Tucson Speaks Out: April 3

Excellent reporting by Tony Davis in Sunday’s cover story regarding Arizona’s water woes.

Long term, I’m a fan of building desalination plants at the north end of the Sea of Cortez and sending the resulting fresh water up to Lake Havasu to recharge the Central Arizona Project’s canals. But that requires pumping water uphill for 200 miles across an international border and through occasionally rough terrain. That’s not impossible, but it cannot be done quickly.

On the other hand, coastal California has huge demands for residential, industrial, and agricultural water just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean.

Let’s make a deal! Arizona would pay for new desalination plants along the West Coast, delivering fresh water to Californians for free. As those plants come online, California would transfer Colorado River water rights to Arizona, gallon-for-gallon. We could continue to use existing infrastructure without digging new tunnels or canals.

Desalination plants are a mature, well-understood technology that can be operated with minimal environmental impact. If we can thrash our way through the paperwork, a desalination deal with California could be the quickest solution to Arizona’s water supply challenges, and a win-win for both states.

Stephen Fleming

Midtown

Trump voters

Ronald Eustice's recent op-ed skirts the real issue concerning his and others' 3-time votes for Donald Trump. Civil discourse is productive, but why would people who say they value civility vote for someone who doesn't? Two words, Mr. Eustice: Character matters. Few presidents were without character flaws, but most brought intelligence and competence to the presidency that mitigated those flaws. Donald Trump brings nothing but flaws. This was evident even in 2016; in 2020, his incompetent and self-serving mismanagement of the COVID pandemic caused thousands of needless deaths; In 2021, he instigated an insurrectionist riot because his fragile ego cannot stand the idea of "losing." Trump never belonged anywhere near the presidency, and his tenure there has immeasurably damaged the country. We are legitimately incensed at voters who repeatedly ignored warning signs about Trump. Your misguided choices put us in the shameful mess you now bemoan, and you shouldn't need to be "cajoled" into changing course.

S. Ross Emmanuel

Southeast side

Trump can be stopped

If the Vice President and most of the Cabinet had spines, Donald Trump could be removed from office using the 25th Amendment.

Instead, they are turning a blind eye to these offenses: profiting from top secret documents including war maps that he stole from the White House, potentially selling out America for commercial gain; obstructing justice by not releasing the Epstein files; lining his and his family’s pockets with tax payer dollars through bailouts and handouts benefiting his businesses including crypto currency; killing civilians on fishing boats and protesters in the streets; lying on Truth Social that progress was being made to open the Hormuz Strait in order to manipulate the stock market; declaring war with Iran without congressional authorization; and disappearing innocent people to foreign gulags.

Congressional Republicans, Cabinet Secretaries and MAGA Supreme Court Justices are not only complicit in Trump’s trampling of our democracy, but they are also willing to undo what America is at Trump’s bidding.

Teresa Jenkins

SaddleBrooke

The new killing machine: drones

POLITICO reports that injuries and deaths from drones far outstrip those from conventional weapons in the current Ukraine-Russian war and are responsible for between 70-80% of those injured or killed on both sides. How important are drones? Russia plans to build a drone production plant in neighboring Belarus with a capacity of up to 100,000 drones a year. The Russian Ministry of Defense recently launched a recruitment campaign at their universities, seeking students with computer and tech skills to bolster its drone forces. The U.S. is using the United Kingdom’s Palantir’s Maven Smart Targeting System to guide many of its 11,000 drone attacks on Iran. The downside of Maven is the limited time to verify targets — a drone struck an elementary school, killing 110 children. This new arms race is real — ramping up drone capabilities to include nuclear payloads. This proliferation of death-delivering drones is spiraling out of control. Given the world’s current political leader’s aggressive actions, hope for mankind dwindles.

Richard Harper

Northeast side

Support for veterans/not

Rep. Ciscomani has been using a photo of myself and the other veterans in the local chapter of the MOPH in various media. That implies he supports veterans, but every time one of us asks for help we get nothing but crickets! My displeasure isn't about the high (and rising) price of gas - I drive electric. This is about starting a war for no discernible reason and getting people killed, for what? The lack of competence in the current administration is absolutely appalling. They shouldn't be trusted with a slingshot, much less a battle group.

Dave Bertagnoli

West side

Crimes against the peace of the world

Found guilty of this crime, the leaders of the Nazi Party were judged at Nuremberg by the Allied Powers and condemned to prison. Where is the international tribunal now to judge President Donald Trump and his fascist minions for the same crime?

Aggression, murder, breaking treaties, intimidation, collusion and more to break the peace and pursue nationalistic, narcissistic ends. Just like the Nazis.

Not to mention his raging warfare against the national tranquility within the United States. Including the pogrom he has started against minorities, the disadvantaged, the differently able and their advocates.

Where do you stand? Against the Nazis? Against Trump? Or for the triumph of justice within a democracy?

Watch the new film, Nuremberg (2025) to understand where the world has been, and where it may be heading.

Michael Craig

West side

Thanks for the UA heroes

As everyone else in this town, I have Wildcat fever, which will subside by Saturday at midnight or Monday, April 5: win/lose or draw (I will always be a fan) but the fever will break.

In my desperate search for a UA men's basketball shirt, I visited five different bookstores(campus) for the last three straight days. Each place had sold out of the Final Four shirts (some in the first half-hour of opening for business).

At each location, all the clerical staff, cashiers, were tremendously helpful, professional and understanding of my search (yes, I could have ordered online)

Finally, today I had success at the main bookstore.

Just thanks to Administration and Athletic department. So grateful for the small things.

Go Cats.

Go Cats.

Margarita Bernal

West side

Democracy is a verb

Thanks to all those protesters in the “No King protests” and all others who worked making signs and efforts to make sure it happened. It was a great turnout every place in our country. The protesters had to be proactive. Keeping our country safe requires voters to work hard.

Cartoons have been great in the Star as well as all over the country and if you look, all over the world. Podcasts are bringing transparency to political corruption. LTEs and opinions help.

Donations, when possible, help. Promoting solidarity can do a lot.

And just resist.

Pat Bannon

Midtown

SAVE Act

If the SAVE Act is passed, I won't be able to vote until I spend $600 and change my name.

I am 74 years old and I have been a U.S. citizen since I was born. But my birth name is different than the one I have used on all documents since elementary school. And my expired passport is too old.

There are 10s of millions of American citizens who will be disenfranchised if the SAVE Act is passed. It is just part of Trump's attempt to steal the election, like he tried to do in 2020.

Tres English

Midtown

Flight around the moon

Like most people, I was pleased that the rocket blasted off towards the moon with no problems. I guess I am a skeptic because I seem to remember that in the 1960s, we had several trips around the moon culminating with a landing and walk upon the surface. Our advances do not seem historic to me but slow, cumbersome and with a lack of focus. So we walked on the moon in 1969, and 57 years later, we are just getting around to flying around it again. What, another 10 years for another walk followed by building a 14x20 shack on the surface in 100 years. Maybe I'm missing something, but when the Model T was initiated it was quickly followed by more and better. Maybe it's money or technology, but why so snail-like?

Philip Reinecker

East side