New slogan for Tucson
I’ve only been in Tucson for two years, so stop me if you’ve heard this before. But on these hot summer days it seems to me that the Chamber of Commerce is missing the boat if it doesn’t adopt the slogan, “Tucson: 5 Degrees Cooler than Phoenix.”
It works both literally and figuratively!
Bob Finn
West side
Bring back 55 mph
I wonder why haven’t we have not heard anyone promote the 55 miles-per-hour speed limit imposed in the ’70s? It was a proven means to reduce the consumption of petroleum products. This in turn would reduce emissions, traffic deaths etc. Maybe, just maybe it’s not about greenhouse gases but power over the population.
Paul Ostrowski
Southwest side
Hernandez right about religious freedom
I applaud Arizona house member Alma Hernandez for clearly explaining the Jewish perspective on abortion. I, too, have studied this and the recent Supreme Court decision runs counter to my beliefs. I feel that my religious freedom is being impinged upon and I am being forced to adhere to a Catholic theology in which I have no place. I live in, and love, the United States because it has offered me the freedom to worship as I please. I have depended on the First Amendment of the Constitution, forbidding the establishment of a state religion, to keep me safe and allow me to live openly and securely as a Jew. That security is being threatened by today’s Supreme Court, which has become a radical enforcer of a very conservative theological philosophy which has no place in American jurisprudence.
Dale Charkow
Foothills
Machine guns
Re: the June 15 article “Man sentenced for machine gun.”
I saw in this article of the Star that a Tucson man was sentenced to nearly six years in prison for possessing a machine gun. I am having trouble understanding why the gun lobby and Republican politicians think the public should be able to own semi-automatic but not fully automatic weapons. Is tens of deaths due to some crazy active shooter acceptable — but not hundreds? Wouldn’t families be better able to defend themselves and their homes with machine guns? Perhaps state Sen. Warren Petersen who refused to put background check legislation to a vote or state Rep. Steve Kaiser who authored a bill to make firearms exempt from sales taxes will try remedy this situation or maybe it would be better if we elected politicians who don’t think civilians should own military hardware at all.
Peter Kasper
Foothills
Canal wastes tons of water
The Central Arizona Project canal is essentially a 336-mile-long open ditch carrying water to southern Arizona.
That is right. It contains miles of water being evaporated year-round, including in the summer heat. You can drive out and see it.
Why isn’t the canal covered to stop evaporation? Why doesn’t it run inside a tube to prevent evaporation?
Apparently Arizona is not concerned about evaporating all that precious water. I guess there is no water crisis.
Jeff Dean
Northwest side
Inflation vs. democracy
Think about it: Wouldn’t you rather weather some inflationary costs of living for awhile than to lose our fragile democracy? If you believe in human rights, supporting public schools, reproductive rights, the environment, water access, social security, healthcare, climate change, common sense regulation for gun ownership (you have to through more testing to drive a car than to get a gun), then vote democratic. It’s that serious! If we get a Republican Secretary of State we can kiss our democracy goodbye and say hello to authoritarian rule. And that is only the beginning. Don’t think it can’t happen, it already has in many places. Vote!
Terri Hicks
Northwest side
Two recent Supreme Court rulings
As far as Roe v. Wade: Two of the majority opinions belong to gown-raisers sitting on the U.S. Supreme Court, and as far as EPA emissions go, the court apparently supports the choking syndrome to reduce world population growth.
The naked truth is transparent.
Peter and Susan Steere
West side
Water conservation
Re: the July 3 article “Projects may face tougher water-use measures.”
I was glad to read about the City of Tucson’s plans for conserving water as we head into a future of continuing drought and climate change. I call on all developers, farmers and cities throughout the state to take note and make saving water a priority.
I also call on Gov. Doug Ducey to find ways to ameliorate our water shortage situation without resorting to billion-dollar boondoggle desalination ideas.
James Doyle
North side
Review of abortion decision
Would be nice if all the emotional people in Arizona could understand that all the Supreme Court decided was that abortion is not in the U.S. Constitution, thus the subject was sent back to all states to allow their people to decide yea or nay. So, all the emotionally disturbed people in Arizona can vote!
Walt Johnson
Foothills
Drag shows under attack
Re: the June 16 article “Drag shows under attack by Republican AZ senators.”
Minors attending drag shows. State Sen. Vince Leach, Senate President Karen Fann and Republican leadership of the Arizona Senate say this demands legislative intervention. Two amateur events cited by Sen. Leach are in conjunction with Gay Pride Month. Minors at a Heard Museum event featuring Indigenous Americans were accompanied by parents. A high school event for an LGBTQ Club by definition poses no risk to members. The number of minors here doesn’t approach double digits. A brief letter or call from influential politicians would address any concerns. The epidemic of school shootings demands that gun control is a real issue to protect children. Drag legislation is a waste of time. Leach says similar legislation for Florida means Arizona needs to follow suit. He would do better to focus on real problems in Arizona.
Al Reppine
Northwest side
Explaining the difference
Re: the June 29 letter “Biden encouraging protests.”
