Prop 412
Re: the April 16 article “Prop 412 is a mistake for Tucson.”
I really appreciated the opinion piece on Sunday on why Prop 412 is a mistake, by Rick Rappaport. The Official Voter Information that all registered voters received about a week ago has nothing but the legal wording, which is quite unintelligible. And the flyer from our mayor, asking me to vote for Prop 412, offered no clear reasons why I should! As Rick said, “normally these sort of boring, technical agreements generate scant public attention … but not any more when the region’s biggest belcher of greenhouse gases want another 25 years to enrich their shareholders at the expense of cleaner air and the region’s dwindling water supply.” So, given how little discussion there has been about this special election, why the rush to vote for a 25-year contract to TEP?
Katy Garmany
People are also reading…
West side
Ranked choice voting
I am a transplant from Maine, where I have used rank choice voting. Maine has urban and rural areas. It was easy, not confusing and resulted in a moderate Democrat being elected governor. It made a difference. A governor was elected that received the majority of votes using this system. In the past, Paul LePage was elected with less than 50% of the vote.
I have seen and heard all the arguments against this system before. Maine has a Democrat governor and both an independent and Republican U.S. Senator (Susan Collins).
I know that this system represents the consensus of “all the people“ of Maine.
Sheila Bourque
North side
Remember Capone
I’m sure there will be many decrying the indictment of Donald J. Trump, but remember Al Capone was finally arrested, tried and jailed for tax evasion rather than his alleged higher crimes.
Ted Frohling
Northeast side
Josselyn Berry
Re: the March 30 article “Governor’s spokesperson resigns after controversial Twitter post.”
I am absolutely astonished that none of the Democrats commented on Josselyn Berry’s media post. I’m sure many deny that she even posted it, or perhaps she was never a true Democrat — a wolf in sheep’s clothing. There has to be some blame assigned to the Republicans.
Louise Nath
Benson
Responsibilities of our rights
There has been a lot of ranting about rights lately but not much discussion about the attendant responsibilities that go with these rights.
We have the right to vote and should vote for good candidates. We should also not interfere or take away the right for others to vote by passing restrictive laws or, you know, sitting by drop boxes with guns to intimidate voters. We have the right to free speech, but it is filled with lies and hate speech coupled with, of all things, book banning at our schools and libraries to take away the speech of others.
The Second Amendment provides the right to bear arms. Nearly 40,000 of our fellow citizens die each year for this right. This is not responsible gun ownership, no matter how you look at it. This is a terrorist state. It should spark outrage.
We can do better, and our leaders need to do better.
Steve Caster
Oro Valley
Medical care
To the editor: A cautionary tale.
Two weeks ago, my wife was admitted to TMC with a medical emergency. She was treated and released in 36 hours, and instructed to find follow-up care. As snowbirds, we do not have a doctor here in Tucson. We have Medicare and Blue Cross Blue Shield. We made appointments and were turned away from two clinics because we had the “wrong insurance.” I called several offices and clinics and learned that no one we contacted would accept our insurance, and no one would see my wife. It is outrageous that an ill person be turned away anywhere, let alone in a medically sophisticated center like Tucson. I would warn any part-time resident to be sure their insurance is accepted, or like us, they may be denied medical care. This has not happened to us on our travels in the United States or abroad. The consequences of these policies may be deadly for some visitors, as it almost was for my wife.
Eugene Stevick
Foothills
CFSD School Board
I am a parent of students and a resident in the Catalina Foothills School District. I attended the April 11 Governing Board meeting and was inspired by the brave and eloquent students who shared their thoughts and lived experiences. They (and my kids) say who is using what bathroom is not an issue at their schools.
I echo their appreciation to the board for maintaining a safe, inclusive environment and upholding the non-discrimination policy that ensures everyone has protection against discrimination. It protects us all regardless of gender identity or religious beliefs.
Trans kids have higher rates of mental health concerns. There is no link to inclusive policies and bathroom safety. Concerns are more applicable to trans students whose safety is at greater risk without inclusion. Adults should follow students’ example by caring for these students rather than attacking them and making their lives more difficult.
Leslie Beckett
Foothills
National abortion vote
I believe we should just get it over with and add abortion rights to the 2024 presidential election with a twist. Let’s have a women-only vote on abortion and leave it up to the ladies to decide.
Why should men have a say in the issue? They don’t have to go through pregnancy or giving birth. Then when the baby is born, the women do most of the caregiving.
If a guy doesn’t want his partner to get an abortion, he shouldn’t have a say. If he wants a child that bad, he can have one with someone else. This is the ultimate women’s issue.
Robert McNeil
Midtown
Gun legislation necessary
What are my elected officials doing to support common-sense gun legislation?
What are they doing to protect their constituents (and our children) when we go to banks, supermarkets, movie theaters, and (oh my god) schools?
We, as citizens, feel helpless. All we can do is what I am doing right now — to keep speaking out to those who represent us, even when it feels like yelling into a void.
This is of utmost importance, and our lives are literally at stake.
Guns are the No. 1 cause of death in children. It’s a horrific statistic, and it’s an embarrassment.
What are my elected officials doing to truly represent us in this fight? I urge them to answer the question. We need help, and we need the laws to change before more people are shot in public places.
Jessie Mance
West side
Guns do not have a conscience
Re: the April 13 letter “Guns rules.”
The writer suggests controls for AR-15 style weapons. Unfortunately, these recommendations echo the flawed logic of gun control advocates that these chunks of metal and plastic have a sci-fi, robotic capability to leap from store racks into innocent hands, creating the mass shooter. Further, evil is intentionally machined into them during manufacturing, thus enabling the owner to will death upon others. A six-shot revolver and semi-automatic handgun or rifle have the same basic operating principle. The trigger must be pulled each and every time a demented shooter desires to end a life. Mental disease cannot be the singular culprit. Our country has thousands upon thousands suffering from such illness. Only a minuscule number are driven to become a mass shooter. However, couple that condition with absence of moral fiber and a lack of reverence for human life (more routinely let the latter stand-alone), the real villain then has a face.
Tom Hansen
North side
It’s not about the free fare
I’ve ridden the bus in Tucson since I was a kid, meaning I’ve been riding the bus for over 40 years. I have witnessed crime on the bus, and there have been times when I felt unsafe. These incidents happened before the COVID pandemic and when we all paid fares, which I sometimes struggled to afford. The main type of conflict or crime I witnessed was people in conflict with the driver over payment. I continue to use public transit post-COVID, and anecdotally, crime has not increased in my experience. In fact, conflicts with drivers over fares disappeared. We should look at the data around bus crimes in the last three years and determine how many of those crimes were related to the requirement to wear masks. Riding the bus is safe as it ever was, and it’s more accessible. We need to keep fares free.
Cyndi Tuell
Downtown
