Let NBA owners pay

In reference to the Feb. 20 letter by Stephen S. Son, I would like to ask why should we in Eastern Washington, or actually any citizen of the state of Washington, be subject to picking up the tab for the owners of a National Basketball Association team, while they, a private entity, rake in the profits?

Yes, it would be nice to have a professional team here in Washington, but I do believe the owners should bear the brunt and pay for the arena themselves.

Marge Kerwin

Spokane

Sacketts cut corners

The facts attorney Damien M. Schiff presents in his Feb. 18 guest opinion piece – “Sacketts’ wetlands fight about liberties” – are so grossly incomplete they paint a false picture of the situation behind the pending U.S. Supreme Court case Sackett v. EPA.

The Sacketts had many opportunities to cheaply and quickly secure a federal permit to fill in wetlands on their property – which is exactly what their own consultant advised. If they played by the rules, they would have had the chance to get a court ruling on whether they needed a permit before the Environmental Protection Agency took any enforcement action.

Instead, they chose to cut corners and, when they got caught, sued the EPA.

If the court adopts the argument put forward by Schiff, the EPA will have a much harder time policing things like dumping toxic chemicals into rivers, or burying wetlands and other sensitive areas.

Companies could sue every time they get a notice of an alleged violation. The EPA will be forced to use limited resources to fight lawsuits instead of protecting our water and air. Or, more likely, the EPA will cut down on enforcement to avoid getting bogged down in court.

Either way, we all lose.

Larry Levine, senior attorney

Natural Resources Defense Council

New York City

Thoma eluded my fate

I am currently incarcerated at the Ferry County Jail. Four of us share the same cell. The jails are full of alcoholics that are good people with poor judgment, including myself.

Drunk or sober, it is a cowardly act to leave the scene of an accident and certainly not the act of someone who is paid to protect and serve.

Due to my poor judgment, I have lost my career and am currently liquidating assets to pay court costs, and for my rehabilitation. Police officers being awarded for their bad behavior demonstrates just how broken our system is.

Please forward my contact information to attorney Bob Dunn.

Margaret Absher

Republic, Wash.

Cynical ploy to discriminate

Affirmative action is back in the news due to Fisher v. University of Texas. Our educational system has been biased in favor of middle-class white male Protestants since its inception, particularly in male-dominated fields such as law.

The Roman Catholics set up their educational system to bypass religious bias. Women’s colleges were created to avoid sex discrimination, and black colleges were begun due to racism. Unfortunately, law schools are still largely white and male, so law schools are considering race as an admissions factor.

As grading is subjective, women and minorities are often given lower grades than they deserve in white male-dominated fields. So, if admissions are based on grades only, few women or minorities will get in.

This is why the conservatives are backing Fisher v. UT, pitting one discriminated group against another in the hope that both will lose.

I hope the conservatives lose.

Judith Jones

Spokane

Providence portrayal wrong

The problem with Gene Grossmann’s Feb. 17 letter regarding the regulation of birth control coverage for private employers is that Grossman presents an inaccurate picture of Providence Health & Services.

He asserts that Sacred Heart Medical Center is an a priori ethical organization run by kind-hearted Catholic sisters. In fact, SHMC is part of Providence, an enormous health care organization, which though nonprofit in name, is a major player in our for-profit medical system that systematically marginalizes more than 50 million Americans.

Providence has expanded throughout the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, Montana and California, monopolizing health care systems and perpetuating the high-cost, low-accountability American medical system.

Providence accepts billions in government payments and receives preferential tax status under federal law while bawling for special status as a religious organization. Providence is run by lay managers and medical professionals whose rich salaries testify to their lack of charitable motivation, and to the need for them to be regulated along with other profit-seeking corporate managers.

The long and the short of it is, if you want to take the federal dollar, as Providence does, you ought to have the integrity to accept federal regulation without hiding behind the vestments of religiosity.

Christopher Parkin

Spokane

Decision helps Sacred Heart

In his letter of Feb. 17, “An affront to Sacred Heart,” Dr. Gene Grossman asserts that Sacred Heart Medical Center should not be forced to provide contraception coverage for its employees; Grossman apparently doesn’t realize that Sacred Heart decided to provide this coverage to its employees in 2004.

