Break pizza
with our enemies
As a Vietnam War veteran, I went back to Vietnam to find peace and closure to my war experiences. To my surprise, I found Starbucks, Subway, Domino’s Pizza, Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, Carl’s Jr, Burger King, Baskin-Robbins, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Circle K. Fifty years ago, if you would have told me that these businesses would all be in Saigon (now called Ho Chi Minh City) and that we lost the war, I would have said “no way.” But it is true.
Once again I ask myself, “Why do we keep going to war? Why do we readily sacrifice our young men and women for reasons that prove false? Why don’t we learn from our past mistakes?”
Maybe we should sit down with our enemies and break a pizza together. Who knows, by doing so we might avoid a war and make some new friends? I know I did.
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Robert Ferguson
Sahuarita
Road to Colossal Cave
needs complete rebuild
I live in Vail and decided to visit our local gem, Colossal Cave. I go there sporadically and every time the road is worse than the last and it is never fixed. There are potholes beyond potholes, the old overlay is crumbling, edges are dangerously close to the cliff on the way down. The cave management puts cute videos of coatis on Facebook but who wants to wreck their suspension and tires to see them (one did cross the road for me as I got to the top)?
The tourists who may come here unaware would probably not do so again. The road is a dangerous shame and needs a complete rebuild, not just another overlay. For this I would vote for a small sales tax to fix it. At least the parking lot at the top is good. The cave is not the only attraction; there are the picnic grounds, a stable, an old ranch house and a museum. Let’s make them more attractive and accessible.
Carol J Owens
Vail
I-11 through Avra Valley is not the way to go
Use the existing urbanized right-of-way along the I-10/19 corridor for I-11, not Avra Valley. I had a ringside seat to the creation of the I-210 freeway in California. Homes were seized via eminent domain and residents who remained were told that high sound walls would insulate their neighborhoods. But once completed, gas stations and convenience stores sprang up around every off-ramp and soon the area along the route was urbanized.
How can we allow that to happen to the Desert Museum, Saguaro National Park West, and even Old Tucson? And such development west of Tucson Mountain Park would dramatically increase traffic on already-overcrowded Gates Pass Road, which is very winding and narrow with no shoulders and carved into solid rock that is nearly straight up and straight down on opposite sides — making the inevitable widening with local tax dollars very expensive.
Mike Cardwell
West side
Dirty, dark money
leads to manipulation
Dirty/dark money is a major contributor to the continuing threat to our democracy. Not only does it weaken fair and clean elections, but infiltrates our institutions of learning by secretly funding biased research that supports the policies championed by massively rich corporations and donors.
As citizens we need to ask questions, do our own research and be aware that any facts or data presented can be manipulated to favor the dirty/dark money that funds it.
I urge my fellow Arizonans to seek out, sign and support the Stop Political Dirty Money Amendment petition. This is a non partisan effort to secure the people’s right to know.
Sue Garcia
Foothills
Comparing liberals and conservatives
The nutshell difference between liberals and conservatives.
The Donkey brays, “Help me; I deserve it.”
The Elephant trumpets, “Stop whining; start achieving.”
A nation’s future hangs on the right outlook.
Molly McKinney
Southwest side
Question: Who holds the cards?
“Race Cards” that is? The most recent players in what seems to be a never-ending game are three millionaire, professional members of the NFL. One was able to get Nike to withdraw the release of its latest sneaker because of the original American flag on the heal. It r
eminded him of slavery. Another in viewing a photo of the White House administrative staff expressed the view that “you can’t meet the diverse needs of the people when those who represent them are not diverse themselves.”
Ignoring the whiteness of those who helped bring an end to slavery … or passed the Civil Rights Act before any of the three were born. And finally, suggesting when viewing the death of a father and daughter that the American dream has become an American nightmare. Clear to see where each of them is coming from. But why continue to go there? Question: So what’s in your hand?
Don Weaver
Midtown
I-11 vs. Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan
For 20
years, Pima County’s Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan has balanced economic growth and environmental conservation. It’s been a model for other regions; it’s won awards for its designers. Now, its spirit is under threat in its place of origin. Although ADOT’s Avra Valley bypass doesn’t violate the letter of the SDCP, it does strike at its heart and soul. On the scale of developable vs. conservable land, I-11 puts Avra Valley on the wrong end. Its community of plants and animals is iconic for a special portion of our nation; and its human community is rooted in its own sense of place. Can ADOT claim that their superficial mitigations can make up for the transformation of this living landscape into a hollowed-out imitation of a landscape? Can the county that nurtured the SDCP be the same county where it is to be hacked so blithely at its roots?
Evelyn Wheeler
Midtown
Say no to Interstate 11
and domination
When considering the recommended alternative for Interstate 11 through Avra Valley, troubling questions come to mind.
Why consider blitzing a freeway through a gorgeous landscape when there are less costly alternatives? Why do irreplaceable harm to local, regional, state, Native, and national treasures including Saguaro National Park, Tucson Mountain Park, the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum, and Ironwood Forest National Monument? Why induce sprawl across unspoiled lands, while also creating a potential pollution risk to future water supplies?
Just one word answers these questions: dominion. An outdated and misguided concept that believes humans must have absolute domination over the entire planet, no matter the costs or consequences.
If such behavior were to continue unabated, it would be a terrible testimony to our legacy. As lovers of Southern Arizona, please join me in advocating for the paradigm of stewardship, rather than dominion, by saying no to the recommended alternative for Interstate 11.
Rick Brown, AICP
West side
Why make Hudbay rich with our resources?
Hudbay Minerals mining the Santa Rita Mountains is like the group of Italians wanting to extract marble from the hills of the remote village of San Lorenzo La Jolla Rodriguez in Mexico. While doing community development work there, they came offering to develop a marble quarry promising jobs, water, electricity, etc.
The villagers listened to multiple presentations, never saying yes, never saying no. I didn’t understand their reluctance but I didn’t say a word. My task was to help them do what they wanted, not what I thought they needed.
As years passed they did get potable water and electricity without the marble quarry. I asked the village president, “Why did you not go into business with the Italians and the marble quarry?” Wisely he replied, “Why should we make someone else rich with our resources?”
I say, “Why should we make Hudbay Minerals rich with our resources; the wildlife, biodiversity, beauty of the Santa Ritas, that most of us do not want to sell?”
Charles (aka Punch) Woods
Southwest side
