Arizona governor debate
The voters of Arizona need to see and hear the candidates for governor debate on stage, and in person. No one candidate should be able to speak about their position without being challenged by the other candidate. For this reason, I am very disappointed to see that Katie Hobbs is not willing to appear on the debate stage. She needs to demonstrate that she has the courage, and backbone, to face adverse conditions, no matter how chaotic they may be. Perhaps the state Democratic Party needs to search for an alternative candidate that has the courage to stand up to adversity. Being governor of Arizona is not going to be a cake walk.
Paul Eyssautier
Northwest side
Clean elections debates
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For those who are not aware of it, the Arizona Clean Elections Commission is sponsoring debates for almost all races in the state. I recently watched the debate between the LD17 candidates and it was illuminating. The Democrat candidates were all extremely well-prepared, and answered the questions on all the various topics put to them. The candidates from the other party mainly repeated their typical talking points. At one point, one of the candidates for the state House made a statement that was patently false, although I do not think this was a willful lie, but instead a repetition of things he had heard but not verified.
I recommend voters in LD17 watch this debate before they mark their ballots. It is available at azcleanelections.gov under candidate debates.
Kathleen Dubbs
West side
Hoping columnist becomes a regular
Re: the Sept. 15 article "Washers should have caution-cycle."
I found the humorous article in Thursday's paper on top-loading washing machines written by Lori Borgman a delightful, refreshing way to enjoy the morning paper and my coffee. I hope we will get to read more of her writing. With much of international, national, and local news having so many serious situations, it was wonderful to be able to relate and smile about some of the simple conundrums in life.
Marianne Fields
Green Valley
Student loan forgiveness
Democrats applaud the approval of $32 billion in student loan forgiveness and conservatives are asking questions: Why is it called "forgiveness" not “bail-out”? If you enrolled at UA majoring in Gender and Women’s Studies do you expect us to pay your tuition and later unemployment benefits? How can a president print money without approval of the electorate (Congress)? Our precious tax dollars are laundered between the legislative and executive branches by an unaccountable regulatory agency. The more debt that the Feds pay off, the more heavily subsidized universities will raise tuition prices. Does anyone see a problem here? The public/ private universities that receive federal funding are immune from scrutiny, they attack for-profit schools for employment unfulfilled, colleges that never promised jobs and loan repayment to Black Studies majors. Does this help or hurt our path forward? The Democrats offer their traditional "free stuff" election ploy as we approach the midterms. We need to communicate to Independent voters that our American fabric is being destroyed.
Jeffrey McConnell
West side
Puzzling changes
Your recent change will cause me to cancel my subscription. First, adding more comics is ridiculous, especially the ones you added and dropping Dilbert! Then, the LA Times Crossword compared to the two you used to provide is not an acceptable replacement for us crossword users!
I hope enough customers cancel or complain to reverse your decision.
John Knutsen
Green Valley
Government should pay for vaccines
Sen. Roy Blunt might give some thought to the big picture before he tells us that people can pay for their vaccines and "there’s really no reason the government should be paying for all of that.”
He could look at the bottom line, weighing the cost to the government of a series of vaccines against the cost of treating the illness in the unvaccinated. Consider the productivity of a healthy populace versus the lost work days of the families of the sick child and of their infected teachers; the cost to the community of a case of long COVID, the difference between a smart, strong worker contributing to our economy versus an indigent disabled one, or no worker at all?
Look beyond the bottom line to exhausted hospital personnel, grieving survivors and the communities hoping to live in safety.
Why do communities pick up the tab for trash pickup? It makes sense both in terms of the bottom line and in terms of public health. This is no different.
Loma Griffith
Southwest side
Juan Ciscomani for District 6
There is a new face running for U.S. House of Representatives, District 6, Republican conservative Juan Ciscomani. He is a first-generation American and father of six. His website reflects being endorsed by the U.S. Border Patrol Council, the AZ Police Association, the National Home Builders Association, etc. He worked for the Latino Chamber of Commerce, was a senior advisor to Gov. Ducey and vice-chair of the Arizona-Mexico Commission. He is not a Trump-endorsed candidate. His opponent is Democrat Kirsten Engel. She is a former "environmentalist" attorney, professor and Associate Dean at U of A. In other words, a far-left liberal that will vote in lockstep with Nancy Pelosi's agenda. How much did student tuitions rise under her term at U of A? Engel has previously stated, "We must put a STOP to racist hate crimes fueled by tolerance of white supremacists." Another divisive Progressive Democrat.
Rosalinda Vasquez
South Tucson
Mayes for democracy and women
Kris Mayes is the right candidate for attorney general of Arizona. She has experience serving on the Arizona Corporation Commission, where she helped balance the enormous economic power wielded by large corporations with the needs of ordinary citizens. She supports women’s reproductive rights, respects our election system, wants to analyze industrial water leases in Arizona, and most importantly, wants to depoliticize the AG’s office so it can return to protecting the civil rights of all Arizonans.
