Letters

The Republican effort to rescind the ACA has created much focus on preexisting conditions, for which the ACA required coverage at no additional cost. Much commentary has created the incorrect understanding that a preexisting condition must be an active disease like cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, etc. These are indeed preexisting conditions in the proposed AHCA. But insurance companies use all medical information to make this distinction.

A couple of things. Wouldn't it be grand if the Davenport Hotel, celebrating one of its milestones, reverted back for a day to the original rates, $2 for a room with shower, $3.50 for a suite? Also, when are our state troopers going to get rid of those silly looking bow ties? Are they clip-ons, or do they teach them how to tie them as part of academy training?

Following President Obama's 2008 election, a Canadian relative sent congratulations, adding, "I didn't think the U.S. was ready for a black president."

I was shocked to learn that Lakes Highway District incumbent Rod Twete is facing an opponent in the coming election who should be disqualified by law to run for any office. His opponent, Laurin Scarcello, was removed as watermaster of Water District 95C in a Department of Water Resources Board hearing on Jan. 3.

Thanks for the great article (May 3) about the Empire Builder. Incremental improvements will work, as the West Side is demonstrating with double tracking and adding more Cascade trains.

In 2015, Trump said he would "rarely leave the White House because there's so much work to be done." Now, he is golfing and visiting a Trump-branded property every few days!

Eastern Washington residents owe a debt of gratitude to Shawn Vestal for his May 4 column illustrating Cathy McMorris Rodgers' bogus claims that she is sincerely trying to preserve health care for people with pre-existing conditions. Ensuring "those with preexisting conditions have access to health care" isn't really the same as actually having health care, a distinction Republicans are counting on people being too dim to grasp.

Lead story in the May 9 edition referring to Trump's policies: "While many of his other promised policies -- often enacted as executive orders -- have been slowed by bureaucracy or by the courts themselves, the president's judicial appointments have WENT largely as planned."

I noticed that Reps McMorris Rodgers and Labrador voted for the repeal of many of the protections of ACA by voting for AHCA (Trumpcare). Both probably hope to have long careers in public service to qualify for continued coverage under their very fine health insurance for themselves and families with provisions more like Obamacare.

I'm so tired of hearing everyone whine and complain about the pothole dilemma in our city. For those who don't understand why the roads throughout Spokane are so bad, the problem lies with the extreme weather conditions. As engineers know, water seeps through cracks in the pavement. When it freezes, the ice expands, causing the pavement to rise. When the ice thaws, it leaves a void that collapses when a heavy vehicle passes over it resulting in a pothole.

Cathy McMorris Rodgers needs to stand up and do her job, of which part is listening to the people regardless of which political background they stand. She is a sad example of how detached politicians are from hard-working folks here in Spokane. I find it offensive that she elects to distant herself from the very folks that elected her.

The April 27 article on the late Dorothy Powers and the Davenport hotel warrants comment.

I read with interest the column Cathy McMorris Rodgers wrote for the Washington Post. It's good that The Spokesman-Review monitors the Washington Post so that they can publish her column (May 5) for her constituents here in the 5th District, so far away from her home in D.C.

Like the sequels to most B movies, the latest Republican proposal to replace the ACA offers little change in plot, more hype and worse acting. Despite Trump's campaign promises of health care for everybody, no cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and protecting patients with pre-existing conditions, the proposed plan:

We all know the city of Spokane has a big problem with potholes. They heavily damage our cars, which makes most residents unhappy. These potholes can cause car accidents, and we are putting our lives more at risk with these gigantic holes not being filled. I believe we need to step up and fix the potholes in Spokane.

This is not a complaining letter, but an observation. Spokane has always had a soft spot for our poor and marginalized. But now the tide is turning. The Cooper George is closing. The Carlisle is closing. Catholic Charities is unable to operate to capacity. Why? It seems that the projects being pushed forward in our city are designed to beautify, which is not bad. But when monies are limited, more consideration needs to be given to the marginalized.

Why is the city enforcing a pay to park on the streets of Spokane if you can't even drive on them? The city should take note of this inconvenience and allow parking for free. Not only would this benefit our downtown businesses that are suffering but also benefit all that have to drive the mess our contractors have made, and our city council has allowed. Let's be a little open for those visiting the mess we call Spokane.

This year, the annual cost of caring for individuals living with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias will reach $259 billion, $175 billion of which comes in direct costs to Medicare and Medicaid. Yet in 2016, for every $100 the U.S. government spent on Alzheimer's research, $16,000 was spent by Medicare and Medicaid to care for those living with the disease.

No one will argue that there is a crisis in the level of student debt saddling recent college graduates. But, as in health care, we are again debating the wrong question. All of the discussion is about "who pays?" And no one seems to what to ask "why does it cost so much?" The truth is that, except in a few specialized fields, the return on a college education (i.e., jobs and income available) often does not justify the investment required (tuition and fees) to obtain a degree.