Zoo animals will have better homes
The Reid Park Zoo expansion has been ongoing for quite a while now. It was voted on in 2017. Yes, the Barnum Hill area is beautiful and the north side of the pond will still be beautiful, open park areas with the expansion. Our zoo is such a delight and one of the best maintained animal parks that I have visited.
The beautiful park area will not be diminished with the expansion. The animal habitats are being enhanced for the wonderful creatures we are fortunate to have in our city.
Jan James
East side
Education cuts don’t cause lawmakers pain
Arizona voters: “Stop cutting education funding!”
Arizona Republican legislators: Cuts education funding.
Arizona voters: Reelects Republican legislators.
Rinse and repeat.
My question as a teacher to Arizona voters is this: Seeing as this pattern has been repeating for decades, do you really think education is important? You claim education is important, but as they say on the talk show, tests indicate this is a lie. Otherwise, you would have thrown the bums out years ago.
Look at it from their point of view. Every time they have cut education funding, they have been reelected. If you were in their shoes, why would you not cut education funding? From what they see, education cuts are exactly what Arizona voters want.
So, Arizona voters, put your money where your mouth is. Vote out the very people that have been destroying education for years. Until that happens, your protests and propositions are meaningless.
David Reynolds
East side
Vaccination at UA was perfect
I have read several letters to the editor regarding the procedure of vaccinating Arizona citizens. People have praised the process at Kino, and I am sure the process was perfect.
I was vaccinated on the University of Arizona Mall last Monday afternoon. The process to get registered via Pima.gov and get an appointment time was perfect. I was greeted by friendly, professional people, moved through the short line, drove onto the Mall under a tent, filled out an information form and received my shot through the car window.
Perfect. I waited 15 minutes to see if there were any side effects, and moved on my way. For a huge undertaking like this, I am proud of the University of Arizona, President Dr. Robert Robbins and all the workers and volunteers who were absolutely perfect.
I thank them. Get vaccinated!
William Baker
Midtown
Miller refuses to play zone
Arizona was giving up open 3-pointers and straight lines to the basket. Despite this, Sean Miller refuses to at least try a zone. Utah couldn’t shoot better from the 3-point line; at least a zone would’ve stopped the easy lanes to the basket. Arizona must be the easiest team to scout. Same offense, same man-to-man defense with no ideas to adapt during games.
Craig Miller
Northwest side
Vaccine rollout exposes priorities
The latest news on the vaccine front in Pima County is that our future supply of doses will be cut by 40%, despite that there wasn’t even enough to start with. Teachers are prioritized in order to open schools.
Others are driving to Phoenix to beat the 75 year-plus age limit placed on Pima County, because Maricopa county seems to have plenty available. Meanwhile, my 80- and 93-year-old parents weren’t able to get a vaccine appointment until March. I guess that shows where the priorities lie in Pima County.
Get those businesses and schools open, and let the most vulnerable go unprotected. Society is judged by how we treat our elderly and disabled, and it’s not a pretty picture in Arizona.
Bonnie Gibson
Foothills
Fascist Trump incites fear
Re: the Feb. 3 article “Trumpism is a major denial of our founding principles.”
Michael Gerson’s article saying Donald Trump is a fascist is not a new notion. An Atlantic cover story warned us of this possibility four years ago. Even if the label, fascist, has not been self-proclaimed by Trump or understood by many, fascism has had many faces in the world. And one of its most eviscerating attributes characterized the Trump administration: fear.
The author, Victor del Árbol, cites this attribute as he depicts the regime of Joseph Stalin in his 2014 novel, “A Million Drops”: “The only guarantee of loyalty is fear.”
Our nation has recently witnessed too many public servants who succumbed and have been indelibly stained by fear. And we, its citizens, have also been stained.
How to remove it? I have started to investigate how truth and forgiveness might bring our nation together. Dave Drum’s new book is our focus: “Peace Talks.” Try it!
Michael Craig
West side
County messaging
on vaccines is erratic
The 12.5% COVID positivity rate in Pima County COVID is dangerously high. Yet the county continues to bungle the vaccine rollout. The process for getting an appointment is a mess. The messaging about eligibility is confusing and erratic.
Last Wednesday at TCC, eligibility for a shot was 65-plus. At noon on Thursday, that changed to 70-plus. At select pharmacies, eligibility is 65-plus.
