Tucson Speaks Out: Aug. 23 letters of the day

Undead vs. Humanity

Ever strolled through the remarkable Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior, AZ? Do it, and then cast your vote for Copper or Culture.

The proposed copper project there reminds me of the town in Kentucky that was removed to make a giant recreation lake. Luxurious houseboats and water skis now hide the suffering, anguish and continued poverty of the displaced.

Will copper mining reduce global warming, wildfires and pollution? No, but there will be higher dividends and blue-collar dead-end jobs for some. And for the rest, just continued poverty, poor air quality, lack of health care, and under funded public education.

Does wealth, technology and war justify ecological disaster? Will promised jobs and greater income reach the neediest in their community?

This project will destroy a quintessential aspect of Arizona’s natural beauty. Replacing it with a dystopian wilderness where only zombies could survive.

Is there a compromise anyone can work towards? Or is it only the vision of “have or have not” that defines this struggle?

Michael Craig

West side

It was common sense

I lived in Michigan when the voting age was changed from 18 to 21. A ballot measure soon passed to also lower the drinking age to 18. You could be drafted, you could vote-you deserved all rights. Having just turned 18 I couldn’t agree more. A friend of mine, on the way home from closing the bar, fell asleep and drove into a tree. A single car DUI fatality. Similar stories throughout Michigan drove the 18-20 age group to the No. 1 spot for DUI death and injury. A second ballot measure soon passed raising the drinking age back to 21. The 18-20 year age group proved beyond a doubt they were not mature enough to drink alcohol. Common sense prevailed at the ballot box.

Today the 18-20 age group accounts for 22% of all gun violence. Not surprising since they are not mature enough to drink. If only common sense could be applied to our gun laws.

William Garrity

Foothills

Fortis’s TEP has been great for TucsonRe: the Aug. 19 article “Localizing power: Response to TEP foreign profit drain.”

I share perspectives as a Board Member of Tucson Electric Power when it sold itself to Fortis Inc. in 2014. While the proposed sale was great for shareholders, I was initially opposed because of the potential impact to greater Tucson. During the negotiation process, Fortis represented how it planned to keep the local management in place, and how it would enhance the benefits to Tucson. After the sale, Fortis continued to drive those commitments. As part of Fortis, TEP has greater flexibility to serve all its customers, including non-profits that continue to benefit greatly. Mr. Anthony’s proposal to convert to TEP to a cooperative is flawed in all ways that should matter to Tucsonans. We should continue to recognize the long-term benefits of that wise sale in 2014.

Lawrence Aldrich, former CEO of Tucson Newspapers, a former CEO of University Physicians, and 17-year Board Member of TEP

Foothills

Education as a priority in Arizona

Re: the Aug. 12 letter “School vouchers.”

As a former educator, I don’t believe our schools are graduating more dunderheads today but I do think many letters here could benefit from critical thinking. Too often, they begin with a false premise presented as fact and lead to a “common sense” solution we’re expected to accept as obvious. And comparing our results with Mississippi is hardly productive when both states are in a race to the bottom on educational spending. Voters here have repeatedly asked for more money but our Legislature has balked, choosing instead to focus upon drag performers reading to kids or relying upon personal bias instead of data-based programs for students whose first language isn’t English. Increased spending to attract more accredited educators and giving them the supplies they need are more likely to lead to positive impacts upon performance. Challenges to today’s students are far more demanding than those we faced, they should receive more support from us if they’re to address problems we’ve only made worse.

Tim Helentjaris

Northwest side

Arizona Basketball

Isn’t it time to give the community a chance to celebrate both sides of Arizona basketball?

The blue-red scrimmage with other fun contests may be a perfect opportunity.

Why can’t we have a women’s blue-red game followed by perhaps, a mixed/coed team three-point contest, followed by the Men’s blue-red game?

This would deservedly promote both our teams and enhance the UA basketball fan experience.

Ramon Hernandez

Northeast side

Your paper

Reading the paper today I was struck with how much I really appreciate the news you print. I especially like the science pages, food pages and the local history columns. Your business page gives me information about current and new businesses. There are all kinds of sources online but virtually none that relate to Tucson or Arizona. I get my gardening tips only here. It does me no good to read about plants that grow in North Carolina or somewhere else where the weather does not even come close to ours. And I especially like reading about our local kids — not just the athletic teams but kids who excel in science and other areas. Thanks for keeping me so informed about where I live. No one else does this.