Her opponent, a MAGA Republican, wants to decertify the 2020 election and restrict our voting rights. He takes money from the gun lobby, does not support women’s rights, and wants to ban all abortions in Arizona. His “pro-life” position doesn't align with his support for the gun lobby and the obscene loss of life from mass shootings in this country.
It’s time to stop the chaos and restore the rule of law by electing Mayes for Arizona attorney general.
Darlene Sumners
Oro Valley
Cartoon/puzzle disappointment
I am more than disappointed. I am angry and frustrated. No information on how to get to the additional pages of puzzles and games we might be interested in. There is a small print line that says to "go to our website for more puzzles." Whose website? You could at least give us a link to the website.
Karen Kelter
Midtown
Thankful for ads
In the Sept. 18 paper, one couple announces the cancellation of their print subscription because of Jim Click and Sam Levitz ads. I, on the other hand say "thank you, thank you" to Jim Click and Sam Levitz every time I see their ads. Without support from them and other advertisers, I, in all likelihood, would not have the benefit of our fine local paper in the print edition I highly value.
Mary Wellington
Northwest side
Less quality for the cost
We have been subscribers since 1977. For the annual cost we pay, it is apparent that there is a diminishing lack of content and quality for this expense. Since the Star's business office closed and press is done in Phoenix, print quality is often less than satisfactory. Today's obituaries had faded print that was almost unreadable. "Caliente" recently listed shops, restaurants and activities with no phone numbers referenced to have further contact. When we called, we were told this would not change. Recently, the comics and puzzle pages have been shrunk in content. There have been numerous letters to the editor stating dissatisfaction with this elimination of a much enjoyed portion of the paper. This leads to our conclusion that corporate decisions have already been made and there is no allowance to factor in the opinions of the readership to override them. The message seems to be: too bad, so sad. It's the current mantra of not caring from the newspaper corporate world.
Mrs. Marlene C. and Mr. Gail H. Skinner
Southwest side
Who cares about comics?
One reader said "Bring Back the Comics," another reader claimed comics are his favorite section of the paper and stop printing the letters section. Another reader even brought up the level of excellence missing in the paper and finished with being disappointed. All because the most sensitive Mutts is missing. I think real-life comics are infinitely funnier, especially when politics comes into play. Take (Cancun Ted) for example, or the squeaking Chihuahua (Lindsey Graham), now that's funny. Or our so-called former President Donald J. Trump, the only person to ever give a bad name to narcissism. With my apology to "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," we don't need no stinking comics. The bottom line is it's not a comic book, not a crossword puzzle book, not a fortune teller (horoscope) not a T.V. Guide.
It's called a newspaper for a reason.
Clyde R. Steele
Oro Valley
Sunday puzzles in trouble
It's a shame when a great newspaper like the Star makes needlessly irritating changes which certainly did not involve readership input. How senseless is printing the puzzle page answers a week after they're published. When you see the crossword answers a week later, you can't possibly recall the clues. Please, bring back Frank Longo, bring back Cryptoquip, replace the tired old strips with the ones we readers have come to love, some of the few happy items in an often dismal news world. If this is Lee Enterprises' decision, let them know what a huge mistake this is. Of course, we miss the daily features as well. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" We had it so good!
James Torrey
West side
Law abiding?
Our current "law-abiding" Arizona attorney general can not even follow the law to remove his primary election campaign signs. He is so busy trying to push the hard-right conservative ideals that he must think he is above the law in his own actions. The campaign signs were to be removed 15 days after the primary election and yet they are still up in many places around town, especially the west side at the major cross streets as of Sept. 16. What does it take to get his and many other primary signs removed and improve the visual aspects of our town?
John Dunlop
West side
Star changes
I stand with the others regarding the changes the Star has made to its content. I've subscribed for years to have daily Cryptoquip puzzles. My husband strongly objected to paying hundreds of dollars a year for me to enjoy this small treat each day. I don't like the horoscopes or the Sunday crossword (New York Times was much better), I find typos daily and advertising has dwarfed whatever news or features you published previously. Going further back, when publishing moved from Tucson to Phoenix I was upset about jobs being lost and the lag in prompt reporting. So, my husband wins after all. We will pay $4/week for the Sunday edition which we will purchase at our local Circle K and therefore save hundreds of dollars a year and a lot of frustration. In addition, today's paper didn't even carry the puzzle solutions. P.S. I'm a good proofreader, which you certainly could use.
CJ Lawhon
Foothills
Comics need magnifying glass
So your comics on weekdays are getting smaller and puzzles are on the same page, thus the reduced size of the comics. So we seniors will need a magnifying glass to read the funnies.
Whose brilliant idea was it for comic shrinkage? Probably someone who doesn’t read them? Some really aren’t that funny anymore, anyway. Can you imagine how difficult it is to try to create a “laugh” every day, year after year? I like to read the multi-colored Sunday comics. But even then some of those are “lame.” Whatever happened to Beetle Bailey and Alley Oop? Maybe those who “drew” those comics went to comic heaven? I also like “The Born Loser,” but never see him anymore, anywhere.
Kenneth Unwin
East side
