Former President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally Saturday in Erie, Pa.
What is important to you?
I am genuinely alarmed for our Republic. Consider the following: What are our most important concerns going forward? The economy? Climate change? Race relations? Migration/border control? Law and order? Ensuring positive advances in education, gun control, abortion and voting rights? What about the GOP’s stance on the LGBTQ community, banning books, diversity and equity, minimizing the influence of drag queens in society? Our two major political parties weigh each of these concerns differently and, regardless of your particular affiliation or ranking, I submit NONE of these will matter if Trump if is elected president.
His focus will be his personal grievances — leading to weaponizing his administration towards retribution and revenge, staying out of jail, and adding multiple administrations in power. Not the concerns of “We the People.” Unfortunately, he appears enabled by SCOTUS and current pro-Trump elements in Congress. I hope my worry is for nothing, but I ask you — can you take the chance? I cannot.
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Gary Simons
Oro Valley
Weaponizing the dollar
The newest buzzword in politics is weaponizing. Weaponize the IRS, the FBI, the DOJ, the SCOTUS, the Parks & Rec department, ad infinitum. The newest weapon is the dollar and the one who wields it best is Trump. Now hear me out. Trump gets charged with a crime, he hires five lawyers. You hire seven lawyers. Trump adds five more and this goes on and on until you finally give up and cannot surmount the dogpile of lawyers he has assembled. Well, since you gave up your prosecution, now here comes the twisted logic, I must be innocent.
That is how Trump and any other person of unlimited cash can buy freedom from prosecution. Trump’s been at it his whole life and he’s perfected it. Is it right? Is it fair to any other citizen of this country? I don’t think so but that’s the way it is. Trump is right saying that he’s never been convicted of any crime, sad to say.
Daniel Poryanda
Southeast side
Bees endangered
Dear Editor,
My husband and I have been watching a small beehive in a large tree near Olson and Speedway for months. The bees have been active and healthy. Recently we saw dozens of dead bees at the foot of the trunk. Tiny, perfect bodies, stacked up one on top of another, striped corpses everywhere. For a second we were dumbfounded, unable to comprehend their death. We then realized the hole in the tree had been intentionally plugged up.
Over 1,000 different species of bees inhabit Arizona. A third of our food is pollinated by bees and they are now on the endangered species list. As the World Wildlife Fund points out, 69% of all wildlife species have been eliminated in less than 50 years. No one needs to kill bees. They can be safely removed from one’s property. Most importantly, you can help bees by planting native plants and eliminating pesticides in your yard.
Linda Peet Dugan
Midtown
Clean energy should earn votes
Re: the Aug. 1 article “Biden coming to AZ to talk climate” and “Arizona ranks seventh at adding clean energy jobs.”
In this article it mentions Biden has been “struggling in the polls” here. Immediately next to that story was another story touting the $8.1 Billion dollars in investments in our state for Clean Energy Projects. Thirteen new CE projects are underway — seventh highest in the nation. That means jobs, money coming into Arizona, and another tool to battle global warming. All because of the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. And Biden’s polling is struggling? Boggles the mind.
Karen Micallef
Oro Valley
TEP Kudos & avoidance actions
I am writing to acknowledge and thank TEP Operations Staff for their sincere and effective emergency response actions. TEP is a valuable member of our community.
I am also writing to suggest and request that TEP Executive Management accelerate their retirement of fossil fueled generation, Heat trapping CO2/CH4 emissions that fuel the severe magnitudes of storms, increase downed telephone poles from 100 to 160, increase electricity usage (more harmful emissions), damages to ratepayer property, cooling stations, wildfires, etc. Conservatively, at $150/ton the emissions cause our community about $1.3 BILLION of damages each year. The higher temperatures also damage our Natural Resources, saguaros dying.
Appreciate the actions to repair the damages, but it would be more responsible to AVOID the increases in severity, magnitude of ecosystem release of thermal energy. Solutions are available that will also provide great stimulus to Arizona’s emerging Clean Energy Manufacturing; solar cells, energy storage, etc.
Terry Finefrock
Foothills
Tucson growth and water
Re: the Aug. 1 article “What developments confirm about Tucson’s bleak future.”
Thank you for this article. Mr. Somers follows the changes in Tucson City Government and the PCBOS from planning for water management and other environmental concerns in the 70s and 80s to our present habit of catering to developers. As our water grows more scarce and our climate gets hotter and drier, we continue to build more sprawling developments. I loved the Edward Abbey quote, “Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.”
Anne Gooden
Midtown
Politics
As a lifelong Republican and now an Independent, it appears that the Republican party has become “A Ship of Fools.”
Many of us look back to the Hitler era and wonder how that could have possibly happened. What happened was subtle, sneaky, and sinister. First the adulation of an evil and criminal dictator wannabe, then came the banning of books followed by hatred of certain races, fake patriotism in its various forms, and aiming for complete control of the uneducated and ignorant masses (sound familiar?).
Wake up America, it’s rather obvious that we are on a slippery slope to self-destruction.
Nadine Ensminger
Northwest side
US Public Education is failing
Attacks on public education are well deserved. The nation’s report card for 2022 states 12% of all 11th graders are proficient in American history and 22% are proficient in civics. Whoopee. Isn’t that special? Similar results for public students appear in states from coast to coast. Students in big cities are doing the worst, and those are the students who need high performing schools the most. New Jersey spends a phenomenal $29,000/yr on every K-12 public ed student. Go check out the dismal stats in Newark, Jersey City and Camden. Worse than TUSD.
Keep up cheerleading for public education, folks, and its emphasis on DEI, CRT, Project 1619, personal pronouns, sex ed for elementary students and “genders” beyond male and female. MILLIONS of parents disagree with you and are going elsewhere for the education of their kids. Good for them.
Steve Sollenberger
Foothills
Ghost Ranch Exotics
Re: the Aug. 1 article “No sign of kangaroo missing from private Marana zoo.”
My heart breaks thinking about the kangaroo and two porcupines who are still missing (and possibly dead) after last Friday’s storm tore open their enclosures at Ghost Ranch Exotics petting zoo, not to mention the zoo’s birds who perished from that event as well. It’s no surprise that Ghost Ranch Exotics, like many roadside zoos in this country looking to make a buck off animals, didn’t have the proper facilities and plans in place to keep the animals safe.
For parents trying to teach their kids kindness and respect towards animals, going to places like Ghost Ranch Exotics isn’t the way to do it. And to our local elected officials, couldn’t you do more to prevent such enterprises from exploiting animals in the first place?
Kim Flaherty
Downtown
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