Stop the drill, drill, drill
Decades of warnings by reputable environmental scientists have produced nothing remotely close to commensurate climate change mitigation. The environment is an existential risk on the “Doomsday Clock”, and in the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Risks Report for the top 10 risks over the next 10 years. Environmental risks are the top 4, and 5 of the top 10.
Partly about being a dictator, Trump was quoted as saying “No, no, no — other than day one. We’re closing the border, and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling,” More recently, it has been reported that Trump offered fossil fuel executives incentives to further threaten the environment and future for $1 billion in campaign contributions.
Business needs the environment, not vice versa. Want a constructive and productive outlet? Please consider supporting the Environmental Voter Project and/or League of Conservation Voters. When the environment repeatedly loses, so do we and future generations.
Mark Cook
Northwest side
NAACP Tucson urges TUSD to retain EDI Department
NAACP Tucson has received communications from the “TUSD Whistleblower Group” expressing various concerns. We have been asked for our response.
NAACP Tucson is adamant about the need to retain TUSD’s Equity Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Department and also to retain academic supports provided through all ethnic departments, including African American Student Services.
NAACP Tucson has no opinion on personnel matters about which we lack sufficient information to take a position. Likewise, we have no opinion regarding disputes between Board members or with the Superintendent. However, we are aware that The Governing Board has policies and procedures to investigate complaints and concerns. We hope that these policies will be adhered to in this and all situations alike.
NAACP Tucson requests a public forum, as promised to us, where leaders of TUSD’s EDI Department and TUSD Administration will inform the community about the EDI Department’s work and will discuss a strategic plan for the future of EDI at TUSD.
Dr. Cheree Meeks, President; Amelia Craig Cramer, Vice President, and Frances B. Miller, Education Committee Chair NAACP Tucson
Downtown
Longtime Tucson High Magnet School drama teacher Art Almquist has ended a 28-year career after putting on about 70 shows and teaching more than 4,500 students during his tenure.
Art Almquist
Re: the May 20 article “Longtime Tucson High drama teacher retires.”
Thank you for noting the retirement of Art Almquist from Tucson High. Art amplified the talents of thousands of students in his tenure. As a teacher, I loved to watch my students shine on stage in ways that were not as apparent in math class. The drama productions were poignant, funny, reflective, entertaining, and well-produced. I continued to attend shows even after I retired because they were so well done.
Thank you, Art, for being such an inspiration and delight. Julian, I wish you well as you take your talents to the next level. I am always pleased to see THMS alumni become teacher leaders.
Virginia Bohme
Midtown
Memorial Day honors
Picnics, parties, trips, etc. I never understood fun celebrations like these on Memorial Day.
I pray all people, including their children, will take the time to honor those who have died in the many wars protecting America. Please realize this day is not all about celebrating with parties. Visit and honor those soldiers by visiting their graves and and thanking them with prayers.
Please, please take the time honor these brave soldiers who have died for our country.
Too many ...
God bless America!
Karin Militello
Northwest side
Why conservatives don’t write letters to the Star
Readers of the Letters to the Editor often complain that too many Conservative letters are published based on the dominating ratio of Liberal to Conservative letters. The reason that there are far fewer Conservative contributions is because Conservatives don’t read the red Star! I have a breakfast group of local business executives. Out of 60 members only 3 read it. I’m one of them and I only read the Sports Page which is excellent!
In my church men’s group of 15-20, l am the only one who reads it.
The liberal bias of the Star turns conservatives off and they don’t need it!
John Evans
Southeast side
Oiling streets
Full disclosure, I don’t live within Tucson city limits, but just who does the city think they’re fooling? Spraying a light film of oil on the streets, that you can still see the underlying lines through, doesn’t fix anything. It is literally a cover-up. It’s like putting lipstick on a pig.
William Long
Foothills
The end of women’s sports
Kaitlin Clark’s amazing skill and stamina has created exciting interest in women’s college basketball. In her final college year, everywhere Iowa played the seats were full. Here in Arizona we can thank Coach Adia Barnes for increasing attendance to over 7,000. The WNBA is seeing a surge in ticket purchases.
There is one problem: Biden has single handedly destroyed the Title IX program which was made law years ago to assure equality of women’s sports to men’s. He commanded that biological men who want to become women can compete with women. With the physical superiority of the male body just a few of them can create havoc. Slam into Kaitlin and the others a few times and women’s sports will no longer be worthy of watching. What a tragedy. Congress Lady Lisa McClain has introduced “the save women’s sports act”. Women in particular should demand swift enactment. Men should as well.
Jack Walters
Northeast side
PAG/RTA house of cards poised to fall
Pima Association of Governments’ leaders are hurrying to draft an appealing new 20-year Regional Transportation Authority plan for taxpayers to review. But PAG/RTA history belies their recent statements about regional cooperation, success, and vision.
The final details of the RTA Next proposal become irrelevant in light of the bigger questions facing Tucson voters:
“What value does the RTA taxing jurisdiction add to the city’s management of our heavily used system of mobility — especially considering that RTA has cost the City in funds, lost time, bad planning, and unfair representation?”
“Should we entrust these two intertwined organizations to have final authority and mediate critical regional issues in the next 20 years — a period certain to be the most challenging in the City’s and region’s history?”
PAG should resume its traditional role of coordinating regional planning. But for Tucson voters, RTA Next is dead in the water.
