Sandra Dees, left, and Marquita Carter cry in front of the Harold K. Stubbs Justice Center, Sunday, July 3, 2022, in Akron, Ohio, after viewing the body cam footage of Jayland Walker’s fatal shooting by Akron Police. (Phil Masturzo/Akron Beacon Journal via AP)
Juneteenth should be a state holiday
I urge Gov. Katie Hobbs to promote legislation to make Juneteenth, June 19, a state holiday in Arizona. This day is of extreme historical and social significance in that it marks the official end to the genocide of slavery in this country. I look forward to working closely with the Governor to make sure this holiday becomes reality in Arizona.
Jennifer White
Vail
A good father
I think a good father is someone who loves and supports his children unconditionally. He is involved in their lives, both emotionally and physically. He provides for their physical needs, but he also takes the time to teach them about the world and help them develop their own unique talents and interests. A good father is a role model for his children, and he sets a good example.
As a father, I tried to give love and support to my children. I tried to be involved in their lives. I tried to provide for their physical needs and to give them support and guidance. I tried to teach them and help them develop their unique talents and interest; I tried to be a good role model and set a good example on how to be kind, responsible and caring.
I thank my seven children for all of the wonderful memories, and for the great joy they have given me. I hope and pray that I have been a good father.
Thomas McGorray
Northwest side
White House and classified documents
Most of my Navy career involved handling highly classified documents and cryptographic materials. Mid-way through, two-person control of all materials was implemented due to the Walker case. What is missing from the current discussion is where are the custodians of the materials that Trump/Biden/Pence retained after leaving office? All classified materials have tracking documentation and frequent custodial inventory requirements. There are government employees whose sole job is to ensure these materials are handled properly and accounted for. These people need to be identified and included in any investigations of mishandled documents and disciplined for any infractions. Has the White House and V.P.’s office assigned this to non-professional administration appointees with an hour or two of training? Perhaps this is a consequence of “draining the swamp”: getting rid of professional bureaucrats who have years of training and experience as custodians. Our adversaries are certainly seizing this opportunity to obtain classified materials treated so casually.
Mark Cochran
Green Valley
An ode to Parks and Rec and our city
Recently, with the gentle June start to summer, my wife and I have been walking at Lincoln Park. What a joy, the facility is alive with activity, swimmers, walkers, dog walkers, basketball and softball games. People that you don’t even know smile and say hi. What a sweet release from the troubled world we live in!
Pat and Barbara B. Connolly
East side
The unhoused
As I drive around the city, I’ve become aware that the number of homeless people on the street has increased dramatically since the start of COVID. Although I don’t have the answer, I sure would like to be part of the solution. It seems to me that it is time to do something for the homeless before it is too late. Why not start by soliciting volunteers from the populace to become advocates for homeless? This does not mean we continue with them living on the streets but rather find homes for them. Not in the traditional sense but rather safe areas where shelters can be built or current unused structures can be used to house them. But this also means educating many of them on how to take care of themselves and the facilities provided for them. That’s only part of the solution, as there are many causes for living on the street, mental illness and cost of living issues to name a few. But we have to start somewhere.
Frank Flasch
North side
Unregulated sober living homes
Re: the June 18 article “Time for Tucson to regulate sober living homes.”
The increasingly apparent abuses surrounding sober living homes critiqued by Tim Steller sparked my memories of a similar societal problem, which we fumbled and which resulted in today’s seemingly intractable homelessness plague.
Some political and professional “geniuses” devised a money-saving gimmick that enabled acute mental health care hospitals and related halfway houses, which polite NIMBY people didn’t want in their pristine neighborhoods, to be shuttered as veterans and other people with severe mental illnesses were “deinstitutionalized” — condemned to the streets.
If society once more fumbles the need to license, regulate and monitor sober living homes, do we run the risk of exacerbating the unresolved problem of homelessness by adding hordes of recovering drug and substance abusers to all those others abandoned for years to hide in plain sight as blights on communities?
Mort Ganeles
Foothills
TEP needs to move faster
Re: the June 18 article “TEP focused on Clean Energy Solutions for our community.”
In a recent op-ed, TEP’s Susan Gray stated they’re “working hard to make Tucson’s energy supply as clean as we can as fast as we can.” The 2021 Strategen Report from the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project begs to differ. Coal is still expected to be a significant part of TEP’s portfolio in 2030, a benchmark of climate urgency established by the UN’s IPCC.
Gray’s implied scrutiny that TEP endures from elected state regulators refers to the Arizona Corporation Commission. But it’s no secret that the entity has set the bar so low recently that any such negotiations are akin to playing tennis without a net.
We have some of the most abundant solar resources on the planet. Combined with battery storage, it’s now the cheapest, cleanest and most resilient. The “bridge” of methane has also been crossed long ago. It’s hoped that all of this will inform TEP/City negotiations in light of Proposition 412’s rejection by Tucson voters.
Benjamin Nead
Midtown
Thank you, Donovan
Re: the June 14 article “Loss of downtown’s big booster a shock.”
I first met Donovan Durband after I became commander of the Downtown Division at the Tucson Police Department. Revitalizing downtown was the vision for the city, and Donovan fully bought into that, spending his time and effort to make downtown Tucson a success. I walked the streets of downtown with Donovan and attended many meetings with him as he brought positive energy and built collaboration between area residents, business owners, professionals and local government officials, all who worked or lived downtown. Once he became involved, you could see the future and fortunes of downtown begin to change for the better. My thanks to his wife, Erin, for sharing Donovan with us. Donovan was kind to everyone he met; I know, I saw him in action. I’m glad I had a chance to work with him; he made a positive difference for Tucson! Donovan, you will be missed.
Richard Harper
Northeast side
MAGA violence is everywhere
Re: the June 17 letter “Where is that MAGA violence?”
Here’s my answer to the letter writer who asks, “Where is that MAGA violence?” Everywhere and it takes many forms. Violence follows in Donald Trump’s wake and if you are MAGA, you will be swept up in it as either its perpetrator or its victim.
The most astonishing line in your letter reads: “Other than the Capitol protests of Jan 6, there has not been any significant MAGA violence.” Those “protests” you dismiss so lightly were carried out by Trump’s army and constituted the most dangerous assault on American democracy since the British burned our Capitol in 1812.
Trump unleashed a different kind of violence during COVID when he persuaded his followers that wearing masks and getting vaccinated was for sissies. More than 1 million Americans have died of COVID. But did you know that many more Republicans than Democrats died? Worse, fatalities were concentrated in counties with low vaccination rates and only occurred after vaccines became widely available. Think about it.
Ann Shoben
Northeast side
Bodycams
Re: the June 19 article “Camera use rises, but holdouts remain.”
If our police are nervous about wearing bodycams, we need to be nervous about our police.
Thad Appelman
Northwest side
