Former Richland School Board member supports the recall, and other Herald letters | Opinion

Recall the 3, says ex-board member

Gathering 19,000 signatures to bring a recall vote to the citizens of the Richland School District has been an impressive effort. Our community believes in holding people accountable and following the rule of law.

Having served as an RSD School Board member for 16 years, I encourage voters to recall Audra Byrd, Kari Williams and Semi Bird.

A high-performing school board follows the law, understands the separation of responsibilities between the board and superintendent and is thoughtful and rational. These board members failed to demonstrate what good school board behavior is.

All recall efforts will be useless if another group of rogue candidates become elected.

After thoroughly reviewing all candidates running for office, I personally endorse and support Jill Oldson, Chelsie Beck and Katrina Waters for Richland School Board. I am confident they will do the best job.

Please turn in your ballots! Voters need to restore normalcy and civility in our schools and focus once again on student learning.

Heather Cleary, Richland

Time to subsidize electric vehicles

Regarding soaring gas prices (July 2 editorial), the problem with them is that people lack the resources to avoid them. What if, instead of using the revenue from the state tax on carbon to support other emission reduction activities, the revenue were used to reduce other taxes or simply given to the people in equal shares? The state Constitution doesn’t allow the latter option, but Washington Initiative 732 would have reduced sales tax and B&O tax if it had passed. It did not.

A climate policy that does less economic harm to families would be a predictable national price on carbon, with all net revenue going to the people in equal carbon dividends, and a carbon border adjustment to keep our production from shifting offshore. People could use their monthly carbon dividends to pay more for the increasing cost of gasoline, but they’d soon learn they’re better off to use them to reduce their carbon footprint by purchasing carbon-free transportation and heating systems. Used electric vehicles with 100-mile range are sufficient for most daily commuting needs and cost only $2 to charge at home. The Inflation Reduction Act subsidizes new and used carbon-free vehicles and heating systems.

Steve Ghan, Richland

Hearing on Snake dams was a sham

I attended the hearing on June 26 on the Lower Snake River Dams at the Richland High School auditorium. This hearing was a sham. Only the four pro-dam U.S. representatives and the panel of pro-dam “experts” were allowed to speak. It devolved into a Republican love fest in parts when Georgia Rep. Mike Collins brought politics into the discussion. This issue is not about red versus blue.

But there were some interesting takeaways from this farce. Jennifer Quan of the National Marine Fisheries Service and NOAA clearly stated that their review of the science indicated that removing the lower Snake River dams was the most impactful action that could be taken to restore salmon runs on the Snake River.

Rick Dunn of the Benton PUD made it sound like we were in imminent danger of running out of electricity in our region. But John Hairston of the BPA, when questioned about the chance of brownouts or blackouts, reported that BPA calculates a low probability of even a brownout in the next 15 years.

Several panelists stated that warming ocean conditions were the main culprit. Maybe, but this won’t get fixed.

Remove the Lower Snake River dams.

Stan Kuick, Richland