Letters To The Editor

PUBLIC SAFETY

Sidewalks not for bicyclists

I’ve been employed in downtown Spokane for 23 years. Downtown has undergone many changes over the years to facilitate the use of public and private property by handicapped persons. One of those changes is the ramp corners on sidewalks for ease of crossing the street.

One drawback of these ramps is the ease that bicyclists and skateboarders also have crossing the street.

Twice last week (and mind you, it was only Wednesday) I had to take evasive measures to avoid a fast-moving bicycle on the sidewalk on Riverside between Monroe and Lincoln. This is the same block on which Janice Everhart was hit by a bicyclist last spring. Everhart is still recovering and she and her family will be forever changed by this ill-fated meeting of bicycle and pedestrian.

A key word here is “sidewalk.” It’s not called a sideride or a sidedrive but a sideWALK. This word alone should be enough to click in the mind of a reasonable society that pedestrians, completely unprotected by helmet or gloves, are walking on this piece of real estate set aside for that purpose.

Bicyclists, if the streets are too dangerous for you to ride on, how about walking your bike on the sidewalk? Or how about lobbying City Hall for bike lanes? Why put yourself and others in danger?

Just as surely as a car on the sidewalk or a pedestrian in a traffic lane is a hazard, bicyclists on downtown sidewalks are unnecessarily endangering themselves and others when they so rudely believe that traffic laws or plain common sense don’t apply to them. Patti Barnhouse Spokane

SPOKANE MATTERS

Red lights short circuit traffic

Since moving to Spokane in 1992, one thing has completely stumped me: Why is the downtown area the only place in the city or county where the traffic lights are timed?

With all the talk every winter about Spokane’s pollution problems, it amazes me that when I drive across town I have to wait at almost every traffic light. It doesn’t say much for Spokane when drivers are required to have their cars inspected for pollutants, but these same cars sit at red lights, spewing carbon monoxide into the air for 20 percent to 60 percent of the time they’re on the road.

Other cities seem to do a good job of keeping traffic moving in waves through the use of timed traffic lights. Why can’t Spokane do the same?

It’s so frustrating to have a traffic light turn green just so you can sit and wait at the next light that just turned red. It’s no wonder there are so many red light runners in this county.

If traffic lights were timed so that the cars moved in waves there would be less carbon monoxide in the air, fewer red light runners, and people would slow down to the speed dictated by the lights’ timing. I understand that all streets could not be timed perfectly, but even an attempt would be better than the inefficient system in use now. Jeff Gander Spokane

Can almost hear their feet dragging

I am very disappointed with our county commissioners. They are so afraid to move forward with the Growth Management Act.

They had a chance to pass the Critical Area Ordinance for the protection of wetlands, fish and wildlife conservation areas as geologically hazardous areas at last Tuesday’s scheduled public meeting, only to put it off another month. Whose best interest are they serving?

There have been 27 hearings on this area of the GMA so far. The years and research on this have been covered with the best scientific review.

The only persons being served by our commissioners are the developers who come out ahead as they continue to be permitted under current old policies. Public beware! Alex Biggs Spokane

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION

Keep the quality in our schools

I am the product of a school levy failure (Mead, graduating class of 1972). As a result of that failure, our class was forced to go without many of the subjects and opportunities available in school today, and taken for granted. I made a vow that when I became a mother and had school-age children I would do everything in my power to assure that never happened to them.

I am a volunteer at my children’s school, Willard Elementary. I have seen the wonderful programs offered to today’s young people, along with the most caring and sincere school staff. It is your tax dollars, hard at work, that make these things possible for our young people.

You say you are just too busy and don’t have time to be a school volunteer? Well, I can’t think of a better way to show your kids how much you love them than by getting out and voting yes Feb. 6, when District 81 will ask for our support to pass the maintenance and operations levy. It will not cost you any more in taxes.

Don’t make choices that will force your kids to go without, and ultimately hurt us all in the future. Get out, exercise your right to vote on Feb. 6 and show your support for Spokane’s public schools. Jackie Nelson Spokane

BUSINESS AND LABOR

Ignore check fraud and we all lose

I am very disappointed with the lack of concern major store chains give to the crime of check fraud.

I recently was the unfortunate victim of a home burglary. Jewelry, credit cards and checks were stolen. I stopped all credit cards and notified the bank of the checks that were stolen. After a week, all the checks cleared from four different stores in amounts from $200 to $400 each.

