Tucson Speaks Out: June 30 letters of the day

Brutal cops

Re: the June 14 article “DOJ slams Phoenix police over civil rights violations.”

It saddens me to hear this in 2024. We formed a brutal police system to deal with runaway slaves; it persists today. And not just Phoenix, I have been victim of Tucson’s goon squad, pulled out of bed at 2 a.m., beaten, jailed in a cell with no mattress on the springs. And I’m white but dared try to inquire if having a gun jammed in my face during a traffic stop was OK with TPD. Maybe too many secret cultural police laws that makes them look more like a gang than a valid form of law enforcement.

Thad Appelman

Northwest side

Two budget busters responsible for Arizona deficit

Re: the June 16 article “Blame income-tax cuts for Arizona deficit.”

Thanks to Tim Steller for featuring one budget buster causing Arizona’s deficit: the implementation of the GOP’s flat tax. We went from a budget surplus to our current budget catastrophe. The GOP ignored warnings that implementing a flat tax would put us in a huge deficit.

The other budget buster that continues to drive our budget into unsustainability was the GOP expansion of the ESA program (vouchers). It now has a price tag of $864 million.

Major cuts to infrastructure, universities, low-income schools, natural resources, and vital services and programs are unacceptable. Arizona cannot continue to thrive on bare-bones budgets and continued fiscal irresponsibility.

Both the flat tax rate and the expansion of the ESA program are responsible for Arizona’s $1.5 billion deficit. Both programs primarily benefit the wealthy amongst us. Astonishingly there is no movement on fixing our tax structure. And the ESA program continues on with zero transparency or accountability with no guardrails on student account balances now sitting at $175 million.

Kathy Krucker

Midtown

Get the middlemen out of our pharmacies

Managing a chronic condition brings forth a lot of challenges, but I’d never expect there to be so many hoops to jump through when it comes to getting my medication. I suffer from a severe form of psoriasis and follow a stringent treatment regimen that includes a combination of light therapies, retinoids, and a specific drug called methotrexate.

Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) are middlemen who work to connect patients with pharmacies that have the medications they need. However, because of their outsized power in determining where patients can go, they have become increasingly abusive at the expense of both patients like me and the local pharmacies that we’ve long gone to.

PBMs have only increased my stress thanks to their corrupt practices, and I’m eager to see Arizona’s lawmakers take the issue of PBM reform seriously.

Sincerely,

Cesar Krauss

Nogales

Why not the Six Commandments?

Feeling the time is ripe, the Louisiana Legislature has boldly thrown down the gauntlet in yet another challenge to the First Amendment by mandating that the Ten Commandments be displayed in all public classrooms. In normal times, this insanely conspicuous violation of the establishment clause would be deftly rejected out of hand, since the first four entries on this list explicitly reference religious, and not moral precepts and are effectively nothing more than an ecclesiastical preamble to the following six common sense ethical guidelines.

We may divine that the source of this timely audacity lies in the predominantly religious persuasion of the current Supreme Court that is well on its way to dismantling piecemeal many of our greatest egalitarian traditions. The precedence being systematically established through its mounting record of iconoclastic rulings is a virtual invitation to all unorthodox non-secular challenges.

As it pertains to maximally enduring social consequence, an eventual reestablishment of sensible equilibrium on the court may well be the highest priority in deciding the next presidency.

Robert Gavlak

Midtown

On abortion

The media pits those banning abortion against a group for abortions.

No one is for abortion, but many of us know that every woman should have the right to an abortion when she and or her doctor decide that is needed. I believe all people would be happier if there were no abortions. The real question is, what is the most effective way to reduce the number of abortions? A ban is only for the poor, the rich can travel in or out of the country for an abortion. More effective is to have only planned pregnancies.

Those who want a child don’t have abortions, barring medical complications. Contraception, family planning, maternal health care, infant care and nutrition, and support for parents will reduce the need for abortions far better than any ban. Who do you want your doctor to consult when your daughter or wife has an emergency during pregnancy, another doctor or a lawyer?

Don Ries

Southeast side

Short-term bumps?

With all due respect to the writer of the letter in support of UA President Robbins, and the ad signed by his supporters, the reference to short-term bumps in the road is very insensitive to those of us grieving the loss of Dr. Thomas Meixner, my son-in-law, and beloved husband, father, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, professor and colleague in the amazing Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences Department.

Jocelyn Cotter

Midtown

Charges dropped for rioters

Thirty-one of the 46 who stormed Hamilton Hall of Columbia University have had all charges dropped. Nine others were offered plea deals, which were rejected out of unity with the others. They were released based on lack of evidence of committing property damage. They were wearing masks and blocked surveillance cameras.

Anyone who was found in the building is guilty. That is what happened to the Jan. 6 people inside the Capitol.

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We saw them breaking into Hamilton Hall, destroying furnishings, barricading rooms and fighting with police. They also held janitors hostage.

This is the Manhattan District attorney department that spent millions convicting Trump. It seems that Alvin Bragg has priorities on who gets convicted.