Robert Cook
Midtown
Call to put down arms
Why is it that all the people begging Israel to put down their arms and stop killing innocent women and children, are not begging Hamas to do the same? If Hamas stopped hiding behind the skirts of their women and come out from the tunnels they have dug beneath homes, schools, mosques and hospitals, put down their arms and return the hostages, Israel would stop the killing immediately. If you believe that the suffering in Gaza is the result of anything other than the manipulations of Hamas, you have been seriously deceived.
Michael and Vicky Konecky
East side
We need an experienced administrator
Re: the May 27 article “Jette is the best boss I ever had.”
The grudge-holding LaWall people pushed Mike Jette as an experienced prosecutor when in fact we need an experienced administrator. He had one job last month and that was to convict a guy who murdered a man by shooting him in the back multiple times. He failed at jury selection and case preparation but his courtroom actions were the kicker. He simply showed no heart.
Gerald Kelly
Midtown
Judicial system
Re: the May 3 article “Deadly road-rage case charge reduced.”
I read about Judge Alex Ball deciding there was not enough evidence to bring charges of felony 2nd degree murder against Jameson and reducing the charge to involuntary manslaughter!
Second degree murder, “when someone intentionally causes the death of another person without premeditation.” Involuntary manslaughter, “the unlawful killing of another human being without malice.”
The family of Jeffrey Honer deserved to have the case heard by a Grand Jury.
Unfortunately, I have also experienced an unfair judicial system decision when my sister was murdered. The day of the trial, a plea deal was made where the murderer agreed to plead guilty to 2nd degree murder if the Court would drop the 1st degree murder charge. Our family had no input in that decision. It changed our lives forever. The travesty in our case was the fact that this man got out of prison and murdered his second wife as well. Another family destroyed.
Donna Pierce
Northeast side
Jette endorsement
Re: the May 27 article “Jette is the best boss I ever had.”
Following up on Theresa Hanson-Vargas’ enthusiastic support for Mike Jette for Pima County Attorney, I too want to express my full-throated endorsement. I was privileged to serve as expert witness in a gruesome rape case many years ago for him and his team. Not only was he collaborative, intelligent, and a pleasure to work with, he was deeply interested in the consequences of rape not as only a crime and violation of a human body, but smartly engaged in questioning its longterm effects. He always wanted to know more about the experience of trauma, and he was curious, open and forthright. I was impressed and grateful! I enjoyed his sense of humor too. He was a pleasure to work with.
Robert Kafes
Midtown
Balanced opinions
Re: the May 26 article “Faith misleads, doesn’t deliver its promises.”
For the Home and Life section, the Arizona Daily Star asks for “Tucson spiritual leaders” to “Please Share Your Spiritual Thoughts.” Three regularly appear every Sunday. Unfailingly, they advocate the use of faith (a belief in that which is not and cannot be proven) to deal with the challenges that confront us on a regular basis. The Opinion section of the Star features columns and letters-to-the-editor that reflect a diversity of opinions, so I was pleased to see occasional local columnist Gil Shapiro”s take on the topic of faith, a well-reasoned argument which stands in strong contrast to sentiments on the subject that we typically hear. Please continue to encourage and print such a balance of opinions, including in areas outside of politics.
Denice Blake
Midtown
Tucson Vietnam Memorial
Our Sons of Orpheus Men’s Chorus had the honor of singing for Memorial Day ceremonies at the East Lawn Cemetery in Tucson Monday. We sang “Mansions of the Lord”, a beautiful song composed for a movie about the 1965 Battle of Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam, which asks all of us to remember fallen soldiers and pray for them to find peace in the “Mansions of the Lord.” I realized suddenly that perhaps some of these soldiers may be buried in this same cemetery — having graduated from Tucson high schools, drafted as teenagers and been killed in Vietnam. This is my new Memorial Day memory.
Frank Hartline
Foothills
U of A may now have to pay athletes
Re: the May 25 article “NCAA case may mean $20m for UA athletes.”
Thanks to the ruling the U of A and other schools may now pay their student-athletes a total of $20 million per year. So, let’s hope that all the universities will start to charge a dollar for the dollar that students get, one dollar of scholarship money is taken away even a dollar from the settlement fund. It was reported in the Star that $86 million in loans to the athletic departments were never paid back seems a good way to get back from the athletic department some of the money, they owe the UA. Why should athletes be paid a salary plus a free ride to the University? Along with this, how about if a student-athlete leaves before graduation, they pay back to the U of A all of their scholarship money (prorated.) Nowhere does it say a university should be a training ground for professional sports? Since the primary goal of a university is to educate students to creatively and constructively understand the world.
Clyde R. Steele
Oro Valley
Citizen initiative process
Senate Continuing Resolution (SCR) 1015 is the latest effort by Republicans to eviscerate the rights of Arizonans to use the citizen initiative process to pass laws when the legislature refuses to act. Recent initiatives have raised the minimum wage and outlawed dirty money in political campaigns.
For the past 150 years, to get an initiative on the ballot, citizens needed to collect a valid number of signatures equal to 10% (15% for constitutional amendments) of the statewide votes cast in the last election for Governor. SCR 1015 would replace that calculation and require that the percentage thresholds be met in each of Arizona’s 30 Legislative Districts thereby giving a single legislative district the power to kill any initiative. Republicans disingenuously argue that SCR 1015 would assure that all counties have a say in what goes on the ballot. This argument is misleading because ALL registered voters get to vote on ballot measures. Protect your direct democracy rights by voting no on SCR 1015!
Cindy Bordelon, retired lawyer and former board member of a chapter of the League of Women Voters.
Downtown
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