Letters: Transit cuts a threat, jobless pay option, wind farm must go slow and more | June 13

Pasco needs fixes for city’s potholes

I am writing to share my concern about the many potholes in Pasco roads. I am concerned that vehicles can get damaged such as scratches to paint or bumpers or tires. It can also affect the alignment which is expensive to fix. Also potholes can also be dangerous for people who ride motorcycles. I would like to ask the City of Pasco to fix the potholes as soon as possible to protect the vehicles of the citizens of Pasco.

.......

Why isn’t ROTC in Richland?

With our history — and a former secretary of defense — why does Richland not have a junior ROTC program?

.......

EFSEC must go slow on wind farm

Many community members are concerned about the Horse Heaven Hills Wind farm. Be prepared, as clean energy is a priority for Washington state.

A major concern that was outlined was the process for which these proposals go through. Scout Clean Energy was granted an expedited proposal after making minimal efforts to evaluate the local area and engage the community. The Washington Administrative Code has a process called the pre-application consultation that outlines what companies must do prior to submitting proposals for approval.

This consultation includes community engagement and “meaningful involvement” with stakeholders that will be impacted by the proposal. How does the EFSEC evaluate “meaningful involvement?” This is especially true as the tribes, who have ancestral claims to the land, were not consulted.

EFSEC needs to take a look at their process for future applications of projects. Each community is special, and there are many considerations that companies must take the time to evaluate. The EFSEC has the power to slow the process down and keep companies accountable to following the structure in place for project applications. Additionally, we must take cultural considerations and protections very seriously. Much of Washington’s land is ancestral and has sacred claims which must be respected.

.......

Symphony to play on Fourth of July

If you love being outdoors on the Fourth of July, listening to patriotic and traditional American music, (and who doesn’t) you should come down to John Dam Plaza from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on the Fourth to listen to your local symphony perform timeless classics. Then you’ll be all pumped up for the fireworks. This is an outdoor, bring-your-own blanket or lawnchair event.

Based on current restrictions, admittance is limited, so tickets are being offered for free or by donation at the Mid-Columbia Symphony website (www.midcolumbiasymphony.org). Note that it will cost the Mid-Columbia Symphony about $9,000 to put on this event, so donations and sponsorships are welcome. This is your chance to listen to great music and reconnect with your community. We hope to see you there!

.......

Give jobless pay to employers

Why pay to have a worker on unemployment $300 weekly above their unemployment insurance! Give the $300 weekly to the employers so they can restock (restaurants, etc.) and hire an employee who is not working. This accomplishes two things. The worker now has a job, pays taxes on employment and the employer gets a much-needed worker, opens the business and pays taxes on profit. Would this be a win for both?

Question? Has anyone ever eaten at a government-owned and -operated restaurant, had a great meal, good service and price? I haven’t.

.......

GOP is attacking U.S. democracy

Democracy is under attack by the Republican Party. Instead of coming up with better policy all over the country to win presidential elections, Republican leaders are changing voting rules and procedures by shortening voting days and hours, taking away vote by mail and even allowing water in lines, all because they don’t like the results and their corrupt former president says the election was stolen.

This is the same man who cruelly separated over 5,500 children at the border, who turned a mask into a political symbol, who said the coronavirus would go away and that you could (get) rid it with bleach, and who did not show up to lead the insurrection like he said he would … and (his followers wanted to) kill his vice president and some police in the process.

But worst of all, he did not tell us immediately how bad the COVID-19 was when his first priority should have been keeping the American people safe. The fact is he and his supporters are trying to steal the election. A record 81 million Democrats, many Republicans and Independents were more than motivated to show up and vote after four long years of putting up with Trump’s corrupt policy and incompetency.

.......

Cyclists: Don’t surprise drivers

Whether I’m a driver, a pedestrian or a bicyclist, I have tried to follow a simple but unwritten rule — never do something unexpected.

I thought about this when I read Doug Dahl’s column about whether motorists should regard bicycles as pedestrians or vehicles. His answer was to treat them as vehicles when they’re on the roadway and as pedestrians when they’re on a sidewalk or in a crosswalk.

What he should have added, in my opinion, is that a bicyclist should do what is expected in a crosswalk — that is, walk, not ride, the bike to the other side.

Have you ever seen a biker (or a skateboarder) come flying off the sidewalk into a crosswalk at the very moment a startled motorist is beginning a right turn onto that street? I have, and one of my sons was an eyewitness to a fatal accident that happened when a kid on a bike didn’t follow my unwritten rule.

Motorists are accustomed to seeing people moving at pedestrian speeds in a crosswalk. If you’re riding a bike, do what’s expected, and walk it across. If you’re on a skateboard, pick it up and walk to the other side.

.......

Transit cuts are threat to voting

County commissioners in Benton and Franklin counties are apparently looking for additional mental health funding by slashing the budget of public transit in the Tri-Cities, according to an opinion piece in last Sunday’s paper, penned by Kirk Williamson, Oskar Zambrano and Dr. James Wise. It really comes as no surprise that all six of those commissioners are Republicans.

It’s also no stretch to deduce that by limiting public transit access, it would promote GOP aspirations of less voter access to the polls by the poor and disenfranchised. Boy howdy! There’s a win-win for Team Trump if there ever was one. Instead of going after transit dollars, or any other dollars that benefit the poor, how about the commissioners give back some of that $112,000 salary they draw? That would be a great start.

Every time funding is needed for a social program, it doesn’t warrant amputating the legs of another one. There are creative alternatives available. Perhaps the voters who manage to make it to the polls against all odds, next time we’re electing county commissioners, would be well served to remember that.

This story was originally published June 13, 2021 at 12:01 AM with the headline "Letters: Transit cuts a threat, jobless pay option, wind farm must go slow and more | June 13."