How would you feel if you were one of the police officers who were doing battle with them acting on orders to clear the building only to see charges dropped?

Jack Walters

Northeast side

Plastic pellets, manufactured microplastics

Growing up in Tucson, I was always taught that we do not have water to spare, so we must take any type of water pollution seriously. The good news: In April, the Environmental Protection Agency announced funding to clean up PFAS-contaminated water in Tucson. The bad news: there’s a new threat to our waterways, plastic pellets.

Many common plastic products are made from small pellets, which are regularly dumped and spilled into waterways by companies that make, use, or transport them. Once there, they can become little poison pills by absorbing and transporting toxic chemicals including DDT, mercury, and PFAS. Those toxins make their way into our systems when we drink water or eat fish contaminated by these pesky pellets.

As a student of environmental studies and an intern at Environment America, national office of Environment Arizona, I am calling on Representative Ciscomani, Senator Kelly, and Senator Sinema to support the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act which will ban the discharge of plastic pellets into our waterways.

Camille Beaulieu

Foothills

Endorsing Soto

I spent 30 years in the Marana Unified School District, the last eight as Superintendent. I understand the importance of the Supervisor’s position as it affects the lives of our children.

The Marana school district is a better place because of the caring of a lifelong friend of the District, Sharon Bronson. I have no doubt that Mr. Edgar Soto will continue the support and caring that the District has had and now enjoys.

Mr. Soto cares about Tucson. As a star athlete, successful coach, and currently the leader of the Desert Vista Campus of Pima Community College, Mr. Soto has exhibited the leadership skills necessary to represent the constituents of District 3 in Pima County. Organizing, budgeting, facilitating, and leading the Desert Vista Community College is an important responsibility. He has excelled in this endeavor and enjoys the support of the students, parents, and community. He understands the importance of educating all members of our community.

As a member of the Pima Community College Board of Governors, I have watched him rise from coach to District Athletic Director to Campus Vice President. His commitment, devotion, and leadership skills have been validated by the College’s administration.

While Mr. Soto has worked diligently at the college level, he has also been instrumental in the economic development of our county and state. He has connected himself with several community members to establish a vision for Southern Arizona’s economic future.

When you meet Edgar, first you will see his smile and receive a handshake. He will instill in you a feeling that he cares. He cares about people and their plight to make their lives and their family’s lives better. There’s no doubt that he would bring this optimistic, caring, and committed attitude with him to make the Pima County Board of Supervisors more successful.

Edgar Soto cares and is a winner. I hope you’ll join me in supporting him as he moves forward in this endeavor. Elect Edgar Soto for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 3!

Dr. Wade McLean

Foothills

If Biden is re-elected

I read a lot of Democrat letters saying what will happen if Donald Trump is re-elected President. The nonsense ranges from him acting as a dictator, Hitler, and putting his opponents in jail.

Here are some realistic outcomes if President Biden is re-elected. He will immediately lift his Executive Order on the border and again open it to millions more to illegally enter the country and become future Democrat voters. He will pass his multi-trillion dollar Build Back Better legislation that will once again cause inflation to skyrocket. He will continue to placate and appease Iran. He will end the bipartisan passed 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Firearms Act that if repealed, would put firearms manufacturers out of business. He will continue federal dictates supporting biological males participating in women’s sports, discriminatory DEI, enact bans on semi-automatic rifles and pistols that will turn millions of current lawful owners into criminals. And he will put into overdrive the EPA, enacting more punitive and costly CO2 regulations.

Shaki Johnson

East side

Local athlete deserves better coverage

After watching a stellar performance by Delaney Schell in the Women’s 10-meter platform individual event, imagine my disappointment with the coverage given by our local paper. Delaney is a local gem, representing the the U of A, local diving clubs, and will again be competing in two events at the Paris Olympics.

Not only that, she just completed a rigorous graduate program, and was named an All-American athlete, which also allowed the University to create a new therapy room for students with communication needs. In all of this, she’s been gracious and humble. With greater focus for women athletes nationally, it would be nice to include more local personalities.

Susan Essington

Southwest side

Poll: 46% of EV owners want to switch back

A recent poll conducted by McKinsey & Co.’s Mobility Consumer Pulse found that in America, 46% of current owners of Electric Vehicles (EV) were “very unlikely” to buy another one and were ready to switch back to gasoline-powered vehicles.

The reasons cited were lack of charging stations, costs of ownership and concerns about long-distance driving. In 2021, President Biden signed an Infrastructure bill that provided billions of taxpayer money to build 500,000 EV chargers across the country by 2030. Thus far, fewer than 10 federally funded charges have been built.

The Biden climate agenda rushed the sale of EVs to the public via $7,000 government taxpayer money buying incentives. Also, their EPA restrictive tail pipe emission mandates set to kick in a couple years from now will essentially eliminate gasoline and and diesel-fueled vehicles.

What should have happened was building the charging systems first, then pushing for sales of EVs. But the radical left-wing climate activists running the White House could not wait.

Christy Daniels

Northwest side