Tucson Speaks Out: Oct. 8

If you vote by mail, you can drop off your signed and completed mail-in ballot at a secure Ballot Drop Box near you. They open Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 8 a.m. and will remain open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until Election Day, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. Ballots are picked up twice a day and are carefully monitored. Locate one near you on your county recorder’s website (example: recorder.pima.gov/dropboxes). The last day to request a mail-in ballot is Oct. 23.

If you vote in person, take advantage of a nearby Early Voting Site and vote when it’s convenient. Life happens even on election day. Go to your county recorder’s website/earlyvotingsites. Your vote is too important to leave to chance.

Know your candidates, vote the entire ballot. The sooner you vote, the less likely you are to have people calling, texting and coming to your door. Voting early is good for all of us.

When we vote, we win!

Betsy Wexler

Oro Valley

Catching up is hard to do

I hear complaints about the condition of our roads and the ongoing construction.

The City of Tucson is in the fifth year of a 10-year effort to touch every neighborhood street in the city. See the progress that has been made and projects in process in both neighborhood and collector streets at tucne.ws/tdbsss.

Also, in March, the voters approved RTANext. The City has approved a tentative list of 28 road rehabilitation projects, of which six were selected for construction in FY 26/27 on a $144 million project. Work is already in process on Irvington — Houghton to Kolb, one of the worst. The other five segments are on Silverbell, Swan, Alvernon, Kolb and Wrightstown.

Also, work continues on RTA Projects and other safety, bicycle and pedestrian improvements. Yes, catching up is progressing.

Dale Calvert

Northeast side

Voters beware: Demand proof

With Election Day only a month away and early voting about to begin, we've entered the cesspool phase of politics. One tactic to be aware of is when a candidate paraphrases what his or her opponent supposedly said about an issue without providing an actual contextual quote that exists in audio, video or printed format. A good example is the claim by CD 6's GOP candidate that his opponent wants to defund the police. Of course, if his opponent ever unambiguously said or wrote that, we'd be hearing and/or reading an actual quote instead of a characterization of one. The failure to furnish any such evidence is strong evidence that it does not exist. While it is true that this tactic may sway some on the fringe, it is based on the premise that voters are stupid and inattentive. But because you are not, don't fall for this crap.

Bruce Skolnik

Northeast side

‘Scalia/Ginsberg’ opera

I went to the "comic" opera “Scalia/Ginsburg.” The comedy was largely Scalia’s exaggerated pounding around the stage and being subjected to unending left-wing barbs, cheered on by the audience. The Constitution came up, pitting the sober originalist position versus the romantic living views of the Constitution.

For Ginsburg, “Scalia/Ginsburg” was a “dream come true.” Scalia, an enthusiastic singer, doubting the author would let him and Ginsburg play the singing roles themselves, finished with, “Even so, it may be a good show.”

The third person on the set, the “Commentator,” was a distraction, better done without. This was not an opera, rather a musical. Notwithstanding the excellent orchestra, the production didn’t measure up.

Don Clarke

Sahuarita

The obvious answer

You don't need a degree in psychology to understand what's happening and the whys and wherefores when it comes to drivers speeding. Why do some drivers go 70 mph in a 40 zone? Or constantly 15 to 20 mph over the speed limit?

I can think of at least three reasons. No. 1: complete lack of enforcement. No. 2: everyone else is doing it. No. 3: I'm one of the best drivers on the road ... I won't be in an accident!

Maybe it's because of better pay/benefits in other cities ... or maybe the police force is stretched too thin . Whatever the reason, everyone knows "When the cat's away, the mice will play," and in this case the cats are nowhere to be found!

We don't have the enforcement that we so need. Something has to change.

Maybe a different mayor could figure it out!

David Hatch

Southeast side

Reinvent Fourth Ave. and ICE out!

Tim Steller's Oct. 4 column "4th Ave. woes go beyond parking" provided well-prepared food for thought, so here are my undercooked proposals which might cause a stomachache to some:

1) Inaugurate the "Fourth Avenue International Arts and Diversity District" with exhibits and performance spaces.

2) Do away with the parking meters and give everyone three free hours, and only ticket repeat offenders

OR

3) Pull up the pavement (minus the Sun Link streetcar) and make Fourth Avenue a pedestrian mall with a robust shade canopy of native trees to mitigate rising heat.

4) Increase Sun Link service to shuttle people back and forth from existing parking garages and lots (all free).

5) Have a center on Fourth Avenue to support those struggling with homelessness and substance use.

6) Vote out all politicians who support ICE, which scares away local residents and foreign visitors, further harming the economy.

7) Bring back Magpie's pizza.

Richard Boren

Midtown

Biggs’ run for governor

We are $40T in debt, yet "conservative" Andy Biggs has done nothing to stop the obscene spending. Our Constitution and rule of law have burned to the ground, yet "conservative" Biggs did nothing but stand by and watch them burn. Biggs says he is a leader and anti-corruption. Biggs says he will put Arizona first. That would be easier to believe if, during all his years in Congress, he had put our country first. He didn't. We have to stop electing people like Andy Biggs to office.

Dave Rollins

Patagonia