

At some level politics are personal. Eiland’s efforts on behalf of Galveston County and its largest employer, the medical branch, went far beyond the call of duty. My take: He’s driven to see this through. That drive is far stronger than self-interest.

One other point that I think a lot of people in Galveston County are missing: Eiland is close to becoming the next Speaker of the House. If the Democrats win two more seats in the Texas House, Eiland will run for speaker. If the Republicans hold those seats, Eiland will try to retain the post of speaker pro tem. I think Eiland is headed for greater things. I don't think he's headed for retirement.

In July, some residents of Colony Park in Galveston called, saying they thought City Councilman Tarris Woods was about to become a neighbor. They were interested because the neighborhood is in District 5 and Woods represents District 1.

Woods said he was still a resident of District 1 and planned to stay there. He said he, like others in public office, has bought property in various parts of town but has not changed his primary residence.

Since then, people have begun sending photographs to the newspaper. The photographs show Woods and his vehicle at the house in Colony Park. At least one of those sending the photographs left a note saying the newspaper should raise the question of Woods’ residency as an issue before the elections in May.

Woods is adamant that he is complying with the law. He says his residence at 812 37th St. is listed as his homestead. It’s the address on his driver’s license. He also said he’s being persecuted, perhaps because he is African-American. He said that several members of the council who are white own more than one piece of property and questions never seem to come up about them.

The Galveston Appraisal District records show the property on 37th Street is valued at $15,750 now and at $24,480 before Hurricane Ike. The property on Colony Park Circle is valued at $180,590, down from $323,630 before the storm. It’s in the name of the councilman’s wife. The appraisal district records list Woods’ homestead exemption on property at 504 Lennox Ave., which is valued at $11,360, down from $19,200 before the storm.

Woods said he thought complaints about his residency had been raised by Jan Coggeshall, a former mayor who has been interim president of the Colony Park neighborhood association. Coggeshall said she had welcomed Woods to the neighborhood. She said while neighbors had asked questions about whether his living in Colony Park would mean he would seek office in District 5, instead of District 1, she said she had no intention of trying to get Woods removed from office.

Woods says 812 37th St. is his legal residence. Residents of Colony Park say he lives at 1 Colony Park Circle.

Some say people should be outraged that Woods is not strictly following the charter — and a charter provision that was designed to ensure that minority communities were adequately represented. Others say Woods is complying with the law, and cite the example of state Rep. Craig Eiland, who has residences in Austin as well as Galveston, to show that people can be excellent representatives even though they spend some time outside their districts.

So who resolves this dispute? You’d think it might be the city, since the city charter requires that a council member reside in the district he or she represents. But Susie Green, the city attorney, says that someone seeking to remove a council member from office because of concerns about residency would have to file a complaint with the district attorney or the attorney general. Some kind of complaint could be filed with city’s Ethics Committee, but that panel has no authority to remove anyone from office.

That, to me, is one of the most interesting details in this story. If the residency rules were important enough to put in the charter, you’d think some kind of provision for enforcement would be there.

Recently, Publisher Dolph Tillotson asked members of The Daily News staff an interesting question: How did Hurricane Ike change your life?

He was interested in changes professionally and personally. The question generated some thought-provoking answers, some of which we plan to publish Sept. 13, the anniversary of the hurricane. We’d love to publish some thought provoking comments from readers.

How about you? Have you got a short answer — say 200 words — to that question? The best way to submit them is at letters@galvnews.com. We’ll publish a sample in the anniversary edition.

Some people have suggested that the proposed hospital district covering all of Galveston County is a bad idea because private money is available to cover that cost. One version of that argument goes like this: If the county does not raise the $12 million to $15 million to cover this cost, the Sealy and Smith Foundation of Galveston will pick up the tab.

Actually, the folks in charge of the foundation are clear that's not going to happen.

The foundation was established in 1922 by the brother-and-sister team of John Hutchings Sealy and Jennie Sealy Smith. They made it clear in the foundation’s charter that the foundation’s mission was on the island. While the foundation has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in support of the University of Texas Medical Branch, it has never funded activities off the island. Funding countywide health care is not something the foundation could do under its charter.

Here's a sample from the foundation's charter: “The support of a charitable undertaking in the City of Galveston, Texas, for the construction, remodeling, enlarging, equipping, and furnishing of the John Sealy Hospital, and other hospital building or buildings in the City of Galveston in connection with the John Sealy Hospital in said city, and endowment thereof, for the use of the people of said City of Galveston and providing them with the necessary medical care and attention therein.”

I don't see any wiggle room. Do you?

A businessman who has been trying to rebuild his trade after Hurricane Ike was telling me about taxes. The tax for the proposed hospital district would be 6 to 8 cents per $100 evaluation. The city of Galveston is proposing another 6 cents. Then the school board is looking at 3 cents for a football stadium.

The businessman wondered whether people in public office understand people like him. It’s been tough on the island since the storm. When his small business is doing well, he has money to go get a plate lunch or burger at a restaurant. If just one of those taxes passes, he’s talking about bringing cold cuts to work.

I’ve been doing business with this fellow for years. It’s the first time I’ve heard him say that he’s been thinking about going back to work for wages.

He said he’s going to be watching the votes on tax rates carefully.

The question of the day comes from Phyllis Sanborn, a League City councilwoman. With the city facing a tight supply of water, she wanted to know why the city council was kept in the dark about problems at a pumping station that the city bought in 2000 and tried to refurbish. Those efforts were unsuccessful, despite a $1 million effort at repairs.

Her question: “How in the world could we have bought this nine years ago and it’s not operational?”

There are engineering problems and there are management problems. It seems to me that one became the other several years ago. Anyone else have a different view?