A hospital like Sacred Heart is competing in the market for nurses, physicians and other top-quality staff who have the option of going to a different employer where they will receive this benefit. Contraception coverage can be worth hundreds, if not thousands of dollars a year to an employee.

Because Sacred Heart must compete for talent in the marketplace, it made the logical business decision to cover this benefit. The federal mandate will actually help Catholic institutions compete in the marketplace for top-notch talent.

It’s a win-win situation for them, as it provides them with a reason to break with Catholic teachings on this issue yet retain their Catholic identity and affiliation, and will result in better ability to compete for high-quality employees.

Vickie Williams

Spokane

Paul faces unfair obstacles

I just wanted to help dissolve the myth that Ron Paul can’t win, or that you’d be wasting your vote. Paul is winning. Everywhere. By a landslide!

He is coming in first or second in every straw poll, scientific poll, and in delegates. The media don’t want him to win, and this is obvious in their coverage of him. They ignore him. When they display polls/votes, they place him at the bottom (even though he has the most votes). They proclaim a winner before all the votes are counted.

He really won in Maine. The GOP closes caucuses in precincts that have heavy Paul support. Votes are conveniently “lost.” So we know that if anyone but Paul wins the nomination, we’ll know that it was a fraud.

Folks, we are about to move out of a democracy and into a fascist state. Keep watching.

Kathy Evans

Coeur d’Alene

Stop the coal trains

Kudos for Jan Hoem’s Feb. 26 guest opinion, “Fight coal exports, trains,” about coal company intentions to send trains through Spokane loaded with coal on its way to power plants in Asian countries.

I am writing Public Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark today. I am including the guest opinion, and telling him why I very much oppose this coal export project.

From my living room window, I can see trains as they leave Spokane, and I, along with others here, will be affected by the coal dust pollution from open coal cars and from the diesel locomotives. There will also be extra wait times at the railroad crossings and possible added structural costs. These coal trains will negatively impact Spokane while bringing us no benefit.

Of even greater concern to me is the burning of more fossils fuels as we watch our glaciers melt and global temperatures increase. I end my letter to the commissioner, “How can we consciously proceed to harm ourselves and future generations and ignore the damage our current activity is doing to our bodies and to our planet? Please do everything in your power to stop the export of this coal.”

Pauline Druffel

Spokane

Limit campaign expenditures

In the Feb. 28 article “Santorum, Romney compete for Michigan,” one can see an unfortunate truth in our election process. However, it seems the real problem is not being addressed. The fact is that the voices of middle- and lower-class citizens are being phased out by corporations and high-income individuals.

There is a reason candidates have a much better chance of being elected if said candidates have more campaigning funds. The real solution is not super PACs or the frivolous idea of eliminating corporate involvement with elections; it is a limit on campaign expenditure. This way every candidate may have limited but equal influence on discussion among the general public.

This would, in theory, reduce the time officials spend away from their office in order to collect campaign contributions. It would also enrich the content that candidates and their affiliates produce.

Furthermore, it would also reduce the chances of a candidate to be influenced by corporate pressure and extortion during their term in office.

Dave Reeves

Cheney

Support Lakeland schools

Lakeland-area schools are known throughout the state of Idaho as being among the finest in Idaho. Virtually every year, teachers and administrators are recognized as being the best in the state. Our students continue to excel with the foundation we provide for them.

Many of us chose to move to the Rathdrum area, and continue to reside here, because of the outstanding school system and the community that supports the level of excellence we demand. Our schools are the backbone of our community.

We now have a choice. Support our schools and continue to demand the excellence we have come to expect and take for granted. Or, choose to not support the levies and see our home values decrease, our efforts to attract new business jobs fail, and witness our schools crumble, driving away any chance at growth and prosperity. Our schools are that important to our future.

Please vote yes on the two levies on March 13. They will not increase your tax and they continue to provide a critical investment in the bright future of the northern part of our county.

Kevin Sharrai

Rathdrum