Letters to the Editor: Jan. 14

Re: the Dec. 18 letter “Griner release.”

The letter writer stated, and I quote, “Had I brokered a lopsided deal such as this in my working days as a contract negotiator my boss would have strongly suggested I pursue another career.”

I have a question for the writer. Who exactly did he negotiate contracts with? Did he ever negotiate with a bloodthirsty killer, someone who sends missiles into maternity wards and hospitals? Did he ever negotiate with a ruthless dictator whose only currency is death?

His credentials as a negotiator are extremely limited and he should have thought twice before writing.

Timothy Canny

Oracle

Desalination comes at a cost

Thank you, Star reporters, for the excellent articles regarding the future of water in Arizona. We are at a precipice that I never thought to experience as a child running through sprinklers spilling water into yards and streets. Yes, we will need a dependable water source in the future, but at what cost? The ecological damage to the already stressed Sea of Cortez is real. Desalination comes at a cost to the environment and should be a big part of the studies by both the United States and Mexico.

Barbra Kingman

Southwest side

Universal ESA expansion

The universal voucher ESA program is expected to bankrupt the state, according to public school advocates. The program, which was passed earlier this year, is set to have a significant financial impact on the state, with estimates suggesting it will cost over $500 million this school year and potentially reach $1 billion a year in the near future. The vouchers are being claimed by a large number of families whose children already attend private schools or are homeschooled, and the program does not have a cap on the number of vouchers available, leading to an unlimited amount of funding being taken away from Arizona’s public schools.

To address these issues and improve the situation, potential solutions include introducing a cap on the number of vouchers available, increasing regulation and accountability for private schools participating in the program, and budgeting for the program in advance to prevent the need for funds to be stripped from the education general fund.

Sarah Bihms

Northwest side

Screaming babies on airplanes

Re: the Dec. 25 article “Please ignore my screaming baby.”

To the author of the article on ignoring screaming babies on airplanes, along with all the other mothers trying to manage unhappy babies while on airplane flights. Your comment does appear to miss the primary point, which is the resulting audio pain. To ignore an unhappy child’s audio sound has been stated to exceed that of a jet engine. This level of audio pain is impossible to ignore. My suggestion to mom is to bring along inexpensive ear plugs and offer them to your captive neighbors when your baby starts acting up. If the gesture is not accepted by some of your neighbors, at least the effort will be appreciated for the thoughtful act it is.

Roger Ulrich

Northwest side

You can’t fool all the people all the time

It was interesting watching Doug Ducey as governor of Arizona during his term. I have seen many governors over the years in Arizona (i.e., remember Ev?), each with a different persona. While displaying his perpetual boyish grin, Ducey has always tried to please many of those who side with the GOP and practiced his “hands off” approach to their continuous shenanigans in the Arizona Legislature. Now that he is leaving, it seems he is trying to get his last grift in right under the wire and our noses. It began with the costly hiring of an out-of-state company to deposit costly shipping containers on the border and now ends with the containers requiring costly removal by the same company. This shows that it is never too late to get that final grift (or photo-op) in while the exit door is still swinging.

Alan Barreuther

Foothills

Unaddressed issues for desalination

Sincere thanks to the Arizona Daily Star for two excellent articles by Tony Davis about Israeli company IDE’s proposal for a desalination plant on the Gulf of California.

Three issues I have not yet seen publicly addressed are: 1. The proposed project would raise taxes and water fees on all current residents of Arizona, in order to provide additional water to allow land speculators and developers to profit from future development and population growth. 2. There has been no agreement with Mexico for a) building the plant, b) building a long pipeline through Mexico, or c) increasing the salinity of the Gulf of California. 3. If Arizona laws and policies require the state to use open and competitive procurement procedures to buy a photocopier or a pickup truck, how can the state do a non-competitive, sole source procurement for a $5.5 billion desalination plant?

Brooks Keenan

Oro Valley

Whelan still isn’t home

Just a reminder to politicians and the news media that former Marine Paul Whelan is still being held in a Russian prison after four years. His plight only became commonly known after basketball player Brittney Griner also became imprisoned there. Fortunately, she was released in a prisoner exchange in early December arranged by the Biden administration. Unfortunately, Whelan seems to have been returned to obscurity by the media and the Biden administration. Presumably Biden is working hard behind the scenes to also secure Whelan’s release, but some pressure from the public and the media might speed up the process.

Matthew Scully

Sahuarita

Leftists seizing our kitchens

Re: the Jan. 10 article “Reject Southwest Gas rate increase.”

I applaud the writer’s accounting of Southwest Gas Company’s abysmal history of rate increases since we all want our monthly gas bills to go down not up, but then she cites “energy justice.” Alas, any time you put an adjective before the word justice, we no longer have it and my payments go up.

The columnist also reports that the new pollution enemy is gas stoves that “can pose significant health risks, even when used as intended’. Huh? Tucson is a culinary mecca and the number of electric stoves in our restaurants is zero.

We must dismiss the opinion of anyone who self-describes as a Tucson-based mother, Ph.D candidate at UA studying energy justice and climate justice and a member of EcoMadres, a national community of parents and caregivers acting together to protect the health of Latino families from air pollution and climate change.

These leftists are now seizing our kitchens.

Jeffrey McConnell

West side

Hamlin brought people together

Re: the Jan. 9 article “Heart attack suffered by football player.”

As a proud member of the (Buffalo) Bills Mafia since 1991 (second grade), I take offense to this letter. Yes, the folks who died in the scaffolding accident is tragic and may God help the families. However, it was not seen by literally millions of people nor was it an unprecedented event where there was a blueprint on how to handle or broadcast the event. A world-class athlete nearly dies from a very rare event (30 cases per year according to the NCIB) That is why it was a national story on the news network, and for a brief moment it brought America together in prayer.

Gabriel Bustamante

South side

Shipping containers for the homeless

Re: the Jan. 10 letter “Housing for homeless.”

I’ve seen several letters recently in the Opinion section promoting the use of “Ducey’s Taxpayer Funded Folly” shipping containers for housing for homeless people. On the surface that’s a great idea. Unfortunately, many shipping containers are toxic and unfit for human habitation due to either the materials they transported or the paint they’re coated in. Extensive research is needed to determine if a container is safe or toxic. Making toxic containers habitable is possible in some cases, but expensive — maybe cost-prohibitive (I don’t know).

All that said, I’m in 100% agreement that we should research the idea. A good starting place is to make some phone calls and/or write some letters to our representatives. I’m in!

Murphy Davis

Catalina

Wadsack embarrassed us

Political posturing and childish behavior do not belong in its august body. We all hear others say things that we don’t agree with. When you turn your back on a speaker or walk out, you are only demeaning your position. As a voter and constituent, we expect proper decorum. We are all exhausted by stunts like this and expect a bipartisan approach in your leadership in LD17. Justine Wadsack, you represent Republicans, Democrats and Independents. Do your job and do not embarrass us again, or you will be voted out next election. We need to get things done and showing disrespect to the governor on the first day is not a good start. Work on good legislation. Do not be the reason we fail.

Andrew Kunsberg

East side