Letters To The Editor

SPOKANE MATTERS

Group should have viewed both sides

C. Mark Casey, president of the Spokane County Bar Association, said that it wasn’t “unusual” for the bar to take a position on Initiative 98-1, the Municipal Court initiative. Maybe not, but what is unusual is the fact that they never spoke with anyone from Save Our Tax Dollars prior to making their decision. As attorneys, one would hope they would realize the value of hearing both sides of the case before rendering a verdict.

Initiative 98-1 saves tax dollars and it has the bureaucrats running scared. Taxpayers should only pay for the court services they need, not judges who are only handling 75 percent of the cases the state says they should be.

Maybe Casey sees our initiative as a threat to his career ladder. After all, $98,000 a year part-time jobs are real hard to come by. Pat Thompson Save Our Tax Dollars, Spokane and Everett

Support for new court seems flawed

Let me see if I’ve got this straight. Supporters of creating a new municipal court for Spokane say this plan will save $220,000 a year by having three judges doing the work currently handled by five. Of course, this will result in higher caseloads, more court congestion, longer waits and more delays. It will also require the city to spend money it doesn’t now spend for security and transporting inmates from jails around the region. So add, say, six officers at $20,000 each a year.

Now add $3 million to construct new courtrooms, clerk’s offices, holding areas, etc. This means it would take 30 years or so to break even, while the quality of service suffers and justice is delayed. What am I missing here? Richard B. Kayne attorney at law, Spokane

Rules should have been bent

Having just viewed the Jan. 5 Spokane County Commissioner public forum, I am incensed that none of the commissioners could find the incentive to suspend their rules for 15 minutes of public comment, thus giving the people representing over 2,000 Kaiser employees an opportunity to voice their concerns about the ramifications of the strike. Also, Commissioner Phil Harris must have had his head where the air is not too fresh to totally miss Kaiser moving the mobile living units onto industrial property.

I would vote for a recall on all three of the commissioners. Donald M. Reid Spokane

Change good excuse for increase

It was good old solid Washington Water Power for years and years. Now it is just another new-age, politically correct, meaningless moniker and probably a good reason for raising rates. James W. Robinson Spokane

More questions on lease agreement

Let me get this straight. A confidential lease agreement was “leaked” to a Wall Street Journal reporter! What are we dealing with here to warrant statements such as “release of the information could cause irreparable harm” or “The ramifications of them doing a story could be huge”?

Try these: “Somehow or another, from this building, the information was leaked” or, “To have the world know all the ins and outs of various lease terms could be very damaging.” Here is the kicker: “Anybody who provided the information did it in disregard to the `confidentiality agreement’? and had to know what they were doing.”

Confidentiality agreement? Well, that should take a few City Council members off the hook, who didn’t sign such an agreement or even know that one existed.

Now, let’s back track and find out who signed such an agreement violating the fiduciary responsibility to the city. One real question here: what was the unfairness listed in the lease? Did one tenant get better treatment than others did? Where is the investigative journalist, locally? Edward Thomas, Jr. Spokane

LAW AND JUSTICE

State should adjust parole system

Republican state Reps. Lynn Schindler’s and Larry Sheahan’s plan for new legislation is correct about the need for a change in the sentencing law, but for the wrong reasons.

Oregon, given as the model, like Idaho and 45 other states, uses indeterminate sentencing. They can control where a parolee lives, works and travels and mandate special conditions regarding behavior. The suitability of this control plan must be verified by a trained parole officer and approved by a parole board before release. This isn’t possible in Washington because the state loses all control over offenders when they have completed the court-imposed sentence.

A sentence can be reduced by “good time” credits awarded by the Department of Corrections. Without credits, an inmate must be released. Without a parole board, the state lacks authority to return an offender to prison, even if his bad behavior in prison is continued.

The best solution is to re-join the other 45 states that use the indeterminate parole system to control offenders returned to the community with legally enforceable guidance from professional parole officers. Before July 1984, under the parole system, two-thirds of offenders returned to prison for parole violation hadn’t been sentenced for a new crime. A. LaMont Smith retired professor of criminology, Spokane

Modify open container law

During my almost daily walks along Rimrock and into Palisades Park, I have very often filled a plastic grocery bag with discarded trash left by thoughtless people. Much of this trash consists of empty alcoholic beverage containers, discarded because the law makes it an offense to even have an open container of this sort in one’s motor vehicle. Hence, in the process of avoiding breaking this law, drivers break still another by littering the public roads as well as adjacent private property with empty beer cans and bottles.

Breaking one law obviously cannot provide justification for breaking another, but the rationale of the offender is clear enough, if morally and legally ridiculous. Would it not be appropriate to modify the open container prohibition to make such possession only evidence of another offense or repeal it altogether? As it now stands, avoiding evidence of law breaking involves littering, hence breaking another. Don M. Barnes Spokane

Refresh memory on `rules of road’

I have always been told that ignorance of the law is no excuse. With that in mind, there are several thousand Spokane drivers who need a refresher course on the rules of operating a vehicle. I am specifically referring to those individuals who choose to ignore pedestrians in crosswalks.

“Pedestrians have the right of way at crosswalks and intersections whether marked or not. Vehicles must stop if pedestrians are in or approaching their path…” (Washington Department of Licensing driver’s guide).

Because I chose to stop and obey the law, I was honked at. When I confronted the driver about why, he told me I couldn’t stop for the pedestrian who wanted to cross because “no one else was.” This was a middle-aged man who should know better! His response, along with everyone else’s reasoning for not stopping, will indeed kill a pedestrian someday.

I challenge you all to brush up on the rules of the road. You just might learn something that could save a life and prevent a lot of grief. Darlene Lockert Spokane

If law’s so wrong, get it invalidated

Curtis E. Stone (Letters, Jan. 4) believes the Brady Law to be “worthless.” Why doesn’t he go into federal court and have them declare the Brady Law unconstitutional based upon the Second Amendment?

Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the NRA, answers Stone’s assertion about why criminals aren’t arrested and convicted when they try to buy a handgun. In the July 1998 issue of the American Rifleman (page 10), LaPierre maintained, “There is nothing that says the FBI or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms or any federal agent must arrest criminals, felons, drug dealers or fugitives who violate this law. The only requirement is that they be turned away at the point of sale.”

How could anyone disagree 100 percent with the NRA? Walter A. Becker Pullman

IN THE PUBLIC EYE

Others owed apology too, then

If the Senate indeed fails to convict and remove President Clinton from office, then the Clinton administration, along with the U.S. Senate - especially the Democrats - owe every person who’s been convicted of a sexual offense an apology and full pardon. After all, they most likely lied about it under oath.

They will owe every officer and enlisted person in our military who has been booted out of the service for adultery and lying under oath an apology, a full pardon and restoration to duty with full back pay.

Keep in mind that Clinton is our highest elected official, our chief law enforcer and our commander in chief. If we are not willing to hold him to the highest possible standard, then we have no business pronouncing judgment on other lesser individuals. A censure means absolutely nothing as Clinton has adamantly refused to admit that he lied under oath. Jerry Ham Spokane

ENVIRONMENT

Treaty needed for healthy future

The Jan. 3 article, “Weather was steamier than interngate,” raised a red flag that should result in citizen actions. To wit: “… weather … was the biggest story of the year, made so by its worldwide impact and the growing uncertainty of what lies ahead for us in climatic change”; “It has been estimated by the Washington, D.C.-based Worldwatch that 32,000 people died in 1998 from weather disasters and 300 million more were driven from their homes.”

Before December’s deadly cold wave in Eastern Europe and the floods in Washington and Oregon, the economic losses due to weather had been estimated at $89 billion worldwide just for the first eleven months of 1998. The weather economic losses in the 1980s - 14 - were $55 billion!

Yes, global warming is here and is getting worse, and fossil fuel use is the primary cause. Last year will be most memorable because of U.S. inaction on global warming.

Polls show that U.S. citizens believe global warming is a serious problem and that government action is needed now. Congress opposes action on global warming, largely because fossil fuel lobbyists have bought them off. Money, again, has corrupted our system.

What is needed is citizen input to Congress. Please tell your senators to ratify the Kyoto treaty as a first step towards minimizing global warming. K. Julian Powers Spokane

No compromise in her defense

Re: John Webster’s “A blueprint for endless bickering” (Opinion, Jan. 1).

Webster starts the new year with a bang, attacking the Endangered Species Act. And why? Because it inspires conflict and relies on regulation, procedure, litigation and compulsion. Of course it does! Do you suppose for a minute that corporate America gives a hoot about an endangered species? No way, unless they can make money out of it.

Webster talks about “locally negotiated balancing of interests.” Unfortunately, this usually means special interests with a very special agenda. I’ve noticed that these compromises invariably mean fewer trees, fewer fish, bears, lynx or whatever species you’re talking about.

I’m sick of compromise. Like Earth First! says, “No compromise in the defense of mother Earth.” Webster also mentions a “few innovators” who have proved it’s possible for enviros, recreationists, property owners and business interests to cooperate, but he fails to offer a specific example. Steve Bradburn Spokane

OTHER TOPICS

Don’t fear ownership by masses

Should anyone wonder why responsible Americans have not been able to work out a rational plan to protect themselves and their families from irresponsible gun violence, he has only to read the letters of Jan. 4 by R.E. Yates and Curtis E. Stone.

Many states have recently sued the tobacco companies for the costs incurred in funding treatment of the harm tobacco products had caused. Now some cities are considering trying to recoup some of their costs from irresponsible gun violence in the same way. Of course, the burden of proof rests with the plaintiff.

Rather than argue the merits of this idea, Yates wrote about abortion and suggested we all send the NRA $10 so that it can, in effect, sue us! Stone envisioned a nightmare scenario of a clandestine Bolscheviks who control the media and the federal government. Too bad he never offers any evidence beyond his own dogmatic claims.

No citizen needs fear the vast majority of responsible gun owners, but it is clear that allowing criminals and the emotionally unstable (remember Dean Mellberg?) to own firearms is a speedway to disaster. Edward B. Keeley Spokane

Wait for that new century to start

Most people are confused about the calendar system now in universal use. It is referred to as the Gregorian calendar and will remain accurate for several thousand years into the future.

The years ending in 00 (even hundreds) signify the end of a century. The first year, the year traditionally looked on as the year of Christ’s birth and the year upon which our calendar is based, was year one. The tenth was year 10 and was the last year of the first decade. The first year of the second decade was year 11, and the next 10 years ended in year 20. The first year of the third decade would, therefore, be year 21.

Following the logical beginning, 1991 is the first year of the tenth decade of the 20th century and the year 2000 will be the “last” year of the tenth decade, not the beginning of the 21st century as is commonly assumed.

A century consists of 100 consecutive years. The first century was year one to year 100. The 20th century consists of the years 1901 through 2000 and will end on Dec. 31, 2000. The 21st century will begin on Jan. 1, 2001. Jerry C. Thronson Spokane

Cougars enjoyable to visit

With all the real problems the county has, they spend time and money harassing a Valley couple with two pets - because they aren’t ordinary pets. I enjoy visiting LaVina and Randy McGlenn’s cougars and so do many others. Their pens are always immaculately clean, and there is a double wire fence. The cougars seem happy and bother nobody. Night-time barking dogs cause more nuisance than Sammy and Charlie. Leave them alone. Doris Mussil Spokane