Shaky grievances
about power line
Re: the July 4 article βPressure builds to bury TEP power line.β
Here are some observations for the Sam Hughes Neighborhood Association and its coalition as it considers a legal challenge to new TEP lines along Campbell Avenue.
Why should all TEP customers pay for burying new lines near to your neighborhoods? If they are buried, won't every neighborhood expect the same?
Claiming that Campbell Avenue falls under an obscure Tucson ordinance as a "gateway," where does this gateway begin and end? Specifically, what is the criteria for gateways and which streets have already receive that designation?
The argument that property values will decline due to the power lines is questionable. I grew up in midtown. These are lovely neighborhoods with certified historic status (a status that affords a healthy property tax break). Ironically, their proximity to Banner-University-Medical Center, the entity that requires extra power from the new lines, enhances their home values.
This leads to the question, if not underground, where should such lines go in the future? On the south side? Let's all stand for environmental justice.
Debbie Collazo
West side
All you can
do is laugh
George Bernard Shaw's description of our planet sure applies in Arizona today: βThe longer I live, the more convinced am I that this planet is used by other planets as a lunatic asylum.β
Jim Dreis
East side
Honest talk
frightens GOP
From βThe Light of Days,β a book by Judy Batalion about Jewish female resistance fighters in Europe during WWII, referring to a recent Polish law, βthe government had just passed a law making it illegal to blame Poland for any crimes committed in the Holocaust. ... It is deeply troubling to make laws about what historical narratives are allowed to be told β it shows a rulership interested in propaganda, not truth.β
This quote seems eerily relevant to the law passed in Arizona and elsewhere by Republicans to prevent critical race theory from being taught in our schools. They would like to prevent honest and clear teaching and discussion about the racism that permeated our society for 400 years. History shows that ignoring past and present injustices allows them to persist. For βa more perfect unionβ we have to teach and discuss what our society got wrong, and fix it going forward.
Norman Epstein
Midtown
Trump gave little
weight to COVID
Re: the July 7 letter "Not responsible for virus deaths."
In this letter, a reader opines about Joe Biden being responsible for around 200,000 deaths from COVID-19. He credits the former president for all of the vaccines and dismisses every effort Biden has made to get the vaccine into our people.
It is not surprising to read that a follower of that guy selectively forgets that the former guy did everything in his power to dismiss the impact of the pandemic and enabling more spreading of the virus. In our state, we have surpassed 18,000 lost souls.
If this comparison between what effective leadership and what we had in the early pandemic does not affect your support for the former president, you are in need of help.
You cannot create your own reality. There are many here who pay attention and remember the facts.
Jeff Rayner
SaddleBrooke
Legitimacy vs.
mere preference
Re: the July 6 article "High court undermines voting rights and itself."
Noah Feldman in his opinion piece is unhappy that the decision went against his progressive beliefs. He says "it's unfortunate the the 6-3 split follows not only ideological lines but also partisan ones." He further states that "the majority's opinion harms the court's legitimacy."
Presumably, Mr. Feldman would say it's not unfortunate and that it would not harm the court's legitimacy if his progressives controlled the court and could rubber-stamp all progressive initiatives. It all depends on whose ox is being gored.
David Pearse
Foothills
Hunter Biden's
pricey paintings
The notorious Hunter Biden, aka maybe the laptop was mine, is going to be selling off his paintings for up to $500,000 each to undisclosed buyers. More selling of the Biden name. Do you really think anybody in their right mind would otherwise buy his paintings if his last name was not "Biden?" Come on, man! Why is daddy not telling him to stop this nonsense. Just more appearances of pay-for-access corruption.
Benjamin Edwards
Northwest side
Democrats side
with lawbreakers
Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib is now calling for the defunding of the U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. June will mark the milestone not seen for 20 years for the Border Patrol encountering over 1 million illegally entering the country. I think this is thanks to Joe Biden's border policies and rhetoric. Democrats have called for the defunding of police departments. Crime is out of control in many Democratic-controlled cities. Shoplifting is rampant in San Francisco because of no prosecutions. Biden is going after federal firearms licenses instead of criminals.
Newly elected Democrat progressive prosecutors like Pima County's Laura Conover are placing criminals' "rehabilitation" over victims' rights and weighing charges that could adversely affect an immigrant's legal status. This is the Democrat Party of today! Pro-undocumented immigrant, pro-criminal and anti-law enforcement. The old communist Soviet Union sought to destroy America through fermenting internal chaos, class envy and racial conflicts. Now Democrats have taken over that mantle.
Tom Galloway
North side