Then, I was lucky enough to hear through the grapevine that I was eligible. I dropped everything and took my place in line. Without any formal county announcement, a large crowd showed up.
There is obviously no lack of people who wish to be vaccinated. If the current scheduled slots are not being filled by the eligible members, why isn’t the county permanently opening up eligibility to more people? Mismanagement resulting in unused doses has the governor cutting the county’s allocation. The county has failed its residents at a critical time.
Ted Adams
West side
Let the zoo grow
just as Tucson has
I have been following the protests of the expansion of Reid Park Zoo. Zoos are not just about the animals.
Reid Park educates the population on conservation and protecting animals in their natural habitats. We are dangerously coming to an age when animals like giraffes, lions, tigers, elephants and more will become extinct.
We, as a community, can slow that progress by educating the public. The animals at Reid Park Zoo are carefully taken care of with respect for their natural behaviors. These animals are the ambassadors to their kind, giving children close up views of the magnificence of these creatures.
Now it is time for Reid Park Zoo to expand. The zoo has been holding public meetings, engaged with environmentalists, parks and recreation, and arborists to give this expansion all the careful respect of the park and the people who enjoy it.
The zoo is a gem in our community. Let it grow just as Tucson has grown.
Kim Blumenfeld
Northwest side
Already out of love
with essential workers
The paint hasn’t even dried on all of the “We Love You” banners made for essential workers and we already have predictions of the economic apocalypse that will occur by increasing the minimum wage. In a country where we can pay sports figures and marginally capable entertainers hundreds of millions of dollars and headlines query about the first individual trillionaire, we can certainly pay all workers at least $15 an hour.
Will it spell the demise of many local businesses? Not really. Having lived in Tucson since the 1950s, I know that the average life span of a local restaurant is probably less than five years. Running a small business is tough; I did it for over a decade.
Those $15-an-hour workers will spend every bit of their incomes bolstering the overall economy and pushing up the wages of the working and middle class. Sorry Jeff Bezos, you are stuck at being a multibillionaire.
Kalvin Smith
Midtown
County treasurer’s
upside-down thinking
Re: the Feb. 5 article “Political Notebook; Uhlich could return to council seat; county official flies flag upside-down.”
So, after dealing with the disaster of COVID-19 for over a year and the ineptitude/incompetence/corruption of the previous administration for four years, Beth Ford decides to take down her Trump-Pence flag and run up the American flag upside down. To quote Ford, “Heck no, I’m not that petty.” Yeah, right, and I’d like a do-over for my November vote for you, too.
James Cook
Southeast side
Elected officials, please respond
Have you taken the opportunity to write to our Arizona senators and representatives? So far, each time I have written to ask questions about a specific piece of legislation I have received a nice acknowledgement of receipt of my question. This is typically followed up with a canned response to one of the key words in my question and does not directly respond to my question.
Sometimes they miss the boat — I asked about the national debt and I’m sent a response for college loan repayment. Yes, I know our elected officials are busy and typically leave it to their staff to answer, but I do feel that a response from our elected officials is not too much to ask.
Paul Shedlock
Oro Valley
Disappointed in Biden’s lackluster condolences
As a registered independent and retired FBI agent (24 years), I am compelled to express my disgust with the comments made by the the current resident of the White House on the murder of two FBI agents and the wounding of three others who were in the service of protecting not only the citizens of this country but were working to protect the most vulnerable of our society, abused children. His lackluster effort to offer condolences were nullified when he added “Every single day ... by and large, the vast majority of these men and women are decent, honorable people who put their lives on the line.”
What a terrible thing to say at this time when families are suffering so deeply and the FBI family is in mourning.
I guess all lives do not matter. Terrible timing.
Thomas McGorray
Northwest side
We need Trump before it is too late
I am a part of “We, the People” and no matter the outcome of President Donald Trump’s trial, get him back in office before Joe Biden destroys the United States. Yes, Biden is trying to help people, but at the cost of “We, the People.”
President Trump told it like it is. A lot of people didn’t like what he said about women. All I can say to women everywhere is if the shoe fits, wear it and the same goes for the men, too.
We need President Trump. Put him back in office as our president before it’s too late.
Vena Wright
North side