I notified each store of this crime and asked how someone can purchase $300 worth of goods and not have any identification checked. Two of the four stores say it’s their policy not to check identification, and they are proud of this service to their customers. They were sorry for my inconvenience, and nothing more was said.

I find it sad that the stores feel the time it takes to check identification results in lost revenue for the store and an inconvenience to the customer, possibly losing the customer’s patronage.

In this day of check fraud and white collar crime, stores should take more interest in checking for valid identification. The ultimate loss is to the store and its employees - and to all of us as consumers, when stores raise prices to cover their check fraud losses.

The next time a cashier asks you for identification, don’t grumble. Just display your license and thank them for doing their job. Roy Lang Spokane

Sweetser after best return for dollar

Dave Silva (“Sound and fury, signifying what?” Letters, Jan. 9) is correct in his understanding that Spokane County Prosecutor Jim Sweetser absolutely demands standards that “protect taxpayers from government waste” and make sure their tax dollars are being spent wisely.”

Indeed, case load is the issue; case load is our business. A 29.4 percent increase in trial productivity in one year cannot be accomplished in an office governed by “fear and intimidation.”

We have 58 attorneys in this office. One-third of them have refused to join the union. With the exception of those few who believe the union’s self-serving rhetoric, our attorneys are proud to work here, proud of what they are accomplishing and proud of their contributions to this community.

Sweetser was not elected to support the union. He will not abandon the taxpayers of Spokane County to the egregious demands of the union. The union wants a contract that guarantees pay raises just for sitting on a chair. The union demands promotions based only on seniority. Performance and ability mean nothing.

Sweetser is of the opinion that pay and promotions should be earned. What a novel concept! If you, as a taxpayer, Silva, really want to pay for everything the union demands, I suspect you are alone. The rest of us want a fair and reasonable return on our tax dollar.

One other small point: The “lovely charts” cost about eight bucks. I know. I paid for them out of my own pocket. Travis O. Jones, office administrator Spokane County prosecuting attorney’s office

Holidays are too unproductive

I am in total agreement that if any one of our past heroes in this country should deserve a special holiday on the calendar, the Rev. Martin Luther King is certainly one of them.

It should be recognized, however, that as this country and the world progress we should bear in mind that there are only so many days in a year.

I believe we are going to, by necessity, change the attitude as far as paid time off for any employee, whether in the private or public sector, when a holiday is declared. Shortening the productive and profitable hours in this country will only give way to competition worldwide, something we can ill afford in these times of tremendous deficits.

I think most people who sincerely admire our heroes could find it in their hearts to pay tribute and homage to them in the time available outside our precious productive hours. Bjarne B. Larsen Hayden, Idaho

Bowling center trying its best

This is in response to Sue Lani W. Madsen’s recent letter on the drop in bowling participation.

Our 40-lane center allows no smoking in our settee area and has Smoke-eaters throughout. We have tried non-smoking leagues - to no avail. We also have many adult-child bowling leagues with as many as 20 teams, and all of our mixed leagues encourage meeting new people.

As far as creativity, we offer Vegas, jackets, Silverwood, instruction and ball leagues, just to name a few. We work very hard to make bowling as interesting as possible for everyone. Our bowlers range in age from 3 to 93. Eddie Lehinger, league coordinator Sports Page Bowling Center, Spokane

LAW AND JUSTICE

Mercy killing inexcusable, period

If Judge James Murphy had killed his daughter because she was brain damaged, I hope he would be found guilty of premeditated murder.

We are becoming a very strange society that will sentence a person to jail for injuring an animal but excuse a person for taking a human life. It should be illegal to deprive a human the right to life because that human is mentally and/or physically impaired, and it should be punished.

There are thousands of people in Spokane who volunteer for community service as a hobby. In essence, Judge Murphy’s sentence of Deborah Rockstrom is tantamount to sentencing her to a hobby for six weeks.

It is right to pity Deborah Rockstrom for her situation and to treat her with compassion, but it is absolutely wrong to condone her act of murder.

Mercy and compassion need to be tempered with judgment. Judge Murphy’s sentence says it’s all right to commit murder if you feel bad enough and can convince the judge to feel sorry for you.

