Zoo expansion details were unknown to voters
I would have never voted for Propositions 202 and 203 had I known the zoo was going to use the money to take green space away from the public. Why are they taking the most beautiful part of Reid Park? I see families there every day watching the ducks and turtles and running up and down the shaded hill.
The zoo and the city should prioritize natural and fee-free areas for families to enjoy nature in peace. From the descriptions, all decisions were made under a misleading description of “Zoo Master Plan.” City officials need to own their part in the disaster this process has become.
If you are going to take away cherished green space, you need to inform people and describe what is at stake.
Wendy Sampson
Midtown
An alternate list
to replace Sumlin
I thought your suggested list of replacements for Kevin Sumlin as UA football coach read like a junior list. The team would be in the same fix as it has been for years. I didn’t see a serious upgrade on the list.
So here are a few of my choices: Bret Bielema, New York Giants linebacker coach; Chip Long, offensive coordinator at Notre Dame; P.J. Fleck, head coach of the Minnesota Gophers; Billy Napier, the head coach of Lousiana-Lafayette and Bill Clark, the UAB head coach. There are lots more worthy candidates out there.
Tomas DeMoss
Northeast side
Attorneys earned our low opinion
Unbelievably, 40% of the country’s attorneys general, including our own, displayed a shocking ignorance of the Constitution, which all of our laws have to satisfy. They signed on to the Supreme Court appeal by the Texas AG which would have negated the legally cast votes of millions of citizens, with a rationale so ludicrous that a high school civics student would have recognized its violation of the Constitution.
What law schools did they attend and what basic constitutional classes did they skip? The same question applies to the 120 or so “lawmakers” in the House of Representatives who endorsed this wacky proposal, although their position does not require a law degree. It’s no wonder us non-lawyers have a low opinion of attorneys and those “lawmakers.”
John Kuisti
West side
Public employees need to show some backbone
As I read your editorials, it appears many believe that Donald Trump has seriously mismanaged the COVID crises. Interestingly, at least one vaccine is available, a second is near, and PPE is adequate. Evidently, most of the critics are coddled schoolteachers and government employees or retirees who have had assured income through this time.
They, while huddled in their homes, appear to have no appreciation for all the essential workers who have made their life routine. Meanwhile, they have little regard for the millions who currently have lost their jobs due to the virus. Nancy Pelosi will not assist these unfortunate people unless she can also flood money into states whose inept governors will not manage their own state budgets.
My observation is that many in this town are whining, selfish crybabies who have no courage to face adversity. The end of this extremely contagious virus is in sight. Show some backbone and courage.
Pudge Johnson
Oro Valley
Republican ‘electors’ are committing fraud
The Arizona GOP decided they could fraudulently submit their electoral votes on forged paperwork. I hope the Arizona secretary of state charges each signature on this document with election fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. Since the Arizona Republican Party was involved, it should be dissolved as an organization and banned from any future election.
James Kammerzell
Vail
Biden will not
turn into Bernie
Re: the Dec. 15 article “Biden’s looming legitimacy crisis (and what he can do about it).”
James Broughal of the Koch-funded Mercatus Center makes a number of bizarre assertions in this opinion piece.
He somehow imagines that Joe Biden might well “follow his party’s leftmost flank” which would “certainly antagonize Republicans and centrists.”
Why Biden, a career-long centrist and friend of big business would follow along with Ilhan Omar and AOC at this late date is left unexplained. I personally don’t think there’s a chance Joe Biden will turn into Bernie Sanders.
Broughal laments “the exploding federal deficit,” though he doesn’t mention the “explosion” was caused by the Republican-engineered tax cut which mainly benefited the top 1%. And the solution to the deficit? “Entitlement reform!” That’s right, cut Social Security to cover the billionaires’ windfall.
It seems to me that the danger to reasonable government isn’t extremists on the left, but those on the right.
David Steinberg
Northwest side
GOP power grab won’t be forgotten
The long-awaited voting of certified Electoral College delegates officially confirms Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as president/vice president-elects. Whew! But before we move on to the continuing challenges of 2021, we should not forget the recent legal assault on the Constitution by the Texas attorney general.
Asking the Supreme Court to change the certified election results of four swing states, nullify the choices of 81 million voters, including those in Arizona, and reelect Donald Trump by partisan opinions of nine unelected judges was patently unconstitutional, even by Texas standards. That 18 fellow state AGs and 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives endorsed this action is despicable. All concerned have violated their oaths to “preserve and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
We can disagree on matters of policy, but our system of government by the consent of the governed is sacrosanct. These oath breakers need to face Arizona voters at the first opportunity.
Frank Hartline
Foothills
UA should lead
and drop football
On its website, the University of Arizona describes its students as “Leaders. Creatives. Problem solvers. They’re determined and energetic; they’re outspoken and innovators. They’re the future.”
Is it possible that the university could truly be a leader, saving millions of dollars and building education programs that solve problems for the future? The answer is yes, but the required action will take courage.
By joining the ranks of fine academic institutions such as Boston University, Gonzaga University and the University of Vermont and eliminating Division I football, the university could provide the necessary funding for educational programs that have been drastically cut over the past three years while during that period the university fired football coaches and paid millions of dollars in contract buyouts.
It’s time for the Board of Regents and university administrators to become leaders in establishing what is required by a university to become a true groundbreaker in providing education for tomorrow’s leaders and problem solvers.
John Merrill
Green Valley
Isn’t basketball just basketball?
Re: the Dec. 11 article “Wildcats ‘bring it,’ rout rival Arizona State to stay perfect.”
Kudos to the Daily Star’s Sports page for trumpeting UA women’s basketball’s big win over ASU at the top of the front page and then running a follow-up piece on Dec. 12. However I wonder why the two UA basketball articles on Dec. 12 are labeled “Arizona Basketball” and “Arizona Women’s Basketball.”
Why is the men’s team the default? It’s not either basketball or women’s basketball — they’re both basketball, but one is men’s and one is women’s, so both should be labeled as such. Then, PJ Brown’s article about the women’s ASU rout said that “they outmanned ASU” when in truth they clearly “outwomaned” and outplayed them.
With my degree in sociology and my daughter a local high school basketball player, it’s clear to me that these seemingly small slights matter, and I encourage the Star to do better on this front.
Kimberlyn Drew
Foothills
Hey Trumpers, Rio
is gorgeous right now
Even die-hard Trumpers must see by now that real-world options to challenge the election are gone. There is, however, still an opportunity for them to vote with their feet. In 1784/85, for example, over 30,000 monarchists who could not stomach the idea of living in a democracy, emigrated to Canada. After 1865, over 10,000 loyal Confederates who could not bear living in a country striving toward equal rights emigrated to Brazil.
Maybe the outgoing administration should refocus its efforts and open back-channel discussions with some of Donald’s favorite dictator soul brothers to explore opportunities for building a new Trump hotel and retirement community for his most loyal acolytes to start over in.
Chet Kostrzewa
West side
Who said teachers weren’t valuable?
Re: the Dec. 13 article “‘Lost year’ feared as students here fail their classes at alarming rate.”
This op-ed piece in the Daily Star told of the significant increased failure rate of students in TUSD since the coronavirus quarantine took effect.
Perhaps those who think that teachers are expendable will take another look at the efficacy of the classroom teacher now.
Let’s face it, the effective classroom teacher isn’t just an instructor but a confidant, a counselor and a role model in addition to parceling out knowledge.
Count teachers among your blessings; if you doubt this, ask those who are struggling to teach their youngsters at home.
Kenneth Wright
East side
