Letters to the editor - Friday, Sept. 1

Valley fever in dogs is very treatable

Re: the Aug. 25 article “UA gets $4.8M to develop valley fever shot for dogs.”

Thank you for the exciting article about a valley fever vaccine. I am concerned however that the overstatement of costs and prognosis might cause some owners to opt to euthanize a dog with a very treatable disease. My experience as a veterinarian treating valley fever in dogs for 20-plus years is that while there certainly are fatalities and some dogs need treatment for life, the majority of dogs can get off of medication within a year or two.

Anti-fungal medications are available with careful pharmacy choice for far less than the $4 to $6 per day cited. While blood testing for diagnosis and monitoring of treatment can indeed be costly, these costs are typically concentrated around the beginning and end of treatment and use of local laboratories rather than national chains can reduce costs. The key to avoiding prolonged treatment is early diagnosis, before the fungus has spread, so test early if your dog is ill or has had a recent cough!

W. Daniel Horton

Rio Rico

Visitors seem pleased with our city golf courses

The city-owned golf courses’ combined revenue was positive. Since a couple of them aren’t making money, get rid of them and make parks. I have played golf in this city for many years and I have played with people from all over the country. Some of them are snowbirds, some visitors, some just passing through. They come here for the weather, the scenery, the food, and they come to play golf. All of them have been impressed with the city courses.

They don’t want to pay resort prices or drive 30, 40, 50 miles to play. They spend their money here and as a taxpayer I would like to keep them here. I don’t want to send them to another community. In retail sales you have what is called a loss leader and its purpose is to bring people into the store. If our golf courses are the city’s loss leader, so be it. How many golfers would come here to see a neighborhood park?

Dave Shepherd

East side

Stegeman’s ‘no’ votes proved to be on target

Re: the Aug. 25 column “TUSD’s Stegeman finds another reason to vote ‘no.’”

Thanks to columnist Tim Steller for explaining why we should continue to support Mark Stegeman on the TUSD board. Steller explains that Stegeman voted against Sanchez because his résumé was not strong enough for the job; that turned out to be right. He writes that Stegeman voted against Pedicone’s contract extension because the timing was bad, just before the election. Two months later Pedicone’s favored candidates lost and he decided to terminate his contract prior to the extension taking effect. Stegeman was right again. Steller’s tortured explanation is that Stegeman repeatedly votes “no” to establish deniability later. How about the more obvious explanation: Stegeman has been right when it comes to TUSD superintendents.

Sami Hamed

West side

Unwavering history of opposing Nazis

Recently, President Trump used the term “alt-left.” Most people say it doesn’t exist, but I discovered an old photo of them. Looking at it, you can’t make out any faces but the people are wearing military-style helmets. The photo seems to show a group of heavily armed demonstrators attacking some Nazis.They appear to be on a landing craft headed for Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944.

Larry Bodine

Foothills

Ballot initiatives good for democracy

Re: the Aug. 27 column “Why I changed my mind on ballot initiatives.”

Columnist Jonathan Hoffman claims that ballot propositions are intrusions on the authority of the Legislature. A strong democracy depends on citizens that care about public institutions that support our most vulnerable. A strong democracy depends on citizens being allowed to voice their opinions and having an avenue to make policy changes happen.

The Save Our School organization may have support from some Democratic groups. The organization also has incredible support from citizens not affiliated with any group. I myself am not active in any political party. I am retired. I spent hours out in the hot sun this summer getting signatures to save public education. It is not an easy thing to do to get the required signatures.

Hoffman failed to mention all of the dark money being infused by the Koch brothers’ PAC, the Goldwater Institute, the DeVos PAC and other organizations to stop citizens from simply putting the initiative on the ballot for the voters to decide.

Ann Richards

Northwest side

Mindless brand of civic engagement

Re: the Aug. 27 guest column “Civic engagement lights a candle in the darkness.”

Guest columnist Lynn Lujan fashions herself an accidental activist. Then, after paragraphs of ad hominem diatribe, accidental no more. According to her, Donald Trump spews hate-filled rhetoric, is incompetent, a poisonous bully, a shameful narcissist, and lacks regard for facts, honesty, or truthfulness.

Apparently, policies to reinvigorate business, grow jobs and GDP, to enforce immigration law and pursue trade agreements that benefit America, are not worthy of discussion and debate. No. Marching and carrying signs of mindless dissent are the way to heal our divisions. Way to go! All of our fears are gone! Yeah, gimme a sign to carry! Who elected this guy Trump, anyway?

Brad Adair

SaddleBrooke

The people voted, all right

Re: the Aug. 21 letter to the editor “Trump is president; it’s time to move on.”

The letter writer said cartoonist David Fitzsimmons “forgets that Donald Trump was elected. The people voted. The man won.” News flash: Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 2,864,974.

Judith Hubbard

East side