Letters for June 20

Clean up our entry points, Spokane

Back in the spring it was no problem for the city of Spokane to polish things up for the NCAA basketball tournament. Our downtown core had never looked better. Almost every day, I use one of the downtown I-90 onramps or exits.

Well, things are back to pre-NCAA appearances. Trash and weeds are everywhere. Come on, city of Spokane, these are the gateways into our downtown. What a terrible first impression. Keeping these areas beautiful should be a 52-week goal. We can do better.

Mark Silver

Spokane

Mayor’s homeless ordinance can work

It’s pretty clear that no city can arrest its way out of the homeless problem. In fact, for anyone trying in earnest to get out of homelessness, it will only delay if not permanently prevent them from getting off the street. Giving folks a week before arrest if they accept services like a meal and a shower, medical and behavioral health treatment, a change of clothes and help removing barriers like not having a government ID, may not include punishment of these folks that so many have an unquenched appetite for, but will result in more people getting housed and off the streets.

I believe Mayor Brown’s suggested method would be far more effective in satisfying everyone’s desire toward a solution, except, of course, those who love seeing people be punished for their perceived lack of virtue that they think caused their homelessness in the first place.

Tom Topping

Millwood

Do your part to protect our environment

Idaho is known for its natural beauty – our rivers, mountains, forests and farmland are part of who we are. But as climate patterns shift, bringing longer wildfire seasons, drier summers, and increased strain on our water and agricultural resources, it’s becoming clear that we must take action to protect our environment and way of life.

While political conversations around climate change can be divisive, the truth is that this isn’t only a partisan issue. It’s a local issue, one that affects our health, our economy and our children’s future. Fortunately, there are real solutions within our reach, and Idaho is in a strong position to be a leader in those efforts.

We can strengthen our communities by supporting clean, renewable energy that creates jobs and reduces pollution. By conserving water, protecting our open spaces and making more sustainable choices in our daily lives, we can all contribute to the solution. Choosing locally grown food, reducing waste and being mindful of how we travel are small steps that, collectively, make a big difference.

Most important, we need to support leaders – at every level – who understand that addressing climate change is not only possible, but necessary. Idahoans are practical, hard-working, and deeply connected to the land. If we come together with a shared purpose, we can protect what we love and ensure a healthier, more secure future for generations to come.

Laura Abromeit

Sandpoint

We paid for those vouchers

I went to Catholic parochial schools for all my formal education. My parents paid for all that out of their pocket. They were not rich, far from it.

But yet my parents paid property taxes, they paid (in California) income taxes – they paid all the same taxes to the government that everybody else paid. They just wanted their kid to go to a certain school, which they had to further pay dearly for. I know that people who send their kids to a public school think that we private school fans are ripping the system off by asking for vouchers. But we darn well paid for those vouchers out of our taxes. It is the same thing as when the government makes noise about cutting Social Security, people correctly yell, “We paid for that!”

Dennis DeMattia

Spokane