Since you can’t discern the difference, I will explain it to you. The protests over Roe v. Wade (and BLM, too) are based on the infringement of the rights of citizens. Not being able to direct one’s own health care and being subjected for hundreds of years to third-class citizenship (or worse) because of the color of your skin is very fundamentally different than treasonously and violently (deaths occurred) attacking the seat of our government over a narcissistic demagogue’s 60 times debunked lie about a fraudulent election. You also don’t seem to comprehend that saying “fight like hell” to an audience that we now know that he knew was armed and dangerous is not encouraging a peaceful protest. Watch the committee’s briefings and pay close attention to what is being reported. Maybe then I won’t have to write another letter explaining the differences to you again.
Rick Cohn
West side
Follow the money
The University of Arizona athletic program’s future is uncertain because of UCLA and USC’s departure from the Pac-12. Without a team in L.A., Pac-12 TV revenue will plummet, if the league survives at all. Arizona taxpayers have a significant vested interest in what happens next to the Wildcats. According to the Knight Commission’s College Athletics Database, institutional/government support for UofA athletics totaled $53.3 million in fiscal 2021, the most recent reporting year. The future of Wildcat football and basketball will be decided behind closed doors, but it is actually a public matter that deserves full transparency.
John Stark
Southeast side
Tribe or nation?
Re: the July 5 article “Court: States can try tribal crimes.”
On the Tucson & Region front page we read: The Supreme Court ruled that states can prosecute non-Natives for crimes against Native people on tribal lands, a ruling that critics call a ‘disaster’ for tribal sovereignty and an ‘act of conquest.’
On the next page the story is: The Navajo Nation received over $2 billion from the American Rescue Plan Act for COVID-19 relief and infrastructure.
Here’s the issue: You’re either a sovereign nation or you’re not. If you are, gifts from the U.S come in form of a foreign aid package and the Interior Department is out of the tribal management business. If you’re not a nation, then our American states have jurisdiction over their citizens.
The Supreme Court got this right.
Jeffrey McConnell
West side
The continuing border disaster
On July 5, three border counties in Texas are declaring a state of emergency due to the continuing daily “invasion” of thousands of migrants. A new United Nations report declared the U.S.-Mexico border the deadliest in the world showing that in 2021, there were at least 728 migrant deaths. I think many migrants believe President Biden gave them the green light to come here and his campaign rhetoric and lack of border enforcement measures support their belief. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas just said, “The migration that is occurring throughout the hemisphere is reflective of the economic downturn, increase in violence throughout the region, the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the results of climate change.” If he believes that, then what exactly is the “credible fear” justification for the thousands of migrants making asylum claims? There are over 600,000 pending asylum cases. Mayorkas must know that many are meritless. Monthly, 25,000 to 30,000 migrants flood into Yuma and most are allowed entry claiming asylum or something else.
Alan Ruiz
West side
Opinion section gives local flavor
I concur with both letters on July 6 about the opinion pages. I was truly dismayed when I read Fitz’s article earlier about Gannett eliminating that section of its newspapers. So some folks discontinue their subscriptions because they are offended at something they read there. But is it really that great a number? As a retired teacher, this strikes me as tantamount to taking away recess for the whole class because one kid misbehaved. Please don’t take away the OpEd pages from the rest of us! I, too, enjoy the various columnists as well as the local letters to the editor. Along with the Tucson section, they give our paper its local flavor. And that’s why, along with Bonnie Brunotte and so many others, I support the extravagance of being able to walk out to the driveway every morning and pick up my daily paper.
Aston Bloom
East side
The tyranny of the minority
Much has been written about how our system of government protects the minority from the tyranny of the majority. I would argue that it is the majority that is being unfairly harmed by the minority.
Whether it is abortion rights, gun control, health care, the environment, climate change, education, voting rights, or religious vs. secular issues, the minority position too often prevails over the majority position.
Thanks to the electoral college, two senators from each state (the 50 Democratic senators represent 41.5 million more people than the 50 Republican senators), gerrymandering, court packing (thanks Mitch), and the filibuster rule, the will of the majority is thwarted at every turn.
Begrudgingly, I give kudos to the minority. They have made a decades long, concerted effort to game the system to inflict their will on the American people. The majority must use their numerical advantage to reverse this course. If not, I fear for our very democracy.
John Pierce, Ph.D
Northwest side
COVID is still here
You don’t have to be a Trumpeteer or a fellow-traveler to think and act like a fascist. You can thumb your nose at COVID-19 precautions. Perhaps some of you are to blame. Lately, I, with a dozen family members spread across the country, despite four shots and masking precautions, have caught a COVID virus. One family member has lupus, a disease dangerous by itself. Somewhere I crossed the path of a nose-thumber. The symptoms are not severe, nevertheless I’m quarantined 10 days. I don’t have to be someplace. Neither can I be someplace I want to be. The husband of the person with lupus is an airline pilot, probably not the next two weeks. Another is/was teaching summer school to kids lagging in school. Across the country fascists are not only politically at work to change the country, but millions others are hindering functions of society. Apparently it’s an understanding difficult to acquire and practice, but we’re all in this together. Indifferences and ignorance add up.
Charles Larson
Green Valley
