Tucson Speaks Out: June 21 letters of the day

Justices for life — a life without justice!

Amazing how much the Republican legislators expose their own evil schemes when they propose new laws. Appointing justices to the AZ Supreme Court for life is just as bad an idea as it was when the SCOTUS was set up in Article III of our federal Constitution 211 years ago. We certainly need some continuity, and long-term appointments of judges, but now, more than ever before, the legal courts have become so deeply politicized that it is high time to change all that. The AZ Republican legislators get it completely wrong to move into that direction, but it clearly serves their interests to cement highly conservative politics in eternity. Justice ought to be objective, and if the governor or the people cannot remove a judge for good reasons, our entire legal system is at stake. Courts regularly need new blood, fresh perspectives in light of changing politics. At least, we as voters can cast our ballots on this new ill-conceived political move by the ever more conservative Republicans.

Albrecht Classen

Midtown

Trump policies

A recent letter writer stated support for former President Trump because his policies will be better for the country. What policies? What is he going to do about inflation? Crickets on that one. Ukraine? Let Putin have it. Gaza? Let Netanyahu take care of it. Immigration? Concentration camps and mass deportation — that ought to be great for the economy! Abortion? Make it illegal nationally. Sorry but listening to him whine about witch hunts doesn’t help pay the bills.

Valerie Smith

Midtown

Supreme Court

So the illegitimate (at least according to Democrats) issued a unanimous opinion on access to mifepristone. I am sure that all Democrats and pro-abortion rights advocates hail this as a great victory. I’m not so sure. While not against the use or prescription of this drug, I think this ruling sets a bad precedent. Basically, the ruling said the plaintiffs didn’t have standing to sue over the FDA’s disregard of existing protocols and procedures to get a drug greater access. There is a reason those are in place, to protect the public. In this case, it seems that they were totally disregarded by bureaucrats to advance a political agenda. What good are rules, regulations, protocols, or procedures if they can be disregarded on a political whim? Sounds like Biden’s version of “democracy” at work.

Thomas Sitzmann

Oro Valley

Against AZ voting for AZ Judges

Re: the June 13 article “GOP wants AZ judges voted on.”

As every school graduate and politician should know, this article is strongly headed against common sense, civility, and constitutional democracy. We want our courts to be independent, not beholden to political donors or parties. Attempt to politicize courts can only lead to judges making political decisions.

Barney Popkin

Foothills

Hudbay stockholder?

Re: the June 13 letter “Hudbay distortions.”

This letter is both inaccurate and misleading.

The private land that Hudbay has already ruined, was once beautiful desert highlands, with private residences enjoying the views. This land is home to Gunsight Pass, so beautiful, that it was a movie set for the famous 1967 Paul Newman Western, “Hombre.” Hudbay will level Gunsight Pass.

It’s a travesty that Pima County didn’t purchase this land and protect it when they had the chance in 2005.

A scenic forest service road traversed these mountaintops all the way from Helvetia to Corona de Tucson. Hudbay has closed it to the public, so that we can no longer enjoy it.

The Sierrita mine may not have caused any contamination for Tucson water, but this is misleading. There has been contamination at monitoring wells in Green Valley, including a sulfate plume.

Be suspicious of anyone living in the Tucson area that prioritizes imported copper and Hudbay’s profits, over our views, air quality and water supply. Ask yourself, what’s their motivation?

Rick Johnson

Sahuarita

Plastic recycling issues

Great to see plastic recycling by our city with Hefty and By Fusion. There are large city collection containers now around town. Recently there have been some changes announced in local news that are very strange.

Hefty is “selling” us orange plastic bags at Walmart and Fry’s so we can fill up these bags with the hard to recycle plastics and leave them toward the top of our blue, curbside recycling containers. Great.

However, now we are being asked to purchase “Orange Plastic Heftys” even to dispose in the special plastics containers around town. We are buying MORE Hefty plastic bags to recycle plastic at these containers too. We should be able to use any clean plastic bag for special location containers.

And, responsible people will make sure their plastics and bags are CLEAN! I saw a not so smart person, duh, throw a plastic salad dressing bottle into the recycle container with half the contents still in it. Yes, I told her what I thought of that!

Suzanne Maly

Midtown

A journalistic gem

Re: the June 18 article “Arizona won’t see a gap in abortion access after all.”

In nearly every edition of the AZ Daily Star, I find articles by Howard Fischer. In each, clarity, research and objectivity abounds, and his articles have allowed Star readers to remain updated on local legislative and state issues. Tuesday’s article is another example of these writing traits. Fischer is a master of including historically relevant information, current implications, and possible future ramifications without bias. I credit him for informing me and all Star readers in a journalistic style missing from most newspaper writers. Hopefully Mr. Fischer will continue with the Star for decades to come.

Roger Shanley

East side

UA President Robert Robbins

Re: the June 16 ad on page A8.

The University of Arizona is a terrific asset for the city of Tucson, so it was great to see the ad on Sunday from supporters of our premier state university. Sometimes, it feels like we lose sight of the incredible accomplishments at UA while focusing on the short-term bumps in the road. As a two-term trustee of the UA Foundation, I came away impressed with the job that President Robert C. Robbins has done. I hope others took notice too.

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Carmen Bermudez, Retired Chairman & CEO, Mission Management & Trust Co., 2004 Delegate for the State of Arizona Presidential Convention in N.Y.

