Tucson Speaks Out: April 12

Fire station closures?

The proposed closure of fire stations 3 and 6 don't seem to make much sense.

Fire Station 3 is only a few blocks from my 85-year-old home near the UA, and the station is completely surrounded by the city and has a high call volume. And Fire Station 6 is strategically located between DM's southern flight line and I-10 and the state and federal prisons.

If you had to close a couple of fire stations, it would make sense to close Station 20 near 1st Ave and River, which is mostly surrounded by unincorporated Pima County, as well as Station 21 at Tanque Verde near Bear Canyon, also surrounded by mostly unincorporated Pima County. Those stations were used as failed enticements for Tucson annexation plans.

Or how about not closing any fire station? The 30 recruits who spent 6 months of their life training for the TFD cost the city millions of dollars and thousands of hours.

Bring back bus fares. Cut the council's office budget.

Matt Somers

Midtown

Pushback

Whatever can — should! — a country do when it finds it has an unprincipled ruler, one who jerks people, organizations and entire countries around with tariffs, defunding programs, and offensive name-calling? And now, he unleashes our country's resources and military personnel to take us to war!? A full pushback is in order!

Don Gerlach

East side

Are we great yet?

Tariffs: Nearly 100% of tariff costs have been passed on to U.S. consumers and businesses, acting as a tax on domestic entities rather than foreign countries.

Consumer prices: Average household costs increased by roughly $1,000 to $1,230 annually due to tariff pass-through.

Inflation & prices: Inflation has remained above targets, and analysts suggest the combined effect of tariffs and regional instability has raised costs for products and fuel.

Manufacturing: Estimates of manufacturing job losses from early 2025 to early 2026 range from roughly 83,000 to 108,000.

I'm not feeling so great.

Pam Stone

Northeast side

Last straw

To John Roberts, John Thune, Mike Johnson, J.D. Vance, and the U.S. Cabinet:

When the President of the United States posts a video of a woman being bludgeoned to death with a hammer on his social media page, more level heads must intervene and remove this madman from office before he unleashes more vitriol in the world (as if there hasn't been reason enough to remove him from office beginning with his first day in office up until this past Tuesday, when he held the world hostage with threats to annihilate an entire civilization). As a survivor of horrific and traumatizing domestic violence, I will not remain silent when the leader of this country — or in some cases considered, the leader of the free world — posts such unhinged and deranged material championing violence and murder against women. I ask you, gentlemen, what will it take?

Ashley Sweeney

Oro Valley

Ciscomani and the environment

A recent LTE praised Juan Ciscomani for being a staunch public lands supporter by sponsoring a bill to elevate Chiricahua National Monument to National Park status. Certainly, this is a worthy goal and will be appreciated by Cochise County residents. Considering that he has consistently voted with Republicans to commercialize public lands by opening them to unlimited mining, oil drilling, logging, and privatization, as well as removing clean air and water regulations and Endangered Species protections, his bill is just political posturing in his re-election campaign. He voted for the most damaging environmental provisions in recent history in the Big Beautiful Bill we are suffering under. Ciscomani is not a friend of the environment.

Tom Van Devender

North side

Reminder

A recent letter writer asked us to remember that many, many voters voted for what MAGA stood for and asked if we even remembered. Well golly gee, I am so dumb that I completely forgot. I tend to vote for the person, and not the slogan. I vote for the character, integrity, honesty, etc. of the person. My other problem when I compiled my vote was that I thought the letters referred to the Presidential candidate behind them: Make America Grope Again.

I held off voting for this person, even when you could get a cute little red hat with the slogan on it. Not for me. I do wonder what became of all those hats. You hardly ever see one anymore.

Karen Balch

Foothills

Lack of planning

Republican politicians support illegal actions by Trump to include the Iranian “war.” They are his enablers, along with the appointed sycophants of his administration. Trump initiated military action without a plan that should have provided consultation with allies and neighboring countries, clearly defined objectives, public support and the explicit support of Congress. It appears he forgot his stated objectives when we dropped the first bombs. Iran needs to change, but Trump’s threats that a “civilization will die tonight” if a deal on Hormuz is not reached won’t get us there. His idea of diplomacy is threats and bombs. And when the plan failed, he demanded support from the very countries with whom he did not consult. The only winners in all this are China, which is seen as a more stable trading partner than the U.S. because of tariffs, and Russia, which is getting more money for its oil, allowing it to keep funding the fight against Ukraine, a country that Trump has deserted.

Michael Mount

Foothills

Melania needs your help

Melania is in desperate need of help. Although Melania and Mr. Trump were in the same New York and Palm Beach social circles at Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, she declared that “The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today.” Melania advocates for Congress to hold public hearings where Epstein’s victims can tell their stories. Juan Ciscomani, here is your chance to champion her cause. You could elicit assistance from your network of MAGA legislators and have the abused women testify how they were treated and by whom. Once these uber-wealthy individuals have been identified, your group can use the rule of law to have these people sentenced for their unforgivable crimes. Juan, you can use this leadership to elevate your re-election campaign. You must act fast, as November is not that far away.

Jay Gandolfi

Northeast side

Vance's support of Hungary's Orban

One of the many indecencies of the Trump Administration is that they also meddle in the elections of other countries. The reasons are clear. During his time as prime minister, Orban has changed the country's democratic underpinnings and made Hungary into an autocracy. Exactly what Trump is attempting here. Orban's veto rights in the EU weaken the EU, weaken the Ukraine and strengthen Putin. Orban is Putin's friend, and Trump is helpless against Putin (and Netanyahu). In reference to Iran, Trump is sitting in the trap he himself created. We had a nuclear agreement, and who canceled it? We all know who. Trump knows only one solution: a military conflict, and that is really bad news for everyone.

Carola Myers

Foothills

Get the Protect Education Act on the ballot

As someone who is collecting signatures on petitions to get school voucher oversight on the ballot, I would like to state some facts about this proposal.

1. We are not trying to do away with vouchers.

2. Students with disabilities will always have access to the funds they need. They are and will be exempt from any restrictions.

3. Everyone will still have the ability to make choices about their child's education.

4. A family income cap of $150,000 would be in effect for vouchers so that the vast majority of ordinary Arizona citizens won't have to continue subsidizing private schools for the richest Arizonans through their taxes, one billion dollars this year, with no income cap.

5. Safety measures for students and academic standards would be required of schools receiving taxpayer funds.

These are common-sense guidelines that should be nonpartisan. Look to sosarizona.org for more information.

Mel Strijdonk

Northwest side