It is not for me to judge Deborah Rockstrom, but this herd of ours - the herd of human beings who live in the United States of America - has legislated that it does not approve of murder, even if the victim is handicapped and the perpetrator is distressed by that handicap. Though the defendant and the judge in this case may both have had good intentions, they both showed dangerously poor judgment in their actions. Jim Hundrup Spokane

Felon a three-strikes poster boy

Poor Larry Stapleton. He is now the victim of the cruel legal system, rather than being a criminal aggressor. He obviously didn’t understand that armed robbery was a crime or that the much-publicized “three strikes, you’re out” law is real.

Stapleton is an excellent example of why the three-strikes law is needed. Four armed robberies in 10 years? Give me a break. Armed robbery is not a petty crime and to equate the seriousness of the offense to the dollar value stolen is ridiculous. Plenty of victims have died at the hands of people like Stapleton for a lot less than $150.

Perhaps the bleeding hearts would prefer to wait until Stapleton does kill someone before getting serious. The fact he packs a weapon is a clue to his state of mind.

I am 45 years old and, miraculously, have never committed even one armed robbery. It’s not really that hard to avoid doing if you try real hard. Tom Wilkinson Post Falls

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Some see extortion as budget tool

As usual, Republican propagandist Ed Davis has the facts wrong (Letters, Jan. 7). He says Congress wrote a budget and passed it. Sen. Patty Murray is correct about how federal workers shouldn’t have to bear the burden of Congress being unable to pass a budget.

There are 13 appropriation bills that make up the federal budget. Congress is supposed to send them to the president by Oct. 1. As of Jan. 4, they had passed only 10. Three bills still are not done. Of those passed, Clinton signed seven and vetoed three. Of the three vetoes, Congress was able to override only one.

So who is to blame for the shutdown?

First, the Republican Congress is to blame because it did not pass the 13 budget bills by Oct. 1. The president signed or vetoed the 10 bills that reached his desk. He can’t sign or veto the other three until they get passed by Congress.

Second, the Republican Congress is to blame because it tried to use innocent workers and families to blackmail Clinton out of vetoes Republicans knew they couldn’t override.

The whole affair is particularly shameful since the Congressional Budget Office admitted that the Republican budget is not balanced.

Ed Davis is right only in that we should remember this on election day. Clinton should be thanked for vetoing extremist legislation and Rep. George Nethercutt should be removed for passing extremist budgets and for voting for blackmail of innocent people.

Family values, indeed! Steve Gigliotti Davenport, Wash.

Clinton not dealing in good faith

I agree with Michael Hanly (Letters, Jan. 11) that next fall voters will remember the indignities inflicted on federal workers, but I disagree that the Republicans are the only ones to blame.

Clinton agreed on Nov. 20 to use Congressional Budget Office numbers in developing a budget. He signed the agreement. Then he walked away and never looked back until the impasse looked hopeless.

To call what he did “negotiating” is ridiculous. It takes two sides to negotiate. His people went to the table only for appearance’s sake. He never even put a proposal on the table until January.

I don’t care how good Clinton’s promises sound, they aren’t worth the paper they’re written on.

At least the freshmen Republicans are negotiating in good faith. More importantly, they are honoring their word and commitments. If voters reject them and embrace Clinton’s hollow promises and doublespeak, as Hanly implies they should, America will deserve what it gets: politics as usual and financial ruin.

France’s social upheaval should be an object lesson to you, Hanly. They are just a little farther downstream than we are. Mark Wiensz Spokane

Why ‘duh’ is a GOP buzzword

In response to Bob Palmer (“Stupid Democrats hasten the end,” Letters, Jan. 10):

Considering that the Democrats are currently a minority in Congress, Palmer should instead ask questions of the current congressional majority made up of Republicans. Such as:

Have Republicans decreased pork barrel spending?

Have Republicans “paid for” tax cuts by annihilating useful programs?

Have Republicans reduced their pay and privileges?

Have Republicans reduced tax-paid travel?

Have Republicans pushed for, in their balanced budget proposal, pain to be shared equally by all citizens: i.e., that the wealthy do not get proposed tax cuts until the budget is balanced?

The first answer is no. The second is yes. The third through sixth answers are no. Now, what is so frugal or “conservative” about the Republicans?

Finally, when the Republicans have increased defense spending as though the Cold War isn’t over, who is it who’s living in a dream world?

“Lying and stupid” Democrats aren’t our problem. Lying and stupid Republicans are our problem. Joan Harman Coeur d’Alene