Tucson Speaks Out: July 24 letters of the day

5th & 6th St. widening

This morning I noticed that one of our city’s buses going west on 6th Street took up almost the entire outside traffic lane creating a pretty tight squeeze in the inside lane for passing vehicles also heading west.

The City of Tucson should consider widening 5th Street and 6th Street between Campbell Ave. and Wilmot Road to include two east-bound traffic lanes, two west-bound traffic lanes, a center left turn lane and 6’ east- and west-bound bicycle lanes.

Also, I don’t believe that the stripes separating traffic lanes are in and of themselves “traffic lanes” to be used by bicycles and motorcycles. I had a motorcycle, traveling at a high rate of speed, pass between my vehicle and an adjacent vehicle stopped at the traffic light at Campbell Ave., scaring the bejeebers out of me and ignoring the required 3-foot separation between it and other vehicles.

Bill Kendall

Downtown

No EVs forced down this throat

Re: the July 17 letter “Forcing an EV down my throat.”

The letter writer recently wrote a letter full of misinformation. I am 78 years old, and my husband is 86, and we recently bought a fully electric vehicle (EV). President Joe Biden did not “force us to buy.” The new car was $32,000 (not 64,000), and we received a $7,500 government rebate. It does not “take a long time” to charge; it fully charges (in our garage) in 40 minutes, and the charge lasts for 270 miles. We no longer buy gas. The parts and materials are all made in the USA, which is why there is such a generous rebate. Nothing is from China. Finally, our insurance rate has gone DOWN, not up as the letter writer claims. Oh yes, and as to the regulations being “discriminatory and racist,” we two old, white, Anglo-Saxon Protestants don’t think so.

Cheryl Lockhart

Foothills

Victimized fantasy

Donald Trump and his supporters have complained about his investigation by the DOJ as being “unprecedented,” rambunctiously implying that it shouldn’t be occurring because of that circumstance. They ignore the fact that Trump’s criminal behavior is also unprecedented; what other president organized and implemented a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol?

They also complain that the DOJ has been “weaponized.” If pursuing criminals who break the law is weaponizing, then the DOJ has always been “weaponized.” Criminal behavior warrants criminal prosecution.

Even after he is found guilty, Trump will maintain his victimized fantasy. I hope that the judge factors Trump’s lack of contrition into Trump’s sentence.

Rick Cohn

West side

No money for college

Want to go to college on the cheap? It’s called The GI Bill. What you do is show up at a recruiting office and say, “Sign me up.” You enlist for four years, and here is what you do for yourself. You gain a four-year work record as you will hold positions of responsibility. There are endless skills one can learn, and you can complete, perhaps, one year of college. All military posts are associated with colleges. Go to school free of charge, with tuition assistance, evenings, and weekends. Your duties come first, and the college staff realize that and bend to your schedule. Also, there is the College-Level Education Program. Take the CLEP tests and earn three credit hours per test at the education center on post. After four years, an honorable discharge will earn you a very inexpensive education; The GI Bill. Also, after those four years, you will be eligible for a VA loan for a home with no down payment.

Jon Langione, U S Army (retired)

Marana

Jobs vs. kids’ lives?

Re: the July 19 letter “EPA proposed regulations.”

PM2.5 is particulate matter of 2.5 micrometers or less, a major component of smog, comes from vehicle exhaust and power plants, can be deeply inhaled and has links to heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, asthma, visibility problems, and premature death. Children and the elderly are especially vulnerable. There is no safe level of exposure to PM2.5.

US levels of 12 micrograms were set a decade ago under the Obama administration. Donald Trump overrode a scientific recommendation for a lower standard. The EPA’s proposal would reduce the annual PM2.5 to a level between 9 and 10 micrograms. This is still higher than The World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation of 5 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3).

This is hardly “federal overreach that harms our way of life.” Are 1,300 jobs more important than millions of children and seniors? How about concentrating instead on protecting the latter?

Klara Cserny

Southwest side

Who’s responsible for low education ratings?

Re: the July 13 letter “I stand corrected” and the July 3 letter “Education improvement.”

The letter writer railed against equal opportunity saying Democrats want “equal income, equal housing, and equal retirement income, regardless of desire, ability, drive, or experience.” He claims equal leads to mediocrity and the dumbing down of education. He ends by saying we should fix the school system by “educating students to their maximum capacity.” This is already the goal of Arizona public schools. I suggest he is just “owning the libs” because on July 3, the letter writer blamed Jill Biden for the failure of our schools. This is absurd since she has no authority over school systems.

Instead of blaming Democrats, the letter writer should look to his party’s chronic de-funding of our schools, lavish voucher increases for the rich, and staunch support of Superintendent Horne’s resource-wasting school culture wars.

Republicans have deliberately allowed Arizona schools to fall to the bottom nationally in funding and teacher retention in favor of tax cuts and other benefits for their wealthy supporters.

Dee Maitland

Marana

Response to Wadsack

Re: the July 19 article “Rebate provides critical financial relief.”

Legislative District 17 Senator Justine Wadsack’s Op-Ed was a fantasy of fake numbers regarding inflation and the economy and sounded more like campaign propaganda.

She and her right-wing sidekicks in LD17 have brought nothing but shame to the Tucson area.

She has sought to criminalize homelessness (SB1413), attacked drag shows (SB1698) and sought to revoke Tucson’s city charter (SCR1023 and 1027), among other idiocies that do not help govern our state.

Her highlighting of Republican “achievements” on tax rebates is cynical at best. After Doug Ducey’s flat tax gave big breaks to the wealthy, Wadsack and friends piled on with a tax rebate only for those wealthy enough to have paid income tax in the last few years. The poorest, who need tax relief the most, get absolutely nothing from this Republican giveaway.

Shame on her, and let’s vote her out!

Anne Mitchell

East side

Neglected River Road cause

Re: the July 20 letter “Questioning neglected section of River Road.”

As a retired engineer, I strongly sympathize with the writer and nearby residents of River Road between Pontatoc and Swan. I and thousands of other Pima County taxpayers drive that arterial road frequently. The reason for the vehicle damaging bumps can be traced to the quarry located at 4250 E. River Road. Heavy dump trucks laden with rock, gravel and dirt come and go with their cargoes there. The deep road dips and steep crests cause their heavy loads to bunch up the asphalt there.

Is it time for some sort of “use tax” for commercial vehicles that use the rock quarry? That business could pass along the tax to its customers, which could pass it along to their customers. The extra revenue to Pima County could keep that section of River Road maintained. Barring that outcome, I suggest any motorists that experience damages such as suspension re-alignment or worse to start filing damage claims with Pima County to awaken them to a festering problem.

Robert Couch

North side

Tuberville’s shameful, unpatriotic actions

The United States Marine Corps is now without Commandant for the first time in over 150 years. Alabama GOP Senator Tommy Tuberville’s Senate confirmation hold on three- and four-star officer promotions has created a backlog of 250 promotions for senior leadership positions. Senator Tuberville is trying to reverse the Department of Defense policy of paid per diem and travel expenses for servicewomen and the wives of servicemen to access abortion services in states that provide these reproductive healthcare services. DOD policy does NOT pay for an abortion, period.

However, it is totally UNFAIR to tell servicewomen and the wives of servicemen that they can NOT have an abortion procedure because they are stationed in a red conservative state that bans abortions. Servicewomen and the wives of servicemen have to follow the orders to move where they are told to move. Senator Tuberville’s reckless unpatriotic hold on senior military promotions undermines our military readiness while aiding our adversaries in China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.

Kyle Stoutenburg

Sierra Vista