Foothills

County Attorney election

Dear Editor, I have read columns by Sharon Bronson and Rick Unklesbay regarding the management of the County Attorney’s Office by Laura Conover. I have no reason to doubt what they are saying in their columns. Can we assume that the employees left because they didn’t like the boss? People leave jobs for all kinds of reasons. The problem I have is that I cannot vote for their candidate Mr. Jette. I saw where he was endorsed by Barbara Lawall. I suspect that Mr. Jette would resurrect the LaWall County Attorney’s office of all those years ago. I never got the feeling when she was there of there being any understanding, compassion or even empathy for people who came there charged with a crime. They are human beings after all. I thought the job of the County Attorney’s office was to see that justice is done not just prosecuting and throwing away the key. I am voting for Laura Conover.

Manuel Hernandez Garcia

Midtown

Saving money in the Tucson summer heat

As a Tucson mom of seven, I am constantly looking for ways to save money. One way my family has economized is upgrading our home to save energy. In our previous home, we installed new windows and a high efficiency gas pack and upgraded our insulation, all of which saved us money and made our home much more comfortable.

As the summer temperatures rise, we are planning energy upgrades to our current home. I was thrilled to discover that there are many new incentives that make these savings even more accessible.

Under the Inflation Reduction Act, Arizonans can get valuable tax credits for energy-efficient appliances, weatherization upgrades, and rooftop solar panels. These credits cover 30% of the cost of solar or efficiency upgrades. After all the improvements we made to our old home, I loved seeing our energy savings!

If you’re looking for energy savings, look into the incentives offered under the Inflation Reduction Act. Let’s turn the summer heat into an opportunity to save money.

Rachel Scholes

Northeast side

Vote for democracy

In the United States, we have been building democracy for 250 years. We created a country governed not by a dictator but by the rule of our laws. Everyone equal under the law. We improved our democracy by adding rights, freedoms and protections for ourselves. When we add individual rights, we are empowered. By growing our democracy, we became the strongest country in the world.

Democracy is not easy. We must compromise on how to do things. We must face the rich, racist and religious who want to control our lives to enrich their own.

This is election year. The rich, racist and religious are banding together using our information technology to create disinformation and lies to distract us while they dismantle our rights to subjugate us with autocracy. Don’t be duped. We are not dazed, confused fools. We are the Majority of Americans and must be free to live our best lives. Stand up for yourself, and your children. Vote to keep and grow a democratic United States.

Daniel Mardock

Foothills

Spencer Gantt is on target

Re: the June 18 article “We don’t care about your opinion of the UA.”

Kudos to Spencer Gantt for his excellent take down of the barrage of organized accolades for the failed administration of UA President Robbie Robbins. The full page ad on June 16 from Tucson “movers and shakers” was another embarrassment.

Clearly the signers don’t know that a university does not become a nationally respected research university under a short termer like Robbins. It took the long hard work of excellent senior faculty attracting and supporting younger promising faculty over decades to raise the UA’s national profile.

I do hope the signers of the ad are not hoping that the Arizona Star will moderate the coverage of this failed administration if enough ads are purchased. Our Arizona students deserve the best, and the UA faculty continue to work to deliver it despite the travails.

Monica Manning

Foothills

SunPower solar lease customer

I have a leased solar system with SunPower. The inverter on the system failed in July 2023 and the system does not monitor solar production and is therefore useless. SunPower was immediately notified of the issue but has been dragging their feet in replacing the inverter. I’ve filed two complaints with the Better Business Bureau and also a complaint with the AZ Atty General and still haven’t been able to get my system functioning. During this entire fiasco I have continued to make my monthly lease payments on a system that doesn’t function.

I regularly see SunPower ads and wonder how many people in AZ are being given the run-around by SunPower. With summer temps well into the 100’s, if we’re paying for solar service we need a reliable system. I’m facing huge TEP utility bills AND a lease payment for a broken-down system.

I don’t know where else to turn for help. I’m a senior citizen and my income is fixed.

Thank you.

Rose Dittmar

Northwest side

We have I-10, no need for a new I-11

Especially in light of our Paris Climate commitments and Sonoran Desert Biodiversity Conservation obligations, the only palatable option for I-11 is co-location within the existing roadways of I-10 and I-19. Same for the Sonoran Corridor and Sahuarita Road, and the Norte-Sur BRT and Oracle/Stone Roads. Instead of adding lane-miles and unnecessarily expanding freeway and local roadway infrastructure, we can lead the country in providing sustainable transportation options for goods and people through and within the state. Build upon the already-underway efforts of Amtrak to restore Phoenix-Tucson service, of Brightline and the states of California and Nevada forging connections between Las Vegas and Los Angeles (and San Francisco). Heed the Tempe/Mesa examples of expanding the MetroLink Light Rail and Tempe Streetcar by utilizing their travelways at current widths. Power the capacity improvements offered by freight and passenger rail with solar-shaded tracks, loading yards, and transfer stations/parking. This future is only accomplished by starting and supporting such projects today.

Camille Kershner

East side

Childish behavior

I read the newspaper daily. I know this is election season and tempers get elevated. However, some letter writers appear to be exchanging opinions via the opinion page. Opinion pages should be for adults and not those who appear to be in their second childhood though I am not certain as I don’t know the ages. Some writers appear to be a bit more informed than others regarding fascism, anti-Semitism, etc. in the early 20th century. They appear to have read recent books like Oath and Honor or Prequel written by to people I admire even though they are on the opposite ends of the political spectrum. Forget your party and educate yourselves.

Gerald Schwartz

Foothills