No mask mandate
So the governor and our director of health do not see the need for mask mandates as COVID-19 rises. We can address this with vaccines. Please tell me which vaccine my 5-year-old granddaughter should take? Should she rely on the “adults” around her, like Gov. Doug Ducey and Cara Christ, who think public health is an individual freedom to keep her safe?
Our un-vaccinated kids need adult leadership to protect them, not leadership with the delusional belief that the eligible, yet still-unvaccinated adults in Arizona will miraculously see the light and rush to get a shot in the arm! Don’t preclude the few tools our kids have to keep themselves safe.
Norman Patten
Midtown
Ignoring Arizona Constitution
Recently Gov. Doug Ducey signed off on and the Arizona Legislature passed two laws that defy the Arizona Constitution. The first purports to limit the liability of nursing homes and assisted living facilities due to the pandemic. The law limits damages for acts unless they are willful and wanton. So the elderly who suffer “regular” neglect, isolation and abuses cannot sue unless they can prove that what was done to them was in total disregard for the duties of a facility.
The other law limits the liability of commercial gun sellers for harm caused by the weapons they sell but allows suits against weapon manufacturers. Gun dealers can sell weapons to obviously unstable persons and numerous weapons and limitless amounts ammunition to one person. Article 18 Section 6 of the Arizona Constitution states: The right of action to recover damages for injuries shall never be abrogated, and the amount recovered shall not be subject to any statutory limitation. Get a clue.
Robert Murray
Midtown
City Council election
Re: the July 18 article “Star’s endorsements in Wards 3 and 6.”
I took exception to the characterization of Kevin Dahl as a “one-issue candidate” in your voter recommendations. To say that an environmental focus is “one issue” is absurd. The threats posed by climate change impact every aspect of our lives and our community … socially, economically, morally. To begin to address this looming reality in a positive, proactive way will go a long way to making Tucson a healthier, safer and more sustainable place to live for everybody.
Full disclosure: Kevin has been a friend and neighbor for decades. He is the most civically engaged and community-minded person I’ve ever met.
Daniel Hostetler
Midtown
Presidential problems
Regarding recent letters warning of COVID’s spread from migrants coming over the border, face it folks, immigration has been a thorny issue not only for President Joe Biden but for every president in recent history, including the used-to-be-one, Donald Trump. The inconvenient truth is that the real and present danger to the virus’s spread is the number of people in this country who refuse to get vaccinated, endangering themselves, their families and those of us who have had the brains God gave a goose to get vaccinated.
Where were these concerns not only about the Border Patrol, but the hundreds of thousands of deaths that resulted from the blatant lies blathered about by Trump and his criminal accomplices?
Biden has done much to stem the spread of COVID, but his efforts are falling on the deaf ears of those, mostly right wingers, who seem to get their information from the con artists on Fox News.
William Muto
SaddleBrooke
COVID cases mostly unvaccinated
COVID cases are increasing at an alarming rate, yet more than 95% of the cases are unvaccinated people. Nearly all of the recent COVID deaths were unvaccinated. Nevertheless, anti-vaxxers insist on not getting jabbed. They howl about their freedom, unconcerned that they are spreading disease to others.
Government agencies are considering compelling the wearing of masks, and even forcing vaccinations, in order to stem this COVID onslaught which might produce even more virulent variants. If enacted, anti-vaxxers will howl even louder.
But there is an easier way to insure greater vaccine acceptance while allowing the “freedom” fanatics to indulge their fantasy. Prohibit unvaccinated people from entering a hospital ... even when, and especially when, they are sick.
The sadness of increased COVID deaths would be alleviated somewhat by the knowledge that the victims have freely chosen to believe anti-vax propaganda, and they won’t be voting for any more Republicans.
Bruce Joffe
South side
Davis-Monthan’s uncertain future
Re: the July 24 article “Senate works to protect A-10s.”
I am a third-generation Tucsonan and have been a member of the DM50 for 21 years. The DM50 supports the Air Force’s proposal to bring new Rescue missions, with new quiet airframes, to Davis-Monthan. Senator Mark Kelly is endangering the long-term viability of Davis-Monthan AFB by proposing legislation that will prevent the Air Force from bringing these new units to Davis Monthan.
The A-10 is outdated and will be completely retired soon. Left with only A-10s, the future of DM is questionable. The Rescue missions, with new and quiet airframes, will keep the base active for years to come.
It is time for Sen. Mark Kelly to support the future of Davis-Monthan. This is not a political issue. It is the future survival of one of the three largest economic drivers of Southern Arizona. Sen. Kelly needs to support the Air Force’s plan to bring these new units to Davis-Monthan.
Tom Murphy
East side
More Japanese culture spots
Re: the July 22 article “Tokyo to Tucson.”
I loved your article on sharing Japanese culture in the desert. As someone who has always been fascinated with Japan, I’ve enjoyed finding ways to bring a little of the culture to me. Some other wonderful expressions of Japanese culture can be found here including Odaiko Sonora, a local taiko (Japanese drumming) group, the Sakura Tea Circle, who are devoted to Japanese Tea Ceremony, and the Japanese New Year’s Festival, usually held in January, which takes all these wonderful groups, including the ones you wrote about, and showcases them all for one special occasion.
There is also the annual Japanese speech contest, and Japanese archery and calligraphy being taught in Tucson. Being someone who has dabbled in many of these, and a current member of the Sakura Tea Circle, I can personally say that exploring another culture, no matter which one, can be a deeply rewarding experience. The world is a vast, beautiful kaleidoscope of peoples and practices. And Tucson is special in the way it brings the world together.
Marnie Sharp
Midtown
