Gasoline prices
Dear the Arizona Daily Star newspaper,
Even with recent drops, gas prices are becoming a big issue for the citizens of Arizona. With rising inflation, the cost of living is becoming much higher for the average resident of the United States.
From 2021-2022, the gas inflation rate was 33.49%, the fifth-highest of any year since the 1920s. This has made gas pricing more inflated than other goods. This is especially an issue in not-so-dense cities, like Tucson, where people need their vehicles to go from place to place.
If people are using their cars all the time, the gas prices are going to take a higher toll on their pocketbooks. Carpooling is one great solution to this issue, and can also help reduce carbon emissions on the planet, as less gasoline is being used.
Large entities, such as energy companies, should reduce gasoline prices, and more people should carpool, because of the rising prices and negative effect on our planet.
Thanks,
Will Daschbach, age 14
Southeast side
Paying twice for folly
Doug Ducey played politics in building the container wall on federal land using Arizona citizens’ money. Now he’s been rebuffed in the courts with the recognition that he’s trespassing on federal lands. So now, he’s spending Arizona citizens’ money to remove them. We have to pay twice for his pranks and incompetence? Let the CPAC pay for this foolishness. And when does he pay for his deceit? There should be legal ramifications.
Jennifer Jones
Downtown
Fiscal responsibility?
Millions of dollars spent on the Cyber Ninjas and the new voting machines required when they compromised the ones used in the 2020 election, frivolous lawsuits by election deniers, putting shipping containers on a stretch of the border and then removing them, and busing migrants to D.C. What a waste of my and every other Arizona taxpayer’s money. The only thing that all of this political theater accomplished is to relieve the voters of the notion that the Arizona GOP is the party of fiscal responsibility.
Peter Kasper
Foothills
A letter to the Mayor
Dear Regina,
We miss you. Since bullying your employees into forced vaccination, masking everything in sight, alienating your police and other support personnel and promoting every woke campaign available, you’ve since made yourself quite scarce. Some of us are wondering what we’re paying you for.
Perhaps you can resume your responsibilities as leader of our fine city, this time in more pragmatic and effective fashion. Issues abound; our roads, for example, are shamefully neglected and a disgrace by any national standard. But let’s let you start with an easy one: ban fireworks within city limits.
Your citizens should not be subjected to near-constant explosions and sleeplessness for evenings on end, and PACC, which is already stretched beyond capacity, should not be further inundated with dogs, who suffer most of all.
Do something of substance. Here’s an issue that everyone can agree upon. It’s never too late to start.
Richard Peddy
East side
Arizona Bowl
As an Ohio University alum, I sincerely hope whoever runs the Arizona Bowl here in Tucson consider not using Barstool Sports for future telecasts. They did a disservice to both the University of Wyoming and Ohio University. They mocked the game, exhibited no true interest in either team, ran a line of ridiculous jokes and characters, used foul language, etc. It was a sophomoric display that belonged in a bar, not on television, and I don’t think it boded well for the University of Arizona and Tucson.
Doug Smith
North side
Lunatic fringe and stereotypes
Every large enough human group has a “lunatic fringe.” They are usually only a small percentage of the membership. However, they are more likely to be stridently vocal and/or use violence. Hatred and violence are evil; they corrode the soul. The answer is love and acceptance of people’s similarities and differences.
Anyone with hatred towards a human group is “thinking” in stereotypes. A stereotype says that all members of the group think and act exactly alike. This is not true. All human groups are composed of individual human beings; each of which is a unique, distinct person. Stereotypes are always inaccurate and unjust.
All seven billion-plus humans on earth and in space belong to the same species: Homo sapiens. All humans are of equal worth to God who loves them.
Flora Frederick
Midtown
Backroom deal on desalination plant
Re: the Jan. 1 article “AZ desalination proposal being rushed, say critics.”
It looks as if the fix is in regarding which company will be providing “water augmentation” via desalination to our desert state.
IDE Technologies’ proposal sucks up three-quarters of the $1 billion the legislature just appropriated for water augmentation.
According to this article in the Arizona Daily Star, IDE pushed its application through the state’s new Water Infrastructure Financing Authority (WIFA) Board on Dec. 20 — even before WIFA had an executive director or had staff that could review the proposal.
Since IDE has been given such a running start, what fool would now submit a competing proposal?
This backroom deal would hand over the bulk of the WIFA monies to just one company.
IDE’s proposal may be worthy. However, ramrodding it through with little opportunity for public comment or staff review makes this a shady deal.
Mari Jensen
Midtown
Public deals with private corporations
Re: the Jan. 1 article “AZ desalination proposal being rushed, say critics.”
In a recent front-page story, we learned that IDE Technologies of Israel has been shopping to Arizona’s decision-makers the construction of a large desalination plant on the west coast of Mexico.
However, wouldn’t such a project be a matter for the U.S. and Mexican governments to create, rather than a foreign, for-profit corporation? IDE has expertise in constructing desal plants, but it is not the only one. Let the binding agreement between our neighboring countries create the public jointly owned corporation. Then let it decide who will get the contract to do the planning, construction and management with ample protections for all parties.
Public deals with private corporations have a way of backfiring into the laps of taxpayers and ratepayers. The public should demand more information and involvement.
Richard Kaiser
Midtown
Green energy needs copper
I am writing to express my full support for Green Energy Needs Copper. The new American Battery Factory coming to Tucson is a fantastic opportunity for Pima County to solidify itself as a green energy hub. However, without a strong supply of copper, we cannot meet our green energy goals. Pima County residents clearly recognized the importance of supporting the copper industry. The Tucson Metro Chamber recently released a poll showing strong local support for copper mining, 66% support and in particular for the proposed Copper World project, 52%. Copper and green energy are inseparable, Supporting the mining industry and bringing new projects online, like the Copper World project, will help attract more green energy businesses, it will ensure Arizona can meet our green energy goals.
Thank you,
Ray Valenzuela
Oro Valley
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