Bette E. Richards

Northwest side

Will battery factory bring pollution?

Re: the Aug. 21 article “Battery factory coming to Tucson.”

David Wichner, meet Tony Davis.

In other words, these Arizona Daily Star reporters should coordinate with one another.

Business reporter Wichner makes no mention in his story about the factory’s water needs or of potential pollutants and how groundwater and air will be protected.

Perhaps environmental reporter Davis can cover that in a follow-up story.

The factory will be built near where other factories and aviation facilities have operated, and they polluted the groundwater with chemicals that cause cancer.

I grew up on the South Side, in a house above the TCE groundwater plume that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designated as a Superfund cleanup site. Members of my family have suffered with more than one form of cancer. Coincidence? We believe not.

In reporting on businesses coming to Tucson, you need to tell us how much water they will use and how pollution will be stopped.

Shraddha Hilda Oropeza

West side

Law and justice

No one person is above the law. That is currently being touted all over the place. However, there is a difference between law and justice. Law consists of a written rule prescribed under authority of a state or nation by the people in its constitution. Justice is a quality, not a rule. Justice is a quality guided by truth, reason, and fairness. Some believe Mr. Trump will “get away” with his actions as he has in the past. Is that justice?

Toni Kane

Oro Valley

Ciscomani

Re: the Aug. 21 letter “The curious silence of Rep. Juan Ciscomani.”

So far Juan gets criticized for being too much like Trump, then the same for wanting to make fair deals with the liberals and just today gets slammed because he will not comment on Trumps’ indictment. He is doing exactly what he should be doing.. i.e. voicing his own opinion for the betterment of the country and Arizona plus staying away from commenting on legal issues where he is not involved.

He does get quite a bit of press, which is very important to him and the rest of us. He will be around for a very long time which is very good — get used to it.

Peter Backus

Vail

IRA a big win for Tucson and Arizona

Re: the Aug. 21 article “Battery factory coming to Tucson.”

The federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed in 2022 continues to be a big win for Tucson and Arizona.

Including the $1.2B American Battery Factory and its 300-1,000 new jobs coming to Tucson, the IRA clean energy provisions are estimated to lead to $10B in private investments and short term subsidies in Arizona alone. Other benefits to AZ include federal clean energy grants and federal rebates and tax credits that can be used for electric vehicles and clean energy home improvements, including heat pumps, solar panels, and electric appliances, among others.

Beyond climate change actions, the IRA includes health care benefits, including the Medicare benefits of a $35 cap on monthly out of pocket insulin costs, an ability to negotiate some drug prices, and an annual out of pocket spending cap on drugs of $2,000 in 2025.

Let’s encourage our congressional delegation to support more climate and health care wins for all Arizonans.

Mark Peterson, MD

Foothills

Choice IS a First Amendment right

Re: the Aug. 21 article “Choice is a First Amendment right.”

I began my Monday morning plunge into the editorial section and quickly splashed into another fetid pool of abortion rights blather.

This opinion piece, like EVERY OTHER on the subject of abortion, ignores the assertion of its own title. In EVERY instance of CONSENSUAL intercourse, a woman’s right to choice already exists. She can use protection; she can insist her partner do instead or as well; or she can, shockingly, choose to abstain. Choice abounds!

I am not about to claim to have definitively solved the issue of when life begins, as the author pompously does (to summarize: we can clone humans from cells; therefore no divine influence exists, and religious pro-lifers are idiots). I do know that choices have consequences: always for the one who makes them, and often for others as well.

I would hope that, no matter how rabidly we defend our position on this issue, we can all agree that personal responsibility should still be a thing.

Richard Peddy

East side

Panhandling in Tucson

There seems to be a growing epidemic of panhandling in the City of Tucson, especially in the center medians of Tucson main streets. You used to see this panhandling at several major intersections in the City. Now it seems like you encounter panhandlers at almost every major intersection in Tucson. This is a bad look for the City of Tucson, and is also a safety concern for the panhandlers standing in the middle of major Tucson streets in the center median.

I just got back from a cross country trip, and visited many major cities in the U.S. I did not see this problem in any of the cities I visited. At least not to this degree. The City of Tucson needs to take the same approach that Pima County is using, by placing signs at the intersections, to discourage handing over monies to the panhandlers. Instead they are encouraged to donate their monies to agencies that can truly help these individuals.

David Keating

East side