Hobbs
Unbalanced and reckless
Thankfully, Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed the proposed Republican budget, a partisan, short-sighted plan for Arizona. Calling the proposed Republican budget “unbalanced and reckless,” Hobbs criticized the Republican tax breaks for billionaires and data centers, as well as narrowing deductions for elderly Arizonans without access to pensions or 401 retirement accounts. Posturing politicians like House Speaker Steve Montenegro and Senate Majority Leader John Kavanagh tried to defend their efforts, some directed at Tucson, like ending funding for Rio Nuevo while promoting accelerated tax cuts for businesses, as beneficial for Arizona. Hopefully, voters will recognize the same dysfunction in our state that permeates Washington's House and Senate politics and usher in a body of problem-solvers focused on Arizona's present and future needs.
Roger Shanley
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East side
AI in redistricting
There has been running coverage of various states’ legislative redistricting efforts from both major parties. Wouldn’t it be nice to have logical artificial intelligence simply take the number of registered voters in each precinct and use that to construct roughly equal and contiguous legislative districts — without regard to party registration, race or economic structures? As a next step locally, maybe we could then have an election of the City Council by ward so that everyone could have a voice — not just the ruling party.
David Germain
East side
I'm curious
Did we start a war because we named the Department of Defense the Department of War?
Are we building another wall to slow down the people who got over the first wall? Maybe a moat?
We need all the energy we can get, so we tear down the windmills already in place?
In America, if you are the president and forget who you are, you can put your name on all the buildings, paper money, etc., to remind you that you are like a king. Think “coat of arms,” street names, golf courses, again, etc.
We build a $400 million ballroom so the presidents can dance to YMCA. Perfect!
If you cut education spending, will you increase the prison population? Is it easier to teach children for seven hours a day or house inmates 24 hours a day?
When will electric vehicles have a tax to pay for road maintenance?
Shuffle as many legislative districts as you can before the midterms. Is this the new normal?
Ed LeGendre
East side
Congressional Review Act
Congress is in danger of acting against the wishes of most Americans, which is to protect our public lands. Arizona holds 4.5 million acres of protected land. You may have enjoyed these lands through hiking, sightseeing or other recreational activities. Each New Year’s Day, my family hikes together and enjoys these public lands. These hikes would not be possible without these protected natural areas. Members of Congress are proposing to misuse the Congressional Review Act, which will impact our community. Congress is considering rolling back protections for Utah’s Grand Staircase National Monument. If the vote goes through, a precedent will be set, leaving Arizona’s national monuments vulnerable to future harm.
Ava Girton
Foothills
One question
The letter "The Destructive Child" was an excellent accounting of some of the havoc and demolition of our country that we've seen from Trump and his administration. One pressing question: Why do they hate America?
Deb Klumpp
Oro Valley
All there in black and white
The Supreme Court has decreed that forming congressional districts so that Black voters have a good chance of electing people to represent them in Congress is “race-based” and unconstitutional. However, forming districts so that Black voters have little chance of electing representatives is not race-based and, therefore, OK. Gerrymandering is bad if it benefits Blacks, but good if only whites benefit?
Approximately one-third of Louisiana’s population is Black. Currently, two out of six representatives are Black. But thanks to the court’s decision, the state legislature/governor will be allowed to redraw the map so that there’s a good chance that no Black representatives from Louisiana will be in Congress. How is that not race-based?
Recently, Chief Justice Roberts complained because his court is seen as partisan. If the justices don’t want to be perceived as biased, they should start voting for the good of the whole country, not just the GOP.
Floyd Newsom
Northwest side
Ethical and principled reporting
Kudos to Mr. Leon's citation of Orwell: “The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.”
If all the White House press corps, general press and media covered Mr. Trump honestly, parts of the American electorate would not have such a skewed and glorified view of the president’s behavior and actions. Too many live in the disinformation bubble of Truth Social or Fox News, where Mr. Trump’s astonishing corruption, ripping off taxpayers and brazen lying are not reported.
America must have ethical and principled reporting that values truth and facts and corrects the disinformation from the president. It must report the president’s lies — like when Trump repeats his lie that the Pope would be OK if Iran obtained a nuclear weapon. It must report the president’s astonishing incompetence and his poor grasp of facts, along with his incoherent ramblings and dozing off in public. He makes “Sleepy Joe” look like the Energizer bunny.
Kathy Krucker
Midtown
Forgotten sports
Will the Arizona Daily Star include the world's biggest sporting event in its upcoming issues? Recent coverage of the 152-year-old horse racing gem — The Kentucky Derby — was completely absent from the sports section. As of Tuesday, there was no mention of the upcoming Preakness Stakes (also 152 years old), which is this weekend. In early June, the World Cup begins. It is the most-watched and reported sports event in the world. Will the withering pages of the sports section be able to fit in information about the event? Will it be treated like Major League Baseball with a once-a-week full-page listing of player statistics and the remainder of the week's issues having a last-page column of outdated standings? Having a couple of reports from your sports reporters and then a slim hodgepodge of plucked articles from other sports news outlets does not constitute an adequate sports section for a population the size of the Tucson metro. Getting so close to canceling my subscription.
Jay Gandolfi
Northeast side
Paint for pool
Trump handpicked a painter who had worked for him to repair and paint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and said it would cost $1.8 million. After a little time, the cost spiraled upward to $13 million, and the contract was awarded without a competitive bid, which is allegedly required. That Trump bypassed the competitive bid process is not surprising since he pays no attention to rules of law and always rewards his friends who remain true to him. No real reason for the giant upward swing of the cost, though to you and me, $13 million seems enough to paint all the pools in Washington, D.C. It’s simply another humdrum day in the crooked politics world of our crazy president.
Philip Reinecker
East side
Hell must be freezing over!
Donald Trump finally told the truth. He said he doesn't think about Americans' financial issues when he makes decisions! VOTE!
Barbara Benjamin
Foothills
Sad irony
The irony might have been more humorous to me if it had not been so sad. On May 6, the same night the Oro Valley Town Council congratulated itself on the generous participation of its citizens in the new general plan, OV Path Forward, it ignored that plan and voted for commercial and residential development of the city's most iconic public property. After all, that plan had elevated environmental conservation and scenic view preservation as its top priorities. This Pusch Ridge site, known as Rooney Ranch, is among the most stunning locations in Pima County and has been public open space for many years. Then, under the radar and internal to only the council itself, plans for rezoning, sale and development went forward. And while rhetorically supporting public consultation, the council never sought any ideas or creative alternatives from us for Rooney Ranch. A sad irony, since the joke was on us for thinking that we, and OV Path Forward, meant something.
Don English
Oro Valley
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