Gorton fumbled redistricting

The Redistricting Commission should be congratulated for protecting safe districts for Democrats, and gerrymandering the 6th District so that it can be “competitive.” Once again, former Sen. Slade Gorton, from Western Washington, has demonstrated that he still doesn’t care about the people in Eastern Washington.

Jerry K. Boyd

Spokane

Cut the Pentagon budget

At a time when budgets are tight and programs and services in our community are being cut back, the Pentagon budget keeps getting bigger.

The secretary of defense announced on Jan. 26 that he plans to slow the rate of growth for the Pentagon budget, but even under this proposal in 10 years the Pentagon budget would still be bigger than it is today.

I hope, but I also doubt, that our members of Congress will stick with the current law, which requires the Pentagon to cut its budget by nearly $1 trillion over the next decade – twice what the secretary is proposing.

Over the last decade, the Pentagon budget has grown by 100 percent. Most of that has gone to fighting these endless and useless wars. The most certain way to destroy our country is to continue on this path of continuous war, and to continue to give our military-industrial complex unlimited funding.

Tom Charles

Spokane

Levy money is spent smartly

Last summer, I had the opportunity to move to Eastern Washington from out of state in order to obtain my master’s degree in social work at Eastern Washington University. Since September, I have been interning at Colbert Elementary, located within the Mead School District, to gain experience as a school social worker.

While at Mead, I have had the chance to see firsthand responsible spending. The school district is able to achieve impressive test scores, high graduation rates, small class sizes and overall well-rounded students. It is imperative that the local community votes yes on this levy. Without levy funding, awesome programs will face cuts.

The election continues through Feb. 14. Now is the time to show our students that we believe in their future and see their potential. Join me by voting yes on the Mead School District levy.

Katie Johnson

Medical Lake