Sen. Sinema fails us
Senator Kyrsten Sinema,
Why did you miss the vote on the Jan. 6 bipartisan commission? What was so important you couldn’t be there to do the job we sent you there to do?
Was it was because you knew the Republicans were going block it using the filibuster you support?
Keep it up. So far your record isn’t worth voting to send you back.
Stephanie Salgado
Foothills
Generating water funds
Re: the May 30 article “Proposed water rate hikes don’t add up.”
Tim Steller’s article is just the tip of the iceberg.
Tucson Water Director Tim Thomure does not address any cost-saving measures at Tucson Water such as the project that was shelved implementing reading the water meters by satellite, which they were going to partner with TEP on the infrastructure, would save costs in the long run.
Tim Thomure does not talk about raising the rates for the companies and private golf courses that guzzle our precious water by the millions of gallons. Tim Thomure did not mention the fact that Tucson Water is top heavy with too many supervisors and the ratio of workers to supervisors is out of whack. They have a supervisor that supervises another supervisor, that supervises two employees. Tucson Water needs to look into its own back yard before raising rates to residential customers living outside the city limits.
Max LaPlante, Retired Tucson Water Employee
Southeast side
Tucson Water rates
Having spent a goodly portion of my career as Denver Water’s Director of Planning for 1.4 million customers and its 65 suburban distributors, I know a bit about water rates.
Denver Water has had a differential rate structure throughout its 103-year existence. In its 2020 rate increase, Denver indicated charges depend on whether you receive service inside or outside the city. The utility’s mailing to non-residential customers explains that “Your bill is higher than Denver residents because the Denver City Charter requires suburban customers to pay the full cost of service plus an additional amount.”
Such rates are hardly unusual. City residents own and operate the system; they should have flexibility in rate-setting, especially with future water shortages looming. It would help, of course, if Tucson Water developed a solid cost-of-service analysis and if it treated all suburban entities alike, including Marana and Oro Valley, in its future rate setting.
Edward Pokorney
Marana
Mask refusal insults veterans
Re: the May 31 article “Dear Dad, thinking of you today.”
I enjoyed Sara Hammond’s Memorial Day tribute to her father.
It made me think of my own father, overseas in the South Pacific; Mom was home with a baby. Mom didn’t drive, and things had to be difficult. I thought of my husband’s father flying 88 missions in a P-47 Thunderbolt.
And people think wearing a mask is a huge sacrifice and has something to do with their freedom! I think about those individuals in our government now, entrusted to keep our democracy strong, who are doing all they can to destroy it with their voter suppression efforts and their complete disregard for truth and facts.
They are willing to perpetrate a lie and destroy trust in future elections to maintain power and show allegiance to a wannabe dictator. They whitewash a violent attack on the Capitol by Donald Trump supporters. They are willing to destroy our democracy without thinking twice about it. Is this what our veterans sacrificed for? Shameful!
Deb Klumpp
Oro Valley
Fueling the flames?
Has anyone ever heard of putting out a fire by adding fuel to the flames? This is what new gun laws proposed by certain states will do. Make it easier to buy guns, do away with background checks, anyone over 21 not a felon can buy a gun, of course without background checks how would we know? No training required, on and on. With two more mass shootings, the Miami police chief shook his head, expressing frustration over these new laws as well as the idea of defunding the police. Defunding is not what is needed, but more funding and better training.
Don’t we need adults in the room from both parties, to come up with regulations to make it harder to kill people, or is it too late?
Ginia Desmond
Downtown
Trump wrong about Wuhan
Re: the May 31 article “Wuhan lab theory gains credibility.”
Even if it turns out the the COVID virus was leaked from a Wuhan lab, Trump’s ugly insinuations about the “China virus” were meant to incite and inflame increased anger against China and to deflect attention from his own lack of competence in handling the virus in USA, rather than to educate and inform. Being quick to blame and incriminate others wastes time necessary to face and remedy serious national problems. I am glad that Biden focuses his efforts on finding solutions, rather than passing blame.
Janette Buconocore
North side
Biden spending big in 1st year
If Biden gets his way, he will have spent $8 trillion of your tax payer money in his first year in office. About $2 trillion already for the COVID relief bill in March, wherein much of it had nothing to do with COVID. Biden wants to spend another $6 trillion including the federal budget, infrastructure (a lot that is not), etc. The only federal agencies not getting significant budget increases are the military and border security agencies during a border crisis. Typical Democrats!
This is an astounding amount of money to be spent, the highest in our nation’s history, far exceeding the costs of Trump’s tax cuts. Biden says it will be paid for by raising taxes on capital gains taxes, corporations and on those earning over $400,000. But, projected revenues never seem to materialize, do they? Meanwhile, the money is spent. Interest payments on all of that Treasury borrowing would almost double in the next five years from about $300 billion now to $581 billion in 2027.
Steve Denver
West side
Vaccine passports
Re: the May 30 article “Vaccine passports? Bring ‘em on.”
I totally agree with Renee Schafer Horton that proof of vaccination should be required in public settings where many people gather. I have my stamped card in my purse along with my driver’s license and credit cards.
Since so many unvaccinated people refuse to get vaccinated or to wear a mask, they are, as she says, walking health hazards. What gives them the right to endanger the rest of us?
Horton very rightly points out that smokers can no longer inflict their smoke onto other people. COVID is just as dangerous as secondhand smoke. Let’s stop being intimidated by the cry of “individual freedom” and make it mandatory to act as responsible members of society!
Aston Bloom
East side
Veto power in the Senate
The U.S. Constitution gives the president the power to veto any legislation that the Congress passes. Congress can then override the President’s veto by repassing the legislation with a super-majority in both houses.
The filibuster rule of the Senate gives veto power over legislation to every Senator. As presently instituted, when debate has been concluded, a question is raised “May we vote on passage of the bill?” If any Senator says “no,” the question becomes “Will the Senate allow this filibuster?” The only way the Senate can overcome this “veto” of the bill’s consideration is by voting a super-majority for “cloture,” which is to say the objection is overruled and the vote may continue.
This is madness. This is unconstitutional. Every Senator now has the same veto power as the president. All he or she must do is raise an objection/filibuster, and the bill will not come to a final vote — and not reach the president’s desk. This has got to stop.
Tony Maitland
Marana
Ducey must be on his way out
Re: the June 1 article “Ducey’s vetoes annoy allies.”
Republicans seem to like anarchy these days, so it struck me as odd that they were so aghast at Gov. Doug Ducey’s startling veto of 22 bills Friday. Clearly Ducey is not going to run for political office again, it’s back to the sane corporate world for him, but he burned down the house on his way out.
That is, he told the Arizona House and Senate to go stick it where the sun don’t shine. Did he really say that “some of the bills are good policy,” in his statement, but he was going to veto them anyway? So was he going to sign some bills that were bad policy?
It doesn’t matter, because he blew up the jokers who have made Arizona the laughing stock of the nation with their ridiculous torture of Maricopa county, solely for voting for Biden. Way to lower the hatchet, Governor.
John Vornholt
Northeast side
