Letters for Feb. 18

Road use charge

Regarding Rep. Jake Fey’s proposal (“Lawmaker pitches taxing by the mile,” Feb. 12) of a road use charge per mile for passenger vehicles, I recommend instead that all mountain passes in Washington state be swiftly installed with entrance/exit toll booths to increase needed tax revenues. Such could be a quicker, less complicated solution regarding the recent yearly decline in revenue, as a result of more fuel efficient regular, plus electric vehicles. Be sure your legislator considers this suggestion as soon as possible.

Dan Lambert

Spokane

Make America healthy again

I’ve got to question the statement from Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, who said Thursday, “We’ve got to get into the business of making America healthy again.”

It’s not that I disagree with the statement, but first lady Michelle Obama attempted this years ago and met nothing but resistance from Republicans like Crapo.

Her initiative may have had flaws, but encouraging children to eat healthy and having a program in place is a good way to start. But Crapo had no intention or interest in making America healthy again.

It makes you wonder if he is sexist, racist or just a partisan hack. Judging by his blind devotion to the overweight, fast food fanatic president, I think we know the answer to that.

Dave Trimmer

Spokane Valley

It’s time to change outdated laws

I was horrified to read the Feb. 12 article concerning the violent interaction that occurred when the Spokane police attempted to arrest a man for an outstanding warrant for failing to register as a sex offender.

In 2022, I served on a subcommittee of the Washington state Sex Offender Policy Board. Rep. Roger Goodman, chair of the House Community Safety Committee, asked us to review the evidence-based research on failure to register offenses. Here are some key facts:

Our sex offense registration and notification laws have had no effect on public safety since they were adopted in the early 1990s. Unfortunately, members of law enforcement and the public do not believe the evidence. Approximately 19,000 individuals are currently required to register as a sex offender in Washington state. If these individuals fail to fill out the required paperwork within the required time frame, they can be arrested and convicted of an FTR offense.

There is no evidence individuals fail to fill out the paperwork in order to commit criminal behavior. Individuals fail to comply with the registration requirements for a variety of reasons, homelessness being the most common. An individual who is homeless must complete the paperwork in-person every week, an obvious challenge.

It’s time to change our outdated laws. The individual was not doing anything criminal. His only “crime” was failing to fill out paperwork. If our laws were based on evidence, this violent interaction would not have occurred.

Joanne Smieja

Spokane