Pedestrians, show yourselves

While driving through Rathdrum around 9 p.m. recently, I almost hit an adolescent in a crosswalk just past Super 1 near the high school. The child was dressed in black clothes, including a hat, and was nearly invisible even in my headlights!

I am not sure how I saw this child in time. Perhaps it came from instincts honed by 55 years of driving, but the point is this: Had I not reacted, I probably would have hit him/her! Also, this child did not react to my presence, even after I flooded the area with high beams. He/she just kept ambling across the road in front of me without looking up.

Luckily, I was at the speed limit, but I was moving fast enough to have killed or seriously injured this person. And that would have ruined my life as well.

Pedestrians and bikers, always wear some bright, reflective clothing, and please never take your right-of-way privilege in crosswalks for granted. Drivers can’t always see well, especially at dusk!

Douglas Toland

Sagle, Idaho

Taxation without representation

The powers that be, and business alliances in Coeur d’Alene, have risen up to defeat the recall of the mayor and three City Council members who chose to bypass the voters and ram a $14.3 million project down the throats of the taxpayers. These tax dollars will be diverted to another urban renewal project benefiting the profiteers of downtown.

Urban renewal is a clever way to divert tax dollars for pet projects benefiting the few at the cost of the many, and is literally taxation without representation. That is quite a cleverly crafted profiteering racket that has taken over Coeur d’Alene.

Here, for all to witness, is the absolute hypocrisy of this Republican stronghold that supposedly opposes government intrusions, reckless spending, and claims to be the defenders of the Constitution. Add forced ultrasounds, voter suppression laws across the nation, and the appointment of unelected emergency managers in Republican-controlled states like Michigan to literally and absolutely take over targeted cities. Watch, witness, and beware this political party of corrupt counterfeits trampling every single principle that they claim to stand for in their pursuit of profit, power and glory.

Jimmy Pappas

Coeur d’Alene

Focus on service

Are you serious? First of all, you don’t need to make City Hall more user friendly. We have to use the services regardless of user-friendly facilities. We are stuck with it.

New lights and carpets are not needed. Just ask the clerks to be friendly and efficient when dealing with the public. That constitutes user friendly.

When I worked in utilities at City Hall, a remodeling project took place. It made the department way less efficient. We lost phone calls because we were put in cubicles and could not see what was going on anywhere. We previously had a dozen clerks available to customers. After the change, we had only one clerk, and customers had to wait in line.

And we were told how great an improvement resulted. Yet, if you looked at printouts, you could see we were losing phone calls that we had never lost before.

Can’t believe you are considering wasting money on such a project, especially in this economy.

Glenn Reid

Spokane